DE29602607U1 - Bitbox - Google Patents

Description

Bremen, 15 February 1996

Our reference: B 1990 DKS/JVO/wb/dw/jVO

Applicant/Owner: kwb Burmeister

Official reference number: New registration

Bremen Patent Attorneys

European Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Ing Günther Eisenfunr Dipl.-Ing. Dieter K. Speiser Dr.-Ing. Werner W. Rabus Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Brügge DiDl.-Ing. Jürgen Klinghardt Dipl.-Ing, Klaus G. Goken Patent Attorney Dipl.-Ing >V1ark Andres Attorneys-at-Law Ulrich H. Sander Christian Spintig

.lynch patent attorneys

European Patent Attorneys

Dipl.-Phys. Gerhard üedl

Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Rainer Pritsche

Patent Attorney

Dipl.-Chem. Dr, Peter Schuler

Berlin Patent Attorney

European Patent Attorney Dipl.-Ing. Jutta Kaden

Martinistrasse 24 0-28195 Bremen Tel. 0421-36 35 O Fax 0421 -36 35 35 IG3) Fax 0421-32 83 631 IG4i MCI 585-0169

kwb Karl W. Burmeister GmbH & Co., P.O. Box 1454, 28804 Stuhr (Seckenhausen)

Bitbox

The invention relates to a bit box with a bit holder accessible from the outside for the use of the bit box as a tool and with holders for several bits and for an extension piece in an arrangement in which the center axes of the bits and the extension piece are at least approximately in a common plane.

A large number of different containers for screw bits (bit boxes) are available in the tool trade. Some of these bit boxes are characterized by the fact that, in addition to their main function - storing the bits - they also have a secondary function as a makeshift screwdriver. These bit boxes are also equipped with a bit holder that is accessible from the outside, into which a bit or an extension piece with a bit can be inserted in such a way that the whole thing forms a screwdriver, the handle of which is the bit box itself.

A more advanced version of a bit box has several holders for bits and one for an extension piece. If the bits and the extension piece are in

the holders are inserted, their center lines are all roughly in the same plane, so that the bit box is relatively flat. The bit box can be closed using a firmly attached hinged lid. When closed, the bit box forms a relatively smooth body suitable as a screwdriver handle with a bit holder near the hinged lid. The bit holder is designed so that the center line of an inserted bit runs parallel to the hinged lid. The bit box described does, however, have some disadvantages: its capacity in terms of the number of bits it can hold is very limited; when used as a screwdriver, the box twists quite a lot, so that the lid easily pops open; the extension piece and the bits are difficult to remove from the box; the bit holder located near the hinged lid cannot withstand greater forces.

Against the background of this state of the art, the object underlying the invention is to create a bit box that is particularly easy and reliable to handle. For example, the bits should be easy to remove from the bit box, the bit box should be able to be used as a fully functional screwdriver and should be able to accommodate as many bits as possible with small external dimensions.

The solution to the problem consists, according to the invention, in a bit box of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is characterized in that holders for bits are provided on both sides of the central axis of the holder for the extension piece. This brings with it the advantage that the capacity of the bit box can easily be doubled in this way. In addition, such an arrangement of bits and extension piece allows the bits and/or the extension piece to be removed particularly easily. Such a bit box can also be designed particularly advantageously as a rotary handle for a screwdriver, with which great force can also be exerted, because the bit holder can be designed to be particularly robust and the handle can be designed as a toggle handle for particularly favorable force introduction.

All these advantages are already inherent in the basic concept claimed and are fully exploited in the embodiments described in the subclaims.

The holders and the bit holder of the bit box according to the invention are preferably components of a single body. The bit box can therefore be particularly

can be manufactured cost-effectively in one piece; for example, using the injection molding process. The body is preferably symmetrical with respect to a center plane that runs through the center axis of the holder for the extension piece and extends perpendicular to the common plane. This simplifies the mold construction for manufacturing the body as an injection molded part and also accommodates the design of the bit box as a toggle handle.

The holders for the bits are preferably arranged so that the bits can be inserted into the holders with their central axes at least approximately perpendicular to the central plane. In this way, a particularly large number of bits can be accommodated on both sides of an extension piece in the bit box.

In addition to the holders and the bit holder, the body preferably has ribs that run perpendicular to the common plane and enclose the holders for the bits on both sides in the direction of their longitudinal extension. The ribs can be used to easily stiffen the body so that it does not twist even when used as a handle for a screwdriver, even with greater screwing forces. It is also advantageous if the ribs of the body are dimensioned in such a way that the body protrudes beyond them on all sides when bits are inserted. This ensures that when the bit box is used as a rotary handle, the palm of the screw driver rests on the ribs and not on the bits themselves. If the outer edges of the ribs are smooth, pressure points are avoided, which could otherwise be painful when greater hand forces are applied, so that greater forces can be transferred from the hand to the screwdriver. Due to the fact that each bit is surrounded by a rib on both sides, the body has a relatively large number of ribs on which the screwdriver's hand can rest. This also benefits better force transmission.

Preferably, each rib on one side of the center plane is opposite a rib on the other side of the center plane and forms a rib pair with this. Such a rib arrangement leads to a symmetrical body of the bit box with maximum bit holding capacity.

The bit holder preferably simultaneously forms the holder for the extension piece. Such a bit holder or holder can easily be implemented by providing the body of the bit box with a through-opening extending from its interior to the outside with a hole adapted to the external shape of the bits.

adapted hexagon profile. If a bit or the extension piece is inserted into this through hole from the outside, it serves as a bit holder; accordingly, the through hole serves as a holder for the extension piece if the extension piece is inserted into the through hole inside the bit box.

The bit holder is preferably incorporated into a shaft. A design variant is preferred in which the shaft protrudes beyond one of the outer pairs of ribs, which forms the end rib. The bit box is then a largely symmetrical toggle handle with an insert formed by the shaft, which is suitable for holding an extension piece or a bit.

The body preferably has depth stops for the bits to be inserted into the holders (16). Such depth stops prevent the bits from being pushed so far into the holders from the outside that they protrude into the area of the bit box that is intended to accommodate the extension piece. If such depth stops are not provided, the inserted extension piece itself can serve as a depth stop.

Finally, a bit box is preferred with a cap that can be pushed onto the body in such a way that the holders are covered. The pushed-on cap preferably covers the entire body with the exception of the shaft with the bit holder. With the help of such a cap, the bits can be prevented from falling out of the bit box if they come loose from their holders.

A bit box is also preferred in which the cap rests on the edges of the ribs. In this way, when using the bit box with the cap on as a handle for a screwdriver, the hand force is distributed from the hand via the cap directly to the ribs.

The cap of the bit box is preferably made of transparent material. This allows you to see the bits stored in the bit box. The body, on the other hand, can be made of colored material, such as plastic, so that the color of the base body can be chosen differently for different types of bit (such as Phillips or Torx) and the bit boxes can be easily distinguished by the color of their body, which also shines through the cap.

The bitbox according to the invention will now be explained in more detail using the figures. They show:

Fig. 1 a bit box in perspective view obliquely from the front;
Fig. 2 a bit box in perspective view from behind;

Fig. 3 the bit box from Fig. 1 with the cover removed! and partially inserted bits and extension piece; and

Fig. 4 the bit box with extension piece and bit assembled into a screwdriver.

Fig. 1 to 4 show the same bit box 10 in different views or states of use. The bit box 10 consists of two individual parts, namely a base body 12 and a cap 14.

The base body 12 has several holders 16 for bits 32 and one for an extension piece 34. The holder for the extension piece 34 is identical to a bit holder 18. The holders 16 and the bit holder 18 are designed as through-openings in the base body 12 and have a hexagonal inner cross-section that corresponds to the outer cross-section of the bits 32. The center lines of the holders 16 and the bit holder 18 lie in a common plane; in addition, the center lines of the holders 16 all run parallel to one another and perpendicular to the center line of the bit holder 18.

The entire bit box 10 is symmetrical with respect to a center plane that is perpendicular to the common plane of the center axes. The center plane runs along the center axis of the bit holder 18.

The base body 12 also has ribs 20 which enclose the holders 16 on both sides and are arranged so that they run parallel to the center axes of the holders 16 and extend perpendicular to the common plane. The ribs are dimensioned such that bits 32 inserted into the holders 16 in the base body do not protrude beyond an envelope surface of the base body 12 which runs through the edges of the ribs 16. This envelope surface is also approximately realized by the cap 14.

In the extension of the bit holder 18, the base body 12 has a centrally arranged recess, which essentially serves to store the extension piece 34. The through openings forming the holders 16 open into the recess. On both sides of the recess there are three holders 16, in which the openings of their through openings are located in pairs opposite those of the holders 16 on the opposite side of the recess.

The recess is limited in its longitudinal direction by the end rib 24. The end rib 24 is penetrated by the bit holder 18, so that the latter also opens into the recess and can serve as a holder for the extension piece 34. On the outside of the end rib 24 there is a projection (shaft) 26 in which the bit holder 18 continues.

In addition to the end rib 24 and the holders 16, the recess is also delimited by a rear wall 28. The rear wall 28 runs approximately parallel to the common plane of the center lines. It has two edges 30 which serve as a stop for the bits 32 when they are inserted into the holders 16 from the outside.

The cap 14 is pushed onto the base body 12 and rests on the edges of the ribs 20. It is provided with gripping ribs 40.

Fig. 1 and 2 show the bit box without bits 32 and extension piece 34. In Fig. 3 and 4, however, the bits 32 and the extension piece 34 are also shown.

In Fig. 3, the cap 14 is removed from the base body 12 of the bit box 10. The extension piece 34 is located in the recess and is partially inserted into the bit holder 18, which also serves as a holder for the extension piece 34. On the right-hand side, all bits 32 are inserted into their holders 16, while on the left-hand side, the bit 32' assigned to the middle of the three holders 16 located there is removed. The bits 32 inserted into the holders 16 rest against the edge 30 with their end facing the extension piece 34.

The extension piece 34 can be easily removed from the bit box 10 due to its size. When the extension piece 34 is removed from the bit box, the central recess in the base body 12 is essentially exposed, only the

The ends of the bits inserted into the holders 16 still protrude into the recess. After removing the extension 34, the bits 32 can therefore be easily removed from the bit box by reaching into the recess with a finger and pushing the desired bit outwards as far as possible. The bit can then be easily grasped from the outside and removed from the holder 16.

In Fig. 4, the bit box 10 is assembled with the extension piece 34 and a bit 32 to form a screwdriver. The extension piece 34 is inserted with one end from the outside into the bit holder 18 and receives the bit 32 in a hexagonal opening at the other end. The cap 14 is placed on the base body 12 so that the bit box 10 forms a conveniently shaped toggle handle for the screwdriver. The cap 14 rests on the edges of the ribs 20 so that large hand forces can be exerted on the toggle handle. This is even the case when the cap 14 is removed from the base body 12 so that only the latter forms the toggle handle. The hand then rests on the edges of the ribs 20 to turn the screwdriver and the hand forces are also distributed relatively well.

Claims (15)

Expectations 1. Bit box with a bit holder accessible from the outside for use of the bit box as a tool and with holders for several bits and for an extension piece in an arrangement in which the central axes of the bits and the extension piece are at least approximately in a common plane, characterized in that holders (16) for bits (32) are provided on both sides of the central axis of the holder for the extension piece (34). 2. Bitbox according to claim 1, characterized in that the holders (16) and the bit holder (18) are components of a single body (12), 3. Bitbox according to claim 2, characterized in that the body (12) is symmetrical with respect to a central plane passing through the central axis of the holder for the extension piece (34) and extending perpendicular to the common plane. 4. Bitbox according to claim 3, characterized in that the holders (16) for the bits (32) are arranged so that the bits (32) can be inserted into the holders (16) with their central axes at least approximately perpendicular to the central plane. 5. Bitbox according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the body (12) has ribs (20) which run perpendicular to the common plane and enclose the holders (16) for the bits (32) on both sides in the direction of their longitudinal extension. 6. Bitbox according to claim 5, characterized in that the ribs (20) are dimensioned such that the body (12) projects beyond the holders (16) on all sides when the bits are inserted into them. 7. Bitbox according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that each rib (20) on one side of the central plane is opposed by a rib (29) on the other side of the central plane and the opposing ribs (20) form a pair of ribs. 8. Bitbox according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bit holder (18) simultaneously forms the holder for the extension piece (34). 9. Bitbox according to claim 8, characterized in that the bit holder (18) is incorporated into a shaft (26). 10. Bitbox according to claim 9, characterized in that the shaft (26) projects beyond one of the outer pairs of ribs (end rib 24). 11. Bitbox according to one of claims 3 to 10, characterized in that the body (12) has depth stops (edges 30) for the bits (32) to be inserted into the holders (16). 12. Bitbox according to one of claims 2 to 11, characterized in that a cap (14) can be pushed onto the body in such a way that the holders are covered. 13. Bitbox according to claim 12, characterized in that the pushed-on cap (14) covers the entire body (12) with the exception of the shaft (26) with the bit holder (18). 14. Bitbox according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the pushed-on cap (14) rests on the edges of the ribs (20). 15. Bitbox according to one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the cap (14) is made of transparent material.