Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1
TRUSS PIN REMOVING TOOL AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention generally relates to a hand tool, and more
particularly, to a
multifunctional tool for removing truss pins.
Background of the Invention
[0002] Truss pins and safety clip (e.g. cutter pin) are largely used in the
industry, such as show-
business or entertainment industry, for safely assembling elements together,
such as supporting
truss beams or the like. Typically, a truss pin is inserted through aligned
holes of two different
elements with one side of the pin having a head pin larger than the hole's
diameter and the other
side having a lateral orifice. The truss pin once inserted in the aligned
holes is secured by
inserting the safety clip in the lateral orifice for securing the truss pin.
The pin head and the
safety clip interact with the two elements (or more) for maintaining the
elements together.
[0003] However, removing the truss pin when time is come to dissemble the
elements or panels
can be challenging due to lateral movements of the elements leading to a
misalignment of the
holes and therefore a pressure of the elements or panels on the truss pin.
Removing the pin
requires removing the safety clip before striking hard on the side opposite
the head. Striking
hard multiple times can cause damage to the truss pins. These methods can also
damage the
elements connected via the pin, are time consuming and produce very loud
noises.
[0004] There is thus a need for developing a new tool for swiftly and securely
removing truss
pins.
Summary of the Invention
[0005] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a
simplified form that
are further described below in the detailed Description. This Summary is not
intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it
intended to be used as
an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0006] According to a first aspect, the invention is directed to a tool for
removing a truss pin
previously inserted in a hole. Typically, the truss pin comprises a
longitudinal body with a pin
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head at one end of the body, and a transversal orifice through the other end
of the body
configured to received a safety clip to secure the truss pin within the hole.
The tool comprises:
¨ a longitudinal handle having a first end opposite to a second end;
¨ a tool head having a first face for connecting to the first end of the
handle, and a second
face opposite the first face, the second face defining at least one recess
configured to
receive and maintain the pin head therein; and
¨ a sliding sleeve about the longitudinal handle and configured to slide
along the handle
between a first position where the sleeve abuts the tool head and a second
position where
the sleeve abuts an abutting element extending from the second end of the
handle;
whereby, in use, a sharp movement of the sliding sleeve between the first and
second
position along the handle provides a longitudinal force opposite the tool head
to ease the removal
of the truss pin from the hole once the head pin is inserted in the recess of
the head.
[0007] According to a second aspect, the invention is directed to a method for
removing a truss
pin previously inserted into aligned holes of different elements, the truss
pin comprising a
longitudinal body with a pin head at one end of the body and a transversal
orifice through the
other end of the body, the transversal orifice being configured to received a
safety clip to secure
the truss pin within the hole. The method comprises:
¨ providing the tool as defined herein;
¨ removing the safety clip;
¨ striking with the tool head on the other end of the truss pin to liberate
the pin head from
the hole in order to be able to insert the pin head in the recess;
¨ inserting the pin head of the truss pin to be removed in the recess; and
¨ maintaining the longitudinal handle aligned with the longitudinal body of
the truss pin
while sliding, at least one time, the sliding sleeve between the first and
second position
along the handle in order to provide a longitudinal force opposite the tool
head to ease
the removal of the truss pin from the hole.
[0008] Other and further aspects and advantages of the present invention will
be better
understood upon the reading of the illustrative embodiments about to be
described or will be
indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to
herein will occur to
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one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0009] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention
will become more
readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the
accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0010] Figure lA is a flat view of a tool according to a preferred embodiment;
[0011] Figure 1B is a sectional view of the tool of Figure lA along line A-A,
according to a
preferred embodiment;
[0012] Figure 1C is an isomeric view of the tool, according to a preferred
embodiment;
[0013] Figure 2A is an isomeric view of the head tool, according to a
preferred embodiment;
[0014] Figure 2B is a plan view of the back face of the head tool, according
to a preferred
embodiment;
[0015] Figure 2C is a plan view of the bottom face of the head tool, according
to a preferred
embodiment;
[0016] Figure 2D is a sectional view of the tool of Figure 2C along line C-C,
according to a
preferred embodiment;
[0017] Figure 2E is a plan view of one of the two side faces of the head tool,
according to a
preferred embodiment, the other opposite lateral being identical;
[0018] Figure 2F is a plan view of the top face of the head tool with the
niche, according to a
preferred embodiment;
[0019] Figure 2G is a plan view of the front face of the head tool, according
to a preferred
embodiment;
[0020] Figure 3A is a plan view of the sliding sleeve of the tool, according
to a preferred
embodiment;
[0021] Figure 3B is a sectional view of the sliding sleeve of Figure 3A along
line B-B of the
tool, according to a preferred embodiment;
[0022] Figure 3C is a side view of the sliding sleeve of the tool, according
to a preferred
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embodiment;
[0023] Figure 4A is a plan view of the hole alignment punch removed from the
tool, according
to a preferred embodiment;
[0024] Figure 4B is a plan view of the head of the hole alignment punch,
according to a preferred
embodiment;
[0025] Figure 5A is a side view of the handle of the tool, according to a
preferred embodiment;
[0026] Figure 5B is a lateral view of the handle of the tool, according to a
preferred embodiment;
[0027] Figure 6 is a picture illustrating a truss pin and its safety clip as
known in the industry /
art.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
[0028] A novel removing tool will be described hereinafter. Although the
invention is described
in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the
embodiments
described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the
invention is not intended
to be limited thereby.
[0029] The terminology used herein is in accordance with definitions set out
below.
[0030] According to a first aspect, a tool for removing a truss pin previously
inserted in a hole
is disclosed.
[0031] As illustrated on Figure 6 (prior art), the truss pin (1) typically
comprises a longitudinal
body (3) with a pin head (5) at one end (31) of the body, and a transversal
orifice (7) through
the other opposite end (32) of the body configured to received a safety clip
(9) to secure the
truss pin (1) within a hole or multiple aligned holes of different elements.
[0032] As illustrated on Figures 1A-1C, the tool (100) comprises a
longitudinal handle (110)
having a first end (111) opposite to a second end (112). Preferably, the
handle has a tubular
form, but other forms can be considered without departing from the scope of
the present
invention.
[0033] As illustrated on Figures 1A-1C or 2A-2G, the tool (100) also comprises
a tool head
(120).
[0034] As illustrated, in particular on Figure 2A, the head (120) preferably
has a cubic or
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parallelepiped form, more preferably the parallelepiped form of a hammer,
with:
- a front face (121, Fig. 2G) configured to be connected to the first end
(111) of the handle
(110);
- a back face (122, Fig. 2B), opposite the front face (121);
- a top face (123, Fig. 2F) and a bottom face (124, Fig. 2C) each extending
between the front
and back faces (121, 122); and
- two opposite side faces (125, see Fig. 2E) perpendicular to the other
faces, and that can be
used as the hitting portion of the head when the tool is used as a hammer.
[0035] According to the preferred embodiment illustrated on Figure 2G, the
head's front face
(121) may have an orifice (128) adapted to receive the first end (111) of the
handle (110) for
connecting the handle to the head (see Fig. 5A-5B). As shown on Figures 5A-5B,
the handle
can have a screw path (113) for screwing the handle in the head, or vice-
versa. Alternatively,
the handle and head can be permanently affixed or molded together.
[0036] According to the preferred embodiment illustrated on Figures 1C or 2A-
2C, the tool head
(120) may also comprise at least one recess (130) defined at the junction of
the back face (122)
and the bottom face (124), the recess (130) being configured to receive and
maintain the pin
head (5) of the truss pin therein. More preferably, the head (120) may
comprise more than one
recess, such as two recesses (130, 132) as illustrated in the Figures, each of
different sizes in
order to interact with pin heads of different sizes. The head (130) may
comprise more than two
recesses, if necessary.
[0037] According to a preferred embodiment, the top face (123) of the head may
comprise a
niche (126) (see Fig. 2F). The user of the tool (100) may grip the niche (126)
with the finger
tips of one hand to help pulling on the head (120) and ease the removal of the
truss pin, if
necessary. Other way to allow gripping the head can be considered, such a
button handle or a
strap can be considered without departing from the scope of eh present
invention.
[0038] According to a preferred embodiment, as the one illustrated in
particular on Figures 1A-
1C and 3A-3B, the tool may further comprise a sliding sleeve (140), preferably
tubular,
configured to be about the longitudinal handle (110) and slide along the
handle between a first
position (P1) where the sleeve (140) abuts the tool head (120) (as illustrated
in Figure 1 for
instance), and a second position (P2) where the sleeve abuts an abutting
element (154),
preferably extending from the second end (112) of the handle (110) as shown on
Figure 1C. The
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movement of the sleeve between positions P1 and P2 is illustrated on Figure 1C
with the double-
head arrow (144).
[0039] According to the preferred embodiment, the sleeve (140) may have a
fixing element,
such as a screw path (142) extending from the inner surface (144) of the
sleeve, and configured
to affixed the sleeve to the handle, when the sleeve is not used. The sleeve
may also comprise
two opposites ledges (146, 148) for a better gripping of the sleeve by the
user.
[0040] According to the preferred embodiment, the tool may also comprise a
hole alignment
tool or punch (150) as the one illustrated on Figures 1, 3 and 4. The hole
alignment punch (150)
can be inserted in a cavity (115, Fig. 5B) of the handle (110) through an
aperture (114) adjacent
the second end (112) of the handle. The hole alignment punch (150) may have a
fixing section
(151), such as a screw path, configured to match and affixed another screw
path (116) located
in the cavity (115) of the handle (110) in order to screw the punch once
inserted in the cavity.
The punch (150) may have a screwing head (152), optionally equipped with a
bolt section (153)
extending therefrom for easing the screwing and unscrewing of the hole
alignment punch. The
screwing head (152) may extend outwardly in order to form the abutting element
(154) as shown
on Figure 1C, for stopping the movement (144) of the sleeve (140) once the
punch is placed
inside the handle.
[0041] As illustrated on Figure 4A-4B, the hole alignment punch (150) may have
a longitudinal
body (155) extending from the screwing head (152) with a tip heap (156)
opposite to the
screwing head (152). The hole alignment punch (150) can be removed from the
handle, when
necessary, and used to align the holes of the different elements before being
able to insert a truss
pin therein, by inserting the tip head (156) in the non-aligned holes before
striking on the
screwing head (152) with the tool head (hammer). The tool (100) can then be
used as a hammer
with no need of another tool.
[0042] It is disclosed a method for removing a truss pin previously inserted
into a hole. The
truss pin is as already described above.
[0043] The method first comprises the step of providing a removing tool, such
as the tool (100)
disclosed herein.
[0044] The method further comprises the step of removing the safety clip
before striking with
the tool head on the other end of the truss pin to slightly liberate the pin
head from the hole(s)
in order to be able to insert the pin head in the recess.
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[0045] The method then further comprises the step of inserting the pin head
(5) of the truss pin
(1) to be removed in the recess (130 or 132). More preferably, the tool
comprises two recesses
of different sizes as disclosed above, to accommodate pin heads (5) of
different sizes.
Advantageously, the two sizes of the two recesses are preferably adapted to
the sizes of the most
common truss pin heads of the market.
[0046] The method further comprises the step of maintaining the longitudinal
handle (110)
aligned with the longitudinal body (3) of the truss pin (1) while sliding
(144), at least one time,
the sliding sleeve (140) between the first position (P1) and the second
position (P2) along the
handle (110) in order to provide a longitudinal force (F, see Fig. 1C)
opposite the tool head (120)
to ease the removal of the truss pin from the hole.
[0047] Advantageously, a sharp movement of the sliding sleeve between the
first and second
positions along the handle provides a larger longitudinal force opposite the
tool head to ease the
removal of the truss pin from the hole once the head pin is inserted in the
recess of the head.
The movement can be repeated several times as long as the truss pin remains in
the hole.
[0048] As aforesaid, the tool head may comprise a niche (126), the method then
comprises the
step of gripping the niche with the finger tips of one hand, while the
longitudinal handle (110)
is maintained aligned with the longitudinal body (3) with the other hand, to
help in pulling on
the head (120) and ease the removal to of the truss pin, if necessary.
[0049] The tool as described herein can be made of plastic or metallic parts,
preferably of
metallic parts such as stainless steel or the like. A heavy weight of the
handle and sleeve may
be advantageous as the heavy weight allows increasing the longitudinal force
(F) applied on the
pin head when the sleeve is sharply slide along the handle.
[0050] The removing tool and method as described herein allows easily and
quickly removing
truss pins, by the use of the force (F) created by the sharp movement of the
sleeve on the handle.
The tool advantageously provides other functions as it can be used as a
hammer, the head tool
comprises a gripping niche and/or an hole alignment punch embedded in the tool
handle to ease
the extraction
[0051] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention
have been
described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive
concepts may be
otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are
intended to be
construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior
art.
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