Special receptacle or package – For a tool – Plural
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-05
2001-11-13
Luong, Shian (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For a tool
Plural
C206S451000, C211S070600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315121
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates broadly to a tool holder for holding a plurality of tools in an orderly fashion and, more particularly, pertains to a wrench rack for resistively retaining a series of variously-sized wrenches in a parallel, horizontally-oriented formation, such that the wrenches are easily identifiable and accessible.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is well known, wrench racks are utilized to organize and store differently-sized wrenches which heretofore have been haphazardly strewn about a worker's tool box or a support surface adjacent a work site.
One type of wrench holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,297 issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Suburu. In this patent, the holder comprises a base tray with an upstanding holding member having multiple slots and a restraining bar mounted at a first angle to the base tray and at a second angle to the holding member. A wrench held in this holder must be rotated through a substantial portion of a 90 degree arc before the wrench handle is no longer engaged in the slot, the wrench shank is no longer constrained between the upstanding member and the restraining bar, and the open end of the wrench pins are pointed substantially to the base tray to allow disengagement of the wrench jaw from the restraining bar.
Another type of wrench rack is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,063 issued Sep. 13, 1994, to Chow. In this patent, a tool holder includes a pair of walls extended forwardly from a board, and a number of pairs of notches are formed in the walls for accommodating the tools. Each of the notches includes two ends, in which a shoulder is formed on one end and the other end is located closer to the board. A number of resilient members are projected forward of the board and each is aligned with one pair of notches. The resilient members project inwards of the notches for bias in the tools against the shoulders such that the tools can be stably held in place.
A further wrench rack is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,964 issued Jun. 17, 1997, to Ernst. In this patent, a wrench rack has arm structures including means biasing the wrenches into contact with an adjacent arm structure to ensure wrench retention. The rack includes a base having oppositely disposed rows of arm structures with a pair of corresponding arm structures serving to grip a wrench thereon to prevent accidental dislodgment. The arm structures include yieldable members which flex to accommodate an inserted wrench handle. A barrier additionally serves to inhibit undesired wrench movement yet readily permits wrench separation when grasped by their user's fingertips.
Notwithstanding the prior art, it remains desirable to provide an improved wrench rack having repetitive structure for securing a plurality of wrenches against accidental displacement and allowing an easy retrieval for the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a tool rack which will reliably retain a set of wrenches within the rack in ascending/descending order.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a tool rack which is capable of high volume production to effect a rack having a low cost of manufacture.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a tool rack which accommodates a multiplicity of wrenches without having to rotate the wrench handle in the rack.
In one aspect of the invention, a wrench rack for retaining wrenches includes a generally planar web having opposite side edges and a pair of arms having distal and a proximal ends and extending from the opposite edges and formed with pairs of aligned slots for receiving wrenches. Each of the slots is preceded by a rounded nose at a distal end of the arm and succeeded by a spine at a proximal end of the arm, the nose being formed generally perpendicular thereto with a laterally extending tab. Each of the slots has a curvilinear upper wall, a linear rear wall and a linear lower wall, and an open end opposite the rear wall. Each nose is integrally formed with an elongated, curved, resilient finger projecting into an upper portion of the slot and terminating short of the rear wall. When a wrench is inserted into the open end of each slot, a bottom surface of a wrench is guided by the tab and simultaneously, the finger is deflected towards the upper wall of the slot and continuously asserts a biasing force on a top surface of the wrench as the wrench is pushed into the slot. The slot is sized such that a leading edge of the wrench contacts the rear wall of the slot as a trailing edge of the wrench disengages from the tab, the finger holding the wrench in position against the lower wall of the slot. The tab is provided with indicia reflective of the size of the wrench inserted in the slot. The open end of the slot is defined by lower surface of the nose and the top edge of the tab. The lower wall has an end which terminates at the tab. The web has a top edge and a bottom edge, and the opposite edges diverge from the top edge to the bottom edge. The upper wall has a linear portion which extends generally parallel to a longitudinal center line passing through the slot, and a curved portion which extends upwardly and forwardly from the rear wall of the slot.
Various other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 312017 (1990-11-01), Gould
patent: D. 364526 (1995-11-01), Laufenberg
patent: D. 392489 (1998-03-01), Ernst
patent: D. 433613 (2000-11-01), Jialin
patent: 4911297 (1990-03-01), Suburu
patent: 5346063 (1994-09-01), Chow
patent: 5505316 (1996-04-01), Lee
patent: 5535881 (1996-07-01), Krivec
patent: 5598924 (1997-02-01), McCann
patent: 5638964 (1997-06-01), Ernst
patent: 6202864 (2001-03-01), Ernst et al.
Andrus Sceales Starke & Sawall LLP
Hansen Donald
Luong Shian
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