US 11,986,937 B2
Tool holder including a threaded actuator
Brian S. Wetrich, Canton, OH (US); John L. Scott, Sr., Wooster, OH (US); and Everett A. Crosby, Homerville, OH (US)
Assigned to The Wooster Brush Company, Wooster, OH (US)
Filed by The Wooster Brush Company, Wooster, OH (US)
Filed on Jan. 18, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/151,396.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/965,420, filed on Jan. 24, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0229244 A1, Jul. 29, 2021
Int. Cl. B25B 9/04 (2006.01); B25H 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC B25B 9/04 (2013.01) [B25H 1/0021 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tool holder for firmly holding a wide range of sizes and shapes of tool handles, the tool holder comprising:
a holder handle;
a cage assembly comprising a pair of axially spaced apart supports having axially aligned through openings formed by respective inwardly facing surfaces of the supports, wherein the openings are sized for receiving tool handles of different sizes and shapes through both of the aligned openings;
a clamp transversely movable between the supports in opposite directions toward and away from the respective inwardly facing surfaces of the supports for releasably clamping the tool handle against the inwardly facing surfaces;
a locking coupling interposed between the holder handle and the cage assembly for selectively adjusting the angular orientation of the cage assembly relative to the holder handle, wherein the locking coupling includes a first locking coupler operably coupled to the cage assembly, and a second locking coupler operably coupled to the holder handle; and
a threaded actuator that is operable to interact with the locking coupling for permitting or restricting adjustment of the angular orientation of the cage assembly relative to the holder handle,
wherein the threaded actuator is movably secured in a barrel of the second locking coupler by a resilient snap-fit connection,
wherein the threaded actuator is threadably moveable relative to the locking coupling between a lock position and a release position,
wherein the lock position of the threaded actuator causes the locking coupling to be in a locked state that restricts adjustment of the angular orientation of the cage assembly relative to the holder handle, and
wherein the release position of the threaded actuator causes the locking coupling to be in an unlocked state that permits adjustment of the angular orientation of the cage assembly relative to the holder handle.