Patent Publication Number: US-2005132577-A1

Title: Sheet metal penetrating tool

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a penetrating tool developed for use by persons working with sheet metal ducting.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      When plans call for a secondary duct to branch off of a primary duct, sheet metal workers must create an opening in the primary duct large enough to permit the insertion of metal snips. Such openings are currently being formed using a screwdriver or a chisel, as there is not a sheet metal penetrating tool suited for this purpose.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      What is required is a sheet metal penetrating tool suited for making openings in existing ducting or light gauge metal.  
      According to the present invention there is provided a sheet metal penetrating tool, which includes an elongated blade having a first end and a second end. The blade is wedge shaped in cross-section. A handle is positioned at the first end of the blade. A piercing tip is positioned at the second end of the blade.  
      With the sheet metal penetrating tool, as described above, an axial force can be exerted upon the handle to cause the piercing tip to pierce sheet metal. A lateral force can then be exerted upon the handle to cause the wedge shaped blade to enlarge the opening in the sheet metal created by the piercing tip.  
      Although beneficial results may be obtained through use of the sheet metal penetrating tool, as described above, even more beneficial results may be obtained when the handle has a remote anvil end, which is adapted to serve as a striking surface for a hammer. This enables a force to be exerted, by a hammer striking the anvil end, to drive the piercing tip through sheet metal.  
      Although beneficial results may be obtained through use of the sheet metal penetrating tool, as described above, even more beneficial results may be obtained when the wedge shaped blade has an anvil edge opposed to a cutting edge. The anvil edge is adapted to serve as a striking surface for a hammer. This enables a force to be exerted, by a hammer striking the anvil edge, to drive the cutting edge through sheet metal. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a sheet metal penetrating tool constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a right side elevation view of the sheet metal penetrating tool illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the left side elevation view being a mirror image view.  
       FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the sheet metal penetrating tool illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of the sheet metal penetrating tool illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 5  is an end elevation view of a handle end of the sheet metal penetrating tool illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 6  is an end elevation view of a piercing tip end of the sheet metal penetrating tool illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the sheet metal penetrating tool piercing sheet metal.  
       FIG. 8  side view of the sheet metal penetrating tool cutting sheet metal. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      The preferred embodiment, a sheet metal penetrating tool generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 8 .  
      Structure and Relationship of Parts:  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a sheet metal penetrating tool  10 . The sheet metal penetrating tool has an elongated blade  12  having a first end  14  and a second end  16 . Referring to the end elevation view in  FIG. 6 , the blade is shown to be wedge shaped in cross-section. Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the sheet metal penetrating tool  10  also comprises a handle  18  at the first end  14  of the blade  12  and a piercing tip  20  at the second end  16  of the blade  12 . The handle  18  of the sheet metal penetrating tool  10  has a remote anvil end  22  which is adapted to serve as a striking surface for a hammer, whereby a force is exerted to drive the piercing tip  20  through sheet metal. The piercing tip  20  is shown to comprise the width of the blade  12 . It should be understood that other shapes, such as a taper to a point, are not excluded. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the wedge shaped blade  12  has an anvil edge  24  opposed to a cutting edge  26 . The anvil edge  24 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , is adapted to serve as a striking surface for a hammer, whereby a force is exerted to drive the cutting edge  26 , shown in  FIG. 4 , through sheet metal.  
      Operation:  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , the sheet metal penetrating tool  10  is placed against sheet metal  28  in a desired location. The remote anvil end  22  of the handle  18  is struck with a hammer  30 , driving the piercing tip  20  through the sheet metal  28 . Referring to  FIG. 8 , the cutting edge  26  of the wedge shaped blade  12  is driven through the sheet metal  28  by a hammer  30  striking the anvil edge  24  of the wedge shaped blade  12  to perform the desired cut.  
      In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.  
      It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims.