Patent Publication Number: US-2006016303-A1

Title: Driver tool

Description:
BACKGROUND  
      The present invention relates to a driver tool or similar article and more particularly to a driver tool or a similar article, such as a screwdriver, in which the driver may be retracted into the handle.  
      Retractable driver tools have been known for a number of years and comprise the use of a number of drivers with different heads and/or bits, such as straight or phillips screwdriver bits. The drivers are usually stored within the handle and when a particular driver is needed, that driver is moved out of the handle and placed in an operative position in front of the handle. When that driver is no longer needed it is retracted back into the handle.  
      In some of these tools the drivers are physically removed from and physically replaced in the handle so that there is the possibility that the driver may be dropped or lost in transit. Other tools use various complicated and expensive mechanisms to extend the required driver out of the handle and to replace it back into the handle.  
     OBJECTS  
      The present invention overcomes these problems and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved retractable driver tool in which a number of drivers may be easily stored in the handle, in which a selected driver may be easily placed in its extended operative position when desired, and in which the selected driver may be easily retracted into the handle.  
      Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved retractable driver tool in which each driver is moved in and out of the handle without the driver being physically disengaged from the handle.  
      Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved retractable driver tool which is simple and inexpensive to operate and maintain.  
      Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to described, or will be indicated in the appended claims and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice. 
    
    
     DRAWINGS  
      A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a driver tool made in accordance with the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the driver tool in its operative position.  
       FIG. 3  is sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view similar to  FIG. 3  showing the driver tool with its drivers in their retracted positions.  
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view similar to  FIG. 4  showing a driver in a partially extended position.  
       FIG. 6  is a fragmentary sectional view showing the position of the parts when a driver is in its extended position.  
       FIG. 7  is a fragmentary sectional view similar to  FIG. 6  showing the position of the parts when a driver is being retracted.  
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view taken along lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 4 .  
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view taken along line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 7 .  
       FIG. 10  is a sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 3 .  
       FIG. 11  is a plan view of the end cap.  
       FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 5 .  
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the end cap of the present invention showing the controller being inserted therein.  
       FIG. 14  is a similar perspective view showing the controller fully inserted in the end cap. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION  
      Referring to the drawings, the driver tool  1  of the present invention comprises a handle assembly  2 , a head assembly  3  and an end cap  4  adopted to be mounted at the rear of the handle assembly.  
      The drivers  50  which are preferably used with the present invention are elongated and comprise a body  51 , a head  53  and a rear  52 . The head  53  may be comprised of a shaped driver bit, such as a straight or phillips screwdriver. The rear  52  is non-circular in cross section and preferably has a hexagonal cross section. A groove  54  is provided approximately midway on the body  51  and separates the head  51  from the rear  52 .  
      The handle assembly  2  is hollow and comprises a main body portion  5 , a head portion  6 , and a selector assembly  9  mounted within the hollow body portion  5 .  
      Parallel to the long axis of the main body portion  5 , the main body portion  5  has a plurality of spaced substantially parallel elongated inwardly directed grooves  10  which form outwardly directed driver-receiving channels  11  therebetween. Each channel  11  is adapted to receive a driver  50  therein. A plurality of spaced lock fingers  7  extend rearwardly from the grooves  10  in the main body portion  5  with the spaces  12  formed between them being co-extensive with the driver-receiving channels  11 . Each lock finger  7  has an outwardly extending flange  8  at its end. The head portion  6  is narrower than the main body portion  5  and has a plurality of spaced separators  13  on its inner surface  15  to form grooves  14  therebetween.  
      The end cap  4  is mounted on the rear end of the handle assembly  2  and has a rear wall  20  and an upstanding skirt  22  with an internal circumferential groove  21  formed therein. The outwardly extending flanges  8  of the spaced lock fingers  7  are adapted to enter into the groove  21  in order to permit the end cap  4  to be mounted on and held in place on the rear of the main body portion  5  and to permit the end cap  4  to rotate relative to the main body portion  5 . The end cap  4  has a cavity  25  in its rear wall  20  and a viewing opening  26  in its skirt  22 .  
      The selector assembly  9  is mounted within the main body portion  5  of the handle assembly  2  and comprises an elongated body  30 , an open front mouth  31  and a controller  32 . The open front mouth  31  is non-circular and is similar in size and configuration to the size and configuration of the non-circular rear  52  of the drivers  50  and is preferably hexagonal. The body  30  of the selector assembly  9  has an elongated exit groove  33  therein which communicates with and leads into the open front mouth  31  thereof. The body  30  of the selector assembly  9  is also provided with a circumferential stop ring  34  extending therefrom. The stop ring  34  is provided with a notch  35  which overlies and communicates with the exit groove  33 . A slot  36  is provided at the rear end edge  37  of the selector assembly  9  which preferably is in linear alignment with the exit groove  33  in the selector assembly  9 . The controller  32  is keyed to and/or is affixed to the rear end edge  37  of the main body  30  and comprises a base  38  and an upstanding key  39 . The key  39  is adapted to enter the slot  36  in the rear edge  37  of the main body  30  so that rotation of the controller  32  will rotate the entire selector assembly  9 . The base  38  is adapted to be mounted in the end cap  4  and to enter the groove  25  so that rotation of the end cap  4  will rotate the entire selector assembly  9  through the intermediation of the key  38  and slot  36 . When the base  38  is mounted in the groove  25 , the viewing opening  26  is positioned in axial alignment with the groove  33  in selector assembly  9  and above the rear  52  of the drivers  50  so that user is always aware of the position of the groove  33  in the selector assembly  9 .  
      Rotation of the selector assembly  9  moves the exit groove  33  and notch  35  in stop ring  34  past and below each of the drivers  50  in the channels  11  in the handle  2 . The viewing opening  26  also moves past the rear ends  52  of the drivers  50  from above so that when the user sees the desired driver  50 , rotation of the end cap  4  is stopped at that position which also stops the selector assembly  9  with its groove  33  at that same position. When the selector assembly  9  is stopped so that its groove  33  is beneath the desired driver  50  in a its channel  11 , the driver  50  will fall into the exit groove  33  through the notch  35 . The selected driver  50  can now move out of the selector assembly  9  through the hexagonal open front mouth  31  of the main body  30  until its hexagonal rear  52  sits in the hexagonal open mouth  31  and is held in place therein, as will be referred to herewith. The stop ring  34  prevents the other drivers  50  from moving forward out of their channels  11  toward the head portion  6  of the handle assembly  3 .  
      The head assembly  3  comprises hollow tubular body  60  and an outer control sleeve  75  slidably mounted thereon. The body  60  has rear end  61 , a front end  63  and a shoulder  64  separating the two. The rear end  61  has spaced lock fingers  62  with reentrant fins  65  adapted to be inserted into the head potion  6  of the main body outer  5  of the handle assembly  2  in the spaces  14  formed between the separators  13  in the inner surface  15  of the head portion  6  so as to fit tightly into the head portion  6  of the handle assembly  5  and be held in place by the reentrance fins  65 .  
      The front end  63  has a plurality of balls  66  mounted in and movable within spaced pockets  67  formed therein. The spaced pockets  67  extend through the walls  82  of the front end  63  to from the outer surface  80  thereof to the inner surface  81  thereof. The diameter of the balls  66  is slightly larger than the diameter of the mouths  67 A of the pockets  67  so that outer surfaces of the balls  66  can extend within the inner surface  81  and into the interior cavity  83  of the front end  63  but cannot fall out of the pockets  67 . A circumferential groove  68  is provided in front  63  and a stop ring  69  is adapted to be mounted in the groove  68 . A spring  70  is mounted over outer surface  80  of the front end  63  and abuts against a shoulder  71  formed by the groove  68 .  
      The slidable control sleeve  75  is mounted over the spring  70  and over the entire front end  63 . The control sleeve  75  has a rear flange  76  and front tab  77  extending inwardly therefrom. The spring  70  is held between the said front flange  77  and the shoulder  71  in the front end  63 . The control sleeve  75  has an enlarged groove  78  in its inner surface adjacent the rear flange  76  so as to receive the stop ring  69  therein so that control sleeve  75  is held securely on the front end  63  for slidable movement thereon and cannot fall off the front end  63 . The balls  66  in the front end  63  are adapted to move within their pockets  65  so that the balls  66  can protrude beyond the inner surface  81  of the front end  63  and into its interior  83  but are free to move back into their pockets  67  above the inner surface  81 . When the control sleeve  75  is in its forward position ( FIG. 6 ) the front flange  77  is adapted to strike the balls  66  and move them down so that their outer surface moves beyond the inner surface  81  of the front end  63  and into the interior  83  thereof and hold them in that position. When the control sleeve  75  is moved backward ( FIG. 7 ) against the bias of the spring  70 , the front flange  77  is moved away from the balls  66  so that the balls  66  are free to move back up in their pockets  67 and out of the interior  83  of the front end  63 .  
      When a driver  50  is to be moved to its extended position ( FIGS. 5 and 7 ) it is moved forward to a position in which its groove  53  is opposite the pockets  67  so that the balls  66  move down into the groove  53  of the drivers  50  through the inner surface  81 . The control sleeve  75  is moved to its rear position with the tab  77  away from behind the balls  66  so that the balls  66  are free to move back and froth within their pockets  67  in the interior  83  of the front end  63 . As the driver  50  moves forward ( FIG. 7 ) it strikes the balls  66  and moves them up into their pockets and out of the way. When the driver reaches its forward-most position its groove  54  is now opposite the pockets  67  of the balls  66  which now fall into the groove  54 . The control sleeve  77  is now released and moves forward under the influence of spring  70  so that the front flange  77  now lies over the balls  66  and holds the balls  66  in the groove  53  in the driver  50 . This locks the driver  50  in place in its extended position. When it is desired to retract the driver  50  and move it back into its channel  11  in the handle assembly  2 , the control sleeve  75  is again moved back against the action of the spring  70  to move the front flange  77  away from over the balls  66  to release them and be provided back by the driver  50  into their pockets  65  and out of the groove  53  in the driver  50  thereby permitting the driver  50  to move back into the handle assembly  2  and back into its channel  11  by passing through the exit groove  33  in the selector assembly  9 .  
      In operation the driver tool is originally in the position shown in  FIG. 4  with all of the drivers  50  in the their respective channels  11  in the handle assembly  3  and the control sleeve  75  in its forward position with its tab  77  urging the balls  66  down protruding into the interior  83  in the front end  63 . When it is desired to select a particular driver  50 , the end cap  4  is rotated and which in turn rotates the selector assembly  9 . The viewing opening  26  in the end cap  3  permits the user to see the rear  52  of each driver  50  that the viewing opening  26  passes over. When a desired driver  50  is reached, rotation of the end cap  3  is stopped. The selected driver  50  now falls down into the exit groove  33  in the selector assembly  9  past the notch  35  in the stop ring  34 . It is now free to move forward out into the selector assembly  9  and into the front end  63 . As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7  the control sleeve  75  is moved back against bias of spring  70  to permit the balls  66  to be retracted outwardly as the driver  50  is moving past the balls  66 . When the driver  50  reaches its forward most position, the groove  54  therein is now opposite the balls  66  which fall into the groove  54 . At this point, the control sleeve  75  as released and moves forwardly, by spring  70  so that its tab  77  lies over the balls  66  to hold them in their position in the groove  54  of the driver  50  to hold the driver  50  in its extended position. It may now be used without any fear of the driver  50  being pushed back into the handle assembly  2 .  
      When it is desired to move the extended driver  50  back into the handle assembly  2 , the control sleeve  75  is moved backwardly ( FIG. 7 ) to move the tab  77  away from the balls  66  so that the balls  66  are free to move back in their pockets  67 . The driver  50  is now in a position to move the balls upwardly back into their pockets  67  as the driver  50  is moving backwards into the handle assembly  2 . The driver  50  moves back through the open front end  63  and back into the exit groove  30  in the selector assembly  9  and into its original channel  11 . Rotation of the end cap  3  again will hold that particular driver in its channel  11  because the notch  35  in the stop rind  34  moves away from that particular channel so that the driver  50  cannot be moved out of its channel because the stop ring permits it.  
      It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an improved retractable driver tool in which a number of drivers may be easily stored in the handle and in which a selected driver may be easily placed in its extended operative position when desired and easily moved back into its retracted position in which each driver may be moved in and out of the handle without the driver being physically disengaged from the handle and which is simple and inexpensive to operate and maintain.  
      As many and varied modifications of the subject matter of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description given hereinabove, it will be understood that the present invention is limited only as provided in the claims appended hereto.