U.S. patent application number 12/580904 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-21 for holder assembly for a socket.
Invention is credited to DAVID HSIEH.
Application Number | 20110089126 12/580904 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43878493 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110089126 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HSIEH; DAVID |
April 21, 2011 |
HOLDER ASSEMBLY FOR A SOCKET
Abstract
A holder assembly of the present invention includes a rail body
and at least one holder. The holder is slidably disposed in a rail
of the rail body, and it includes a base and a controller. The
controller is axially movable between a first position and a second
position with respect to the base and is rotatable about a rod body
of the base, so as to selectively hold a socket thereon.
Inventors: |
HSIEH; DAVID; (Taiping City,
TW) |
Family ID: |
43878493 |
Appl. No.: |
12/580904 |
Filed: |
October 16, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/70.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25H 3/06 20130101; B25H
3/003 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/70.6 |
International
Class: |
A47F 7/00 20060101
A47F007/00 |
Claims
1. A holder assembly for a socket, comprising: a rail body, having
an elongated plate, two side plates extending upward from both
sides of the elongated plate respectively, two lateral flanges
respectively extending from distal ends of the side plates toward
each other, a rail being defined between the elongated plate, the
side plates and the lateral flanges, the rail having a rail opening
defined between the lateral flanges; at least one holder, slidably
disposed in the rail, each holder comprising a base, a controller,
a resilient element and a ball member, the base having a top face
and a bottom face, a rod body extending through the rail opening
from the top face of the base, a notch being axially formed on a
periphery of the rod body, the notch having a first portion and a
second portion, a depth of the first portion being smaller than
that of the second portion, the controller being axially movable
between a first position and a second position with respect to the
base, and the controller being rotatable about the rod body, the
controller having a top face and a bottom face, a sleeve body
extending through the rail opening from the top face of the
controller, an axial bore being axially defined through the sleeve
body for the rod body to insert therein, a side bore being
transversely defined on the sleeve body and communicating with the
axial bore for the ball member to receive therein, the notch of the
rod body facing the side bore, at least one protrusion being
disposed on the top face of the controller to selectively abut
against a bottom surface of one of the lateral flanges, the
resilient element being disposed between the base and the
controller to urge the base and the controller apart; wherein as
the controller locates at the first position, the protrusion does
not abut against the bottom surface of one of the lateral flanges,
and the first portion of the notch corresponds to the side bore,
pushing the ball member to protrude from the side bore; wherein as
the controller is rotated for the protrusion to abut against the
bottom surface of one of the lateral flanges, the controller moves
to the second position, and the second portion of the notch
corresponds to the side bore, receiving the ball member in the side
bore and the second portion.
2. The holder assembly of claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a
slanted upper surface to abut against the bottom surface of one of
the lateral flanges.
3. The holder assembly of claim 1, wherein a gradient between the
first portion and the second portion is substantially constant.
4. The holder assembly of claim 2, wherein a gradient between the
first portion and the second portion is substantially constant.
5. The holder assembly of claim 1, wherein a magnet is disposed on
an outer surface of the elongated plate.
6. The holder assembly of claim 2, wherein a magnet is disposed on
an outer surface of the elongated plate.
7. The holder assembly of claim 3, wherein a magnet is disposed on
an outer surface of the elongated plate.
8. The holder assembly of claim 4, wherein a magnet is disposed on
an outer surface of the elongated plate.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to the hand tool field, and
more particularly to a holder assembly for a socket.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Most of the hand tools can be stored in a tool box or a tool
bag. Some hand tools, especially sockets and tools with sockets
disposed on at least one of their ends, can be temporarily disposed
on a holder for the user to quickly reach.
[0005] Such holder is disclosed in references such as U.S. Pat. No.
5,467,874, which includes storage apparatus for tool sockets. The
storage apparatus includes a rotatable body and a base. The
rolatable body has a tab that is movable in the guide channel, thus
selectively hold a socket thereon.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The main object of the present invention is to provide
holder assembly that its holder is slidably in the rail body
thereof.
[0007] To achieve the above and other objects, a holder assembly of
the present invention includes a rail body and at least one holder.
The rail body has an elongated plate. Two side plates extend upward
from both sides of the elongated plate respectively, and two
lateral flanges respectively extends from distal ends of the side
plates toward each other. A rail is defined between the elongated
plate, the side plates and the lateral flanges, and the rail has a
rail opening defined between the lateral flanges. The at least one
holder is slidably disposed in the rail. Each holder includes a
base, a controller, a resilient element and a ball member. The base
has a rod body extending through the rail opening from a top face
of the base. A notch is axially formed on a periphery of the rod
body and has a shallow first portion and a deep second portion. The
controller is axially movable between a first position and a second
position with respect to the base and is rot at able about the rod
body. The controller has a sleeve body extending through the rail
opening from the top face thereof. The sleeve body has an axial
bore axially defined therethrough for the rod body to insert
therein, and has a side bore transversely defined thereon for the
ball member to receive therein. At least one protrusion is disposed
on the top face of the controller to selectively abut against a
bottom surface of one of the lateral flanges. The resilient element
is disposed between the base and the controller.
[0008] Thereby, the holder is slidable with respect to the rail
body, and a socket can be detachably held on the holder. When the
socket is to be removed from the holder, the user can directly
rotate the socket, thus the ball member makes the controller to
rotate as well until the controller moves from the second position
to the first position. Once the controller is moved to the first
position, the socket can be removed from the holder since the ball
member no longer engages with the socket any more.
[0009] The present invention will become more obvious from the
following description when taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations
only, the preferred embodiments in accordance with the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a breakdown drawing showing a holder assembly of
the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a top plane view showing a holder assembly as its
controller locates at the first position;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a profile showing a holder assembly as its
controller locates at the first position;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a top plane view showing a holder assembly as its
controller locates at the second position;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a profile showing a holder assembly as its
controller locates at the second position;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a drawing showing a holder assembly with multiple
holders.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. A holder assembly of the
present invention includes a rail body 10 and at least one holder
20.
[0017] The rail body 10 has an elongated plate, two side plates and
two lateral flanges 11. The side plates extend upward from both
sides of the elongated plate respectively. The lateral flanges 11,
on the other hand, respectively extend from distal ends of the side
plates toward each other. A rail 12 is defined between the
elongated plate, the side plates and the lateral flanges 11, and
the rail 12 has a rail opening defined between the lateral flanges
11. A magnet layer can be disposed on an outer surface of the
elongated plate, such that the rail body 10 can be attached to a
magnetic surface.
[0018] The holder 20 is slidably disposed in the rail 12, and the
holder 20 includes a base 30, a controller 40, a resilient member
60 and a ball member 44.
[0019] The base 30 has a top face and a bottom face. A rod body 31
extends through the rail opening from the top face of the base 30.
A notch 32 is axially formed on a periphery of the rod body 31, and
the notch 32 has a shallow first portion and a deep second portion,
i.e. a depth of the first portion is smaller than that of the
second portion. Preferably, a gradient between the first and second
portions is substantially constant so that the notch 32 has a
smooth configuration.
[0020] The controller 40 is axially movable between a first
position and a second position with respect to the base 30, and the
controller 40 is rolatable about the rod body 31. The controller 40
also has a top face and a bottom face. A sleeve body 41 extends
through the rail opening from the top face of the controller 40. An
axial bore 42 is axially defined through the sleeve body 41 for the
rod body 31 to insert therein. A side bore 43 is transversely
defined on the sleeve body 41 and communicates with the axial bore
42 for the ball member 44 to receive therein. The notch 32 of the
rod body 31 faces the side bore 43. At least one protrusion 45 (two
in the present embodiment) is disposed on the top face of the
controller 40 to selectively abut against a bottom surface of one
of the lateral flanges 11. Preferably, each protrusion 45 has a
slanted upper surface to abut against the bottom surface of one of
the lateral flanges 11, such that the controller 40 can be rotated
effortlessly. In addition, a socket 50 or a tool having a socket
disposed at one end thereof can be held by the holder 20, as shown
in FIG. 6. More specifically, the socket 50 must have an engaging
bore for the sleeve body 41 to receive therein. Besides, the
engaging bore has a groove for the ball member 44 to selectively
engage therewith.
[0021] The resilient element 60 is disposed between the base 30 and
the controller 40 to urge the base 30 and the controller 40 apart.
Thus the bottom face of the base 30 abuts against the elongated
plate, and the upper face of the controller or the protrusion(s) 45
abuts against the bottom surface(s) of the lateral flange(s)
11.
[0022] Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. As the controller 40
locates at the first position, the top face of the controller 40,
rather than the protrusions 45, abuts against the bottom surfaces
of the lateral flanges 11. As such, the first portion of the notch
32 corresponds to the side bore 43, pushing the ball member 44 to
protrude from the side bore 43 to engage with the socket 50.
Therefore, the socket 50 is held on the holder 20.
[0023] Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 next. Due to the
engagement of the ball member 44, the socket 50 can be rotated
along with the controller 40. That is, the protrusions 45 can be
moved to abut against the bottom surfaces of the lateral flanges 11
respectively, thus moving the controller 40 to the second position.
As such, the second portion of the notch 32 corresponds to the side
bore 43, receiving the ball member 44 in the side bore 43 and the
second portion, i.e. the ball member 44 disengages from the groove
of the socket 50. Therefore, the socket 50 can be removed from the
holder 20.
* * * * *