Composite hand tool

• US 5,271,300 A
• Filed: 07/14/1992
• Issued: 12/21/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Snap-On Technologies Incorporated (Snap-On Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Snap-On Tools Company LLC (Snap-On Incorporated)
• Inventors: Zurbuchen, Gregory A., Machmeier, Paul M.
• Primary Examiner(s): MEISLIN, DEBRA S
• Application Number:
  US07/913,221
• Time in Patent Office: 525 Days
• Field of Search: 81/900, 81/124.4
• US Class Current: 81/124.4
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 13/00 Spanners; Wrenches hand-driven gear-operated B25B17/00; impact wrenches B25B19/00; portable power-driven B25B21/00 ; spanners or wrenches pecially adapted for osteosynthesis A61B17/8875; machines for fitting together or separating metal parts B23P19/00 ; for mounting or dismounting wheels B60B29/003
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 13/04 of ring jaw type
• CPC Class Codes: B25G 1/12 electrically insulating material
• CPC Class Codes: B25G 1/125 for screwdrivers, wrenches or spanners
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/083 Combinations of continuous fibres or fibrous profiled structures oriented in one direction and reinforcements forming a two dimensional structure, e.g. mats B29D24/00, B29D99/001 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/347 combined with compressing after the winding of lay-ups having a non-circular cross-section, e.g. flat spiral windings
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 81/90 Wrench or screwdriver constructed from specific material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24132 including grain, strips, or filamentary elements in different layers or components parallel

Abstract

A totally non-metallic wrench formed entirely of fiber-reinforced plastic material includes a core of random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a band of unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around the periphery of the core which are subjected to compression molding to form a composite wrench structure.

Claims

1. A totally non-metallic hand tool formed entirely of plastic material containing discontinuous glass-fiber reinforcement disposed in random orientation and continuous glass-fiber reinforcement disposed in a controlled orientation.

2. The hand tool according to claim 1 which includes a core formed of said discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a band formed of said continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around at least a portion of the periphery of said core.

3. The hand tool according to claim 2 wherein said core comprises a plurality of layers of said discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material which are subjected to compression molding to form a composite structure including said band of continuous glass-fiber-reinforced material.

4. The hand tool according to claim 1 wherein said plastic material is a vinyl ester.

5. The hand tool according to claim 1 wherein the weight per cent of glass fiber in said discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material is approximately 56%.

6. The hand tool according to claim 1 wherein the weight per cent of glass fiber in the continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material is approximately 65%.

7. The hand tool according to claim 1 wherein said discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material includes glass fibers having a diameter in the range of 0.0005 inch to 0.0007 inch and said continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material includes glass fibers having a diameter in the range of 0.0006 inch to 0.0013 inch.

8. A hand tool comprising a core of random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a band of unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around at least a portion of the periphery of said core.

9. The hand tool according to claim 8 wherein said core comprises a plurality of layers of said random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material which are subjected to compression molding to form a composite structure including said band of unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material.

10. The hand tool according to claim 8 including at least one work piece receiving portion and comprising further unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around said work piece receiving portion of the tool.

19. The wrench according to claim 8 wherein said core comprises a plurality of layers of said random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material which are subjected to compression molding to form a composite structure including said band of unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material.

11. A wrench including a handle having first and second ends with at least one of said ends having a work piece receiving portion, said wrench comprising a core of a random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a band of unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around at least a portion of the periphery of said core.

12. The wrench according to claim 11 comprising a further unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around said work piece receiving portion.

13. The wrench according to claim 11 wherein said work piece receiving portion comprises a first portion defined by said core of discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a second portion defined by an insert.

14. The wrench according to claim 13 wherein said insert is non-metal.

15. The wrench according to claim 13 wherein said insert is made of said random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material.

16. A totally non-metallic double-ended box-head wrench formed entirely of plastic material containing discontinuous glass-fiber reinforcement disposed in random orientation and continuous glass-fiber reinforcement disposed in a controlled orientation.

17. The wrench according to claim 16 which includes a core formed of said discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a band formed of said continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around the periphery of said core.

18. A double-ended box-head wrench including a handle having box-head ends at opposite ends thereof, said wrench comprising a core of a random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material and a peripheral band of unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around the periphery of said core.

20. The wrench according to claim 18 wherein at least one of said box-head ends includes further unidirectional continuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material extending around said one box-head end.

21. The wrench according to claim 18 wherein at least one of said box-head ends comprises a premolded insert which is molded into said core.

22. The wrench according to claim 21 wherein said insert is non-metal.

23. The wrench according to claim 21 wherein said insert is premolded of said random discontinuous glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material.