Abstract:
A shaft securing mechanism is provided that includes pins, bearings or other securing members that are biased inwardly at an angle with respect to the axis of the shaft being engaged by the mechanism. The angled orientation of the engagement of the pins with the shaft enables the pins to more securely hold the shaft relative to the handle without significant slop or play in the lateral or longitudinal directions. The mechanism also includes a tapered inner surface to increase the ease of alignment of the shaft with the mechanism, which allows the shaft to be engaged with the handle by only pressing and rotating the shaft into the mechanism within the handle.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/362,817, filed on Jul. 15, 2016, the entirety of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to tools, and more specifically to a shaft securing mechanism for use in securing a shaft to the handle of a tool, such as a driving tool. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In many types of tool structures, such as drills, wrenches and screwdrivers, among other types of tools, a shaft fastening mechanism is incorporated within the handle for the tool in order to allow the same shaft configuration utilized on a variety of implements of different types, ratcheting heads, bolt sockets, screwdriver bits, etc., to be releasably secured to the handle. The mechanism enables the shaft an implement disposed on the shaft to be securely held on the handle when the mechanism is engaged with the handle during use. The mechanism also can be quickly and easily disengaged from the shaft to allow the shaft to be removed from the handle when the shaft for a different implement is to be engaged with the handle. 
         [0004]    In one particular prior art mechanism, such as shown in  FIG. 1 , in a Hudson Connector, the mechanism  100  includes a plunger  102  movably disposed within or on the handle  104  that can slide within or into the handle  104  to enable spring-biased bearings or pins  106  that extend and are located at least partially within the plunger  102  to move with respect to the plunger  102 . A shaft  108  including slots or recesses  110  on the sides of the shaft  108  can then be inserted within the plunger  102  past the bearings  106  to align the recesses  110  with the bearings  106 . The plunger  102  is then released and under the bias of the spring  112 , the plunger  102  is urged outwardly to move the bearings  106  into the slots  110  on the shaft  108 , thereby securely engaging and holding the shaft  108  on the handle  104 . 
         [0005]    However, while the Hudson connector is able to withstand high torque forces without failing and to deliver high impact using the handle via the shaft, there are a number of deficiencies with the Hudson connector. 
         [0006]    In particular, with the Hudson connector, the shaft is able to move in both the lateral and longitudinal directions as a result of the slop in the securing mechanism  100  for the Hudson connector. This is due to the angle at which the pins or bearings  106  contact the shaft  108 , which is normal to the axis of the shaft  108 , and the configuration of the pin or bearings  106  used, which are cylindrical or spherical in shape, such that they contact the shaft  108  only at a point on the pin or bearing  106 , limiting the force exerted on the shaft  108  other than at that specific point. As such, and in conjunction with the slots/recesses  110  in the shaft  108  being formed to be larger than the associated pin/bearing  106  to increase the ease of engagement, the shaft  108  can readily move relative to the handle  104  which is not desirable, 
         [0007]    Further, the shafts  108  utilized with the Hudson connector  100  are formed with a flat leading edge or surface  114  designed to align the shaft  108  with the connector  100  when contacting a shoulder  116  disposed within the connector  100 . When the leading edge  114  contacts the shoulder  116 , the shaft  108  is then rotated to align the configuration of the leading edge  114  with the configuration of the shoulder  116  to enable the shaft  108  to be centered within the connector  100 . However, as the shaft  108  must be rotated within the connector  100  to properly align the leading edge  114 , this can often make the centering of the shaft  108  within the connector  100  more difficult as a result of the flatness of the leading edge  114 . 
         [0008]    Also, as a result of the configuration of the Hudson connector  100 , when operated it is necessary to manually displace the plunger or collar  102  inwardly with respect to the handle  104  in order to move the pins or bearings  106  out of the path of the shaft  108  before the shaft  108  can be engaged by the mechanism  100 . In various situations the ability of an individual to both hold the handle  104  and move the plunger  102  is difficult as it requires the individual be able to hold the handle  104  and move the plunger  102  with a single hand, as the other hand is holding the shaft  108  to be inserted into the handle  104 . 
         [0009]    Thus, it is desirable to develop a shaft securing mechanism that addresses these shortcomings with prior art shaft securing mechanisms. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a shaft securing mechanism is provided that includes pins, bearings or other securing members that are biased inwardly at an angle with respect to the axis of the shaft being engaged by the mechanism. The angled orientation of the engagement of the pins with the shaft enables the pins to more securely hold the shaft relative to the handle without significant slop or play in the lateral or longitudinal directions. 
         [0011]    According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the connector/shaft securing mechanism includes an angled or sloped surface within the connector to assist in guiding the shaft into alignment with the center of the mechanism. 
         [0012]    According to still another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the shaft securing mechanism is formed such that the plunger or collar can be displaced by the insertion of the shaft into the mechanism alone without the need for additional force to be exerted directly on the plunger by the user. 
         [0013]    Numerous other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description together with the drawing figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated of practicing the present invention. 
           [0015]    In the drawings: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a prior art shaft securing mechanism. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a handle including a shaft securing mechanism constructed according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is an exploded, isometric view of the shalt securing mechanism employed in the handle of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a shaft securing mechanism constructed according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a shaft securing mechanism constructed according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIGS. 6A-6D  are cross-sectional views of the insertion of a shaft into a shaft securing mechanism according to still another exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Referring now in detail to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts throughout the several views, an exemplary embodiment of a tool handle  10  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The handle  10  has an in-line configuration as shown, but can have other configurations, such as a t-handle configuration, among others. The handle  10  includes a closed end  11  and an open end  12 , in which the connector or shaft securing mechanism  13  is disposed. 
         [0023]    Looking now at the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 3-4 , the mechanism  13  includes a handle core  9  formed of a suitable material and that is disposed within the handle  10 , such as by molding the handle  10  around the handle core  9 , and includes a wide open end  14 , Within the wide open end  14 , the mechanism  13  includes a compression spring  8  that is engaged with the interior of the core  9  at one end and with a cylindrical ring shuttle  7  at the opposite end. 
         [0024]    The ring shuttle  7  defines a passage  200  therethrough and includes an inner portion  15  disposed within the spring  8  and an outer portion  16  engaged by the end of the spring  8  and extending outwardly from the spring  8 . The ring shuttle  7  also contains a set of flats  30  disposed on opposed sides of the passage  200  that will align with corresponding flats  32  on the main body  4  to orient the shuttle  7  to the main body  4  and prevent the pins  5  from jamming. The overall length of the ring shuttle  7  prevents the spring  8  from getting stuck in the slots  17  of the main body  4 . The outer portion  16  is circular in shape and engages a slide washer  6  that is disposed around the main body  4  of the mechanism  13 . 
         [0025]    The main body  4  is cylindrical in shape and extends through the washer  6  and the passage  200  in the shuttle  7  into the interior of the spring  8  and the core  9  where it is fixed to the core  9 . The main body  4  includes a central bore  26  and a pair of angled slots  17  formed on opposed sides of the bore  26  within the main body  4  in which pins  5  are positioned in a manner to allow sliding of the pins  5  within the slots  17 . The pins  5  are secured at opposite ends within a circumferential slot  202  formed within the interior of the outer portion  16  of the ring shuttle  7  such that the pins  5  do not move axially along the mechanism  13  but can move laterally within the ring shuttle  7  as directed by the shape of the slots  17  and movement of the main body  4 . Further, the slots  17  are formed in the main body  4  to be disposed at an angle with regard to a central axis of the main body  4  extending through the main body  4  along a centerline of the bore  26  within the main body  4 . The slots  17  intersect the bore  26  at their inner end and extend completely though the main body  4  to the exterior of the main body  4 . In an alternative embodiment, the slots  17  can be formed to terminate within the main body  4 , if desired. The pins  5  are disposed within the slots  17  such that the pins  5  are oriented perpendicularly to the length of the slots  17  extending from the exterior of the main body  4  to the bore  26  within the main body  4 . This orientation of the pins  5  within the sots  17  enables the entire portion of the pin  5  exposed within the slot to contact and engage a shaft  20  in a manner to be discussed in the operation of the mechanism  13 . 
         [0026]    A release collar  1  is disposed around the ring shuttle  7  with a cylindrical section  18  located within and engaged with the wide end  14  by retaining ring  3 , and an annular section  19  located outside of the handle  10 . The cylindrical section  18  extends through a cover or cap  2  engaged with the wide end  14  and which forms and outer end stop for the movement of the release collar  1  with respect to the core  9  and main body  4 . 
         [0027]    When a shaft  20  is inserted within the mechanism  13  using only a force exerted by the user along the shaft  20 , as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 6A-6D , a leading edge  22  of the shaft  20  contacts the pins  5  located in the slots  17  of the main body  4  ( FIG. 6A ). As the leading edge  22  is pressed inwardly and/or rotated into the mechanism  13 , the pins  5  are moved laterally outwardly along the slots  17  and out of the path of the leading edge  22  of the shaft  20 . This movement also compresses the ring shuttle  7  inwardly against the bias of the spring  8 , assisting the movement of the pins  5  in the slots  17  ( FIG. 6B ) by allowing the pins to move radially outwardly along the circumferential slot  202 . Once the pins  5  have moved sufficiently within. the slots  17 , 202  as a result of the movement of the ring shuttle  7  against the bias of spring  8  to allow the leading edge  22  of shaft  20  to pass between the pins  5  ( FIG. 6C ), the shaft  20  and leading edge  22  can be rotated with one hand to align flats (not shown) on the leading edge  22  with complementary alignment surfaces (not shown) on the interior surfaces of the bore  26  within the main body  4 . Further, the movement of the shaft  20  within the main body  4  aligns the recesses  24  in the shaft  20  within the pins  5 . This alignment enables the spring  8  to urge the ring shuttle  7  outwardly towards the cap  2 , consequently moving the pins  5  along the slots  17  into the recesses  24  in the shaft  20  ( FIG. 6D ), thereby locking the shaft  20  within the mechanism  13  by the engagement of the recesses  24  with the exposed length of the pins  5 . 
         [0028]    The tolerance of the slots  17  is close to the diameter of the pins  5  such that the shaft  20  cannot significantly move relative to the main body  4  when the pins  5  are disposed within the recesses  24  as a result of the angular and constant pressure or force exerted on the tapered region of the shaft  20  via the pins  5  from the spring  8 . In this configuration for the mechanism  13 , the ring shuttle  7  and pins  5  can be displaced to secure the shaft  20  within the mechanism  13  by only having to press the shaft  20  into the mechanism  13  without having to simultaneously displace the collar  1 . Further, as the pins  5  extend perpendicularly to the recesses  24 , the pins  5  contact the recesses  24  along the entire length of the pin  5  exposed within the slots  17 . As a result, the engagement of the pins  5  with the recesses  24  provides multiple, or an elongated area of contact between the mechanism  13  and the shaft  20  to more securely hold the shaft  20  within the handle  10 . 
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , in addition to the increased ease of engagement and significant reduction in the slop or play provided by the mechanism  13 , in another illustrated exemplary embodiment the interior/bore  26  of the main body  4  is provided with a sloped or tapered surface  28 . This surface  28  is operable to engage the leading edge  22  of the shaft in a gradual manner as the leading edge  22  contacts the surface  28  in order to align and center the leading edge  22  with the main body  4 . Further, the proper engagement of the shaft  20  within the mechanism  13  is confirmed by the movement of the collar I forwardly from the handle  10  that provides a visual, audible and tactile indication of the engagement of the shaft  20  with the handle  10 . 
         [0030]    Various other embodiments of the present invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the filed claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention.