The present invention relates to hand tools and particularly to hand tools having an indicia or marking used to identify the particular type of tool. More specifically, the invention relates to indicia located on a protected surface of one or more handles of a hand tool having at least two handles. This positioning of the indicia allows recognition of the type of tool and prevents abrasion of the indicator.
Professional tradespeople such as electricians often carry a plurality of hand tools in a container such as a tool belt, tool pouch or tool carrier. Typically the tools are disposed in the container with a handle end of the tool protruding from the container and a head end or working end inserted into the container. Thus, the handle ends of the tools are exposed and visible while the head ends are concealed. Tools having different working ends often have the same or similar handle ends. For example, electricians may use linesman's pliers, needle nose pliers, standard pliers, slip joint pliers, wire cutters, crimpers and various styles of wire strippers, all of which have markedly different working ends but similar handle ends. When a plurality of tools of this type are stored in a tool belt, pouch or carrier with the handles extending therefrom, it becomes difficult to select the desired tool from among them without undue guesswork.
It is known to provide markers or indicia on a tool handle to indicate the type of tool head. U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,707 shows one example of how this can be done with screwdrivers and pliers. The primary approach in that patent is to apply the indicia on the butt end of the tool handle, although it also shows indicia on exposed sides of the handles of a pair of pliers. In this location the indicia are susceptible to wear and abrasion and they can be obscured by adjacent tools in the container.
Therefore, there is a need for an identifier for tools that have more than one handle, which aptly indicates the type of tool without being susceptible to being abraded or covered up. In accordance with this need, the present invention overcomes the prior deficiencies by placing an indicia on a protected surface of at least one of the tool handles of a two-handle tool.
The handles of a linesman's pliers are shown in
Handle 10 has a first planar surface 18 while handle 12 has a similar first planar surface 20. These two surfaces are usually substantially coplanar. Although they are not visible in
An indicia or marking 26 is placed on at least one of the protected surfaces of the tool. The indicia can be formed in a variety of suitable ways. Examples are printing, painting, embossing, engraving, double shot molding or using a decal. The method of forming the indicia is not a part of the present invention. What is important is its location on the protected surface of the pliers. One form of the indicia is the graphical representation shown at 26 in
An alternative indicia is shown at 28 in
While a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be realized that alterations and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the following claims.