Hammer protective system

A hammer protective device, used in conjunction with a hammer having a handle portion and a head portion. The head portion has a shank portion for mounting the handle. The invention comprises a diametrically expandable rubber sheath having a generally cylindrical configuration. The rubber sheath has a relaxed diameter which is slightly less than a diameter of the handle portion. The rubber sheath has an open upper end and an open lower end. The rubber sheath includes an embedded pull cord assembly disposed interiorly thereof. The embedded pull cord assembly is arranged in a coil type arrangement and is rigid, resisting compression and thus holding the sheath in an expanded position. The embedded pull cord assembly has a central lumen which is larger in diameter than the handle portion. The embedded pull cord assembly thereby holds the diameter of the rubber sheath greater than the diameter of the handle portion prior to installation of the protective device wherein the rubber sheath is positioned over the handle portion and the shank portion with the handle portion extending through the central lumen. The pull cord has a free upper end that extends lengthwise within the central lumen and terminates outwardly of the open lower end thereof such that pulling on the free upper end will systematically remove the pull cord from within the rubber sheath thereby allowing the rubber sheath to relax and snugly engage the handle portion and the shank portion of the hammer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to a hammer protecting system and more
 particularly pertains to a protective sleeve which snugly encases a
 portion of a hammer in order to protect the hammer against breaking, and a
 manner of installing the protective sleeve with only minimal effort.
 2. Description of the Prior Art
 It is well known that hammers occasionally break during usage. In
 particular, the narrowing or the handle where it is joined with the hammer
 head creates a weak structural point. In addition, undamped vibrations
 serve to weaken the hammer in time. When a hammer breaks, sending the
 hammer head flying, damage to the surroundings or injury to a worker will
 almost certainly occur.
 The use of hammer protective devices is known in the prior art. More
 specifically, hammer protective devices and schemes heretofore devised and
 utilized for the purpose of damping vibrations are known to consist
 basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations,
 notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art
 which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and
 requirements.
 By way of example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,968,843 to Shotwell; 5,289,742 to
 Vaughan, Jr.; and 5,490,437 to Herbert.
 While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and
 requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe an effective
 protective device for hammers for preventing a hammer from breaking from
 impacts, which may be installed with great ease.
 In this respect, the hammer protecting system according to the present
 invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs
 of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily
 developed for the purpose of preventing a hammer from breaking from
 impacts.
 Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for
 new and improved hammer protective systems which can be used for
 preventing a hammer from breaking from impacts. In this regard, the
 present invention substantially fulfills this need.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 In the view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of
 hammers now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an
 improved hammer protecting system. As such, the general purpose of the
 present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail,
 is to provide a new and improved hammer protecting system which has all
 the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
 To attain this, the present invention is used in conjunction with a hammer
 having a wooden handle portion and a head portion. The head portion has a
 downwardly depending shank portion for receiving an upper end of the
 wooden handle portion therein to facilitate securement of the wooden
 handle portion to the head portion. The invention comprises a
 diametrically expandable rubber sheath having a generally cylindrical
 configuration. The rubber sheath has a relaxed diameter which is slightly
 less than a diameter of the handle portion. The rubber sheath has an open
 upper end and an open lower end. The rubber sheath includes an embedded
 pull cord assembly disposed interiorly thereof. The embedded pull cord
 assembly arranged in a coil type arrangement, and is rigid, resisting
 compression and thus holding the sheath in an expanded position. The
 embedded pull cord assembly has a central lumen which is larger in
 diameter than the handle portion. The embedded pull cord assembly thereby
 holds the diameter of the rubber sheath greater than the diameter of the
 handle portion prior to installation of the protective device wherein the
 rubber sheath is positioned over the handle portion and the shank portion
 with the handle portion extending through the central lumen. The pull cord
 has a free upper end that extends lengthwise within the central lumen and
 terminates outwardly of the open lower end thereof such that pulling on
 the free upper end will systematically remove the pull cord from within
 the rubber sheath thereby allowing the rubber sheath to relax and snugly
 engage the handle portion and the shank portion of the hammer.
 There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features
 of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that
 follows may be better understood, and in order that the present
 contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course,
 additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter
 and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
 In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention
 in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
 application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the
 components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the
 drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being
 practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood
 that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose
 of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
 As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon
 which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the
 designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the
 several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore,
 that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions
 insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present
 invention.
 It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved hammer protecting system which has all the advantages of the
 prior art hammer protecting systems and none of the disadvantages.
 It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
 hammer protecting system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured
 and marketed.
 It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved hammer protecting system which is of durable and reliable
 construction.
 An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and
 improved hammer protecting system which is susceptible of a low cost of
 manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly
 is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby
 making such a protective device for hammers economically available to the
 buying public.
 Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
 improved hammer protecting system for preventing a hammer from breaking
 from impacts.
 Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved hammer protecting system including a rubber sheath which is
 initially held in an expanded position by a coil assembly prior to
 installation, wherein the coil is unraveled to allow the rubber sheath to
 relax and seat firmly upon the hammer.
 These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various
 features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with
 particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this
 disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating
 advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should
 be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there
 is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Similar reference numerals refer to the similar parts through the various
 figures.
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 With reference now to the drawings, and in particular, to FIGS. 1 through 4
 thereof, the preferred embodiment of the new and improved hammer
 protecting system embodying the principles and concepts of the present
 invention and generally designated by the reference number 10 will be
 described.
 Specifically, it will be noted in the various Figures that the invention
 relates to a hammer protecting system for preventing a hammer which
 employs a hammer protective device 10 which is installed upon a hammer 12.
 Such components are individually configured and correlated with respect to
 each other so as to attain the desired objective.
 The hammer 12 has a wooden handle portion 14 and a head portion 16. The
 head portion 16 has a downwardly depending shank portion 18 for receiving
 an upper end of the wooden handle portion 14 therein to facilitate
 securement of the wooden handle portion 14 to the head portion 16.
 The hammer protective device 10 has a rubber sheath 20 having a generally
 cylindrical configuration. The rubber sheath is flexible, capable of
 expanding in diameter, and retracting in a spring-like fashion. The rubber
 sheath 20 has an equilibrium or "relaxed" diameter which is slightly less
 than a diameter of the handle portion 14 of the hammer 12 with which it is
 to be used. The rubber sheath 20 has an open upper end 22 and an open
 lower end 24. Advantageously, the rubber sheath 20 would cover a part of
 the handle portion 14 and the part of the shank portion 18, and would fit
 tightly thereon. However, it would be extremely difficult to slide the
 rubber sheath 20 over the handle portion 14, since the rubber sheath 20
 "wants" to be a diameter which is less than that of the handle over which
 it is to be applied.
 Accordingly, the present invention employs an embedded pull cord assembly
 26. The embedded pull cord assembly 26 comprises a tight coiling of a
 filament, wherein adjacent filaments in said coil are fused together to
 create a tube having a central lumen 27. The materials for the filament
 are selected so that the tube is rigid, resisting compression. However,
 the tube thus created can be unraveled by axially pulling upon the
 filament. A tube suitable for the purposes of the present invention is
 made of using plastic filaments, and is manufactured by 3M CORPORATION and
 is used for the purposes of electrical cable pipe insulation.
 For the purposes of the present invention then, the sheath 20 extends over
 the embedded pull cord assembly 26, whereas the embedded pull cord 26
 expands the diameter of the rubber sheath 20 so that it is greater than
 the diameter of the handle portion 14 for positioning the rubber sheath 20
 over the handle portion 14 and the shank portion 18. In accordance
 therewith, the handle portion 14 is inserted through the central lumen 27,
 whereby the rubber sheath 20 is suitably positioned along the handle
 portion 14, and partially over the shank 18.
 As previously indicated, the embedded cord 26 is arranged in a coil type
 arrangement. The pull cord 26 has a free upper end 28 that extends
 longitudinally lengthwise within the central lumen 27 of the rubber sheath
 20 and terminates outwardly of the open lower end 24 thereof. Thus,
 axially pulling on the free upper end 28 will systematically remove the
 pull cord 26 from within the rubber sheath 20 thereby allowing the rubber
 sheath 20 to constrict to nearly its relaxed diameter whereby it snugly
 engages the handle portion 14 and the shank portion 18. Thus, the rubber
 sheath 20 will tightly secure the handle portion 14 to the shank portion
 18 thereby damping vibrations and impact forces and in effect reducing the
 chances of the handle portion 14 breaking away from the shank portion 18.
 As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same
 should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further
 discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
 With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the
 optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to
 include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and the
 manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and
 obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to
 those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are
 intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
 Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the
 principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modification and
 changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired
 to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and
 described, and accordingly, all suitable modification and equivalents may
 be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.