Abstract:
A tool pack comprises a board including an annular toothed portion and a rotary member. An end face of an end of the rotary member has an annular toothed portion. The end of the rotary member is engaged with the board to allow rotation of the rotary member relative to the board with the annular toothed portion of the rotary member meshing with the annular toothed portion of the board. A second end of the rotary member may be engaged with an end of a tool to rotate therewith. When the rotary member is turned, the annular toothed portion of the rotary member moves across the annular toothed portion of the board to generate clicks.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a tool pack that has a flexible portion for packing a hand tool at a lower profile. The present invention also relates to a tool pack that has a try-on device to allow customers to try the hand tool.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,174 to Chow issued on Jul. 28, 1998 discloses a display pack having a rotatable security member that allows customers to try the hand tool packed in the tool pack. The display pack includes a board with a hole having a toothed inner periphery. The rotatable security member includes a polygonal head and a shank which has a toothed periphery rotatably engaged in the hole of the board. A customer may engage a ratchet tool with the polygonal head and rotate it to achieve the try-on purpose. Clicks are generated when the toothed outer periphery of the shank move across the toothed inner periphery of the hole of the board to attract the customer. However, the toothed outer periphery of the shank and the toothed inner periphery of the hole of the board tend to wear out due to friction and thus fail to provide the required function of generating clicks. In addition, the display pack is not suitable to pack a combination wrench that includes an end at an angle with the other end, as the profile of the tool pack after packing is relatively high and thus takes up a considerable space and is this inconvenient to transport. All existing tool packs are also suffered from this drawback.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a tool pack comprises:  
           [0006]    a board including a hole, the board further including an annular toothed portion surrounding the hole;  
           [0007]    a sounding plate including a positioning hole, the sounding plate further including an annular toothed portion on a side thereof and surrounding the positioning hole; and  
           [0008]    a rotary member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the rotary member being extended through the positioning hole of the sounding plate and the hole of the board to allow simultaneous rotation of the rotary member and the sounding plate relative to the board with the annular toothed portion of the sounding plate meshing with the annular toothed portion of the board, the second end of the rotary member being adapted to be engaged with an end of a tool to rotate therewith;  
           [0009]    wherein the sounding plate is turned when the rotary member is turned, and the annular toothed portion of the sounding plate moves across the annular toothed portion of the board to generate clicks.  
           [0010]    The board includes a non-rectilinear slot to thereby define a flexible portion including the annular toothed portion of the board, whereby the annular toothed portion of the board is moved slightly away from the annular toothed portion of the sounding plate during rotation of the sounding plate to reduce wear to the annular toothed portion of the board and the annular toothed portion of the sounding plate. In addition, the flexible portion may reduce a profile of a tool packed by the tool pack by means of bending the flexible portion relative to a remaining portion of the board.  
           [0011]    The annular toothed portion of the board and the annular toothed portion of the sounding plate consist of a plurality of planar teeth. In an embodiment of the invention, the annular toothed portion of the board is formed on a front side of the board and the sounding plate is mounted to the front side of the board. In another embodiment of the invention, the annular toothed portion of the board is formed on a rear side of the board and the sounding plate is mounted to the rear side of the board. The rotary member comprises a resilient hook with a longitudinal slit. The resilient hook is compressed when passing through the hole of the board and the positioning hole of the sounding plate and then returned to its initial position to thereby provide a positioning effect.  
           [0012]    The board may further include a frame for limiting rotation of the tool. The board includes an engaging hole and the frame comprises a first end pivotally connected to the board and a second end releasably engaged with the engaging hole of the board.  
           [0013]    In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a tool pack comprises:  
           [0014]    a board including an annular toothed portion; and  
           [0015]    a rotary member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the rotary member including an end face with an annular toothed portion, the first end of the rotary member being engaged with the board to allow rotation of the rotary member relative to the board with the annular toothed portion of the rotary member meshing with the annular toothed portion of the board, the second end of the rotary member being adapted to be engaged with an end of a tool to rotate therewith;  
           [0016]    wherein when the rotary member is turned, the annular toothed portion of the rotary member moves across the annular toothed portion of the board to generate clicks.  
           [0017]    The annular toothed portion of the board and the annular toothed portion of the rotary member consist of a plurality of planar teeth. In an embodiment of the invention, the board includes a hole and the annular toothed portion of the board surrounds the hole, and the first end of the rotary member is rotatably engaged in the hole of the board. In another embodiment of the invention, the board includes a peg and the annular toothed portion of the board surrounds the peg, and the first end of the rotary member is rotatably engaged in the peg of the board.  
           [0018]    The present invention also provides a tool pack comprising a board having a non-rectilinear slot defined therein to thereby form a flexible portion. The flexible portion is flexible relative to a remaining portion of the board and engageable with an angled tool that includes a first end and a second end at an angle with the first end. One of the first end and the second end of the angled tool is engaged with the flexible portion and a profile of the angled tool can be reduced by means of bending the flexible portion such that the angled tool can be packed at a reduced profile.  
           [0019]    Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a first embodiment of a tool pack in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view of the first embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the tool pack in FIG. 1.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is a top view of the tool pack and a combination wrench for try-on.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a side view of the tool pack and the combination wrench in FIG. 4.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is a side view similar to FIG. 5, wherein the combination wrench is bent to lower its profile for packing.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a second embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 is an exploded rear perspective view of the second embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the tool pack in FIG. 7.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 10 is a front perspective view of a third embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the tool pack in FIG. 10.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 12 is a top view of a tool box comprising the try-on device in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of a modified embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 14 is a front exploded perspective view of the modified embodiment of the tool pack in FIG. 13.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 15 is a perspective similar to FIG. 14, illustrating pivotal arrangement of a frame of the tool pack.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 16 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the tool pack in FIG. 13. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]    Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, a first embodiment of a tool pack in accordance with the present invention generally includes a board  10  having a front side  13  and a rear side  14 . A hanging hole  17  is defined in an upper end of the board  10  and a frame  12  is integrally formed on a lower end of the board  10 . A non-rectilinear (e.g., U-shape) slot  15  is defined in the board  10 , thereby forming a flexible portion  11  that is flexible relative to the remaining portion of the board  10 . The flexible portion  11  has a hole  112  that extends from the first side  13  through the second side  14  of the board  10  and an annular toothed portion  111  is formed on the rear side  14  of the board  10  and surrounds the hole  112 . The annular toothed portion  111  consists of a plurality of planar teeth  1111 .  
         [0037]    A rotary member  20  that is substantially hexagonal includes a plurality of annularly spaced abutting elements  22  extending outward along a longitudinal direction of the rotary member  20 . A resilient hook  21  extends longitudinally from a side of the rotary member  20  in a space defined by the abutting elements  22 . The resilient hook  21  has a longitudinal slit  24  in a distal end thereof.  
         [0038]    A sounding plate  30  in the form of a disc is mounted to the rear side  14  of the board  10 . The sounding plate  30  includes a positioning hole  32  and an annular toothed portion  31  consisting of a plurality of planar teeth  311 . Preferably, the annular toothed portion  31  surrounds the positioning hole  32  that is preferably located in a center of the sounding plate  30 .  
         [0039]    In assembly, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the resilient hook  21  of the rotary member  20  is extended through the hole  112  of the board  10  and the positioning hole  32  of the sounding plate  30 . Referring to FIG. 3, the resilient hook  21  is compressed when it is passing through the hole  112  of the board  10  and the positioning hole  32  of the sounding plate  30  and then expands outward to its initial position and is thus engaged with the sounding plate  30 . The annular toothed portion  31  of the sounding plate  30  is meshed with the annular toothed portion  111  of the flexible portion  11  of the board  10 . It is noted that the abutting elements  22  abut against the front side  13  of the board  10 , best shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0040]    In use, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, a customer may extend an end (e.g., the box end  41 ) of a hand tool (e.g., a combination wrench  40 ) through the frame  12  and engage the end  41  with the rotary member  20 . Then, the customer may try the combination wrench  40  by turning it. Two sides of the frame  12  limit rotation of the combination wrench  40 . The sounding plate  30  is rotated when the combination wrench  40  is turned. Thus, the annular toothed portion  31  of the sounding plate  30  turns relative to the annular toothed portion  111  of the flexible portion  11  of the board  10  and generate “clicks”. It is noted that due to provision of the flexible portion  11 , the annular toothed portion  111  of the flexible portion  11  of the board  10  is moved slightly away from the annular toothed portion  31  of the sounding plate  30  during rotation of the sounding plate  30 . This avoids abrasion and wear to the annular toothed portion  31  of the sounding plate  30  and the annular toothed portion  111  of the flexible portion  11  of the board  10 , and the clicks thus generated are loud.  
         [0041]    Referring to FIG. 6, a further advantage provided by the flexible portion  11  of the board  10  is that, when packing a hand tool, such as a combination wrench  40  that has an end  41  at an angle with the other end  42 , the other end  42  of the combination wrench  40  may be pushed toward the board  10  and thus has a lower profile for packing. The flexible portion  11  of the board  10  allows such packing by means of bending of the flexible portion  11  relative to the remaining portion of the board  10 . This is extremely advantageous to transport, as the overall volume for the tool pack is reduced.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIGS. 7 through 9 illustrate a second embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention that is modified from the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. The only difference between these two embodiments is that in this embodiment the annular toothed portion  111  of the flexible portion  11  is formed on the front side  13  of the board  10  and the sounding plate  30  is attached to the front side  13  of the board  10 .  
         [0043]    [0043]FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a third embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention that is modified from the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 through 9. The only difference between these two embodiments is that in this embodiment the sounding plate  30  is omitted and the rotary member  20  includes an annular toothed portion  23  for meshing with the annular toothed portion  111  of the flexible portion  11  and that the resilient hook  21  of the rotary member  20  engages with the hole  112  of the board  10 .  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 12 is a further modified embodiment of the present invention, wherein the board  10  is enlarged to form a bottom board of a tool holder that comprises a plurality of holding means  16  for holding wrenches  40  of various sizes.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIGS. 13 through 16 illustrates a further modified embodiment of the tool pack in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the tool pack includes a board  10 ′ having a front side  13 ′ and a rear side  14 ′. A hanging hole  17 ′ is defined in an upper end of the board  10 ′ and a pivotal portion  18  is formed on a side of a lower end of the board  10 ′. An engaging hole  115  (FIG. 15) is defined in the other side of the lower end of the board  10 ′. A frame  19  has an end in pivotal connection with the pivotal portion  18  of the board  10 ′ and a hook  114  formed on the other end thereof for releasably engaging with the engaging hole  115  of the board  10 ′.  
         [0046]    A peg  113  is formed on the front side  13 ′ of the board  10 ′ and an annular toothed portion  111 ′ is defined in the front side  13  and surrounds the peg  113 . The annular toothed portion  111 ′ consists of a plurality of planar teeth  1111 ′ (FIG. 4). The peg  113  includes a screw hole (not labeled). Referring to FIG. 4, a substantially hexagonal rotary member  20 ′ includes an annular toothed portion  23 ′ formed on an end face thereof. The annular toothed portion  23 ′ consists of a plurality of planar teeth  231  for meshing with the planar teeth  1111 ′ of the annular toothed portion  111 ′ of the board  10 ′. A longitudinal through-hole  25  is defined in the rotary member  20 ′ and includes a first section  25   a  for receiving the peg  113  of the board  10 ′ and a second section  25   b  through which a bolt  210  extends.  
         [0047]    In assembly, the bolt  210  is extended through the second section  25   b  of the through-hole  25  and engaged with the screw hole of the peg  113  of the board  10 ′ with the peg  113  being received in the first section  25   a  of the through-hole  25  and with the annular toothed portion  23 ′ of the rotary member  20 ′ engaged with the annular toothed portion  111 ′ of the board  10 ′.  
         [0048]    In use, an end  51  of a wrench  50  is engaged with the rotary member  20 ′ and the hook  114  of the frame  19  is engaged with the engaging hole  115  of the board  10 ′. Thus, the customer may turn the wrench  50  to try it, and rotational movement of the wrench  50  is limited by the frame  19 . Again, clicks are generated by the planar teeth  1111 ′ and  231  during rotation of the wrench  50 .  
         [0049]    Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.