US3145595A

US3145595A - Socket wrench having magnetic nut-holding means

Info

Publication number: US3145595A
Application number: US302303A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert J Mauck
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-08-15
Filing date: 1963-08-15
Publication date: 1964-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 1981-08-25

Description

Aug. 25, 1964 R. J. MAUCK 3,145,595

SOCKET WRENCH HAVING MAGNETIC NUT-HOLDING MEANS Filed Aug. 15, 1963 I0 5 I I9 II J 20- FIG.!

F I G. 4 I9 27 INVENTOR.

n i 26 ROBERT MAUCK 26a.

F I G. 5

' ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,145,595 SOCKET WRENCH HAVING MAGNETIC NUT-HOLDING MEANS Robert J. Mauck, 36 N. Union Ave, Alliance, Ohio, assignor of one-half to Dr. Robert V. Fisher, Carrollton,

Ohio

Filed Aug. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 302,303 Claims. (Cl. 81-125) The present invention relates generally to magnetic tools. More particularly the present invention relates to a magnetic device for holding fasteners operatively positionable by a socket or chuck. Specifically, the present invention relates to a socket driver having a magnetic mechanism in conjunction with the driving connection between the driver and socket to hold a fastener within the socket.

The use of magnetic means to hold a fastener in driving contact with a tool by which it is operatively positioned has found widespread acceptance. Such a device is especially desirable when the fastener must be secured in a location where there is very little clearance and not ample room for the workman to hold the fastener with his fingers while initially engaging it with its mating device.

Magnetic holders have found further acceptance because they facilitate rapid assembly of parts in todays mass production assembly lines.

Nuts, bolts, polygonally headed screws and the like are especially adapted to be held in a socket or chuck. Such fasteners may be most readily applied if they can be inserted in the socket or chuck and be retained therein until the fastener is applied and tightened in position.

Heretofore, there have been three unique approaches in applying a magnetic means for holding such fasteners in the socket. One approach has been to supply each socket with an individually fitted magnet. In some cases these magnets have been fixedly positioned within the socket and in other cases they have been mounted within the socket to slide axially therein in order to accommodate the extension of the part to which the fastener is secured, as for example, the extension of the bolt past the nut as the latter is tightened into operative position. This approach, while satisfactory for performing the required function, requires a separate magnet for each socket.

A second approach has been to rnagnetize the entire socket itself. Here again each socket must be individually prepared. Aside from the cost factor of initially magnetizing the socket, the material from which most sockets are made only has a moderate magnetic retentivity so that their magnetic strength is readily diminished if they are dropped or otherwise subjected to shock or heat.

The third approach has been to provide a magnet in the end of the driver with which the socket is operated. This approach works quite satisfactorily with most bolts or screws with polygonally shaped heads, as they provide a full head surface for contact with the end of the driver. However, when one attempts to hold a nut with such an arrangement, it will work satisfactorily only if the diameter of the magnetized portion or" the driver is greater than the inner diameter of the nut. Accordingly, in a standard socket set the magnetized driver would be able to engage nuts fitting in only about one-half of the sockets.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a means for magnetically retaining fasteners within any of a plurality of sockets without magnetizing the socket and without supplying an individual magnet for each socket.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a socket driver having a magnetic means capable of re- Patented Aug. 25, 1964 taining a fastener in any socket adapted to be driven by the driver.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a socket driver having a magnetic device capable of retaining a nut in a socket irrespective of the relative inner diameter of the nut with respect to the dimension of the driving connection between the socket and its driver.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a magnetic socket driver, as above, which is highly durable and yet economical to produce.

These and other objects which will become apparent ice 7 from the following specification are accomplished by means hereinafter described and claimed.

One preferred embodiment is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described in detail without attempting to show all of the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied; the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a socket driver embodying the concept of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 depicting, in phantom, the operators hand initially inserting the driver into a socket;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a successive stage of insertion of the driver into the socket;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the driver fully inserted into the socket; and FIG. 5 is a partial side elevation taken substantially on line 55 of FIG. 1.

In general, a socket driver according to the present invention has a shank portion terminating in a driving connector insertable within the mating portion of the socket to be driven thereby. Extending axially forwardly from the connector portion of the socket driver, are at least one pair of adjacent, pivotally mounted magnets with parallel polarity in order that the outward ends of the magnets will be biased away from each other about their pivotal mounting.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, an im proved socket driver embodying the concept of the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The driver 10 has a shank portion 11 which connects the drive portion 12 to the standard socketed coupler portion 13 whereby the driver 10 is connected to the ratchet, brace, power tool or other prime mover.

The drive portion 12 includes the standard polygonal in cross section, preferably square, drive connector 14 and seating shoulder 15. One side of the drive connector 14 is provided with a detent means 16 to maintain the driver in the socket. The detent 16 comprises a ball 18 biased outwardly against a retaining ring 19 by a com pression spring 20, all housed within a bore 21 in the driver 14. a

As shown in FIG. 4, when the driver 10 is connected to the socket 22, the connector 14 matingly engages a drive connector recess 23 in one end of the socket 22, with the seating shoulder 15 engaging the face 24 of that end. In this position the detent ball 18 is received in a groove 25 propitiously placed in connector recess 23.

The structure heretofore described is well known to the prior art. a

The magnetic means associated with the driver It) comprises, preferably, two

bar magnets

26 and 27. One end of each magnet is received in a notch 28 in the end of the connector 14. Each

magnet

26 and 27 is pivotally mounted in notch 28, as by pins 29 and 36, respectively. The

magnets

26 and 27 are contiguously mounted in adjacent relationship with their polarity best described as being parallel. That is, the north and south poles of each magnet are adjacent the corresponding north and south poles of the other magnet. For example, in the embodiment shown the

outer ends

26a and 27a of the magnets may be the north pole thereof, as indicated by the letter fN. Thus with like poles in proximity they tend to repel each other and the

magnets

26 and 27 will be self biasing to pivot about

pins

29 and 30 such that the outer ends 26a and 2711 will automatically seek to space themselves apart, as shown in FIG. 1.

To facilitate this pivotal swinging of the magnets, the rear, opposed facing portions of the

magnets

26 and 27 are convexly curved as at 31 and 32, respectively.

The socket 22, in addition to the connector recess 23, also has a fastener receiving recess 33 communicating with the connector recess 23. The recess 33 is of noncircular form, preferably hexagonal or octagonal, as is the preferred form, so as to engagingly receive polygonally sided fasteners such as the nut 34 shown.

To attach the socket 22 to the driver It the operator applies finger pressure to the two

magnets

26 and 27 to swing them into contiguous relation. The outer ends 26:: and 27a of the magnet may then be inserted into the connector recess 23, as shown in FIG. 2. Thereafter the driver is further inserted until the connector fully seats in the connector recess with the shoulder 15 engaging the end 24 of'the socket 22 and the detent ball 18 received in groove 25.

As is shown in the progressive views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the parallel like poles repel each other to swing the magnetic means apart. Because of this, when the driver is fully inserted, the outer ends 26a and 27a of the

magnets

26 and 27 will have moved radially outwardly of said drive connector 14 to contact the sides of the fastener receiving recess 33. Thus, the magnetic means will engage and hold any fastener inserted in the fastener receiving recess 33-even a nut, as 34, having an inner diameter greater than the outermost dimension of the connector 14.

Of course, to operate satisfactorily the dimension between the shoulder 15 and the pivot points, or pins 29 and 30, of the magnets, should be substantially equal to the dimension of that portion of the socket 22 between the one end 24 and the base 35 of the fastener receiving recess 33. This permits the magnets to swing freely into the fastener receiving portion of even the largest of the standard sized sockets.

It should be readily apparent from the foregoing description that a driver constructed according to the concept of the present invention accomplishes the objects of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A driver for a socket or the like having a fastener receiving recess in one end thereof communicating with a drive connector recess on the other end thereof, said driver having a drive connector for operative insertion within said drive connector recess, at least one pair of magnets, pivotal means for securing the magnet to said drive connector in adjacent relation with each other and extending forwardly of said drive connector, the polarity of said magnets being parallel.

2. A driver for a socket or the like having a fastener receiving recess in one end thereof communicating with a drive connector recess on the other end thereof, said driver having a drive connector for operative insertion within said drive connector recess, a pair of magnets, pivotal means for securing the magnet to said drive connector in adjacent relation with each other and extending forwardly of said drive connector to extend into the fastener receiving recess when said drive connector is operatively received in said drive connector recess, at least one of the poles of one said magnet being positioned in adjacent relation with the corresponding pole of the other of said pair of magnets forwardly and outwardly of the pivotal means.

3. A driver for a socket or the like having a fastener receiving recess in one end thereof communicating with a drive connector recess on the other end thereof, said driver having a drive connector for operative insertion within said drive connector recess, at least one pair of magnets, said magnets mounted on the forward end of said drive connector and movable radially of said drive connector Within said fastener receiving recess, the corresponding poles of said magnets located in adjacent relation in order that the repelling force of like poles will move said magnets away from each other.

4. A driver for a socket or the like having a fastener receiving recess in one-end thereof communicating with a drive connector recess on the other end thereof, said driver having a drive connector for operative insertion Within said drive connector recess, a slot in the outer end of said drive connector, a pair of bar magnets, one end of each said magnet received within said slot, hinge means for pivotally mounting said magnets within said slot, at least one pole of one said magnet being positioned in adjacent relationship with the corresponding pole of the other of said pair of magnets forwardly and outwardly of the pivotal means.

5. A driver for a socket or the like having a fastener receiving recess in one end thereof communicating with a drive connector recess on the other end thereof, said driver having a drive connector for operative insertion within said drive connector recess, a slot in the outer end of said drive connector, :1 pair of bar magnets, one end of each said magnet received within said slot, a pin pivotally mounting each magnet in said slot, said magnets j being mounted in generally parallel orientation so thatthe adjacent outermost ends of each magnet constitute poles of like polarity to cause the outermost ends of said magnets to tend to swing away from each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,300,308

Claims

1. A DRIVER FOR A SOCKET OR THE LIKE HAVING A FASTENER RECEIVING RECESS IN ONE END THEREOF COMMUNICATING WITH A DRIVE CONNECTOR RECESS ON THE OTHER END THEREOF, SAID DRIVER HAVING A DRIVE CONNECTOR FOR OPERATIVE INSERTION WITHIN SAID DRIVE CONNECTOR RECESS, AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF MAGNETS, PIVOTAL MEANS FOR SECURING THE MAGNET TO SAID DRIVE CONNECTOR IN ADJACENT RELATION WITH EACH OTHER AND