Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Handle – handle component – or handle adjunct – Having receptacle within
Patent
1995-08-04
1998-04-21
Mah, Chuck Y.
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Handle, handle component, or handle adjunct
Having receptacle within
16DIG12, 811771, A47B 9502
Patent
active
057405867
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a tool handle, of the type including at least two plastics and comprising, over at least part of its length, an outer sheath made of a relatively flexible plastic.
The invention applies to various hand tools such as pliers, screwdrivers, etc.
The handles of tools of the above type have the advantage of offering the user a feel which is both non-slip and strong and which allows substantial forces to be exerted very comfortably.
However, the technology for producing these tool handles is tricky, because it has to be capable, at low cost, of providing excellent integrity of the outer sheath over time, despite its frequent exposure to aggressive mediums such as car fuel, white spirit, trichloroethane and other aromatic substances. Furthermore, the handle must be resistant to clamping forces and possibly to torques.
Presently, current solutions do not simultaneously provide resistance to forces, integrity against aggressive mediums, and a relatively soft feel of the outer surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve this problem, the invention proposes a tool handle of the aforementioned type, wherein the outer sheath essentially consists of a flexible grade polyester elastomer and is overmolded onto a carrier sleeve consisting of a material based on a hard grade polyester elastomer.
The carrier sleeve may essentially consist of a hard grade polyester elastomer.
The outer sheath may consist of a practically pure polyester elastomer, and the same my be true of the carrier sleeve.
In some cases, especially for covering the handles of pliers, the carrier sleeve may be directly in contact with the underlying metal part of the tool, to which it is securely attached by friction and/or by matching of mating shapes.
In other cases, where the tool handle is intended to transmit substantial torque, especially for covering a screwdriver blade, the carrier sleeve may surround an essentially tubular connecting element consisting of a third plastic which is harder than the plastic of the carrier sleeve and connected to the underlying metal part of the tool by friction and/or by matching of mating shapes.
The connecting element may then be overmolded in the carrier sleeve.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings, in which: three-material handle according to the invention; information of the screwdriver handle of FIG. 1; and which is equipped with a two-material sleeve in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The screwdriver 10 represented in FIG. 1, with overall axis X--X assumed horizontal, includes a metal shaft 12 forming a blade equipped with a handle-receiving portion or end 14 set into a handle 16 made of three plastic materials according to a first embodiment of the invention.
In the conventional way, the set-in end 14 of the blade 12 includes a flattened extremity 15 intended to reinforce the immobilization of the blade 12 in terms of it rotating about its axis.
The handle 16 comprises a sleeve 18 surrounding a connecting element 20 into which the blade 12 is set.
The sleeve 18 comprises two coaxial tubular parts, namely an inner carrier sleeve 22 and an outer sheath 24, made of different plastics. More precisely, the carrier sleeve 22 consists of a hard grade polyester elastomer (hardness 72 Shore D), while the sheath 24 consists of a flexible grade polyester elastomer (hardness 35 Shore D) overmolded onto the carrier sleeve.
The elastomers in question may be practically pure. The flexible grade elastomer may incorporate inorganic fillers, particularly colorants and/or rheological agents. The pure grade elastomer may more widely incorporate various additives: fibers, inorganic fillers, glass beads, blowing agents, plasticizers, etc.
As far as the connecting element 20 is concerned, it consists of a plastic which is markedly harder than the plastic of the carrier sleeve 22, for example a cellulose acetate, a polyamide, a rigid
REFERENCES:
patent: 264527 (1882-09-01), Haley
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patent: 2871899 (1959-02-01), Coyle et al.
patent: 4452289 (1984-06-01), Smith
patent: 4729271 (1988-03-01), Kenigson
patent: 4837892 (1989-06-01), Lo
patent: 5107590 (1992-04-01), Burout, III et al.
Facom
Mah Chuck Y.
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