Wrench set

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6698318
  • Patent Number
    6,698,318
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, May 22, 2001
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 2, 2004
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Smith; James G.
    Agents
    • Wood, Herron and Evans, L.L.P.
Abstract
A wrench set includes a hollow body containing a tray. The tray includes a plurality of different size wrench heads held in a nesting relationship within said tray. The tray is easily removed from the hollow interior allowing a wrench head to be removed. Each wrench head is adapted to fit at the end of said hollow handle to permit its use and then can be returned to its tray and held within the hollow handle to provide a complete wrench set taking up minimal space.
Description




BACKGROUND




Wrench sets generally include a plurality of wrenches with each wrench having a separate handle and a separate head. The heads are sized to engage different sized nuts or bolts. This takes up a large amount of space that is not a problem in many situations. However there are certain situations in which this is undesirable. In turn, a pair of pliers or an adjustable wrench is frequently substituted for the proper wrench. These are not as effective in engaging the head of a nut since there is generally some play in between the head of the nut and the head of the adjustable wrench or pliers. In particular, the pliers tend to strip the head of the nut.




Accordingly it is desirable to provide a compact wrench set.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is premised on the realization that a compact wrench set can be formed having a hollowed tapered handle with a plurality of different sized wrench heads within the hollow body of the wrench. More particularly the different size wrench heads can be held within the hollow interior or a wrench handle with the wrench heads nested upon each other and preferably held within a molded plastic tray which keeps all of the wrench heads together and easily available for use.




The objects and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated in light of the following detailed description and drawings in which:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view taken at lines


2





2


of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is an exploded perspective view of the wrench set of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




As shown in

FIG. 1

, the present invention is a wrench set


10


which includes a tapered body or handle


12


having a hollow interior


14


which is rectangular in cross-section. Within the hollow interior


14


is a plurality of different size wrench heads


16


-


28


.




The wrench heads are respectively held in a molded plastic tray


30


.




The body


12


has a front opening


32


which leads into a rectangular passage


34


leading in to the hollow interior


14


of body


12


. A detent or ball


38


is located within a wall


36


in the rectangular opening


34


.




Each of the wrench heads


16


-


28


is a typical wrench head with the smallest wrench head


16


and the largest wrench head


28


and the remaining wrench heads having sizes adjusted there between. Each wrench head has a semicircular portion


40


and an opening


42


adapted to receive the head of a nut. Further, each wrench head includes a square stub


44


. Each of these square stubs includes a pair of grooves


46


which are adapted to be engaged by the ball or detent


38


.




Tray


30


includes a bottom wall


48


and a raised portion


49


that extends above the wall


48


. The raised portion has a plurality of indented areas


56


-


68


which mate respectively with wrench heads


16


-


28


. The tray further includes two side portions


70


and


72


. At each indentation


56


-


68


there are an openings


74


and


76


through sides


70


and


72


respectively which permit one to grasp the semicircular portion


40


of each wrench head and to remove it.




The tray


30


further includes outwardly extended tabs


78


and


80


which are adapted to extend through openings


82


and


84


in the side walls


83


and


85


of body


12


. The tray further includes a backwall


86


which engages a back edge


88


of the body


12


.




In use, the different wrench heads are placed within the tray


30


, the stub portion


44


of the smallest wrench


16


head nests in the open portion


42


of the next smallest wrench head


18


, and each subsequent wrench head nests in the same manner. This reduces the overall required size of the handle. To be used, one simply presses the tabs


78


and


80


inwardly and pulls the tray


30


from the hollow interior


14


. A wrench head is selected from the tray and with its stub pushed into channel


34


with the groove


46


engaging ball


38


. Ball


38


is designed to move slightly and can be spring based if desired. The wrench handle can then be grasped and is ready to be used. The wrench handle is relatively narrow and rectangular although it can be if desired rounded to provide a different feel or grasp. When the wrench head is no longer needed, it is placed back in its indented area in the tray and the tray placed back into the hollow interior. Thus, this keeps the entire wrench set together and takes a minimal amount of space.




This has been a description of the present invention along with the preferred method of practicing the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A wrench set comprisinga wrench body; said wrench body having a hollow interior and an exterior wall; a plurality of wrench heads each having a different size opening adapted to engage different size nuts or bolt heads; each head being generally flat and having a stub; said wrench body having an opening adapted to engage said stub; and a plurality of said wrench heads positioned in said hollow interior arranged according to size.
  • 2. A wrench set comprisinga tapered wrench body; said wrench body having a hollow interior and an exterior wall; a plurality of wrench heads each having a different size opening adapted to engage different size nuts or bolt heads; each head having a stub; said wrench body having an opening adapted to engage said stub; and said wrench heads nested in said hollow interior arranged according to size, with the stub of a first wrench head nested in the opening of the next adjacent wrench head.
  • 3. The wrench set claimed in claim 1 wherein said stub has a rectangular cross-section.
  • 4. The wrench set claimed in claim 1 wherein said wrench heads are nested in a tray adapted to slide into an opening of said wrench into said hollow interior.
  • 5. The wrench set claimed in claim 3 wherein said wrench body has a rectangular interior cross-section.
  • 6. The wrench set claimed in claim 5 wherein said wrench heads are nested in a tray adapted to fit within said hollow interior, said tray having first and second tabs adapted to engage first and second openings within said hollow body to thereby permit said tray to be retained within said body and to permit easy removal of said tray.
  • 7. The wrench set claimed in claim 6 wherein said tray has first and second side walls and a plurality of separate indentations adapted to hold wrench heads and wherein each of said separate indentations has openings through said side walls permitting one to grasp side edges of the wrench heads.
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Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry
American Hardware Manufacturers Association, 1999 New Product Exposition Directory, Aug. 15-18, p. 28, Dess Industrial Co., Ltd., Booth 31807.