Complete hand tool set in one hand tool

An essentially complete screwdriver set or tool bit drive set is encompassed in a single hand tool with an ergonomic handle. Upwards of 26 different tool bit drives in combination with multiple hex nut drives are readily interchangeably used in the hand tool. The ergonomic handle is of partible molded clear plastic so that diverse color-coded tool bit drives are readily recognized and retrieved.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 This invention relates to hand tools. Specifically this invention relates
 to a hand tool particularly wherein a high number of hand tool functions
 are provided in one hand tool.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The hand tool art traditionally provided tool sets, such as screwdriver
 sets and socket wrench sets. These sets were comprised of multiple hand
 tools to accomplish different tool bit drive functions as well as to
 accomplish differently sized similar tool bit drive functions.
 Prior art commercial screwdriver sets would, by way of example, include
 from eight (8) to twenty-two (22) screwdrivers or separately housed tool
 bit drives, as shown in attached FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. Socket
 wrench sets and tool bit drive sets required specialized mounting and
 storage for the large pluralities of socket drives and tool bit drives.
 The art desired multiple tool bit drive combination tools to reduce the
 mounting and storage requirements. Rocca, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,097 granted
 May 15, 1994, disclosed a complex multiple piece housing construction
 which provided a total of six (6) tool bit drive functions and two (2) nut
 drive means functions. Kozak, U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,775 granted Sep. 19,
 1995, disclosed a multiple tool bit drive function of complex housing
 design. These early attempts achieved some limited multiple functionality
 in a hand tool, and required complex construction. The hand tool art
 however ultimately desired a single hand tool which contained essentially
 an entire or complete screwdriver set or tool bit drive hand tool set. The
 prior art fell far short of that need.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 This invention in one broad aspect is a single hand tool which operably
 contains a complete screwdriver or multiple tool bit drive hand tool set.
 In another aspect, this invention is one hand tool which integrally
 contains upwards of 26 different tool bit drives in combination with
 multiple hex nut drives, which tool bit drives and hex nut drives are
 readily interchangeably used in the one hand tool.
 The hand tool of the present invention provides an ergonomic handle design
 to house a maximized number of tool bit drives and hex nut drives. The
 handle in combination with a removable multiple tool bit drive shank
 provides a full complement of tool bit drives.
 In another aspect, the present invention provides, in further combination
 with the aforesaid, a clear plastic ergonomic handle which permits ready
 viewing of and access to the tool bit drives within the handle. The tool
 bits may be color coded as to both size and function for viewing through
 the clear plastic handle for ready identification and access.
 The hand tool of the present invention provides essentially a complete tool
 set to the user. The hand tool is of practical and safe design and
 construction, and readily manufactured by means known to those skilled in
 the art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
 Referring to FIGS. 3-6, there is shown the hand tool 10 of the present
 invention. Hand tool 10 is formed of a clear plastic handle body 11.
 Handle body 11 is formed with a generally rectilinear cross-section with
 four rounded corners 12 (typical). Handle body 11 is of a size and shape
 to be conventionally gripped by the user, and yet ergonomically provides
 maximized multiple tool bit drive storage within the handle, as will be
 more fully explained hereinafter.
 Handle body 11 is formed with a central elongated cylindrical compartment
 or through hole 13 and four immediately adjacent elongated non-central
 cylindrical compartments 14 (typical). Each compartment 14 is similarly
 sized, but of lesser cross-dimension or diameter than central compartment
 13. Each compartment 14 is juxtaposed to a respective handle body portion
 corner 12, and each compartment 14 is contiguous with and to central
 compartment 13. This ergonomic design, construction and arrangement
 maximizes handle storage capability while minimizing the overall size or
 cross-dimension of the handle so as to provide conventional gripping by
 the user. Further discussion of a similar ergonomic handle design and
 construction is disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 08/960,090, filed Oct. 24,
 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,612, granted Oct. 13, 1998, which disclosure
 is fully incorporated herein by reference thereto.
 Each non-central compartment 14 is formed with a bottom wall 16 and side
 wall 17, for purposes hereinafter appearing. Handle body portion 11 is
 formed at its proximate end 18 with a peripheral lip 19, and at its distal
 end 20 with receiving recess 21 formed in central compartment 13, as
 further discussed and for purposes hereinafter appearing.
 A shank housing 25 of unitary cold heading construction is provided to
 store and retain diverse tool bits and to provide a functional tool bit
 drive at distal end 24 for hand tool 10, as best shown in FIGS. 3-3a.
 Housing 25 is formed of elongated tubular construction with a cylindrical
 outer surface 26 and oppositely disposed inner hexagonal cavities 27 and
 28 and a solid central wall 89 having oppositely facing hexagonal wall
 portions 29 and 30 forming the bottoms or end walls of cavities 27 and 28,
 respectively (FIG. 7). Cylindrical surface 26 is formed with oppositely
 disposed ears 31 and oppositely disposed detents 32. Housing 25 is sized
 to be slidably retained in recess 21 of central compartment 13, with ears
 31 retained in recesses 33, with detents 32 seated in handle indents (not
 shown). By the immediately aforesaid construction, shank housing 25 is
 non-rotatably operably retained in the handle body portion 11.
 Two hexagonal tool bit drive housings 34 and 35 are of unitary construction
 and sized to be slidably received in the respective shank housing cavities
 27 and 28. Each hexagonal housing 34 and 35 is sized to be received in one
 or both of the shank housing cavities 27 and 28. Two (2), tool bit drive
 members 40 and 41 are provided to be retained in the respective hexagonal
 cavities 42 and 43 for housing 34 sub-assembly. Each member 40 and 41 is
 formed with a hexagonal body portion 44 and opposed tool bit drives 45
 (typical) disposed at opposite ends of the body portion. It is understood
 that the tool bit drives 45, disclosed herein are of different size and/or
 configuration to provide upwards of 26 different tool bit drives in the
 entire tool 10. By way of example, tool bit 45a is a Phillips head screw
 drive and tool bit 45b is a slotted head screw drive. Housing 35 has a
 similar sub-assembly. That is, housings 39 and 35 are formed of unitary
 construction and provided with inner hexagonal cavities for receiving two
 tool bit members with respective tool bit drives 45.
 The hexagonal housings 34 and 35 with the tool bit drive members 40 and 41
 and tool bit drives 45 are assembled and in turn assembled into shank
 housing 25 which in turn is slidably assembled to the handle body portion
 central compartment 13 to provide an 8-in-1 sub-component tool bit drive
 construction. A similar 8-in-1 tool bit drive construction is further
 shown and described in U.S. Ser. No. 08/977,453, filed Nov. 24, 1997,
 which disclosure is fully incorporated herein by reference thereto.
 Referring specifically to FIGS. 3 and 6, there is shown a set of four
 similarly sized hexagonal housings 55, formed of unitary cold heading
 construction forming separated oppositely disposed hexagonal cavities 56.
 Each of eight (8) tool bit drive members 57 (typical) is formed with a
 hexagonal coupling body portion 58 formed with two oppositely disposed
 tool bit drives 45, similar to those afore-described. Tool bit drive
 member 57 hexagonal body portion 58 is sized for slidable retention in
 cavities 56.
 It is important to note that there are heretofore disclosed twelve (12)
 tool bit drive members providing a total of twenty-four (24) tool bit
 drives 45. As previously stated, each tool bit drive 45 may be of a
 different size and/or configuration and/or function from the other so as
 to provide up to twenty-four (24) different tool bit drive combination
 functions within the sub-component handle body 11 and sub-component shank
 housing 25 combination assembly. It is also important to note that the
 hexagonal sizes of the inner cavities of the shank housing 25 may be
 differently cross-dimensional from the hexagonal inner cavities 56 of the
 handle body housings 55 so as to provide a plurality of hex nut drives in
 addition to the plurality of tool bit drives.
 Referring now to FIGS. 3, 3b and 6, there is shown a generally rectilinear
 tool handle cap or proximate cap portion 65. Cap 65 is formed with a
 generally clear molded plastic body portion 66 and a metal insert 67
 fixedly attached or molded to plastic portion 66. Insert 67 is attached by
 crimping, force fitting, insert molding or other means well known to those
 skilled in the art. Portion 66 is formed with a peripheral lip 68 which
 releasably clips or seats onto handle body portion lip19 (FIG. 7). Insert
 67 is formed with a cylindrical outer surface 69 and an inner hexagonal
 recess or cavity 70. Hexagonal cavity 70 may be of a different size than
 the heretofore discussed hexagonal cavities to provide a still larger
 plurality of available hex nut drives for tool 10. A tool bit assembly 75
 is provided with a hexagonal coupling body portion 76 formed with two (2)
 oppositely disposed tool bit drives 45. Assembly 75 is slidably retained
 in cavity 70 by means previously discussed. The combination of tool bit
 assembly 75 with_ cap 65 provides an awl type hand tool. The user holds
 cap 65 with assembly 75 engaged to the cap to provide a separate tool or
 awl-type hand tool.
 Cap 65 when assembled to the handle body 11 provides by interchanging
 twenty-six (26) tool bit drive functions in the hand tool 10. That is,
 eight (8) tool bit drives are housed in sub-component shank housing 25,
 and sixteen (16) tool bit drives 45 are housed in sub-component 55 within
 handle body 11. And as best shown in FIGS. 3, 3A, 3B and 6, hand tool 10
 in its complete assembly provides thirteen (13) tool bit drive assemblies
 in turn providing twenty-six (26) tool bit drive functions and a plurality
 of hex nut drive functions.
 Referring now specifically to FIGS. 7 and 7A, there is shown an alternate
 embodiment 100. Embodiment 100 is similar to embodiment 10, except that a
 tool chuck shank assembly 101 is provided in lieu of one of the
 aforementioned hexagonal tool bit drive assemblies. Shank assembly 101 is
 sized to be housed one of the non-central handle body compartments 114.
 Assembly 101 is formed at its proximate end 102 with a hexagonal shank 103
 of conventional configuration for assembly to, by way of example, a hand
 power tool (not shown). Assembly 101 at its distal end 104 is formed with
 a inner hexagonal cavity 105 sized to receive tool bit member 106 with
 mating hexagon coupling body portion 107, and having opposed tool bit
 drives 45 which tool bit drives 45 are similar to those described in
 connection with embodiment 10. In operation, assembly 101 is removed from
 a non-central compartment 114 in handle body portion, 111 and then the
 proximate end 102 of the shank is assembled to a chuck (not shown) hand
 power tool to drive the tool bit drive 145 disposed at distal end 104.
 The handle body 11 and handle cap portion 66 may preferably be of clear
 molded plastic construction. This clear handle construction permits the
 user to first view the diverse tool bit drives to determine the exact
 location of the particularly desired tool bit drive. The user then removes
 the cap portion 66, and removes the hexagonal tool bit drive assembly that
 contains the desired tool bit drive. Additionally, the tool bit drives may
 be color coded as to both size and function to assist the user in readily
 determining the location of the desired tool bit drive in the handle. By
 way of example, the tool bit drive may have one color dot or encompassing
 color band that signifies size and another differently color dot or
 encompassing band that signifies function, which dots or bands would be
 readily viewed through the clear handle. Color coding schemes for the tool
 bit drives are well known in the art.
 While the foregoing has disclosed certain preferred embodiments of the
 invention it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various
 modifications and changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the
 invention as set forth in the adjoined claims.