CARPENTER HAMMER

MARTEAU DE CHARPENTIER

English Abstract

A hammerhead made of tool steel and having in combination a pair of asymmetric
claws and
a magnetic nail holder, the holder being in the form of a T-shaped notch and a
permanent
magnet having a very high field intensity as compared to the conventional
permannet magnet.

Claims

I Claim:
1. A hammerhead having in combination a pair of asymmetric claws at one end
and a shank
portion having a magnetic nail holder:
a) said claws including a longer pointed claw and a shorter claw having a flat
end, said shorter
claw having a smaller surface area on its bottom, said claws defining a
beveled groove between
them,
b) said shank portion having a T- shaped notch with a notch portion extending
from a face of
said shank portion rearwardly thereof for such a distance as to accommodate
different size nails,
said notch portion terminating in a transverse section having a greater depth
than said notch
portion to accommodate a head of a nail, said head abutting against a wall of
said shank and a
length of said nail being firmly aligned in said notch, a cavity wider than
said notch and located
about midway of said face and said transverse section and below said notch, a
permanent
magnet that is inserted into said cavity, said magnet having a high energy
product expressed as
Mega Gauss Oersteds (MGOe) and an upper surface that is about flush with a
lower surface of
said notch,
c) said hammerhead being attached to a handle and a protection ring
surrounding said handle at
the point of attachment.
d) said magnetic holder enabling the starting of a nail that is not within an
arm reach of a user
and said asymmetric claws allowing easy access for removal of bent nails in
tight places with the
longer claw allowing pickup of heavy pieces of material.
2. A hammer head as in Claim 1 wherein said shank portion is square shaped and
said face is
scored.
3. A hammer head as in Claim 1 wherein said permanent magnet is in the shape
of a disk and
said cavity conforms to said shape, and said magnet has ten times the magnetic
field intensity of
conventional permanent magnets.
4. A hammer head as in Claim 1 wherein said head is of the drop-forged tool
steel type.

Description

CA 02227489 1998-03-31
CARPENTER HAMMER
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention pertains to a Carpenter Hammer and in particular to a unique
combination
involving the claws and the shank.
The prior art illustrates two problems extant in the industry, namely the need
for a
hammer with specially shaped claws that can extract nails in inaccesible or
hard to position
areas. The art ;also recognized that it would be useful in many instances to
secure a nail in a
hammerhead instead of holding it between the fingers in order to nail the
same, especially in
locations beyond the normal reach of the user. Despite the existence of these
two separate but
related advances in hammer design, it seemed never to have occurred to those
skilled in the art
to combine theae separate and distinct features in one integral unit;
moreover, despite the
statement of one patentee, that his magnet, unlike those of the prior art with
respect to his
patent, is superior in retention of magnetic flux force, there is no
explanation in the patent as to
why this is so. In fact the claims define his magnet as a conventional natural
magnet. Similarly
there is no structure indicated that would make his hammerhead more easily
retrofitted into
existing hammc:rhead.than any other of the cited patents.
It is therefore an object of this invention to design a carpenter hammer which
combines the
features of special claws and a magnetic device in the shank of a hammer.
It is still an object of this invention because of the combined features
mentioned above is not
only ergonomic: but also economic as well..
It is also an object of this invention to utilize as a nail holding device a
magnet that has far
greater flux than any of the aforementioned patents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The carpenter hammer of this invention is a drop forged tool steel device that
includes a pair
of claws, one of which is a shorter claw with a flat end and a longer pointed
that allows bent nails
to be easily removed especially in tight places. The striking face of the
hammer is scored and
beyond the region of the claws is a square configuration. The top of the
hammer extending from
the striking facie contains a specially designed notch to seat a nail. A
powerful magnet is
embedded just: below the notch to contain the nail while it is being driven
into a desired object.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an isometric view of the hammer.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1

CA 02227489 1998-03-31
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Fig. 1 show: a hammer 1 with a square head having a T-shaped notch 2 in the
top of the
shank 3 midway of its sides 3a. The notch portion 4, that is in a plane
parallel to the top surface
of the shank is semicircular and starts from a scored face 5, extending
inwardly to such a
distance as to accomodate the different size nails. The notch portion
terminates in a transverse
section 6 that is somewhat greater in depth than the notch to allow for the
head of a nail 7. The
head of the nail abuts firmly against the wall 8 of the shank adjacent the
transverse section while
the shank of the nail is firmly aligned in the notch. In the center of the
length of the notch and
below thereof i:; a cavity 9 wider than the notch and circular in shape. A
disk like permanent
magnet 10 is placed within this cavity so that its upper surface is about
flush with lower surface
of the nail. The magnet preferably used is known by the TM "Magnequench" and
is an alloy of
neodymium, iron and boron. These elements are poured in a molten state into a
chilled rotating
wheel that produces flakes that are bonded with an epoxy resin, and are either
crushed in a
press to shape or subjected to a plastic deformation which causes the magnetic
crystals to align
in the direction of the deforming pressure. These so-called MQ3 magnets
develop an energy
product of 45 MGOe, approximately 10 times the magnetic field of conventional
permanent
magnets. The energy product is a product of Bx H where B equals magnetic
induction and H
equals magnetizing force. The maximum energy product is defined as the point
on a
demagnetizing curve where the product of BxH is a maximum and the required
volume of
magnetic material necessary to project a given energy into its sun-oundings is
a minimum. MGOe
represents a million gauss oersteds. (See
http:l/www.magnetsales.com/materials.html). On the
side of the hammerhead opposite the striking face are a a pair of assymetric
claws 11, wherein
claw 11 a is a longer curved, pointed claw, whereas claw 11 b is a shorter
claw having a flat end
and whose bottom surface as seen in Fig. 3 has a far smaller area than its top
surface. The
result is a bevel groove 12 between the straight claw and the pointed claw.
The hammerhead is
generally of thES drop-forged, tool steel type although wooden hammers can
also be used. A
handle 13, attached to the head, is enclosed in a protection ring 14 to
provide a more secure
connection between the head and handle and to prevent damage to the head on
impact.
In summation, starting a nail in a corner, for example is simplified using the
notch and its
associated ma~~net, while using the assymetric claws in the case of a bent
nail, makes the task
much easier. The scored face and square head provides an improved impact
surface than the
conventional round head hammer with the smooth face.
The invention, as it has been conceived, is susceptible to many modifications
and variations
as would be obvious to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope
of the invention.

Representative Drawing