Patent Application
20230191585
The invention relates to an ergonomic multifunctional tool holder suitable to be adapted to a conventional extension pole. It is particularly directed to an ergonomic tool holder wherein a tool may be held and positioned in multiple angled positions along the X-X axis, the Y-Y axis, and the Z- Z-axis.
The difficulties of working on areas and objects out of the worker’s reach are well known in the art. A second main problem, well known in the art, is that the surface or object in a difficult place to reach may be placed or oriented in various angular positions, which are also difficult to paint or clean. The use of ladders, cradles, scaffolds, and the like have been used as alternatives in reaching and working on such areas and objects. However, such options are considered time-consuming and inefficient since the workers must consistently move and reposition the working or painting materials to reach areas or objects out of reach. Furthermore, said alternatives usually result in highly insecure and potentially dangerous work conditions.
A painter can be injured due to a fall from a height or even as a result of awkwardly stretching his body while trying to reach ceilings and walls. This stress and strain on the body can lead to long-term back and muscle injuries. Thus, even with the assistance of conventional extension poles, the fact that the tools used in such working activities are not possible to be positioned in the most convenient angled position suitable to the angled position of the high area or high located object generally forces the worker to assume a stressful posture.
It is well known in the art that such non-ergonomic, awkward postures- mainly when using the arm above shoulder level while doing a repetitive movement- generates musculoskeletal disorders caused by injuries in the joints, bones, and nerves that negatively affect the wrists, arms, shoulders, upper and lower back, and neck of workers. Among the most common of such disorders are Tendinitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet syndrome, back and neck pain, among others.
Regarding the insecure and dangerous work embodiments while painting or performing maintenance activities in high to reach places or high installed objects, some holders have been designed and presented as potential solutions to such problems; for instance, the holders disclosed in U.S. Pats.: 2,469,050; 2,792,581; 3,413,0343; 3,357,035; 3,994,037; 4,127,296; 4,525,889; 4,854,625; 5,056,952; 8,566,999; and 8,839,480. In such patents, the disclosed holders are generally designed mostly for paint brushes or paint rollers. In most of them, the tool held may be assembled in different predetermined or specific angles within the same plane. Therefore, the predetermined angles in which the tool may be positioned using such holders may not necessarily match the multiple angles of the high areas or the objects installed in high locations wherein the worker has to perform painting or cleaning activities.
On the other hand, and with regards to addressing the angled positioning of the tool, general approaches have been designed and presented in specific and nonconventional painting and maintenance tools, as those shown in U.S. Pats. 2,395245; 4,528,714; 5,207,755; 8,132,978, and 9,486,060. In such patents, the disclosed tools are designed with nonconventional, particular, and exclusive structures that allow the functional part of the tool- usually, the brush paint or the paint roller-to be positioned in different angles of a single plane or on other particular planes and are designed only to that specific, exclusive, and nonconventional tool.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an ergonomic multifunctional tool holder that may be adapted to a conventional extended pole, and that also may be assembled to a conventional tool used in painting activities and in maintenance activities that allows setting the position of the tool in multiple angled positions along the different X-X axis, the Y - Y axis, and the Z-Z axis at the convenience of the worker.
The herein disclosed invention provides a holder for firmly and steadily holding conventional tools in multiple angled positions that may be adapted to a conventional extension pole. The herein disclosed tool holder may be used in painting preparation of surfaces and in painting areas difficult to reach since it may firmly hold painting utensils such as paint brushes, painting scrapers, painting rollers, and other tools used in painting activities. It may also hold tools used in the maintenance and cleaning of objects and surfaces located or installed in places out of the reach of the workers. The disclosed tool allows workers to paint and clean said areas and objects more safely since it eliminates the need for ladders, cradles, scaffolds, or the like. The disclosed hold comprises an interconnect unit with two engaging units positioned in a perpendicular position. It also requires a handle comprising an engaging unit, and a supporting base, with an additional engaging unit. Thus, one of the engaging units of the interconnecting unit may be coupled to the engaging unit of the handle section. In contrast, the other engaging unit of the interconnecting unit may be coupled to the engaging unit of the supporting base to which a given conventional tool may be firmly and steadily clamped. Since both couplings may be made in multiple combinations, the tool clamped in the supporting base may be positioned in multiple angled positions with respect to the handle and with respect to the supporting unit. In this manner, the worker conveniently may select the most convenient, suitable, and ergonomic position of the object being held by the tool in order to perform a given activity according to the position or location of the object or area that they have to work.
The preceding and additional features and characteristics of the embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are used herein in a manner of example only, and wherein:
The present invention and its detailed embodiments are disclosed herein. However, this invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and fully convey the invention’s scope to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms within the scope of the invention. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but merely as a representative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and use the present invention. It is thus to be understood that this invention is not limited to particularly exemplified structures, components, methods, or uses, as such may, of course, vary. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of regions may be exaggerated for clarity. The drawings are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of components or parts. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is to describe embodiments of the invention only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Similarly, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”, “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected, or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and the like, are used as a relative reference to any other part of the invention, in order to adequately explain and identify the particular details of the invention, and that such terms may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions and/or sections, these elements, components, regions and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, or section from another element, component, region, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention. Furthermore, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature’s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below”, or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented or subjected to a rotation in each orientation, and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It should be understood that the size of the holder and its components may increase or decrease relative to the size of the held utility upon which the device is used or intended to be used.
A top view of an embodiment of the tool holder 10 according to the invention is shown in
As illustrated in
More specific details of the handle 14 are illustrated, for instance, in
The flange 16 has an internal flat surface 16b and an external flat surface 16a. A first engagement unit, 17, is located at the internal section 16a of said flange 16. Said first engagement unit 17 comprises a circular protuberance 38 having multiple wedges 40 arranged radially and in an alternate manner on top of said circular protuberance 38. In other words, there is a wedge-shaped recess 41 between each one of the radially distributed wedges 40. The circular protuberance 38 comprises an aperture 18 that extends through the internal surface 16a to the external surface 16b.
Interconnecting unit 21, illustrated in
Interconnecting unit 21 also comprises a second engagement unit 22, which is located on the internal surface 45a of said first oval section 21a of the main body of interconnecting unit 21, and a third engagement unit 23, located on the internal surface 45b of the second oval section 21b. The second engagement unit 22 comprises a circular protuberance 42, having multiple wedges 43 arranged radially and in an alternate manner on top of said circular protuberance 42; in other words, there is a series of wedge-shaped indentations or recesses 44, radially and alternately distributed between each one of the radially distributed wedges 43. Aperture 25 is located at the center of the circular protuberance 42, as illustrated particularly in
Similarly, the third engagement unit 23 comprises a circular protuberance 46, having multiple wedges 47 arranged radially and alternately on top of said circular protuberance 46. In other words, there is a wedge-shaped indentation or recess 48 between each one of the radially distributed wedges 47. As illustrated more particularly in
As illustrated, particularly in
Regarding supporting base 28, and as illustrated especially in
Furthermore, supporting base 28 includes a fourth engagement unit 29, located near the proximal end 34a of its internal surface 28a. Said fourth engagement unit 29 comprises a circular protuberance 52, having multiple wedges 53 arranged radially and in an alternate manner on top of said circular protuberance 52; in other words, there is a wedge-shaped indentation or recess 54 between each one of the radially distributed wedges 53. As illustrated more particularly in
The first engaging unit 17 is intended to be coupled or matched to the second engaging unit 22, as suggested in
Since wedges 40 and 43 are identical and recess 41 and 44, the coupling point may be performed positioning any of the wedges 40 of the first engaging unit 17 with any of the recesses 44 of the engaging unit 22 in any possible combination. In other words, the internal gear or coupling point 55 may be assembled in multiple and predetermined combinations by rotating any of the engaging units 17 and or 22, selecting the desired position of said engaging units, and further inserting the resulting wedges-recess combination, thus assembling an internal gear. Consequently, handle 14, bearing the first engaging unit 17, and interconnecting unit 21, bearing the second engaging unit 22, may be coupled in multiple positions with respect to one another at the worker’s will.
Once the engaging units 17 and 22 are coupled, the apertures 18 at the center of the circular protuberances 38 of the engaging unit 17 and aperture 25 on circular protuberance 42 of interconnecting unit 21 are superimposed or overlapped, forming a single and continuous channel; thus, said coupling 55 may be further secured by inserting straight screw 20 into said single-channel and further securing said straight screw 20 by inserting and tightening on its end section the butterfly wings nut 19. Socket 24 on external surface 50a of the first oval section 21a of interconnecting unit 21 is a hexagonal socket designed or intended to receive the head of the straight screw 20. In this manner, the coupled engaging units 17 and 22 are firmly secured; consequently, handle 14, and interconnecting unit 21 are firmly non permanently assembled in the selected and predetermined relative positions.
The exact process for coupling first engaging unit 17 with second engaging unit 22 is performed in order to couple third engaging unit 23 with the fourth engaging unit 29. Such assembling of the interconnecting unit 21 to the supporting base 28 may be made in any desired or predetermined relative position, and a non-permanent manner since loosening up the corresponding winged nuts and removing the straight screws will undo such couplings. For instance, as suggested in
Once tool holder 10 is assembled in a predetermined straight or angled manner at the convenience of the worker, a given functional or useful article or utensil, conventionally used in a given or predetermined work or human activity may be positioned and clamped to the internal surface 28a of the supporting section 28 using, for example, U-shaped screws 36 and 37 and butterfly wings nuts 32a-32d. As examples of the multiple utensils suitable to be held in the tool holder 10 and without excluding others; in
In
The worker, however, has the alternative to easily reposition said bristles in multiple angled positions to the left or the right sides with reference to the handle 14 by simply keeping the first coupling point 55 in the same position as illustrated in
On the other hand, by doing the opposite: keeping the second coupling point 56, in other words, keeping the supporting base 28 and the interconnecting unit 21 coupled as illustrated in
Furthermore, supporting base 28 may be positioned in even more multiple angled positions by, for instance, recoupling and setting coupling point 55 and further maintaining the given position of the coupling point 56, or vice versa. In this manner, for instance, the supporting base 28 may be positioned at any of the multiple angled positions along the X-X axis or Y-Y axis.
Even further, as illustrated in
Similarly,
In
Similarly, since utensils commonly used in maintenance activities of objects, walls, and ceilings- such as brooms, brushes, feather duster, and the like- may also be firmly and securely clamped and held to the tool holder 10, it is also highly convenient in the regular maintenance activities of objects installed in high or difficult to reach areas and/or in angled positions; likewise, it may be used in maintenance activities, such as removal of dust and cobwebs on high ceilings, high walls, and similar areas, cleaning of fans, air conditioning, lamps and chandeliers installed in high places or in areas difficult to reach.
Finally, while the present invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, in both summarized and detailed forms, it will be understood that many substitutions, changes, and variations in the described embodiments, applications, and details of the novel tool illustrated herein and of its operation can be made by those skilled in the art to adapt it to various usages and conditions, without departing from the spirit of this invention. As such, these changes and modifications are properly, equitably, and intended to be within the full range of equivalence of the following. While the invention has been described in conjunction with some embodiments, it is to be understood that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art considering the preceding description. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
