Patent Application
20070199975
The present invention relates generally to a cartridge type soldering iron, and in particular to a cartridge type soldering iron having a sleeve assembly and a socket assembly which couple with each other in a locking position.
A cartridge type soldering iron of the type at issue here has a releasable and replaceable tip cartridge. For example, a cartridge type soldering iron is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,501 issued to Cowell. Cowell discloses a cartridge type soldering iron which has a hollow cylindrical handle, incorporating an internal coaxial socket assembly, a connection to a power supply, and a cartridge housing support, and a soldering tip, a heater assembly, a tubular housing and a coaxial socket assembly. Another is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,710,304 to Yokoo, entitled cartridge type soldering iron with a releasable and replaceable handle.
A cartridge type soldering iron according to the present invention provides a sleeve, a sleeve stopper, a tip cartridge and a socket assembly. The sleeve stopper has a stop and when it is inserted into the sleeve, the sleeve abuts the stop. The sleeve stopper is fixed with respect to the tip cartridge by a tip retaining mechanism provided on the tip cartridge. A socket assembly of the soldering iron defines apertures with which the hooks of the sleeve stopper respectively engage so that the sleeve stopper and the socket assembly are fixed with respect to each other.
The sleeve can be of any color and can have a circular, hexagonal or polygonal circumference, although its shape can vary as long as it is easy to grip and functions well as a sleeve. The sleeve is made of a non-slip material for an easy and accurate grip and generally non-heat conducting for protection of a user's fingers.
The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A detailed description of exemplary embodiments according to the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
This description is not to be taken in a limited sense, but is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention. The section titles and overall organization of the present detailed description are for the purpose of convenience only and are not intended to limit the present invention.
In the hexagonal sleeve 1 of
In the embodiments of the present invention shown here, the sleeves 1 and 16 are made of polypropylene. The sleeves 1 and 16 may also be made of a variety of materials that are known to those skilled in the art. These materials include rubber, elastomer and polyolefin and other plastics. Further, an anti-static material and/or an anti-microbial material may be added. Additionally, instead of polypropylene, cork can be used in its place.
The sleeve stopper 21 may be made from an insulating material, for instance, if the heat conduction is such that the sleeve stopper area gets hot from the heat of the tip. The stop 27 of the sleeve stopper 21 may be made from a temperature-sensitive material so that as the soldering iron tip heats up, it indicates to the user of its readiness or burn risk depending on a degree of temperature sensitivity by changing color.
Next, the sleeve stopper 21 is locked with the socket assembly 70 in a following manner. As described above, the sleeve stopper 21 according to the present invention is provided with a pair of hooks 24. When the sleeve assembly composed of the sleeve stopper 21 and the sleeve 1 holds the tip cartridge 35, and the whole combination is inserted into the socket assembly 70, the hook ends 23 slidably lock with the apertures 40 of the socket assembly 70. A cross sectional view of the assembled soldering iron is shown in
The socket assembly 70 has a plug (not shown) at the end of an electrical cord 80 to connect to the power source.
In prior art systems, a socket assembly sometimes comes apart from the rest of the soldering iron. Such disconnection is caused by insufficient fastening or coupling between the socket assembly and the rest of the cartridge type soldering iron. This results because the tip cartridge by itself or together with the rest of the cartridge type soldering iron are simply inserted into the socket assembly and has insufficient mechanical hold onto the socket assembly.
Unlike those types of cartridge type soldering irons, the soldering iron according to the present invention provides a firm, sturdy mechanical coupling between the sleeve assembly on one hand and the socket assembly on the other, through the above-described provision of the locking mechanism. Therefore, the entire cartridge type soldering iron can stay together, and at the same time, the assembly of the tip cartridge with the sleeve stopper and the sleeve may easily replaced.
The cartridge soldering iron of the present invention is easy to use because the locking mechanism is located above the sleeve 1 and out of the way of the grip. Its parts such as the buttons 24a, hook tips 23 are very small and almost flush with the rest of the longitudinal covered surface of the soldering iron.
The practical embodiments described herein are mere examples for illustrating the art of the invention, and the invention is not limited to the foregoing examples alone but should be interpreted in a wider sense including the changes and modifications falling within the scope and spirit of the invention as well as the descriptions in the claims.
