US3728775A

US3728775A - Tool for lock rings

Info

Publication number: US3728775A
Application number: US00129907A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Hosbach
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-03-31
Filing date: 1971-03-31
Publication date: 1973-04-24
Anticipated expiration: 1990-04-24

Abstract

A tool for holding horseshoe shaped lock rings to facilitate their installation or removal. The tool has a handle with a bifurcated end forming two legs. The legs have facing slots or grooves at their outermost ends arranged to straddle the lock ring at a point inward of either of its ends.

Description

United States Patent n9] Hosba ch 1 Apr. 24,1973

1 1 TOOL FOR L OCK RINGS [76] Inventor: William A. l-losbach, 715 Newport Dr., Baldwin Township, Allegheny County, Pa. 15234 [22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 129,907

52 U.S.Cl ..29/243.s7 51 1m. (:1. ..B23p 19/08 58 FieldofSearch ..29/229,283,243.57,

[56]. References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,253,327 5/1966 McElligatt ..29/278 X 2,650,722 9/1953 Stabile ..29/229 X 3,340,592 9/1967 Carpenter 3,470,600

10/1969 Hosbach ..29/ 229 Primary Examiner--Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Assistant Examiner-J. C. Peters Att0rneyEugene P. Girman 5 7 ABSTRACT A tool for holding horseshoe shaped lock rings to facilitate'their installation or removal. The tool has a handle with a bifurcated end forming two legs. The legs have facing slots or grooves at their outermost ends arranged to straddle the lock ring at a point inward of either of its ends.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented April 24, 1973 5&

INVENTOR. $211690? 62 hosafloy TOOL FOR LOCK RINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to the art of small tools for applying and removing open ended lock rings of the type which are of a general horseshoe shape and are designed to expand slightly to fit over a shaft, or groove in a shaft, thereby preventing relative movement of the shaft with some other component.

It has become increasingly common to use special tools for the installation and removal of open-ended lock rings from shafts and rods. For the open-ended horseshoe type it has become common practice to use one special tool for installation and a separate tool or separate jaws on the same tool. for removal. A major consideration is the manner in which the jaws of the tool hold the lock ring. For installation the tool must grasp the ring securely but in such a manner and position that the lock ring arms are permitted to spread apart so that the arms can be placed over and partially around the shaft. Likewise for ring removal the same type lock ring arm action must be permitted to take place for the ring arms must then be forced apart to be taken off the shaft. Existing tools permit this necessary movement of the lock ring arms for both installation and removal either by arrangements requiring adjustments between the installation and removal positions or by having separate heads for each operation. My earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,600 discloses a single headed tool which served both purposes. I have now discovered that by using basically the same tool as is patented but by re-arranging its grooves the structure can be simplified and at the same time the installation operation will be simplified with no adverse effect to the removal operation.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is for an improved tool which by a single head will properly grasp an open-ended horseshoe lock ring for assisting in both its installation or removal from shaft or rods. The tool has a main or head portion and preferably attached to a handle which can be comfortable held. The head is bifurcated forming two legs spaced apart at a distance which is chosen to be able to partially straddle between its inner surfaces a size range of lock rings across the flat transverse surfaces thereof. A groove or slot is located in the corner of each leg extending through both the inner surface and the adjacent end portion of the leg with a location of these grooves relative to each other being critical. The grooves have coplanar bottom surfaces which face each other and converge toward each other inwardly from the ends of the leg. In general the groove bottom surfaces are sufficiently wider than the lock ring thickness and sufficiently spaced apart from one another to allow an open ended horseshoe lock ring to be inserted and held therein from either its open or closed end. The widest point between the groove bottom surface is at the very ends of the legs and is adequate to permit the largest transverse dimension of the lock ring to pass through. The narrowest point between the groove bottom surfaces occurs somewhere upward and inward of the leg ends but before the legs join at the head of the tool. The spacing there is somewhat smaller than the largest transverse dimension of the lock ring so that when the closed end of a lock ring is inserted into the grooves of the tool it will enter and seat securely against the bottom surfaces while at the same time the lock ring arms will extend freely without obstruction so that they may open slightly over a rod or shaft when the lock ring is forced over a shaft for installation. On the other hand when the opposite or open end of a horseshoe lock ring is inserted into the grooves the ring will pass through the grooves and up between the legs of the tool to a point where the transverse distance across the ring is equal to the nearest spacing between the groove bottom surfaces. In this position the tool will be properly holding the ring for removal from a shaft. That is, a portion of the lock ring shoulder is secured within the groove so that the ring will move upon movement of the tool and the ring arms are again free to expand or open slightly as is also required when a lock ring is forced over a rod or shaft for removal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention may be better understood and its advantages will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the tool in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the tool and lock ring installed on a shaft;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the head of the tool showing a lock ring retained therein in a position for installation;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the head of the tool showing a lock ring return therein in a position for removal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like references numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views, 2 designates a typical horseshoe lock ring with its arms 3 being spaced closer together at their ends so that they will reach around and grasp an annular groove 4 in a shaft or rod 5. The lock rings are joined at their upper ends by a solid transverse cross over section 6. As can be seen from the drawing the widest portion of the lock ring is on a line across this transverse section 6. Installation and removal of such a lock ring requires a force to be applied to cause the arms to slightly open. As can be envisioned if the force is not properly directed or if the lock ring is not secure- Iy held the ring could easily slip away or turn on the shaft. My tool for use in installing or removing this type ring can be seen by referring to the drawings wherein the tool is provided with a head or main portion 10 which is shown fastened to a handle 12 at a convenient angle so that the tool may be held and manuevered easily. The head portion 10 is bifurcated into two legs 14 which extend away from the handle and form an arch having coplanars facing inner surfaces 16 and end surfaces 18. Each end surface 18 of each leg contains a groove or slot 20. The groove opens into the end surface 18 and extends through the corner formed between the end surface 18 and inner surface 16 so that the groove also opens into the inner surface 16. Each groove has a bottom surface 22 and is shown with two sides 24 however, whether the groove has one or two sides is not critical to the invention.

The spacing and positioning of the groove bottom surfaces are very important to the operation of this invention As can be seen especially from FIGS. 2 and 3 the legs 14 of the tool are designed to straddle the lock ring 2 and the grooves 20 are so arranged that a lock 1 ring of proper size can be inserted into them from either its open or closed end and due to its shape will securely contact and come to rest on the groove bottom surfaces 22. The contact will take place somewhere near the widest portion of the lock ring transverse section 6 and the lock ring arms 3 will be left free to expand as will later be shown to be important. In order to effect this the grooves 21 and groove bottoms 22 must be substantially coplanar that is, both grooves including their bottom surfaces lie in a single plane so that a properly sized lock ring when placed in that plane will enter both grooves. Additionally, the spacing between the groove bottom surfaces 22 is of great significance. At the outer most end of the tool legs 14 the spacing between the groove bottoms is greater than the greatest distance across the transverse upper portion 6 of the lock ring 2. This allows insertion of the lock ring 2 into the grooves 20 from both its open or closed end. However, the groove surfaces 22 are made to converge as with a radius toward each other inward and upward toward the top of the tool head 10 so that at some point the spacing between the bottom surfaces 22 become smaller than the greatest distance across the transverse upper portion 6 of the lock ring 2. This spacing insures that once a lock ring within a selected size range is inserted into the grooves from either its open or closed end it will at some point while in the grooves come to rest'securely against and between the bottom surfaces 22.

When either end of the ring 2 is inserted into the grooves of the tool head 10 the tool will act like an extension of the ring. At that time if the tool is moved or forced in any direction the lock ring will move with it. In operation as shown in FIG. 2 the lock ring 2 may be inserted from its closed end into the grooves 22 of the tool head 10 until its transverse section 6 seats within and across both grooves 20. In this position the transverse cross over section 6 of the lock ring is secured between the legs 14 of the tool being prevented from unwanted movement by confinement within the groove 20 and groove side 24. The lock ring is thereby securely held for installation. Even though the lock ring 2 is tightly held the arms 3 of the ring are not confined andare free to expand as may be required when the ring is forced over a rod or shaft into the position shown in FIG. 1. Once the arms 3 are over the shaft they either spring back into position or may be squeezed together somewhat causing the lock ring 2 to become attached around the shaft.

Conversely the lock ring 2 may be inserted from its open end into the grooves 22 of the tool head 10 as when the ring is on a shaft and the tool is being used to remove it. For this operation as can be seen from FIG.

I '3 the tool 10 will contact and hold the lock ring again at ble between the tool legs 14 so that the arms 3 of the lock ring 2 can extend up between the tool legs 14 without contacting any part of the head portion 10 of the tool. In order to provide this clearance the tool legs 14 are made substantially parallel and extend downward a distance greater than the length of the lock ring arms 3 from the point where contact is made between the tool legs 14 and the inserted lock ring 2. In general I have found that enough clearance is provided if the contact point, that is if the groove at the inner leg surface 16, is made at about the middle of the leg length or about one half the distance up the leg.

While I have shown and described a particular version of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but that modification may be made as are covered by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A tool for the removal and installation of a horseshoe shaped lock ring of the class described having arms which extend from the transverse cross over section providing an open endand a closed end which comprises; a head portion at least one pair of legs connected to the head and having inner facing surfaces and outer ends, the surfaces having therein grooves with substantially coplanar bottom surfaces for engagement with the outer edges of the lock ring the groove bottom surfaces converging toward each other inwardly and upwardly from the outer ends of the legs and being spaced apart at the nearest point a distance slightly less than the largest dimension across the outer most edges of the transverse section of the lock ring whereby the legs can be made to straddle the outer most edges of the lock ring from either its open or closed end and will make contact near a line across said outer most: edges to securely hold and resist rotation thereof whenever the ring is being forced over or being removed from a shaft.

2. The tool as defined in claim 1 wherein the groove bottom surfaces have a maximum spacing slightly greater than the greatest transverse distance across the outer most edges of the lock ring.

3. A tool for the removal and installation of horseshoe shaped lock rings for the class described comprising; a head portion coplanar legs extending from the head portion having facing edges and having-at least one groove in each of said edges which is coplanar with a groove in the facing edge bottom surfaces in each coplanar groove which face each other having spacing there between a distance less than the largest dimension across the transverse outer edges of the lock ring but greater than the smallest distance across the outer edges of the lock ring each bottom surface being radiused outwardly and downwardly toward the outer ends of the legs having spacing there between at the outer ends of the legs a distance greater than the largest I I outer ends, the surfaces having therein grooves with substantially cosplanar bottom surfaces for engagement with the outer edges of the lock ring with groove bottom surfaces converging toward each other inwardly and upwardly from the outer ends of the legs said groove bottom surfaces having a maximum spacing there between slightly greater than the greatest transverse distance across the outer most edges of the lock ring said maximum spacing between the groove bottom surfaces occurring at the outer most extremities of the tool legs whereby the legs can be made to straddle the outer most edges of the lock ring from either its open or closed end and will make contact near a line across said outer most edges to securely hold and resist rotation thereof whenever the ring is being forced over or being removed from a shaft.

5. A tool for the removal and installation of a horseshoe shaped lock ring of the class described having arms which extend from a transverse crossover section providing an open end and a closed end which comprises; a head portion at least one pair of legs connected to the head and having inner facing surfaces and outer ends, the surfaces having therein grooves with substantially co-planar bottom surfaces for engagement with the outer edges of the lock ring the groove bottom surfaces converging toward each other inwardly and upwardly from the outer ends of the legs said groove bottom surfaces having a maximum spacing there between slightly greater than the greatest transverse distance across the outer most edges of the lock ring and having the nearest spacing between the groove bottom surfaces occurring at a point about one-third to one-half the distance upward from the outer ends of the legs whereby the legs can be made to straddle the outer most edges'of the lock ring from either its open or closed end and will make contact near a line across said outer most edges to securely hold and resist rotation thereof whenever the ring is being forced over or being removed from a shaft.

Claims

1. A tool for the removal and installation of a horseshoe shaped lock ring of the class described having arms which extend from a transverse cross over section providing an open end and a closed end which comprises; a head portion at least one pair of legs connected to the head and having inner facing surfaces and outer ends, the surfaces having therein grooves with substantially coplanar bottom surfacEs for engagement with the outer edges of the lock ring the groove bottom surfaces converging toward each other inwardly and upwardly from the outer ends of the legs and being spaced apart at the nearest point a distance slightly less than the largest dimension across the outer most edges of the transverse section of the lock ring whereby the legs can be made to straddle the outer most edges of the lock ring from either its open or closed end and will make contact near a line across said outer most edges to securely hold and resist rotation thereof whenever the ring is being forced over or being removed from a shaft.

3. A tool for the removal and installation of horseshoe shaped lock rings for the class described comprising; a head portion coplanar legs extending from the head portion having facing edges and having at least one groove in each of said edges which is coplanar with a groove in the facing edge bottom surfaces in each coplanar groove which face each other having spacing there between a distance less than the largest dimension across the transverse outer edges of the lock ring but greater than the smallest distance across the outer edges of the lock ring each bottom surface being radiused outwardly and downwardly toward the outer ends of the legs having spacing there between at the outer ends of the legs a distance greater than the largest dimension across the outer edges of the lock ring whereby the horseshoe lock ring can be inserted into the groove from either direction and will always come to rest on the groove bottom.

4. A tool for the removal and installation of a horseshoe shaped lock ring of the class described having arms which extend from a transverse crossover section providing an open end and a closed end which comprises; a head portion at least one pair of legs connected to the head and having inner facing surfaces and outer ends, the surfaces having therein grooves with substantially co-planar bottom surfaces for engagement with the outer edges of the lock ring with groove bottom surfaces converging toward each other inwardly and upwardly from the outer ends of the legs said groove bottom surfaces having a maximum spacing there between slightly greater than the greatest transverse distance across the outer most edges of the lock ring said maximum spacing between the groove bottom surfaces occurring at the outer most extremities of the tool legs whereby the legs can be made to straddle the outer most edges of the lock ring from either its open or closed end and will make contact near a line across said outer most edges to securely hold and resist rotation thereof whenever the ring is being forced over or being removed from a shaft.

5. A tool for the removal and installation of a horseshoe shaped lock ring of the class described having arms which extend from a transverse crossover section providing an open end and a closed end which comprises; a head portion at least one pair of legs connected to the head and having inner facing surfaces and outer ends, the surfaces having therein grooves with substantially co-planar bottom surfaces for engagement with the outer edges of the lock ring the groove bottom surfaces converging toward each other inwardly and upwardly from the outer ends of the legs said groove bottom surfaces having a maximum spacing there between slightly greater than the greatest transverse distance across the outer most edges of the lock ring and having the nearest spacing between the groove bottom surfaces occurring at a point about one-third to one-half the distance upward from the outer ends of the legs whereby the legs can be made to straddle the outer most edges of the lock ring from either its open or closed end and will make contact near a line across said outer most edges to securely hold and resist rotation thereof whenever the ring is being forced over or being removed from a shaft.