US2887710A - Adjustable handle on a hand implement - Google Patents

Description

May 26, 1959 Filed Nov. l5, 1955 F. G. MAHONEY ADJUSTABLE HANDLE ON A HAND IMPLEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. FksaE/a/ae G. MAHONEY Ms A TT'OENEY May 26, 1959 Filed Nov. 15-, 1955 F. G. MAHONEY 2,887,710

ADJUSTABLE HANDLE ON A HAND IMPLEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FEEDER/CK G. MA HONEY XZJBM H/ 5 A TTOENEY United States Patent Office 2,887,710 Patented May 26, 1959 ADJUSTABLE HANDLE ON A HAND IMPLEMENT Frederick G. Mahoney, Clifton Heights, Pa. Application November 15, 1955, Serial No. 546,955

3 Claims. (c1. 15-172 This invention relates generally to holders for hand implements such as paint brushes, scrapers and similar hand tools and more particularly to a hand implement holder that provides for the positioning of the handle therefor at different angles relative to the implement.

The problem of providing the holder of a hand implement with a handle that may be positioned at different relative angles may be accomplished by providing a plurality of angularly disposed faces on the holder. Each face having a threaded hole or socket, that is generally plugged with a screw when not in use which screw is removed, and in which the threaded stem on the handle is inserted. This structure accomplishes the purpose of disposing the handle at different relative angles to the implement but the holes or threaded sockets become plugged when the plug screws are lost and the latter become filled and are diflicult to clean thus defeating the purpose of the multiangle holder.

It has also been suggested to provide a ball and socket arrangement wherein the handle member may be shifted through a slot and secured at one or more positions. However the slide loosening of the handle of such a structure permits the handle to swivel on the ball, which in most hand implements ruins the work rather than provides a benefit. Again a ball and socket structure of this character having close fitting surfaces become jammed when filled with paint or dirt preventing it from swiveling.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a structure wherein the implement holder is provided with a plurality of flat faces connected by slots and the handle is attached to a stem pivotally secured within the head so that it may swing to any one of the selected slots on the head and be secured rigidly adjacent the flat clamp face. The margin of the face provides a stop that prevents the handle from shifting from the selected slot even if the handle were to become accidentally loosened. This feature prevents accidental mishaps of the tool. In order to shift the handle to a different relative position it is necessary to further loosen the handle in order to permit it to clear the perimeter of the flat face and pass to an adjacent face while it is still attached to the stem. This is accomplished by employing a pivotal or flexible joint on the inner end of the stem which permits the stem to be shifted to any one of the slots in the flat clamping faces on the holder. The outer end of the stem may be threaded and the handle threaded to receive the handle which permits unscrewing of the handle sufliciently to allow it to pass over the abutment formed by the margin of the flat clamping face. When the stem is placed in its new position the handle may be screwed tight until it engages the face and thus lock it in position on that face. Thus the single stem may be adjusted to any of a number of faces on the holder by connecting the slots of each face to the central position Where the inner end of the stem is pivoted.

The pivoted joint of the stem in the head or holder may be of any suitable structure as long as the stem is permitted to be swung to any selected slot. A loose fitting eye on a metal or rubber pin provides a good joint. A ball and socket or the flexible stem function as good joints.

Rather than employ a pivoted stem one can provide a flexible stem made of any suitable flexible material such as rubber, plastic or a wire cable. Here the flexible material forms a pivotal joint that permits the stem to be swiveled in any selected position.

Another mode for tightening the handle relative to one of the clamping faces is the provision of a wedge which may be placed on a lever pivotally supported on the handle. When this lever is pulled away from the handle the wedge may be withdrawn from between the handle and the clamping face permitting the handle to be shifted to another selected position. After which time when the lever is again placed in contact with the handle the wedge is again forced in between the inner end of the handle and the clamping face to lock the handle relative to the selected face. Thus different means may be employed to provide a pivotal relation between the stern and the head or holder and different means may be employed to clamp the handle relative to the head and the selected faces thereon.

The clamping faces on the head may be in the form of a frustum of a pyramid which provides three, to six, or more side faces and a top face. Each of the lateral clamping faces are preferably set at a different angle than the adjacent or opposite clamping face so as to provide for different angular positions of the handle relative to the implement which may be in the form of a chisel, scraper or other cutting tool. Each clamp face is preferably flat and the perimetral edge thereof forms an abutment which requires the handle to be loosened to the extent that it is not usable as a handle for the tool before it can be shifted to another clamp face.

This character of a handle adjustment for an implement does not become inoperative because of paint, dirt or other debris that ordinarily fills up a threaded socket. If the slots that hold the stem become filled with paint they are readily picked or scraped out permitting the implement to be again used.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification without limiting the invention or claims thereto certain practical embodiments illustrating the principles of the invention wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the holder comprising this invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in section of the structure shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a view of a modified form of handle.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a flexible stem on the handle.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a ball and socket pivot on the stem of the handle.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a spring retained handle locked into a socket.

Referring particularly to the Figs. 1 and 2 'of thedrawings the head or holder of the implement which is to the vertical axis of the implement which provides the normal position of the brush handle. The faces 3 and 5 which are on opposite sides of the top face 2are disposed at different angles relative to the vertical central axis. Thus the slot 8 may be deeper in the face 3 than in the face 5 so that the clamping surface on the 3 handle engages the same. The faces 4 and 6 may also be disposed at different angles relative tothe vertical central axis and the cross-slot 7 is likewise cut at a different angle so that the stem 10 when resting in the bottom or approximately at the bottom of the slotis disposed normal to the face through which itextends. Thus as shown in'Fig. 2 the stem 10 is shown to-be normal to the fiat face 3. The stem 10 is threaded at its outer end which isreceived in the threaded socket of the handle 11. Thus when the handle 11 is unscrewed the stem is pivoted relative to the head of the implement and thrown to either face, and the handle may again be screwed up on the stem to clamp it against the selected face and thusprovide a rigid handle disposed at a different angle for the implement.

The pivotal connection of the stem as shown in Fig. 1 is quite simpleand is in the form of an eye 12 through which a pin 13 is inserted. The pin is driven from the end of the head or holder through the eye and into the opposite side of the holder as illustrated in Fig. 2. The eye 12 is sufiiciently large to allow the pin 13 to pass therethrough and still get the stem 10 to lie in either one of the slots in faces 3 or 5. When the handle is screwed down tight on the clamping face the eye is drawn tightly against the pin and holds the handle rigid. When the handle is loosened and the stem is shifted to the slot 7 in either of the faces 4 or 6 the eye 12 merely pivots on the pin 13 permitting the handle to be clamped against either face.

If the handle is to be used as an ordinary brush it is merely positioned vertically and the handle is clamped against the flat face 2.

In place of using a threaded connection between the stem. 1-0 and the handle 11 one may employ a lever 14 as shown in Fig. 3 which fits the handle and is pivoted thereto at 15. The other end of the lever is provided with the bifurcated wedge 16. When the lever 14, which is preferably arcuate shaped to fit the handle 11 is moved against the handle the wedge members pass between the handle 11 and the selected clamping face to tightly lock the handle in this position.

In the structure shown in Fig. 4 the head 16 is provided with an anchor 17 embedded in the implement head for locking the inner end of the flexible cable 18 in place. The outer end of the flexible cable has a threaded stem 20 on which the handle 11 is screwed. This structure functions in the same manner as that disclosed in Fig. 2 owing to the fact that the flexible cable operates as a pivotal joint.

type lock as shown in Fig. 3.

The pivotal joint in Fig. is in the form of a ball and socket wherein the ball 21 is on the end of the stem 22 which is threadably attached at its other end to the handle 11. The ball 21 is fitted into the socket 23 which is embedded in the holder or head of the implement. This is merely a joint for the stem. Any universal type of joint could be used so long as the stem of the handle can be thrown to any selected slot.

The structure of Fig. 6 shows a stem 24 formed by two hook or eye members 25 and 26 connected by the coil spring 27. Each face of the frusto conical pyramid is supplied with a socket 28 at the end of the respective slots 7 and 8. The sockets 28 are fitted to receive the inner end 30 of the handle 31. Thus the spring 27 together with the pivotal connections to the hook or eye members provides the flexible stem with the needed flexibility for swinging the handle to a selected face. To clear the marginal edge of each of the lateral faces 3 to 6 one need only to pull on the handle to stretch the spring 27, thus withdrawing the handle from the socket in which the handle was previously set and moving it to the newly selected face and permitting the spring 27 to Either of the structures as k shown in Figure 4 or 1 may be employed with a wedge .4 again draw the inner end 30 of the handle into the selected socket 28. The spring 27 continues to hold the handle locked in the socket making a firm handle for the implement.

In each of the structures shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 6 the cross-slots '7 and 8 form, in effect, a chamber or reservoir in which a solvent may be supplied to remove any dirt, grease, paint, tar or other foreign material that has a tendency to immobilize the handle or prevent it from being shifted from one position to another. The clearances of the stem and the flexibility of the pivoting action of the stem permits normal shifting of the handle when dirt or other debris is caught in the slots. If the accumulation impedes the shifting of the handle then a solvent is added to the cross-slot reservoir to clean the same and it is unnecessary to immerse the whole of the implement in a solvent.

The shifting of the implement handle in this manner and being able to tightly clamp the handle in position permits the user to apply the implement in the most comfortable manner to the individual. This provides better and faster work with the implement.

I claim:

1. A paint brush comprising a head, bristles extending from said head, a handle mounting on said head, a flat top face and a plurality of flat side faces on said handle mounting, each side face disposed at a different degree of angularity relative to the vertical, a slot in each face connected to a central slot in said top face, a stem pivotally connected at one end in said head and capable of extending out of the slot of any selected face to form a handle, clamp means to hold the handle rigid against a selected face to permit visibility of the bristles as they apply paint, said stem pivotal connection includes an eye on the end of the stem, and a pin within said head and passing through said central slot and said eye and smaller in diameter than the eye to permit lateral disposition of said stem to any slot.

2. A hand implement holder that comprises an elongated head which supports a working element, a convex handle mounting carried by said head and having a flat top surface and a plurality of flat surfaces sloping from the first named flat surface to the body of the head, in directions that are respectively generally longitudinally of and transverse to the head, the said slopes being at various angles relative to a line that is perpendicular to the top, a centrally disposed recess in the head, at a plane below the lowermost planes of the said slopes, and open-top slots extending angularly outward from said recess and through the said sloping surfaces and the top surfaces, a stem threaded at its outer end for connection to a handle and having an eye on its lower end, and a retaining pin extending through the said recess and the said eye, the said pin being of sufficiently smaller diameter than the eye to permit swinging movement of the stem into any of said slots, and a handle flattened on its inner end, for flatwise engagement with the various sloped areas and having threaded engagement with the stem.

3. A holder as recited in claim 2, wherein the retaining pin extends inwardly from a vertical face of the head and cross the said recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 47,927 Burnett et al. May 30, 1865 1,311,581 Wagner July 29, 1919 1,540,139 Morrison June 2, 1925 1,605,008 Smith Nov. 2, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 181,503 Switzerland Mar. 2, 1936 572,648 France Feb. 25, 1924

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