Patent Application
20250058443
The present invention relates to a spacer between a rim of a wheel of a vehicle and an axle and, more particularly, to a tool for removing a screw from a rim and interconnecting the same.
A typical car includes two front wheels and two rear wheels. Each of the front and rear wheels is provided with a spacer. The spacers provide room for brakes.
Referring to
In maintenance, a mechanic swings a hammer 87 to hit the threaded section of one of the screws 82 to remove the ridged section of the same from the corresponding aperture 81. Thus, the ridged section of a new screw 82 can be fitted in the corresponding aperture 81. However, the use of the hammer to hit the threaded section of such a screw is not precise and might damage the spacer 80. Moreover, the use of the hammer to hit the threaded section of such a screw to remove such a screw is inefficient.
An installing unit can be used to connect the new screw 82 to the spacer 80. The installing unit includes a bearing module and a nut. In use, the bearing module is in contact with the external side of the spacer 80. The threaded section of the new screw 82 is extended through the corresponding aperture 81 from the internal side of the spacer 80. The nut is engaged with the threaded section of the new screw 82. The nut is rotated relative to the threaded section of the new screw 82 to insert the ridged section of the same deep into the corresponding aperture 81 toward the external side of the spacer 80 from the internal side of the spacer 80. Finally, the flange of the new screw 82 is in contact with the internal side of the spacer 80. The bearing module allows smooth rotation of the nut relative to the spacer 80.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in the prior art.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a precise and efficient tool for removing a screw from a spacer and connecting the screw to the spacer.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the tool includes a nut and a bearing module. The nut is engageable with a screw connected to a spacer to allow a hammer to hit the nut to remove the screw from the spacer. The bearing middle is located between the nut and the spacer to allow smooth rotation of the nut relative to the screw to extend the screw through the spacer, thereby connecting the screw to the spacer.
Other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description referring to the attached drawings.
The present invention will be described via detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment referring to the drawings wherein:
Referring to
In use, the flange 83 of each of the screws 82 is in contact with an internal side (not shown) of the spacer 80, the ridged section 84 is fitted in a corresponding one of the apertures 81, and the reduced section 85 and the threaded section 86 are located on an external side of the spacer 80. The ridged section 84 of each of the screws 82 prevents the screw 82 from rotation relative to the spacer 80.
Referring to
Referring to
The nut 11 includes a polygonal section 12, an enlarged section 13, a reduced section 14, a screw hole 15 and a bore 16. The polygonal section 12 is formed at a first end of the nut 11. The polygonal section 12 is made with a diagonal considerably larger than a diameter of the screw 82 so that it is much easier to use a hammer to hit the polygonal section 12 of the nut 11 than hit an end of the screw 82. Preferably, the polygonal section 12 is a hexagonal section. The bore 16 is made in the first end of the nut 11. The reduced section 14 is formed at a second end of the nut 11. The screw hole 15 is made in the second end of the nut 11. The enlarged section 13 is formed between the polygonal section 12 and the reduced section 14. In diameter, the enlarged section 13 is larger than the reduced section 14. The polygonal section 12, the enlarged section 13, the reduced section 14, the screw hole 15 and the bore 16 extend along an axis 25 of the nut 11. Preferably, the screw hole 15 is in communication with the bore 16. In another embodiment, the screw hole 15 is separated from the bore 16.
The hammer 21 is part of an automatic tool. The automatic tool reciprocates the hammer 21 in operation. The hammer 21 includes a rod 22 at an end, an insert 24 at another end, and an enlarged section 23 between the rod 22 and the insert 24. Such automatic tools can be seen in Taiwanese Patent Nos. M534076 and I453098 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,962,211, 7,523,791 and 7,886,838.
The nut 11 is engaged with the screw 82, i.e., the screw hole 15 of the nut 11 receives the threaded section 86 of the screw 82. The insert 24 is inserted in the bore 16. The enlarged section 23 of the hammer 21 is abutted against the polygonal section 12 of the nut 11. The automatic tool is turned on to drive the enlarged section 23 of the hammer 21 to repeatedly hit the polygonal section 12 of the nut 11 in a direction indicated with an arrow head 26, thereby removing the ridged section 84 of the screw 82 from the corresponding aperture 81, i.e., removing the screw 82 from the spacer 80 in a direction as indicated with an arrow head 27. Then, the nut 11 is disengaged from the screw 82.
As described above, the nut 11 is an intermediate element between the screw 82 and the hammer 21 of the automatic tool. The automatic tool is operable to drive the hammer 21 to precisely and efficiently hit the screw 82 via the nut 11.
Referring to
The bearing 40 is inserted in the chamber 36. Preferably, the bearing 40 is a ball bearing.
A clip 41 is used to keep the bearing 40 in the chamber 36. To this end, an external portion of the clip 41 is inserted in a groove (not numbered) in a wall extending around the chamber 36, and an internal annular portion of the clip 41 is abutted against the bearing 40. Preferably, the clip 41 is a C-clip.
To connect the screw 82 to the spacer 80, i.e., to insert the ridged section 84 of the screw 82 in the apertures 81 of the spacer 80, the threaded section 86 is extended through the aperture 81. The threaded section 86 is extended through the bearing 40, which is kept in the shell 32. The nut 11 is engaged with screw 82, i.e., the screw hole 15 of the former receives the threaded section 86 of the latter. In a direction indicated by an arrow head 51, the nut 11 is rotated relative to the screw 82, which is not allowed to spin relative to the spacer 80 due to adequate friction between the ridged section 84 of the screw 82 and a wall of the aperture 81. Thus, the ridged section 84 of the screw 82 is moved into the aperture 81 in a direction indicated by an arrow head 52. The bearing module 31 is operable to render the rotation of the nut 11 relative to the screw 82 and the spacer 80 smooth. The reduced section 14 of the nut 11 is inserted in a central aperture (not numbered) made in the bearing 40. Finally, the ridged section 84 of the screw 82 is located in the aperture 81 of the spacer 80. The reduced section 85 of the screw 82 is located in the aperture 35 of the shell 32. The threaded section 86 of the screw 82 is inserted in the screw hole 15 of the nut 11. The reduced section 14 of the nut 11 is inserted in the bearing 40. The flange 83 is in contact with the internal side of the spacer 80.
To rotate the nut 11 relative to the screw 82, a wrench (not shown) is engaged with the polygonal section 12 of the nut 11. The wrench is a socket wrench, a box-ended wrench, an open-ended wrench or a monkey wrench for example.
The present invention has been described via the illustration of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the preferred embodiment shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims.
