Hand tool having replaceable tips

• US 7,284,466 B1
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: YEH Shing Enterprise Company Limited
• Original Assignee: YEH Shing Enterprise Company Limited
• Inventors: Ho, Shin-Chi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hail, III; Joseph J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCDONALD, SHANTESE L
• Application Number:
  US11/654,266
• Time in Patent Office: 279 Days
• Field of Search: 814/36, 814/39, 814/40, 814/89, 814/90
• US Class Current: 81/439
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 15/02 operated by rotating the handle
• CPC Class Codes: B25G 1/085 for screwdrivers, wrenches or spanners

Abstract

A hand tool includes a handle body, a cover having two exposing slots and a stop plate formed with a passage, and two rotation wheels each rotatably mounted in the handle body and each having an inside formed with receiving holes to receive tips and a peripheral wall formed with an opening that is movable to align with the respective exposing slot and the passage of the cover. Thus, the user only needs to rotate the rotation wheels to select and take out the desired tip, thereby facilitating the user operating the hand tool. In addition, the tips are directly stored in the handle body so that the user needs not to additionally prepare a storage box to store the tips, thereby facilitating the user carrying the hand tool.

Claims

1. A hand tool, comprising:

a handle body having an inside formed with a receiving chamber;

a cover having two spaced exposing slots each connected to the receiving chamber of the handle body and having a stop plate formed with a passage connected between the exposing slots;

two rotation wheels each rotatably mounted in the receiving chamber of the handle body and each having an inside formed with a plurality of receiving holes to receive a plurality of tips and a peripheral wall formed with an opening that is movable to align with a respective exposing slot of the cover and the passage of the stop plate of the cover.

2. The hand tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the rotation wheels are rotatable to a position where the opening of one of the rotation wheels aligns with the respective exposing slot and the passage of the cover, and the respective tip of one of the receiving holes of the other one of the rotation wheels aligns with the passage of the cover to allow the respective tip to pass through the passage of the cover into the opening of the one of the rotation wheels and to pass through the respective exposing slot.

3. The hand tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the receiving chamber of the handle body has a mediate portion formed with a stop wall juxtaposed to the stop plate of the cover.

4. The hand tool in accordance with claim 3, wherein the rotation wheels are rotatable to a position where each of the receiving holes of the rotation wheels is misaligned with the passage of the cover, and the tips in the receiving holes of the rotation wheels are stopped by the stop plate of the cover and the stop wall of the handle body so that the tips are positioned in the receiving holes of the rotation wheels.

5. The hand tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the receiving chamber of the handle body has two opposite ends each formed with a stop flange having an inside formed with a groove, and the cover has two opposite ends each stopped by the respective stop flange of the handle body and each formed with a protruding ear inserted into the groove of the respective stop flange.

6. The hand tool in accordance with claim 5, wherein the stop flange of the handle body has a substantially semi-circular shape.

7. The hand tool in accordance with claim 5, wherein the groove the stop flange of the handle body is substantially arc-shaped.

8. The hand tool in accordance with claim 5, wherein the protruding ear of the cover is substantially arc-shaped.

9. The hand tool in accordance with claim 5, wherein each of the rotation wheels has an end face rested on the respective stop flange of the handle body and formed with a plurality of positioning grooves, and the stop flange of the handle body has a side formed with a protruding positioning strip aligning with the passage of the cover and positioned in one of the positioning grooves of the respective rotation wheel to position the respective rotation wheel temporarily.

10. The hand tool in accordance with claim 9, wherein each of the positioning grooves of each of the rotation wheels aligns with a respective receiving hole so that when the positioning strip of the respective stop flange is positioned in one of the positioning grooves of the respective rotation wheel, the respective receiving hole of the respective rotation wheel is aligned with the passage of the cover to allow the respective tip to pass through the passage of the cover.

11. The hand tool in accordance with claim 9, further comprising an elastic member mounted in the receiving chamber of the handle body and biased between the rotation wheels to push each of the rotation wheels toward the respective stop flange of the handle body to prevent the rotation wheels from being rotated freely.

12. The hand tool in accordance with claim 5, further comprising a shaft extended through the handle body, the cover and the rotation wheels to attach the cover to the handle body and to allow rotation of the rotation wheels.

13. The hand tool in accordance with claim 12, wherein the handle body has two end portions each formed with a shaft hole connected to the receiving chamber to allow passage of the shaft.

14. The hand tool in accordance with claim 12, wherein the protruding ear of the cover is formed with a fixing hole mounted on the shaft.

15. The hand tool in accordance with claim 12, wherein the receiving chamber of the handle body has a mediate portion formed with a stop wall juxtaposed to the stop plate of the cover to separate the rotation wheels, the stop wall of the handle body has an inside formed with a substantially arc-shaped channel to allow passage of the shaft, and the stop plate of the cover has a side formed with a breach connected to the passage to allow passage of the shaft.

16. The hand tool in accordance with claim 12, wherein each of the rotation wheels has a central portion formed with a shaft hole to allow passage of the shaft, and the receiving holes and the opening of each of the rotation wheels surround the shaft hole.

17. The hand tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cover is mounted on and has a shape matching that of an open side of the receiving chamber of the handle body.

18. The hand tool in accordance with claim 17, wherein the cover has a periphery formed with a recessed portion engaged with the open side of the receiving chamber of the handle body.

19. The hand tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of the rotation wheels has a peripheral wall formed with a plurality of anti-slip grooves rested on a wall of the receiving chamber of the handle body and a plurality of smooth faces located between the anti-slip grooves and each aligned with a respective receiving hole to indicate a size, type or specification of a respective tip by a mark, pattern or figure.

20. The hand tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the rotation wheels are stored in the handle body and the cover, and the receiving holes of one of the rotation wheels face the receiving holes of the other one of the rotation wheels.