Claims
- 1. A drive adaptor, for use together with a hand tool having a pair of handles and a pair of jaws to drive a tool bit, the adaptor comprising:
(a) a drive plate having a driving end and an oppositely located driven end adapted to be mated with said hand tool having a pair of handles and a pair of jaws, said driven end including a pair of spaced-apart fork arms defining, between said fork arms, an open and substantially unobstructed jaw-receiving throat configured to be able to receive a portion of said hand tool removably in said throat, whereby respective portions of said jaws can be located removably in said throat between said fork arms and said drive plate can be driven by said hand tool; and (b) a separate tool bit-engaging member attached to and extending away from said driving end of said drive plate, said tool bit-engaging member defining a socket.
- 2. The drive adaptor of claim 1, each of said fork arms including a tool handle-engaging surface and having an inner, jaw-engaging surface facing toward the other of said fork arms.
- 3. The drive adaptor of claim 1 wherein said pair of fork arms are spaced apart from each other far enough to receive a tool jaw therebetween, and wherein one of said fork arms includes a pair of opposite spacer surfaces located appropriately to engage a pair of handles of said hand tool when said adaptor is used with said hand tool.
- 4. The drive adaptor of claim 1 wherein said tool bit-engaging member is movable between an in-line position and an angled position and is held in a selected one of said positions by a normally-engaged locking mechanism.
- 5. The drive adaptor of claim 4, including a collar surrounding said tool bit-engaging member, said collar being interconnected with said locking mechanism and being movable axially along said tool bit-engaging member so as to release said locking mechanism.
- 6. The drive adapter of claim 1 wherein said tool bit-engaging member defines a pair of legs receiving said driving end of said drive plate between them, said tool bit-engaging member being attached to said drive plate by a pivot pin extending through said legs and said drive plate, wherein said drive plate defines a plurality of notches adjacent said driving end thereof, each establishing an available position of said tool bit-engaging member.
- 7. The drive adapter of claim 1, including a notch-engaging tooth located between said legs of said tool bit-engaging member, and a collar surrounding said tool bit-engaging member and interconnected with said notch-engaging tooth so as to move said tooth into and out of engagement with a selected one of said notches.
- 8. A locking mechanism for holding a pair of members of a hand tool in a desired orientation with respect to each other, comprising:
(a) a first member defining a pivot axis and having a margin defining at least two notches located respectively at different angles about said pivot axis; (b) a second member attached to said first member and movable about said pivot axis with respect to said first member, said second member having a pair of opposite ends, a first of said ends defining a slot and said second end thereof including a tool bit-engaging device; (c) a locking member including a locking tooth engageable with a selected one of said notches, said locking member being movably disposed in said slot; (d) a spring located within said second member urging said locking member along said slot toward said first member and thereby urging said locking tooth into engagement with said selected one of said notches; and (e) a collar disposed about said second member and movable therealong in a direction parallel with said slot, said collar being connected with said locking member so as to move as a unit with said locking member along said slot, whereby movement of said collar away from said pivot axis can disengage said locking tooth from said selected one of said notches to permit said second member to be pivoted about said pivot axis to a different angle with respect to said first member.
- 9. The locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein said second member has a pair of legs defining said slot between them, and wherein said margin of said first member extends into said slot.
- 10. The locking mechanism of claim 8 wherein a part of said second member is generally cylindrical and said collar is disposed about and movable along said cylindrical part.
- 11. A drive adaptor, for use together with a hand tool having a pair of handles and a pair of jaws to drive a tool bit, the adaptor comprising:
(a) a drive plate having a driving end and an oppositely located driven end adapted to be mated with said hand tool having a pair of handles and a pair of jaws, said driven end including a pair of spaced-apart fork arms defining, between said fork arms, an open and substantially unobstructed jaw-receiving throat configured to receive respective portions of said jaws removably in said throat between said fork arms whereby said drive plate can be driven by said hand tool; and (b) a tool bit-engaging member in the form of a separate piece attached to said driving end of said drive plate by a mechanical fastener and extending away from said drive plate, said tool bit-engaging member defining a socket.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/459,742, filed Dec. 10, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/785,525, filed Jan. 17, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,080.
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09459742 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09952494 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Parent |
08785525 |
Jan 1997 |
US |
Child |
09459742 |
Dec 1999 |
US |