Abstract:
A set of pliers that have a plurality of pins on the forward parts of the plier arms and removable blocks which have apertures that can be placed on selected ones of the pins. The blocks have teeth that can engage the teeth on a timing gear.

Description:
Applicant claims Priority of Provisional application of Ser. No. 60/612,163, filed Sep. 23, 2004. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates, in general, to hand tools, and, in particular, to timing gear pliers. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
   In the prior art various types of hand tools have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,910,750 to Clark discloses pliers which have fixed teeth on the arms for holding circular objects. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,558 to Wilson discloses pliers with arms bent at a right engage to engage with teeth on a gear. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,942 to Carter et al discloses adjustable pliers which have fixed teeth on the arms for holding circular objects. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,944 to Liao discloses adjustable pliers made in layers with fixed teeth on the arms. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a set of pliers that have a plurality of pins on the forward parts of the plier arms and removable blocks which have apertures that can be placed on selected pins. The blocks have teeth that can engage the teeth on a timing gear. 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hand tool. 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved timing gear pliers that are adjustable to hold different size timing gears. 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved timing gear pliers that are inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate in close quarters. 
   These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the present invention as the pliers are about to be applied to a timing gear. 
       FIG. 3  is a partial view of the blocks of the present invention showing a locking mechanism for holding the blocks on the pins. 
       FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of an alternative arm for the pliers of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of an alternative block for the pliers of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Timing gear pliers are used to hold a timing gear after the timing belt has been removed. The gear nut  12  (see  FIG. 2 ) can then be removed for oil seal replacement, which is located behind the gear. The gear  10  can be reinstalled after replacement of the seal and torqued to specification. The timing gear is connected to the cam shaft which operates the movement of the valves. It is crucial on most vehicles that the gear does not move when the timing belt has been removed because of the possible valve/piston interference. On noninterference motors the timing gear pliers can also be used to safely adjust the gears for proper alignment. The pliers  1  of the present invention provide a quick and safe method of holding the gear, and the pliers can be easily adjusted for different size gears. 
   Referring now to the drawings in greater detail,  FIG. 1  shows the present invention  1 . The pliers  1  have a first arm  2 ,  4  which is pivoted to a second arm  3 ,  5  at  6  in any conventional manner. It should be noted the exact shape of the arms  4 ,  5  can vary without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, the pivot point  6  does not have to be a fixed point. It can be an adjustable pivot similar to the adjusting pivot point on regular pliers. 
   Each of the arm sections  2 ,  3  have ends which are remote from the arm sections  4 ,  5 . These ends have a plurality of pins or protrusions  7  permanently affixed to the arms in any conventional manner. The pins  7  are perpendicular to the arm sections  2 ,  3 . A block  8  has at least a pair of apertures that fit onto the pins  7  in order to secure each of the blocks  8  to the pins  7 , and in turn to the arm sections  2 ,  3 . The blocks have a series of teeth, or other type of roughened surface,  9  in order to provide better gripping power for the pliers. It should be noted that the roughened surface  9  could be designed as teeth that mesh with the teeth  11  on the gear  10  in order to secure the pliers firmly on the gear (see  FIG. 2 ). In the alternative, the roughened surface  9  could be just a rough holding surface without any meshing with the teeth on the gear  10 . 
   Since there are more pins  7  on the arm sections  2 ,  3  than there are apertures in the blocks  8 , the blocks can be removed from the location on the arms, as shown in  FIG. 1 , and moved to a new location on the arm sections. This will allow the pliers to be adjusted to fit different size gears. Also, it should be noted that the blocks are located almost entirely adjacent a side surface of the arm sections  2 ,  3 . This means that very little of the blocks  8  protrude past the side surfaces of the arm sections. This allows the pliers to be used in locations with tight clearances that would not be possible if the blocks were attached to an inside portion of the arms, that is the portion of the arm sections which face each other. 
   It should be noted that while the pliers  1  has been described with respect to a timing gear, they have other uses. For example, they could be used to hold a serpentine belt pulley by making the grooves  9  in the block  8  run parallel to the length of the arms  2 ,  3  instead of perpendicular to the length of the arms  2 ,  3 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     FIG. 3  shows an alternative way of securing the blocks to the pins. The alternative block  8 ′ has an additional aperture which is perpendicular to the apertures which receive the pins  7 . The additional aperture has a captive ball  13  which can protrude at least partially from the additional aperture. The ball  13  is forced out of the additional aperture by a spring  14 . The spring  14  forces the ball  13  against the pin  7  to help hold the block  8 ′ onto the pins  7 . It should be noted that only one additional aperture is shown in block  8 ′, however, more than one additional aperture can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     FIG. 4  shows an alternative arm for the pliers. This arm section  3 ′ has a slot  16  that runs along the length of the arm and extends through the thickness of the arm. The modified block  8 ″ is similar to the blocks  8  and  8 ′ except block  8 ″ does not have apertures to receive the pins. In fact, the modified arm section  3 ′ has no pins. Instead it has a slot  16  and a bolt (hidden in  FIG. 4 ) that extends from the back of block  8 ″. The bolt receives a wing nut  17  to tighten the block against the arm section  3 ′ and lock the block  8 ″ in position along the slot  16 . Although only one arm section  3 ′ of the pliers is shown in  FIG. 4 , it should be understood that a similar arrangement could be applied to the other arm section of the pliers. The slot allows greater versatility in positioning the block along the arms of the pliers. 
     FIG. 5  shows another type of block that can be used with the present invention. In the  FIG. 5  device the block is actually made of two blocks  8 ′″ and  19 . The block  8 ′″ has pins  7 ′ similar to the pins  7 . The pins  7 ′ are inserted into apertures in block  19  which has teeth  9 ′. Threaded bolt  18  is inserted through slot  16  and is secured with a wing nut  17  as shown in  FIG. 4 . It should be noted that the pins  7 ′ could be on the block  19  instead of on the block  8 ′″. 
   Although the Timing Gear Pliers and the method of using the same according to the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.