Two-axle tool

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6260452
  • Patent Number
    6,260,452
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, December 27, 2000
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 17, 2001
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Smith; James G.
    • Shakeri; Hadi
Abstract
A tool includes a shaft with a polygonal rod movably received therein and the polygonal rod has an engaging end. A connection member is pivotally connected to an end of the shaft and another polygonal rod movably extends through the connection member. Two engaging ends are connected to two ends of the polygonal rod connected to the connection member. Each engaging end is cooperated with a socket. The connection member is pivoted to let the two polygonal rods be located in parallel with each other.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a socket tool that has two axles pivotally connected to each other and each axle has an engaging end for connecting a socket. The two axles can be folded to be parallel with each other so as to be convenient for storage.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




A conventional socket tool generally includes a shaft has an engaging end so that sockets with different sizes can be connected to the engaging end for different purposes. In other words, the user may remove a first socket from the engaging end and put a second socket on to deal with different sized objects. However, the replacement of sockets takes time and the replaced sockets could get lost. Besides, because the engaging end of the tool can only cooperate with specific sockets so that if a large object is unfastened, the user has to use other tool which has a larger engaging end to cooperate with a large-size socket.




The present invention intends to provide a two-axle tool that can output a large torque and the two axles can be folded with each other so as to become a compact size.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tool and comprising a shaft having a polygonal recess in a first end thereof and a first shoulder is defined in an outer periphery of the first end. A sleeve is movably mounted to the first end of the shaft and a ball is received in a hole in the first end of the shaft and pressed by the sleeve. A slot is defined in a second end of the shaft and a connection member is pivotally engaged with the slot. A polygonal passage is defined through the connection member and a first polygonal rod is movably extending through the polygonal passage. Each one of two ends of the first polygonal rod has an engaging end. A second polygonal rod is movably received in the polygonal recess and has a plurality of dents defined in an outer surface thereof so that the ball is engaged with one of the dents. An engaging end is connected to an end of the polygonal rod.




The primary object of the present invention is to provide a tool that has two polygonal rods which can be positioned as a T-shaped tool, and the two polygonal rods have at least three engaging ends for connecting with sockets.




These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an exploded view to show a tool of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a cross sectional view to show the tool of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a cross sectional view to show the tool of the present invention wherein the second polygonal rod is extended from the shaft;





FIG. 4

is a cross sectional view to show the tool of the present invention wherein the first polygonal rod is located to an extreme position to make the tool as a L-shaped tool;





FIG. 5

is a cross sectional view to show the two polygonal rods are folded to be in parallel with each other;





FIG. 6

is an exploded view to show that the tool of the present invention can be cooperated with different types of bits and sockets.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIGS. 1

to


3


, the tool of the present invention comprises a shaft


30


having a polygonal recess


51


defined longitudinally in a first end


53


of the shaft


30


and a first shoulder


532


is defined in an outer periphery of the first end


53


. A first hole


531


is defined radially through the first end


53


and a first ball


54


is engaged with the first hole


531


. A groove


533


is defined in an outer periphery of the first end


53


of the shaft


30


so as to receive a C-shaped clamp


58


therein. A sleeve


56


has a groove


562


defined in an inner periphery thereof and a second shoulder


561


extends from the inner periphery of the sleeve


56


. The sleeve


56


is movably mounted to the first end


53


and a spring


57


is mounted to the first end


53


of the shaft


30


and engaged between the first shoulder


532


and the second shoulder


561


. The sleeve


56


is stopped by the C-shaped clamp


58


so as not to drop from the first end


53


of the shaft


30


.




A slot


31


is defined in a second end of the shaft


30


and a connection member


10


is pivotally engaged with the slot


31


. The connection member


10


has a plate


16


pivotally received in the slot


31


by a pin


32


and the plate


16


has a serrated periphery


161


. A first recess is defined in the second end of the shaft


30


and a ball


34


and a spring


33


are received in the first recess in the second end of the shaft


30


. The ball


34


is engaged with the serrated periphery


161


of the plate


16


to position the connection member


10


. A polygonal passage


11


is radially defined through the connection member


10


and a first polygonal rod


20


movably extends through the polygonal passage


11


. Each one of two ends of the first polygonal rod


20


has an engaging end


25


. Each engaging end


25


has a ball


251


extending therefrom and each end of each engaging end


25


has rounded periphery


21


so as to be easily engaged with a socket. Two protrusions


24


extend from two ends of the first polygonal rod


20


so as to prevent the first polygonal rod


20


from dropping from the polygonal passage


11


as shown in

FIG. 4. A

second recess is defined radially in an inner periphery of the polygonal passage


11


and a ball


14


and a spring


13


are received in the second recess. The second recess is machined by way of making a long passage


12


through the connection member


10


and the long passage


12


passes through the polygonal passage


11


. A end member


15


is then sealed the long passage


12


. A notch


22


is defined in a mediate position of the first polygonal rod


20


and can be engaged with the ball


14


in the second recess as shown in

FIGS. 2 and 3

.




A second polygonal rod


52


is movably received in the polygonal recess


51


and has a plurality of dents


520


are defined in an outer surface thereof an engaging end


55


is connected to an end of the polygonal rod


52


. The first ball


54


is engaged with one of the dents


520


to position the second polygonal rod


52


. As shown in

FIG. 2

, when pulling the sleeve


56


toward the connection member


10


, the first ball


54


is partially received in the groove


562


so that the second polygonal rod


52


can be moved in the polygonal recess


51


. When releasing the sleeve


56


, the sleeve


56


is moved back by the spring


57


and the first ball


54


is pressed by the inner periphery of the sleeve


56


to position the second polygonal rod


52


as shown in FIG.


3


. As shown in

FIG. 6

, each engaging end


55


,


25


can be cooperated with different types of bits


61


and sockets


62


. The first polygonal rod


20


can be used as an arm of force when using the second polygonal rod


52


, and vice versa. Therefore, the tool includes two axles which is convenient to be used in different situations.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, when the connection member


10


is pivoted to be perpendicular to the shaft


30


, the first polygonal rod


20


is located in parallel with the second polygonal rod


52


. By this way, the tool occupies a limit space and is convenient for storage.




While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A tool comprising:a shaft having a polygonal recess defined longitudinally in a first end of said shaft, a first shoulder defined in an outer periphery of said first end, a first hole defined radially through said first end and a first ball engaged with said first hole, a slot defined in a second end of said shaft and a connection member having a plate which is pivotally engaged with said slot, said plate having a serrated periphery, a first recess defined in said second end of said shaft and a ball and a spring received in said first recess in said second end of said shaft, said ball engaged with said serrated periphery of said plate, a polygonal passage defined radially through said connection member and a first polygonal rod movably extending through said polygonal passage, two protrusions extending from two ends of said first polygonal rod so as to prevent said first polygonal rod from dropping from said polygonal passage, each one of two ends of said first polygonal rod having an engaging end; a sleeve having a groove defined in an inner periphery thereof and a second shoulder extending from said inner periphery of said sleeve, said sleeve movably mounted to said first end, a spring mounted to said first end of said shaft and engaged between said first shoulder and said second shoulder, and a second polygonal rod movably received in said polygonal recess and having a plurality of dents defined in an outer surface thereof, said first ball engaged with one of said dents, an engaging end connected to an end of said polygonal rod.
  • 2. The tool as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a second recess defined radially in an inner periphery of said polygonal passage and a ball and a spring received in said second recess, a notch defined in said first polygonal rod and engaged with said ball in said second recess.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
198544 Kettlewell Dec 1877
2819637 Pierre Jan 1958
2963930 Clothier et al. Dec 1960
3416395 Hanson Dec 1968
4485702 Swan et al. Dec 1984
5515754 Elkins May 1996
5797300 Fairbanks Aug 1998
6044733 Liu Apr 2000
6145413 Lin Nov 2000