US3125381A - anderson - Google Patents

Description

March 17, 1964 J. o. ANDERSON 3,125,381

ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR HAND TOOLS Filed Nov. 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JENS O. ANDERSON INVENTOR.

March 17, 1964 J. o. ANDERSON 3,125,381

ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR I-iAND TOOLS Filed NOV. 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JENS O. ANDERSON INVENTOR.

MTM

United States Patent O 3,125,381 ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR HAND T0018 Jens 0. Anderson, 1111 3rd St., NE, Auburn, Wash. Filed Nov. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 68,902 2 Claims. (Cl. 306-12) This invention relates to the general class of hand tools such as are used in gardening, building and construction work and more particularly to an adjusting means disposed at the end of a hoe-like handle and which is used to couple various forms of blades to the handle so that it may be used for various operations and with various other tools such as heavily tined forks, rakes and the like.

There are many conditions where it is desirable to employ a hand tool of either a solid blade or tined type at the end of a substantial hoe-like handle. Such tools are commonly used by gardeners and by many construction workers. At present it is common to employ tools that have a fixed angular relationship to the longitudinal axis of the handle. Experience has shown however that it is very desirable to be able tochange the plane of a transversely mounted tool with respect to the handle and thus adapt the tool to a wide variety of hoein g, digging, scraping or ch-iseling operations. When using the tined tool attachment it should be possible to use them as a spading type fork or a tined hoe. In the past many have endeavored to provide a solution of this problem but those solutions that have been observed have resorted to locking means which either consisted of a screw and nut mounted at the juncture of the blade and the handle or which used jaw clutches that required loosening a pivot bolt, or in many cases a spring urged detent was employed to achieve the locking. The general fault of this type of device is that the locking means is exposed to dirt, snow and various materials which tend to build up on the locking means, soon rendering this means either inoperative or difficult to operate. This present invention provides a very secure locking means of great strength in proportion to the weight of the locking mechanism and instead of using the various for-ms of nut tightened locking means the locking screw is secured in the handle so that the change of the angle of the blade or fork with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle can be achieved by merely turning the handle to unlock the threaded portion. Then, when a new position is selected, the screw locking means is tightened by a reverse turning of the handle. Such an arrangement is easy to operate and permits a great deal of locking pressure to be applied to the locking mechanism.

The principal object of this present invention therefore is to provide an adjustable means whereby the working portion of a hand tool can be angularly adjusted with respect to the longitudinal axis of an elongated straight handle.

A further object of this invention is to provide means whereby the locking screw makes a very positive en gagement with and provides a precise placement of the tool portion with respect to the handle.

A further object of this invention is to provide an adjusting means for hand tools which is tightened or loosened by revolving the handle with respect to the tool.

A further object of this invention is to provide a locking means in which a locking screw of unusual strength can be employed without having the locking mechanism itself either bulky or heavy in its construction.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

3,125,381 Patented Mar. 17, 1964 FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a hoe-like hand tool with the handle largely broken away so as to show the hoe blade and the locking means therefor on an increased scale.

FIGURE 2 illustrates in fragmentary side elevation several different commonly employed angular positions for the hoe blade with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken generally along the line 33 of FIGURE 2, to illustrate the relative simplicity of the locking means and the proportionate size of the locking screw with respect to the other elements of the tool.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary enlarged View, partly in cross section as taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical side view showing a blade in the adjusted position on a prolongation of the longitudinal axis of the handle.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view showing a blade tool in a different adjusted position from that shown in FIGURE 5 and showing the same as employed in removing the baseboard from a wall, for instance.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view illustrating the use of a spading-type fork member with my adjusting means employed to coupule it to a hoe-type handle.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like ref erence characters indicate like parts, the numeral 10 designates a hoe-type handle in that it normally has a length of four or five feet and is straight. At the tool engaging end a metal ferrule 12 is preferably employed to strengthen the handle and to provide adequate material for a threaded means. Engaging the threads formed in ferrule 12 is the threaded end 14 of handle assembly 10. This member is in effect a threaded screw 16 which engages interior threads 18 formed within ferrule 12. At its exterior end screw 16 is provided with a conical metal point 20. It is noteworthy that by having screw 16 arranged as part of the handle that the screw itself can be made large and strong to give a long useful life and secure locking of the locking means. It is necessary that this screw have considerable strength so that it is possible for the user of the tool to tighten screw 16 by using both hands on handle 10 and to thus turn it and impose a very severe loading on screw -16 which needs the strength that this design makes possible.

The tool locking means comprises an eccentric locking member 22 which is preferably cylindrical in form and with a shaft bore 24 passing through the same parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical member. 'It has been found however that in order to keep the weight of materials as low as possible consistent with the required strength that it is best to have bore 24 eccentrically disposed but parallel to the longitudinal axis of member 22. This relationship is illustrated in several of the views, especially in FIGURE 3. By this arrangement the interior threads in the centrally positioned threaded bore 26, formed in locking member 22 can have considerable length and thus should insure a long useful life for both the threads 26 and the threaded end 14 of the handle. Such an arrangement gives adequate strength to absorb the full twisting action that a person can give to handle 10. Disposed within bore 24 is the locking shaft 30. Shaft 30 is provided with a plurality of conical locking recesses 32 which are disposed in a common plane substantially in the center of shaft 30 and transversely disposed with respect thereto. Referring to FIGURE 4 it will be noted that three such locking recesses are provided. This is given as an example only and illustrates the positioning of the recesses in order to achieve the three positions of the bladed tool 34. These positions are illustrated in 'FIGURES 2, 5 and 6.

Disposed on either planar end face of locking member 22 are the tool engaging arms 37 and 33. These arms are fixedly secured by riveting or welding them to the blade 34 or to the fork illustrated in FIGURE 7. These two engaging arms may be secured to a Wide variety of tools of which two only have been illustrated and they are fixedly secured to these tool parts. In order to provide interchangeability shaft 30 must be secured in place by means permitting its removal but at the same time having ample strength to fix the rotative position of shaft 39 with respect to the tool engaging arms as 37 and 38. If it is not desirable to have interchangeable tools as the blade 34 or the fork 36 then shaft 30 may be fixedly secured by welding to the tool engaging arms.

For use for the convertible tool arrangement suitable pins or bolts may be applied at 40 and 42. Normally it is not intended that the tools be changed frequently; consequently a very satisfactory locking means is to employ suitable sized tapered pins at 40 and 42. In order toadjustably secure the screw 16 in ferrule 12 it is desirable to employ a lock-nut 44.

To make most convenient use of this tool it should be provided with several different angular positions as evidenced by the three locking recesses of FIGURE 4. In order to change from one recess to another so as to change the angular relationship between the tool 34 or 36 and the handle the first step is to rotate handle 16 so as to withdraw point 20 from the locking recess 32 in which it was previously seated. This operation is most conven- Y iently accomplished by placing the tool blade or fork on the ground and then rotating the handle. In this manner two hands can be used if desirable, which is often desirable when women or children use the tool. Next by manipulation of handle 10 the angular relationship can be changed and one of the recess indicating dots as 46 or 47 is brought opposite an index as indicated at 48, it being possible to have more than one index for convenience in reading when the tool is held in the hands or when the blade or fork portion is on the ground. As soon as the indicators show that another recess 32 is substantially in line with the conical point 20 the handle is turned in the reverse direction, thus seating the substantial point 20 in the locking recess 32 and as the locking members are all large enough to accept any strain placed on them by the user, a very secure locking can be achieved.

By having the ability to be adjusted to various angular positions the tools 34 or 36 secured to handle 10, many additional functions are served. FIGURE 1 shows a conventional hoe which may be made in various sizes for hoeing, weeding or back filling holes and the like. In FIGURE 6 the blade 34 makes a small angle with the handle and is especially useful in wrecking buildings, it being shown as a convenient means for removing baseboards 50 and drawing the nails as 52. This same placement of biade 34 serves for scraping ice off sidewalks, taking up sod strips, scraping floors, taking up linoleum floor covering and for weeding under fences. The positioning shown in FIGURE 5 lends itself to weeding against a foundation, taking old shingles off a roof or as a lawn edger. Similarly the ability to position a tined member 36 as in FIGURE 5 makes it useful as a spading fork, as in FIGURES 1 or 2 a striking hoe is provided and when positioned after FIGURE 6 a conventional type fork is provided.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of adjustable means for hand tools.

Having thus disclosed by invention,

I claim:

1. An adjustable means for hand implements comprising, a locking member of closed cylindrical form having the outer periphery thereof interrupted only by a centrally positioned, transversely extending handle assembly receiving threaded bore and a shaft mounting bore positioned eccentrically of said periphery disposed forwardly of the longitudinal axis of said locking member and in line with said handle assembly receiving bore parallel to the longitudinal axis of said locking member, a rotatable handle having a threaded lower end which terminates in a conical metal point, an implement-carrying locking shaft rotatably fitted in said shaft mounting bore and having a plurality of conical recesses formed radially thereof and in the plane of said handle assembly receiving bore, said conical recesses being engageable by said conical metal point to rigidly secure said implementcarrying locking shaft, tool engaging arms disposed on opposite ends of said locking member, said arms being fixedly secured to said implement-carrying locking shaft.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 in which said rotatable handle is provided with a metal ferrule at its lower end having a threaded bore; a screw engaging said threaded bore, and extending outwardly beyond the end of said handle; locking means to secure said screw in its adjusted position and to prevent its turning in respect to said handle and said screw terminating in said conical metal point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 947,990 Harbeck Feb. 1, 1910 1,073,565 Biehl Sept. 16, 1913 1,757,538 Miller May 6, 1930 2,409,879 McIntosh Oct. 22, 1946 2,429,753 Grosch Oct. 28, 1947 2,689,967 Mackey Sept. 28, 1954

Claims (1)

1. AN ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR HAND IMPLEMENTS COMPRISING, A LOCKING MEMBER OF CLOSED CYLINDRICAL FORM HAVING THE OUTER PERIPHERY THEREOF INTERRUPTED ONLY BY A CENTRALLY POSITIONED, TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING HANDLE ASSEMBLY RECEIVING THREADED BORE AND A SHAFT MOUNTING BORE POSITIONED ECCENTRICALLY OF SAID PERIPHERY DISPOSED FORWARDLY OF THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER AND IN LINE WITH SAID HANDLE ASSEMBLY RECEIVING BORE PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER, A ROTATABLE HANDLE HAVING A THREADED LOWER END WHICH TERMINATES IN A CONICAL METAL POINT, AN IMPLEMENT-CARRYING LOCKING SHAFT ROTATABLY FITTED IN SAID SHAFT MOUNTING BORE AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF CONICAL RECESSES FORMED RADIALLY THEREOF AND IN THE PLANE OF SAID HANDLE ASSEMBLY RECEIVING BORE, SAID CONICAL RECESSES BEING ENGAGEABLE BY SAID CONICAL METAL POINT TO RIGIDLY SECURE SAID IMPLEMENTCARRYING LOCKING SHAFT, TOOL ENGAGING ARMS DISPOSED ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER, SAID ARMS BEING FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID IMPLEMENT-CARRYING LOCKING SHAFT.

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