Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Handle – handle component – or handle adjunct – Handle with ergonomic structure enhancements such as...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-26
2001-02-13
Mah, Chuck Y. (Department: 3626)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Handle, handle component, or handle adjunct
Handle with ergonomic structure enhancements such as...
C016S421000, C016S441000, C074S543000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185786
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to improvements in a cushioning device, ergonomically designed to permit use of machine devices such as, for example, a vice, while avoiding, or at least inhibiting, injury to the palm and digits of the user's hands while attempting to loosen or tighten the vice.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
It has been common practice since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary, for persons in using a vice type apparatus for holding a workpiece to use their hands to hit the elongate handle which loosens and tightens the jaws of the tool about the work piece to obtain the best grip or quickly loosen that grip.
Whether the user is a rank amateur or an experienced machinist, sooner or later an injury results, and it may take one or more of several forms, e.g., Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Stress Injury, median nerve damage, or simply contusions of one's hand in the area of the palm or fingers, or both, results. To the amateur, it probably means a day or two delay in going forward with the project, whatever it might be. For the professional, it may well mean lost work time, a trip to a medical facility and, perhaps, serious damage.
To the employer, it is lost productivity, perhaps a delay in completion of an essential task, which could delay delivery of a job and getting paid for that job. Further, and as is well known to all employers, it becomes an accident and, as all employers are painfully aware, a consideration when it is time to reevaluate one's workman's compensation insurance.
All of the foregoing practical considerations are exacerbated by the personal discomfort and inconvenience which is heaped on someone with an injury to a hand, and particularly if it is one's major.
It is increasingly recognized that even seemingly minor injuries of the type described can have unexpected and far reaching repercussions, which can sometimes, but not always, be measured in terms of dollars and cents, and it is the non monetary complications which often pose the harder to solve problems.
2. Overview of the Prior Art
While the problem articulated above has existed since perhaps the days of medieval torture chambers, or at least since the invention of the printing press which called for a large platen to be screwed down against a piece of parchment by hand, it took on practical significance with the dawning of the industrial age and has become a serious problem in the current environment of high productivity, injury abatement and the ever present insurance adjuster.
The concerns articulated here have been existent for years, and early in the industrial revolution it was not uncommon for workers to wrap the vice handles, or their hands, with shop rags, or tape, or both, to mitigate the pain.
It is evident from the early patents which attempted to alleviate human suffering by making the manipulating of everyday tools more user friendly. In Schaefer U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,596, for example, the inventor perceived a problem in the use of common household implements such as mops, brooms and the like. However, the perception was that the ends of the handles for such implements scratched furniture and broke glass. Mr. Schaefer's solution was to place a soft bulb, or cup, over the end of the handle. Hardly compatible with industrial problems, but nonetheless an effort.
Selig U.S. Pat. No. 1,556,966 is a variation on the Schaefer theme, providing a variety of different shapes and sizes to accommodate various implements, a concept which is inapposite to that of the present invention.
Halsey, in his U.S. Pat. No. 1,632,227 focused on an ice pick, and he, for the first time on the record, exhibited concern for the user's hand. Finally, and perhaps of lesser interest, is a flexible gripping sleeve for a socket extension as seen in De Vrou U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,476.
With the foregoing as background, it is evident that none of these efforts have provided industry with the solution it seeks as a means of cutting into the rash of industrial accidents that have become the bane of an employer's existence, at least not until now.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Having established the environment within which the present invention has particular, although clearly not exclusive utility, the present invention seeks to inhibit hand injuries resulting from efforts to either loosen or tighten a vice by striking the handle thereof with one's hand.
It is, therefore, an objective of the present invention to provide employers and users alike with a very inexpensive, yet versatile aftermarket device which will protect the user of a vice, or the like, from inadvertent injury without inhibiting the user's ability to effectively use and operate the device.
Another objective is to provide a single pliable, yet effective means of protecting the hand of a user against the unforgiving metal handle of a vice when he attempts to loosen or tighten the same by striking the handle with his hand, and, further, to construct such devices so as to make it essentially universal in its application.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to construct a protective device for the handle of a vice or the like which is ergonomically shaped to conform to the user's hand without impairing the effectiveness of the machine element to which it is applied.
Another and still further objective of the present invention is to provide a measure of protection to other persons in close proximity to a vice or the like, from being more seriously injured by the end of the handle of a vice being opened or closed by inadvertent, unintended contact with such handle. In this same vein, the vice handle will tend to swing about when loose, and there have been instances when the end of that handle will make inadvertent contact with the mill table, or some other component of the machine itself, and while such contact does not rise to the concern for the protection of human needs, it is nonetheless a serious concern, and one which is well mitigated by the present invention.
The accomplishment of these, as well as other objectives and advantages of the present invention, will become apparent from a reading of the detailed description of a preferred embodiment, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:
REFERENCES:
patent: 574755 (1897-01-01), Oehler
patent: 619223 (1899-02-01), Ramey et al.
patent: 1443596 (1923-01-01), Schaefer
patent: 1556966 (1925-01-01), Selig
patent: 1632227 (1927-06-01), Halsey
patent: 2449575 (1948-09-01), Wilhelm
patent: 3742204 (1973-06-01), Price
patent: 3795156 (1974-03-01), Neuscheler
patent: 4706598 (1987-11-01), Jeffress
patent: 4896556 (1990-01-01), Takada
patent: 5305660 (1994-04-01), Hasegawa
patent: 5740586 (1998-04-01), Gomas
Haase Dennis B.
Mah Chuck Y.
LandOfFree
Ergonomic cushioning device for inhibitting injury does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Ergonomic cushioning device for inhibitting injury, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Ergonomic cushioning device for inhibitting injury will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2587834