GB2468708A - Flexible Sleeve for Retaining Fixings - Google Patents

Abstract

It is a flexible cylinder which can fit on any size of socket, formed with teeth in one end; the sleeve/socket assembly is pushed over the top of a fixing and will capture it within the sleeve ensuring that it will not fall out during removal. Also formed into the sleeve are two collars, both slightly thicker than the main sleeves material, one is at the top, the other at the bottom. The top collar is to securely attach the sleeve to the socket, the bottom one, when pulled towards the top one shall pull the teeth 'open' and out of the way of the fixing to be retained (figure 1). When the bottom collar is released the teeth shall return to their neutral (closed) position, teeth facing at an angle upwards e.g. at an angle of 45 to the sleeve to the inside-top of the socket and capture the fixing within the assembly.

Description

1.Su mm ary The Safe-Drive. A flexible sleeve/jacket that fits around a socket. Formed with teeth in one end, the sleeve/jacket/socket assembly is pushed over the top of a fixing (i.e nut/bolt) and will capture the fixing within the socket ensuring that it will not fall out during fitting/removal. Also formed into the sleeve/jacket are two collars, both slightly thicker than the main sleeves material, one is at the top, the other at the bottom. The top collar is to securely attach the sleeve to the socket, the bottom one, when pulled towards the top one shall pull the teeth open' and out of the way of the socket entry point. When the bottom collar is released the teeth shall return to their neutral (closed) position and capture the fixing within the assembly.

2. Statement of invention

This invention proposes a flexible sleeve/jacket that fits around the socket and nut and captures the nut in the teeth that are formed around the end that fits over it.

3. Rational In most engineering professions people are frequently required to remove panels, mounts and many other heavy or structurally important parts in order to maintain or replace parts of equipment.

Owing to the importance and other factors like weight these panels etc are usually held in place with nuts and bolts. Sometimes one of the two is captive, sometimes neither.

It can be appreciated that these nuts and bolts are used and placed in the optimum position for security rather than ease of access.

Frequently it is the case that where a panel is attached the person removing it cannot even see the panel and relies solely on feel and a good engineering technique to achieve their goal.

When removing the nuts! bolts the engineer will use a socket and ratchet handle! drive.

This is a two-piece piece of equipment. Firstly a cast handle with a ratcheting mechanism allows the drive spline to move one way when torque is applied through the handle but not the other way.

Attaching to this is the socket itself; This is usually a steel cylinder with flats cast inside it.

On the top of the cylinder is a square receptacle for the drive spline of the ratchet handle. On the bottom is where the inner flats exit the cylinder.

These flats sit around the outer edge of the nut/bolt and allow the torque to be transferred through the handle, through the socket and then either load or undo the nut/bolt.

The problem here is that when the socket is placed over the nut/bolt it in no way attaches to the fixing.

Referring back to the problem of visibility in an engineering environment it is here that the problem lies.

For example, an engineer wants to remove a 12mm bolt holding a motor to a chassis. The bolt is placed in an awkward position requiring the engineer to move into an uncomfortable position and also sacrifice line of sight on the socket/ bolt.

The engineer locates the socket on the bolt head using one hand to guide the socket and the other to hold the ratchet handle.

Next the handle is rotated 180 degrees counterclockwise to undo the bolt; it should be clear to the person performing the task that the bolt is now not entirely torqued down and they can now begin slowly removing it.

Assuming that the engineer does not know the approximate length of the bolt they must now make a series of half turns of the socket, then slowly and carefully lift it off the head of the bolt ensuring their fingers on the other hand are placed around where the bolt head would be sat under the socket to ensure once it is removed the bolt does not drop.

If, in this instance the bolt is not entirely free the engineer must carefully place the socket over the bolt head again and then carry on undoing the bolt and repeat the process described in the previous paragraph until the bolt is removed.

It should be clear that this process is incredibly flawed from the outset and that in i,r rivc'11rnJ-,ncpQ hnii1d if 1-ui fh fFiif th nvc-u' rrfrrmjia fh relies on repeated trial and error to achieve their task. This is especially applicable when the bolt being removed is, for instance in or above a sensitive area, such as a food production line, inside an aircraft cockpit or around an open engine.

In any of these situations dropping a nut/bolt can and will lead to lost man hours (in trying to recover the foreign object), a requirement for more of the machinery in question to be disassembled to aid recover of the foreign object, extensive post recovery testing and inspections for potential damage caused and worse still if the incident goes undeclared, lost money, lost equipment or harm/injury to the operators etc. My invention is a flexible jacket the Safe Drive' made of a flexible material that slides around the outside of the socket you are using to remove the nuts/bolts.

The unique part of this invention is the way it minimizes, if not removes any issues that an engineer may face in trying to remove an awkward fixing.

The jacket is flexible and has two thick collars of silicone formed into it.

One collar sits approximately � of the way up the socket (when stood on end with the drive receptacle uppermost).

The second collar is at the bottom of the jacket and forms an integral part of the invention.

This collar has a number of teeth shaped semi-rigid flaps formed into it that sit perpendicular to the jacket itself (when stood on end with the drive receptacle uppermost).

These teeth are triangular in shape and occupy approximately � of the internal diameter of the socket. This leaves a circle in the middle of the bolt removal end of the socket and around it the flaps.

The gap is required to stop the shaft of the bolt fouling on the teeth and possibly disturbing the integrity of the captivity of the bolt once inside the socket/jacket assembly.

With the teeth formed into the bottom collar and the entire jacket being flexible, when the jacket is placed on a socket greater in size than itself the intrusion of the teeth into the open end of the socket with grow proportionally with the stretch of the jacket meaning it can be fitted to multiple sizes of socket and will still function properly.

The other purpose of this collar is necessary in the operation of the jacket and is as follows; The Safe Drive jacket is slid over the socket by holding the top collar and pulling it from bottom to top over the socket being used.

This will then leave the jacket firmly attached with the teeth in their closed position over the bolt receiving end of the socket.

For the engineer to remove the bolt they simply puli the bottom collar laterally towards the top end of the socket approximately 5mm.

The process of doing this will cause the retaining teeth attached to this collar to open out and sit away from the receiving end of the socket.

The engineer can now undo the bolt a few turns safe in the knowledge that the bolt is still captive.

The engineer simply removes the socket from the bolt and pulls the bottom collar down; returning the teeth to their original closed position and places the socket back over the bolt head and pushes down.

The act of pushing the socket down over the bolt will then cause the flaps to seat under the head of the bolt effectively capturing it within the socket.

From here the engineer can perform the rest of the removal blind if necessary with the risk of the nut/bolt being dropped being minimized, if not removed entirely.

Once the bolt has been removed from the nut the user can then lift the whole assembly clear of the work area hold the socket in one hand and pull the bottom collar towards the drive end of the socket.

Doing so will cause the teeth to open once more and will allow the bolt to fall into the users cupped hand in total safety.

5. Explanation of Attached Drawings Detailing the Ratchet/Socket Assembly and removal of a demonstration bolt from a fixed surface using both conventional and the proposed means.

All of the attached drawings are shown in profile (unless otherwise annotated) and in some instances utilise cut-away to view the internal mechanisms involved in the processes (these will be detailed as such in the following steps).

Page Eight Page seven shows the present system of using a socket to remove a bolt and the problems this can cause.

Figure one Shows; from above, the Ratchet Handle Comprising of the usually rubberized handle on the far right hand side of the drawing.

Working in towards the left there is the cast shaft of the handle.

Further left is the drive head, comprising of the ratcheting mechanism and in the centre of that the drive spline.

Figure two shows, in profile, figure one.

Figure three shows the ratchet handle, fitted with a socket.

Figure four shows the ratchet assembly positioned above a bolt, partially removed from a fixed object, Page Nine Page eight shows the removal of a bolt from a fixed surface using a conventional ratchet/socket assembly.

Figure one shows, the positioning of the ratchet/socket assembly above the bolt to be removed.

Figure two shows, the fitment of the assembly over the top of the bolt. it can be noted here that the bolt is in no way aterafly captive and the only part of the socket that is in contact with it is the flat drive portions of the inside of the socket.

Figure three shows, the assembly being lifted away from the fixed object when the operator is trying to remove it, as would be the case when the bolt has been released from its nut.

It is clear here that owing to the lack of captivity the bolt has fallen downwards out of the socket, creating a hazard.

Page Ten Page Nine shows the removal of a bolt from a fixed surface using a ratchet/socket assembly fitted with the safe drive.

Figure one shows, the positioning of the ratchetlsocket assembly above the bolt to be removed.

The operator has pulled up the lower collar around the bottom of the jacket and the flaps have been forced outwards creating an obstruction free path for the bolt to enter the drive portion of the socket.

Figure two shows, the fitment of the assembly over the top of the bolt.

Here the operator has simply pushed down on the lower collar of the jacket allowing the flaps to return to their natural position, facing approximately 45' perpendicular to the inner walls of the socket.

The tips of the flaps shall be in direct contact with the underside of the bolt head creating a captive circumstance within the socket itself.

Figure three shows, the assembly being lifted away from the fixed object when the operator is trying to remove it, as would be the case when the bolt has been released from its nut.

The assembly is lifted up and the flaps within the jacket make contact with the underside of the bolt head ensuring that the bolt cannot fall free of the assembly.

From here the bottom collar can now be pulled upwards and the bolt will fall free into the operators hands.

Page Eleven The shaded area is the Safe Drive closed Page Twelve The shaded area is the Safe Drive open Page Thirteen Shows the Safe Drive open and closed