Tools – Wrench – screwdriver – or driver therefor – Having work engaging and force exerting portion inserted...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-05
2001-06-12
Morgan, Eileen P. (Department: 3723)
Tools
Wrench, screwdriver, or driver therefor
Having work engaging and force exerting portion inserted...
C081S439000, C408S222000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244142
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of truck maintenance, and more particularly to tool kits for servicing front axles of MACK® trucks.
B. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional steering knuckle assembly at the front axle of a MACK® truck, a tapered knuckle pin is adjustably held within a downwardly open bore in the knuckle assembly housing by a thrust bearing, which in turn is secured by a thrust bearing adjusting screw, commonly referred to as a king pin cap. The king pin cap is an externally-threaded cylindrical slug which mates with an internally threaded wall of the bore in the knuckle assembly housing, and is provided with a cruciform recess in its bottom face for receiving a torque-applying tool, whereby the king pin cap may be removed from threaded engagement within the bore during servicing. Since the king pin cap and mating threads of the bore are open downwardly toward road or highway surfaces, they are exposed to water, salt, dirt and other elements which cause oxidation of or otherwise degrade the threaded connection. Consequently, removal of the king pin cap is often very difficult.
Under prior art practice in use for over half a century, an adapter
2
as shown in
FIG. 1
was used in combination with a manual torque wrench to remove the king pin cap. The adapter
10
of the prior art includes four separate protrusions
12
,
13
,
14
, and
15
spaced radially from an axis of rotation of the adapter and arranged every 90 degrees about the axis of rotation, whereby two diametrically opposed protrusions
12
and
14
are received within one intersecting leg of the cruciform recess and two diametrically opposed protrusions
13
and
15
are received within the other intersecting leg of the cruciform recess. Adapter
10
also includes a polygon-shaped hub
16
for engaging a torque wrench for manual rotation. Prior art adapters of this type have certain recognized disadvantages. For example, protrusions
12
-
15
are prone to camming action or “walking” and becoming dislodged from the king pin cap recess. Also, the protrusions are prone to shearing and can cause damage to the king pin cap recess. These disadvantages are particularly evident when a high level of torque is required to remove the king pin cap, a situation which calls for a long torque wrench. For this reason, service personal have heretofore been instructed not to use a high-torque pneumatic impact gun to drive adapters of this type.
Also under prior art practice, a machine tool tap is commonly used to clear and restore the internal threads of the bore, however such taps are not adapted for use with manual torque means found in a truck servicing garage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide improved tooling for removing the king pin cap of a MACK® truck and repairing the internal threads in the knuckle housing. More specifically, the tool kit of the present invention is intended to eliminate the problems of walking, tool damage, and king pin cap recess damage, while allowing the use of of a high-torque pneumatic impact gun to save time and effort.
A king pin cap tool kit formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a pair of cap removal tools for removing king pin caps of different diameters and a pair of thread chasers for repairing internal threads in housing bores of corresponding diameters. Each cap removal tool comprises a cylindrical body having opposite end faces, a cruciform protrusion extending from one of the end faces, and a polygon-shaped recess through the opposite end face to adapt the cap removal tool for driving connection to a conventional pneumatic impact gun. The cruciform protrusion is uniform in its height and includes a pair of intersecting legs that extend fully across the end face in diametrical fashion. Each thread chaser comprises a cylindrical body having opposite end faces, a threaded peripheral surface, and polygon-shaped axial through hole for receiving a breaker bar or ratchet with extension. At least one groove, and preferably a plurality of grooves, are provided in the threaded peripheral surface from one end face to the other for channeling material removed by the thread chaser. The thread chaser has a leading thread near each end face to make it reversible in mounting on the breaker bar or ratchet.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 2258326 (1941-10-01), Holt
patent: 2445978 (1948-07-01), Stellin
patent: 2480648 (1949-08-01), Harer
patent: 2764197 (1956-09-01), Torresen
patent: 2787010 (1957-04-01), Uphoff
patent: 3187790 (1965-06-01), Wing
patent: 4171177 (1979-10-01), Barnsdale
patent: 4399723 (1983-08-01), Marleau
patent: 4466315 (1984-08-01), Boschetto, Jr. et al.
patent: 4625599 (1986-12-01), Icard
patent: 5172615 (1992-12-01), Albrecht
patent: 5214987 (1993-06-01), Fenton, Sr.
patent: 5388486 (1995-02-01), Ruzicka et al.
patent: 5485769 (1996-01-01), Olson et al.
patent: 5902079 (1999-05-01), Moore
Danganan Joni B.
Morgan Eileen P.
Simpson, Simpson & Snyder, L.L.P.
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