Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Anti-slip Wrench-Type Tool
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to tools designed for tightening or
loosening fasteners, in particular bolts and nuts. More specifically, the
present invention
is an anti-slip wrench-type tool designed to engaged bolts, nuts, and other
similar
fasteners with little chance of slippage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hex bolts, nuts, screws, and other similar threaded devices are used to secure
and
hold multiple parts together by being engaged to a complimentary thread, known
as a
female thread. The general structure of these types of fasteners is a
cylindrical shaft with
an external thread and a head at one end of the shaft. The external thread
engages a
complimentary female thread tapped into a hole or a nut and secures the
fastener in place,
binding the associated components together. The head is the means by which the
fastener
is turned, or driven, into the female threading. The head is shaped
specifically to allow an
external tool like a wrench to apply a torque to the fastener in order to
rotate the fastener
and engage the complimentary female threading to a certain degree. This type
of fastener
is simple, extremely effective, cheap, and highly popular in modem
construction.
One of the most common problems in using these types of fasteners, whether
male or female, is the tool slipping in the head portion, or slipping on the
head portion.
This is generally caused by either a worn fastener or tool, corrosion,
overtightening, and
damage to the head portion of the fastener. The present invention is a wrench
or wrench
socket design that virtually eliminates slippage. The design utilizes a
plurality of
engagement teeth which efficiently transitions the contact point from the
corners of the
fastener to the sidewalls of the fastener, allowing for torque to be applied
to the fastener
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in order to loosen it. The present invention may be used to tighten or loosen
fasteners
without worrying about stripping the corners of the fastener.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side-view of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the present invention taken along line A-A in
FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the present invention taken about the oval Y in
FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the present invention taken about the circle C in
FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present
invention taken
along line A-A in FIG. 3.
FIG. 9 is a detailed view of the alternative embodiment of the present
invention taken
about the oval X in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected
versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of
the present
invention.
The present invention is an anti-slip wrench-type tool used to tighten or
loosen a
fastener such as a nut or bolt. Traditional wrench designs transfer the
majority of the
torque to the fastener through the lateral corners of the fastener head. Over
time, the
degradation of the lateral corners reduces the efficiency of transferring
torque from the
wrench to the fastener head and, as a result, causes slippage. The present
invention
overcomes this problem by moving the contact point to the lateral sides of the
fastener
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head. This is accomplished through the use of a multitude of teeth. Each of
the teeth is
positioned to engage or "bite" the lateral surface of the fastener head
instead of the lateral
corner. This ensures an adequate amount of torque is transferred to the
fastener head to
initiate rotation and, resultantly, extraction or tighten the fastener.
The present invention utilizes a multitude of teeth to engage the sides of the
fastener head, damaged or otherwise, in order to efficiently apply torque onto
the
fastener. The present invention may be integrated into or utilized by a
variety of general
tools to increase the torque force applied to a fastener. General tools
include, but are not
limited to, open-end wrenches, adjustable wrenches, pipe wrenches, socket
wrenches,
plumber wrench, and other similar fastener engaging tools. The present
invention is
compatible with male-member based head designs of fasteners. Fasteners which
utilize a
male-member head design, also known as male fasteners, use the external
lateral surface
of the fastener head to engage a tool for tightening or loosening, such
fasteners include
hex bolts and nuts. In addition, the present invention is compatible with
fasteners of a
right-hand thread and fasteners of a left-hand thread. Furthermore, the
present invention
may be altered and configured to fit different types and different sizes of
fasteners.
Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention comprises a wrench-type torque-tool
body 1. The wrench-type torque-tool body 1 is used as the physical structure
to apply a
torque force onto the fastener head. In particular, the wrench-type torque-
tool body 1 is a
tubular extrusion sized to fit over the male fastener in an interlocking
manner, essentially
a wrench socket. The length, width, and diameter of the wrench-type torque-
tool body 1
may vary to fit different sized fasteners. The wrench-type torque-tool body 1
comprises a
plurality of internal sidewalls 2 and a plurality of engagement teeth 7. The
plurality of
internal sidewalls 2 is radially distributed about a pivot axis 13 of the
wrench-type
torque-tool body 1 in order delineate a cavity which receives the fastener
head. In the
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of internal
sidewalls 2
includes six sidewalls configured into a hexagonal shape as seen in FIG. 4.
Alternative
number within the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 may be used to produce
different
shapes. The plurality of engagement teeth 7 prevents slippage between the
wrench-type
torque-tool body 1 and the fastener being engaged. Traditional wrench-type
tools utilize
the corners of the fastener head as the contact point in order to transmit
torque to the
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fastener. Through the plurality of engagement teeth 7, the present invention
effectively
transitions the contact point from the corners to the sidewalls of the
fastener head. This
greatly diminishes any chance of slippage and allows the user to efficiently
apply a
torque force to the fastener. Additionally, positioning the contact point to
the sidewalls of
the fastener head prevents the fastener head from stripping.
Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the plurality of engagement teeth 7 is
radially
distributed about the pivot axis 13 of the wrench-type torque-tool body 1. The
plurality of
engagement teeth 7 is adjacently connected to the plurality of internal
sidewalls 2. In one
embodiment of the present invention, the number within the plurality of
engagement
teeth 7 matches the number within the plurality of internal sidewalls 2. In
another
embodiment of the present invention, the number within the plurality of
engagement
teeth 7 does not matches the number within the plurality of internal sidewalls
2. For
example, in one embodiment, there are three from the plurality of engagement
teeth 7 and
there are six from the plurality of internal sidewalls 2. As a result, every
other sidewall
from the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 has a tooth from the plurality of
engagement
teeth 7. In the preferred embodiment, each of the plurality of engagement
teeth 7 is
adjacently connected to a corresponding sidewall 6 from the plurality of
internal
sidewalls 2 and each of the engagement teeth 7 is a prism, wherein the prism
includes an
altitude. This allows a contact point for the fastener to be at each of the
plurality of
internal sidewalls 2. Referring to FIG. 7, a prismatic altitude 14 for each of
the plurality
of engagement teeth 7 is aligned parallel to the pivot axis 13 to increase the
amount of
contact surface between the present invention and the fastener. In other
words, each of
the plurality of engagement teeth 7 extends from a top surface to a bottom
surface of the
wrench-type torque-tool body 1. Additionally, each of the plurality of
engagement teeth 7
is oriented towards the pivot axis 13, seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, in order to
ensure that the
plurality of engagement teeth 7 are the only parts of the present invention
that come into
contact with the fastener.
Referring to FIG. 5, each of the plurality of engagement teeth 7 is preferably
centrally positioned to the corresponding sidewall 6 in order to transition
the point of
contact from the corners of the fastener to the sidewalls of the fastener. The
central
positioning between each of the plurality of engagement teeth 7 and the
corresponding
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sidewall 6 allows for the present invention to tighten or loosen the fastener
without
potentially engaging the corners of the fastener head. A cross section 8 for
each of the
plurality of engagement teeth 7 is a quadrilateral shape. The quadrilateral
shape includes
a first base line 9, a second base line 10, a first leg line 11, and a second
leg line 12. The
first base line 9 is positioned coincident with the corresponding sidewall 6
and serves as
the connecting point in between each of the plurality of the engagement teeth
and the
corresponding sidewall 6. The second base line 10 is positioned parallel and
offset to the
first base line 9. The first leg line 11 is connected in between the first
base line 9 and the
second base line 10. Similarly, the second leg line 12 is connected in between
the first
base line 9 and the second base line 10, opposite the first leg line 11. The
quadrilateral
shape is preferably symmetric along a central line, wherein the central line
is oriented
perpendicular to the first base line 9 and is centrally positioned in between
the first leg
line 11 and the second leg line 12. A symmetrical design ensures that the
present
invention performs equally when rotating the fastener in a clockwise direction
or in a
counter clockwise direction. Additionally, the junction between the first base
line 9 and
the first leg line 11 is preferably is a rounded corner. Furthermore, the
junction between
the first base line 9 and the second leg line is a rounded corner.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the quadrilateral shape tapers
from
the second base line 10 towards the first base line 9 in order to further
yield a trapezoidal
shape. As a result, the first leg line 11 is oriented at a first acute angle
22 with the
corresponding sidewall 6, and the second leg line 12 is oriented at a second
acute angle
23 with the corresponding sidewall 6. This creates a sharp corner between the
second
base line 10 and the first leg line 11 and between the second base line 10 and
the second
leg line 12. The sharp corners dig into the fastener head and increase the
friction in
between the present invention and the fastener, thus allowing for a more
efficient transfer
of torque force. More specifically, a length 19 of the corresponding sidewall
6 and a
length 21 of the second base line 10 are at a ratio of three to one with each
other to ensure
adequate contact surface between the present invention and the fastener.
Furthermore, a
length 20 of the first base line 9 and the length 21 of the second base line
10 are at a ratio
of 1.1 to 1 with each other.
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Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 10, in one embodiment of the present invention,
the
quadrilateral shape is more specifically a rectangular shape. In particular,
the first leg line
11 is oriented perpendicular with the corresponding sidewall 6, and the second
leg line 12
is oriented perpendicular with the corresponding sidewall 6 to yield the
rectangular shape
as seen in FIG. 9. The rectangular shape decreases pressure points in order to
increase
longevity for the present invention.
As mentioned above, the present invention may be designed to fit a variety of
fastener designs. This is achieved by varying the number within the plurality
of
engagement teeth 7 and the number within the plurality of internal sidewalls 2
to
compliment different types of fastener designs. The number within the
plurality of
engagement teeth 7 and the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 correspond to the
number of
sides of the fastener head. For instance, for a pentagon-shaped fastener,
there are five
elements within the plurality of engagement teeth 7 and the plurality of
internal sidewalls
2.
In one embodiment, the present invention further comprises an attachment
feature
which allows an external torque tool to attach to the wrench-type torque-tool
body 1 and
increase the torque force applied to the fastener. In general, in this
embodiment, the
present invention is an alternative design for a wrench socket. Referring to
FIG. 1, the
present invention further comprises a cylindrical attachment body 15 and an
engagement
bore 16 that allows an external torque tool such as a ratchet handle to be
attached to the
wrench-type torque-tool body 1. The cylindrical attachment body 15 is
centrally
positioned around and along the pivot axis 13 in order to align with the axis
of rotation of
the external torque tool. Additionally, the cylindrical attachment body 15 is
connected
adjacent to the wrench-type torque-tool body 1 as seen in FIG. 2. In this
embodiment, the
wrench-type torque-tool body 1 is preferably of a tubular design and a
diameter of the
cylindrical attachment body 15 is preferably slightly larger than a diameter
of the
wrench-type torque-tool body 1. The engagement bore 16 traverses into the
cylindrical
attachment body 15 along the pivot axis 13, opposite the wrench-type torque-
tool body 1.
The engagement bore 16 is shaped to receive a male attachment member of the
external
torque tool; the preferred shape is square as the majority of external torque
tools utilize a
square attachment member. In alternative embodiments, the shape and design of
the
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engagement bore 16 and the cylindrical attachment body 15 may vary to be
adaptable to
different external torque tools and different attachment means.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the wrench-type torque-tool
body
1 is directly integrated into a torque tool, a typical closed wrench design
more
specifically. Referring to FIG. 6, the present invention further comprises a
wrench handle
17. The wrench handle 17 is peripherally connected to the wrench-type torque-
tool body
1 and acts as a lever arm to substantially increase the torque force applied
to the fastener.
The length of the wrench handle 17 may vary depending on the torque force
required; a
longer wrench handle 17 produces a greater torque force and vice versa.
Furthermore, the
general shape, design, and material composition of the wrench handle 17 may
also vary
to accommodate the needs of the user. For example, the wrench handle 17 may be
padded
at various regions to alter the handling characteristics of the tool to
increase ease of use
and comfort for the user. Additionally, the present invention may further
comprise a
fastener-receiving hole 18 to yield a typical open-end wrench design. The
fastener-
receiving hole 18 traverses through the wrench-type torque tool body,
perpendicular to
the pivot axis 13. Additionally, the fastener-receiving hole 18 is positioned
opposite the
wrench handle 17, across the wrench-type torque-tool body 1. The fastener-
receiving
hole 18 allows the user to reach fasteners in tight spots where there is not
enough space to
adequately maneuver the present invention.
Additionally, the plurality of internal sidewalls 2 comprises an arbitrary
sidewall
3 and an adjacent sidewall 4, wherein the arbitrary sidewall 3 represents any
one of the
plurality of internal sidewalls 2 and the adjacent sidewall 4 represents the
sidewall
directly next to the arbitrary sidewall 3. It is preferred that the arbitrary
sidewall 3 is
adjacently adjoined to the adjacent sidewall 4 by a curved corner 5.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred
embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and
variations
can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as
hereinafter
claimed.
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