The present invention relates generally to tools designed for tightening or loosening fasteners, in particular bolts and nuts. More specifically, the present invention is an anti-slip wrench-type tool designed to engaged bolts, nuts, and other similar fasteners with little chance of slippage.
Hex bolts, nuts, screws, and other similar threaded devices are used to secure and hold multiple parts together by being engaged to a complimentary thread, known as a female thread. The general structure of these types of fasteners is a cylindrical shaft with an external thread and a head at one end of the shaft. The external thread engages a complimentary female thread tapped into a hole or a nut and secures the fastener in place, binding the associated components together. The head is the means by which the fastener is turned, or driven, into the female threading. The head is shaped specifically to allow an external tool like a wrench to apply a torque to the fastener in order to rotate the fastener and engage the complimentary female threading to a certain degree. This type of fastener is simple, extremely effective, cheap, and highly popular in modern construction.
One of the most common problems in using these types of fasteners, whether male or female, is the tool slipping in the head portion, or slipping on the head portion. This is generally caused by either a worn fastener or tool, corrosion, overtightening, and damage to the head portion of the fastener. The present invention is a wrench or wrench socket design that virtually eliminates slippage. The design utilizes a plurality of engagement teeth which efficiently transitions the contact point from the corners of the fastener to the sidewalls of the fastener, allowing for torque to be applied to the fastener in order to loosen it. The present invention may be used to tighten or loosen fasteners without worrying about stripping the corners of the fastener.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention is an anti-slip wrench-type tool used to tighten or loosen a fastener such as a nut or bolt. Traditional wrench designs transfer the majority of the torque to the fastener through the lateral corners of the fastener head. Over time, the degradation of the lateral corners reduces the efficiency of transferring torque from the wrench to the fastener head and, as a result, causes slippage. The present invention overcomes this problem by moving the contact point to the lateral sides of the fastener head. This is accomplished through the use of a multitude of teeth. Each of the teeth is positioned to engage or “bite” the lateral surface of the fastener head instead of the lateral corner. This ensures an adequate amount of torque is transferred to the fastener head to initiate rotation and, resultantly, extraction or tighten the fastener.
The present invention utilizes a multitude of teeth to engage the sides of the fastener head, damaged or otherwise, in order to efficiently apply torque onto the fastener. The present invention may be integrated into or utilized by a variety of general tools to increase the torque force applied to a fastener. General tools include, but are not limited to, open-end wrenches, adjustable wrenches, pipe wrenches, socket wrenches, plumber wrench, and other similar fastener engaging tools. The present invention is compatible with male-member based head designs of fasteners. Fasteners which utilize a male-member head design, also known as male fasteners, use the external lateral surface of the fastener head to engage a tool for tightening or loosening, such fasteners include hex bolts and nuts. In addition, the present invention is compatible with fasteners of a right-hand thread and fasteners of a left-hand thread. Furthermore, the present invention may be altered and configured to fit different types and different sizes of fasteners.
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In one embodiment of the present invention, the quadrilateral shape tapers from the second base line 10 towards the first base line 9 in order to further yield a trapezoidal shape. As a result, the first leg line 11 is oriented at a first acute angle 22 with the corresponding sidewall 6, and the second leg line 12 is oriented at a second acute angle 23 with the corresponding sidewall 6. This creates a sharp corner between the second base line 10 and the first leg line 11 and between the second base line 10 and the second leg line 12. The sharp corners dig into the fastener head and increase the friction in between the present invention and the fastener, thus allowing for a more efficient transfer of torque force. More specifically, a length 19 of the corresponding sidewall 6 and a length 21 of the second base line 10 are at a ratio of three to one with each other to ensure adequate contact surface between the present invention and the fastener. Furthermore, a length 20 of the first base line 9 and the length 21 of the second base line 10 are at a ratio of 1.1 to 1 with each other.
Referring to
As mentioned above, the present invention may be designed to fit a variety of fastener designs. This is achieved by varying the number within the plurality of engagement teeth 7 and the number within the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 to compliment different types of fastener designs. The number within the plurality of engagement teeth 7 and the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 correspond to the number of sides of the fastener head. For instance, for a pentagon-shaped fastener, there are five elements within the plurality of engagement teeth 7 and the plurality of internal sidewalls 2.
In one embodiment, the present invention further comprises an attachment feature which allows an external torque tool to attach to the wrench-type torque-tool body 1 and increase the torque force applied to the fastener. In general, in this embodiment, the present invention is an alternative design for a wrench socket. Referring to
In another embodiment of the present invention, the wrench-type torque-tool body 1 is directly integrated into a torque tool, a typical closed wrench design more specifically. Referring to
Additionally, the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 comprises an arbitrary sidewall 3 and an adjacent sidewall 4, wherein the arbitrary sidewall 3 represents any one of the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 and the adjacent sidewall 4 represents the sidewall directly next to the arbitrary sidewall 3. It is preferred that the arbitrary sidewall 3 is adjacently adjoined to the adjacent sidewall 4 by a curved corner 5.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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7331260 | Cheng | Feb 2008 | B2 |
9415487 | Wilson | Aug 2016 | B2 |
20080245195 | Lee | Oct 2008 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20170014980 A1 | Jan 2017 | US |
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62328102 | Apr 2016 | US | |
61986327 | Apr 2014 | US | |
62323895 | Apr 2016 | US |
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