PROTECTIVE GRIPPING SLEEVE ON ROTATING TOOL EXTENSION ARM

Abstract

A gripping sleeve slides onto a ratchet extension arm shaft. A proximal and a distal collar affixed to the ratchet extension arm prevent sliding or wobbling of the sleeve. The sleeve is gripped by a user to allow the user to steady and guide the tool head attached to the extension arm, which rotates freely within the sleeve. The user grips the sleeve with a bare or a gloved hand without damage to the hand or glove.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to ratchet extension arms for square-drive sockets, ratchets and air-tools and particularly to a protective grasping sleeve on a ratchet extension arm which comprises a freely spinning graspable sheath or tube mounted on a ratchet extension arm by means of a first and a second collar affixed to the ratchet extension arm which allows a user to steady the apparatus without damage to their hands or gloves.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

A rotating tool may not be gripped comfortably or securely with a bare hand. Many if not most technicians and mechanics, automotive or other, wear thin rubber or latex gloves both to protect their hands and keep their work clean. Frequently an extension turning inside a gloved hand will grab the glove and tear it or partially remove it from the hand. A glove with a little bit of oil or grease on it is very slippery and may not provide a secure enough grip on an extension to guide the tool properly, or the guide hand will quickly slide down the rotating extension. Prior art devices do not adequately address these problems.

Prior art U.S. Patent Application #20060266166, published Nov. 30, 2006 by Weber, is for a protective sheath for tools to prevent marring of finished surfaces when the tool is being used and to provide a grasping surface. The sheath is integrally formed as a one-piece elastomeric body that is applied to the exterior surface of the tool, with at least one end of the sheath projecting slightly beyond an end of the tool. In one embodiment the sheath projects at both ends beyond the ends of the tool. One of the projecting ends functions to contact the finished surface and prevent contact between the tool and finished surface, and the other projecting end functions to span the coupling between the tool and another tool. The elastomeric body is freely rotatable relative to the tool and fixed axially relative thereto, and provides a non-rotating surface that may be grasped by a user to support and guide the tool Annular ribs on the inner surface of the sheath and/or a lubricant incorporated in the material of the sheath provide a reduction in friction, enabling the sheath to rotate freely on the tool even when it is grasped tightly by a person to support and guide the tool.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 7,082,864, issued Aug. 1, 2006 to Weber, shows a protective sheath for tools to prevent marring of finished surfaces when the tool is being used and to provide a grasping surface. The sheath is integrally formed as a one-piece elastomeric body that is applied to the exterior surface of the tool, with at least one end of the sheath projecting slightly beyond an end of the tool. In one embodiment the sheath projects at both ends beyond the ends of the tool. One of the projecting ends functions to contact the finished surface and prevent contact between the tool and finished surface, and the other projecting end functions to span the coupling between the tool and another tool. The elastomeric body is freely rotatable relative to the tool and fixed axially relative thereto, and provides a non-rotating surface that may be grasped by a user to support and guide the tool Annular ribs on the inner surface of the sheath and/or a lubricant incorporated in the material of the sheath provide a reduction in friction, enabling the sheath to rotate freely on the tool even when it is grasped tightly by a person to support and guide the tool.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 7,387,053, issued Jun. 17, 2008 to Lee, is for a driving tool having adjustable holding device. The driving tool includes a driving stem having two or more outer peripheral grooves, a holding device having a tubular member slidably engaged onto the driving stem, a detent slidably received in the tubular member, and an actuating device having a control ferrule slidably engaged onto the tubular member and having an actuator for selectively actuating the detent to engage with either of the peripheral grooves of the driving stem and for adjustably attaching the tubular member to the driving stem at any selected position and for allowing the user to hold the driving tool at suitable or selected position when the driving stem is driven or rotated relative to the tubular member.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,175, issued Oct. 17, 2006 to Anderson, provides a wheel nut tool. The device is fittable to a diameter of a wheel to facilitate the turning of a wheel nut for loosening for removal of the wheel from the vehicle or for tightening the wheel to the vehicle. The device has a outer diameter, the device comprising a monolithic star-shaped body having extended portions that extend to a diameter that approaches the inner diameter of the wheel or fits around the outer diameter of the wheel. Apertures through the device are arranged in a base circle pattern that matches the diameter circle of the wheel nuts. An aperture is provided for the axle hub. A stabilizer, shown in FIGS. 4C-1 through 4C-3, can be used with a sleeve for maintaining a ratchet extension tool along the centerline.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 2,071,543, issued Feb. 23, 1937 to Kress, claims socket wrench extension having a rotatable grip that allows a mechanic to steady the device by holding the grip while continuing to turn the extension.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,476, issued Jan. 25, 1977 to DeVrou, describes a hand grip of flexible material for use with a socket wrench extension and which is adapted to be slidably and tightly received upon the socket wrench extension so that the hand grip can be grasped and the socket wrench extension manually turned.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,105, issued Dec. 18, 1973 to Triplett, et al, discloses a fastener tool, for use with special fasteners, comprising a sleeve rigidly secured in a housing having a head engaging end extending from the housing, a socket rotatably secured in the sleeve and housing having apertures at both ends and being biased into the housing by a spring, and a cover surrounding the housing. The tool has a means for gripping and immobilizing the holding member and a socket for gripping the bolt head is used to secure the fasteners. The means for gripping and immobilizing the holding member is hand held by a user of the tool.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,915, issued Aug. 19, 2008 to Schincariol, indicates a socket and drive member used in a manufacturing process for driving fasteners is coupled together using an elastic sleeve. The sleeve is placed on one of the socket and drive and then positioned to cover a joint created when the socket and drive member are coupled together. The sleeve uses friction and/or vacuum to maintain the connection at the joint, thus removing the need for fasteners to maintain the joint connection.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,975, issued Nov. 9, 2004 to Kozak, puts forth device for protecting a user's fingers when operating a flexible extension shaft which includes a first end portion secured to a rigid member of the shaft via clamp means, a second end portion that engages a movable member of the shaft, a mid-portion member integrally joined to the first and second end portions whereby relative movement between the rigid member and the movable member is unobstructed by the mid-portion member irrespective of the relative positions of the rigid member and the movable member. The mid-portion member is configured to prevent a user's fingers from being “pinched” between the rigid member and the movable member irrespective of the position of the user's hand upon the flexible extension shaft.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,064, issued Sep. 21, 1982 to Markle, concerns an auxiliary tool kit for a socket wrench set comprising an easy-out, an easily grippable extension with a rigid hand grip thereon, and an adapter extension for mating with an electric drill or alternatively, the kit is adapted for mating with a ratchet wrench.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. D540,644, issued Apr. 17, 2007 to Song, illustrates the ornamental design for a drive extension having a flared gripping section.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,800, issued Oct. 28, 1997 to Sharpe, is for a socket drive extension grip for securing to a socket drive extension to provide greater flexibility to the use of a socket tool. The socket drive extension includes a handle, a shaft tube secured within the handle and for receiving the shaft of a socket drive extension and a clamping device for securely holding the socket drive extension within the handle and shaft tube and preventing the shaft from rotating.

What is needed is a hand gripping sleeve encircling a rotating component of a tool to allow comfortable, secure, and safe gripping of the rotating component of the tool with a bare hand or a gloved hand for guiding the operation of the rotating tool.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a hand gripping sleeve encircling a rotating component of a tool bracketed by a pair of collars attached to the rotating component, the collars rotating with the component, to prevent sliding of the gripping sleeve on the tool, but with adequate space between to allow the sleeve to be gripped by a hand of a user without the hand touching the rotating collars to allow a comfortable, secure, and safe gripping of the rotating component of the tool with a bare hand or a gloved hand for guiding the operation of the rotating tool.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand gripping sleeve encircling a rotating tool component, a proximal collar and a distal collar affixed to the rotating tool component, all of a small diameter which allows better clearance in tight spaces; the distal collar being of a large enough diameter to be grasped by the user should the rotating tool component need to be turned manually.

In brief, the present invention provides a protective stationary grasping sleeve on a rotating ratchet extension arm, which comprises a graspable sheath, tube or sleeve slipped over a ratchet extension arm at the narrow drive end and bracketed by a pair of spaced collars affixed to the ratchet extension arm and spaced apart by the length of the sleeve to prevent sliding or wobbling of the sleeve. The present invention allows user to grasp the stationary gripping sleeve to guide and steady the apparatus while the tool extension arm rotates within the sleeve without damage to the hands or gloves of the user. The present invention may be used on rotating extension arms for square-drive sockets, ratchets, air-tools, and other rotating tools.

An advantage of the present invention is that it protects the user's hands and gloves.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the sleeve is held securely on the rotating tool to prevent wobbling and longitudinal slipping on the extension arm.

One more advantage of the present invention is that it is comfortable to use.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it is lightweight.

A further advantage of the present invention is that is compact to fit within working spaces.

A contributory advantage of the present invention is that it may be manufactured in a variety of sizes to fit a variety of tools with rotating shafts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention and associated collar components attached to a rotating tool extension arm;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the proximal end of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention and associated collar components attached to a rotating tool extension arm;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the distal end of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention and associated collar components attached to a rotating tool extension arm;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the proximal end of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view from the proximal end of the rotating tool extension arm which receives attached collars and sleeve;

FIG. 5B is a perspective view from the proximal end of the rotating tool extension arm which has a built in distal collar;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the proximal collar of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the proximal collar of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the distal collar of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the distal collar of the protective gripping sleeve of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1-9, a protective gripping sleeve device 10 for an extension arm 2 of a rotating tool (not shown) comprises a protective gripping sleeve 1 slipped over the extension arm 2, the sleeve 1 held in place and bracketed by a proximal collar 3 and a distal collar 4 and 4A. The two collars 3 and 4 and 4A are attached to the extension arm 2 so that a user may grip the gripping sleeve 1 to guide and control the tool while the extension arm 2 rotates inside the sleeve 1. The protective stationary gripping sleeve 1 surrounds a rotating tool extension arm 2 which may be attached to any of a variety of rotating tools (not shown) taken from a list of rotating tools including a square-drive socket tool, a ratchet tool, an air tool, or other rotating tool with an extension arm.

The gripping sleeve device 10 comprises a rigid sleeve 1 slipped over the extension arm 2, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, at the narrow square drive proximal end (shown at the left side of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5A and 5B). The gripping sleeve 1 is fabricated of a rigid material which is preferably a rigid lightweight aluminum tubing or pipe, but could also be copper, stainless steel, plastic, carbon or other rigid type of tubing or pipe slightly larger in internal diameter than the outer diameter of the extension arm shaft. The gripping sleeve device 10 also comprises a pair of spaced collars 3 and 4 or 4A affixed to the extension arm 2 and spaced apart by the length of the gripping sleeve 1 to prevent sliding or wobbling of the sleeve 1 and to allow a user to grasp the stationary gripping sleeve 1 to guide and steady the tool while the tool extension arm 2 rotates within the gripping sleeve 1. The gripping sleeve 1 is of a length to enable a hand of the user to grip the gripping sleeve 1 without contacting the collars 3 and 4 or 4A which rotate with the extension arm 2. Preferably, the proximal collar 3 and the distal collar 4 are each attached to the rotating tool extension arm 2, as shown in FIGS. 1-3 with the extension arm shown in FIG. 5A. Alternately, a collar 4A at the distal end of a rotating tool extension arm 2 may be built into the rotating tool extension arm 2, as shown in FIG. 5B.

In use, a user grips the stationary gripping sleeve 1 with one hand while holding the tool handle (not shown) in the other hand and the tool rotates the extension arm 2 by a square drive at the proximal end (shown at the left side of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5A and 5B) to rotate a tool head (not shown) inserted in the square drive opening 5 at the distal end of the extension arm 2, as shown in FIG. 3, to enable the user to guide and control the tool.

The extension arm 2 may be a basic extension arm 2 with a square drive readily available and commonly used in various drive sizes. Extension arms 2 are made by multiple manufacturers and the gripping sleeve device 10 may be made to accommodate all sizes available. The present invention 10 can be manufactured in any length, as long as the gripping sleeve 1 is long enough to be comfortably held in the human hand, without the hand contacting the rotating collars 3 and 4 or 4A.

The distal collar 4 or 4A, while being smaller in diameter than most tool guides or stabilizers, is large enough to be easily grasped by hand in order to turn or rotate the extension arm 2, so as to be able to connect the extension arm 2 to the drive-end (not shown) of a hand ratchet or air tool or other rotating tool.

The purpose of the present invention 10 is very simple. By allowing the sleeve surface 1 gripped by the guide hand to remain stationary in the hand and not have to grasp a rotating tool 2 the hand will not slide down the tool 2 as it is used. If a glove is worn on the hand while holding the gripping sleeve 1, the glove will not get torn or get caught and wrapped around the rotating extension arm 2.

Another purpose of the present invention 10 is to provide a lightweight protective sleeve device 10 that will not add much to the weight of the tool 2 being rotated, thereby preventing fatigue of the user.

Yet another purpose of the protective sleeve device 10 is to provide a tool guide and hand protector which is compact in diameter. The distal collar 4 or 4A, while being graspable, is still smaller in diameter than most rotating tool stabilizers. The protective gripping sleeve 1 has a thin wall and the proximal collar 3 has the same outside diameter as the sleeve 1, so not much thickness is added to the outside diameter of the rotating extension arm 2, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, thereby allowing compactness and clearance in tight spaces.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Claims

1. A protective gripping sleeve device for an extension arm of a rotating tool, the device comprising:

a protective stationary gripping sleeve surrounding a rotating tool extension arm, the gripping sleeve comprising a rigid sleeve slipped over the extension arm at the narrow drive end; a pair of spaced collars affixed to the extension arm and spaced apart by the length of the gripping sleeve to prevent sliding or wobbling of the sleeve and to allow a user to grasp the stationary gripping sleeve to guide and steady the tool while the tool extension arm rotates within the gripping sleeve; the gripping sleeve of a length to enable a hand of the user to grip the gripping sleeve without contacting the collars which rotate with the extension arm.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the rotating tool extension arm is attached to any of a variety of rotating tools taken from a lists of rotating tools including a square-drive socket tool, a ratchet tool, an air tool.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the collars are each attached to the rotating tool extension arm.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein a collar at a distal end of the rotating tool extension arm is built into the rotating tool extension arm.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid aluminum.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid copper.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid stainless steel.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid plastic.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid carbon tubing.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid tubing.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the gripping sleeve is fabricated of rigid pipe.