Combination tool having a hammer

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6739010
  • Patent Number
    6,739,010
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, May 13, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 25, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Hail, III; Joseph J.
    • Thomas; David B.
    Agents
    • Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Abstract
A combination tool includes a hammer having a head, a handle portion and a neck part, an accessory tool for attachment to the head, and an attachment part connected to the accessory tool and including a socket to receive a hammering end of the head, two retaining walls extending respectively on two sides of the socket to retain therebetween at least the neck part, and a clamping part for pressing the neck part against the socket, thereby retaining removably the accessory tool on the hammer.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The invention relates to a combination tool, more particularly to a combination of a hammer and an accessory tool.




2. Description of the Related Art




Referring to

FIG. 1

, a conventional combination tool includes a hammer


2


and an accessory tool


1


. The hammer


2


has ahead


201


and a handle portion


202


connected to the head


201


. The head


201


includes a hammering end


203


having an outer periphery formed with a plurality of inwardly extending grooves


205


, and a claw


204


opposite to the hammering end


203


. The accessory tool


1


includes a sleeve portion


101


sleeved on the hammering end


203


, a tool portion


102


connected integrally to the sleeve portion


101


, and a plurality of clamping screws


103


that extend into the respective grooves


205


so as to fasten the accessory tool


1


to the hammer


2


.




The aforementioned hammering end


203


of the hammer


2


has to be provided with grooves


205


, which is troublesome for processing. Furthermore, since only the clamping screws


103


are used to press tightly the sides of the hammering end


203


, the accessory tool


1


is likely to loosen easily from the hammer


2


when subjected to impact induced during operation of the hammer


2


.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a combination tool that has an accessory tool connected stably to and easily detachable from a hammer in order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.




According to one aspect of this invention, a combination tool comprises a hammer having a head, a handle portion and a neck part between the head and the handle portion, an accessory tool for attachment to the head, and an attachment part connected to the accessory tool. The attachment part includes a socket disposed adjacent to the accessory tool to receive a hammering end of the head, two retaining walls extending respectively on two sides of the socket to retain therebetween at least the neck part, a cross piece disposed across the retaining walls to abut against one side of the neck part, and a clamping part disposed between the retaining walls to press against the other side of the neck part opposite to the cross piece. The clamping part is operable to move away from the neck part.




According to another aspect of this invention, a device for combination with a hammer having a head, a handle portion, and a neck part between the head and the handle portion, includes an accessory tool and an attachment part. The accessory tool is adapted for attachment to the head. The attachment part is connected to the accessory tool, and includes a socket, two opposite retaining walls, and a clamping part. The socket is disposed adjacent to the accessory tool, and is adapted to receive a hammering end of the head. The retaining walls extend respectively from two sides of the socket in a direction away from the accessory tool. The clamping part is adapted to press the neck part of the hammer against the socket, and is disposed between the retaining walls opposite to the socket.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:





FIG. 1

is a partly sectional schematic view of a conventional combination tool;





FIG. 2

is an exploded fragmentary perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a combination tool according to the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a partly sectional fragmentary schematic view of the preferred embodiment in an assembled state;





FIG. 4

is another partly sectional fragmentary schematic view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating how a hammer is initially inserted into an accessory tool; and





FIG. 5

is yet another partly sectional fragmentary schematic view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating how the hammer is positioned after insertion into the accessory tool.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, the preferred embodiment of a combination tool according to the present invention is shown to comprise a hammer


100


, an accessory tool


200


, an attachment part


300


, and a holder


60


.




The hammer


100


has a head


110


with a hammering end


140


, a handle portion


120


connected to the head portion


110


, and a neck part


130


between the head


110


and the handle portion


120


. The head


110


has two jaw-like components


111


. The hammering end


140


is integral with one of the components


111


. The other one of the components


111


is formed with a claw


150


. The handle portion


120


includes a pair of lever handles


121


pivotally connected together and respectively connected to the components


111


.




The accessory tool


200


is attached to the hammering end


140


of the head


110


of the hammer


100


. In this embodiment, the accessory tool


200


is an axe


20


. However, it can also be a spade or a shovel.




The attachment part


300


is connected to the accessory tool


200


, and includes a socket


30


, two opposite retaining walls


31


, a transverse wall


32


, a clamping part


40


, a locking screw


42


, a coiled spring


43


, and a cross piece


50


. The socket


30


is disposed adjacent to the accessory tool


200


to receive the hammering end


140


of the head


110


. The retaining walls


31


extend respectively from two sides of the socket


30


in a direction away from the accessory tool


200


. The transverse wall


32


interconnects the retaining walls


31


opposite to the socket


30


. The retaining walls


31


, the transverse wall


32


, and the socket


30


cooperate to define an open space


33


for extension of the head


110


of the hammer


100


therethrough.




The clamping part


40


is disposed between the retaining walls


31


opposite to the socket


30


, and is operable to move toward and away from the socket


30


. The clamping part


40


includes a press block


41


mounted movably on the transverse wall


32


and having a press face


411


to press a first side


170


of the neck part


130


against the socket


30


. The press block


41


is movable between the retaining walls


31


toward and away from the transverse wall


32


, and is prevented from rotation by the retaining walls


31


.




The locking screw


42


extends threadedly through the transverse wall


32


, and has one end fixed to the press block


41


. The locking screw


42


has a threaded shank portion


422


, and a screw head


423


opposite to the shank portion


422


. The shank portion


422


has a bottom end portion formed with an internally extending thread


4221


to engage a threaded screw


421


that passes through the press block


41


so that the locking screw


42


is connected fixedly to the press block


41


. The head portion


423


extends outwardly of the transverse wall


32


, and is formed with a hexagonal hole


424


to receive a hexagonal wrench


70


. The coiled spring


43


is sleeved around the locking screw


42


between the screw head


423


and the transverse wall


32


. The transverse wall


32


has a recess


321


for receiving the coiled spring


43


.




The cross piece


50


is disposed across the retaining walls


31


, and abuts against a second side


160


of the neck part


130


opposite to the first side


170


. In this embodiment, the cross piece


50


is a rod that penetrates through a pair of aligned holes


312


in the retaining walls


31


.




The holder


60


is attached to one of the retaining walls


31


, which has an outer face


311


formed with an indented part


314


to receive and retain the holder


60


. The holder


60


has a mounting plate


62


received in and fastened to the indented part


314


by engaging a pair of aligned holes


313


in the indented part


314


in a press-fitting manner. Two holder rings


61


are attached to the mounting plate


62


to hold the wrench


70


.




When the accessory tool


200


is to be assembled on the hammer


100


, the locking screw


42


is initially threadedly loosened to move the press block


41


toward the transverse wall


32


, after which, the claw


150


of the hammer


100


is extended through the open space


33


in the attachment part


300


, as shown by the solid lines in FIG.


4


. Then, the attachment part


300


is rotated until the socket


30


is located below the hammering end


140


of the hammer


100


, as shown by the phantom lines in FIG.


4


. Afterwards, the socket


30


is moved upward to receive the hammering end


140


of the hammer


100


, as shown in FIG.


5


. Referring back to

FIG. 3

, the locking screw


42


is thereafter tightened on the transverse wall


32


to move and press the press block


41


toward the first side


170


of the neck part


130


. At this time, the coiled spring


43


is compressed, and the locking screw


42


is positioned tightly due to the biasing force of the coiled spring


43


. The accessory tool


200


is thereby connected to the hammer


100


. The final step is to insert the cross piece


50


through the holes


312


so that the cross piece


50


abuts against the second side


160


of the neck part


130


to provide a stable connection between the accessory tool


200


and the hammer


100


. Note that the cross piece


50


has a detent ball


51


(see FIG.


2


), which can engage the outer face of one of the retaining walls


31


to lock the cross piece


50


on the retaining walls


31


.




To detach the accessory tool


200


from the hammer


100


, the foregoing assembly steps are simply performed in a reverse order, that is, the cross piece


50


is first removed, followed by loosening of the locking screw


42


so as to move the press block


41


away from the first side


170


of the neck part


130


. Then, the socket


30


is separated from the hammering end


140


, and the accessory tool


200


and the attachment part


300


are rotated out of the head


110


of the hammer


100


.




Thus, from the aforementioned description of the preferred embodiment of the combination tool of the present invention, it is apparent that the accessory tool


200


can be easily connected to and detached from the hammer


100


. Furthermore, the structure of the hammer


100


need not be modified in order to connect with the accessory tool


200


so that multi-purpose functions can be achieved. Moreover, due to the many positioning points produced by the insertion of the hammering end


140


into the socket


30


, the abutment of the press block


41


and the cross piece


50


against the first and second sides


170


,


160


of the neck part


130


, and the retaining action of the retaining walls


31


, the accessory tool


200


is stably connected to the hammer


100


. Additionally, the engagement of the locking screw


42


with the press block


41


can ensure that the accessory tool


200


is not likely to loosen during use of the combination tool.




While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.



Claims
  • 1. A combination tool comprising:a hammer having a head, a handle portion and a neck part between said head and said handle portion; an accessory tool for attachment to said head; and an attachment part connected to said accessory tool and including a socket disposed adjacent to said accessory tool to receive a hammering end of said head, two opposite retaining walls extending respectively from two sides of said socket in a direction away from said accessory tool, and a clamping part for pressing said neck part against said socket, said clamping part being disposed between said retaining walls opposite to said socket.
  • 2. The combination tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handle portion of said hammer includes a pair of lever handles pivotally connected together, said head having two jaw-like components respectively connected to said lever handles, said hammering end being integral with one of said components.
  • 3. The combination tool as claimed in claim 2, wherein the other one of said components is formed with a claw.
  • 4. The combination tool as claimed in claim 3, wherein said accessory tool is an axe.
  • 5. The combination tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein said attachment part further includes a cross piece disposed across said retaining walls to abut against said neck part opposite to said clamping part.
  • 6. The combination tool as claimed in claim 5, wherein said cross piece is a rod penetrating through said retaining walls.
  • 7. The combination tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein said attachment part further includes a transverse wall interconnecting said retaining walls opposite to said socket, said clamping part including a press block mounted movably on said transverse wall and having a press face to press against said neck part, said press block being movable between said retaining walls toward and away from said transverse wall, said retaining walls preventing said press block from rotation.
  • 8. The combination tool as claimed in claim 6, wherein said attachment part further includes a locking screw threadedly extending through said transverse wall and having one end fixed to said press block.
  • 9. The combination tool as claimed in claim 7, wherein said attachment part further includes a coiled spring, said locking screw having a screw head extending outwardly of said transverse wall, said coiled spring being sleeved around said locking screw between said screw head and said transverse wall, said transverse wall having a recess receiving said coiled spring.
  • 10. The combination tool as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a holder attached to one of said retaining walls, said one of said retaining walls having an outer face formed with an indented part to receive and retain said holder.
  • 11. A device for combination with a hammer having ahead, a handle portion and a neck part between the head and the handle portion, comprising:an accessory tool adapted for attachment to the head; and an attachment part connected to said accessory tool and including a socket which is disposed adjacent to said accessory tool and which is adapted to receive a hammering end of the head, two opposite retaining walls extending respectively from two sides of said socket in a direction away from said accessory tool, and a clamping part adapted to press the neck part of the hammer against said socket, said clamping part being disposed between said retaining walls opposite to said socket.
  • 12. The combination tool as claimed in claim 11, wherein said accessory tool is an axe.
  • 13. The combination tool as claimed in claim 11, wherein said attachment part further includes a cross piece disposed across said retaining walls and adapted to abut against the neck part of the hammer opposite to said clamping part.
  • 14. The combination tool as claimed in claim 13, wherein said cross piece is a rod penetrating through said retaining walls.
  • 15. The combination tool as claimed in claim 11, wherein said attachment part further includes a transverse wall interconnecting said retaining walls opposite to said socket, said clamping part including a press block mounted movably on said transverse wall and having a press face, said press block being movable between said retaining walls toward and away from said transverse wall, said retaining walls preventing said press block from rotation.
  • 16. The combination tool as claimed in claim 15, wherein said attachment part further includes a locking screw threadedly extending through said transverse wall and having one end fixed to said press block.
  • 17. The combination tool as claimed in claim 16, wherein said attachment part further includes a coiled spring, said locking screw having a screw head extending outwardly of said transverse wall, said coiled spring being sleeved around said locking screw between said screw head and said transverse wall, said transverse wall having a recess receiving said coiled spring.
  • 18. The combination tool as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a holder attached to one of said retaining walls, said one of said retaining walls having an outer face formed with an indented part to receive and retain said holder.
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1056920 Lovering Mar 1913 A
1180405 Lovering Apr 1916 A
2406116 Van Slyke Aug 1946 A
4183385 Burkybile Jan 1980 A
4287623 Tarran Sep 1981 A
20020138914 Lin Oct 2002 A1