Abstract:
A tool is provided for the effective removal of a broken plug from within a jack of an electronic device. The tool can have two handles at a base end that a user squeezes together to grip objects within a jaw portion located at a distal end. The jaw portion of the tool is sized and shaped to be able to be inserted inside a typical jack, such as an industry standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. The jaw portion can be part of the tool or can be provided by bits that are fit onto the tool. An alternate embodiment tool uses a screw and nut assembly on a “T” shaped cylindrical tool that clamps jaw members together as the screw and nut are tightened.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/188,978, filed Jul. 6, 2015. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    This disclosure is generally related to audio, video, and computer devices with industry standard 3.5 mm TRRS stereo audio jacks. While these jacks are known to provide audio to headphones and cables, video can also be transmitted through the jack. The disclosure relates to a repair tool for audio, video and computer devices associated with jacks and plugs. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Due to circumstances, there will be incidents where headphone connectors and plugs inside 3.5 mm jacks will be broken, and a remnant of the headphone or cable jack will retained inside the audio jack. This condition can cause issues with the device, including but not limited to: audio no longer working on the device, the headphone jack being unusable with replacement headphones and audio cables, unusable telephone devices, and other unspecified issues. 
         [0006]    Removal of broken plug material without damaging the jack is important for the continued proper use of the device. The volume within the device associated with the jack is very constrained. Additionally, the proper working of a headphone jack usually requires a tight fit and snug connection of the plug to the inside wall or contacts of the jack. Removal of a damaged plug is difficult considering the broken pieces are inside a very small and deep volume. The broken plug is not being easily removed by gravity or small nudge or tap. The present inventor has recognized that the plug should be gripped securely, and pulled with some force to be removed from inside the headphone jack. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The embodiments of the invention provide a tool for the effective removal of a broken plug from within a jack of an electronic device. 
         [0008]    A first embodiment tool is in the general form of a pair of pliers. The tool includes two handles at a base end that a user squeezes together to grip objects within a jaw portion located at a distal end. The jaw portion of the tool is sized and shaped to be able to be inserted inside a typical jack, such as an industry standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. The jaw portion is cylindrical in transverse shape and divided into two jaw members across a parting plane across the middle of the tool&#39;s circumference. Additionally, the jaw members have concave inside surfaces which allow the jaw to fit and grip securely and snugly a circular object within a circular jack. Gripping ridges or teeth on the inside surfaces of the jaw members allows additional grip and adhesion to the object. Handles can be spring loaded and have a small amount of opening movement, given the confined sizes and volume within the jack. The outside surface of the jaw portion is smooth to prevent damage or abrasion to an inside of the device&#39;s jack when using the tool. 
         [0009]    The tool can be sized to fit easily into an industry standard 3.5 mm TRRS stereo headphone jack, with the jaw portion of the tool being split longitudinally into even semi-circles. Each jaw member has a concave interior allowing the tool to surround a rounded circular object inside of a jack. By clamping of both jaw members of the tool, along with the gripping teeth, an object can be gripped effectively and removed from the jack. 
         [0010]    An alternate embodiment tool uses a screw and nut assembly on a “T” shaped cylindrical tool that clamps jaw members together as the screw and nut are tightened. The jaw members are connected at a base end to a handle portion. The screw and nut are located along the jaw members spaced form the handle portion. Tightening of the screw causes the jaw members to either flex or pivot, causing the jaw members to clamp together and form a solid grip and connection to an object inside the jack. The tool and the object can then be retracted from the jack to extricate the object. 
         [0011]    A further alternate embodiment incorporates a plier like tool having clamps on each end of the gripping arms to hold the shank of specialty bits. The bits are formed to have jaw portions on the distal ends thereof. Each jaw portion can have a concave region with gripping teeth therein. The concave regions of opposing bits are sized to fit into a device jack to grip and thereafter remove a broken plug. 
         [0012]    Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will be become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, and from the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is an elevation view of a first embodiment of the plug extraction tool of the invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken generally along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken generally along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 5  with the tool in an open configuration; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is an elevation view of an alternate embodiment plug extraction tool of the invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a jaw of either embodiment clamping onto a broken plug, for retraction from a jack; 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is an elevation view of a further embodiment plug extraction tool of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged elevation of a bit taken from  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a right side view of the bit shown in  FIG. 8 ; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged view taken from  FIG. 9 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
         [0024]      FIG. 1  illustrates a first embodiment extraction tool  10 . This tool has the overall shape and operation of a pair of needle nose pliers except as noted. The tool  10  includes a first arm  16  and a second arm  18  pivotally connected along their length at a joint  20 . Handles  24 ,  26  are fit over rear portions  16   a,    18   a  of the arms  16 ,  18 , respectively. Front end portions  16   b,    18   b  of the arms  16 ,  18  form a jaw  30  at a distal end. The jaw has a length L. The length L can be 10 mm. Leaf springs  32 ,  34  connected to the arms  16 ,  18  urge the rear portions  16   a ,  118   a  away from each other. Squeezing the handles  24 ,  26  toward each other closes the jaw  30 . Releasing squeezing pressure on the handles  24 ,  26  allows the leaf springs  32 ,  34  to open the jaw  30 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates the jaw  30  in a closed configuration. The front end portions  16   b,    18   b  include spaced-apart circumferential ridges or teeth  36  that define an inside diameter of D 1 . D 1  can be about 2.0 mm. The outside of the jaw  30  had a diameter of D 2 . D 2  can be about 3.2 mm. Preferably the values of D 1  and D 2  are selected to fit within a jack of an electronic device in a slightly open condition as shown in  FIG. 3 , and when the jaw is closed to be able to grip or clamp onto a broken portion of a plug. These dimensions L, D 1  and D 2  can be adjusted for different size plugs and jacks. Once clamped onto the plug the jaw and plug can be retracted out of the jack. 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows the ridges  36  extending from a front edge  39  of each arm portion  16   b,    18   b.  The ridges are spaced apart along the length of the jaw  30 . Each ridge has a triangular cross section to bite into the plug to grip the plug for extraction. Other shapes and configurations of the ridges are encompassed by the invention. 
         [0027]      FIG. 5  illustrates an alternate embodiment tool  100 . This tool includes a handle portion  110  and two arms  114 ,  116  pivotally connected at a base end to the handle by pins or by being inherently resiliently flexible. At distal ends, the arms form the jaw  30  which is essentially identical to the jaw  30  previously described for the tool  10 . The arms are further spaced apart at base ends than distal ends. At an intermediate position between the jaw  30  and the handle  110  is a tightening screw  140  having a knurled head  142  for turning by a user. The head  142  is connected to a threaded shaft  144  that passes through a plain hole  146  in the arm  114  and is threaded into a threaded hole  148  through the arm  116 . Advantageously the threaded hole  148  is formed by a nut  149  fixed on the arm  116 . 
         [0028]    A leaf spring  150  acts between the arms  114 ,  116  to urge the arms apart. When the screw  140  is tightened against the urging of the spring  50 , the screw draws the arms  114 ,  116  together at the intermediate position and closes the jaw  30 . When the screw is loosened, the spring  150  urges the arms apart at the intermediate position and opens the jaw  30 . To remove a broken plug recessed into the jack, the jaw is slightly opened and inserted into the jack and around a broken portion of the plug. The screw  140  is then tightened to clamp the jaw  30  onto the plug. The jaw  30  with the broken plug are then extracted from the jack. 
         [0029]      FIG. 6  shows an electronic device  160  having a jack  162 . A plug  170  has been inserted into the jack. The last contact cylinder of the plug is missing, as being broken off, and a cylindrical stub  174  remains, recessed into the device  160 . Either of the prior described tools  10 ,  100  can be used to extract the plug by inserting the respective jaw  30  into the jack and clamping the stub  174  by either squeezing the arms  24 ,  26  together or by tightening the screw  140 . The jaw  30  is shown partly in section to show gripping of the jaw  30  onto the stub  174 . The jaw  30  is then retracted to extract the plug  170  from the device  160  through the jack  162 . 
         [0030]    The ridges  36  grip the plug stub  174  with a high degree of friction to prevent slipping between the jaw  30  and the plug  170 . 
         [0031]      FIGS. 7-10  illustrates a third embodiment extraction tool  200 . This tool has the overall shape and operation of a pair of retaining ring or circlip pliers except as noted. A retaining ring or circlip pliers having bit clamping mechanisms are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,056, herein incorporated by reference. The tool  200  includes a first arm  216  and a second arm  218  pivotally connected along their length at a joint  220 . Handles  224 ,  226  are fit over rear portions  216   a,    218   a  of the arms  216 ,  218 , respectively. Front end portions  216   b,    218   b  of the arms  216 ,  218  include clamps  216   c,    218   c  at distal ends. A coil spring  332  connected to the arms  16 ,  18  urge the rear portions  216   a,    218   a  away from each other and the front portions  216   b,    218   b  away from each other. Squeezing the handles  224 ,  226  toward each other closes front portions  216   b,    218   b.  Releasing squeezing pressure on the handles  224 ,  226  allows the coil springs  332  to open the front portions  216   b,    218   b.    
         [0032]    Each clamp  216   c,    218   c  holds an extraction bit or tool part  250 ,  252  respectively. The bits are identical. The bits are placed into an open clamp  216   c ,  218   c  and a respective screw  216   d,    218   d  is tightened to clamp the respective bit  250 ,  252 . 
         [0033]    The bits are described in  FIGS. 8-10 . Since the bits  250 ,  252  are identical, only the bit  250  will be described. The bit includes a shank  270  having a diameter dm 1  of about 0.109 inches and a length In 1  of about 0.75 inches and arranged to be clamped into the clamp  216   c  by the screw  216   d.  The shank can be bent or curved at an angle B of about 6 degrees with a bend radius BR if about 0.5 inch, to a jaw portion  274 . The purpose of the bend or curve is to allows the opposing jaw portions of the two bits  250 ,  252  to assume a somewhat parallel orientation when the handles  224 ,  226  are squeezed together to allow the jaw portions to fit into a socket to remove a broken plug. The jaw portion has a reduced overall thickness of t 1  compared to the shank  270 . The thickness t 1  can be 0.053 inches. The purpose of the reduced thickness is to allow opposing jaw portions to be fit into a socket to remove a broken plug. 
         [0034]    Each jaw portion  274  has a length Ig 1  of about 0.375 to 0.5 inches and a concave end region  278  that is semi-annular with a length m 1 . According to the illustrated embodiment the length m 1  is about 0.125 inches. The region  278  has an outer diameter d 1  of about 0.125 inches and an inner diameter d 3  of about 0.080 inches. 
         [0035]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , on an inside of the region  278 , a series of spaced apart longitudinal grooves  288  are cut along an inside surface of the region  278 . The grooves each have a width gw of about 0.005 inches and extend along the region  278  for substantially the length m 1 . The grooves are rectangular and are cut in a parallel orientation at a spacing sp of about 0.015 inches. 
         [0036]    The grooves  288  are cut into the semicircular inside surface of the region  278  to a sufficient depth to form sharp edges  288   a  along the edges of each groove which act as teeth to grip the broken plug to be removed. 
         [0037]    When the handles  224 ,  226  are squeezed toward each other and the jaw portions  274  are brought in substantial parallel orientation, the regions  278  have an over diameter of about 0.125 inches. Preferably, the values of t 1 , m 1 , d 1  and d 2  are selected for the opposing jaw portions  274  to fit within a jack of an electronic device in a slightly open condition (such as shown in  FIG. 3 ), and when the jaw portions are closed together, the end regions  278  are able to grip or clamp onto a broken portion of a plug. These dimensions t 1 , m 1 , d 1  and d 2  can be adjusted for different size plugs and jacks. Once clamped onto the plug by squeezing the handles  224 ,  226 , the jaw portions  274  and plug can be retracted out of the jack. 
         [0038]    From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. 
         [0039]    All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein, to the extent that the references are not inconsistent with the present disclosure.