GB2446223A - Flexible drive shaft - Google Patents
Flexible drive shaft Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2446223A GB2446223A GB0702013A GB0702013A GB2446223A GB 2446223 A GB2446223 A GB 2446223A GB 0702013 A GB0702013 A GB 0702013A GB 0702013 A GB0702013 A GB 0702013A GB 2446223 A GB2446223 A GB 2446223A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- torque transmission
- flexible
- drive shaft
- flexible drive
- transmission member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 22
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 17
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 17
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 17
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910001065 Chromium-vanadium steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910000639 Spring steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000010196 hermaphroditism Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229940028444 muse Drugs 0.000 description 1
- GMVPRGQOIOIIMI-DWKJAMRDSA-N prostaglandin E1 Chemical compound CCCCC[C@H](O)\C=C\[C@H]1[C@H](O)CC(=O)[C@@H]1CCCCCCC(O)=O GMVPRGQOIOIIMI-DWKJAMRDSA-N 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
- B25B—TOOLS OR BENCH DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, FOR FASTENING, CONNECTING, DISENGAGING OR HOLDING
- B25B23/00—Details of, or accessories for, spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers
- B25B23/0007—Connections or joints between tool parts
- B25B23/0021—Prolongations interposed between handle and tool
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
- B25B—TOOLS OR BENCH DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, FOR FASTENING, CONNECTING, DISENGAGING OR HOLDING
- B25B13/00—Spanners; Wrenches
- B25B13/48—Spanners; Wrenches for special purposes
- B25B13/481—Spanners; Wrenches for special purposes for operating in areas having limited access
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
- B25B—TOOLS OR BENCH DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, FOR FASTENING, CONNECTING, DISENGAGING OR HOLDING
- B25B23/00—Details of, or accessories for, spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers
- B25B23/0007—Connections or joints between tool parts
- B25B23/0014—Screwdriver- or wrench-heads provided with cardan joints or the like
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Flexible Shafts (AREA)
Abstract
The flexible drive shaft 100 for use with hand tools consists of a first coupling member 101 adapted to be connected to a hand tool. A second coupling member 103 is adapted to be attached to a power drive source. A length of flexible torque transmission member 105 is interposed between the coupling members. The torque transmission member includes an inner 107 and an outer 106 helical torque transmission member. The directions of winding of the helices of the helical torque transmission members are opposite in sense. The flexible torque member may include a core of longitudinally extending wires 108. The helical torque transmission members may be made of square cross-section wire.
Description
FLEXIBLE DRiVE SHAFT The present invention relates to flexible drive
shafts for transmitting power from a powei source to a driven unit and more specifically to flexible drive shafts for use in conjunction with hand tools.
Known flexible drive shafts for use with hand tools consist of a core comprising a number of longitudinally extending wires which are surrounded by a tightly wound helix of wire of a relatively heavy gauge.The assembly terminates in end-pieces ore of which is adapted to be connected to a power drive source such as an electric motor and the other of which is adapted to be connected to a hand tool, such as a socket spanner, via a section of material of a standard square cross-section, or it may be provided with a chuck to accept a drill or the like. The direction of the helix is such that the transmission of torque by the flexible drive tends to lock the turns of the helix together.
A consequential disadvantage of such flexible drive shafts is that they are uni-directional muse.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved flexible drive shaft.
According to the present invention there is provided a flexible drive shaft for use with hand tools, comprising a first coupling member adapted to be connected to a hand tool, a second coupling member adapted to be connected to a power drive source and a flexible torque transmission member interposed between the first and second coupling members wherein the flexible torque transmission member comprises an inner and an outer helical torque transmission member the directions of winding of the helices of the helical torque transmission members being opposite in sense.
Thus the flexible drive shaft is capable of transmitting torque in a clockwise or anti clockwise sense with equal facility.
A core of longitudinally extending wires may be included within the inner helical torque transmission member.
The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a side view of a flexible drive shaft embodying the invention.
Referring to the drawing, a flexible drive shaft 100 embodying the invention consists of a first coupling member 101 which tenninates in a section 102 of square cross-section, a second coupling member 103 which terminates in a section 104 of hexagonal cross-section and a flexible torque transmission member 105 which extends between the first and second coupling members 101,103, respectively. The coupling members 101,103 may be made from a chrome-vanadium steel, as may the flexible torque transmission member 105, although,preferably, this is made from spring steel.
The square section 102 of the first end coupling member 101 is provided with a spring-loaded locking ball 109 and may be so dimensioned as to be usable with any of the standard square-drive sockets which are used in connection with socket spani:iers or other square-drive fastener turning devices.
The hexagonal section 104 of the seconçl end coupling member 103 may be of any convenient size to fit into the chuck of a power drive source such as an electric drill.
The flexible torque transmission member 105 consists of an outer helix 106 of wire of relatively heavy gauge and an inner helix 107 also made of relatively heavy gauge wire.
The helices 106, 107 are wound in opposite senses, for example, if the outer helix 106 is wound in a clock-wise sense, then the inner helix 107 is wound in an anti-clockwise sense, and vice versa. Both helices 106, 107 are tightly wound so that adjacent turns of the helices 106, 107, are in close contact. Within the inner helix 107 is a core of longitudinally extending wires 108 which are under a degree of tension so as to provide an end load on the helices 106, 107 which acts so as to keep the turns of the helices 106 107 in close contact. The core of longitudinally extending wires 108 may be omitted, reliance then being placed on the effect of the transmission of torque to wind up' the appropriate helix. For example, if the flexible drive shaft 100 is transmitting torque in a clock-wise sense, then for the situation described above, the turns of the oiter helix 106 will tend to tighten, and vice versa. It is this effect which enables the present invention to transmit torque effectively in both directions, unlike existing flexible drive units as çiescribed above, which have a single helical torque transmission member and rely on the end-loading provided by the central core of longitudinally extending wires to maintain the turns of the helical torque transmission member in close contact.
The coupling members 101, 103 may be provided with square section recesses instead of the sections 102.106 respectively, so as to form the female components of hermaphrodite couplings, the male components of which are provided by the hand tools and drive power source with which the flexible drive shaft is to be used. Jn order to increase the area of contact between the turns of the helices 106,107 the wires from which they are made can be of square cross-section.
Claims (4)
1. A flexible drive shaft for use with hand tools comprising a first end coupling member adapted to be attached to a hand tool, a second end coupling member adapted to be attached to a power drive source and a length of flexible torque transmission member interposed between the end coupling members, wherein the flexible torque transmission member comprises an inner and an outer helical torque transmission member the directions of winding of the helices of the helical torque transmission members being opposite in sense.
2. A flexible drive shaft according to claim 1 wherein the flexible torque member includes a core of longitudinally extending wires.
3. A flexible drive shaft according to claim br claim 2 wherein the helical torque transmission members are made from wire of square cross-section.
4. A flexible drive shaft for use with hand tools substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0702013A GB2446223A (en) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-02-02 | Flexible drive shaft |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0702013A GB2446223A (en) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-02-02 | Flexible drive shaft |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB0702013D0 GB0702013D0 (en) | 2007-03-14 |
| GB2446223A true GB2446223A (en) | 2008-08-06 |
Family
ID=37891184
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0702013A Withdrawn GB2446223A (en) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-02-02 | Flexible drive shaft |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2446223A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP3909526A3 (en) * | 2020-04-21 | 2022-02-16 | Shukla Medical | Tool drive assembly |
Citations (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB605130A (en) * | 1945-07-27 | 1948-07-16 | Boites De Montres S Graber S A | Improvements in or relating to hand-tools |
| US2486043A (en) * | 1946-04-12 | 1949-10-25 | Carl W Lofgren | Reversible ratchet mechanism |
| US2796101A (en) * | 1954-09-28 | 1957-06-18 | Robertshaw Fulton Controls Co | Combination rigid and flexible hand tool |
| US4876929A (en) * | 1988-09-15 | 1989-10-31 | Burton Kozak | Portable screw driver having flexible extension shaft |
| EP0716832A1 (en) * | 1994-11-16 | 1996-06-19 | McGuire, David A. | Flexible surgical screwdriver |
| US5697269A (en) * | 1996-06-20 | 1997-12-16 | Tseng; Kuo Hwa | Flexible wrench extension |
| US5797918A (en) * | 1991-12-13 | 1998-08-25 | David A. McGuire | Flexible surgical screwdriver and methods of arthroscopic ligament reconstruction |
-
2007
- 2007-02-02 GB GB0702013A patent/GB2446223A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB605130A (en) * | 1945-07-27 | 1948-07-16 | Boites De Montres S Graber S A | Improvements in or relating to hand-tools |
| US2486043A (en) * | 1946-04-12 | 1949-10-25 | Carl W Lofgren | Reversible ratchet mechanism |
| US2796101A (en) * | 1954-09-28 | 1957-06-18 | Robertshaw Fulton Controls Co | Combination rigid and flexible hand tool |
| US4876929A (en) * | 1988-09-15 | 1989-10-31 | Burton Kozak | Portable screw driver having flexible extension shaft |
| US5797918A (en) * | 1991-12-13 | 1998-08-25 | David A. McGuire | Flexible surgical screwdriver and methods of arthroscopic ligament reconstruction |
| EP0716832A1 (en) * | 1994-11-16 | 1996-06-19 | McGuire, David A. | Flexible surgical screwdriver |
| US5697269A (en) * | 1996-06-20 | 1997-12-16 | Tseng; Kuo Hwa | Flexible wrench extension |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP3909526A3 (en) * | 2020-04-21 | 2022-02-16 | Shukla Medical | Tool drive assembly |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB0702013D0 (en) | 2007-03-14 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |