Patent Application
20220297277
The present disclosure generally relates to a hammer-cap fastener.
A hammer may include a handle and a head attached to an end of the handle. A hammer head may include one or more hammer caps. For example, the hammer may include a first hammer cap at a first end of the head having a circular cross-section and a second hammer cap at a second end of the head having a rectangular cross-section. Hammer caps may include various geometries and/or be made of various materials depending on a situation in which the hammer may be used.
Use of the conventional bolt 100 to fasten the hammer cap to the hammer head leads to various disadvantages. The geometry of the saddle head 110 is difficult to cast, resulting in high material costs relative to flatter geometries because of the increased surface area and volume of the saddle geometry relative to prism-shaped designs. The bolt 100 may not sufficiently contact the hammer cap and/or the hammer head such that repeated use of the hammer incorporating the bolt 100 causes the bolt 100 to strip out an interior of the hammer cap and/or the hammer head. Stripping out of the hammer cap and/or the hammer head eventually causes the bolt 100 to fail to contact the hammer cap and/or the hammer head and leads to the hammer cap disconnecting from the hammer head in such a way that the hammer cap and/or the hammer head must be replaced.
The subject matter claimed in the present disclosure is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described in the present disclosure may be practiced.
According to an aspect of an embodiment, a hammer-cap fastener may include a fastener head. The fastener head may include one or more beveled edges along a lateral surface of the fastener head. The hammer-cap fastener may include a threaded body having a first end coupled to the fastener head. The hammer-cap fastener may include a ring circumscribing the first end of the threaded body such that the ring is positioned flush against the fastener head. The ring may include a first surface positioned flush against the fastener head and a second surface through which the threaded body extends, the first surface of the ring having a larger area than the second surface of the ring. The first surface and the second surface of the ring may be connected by a sloped lateral surface. The hammer-cap fastener may couple a hammer cap to a hammer head.
The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized and achieved at least by the elements, features, and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Example embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the accompanying drawings in which:
A hammer cap may be coupled to a hammer head in various ways. A hammer cap may be included as a continuous part of the hammer head by including the hammer cap in a die cut of the hammer head when the hammer head is forged. The hammer cap included in the die cut of the hammer head may be unremovable from the hammer head.
Different hammer caps may be more suitable for different applications. For example, a claw hammer including a first hammer cap at a first end of the claw hammer having a circular cross-section and a second hammer cap at a second end of the claw hammer having a tapered profile split in the middle of the second hammer cap may be effective in carpentry applications where the hammer is used to install and/or remove nails. As another example, a mallet including one or more hammer caps having larger surface areas and/or softer materials such as rubber or wood may be effective for various purposes, such as machining and/or food processing.
A user may use different hammers for different purpose. However, it may be undesirable for the user to own and/or carry a hammer for each occasion. As such, a hammer may include interchangeable hammer caps attachable to one or both ends of an interchanging hammer head. Each of the interchangeable hammer caps may include a first end capable of interfacing with the interchanging hammer head and a second striking end. For example, a given interchanging hammer head may include a hexagonal socket, and a given interchangeable hammer cap may include a first hexagonal end capable of interfacing with the hexagonal socket of the given interchanging hammer head. A second end of the given interchangeable hammer cap may include a large circular cross-section such that the given interchanging hammer including the given interchangeable hammer cap may function as a mallet.
The present disclosure relates to, among other things, a hammer-cap fastener capable of securing the hammer cap to the hammer head. The hammer-cap fastener may include a fastener head, which may be fixed to the hammer cap. In some embodiments, the fastener head may include one or more beveled edges. A ring positioned below the fastener head may be interposed between the fastener head and a threaded body of the hammer-cap fastener.
The hammer-cap fastener according to the present disclosure may present one or more advantages over other fasteners used to secure the hammer cap to the hammer head. The hammer-cap fastener may include a cross-sectional geometry that may be manufactured using less material such that the hammer-cap fastener is cheaper to produce. Additionally or alternatively, the hammer-cap fastener may not strip out as quickly and/or as frequently as other fasteners.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are explained with reference to the accompanying figures.
In some embodiments, the hammer-cap fastener 200 may include a fastener head 210 having an apothem length (the length from a midpoint of an edge of the fastener head 210 to a center of the fastener head 210) ranging from 0.40 inches to 0.60 inches. In these and other embodiments, the fastener head 210 may include a thickness ranging from 0.10 inches to 0.15 inches. In these and other embodiments, the first surface of the ring 220 may include a thickness ranging from 0.04 inches to 0.07 inches. In these and other embodiments, the threaded body 230 of the hammer-cap fastener 200 may include a length ranging from 0.5 inches to 0.8 inches such that a length of the entire hammer-cap fastener 200 may range from approximately 0.60 inches to 1.10 inches.
Terms used in the present disclosure and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open terms” (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limited to.”).
Additionally, if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.
In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is expressly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” or “one or more of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended to include A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B, and C together, etc.
Further, any disjunctive word or phrase preceding two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both of the terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
All examples and conditional language recited in the present disclosure are intended for pedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the present disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
