Patent Application
20240208033
I hereby claim the benefit under 35 U.S.C., Section 120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/085,956 filed Dec. 21, 2022.
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(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The disclosure relates to extension apparatuses and more particularly pertains to a new extension apparatus for extending an effective length of a wrench to provide greater leverage when operating the wrench.
The prior art discloses various means of extending a grip for a wrench to improve the leverage of the same. However, the prior art fails to describe an apparatus that receives a wrench into a channel by inserting the wrench sideways into the channel and then twisting the wrench into an operation position.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising an elongated member with a first end and a second end. The elongated member defines a channel therein which is open on the first end and has a size for partially containing a wrench. The elongated member has an opening with a size such that the opening is may receive the wrench into the channel. The opening has a first end portion, a second end portion, and a central portion. The first end portion of the opening extends from the first end of the elongated member toward the second end of the elongated member along a first side of the elongated member. The central portion of the opening extends from the first end portion around the elongated member to a second side of the elongated member opposite the first side. The second end portion of the opening extends from the central portion toward the second end of the elongated member. The opening is shaped to facilitate insertion of a central section of the wrench through the central portion of the opening and thereafter facilitate insertion of opposing end sections of the wrench through respective ones of the first end portion and the second end portion of the opening.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The opening 24 has a first end portion 26, a second end portion 28, and a central portion 30. The first end portion 26 of the opening 24 extends from the first end 14 of the elongated member 12 toward the second end 16 of the elongated member 12 along a first side 32 of the elongated member 12. The central portion 30 of the opening 24 extends from the first end portion 26 around the elongated member 12 to a second side 34 of the elongated member 12 opposite the first side 32. The second end portion 28 of the opening 24 extends from the central portion 30 toward the second end 16 of the elongated member 12. The central portion 30 is oriented to form an acute angle with a central longitudinal axis of the elongated member 12. The opening 24 is shaped such that the opening 24 is configured to facilitate insertion of a central section 78 of the wrench 76 through the central portion 30 of the opening 24 and thereafter facilitate insertion of opposing end sections 80 of the wrench 76 through respective ones of the first end portion 26 and the second end portion 28 of the opening 24.
The central portion 30 of the opening 24 is positioned closer to the first end 14 of the elongated member 12 than the second end 16, and the second end portion 28 of the opening 24 is longer than the first end portion 26. The elongated member 12 also has a mounting hole 36 extending into the elongated member 12 adjacent to the second end 16 which is sized to receive a hook 84 to hang the elongated member 12 on the hook 84.
Referring to
Referring to
The central portion 30 of the opening 24 of this other embodiment has a first boundary surface 62 and a second boundary surface 64. The first boundary surface 62 is joined to the first bounding surface 54 of the first end portion 26 of the opening 24 at a junction of the central portion 30 and the first end portion 26. The second boundary surface 64 is joined to the second bounding surface 56 of the first end portion 26 of the opening 24 at the junction of the central portion 30 and the first end portion 26. The second end portion 28 of the opening 24 has a first delimiting surface 66 and a second delimiting surface 68, wherein the first delimiting surface 66 extends from the first boundary surface 62 of the central portion 30 of the opening 24 to a terminal end 70 of the second end portion 28 of the opening 24. The second delimiting surface 68 has a longitudinal segment 72 and a transverse segment 74, wherein the longitudinal segment 72 extends longitudinally with respect to the elongated member 12 from the terminal end 70 of the second end portion 28 to the central portion 30 and the transverse segment 74 is oriented perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal segment 72.
In use, the wrench 76 is inserted into the channel 18 as described above. The opening 24 of either embodiment described is shaped to insert the wrench 76 in two stages. First, the central section 78 of the wrench 76 is inserted into the channel 18 through the central portion 30 of the opening 24 of the elongated member 12. Second, the wrench 76 is twisted to insert the opposing end portions of the wrench 76 through the first end portion 26 and the second end portion 28 of the opening 24. The shape of the opening 24 facilitates a more ergonomic insertion of the wrench 76 than in similar designs wherein the opening 24 is curved such that the wrench 76 must be simultaneously inserted and twisted. After inserting the wrench 76 in this manner, the wrench 76 extends out of the channel 18 through the first end 14 of the extension member. The wrench 76 is positioned around a rotatable member 82 such as a bolt, and the extension member is gripped and rotated to cause the wrench 76 to rotate the rotatable member 82.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18085956 | Dec 2022 | US |
| Child | 18234451 | US |
