Tools – Hammer
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-20
2002-10-08
Morgan, Eileen P. (Department: 3723)
Tools
Hammer
Reexamination Certificate
active
06460430
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the area of hand-held striking tools, such as hammers and pickaxes, and pertains more specifically to joining handles and heads for such tools, accommodating a demand for a variety of weights for such tools, and improving claw hammer versatility.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hand-held striking tools, such as claw hammers, mallets, sledge hammers, ball peen hammers, masonry hammers, pickaxes, and the like, have been used by people in a variety of disciplines for centuries as leveraged devices to provide a striking force to accomplish a seemingly endless variety of tasks. For example, a claw hammer, commonly weighing from 7 to 32 ounces is used by people doing carpentry work to deliver sufficient striking force to drive a nail into wood. A claw hammer is also used for removing a nail or ripping apart lumber using it's claw. A sledge hammer, commonly weighing from 2 to 20 pounds, is used to deliver sufficient striking force for heavy work such as driving a stake, awl drill, chisel, or driving a wedge into masonry, stone, wood, or other hard materials.
Another common hand-held striking tool is a ball peen hammer, which has a substantially flat surface on one end and a rounded surface on the other end of its head, and is used to deliver sufficient striking force for shaping and fitting metal, and for driving machine chisels, rivet sets, machine wedges, and other similar tools. A pickaxe is another example of a hand-held striking tool which is commonly used for loosening hard dirt and stones, and also used as a lever for prying heavy objects from the ground. Another common hand-held striking tool is a mallet, which is usually made of wood, plastic, rubber, or soft iron. A mallet provides a striking force to drive chisels or shape metal and other materials without significantly marring the material it strikes.
Hand-held striking tools, such as those described above, are commonly used as third-class levers used to provide a striking force to accomplish tasks such as driving a nail into a piece of wood, bending or forming metal, breaking a rock, and other similar tasks. Third class levers are levers where a fulcrum, also referred to as a pivot point, is at one end of a bar or rod. A load to be overcome is an object creating resistance at the opposite end of a bar or rod. An effort, or force, to be applied to a third-class lever is somewhere in between a fulcrum and load. In the case of a hand-held striking tool such as a claw hammer, the fulcrum is a wrist, the force is provided by deceleration of the movement of a hammer handle (bar or rod) at the wrist, and the load is a resistance presented by a piece of wood into which the nail is being driven.
In another example, a hand-held striking tool such as a pickaxe, the fulcrum is also a wrist, the force is provided deceleration of the movement of a pickaxe handle (rod) at the wrist, and the load is a resistance presented by dirt or stones into which the sharp point of the pickaxe is driven.
The head of a hand-held striking device is commonly a significant distance from the fulcrum and moves faster than the movement being applied at a user's hand, which is near the fulcrum. The increased speed of the head multiplies the applied force with which a striking device head strikes a nail or digs into the dirt. The longer a claw hammer's handle, for example, the faster the head and the greater the force that strikes a nail and overcomes the resistance of the wood. This principle applies to all other hand-held striking devices, and is intensified in long-handled striking devices such as a pickaxe or an axe.
Hand-held striking tools are also commonly used as first-class levers to provide a lifting or prying force to accomplish a variety of tasks. For example, some hand-held striking devices are used to pull nails out of a pieces of wood, tear apart pieces of wood or other building material, pry loose a large rock, lift a log, and the like. First class levers are levers wherein he load to be overcome is at or near one end of a rod or bar, the effort, or force is applied at or near the other end of the same rod or bar, and the fulcrum, or pivot, is somewhere along the rod or bar in between the applied force and load.
An example of a hand-held striking tool being used as a first class lever is a claw hammer being used to pull out nails, wherein the load to be overcome is the wood causing friction against an embedded nail. Another example of a hand-held striking tool being used as a first class lever is a pickaxe being used to pry out a rock or tree root embedded in dirt or rock, where the load to be overcome is the dirt or rock causing friction against an embedded rock or tree root. Whenever a hand-held striking tool is used as a first class lever, the force is applied at one end of a long handle. The fulcrum is typically near the other end of the handle which holds the head.
The load for a hand-held striking tool being used as a first class lever, such as in a claw hammer or a pickaxe, is typically very close to the fulcrum. Whereas the force for a hand-held striking tool being used as a third class lever is typically relatively far away from the fulcrum. During prying or pulling tasks, the load applied is therefore moved less distance than the hand, which is at the opposite end of the lever, and applying the force. This multiplies the force in which the claw hammer head pulls against a nail, or a pickaxe pulls against a rock.
The weakest part of a hand-held striking device is the interface between the handle and the head. The conventional method of interfacing a striking device head and handle, which are typically made of distinct materials, such as metal and wood, allows striking and pulling stresses to promote head-to-handle loosening, damage, and separation. For example, the impact force at the head of a claw hammer, being used as a third class lever against a nail, is often as high as 300 pounds. Because of the greater length of its handle and greater weight of its head, the striking force of the head of a pickaxe against the earth is many times greater.
The bending moment applied at the head-to-handle interface of a claw hammer being used as a first class lever to pull out a nail is often as high as 1,000 foot-pounds. The bending moment levied against the head-to-handle interface of a pickaxe pulling heavy rocks away from the earth is typically many times more.
The effect of these forces is exacerbated when a user occasionally misses his target and strikes the handle of such a tool against a hard object, such as the edge of a piece of wood, or a rock, at the head-to-handle interface just below the head. This causes further damage and weakens a head-to-handle interface.
Because of the inherent weakness in conventional head-to-handle interfaces, it is at this point that most failures in hand-held striking devices occur. Methods have been devised to make head-to-handle interface configurations capable of withstanding impacts and pulling stresses described above without damage. These methods include using a handle made with a material, such as high-impact plastic or heavy-gage rolled steel, that has particularly high strength and resiliency to withstand extremely high impacts and pulling stress. These types of handles are typically encapsulated in a resilient material, such as natural or synthetic rubber, leather, or plastic, to provide some protection from the shock from impact and to give a user a good grip on the handle. Many users of hand-held striking devices, however, still prefer the look and feel of wooden handles.
As stated above, a problem with many conventional methods for increasing handle strength on hand-held striking devices is the inherent weakness in the design of interfaces. Current interfaces for hand-held striking tools typically comprise a handle whose end is shaped to make a tight fit through a shaped opening in the head. Such a shaped opening is often tapered so the fit can be tightened by driving the head in the direction against the taper. This interface is t
Boys Donald R.
Central Coast Patent Agency Inc.
Danganan Joni B.
Douglas Tool Inc.
Morgan Eileen P.
LandOfFree
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