It is estimated that about 10 percent of all Moen cartridges can be completely removed by pulling on the core and removing both the core and sleeve in one piece. In cases where the sleeve remains frozen inside the housing, the difficulty of removing the sleeve varies from moderate to severe.
No existing tool provides a sure and simple method of removal in all cases. Consequently, a need exists for a tool which is inexpensive, a tool which is safe and easy to use, a tool which removes both the core and the sleeve of the cartridge, a tool which is fast, a tool which can be used by do-it-yourselfers and a tool which works every time.
The present invention accomplishes these objectives. The present invention is a tool which is capable of pulling Moen cartridges quickly and easily by a worker of average strength and skill regardless of the age or condition of the cartridge.
The tool provides both core pulling and sleeve pulling capabilities. The core puller of the present invention features a novel and unique combination screw containing two screw diameters including a right-hand thread for threading into the core or into the sleeve puller and a left-hand thread for exerting pulling force on the core or on the sleeve puller. The sleeve puller of the present invention features expansible knurled segments similar to the Seminario tool but is much improved to provide superior gripping strength on the sleeve.
Innovative and unique improvements include flexible segments and a recessed pressure ring. The sleeve puller also features a left-hand thread for expanding the grip and securing the sleeve puller inside the sleeve and a right-hand threaded hole at the outer end for attaching the core puller whenever a final pull is required. Because of the extreme difficulty of removing the Moen cartridge, any truly successful tool design must provide:.
The present invention satisfies all of these requirements. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful cartridge puller for Moen cartridges. Further objectives and advantages of the present invention are to provide:. The handle is removed allowing easy access to the external hex and thread on the sleeve puller. Although the tool is shown as three components, they are designed to work interactively and interdependently to accomplish the single objective of pulling a cartridge.
In that sense, the three components together make up a single tool. The tool components are handle 10 , core puller 20 , and sleeve puller Handle 10 is designed to attach-and-detach quickly and easily to and from core puller 20 and sleeve puller 50 as needed to perform the cartridge pulling task. The preferred embodiment of handle 10 is shown in FIG. Handle 10 possesses two novel and unique features which reduce cost and add to the overall usefulness of the tool.
First, handle 10 is quickly detachable-and-attachable so it may be used by both core puller 20 and sleeve puller Second, handle 10 can slide back-and-forth on the tool to provide better grip, leverage and access. To make handle 10 easily detachable, grooves 16 are configured such that when O-ring 14 is seated in groove 16 , the top half of O-ring 14 stands above the surface of shaft As a result, O-ring 14 provides a very secure retainer for handle 10 and cannot be displaced even by pulling strongly on handle At the same time, O-ring 14 is easily removed by rolling it off of shaft 12 with thumb pressure.
This allows handle 10 to be moved quickly from core puller 20 to sleeve puller 50 and visa-versa. Removing handle 10 from the tool also allows better access to the tool shaft and body. This is important for sleeve puller 50 as shown in FIG. Here it is shown that handle 10 must be removed from sleeve puller 50 to allow core puller 20 to be attached to right-hand thread Also, FIG.
The wrench is then used to twist sleeve puller 50 sharply left-and-right to break up sediment holding sleeve 46 inside housing The second feature of handle 10 is its ability to slide back-and-forth on the tool.
The diameter of shaft 12 is slightly smaller than the diameter of transverse hole 36 of core puller 20 and transverse hole 53 of sleeve puller Handle 10 is free to slide back-and-forth as the tool is used.
This adds to the ease of use and effectiveness of the tool. For instance, it makes one-hand operation easier by sliding handle 10 to the right for right hand turning or to the left for left hand turning. In cases where clearance is restricted on one side, handle 10 easily slides out of the way to avoid interference.
Also, the slidable handle 10 is easier for the operator to use from an anatomical point of view because it is easier to grip and turn a handle which is fully extended to one side than it is to grip and turn a handle which is in a fixed, centered position. Core puller 20 is composed of generally cylindrical body 26 , combination screw 34 and handle Combination screw 34 contains transverse hole 36 at one end for slidably mounting handle 10 , followed by left-hand screw 22 to engage left-hand thread 28 of body 26 followed by right-hand screw 24 to engage core It was found that core puller 20 automatically aligns, centers and supports itself on housing 48 when screw 24 engages core 38 because of the rigid attachment of screw 22 to body Therefore, combination screw 34 not only serves as a means to pull core 38 , but also serves to rigidly align, center and support core puller Once core puller 20 is attached to core 38 as shown in FIG.
Continued turning pulls core 38 out of housing 48 and into cavity Core 38 turns freely inside sleeve 46 as it is drawn into cavity 32 and, if sleeve 46 is not frozen inside housing 48 , sleeve 46 is drawn out along with core The cartridge is then withdrawn from housing 48 by pulling handle It was found that because core puller 20 is automatically aligned, centered and supported, removal of the core is a quick, simple, one-hand operation.
Once screw 24 is attached to core 38 and body 26 is advanced along screw 22 to contact housing 48 , turning handle 10 clockwise compresses body 26 against housing This prevents body 26 from rotating as handle 10 is turned. Handle 10 may then be turned further by one hand to remove core Neither the Hseu nor Seminario core puller has an attachment which rigidly aligns, centers and supports their tool.
The long cylindrical bodies of their tools must be held against the housing with one hand while turning a bar Seminario or a handle Hseu with the other hand to apply pulling pressure to the core. In addition, their designs require that the screw also be held from turning while the bar or handle is turned. Using their tools is an awkward three-hand operation. This problem is illustrated in FIG. Specifically, FIG. The operation of the Hseu tool is similar. In FIG. Spacer element 85 is slid loosely onto screw 84 and generally slumps into an off-center position as shown by the dotted outline 85 a.
As a result, spacer element 85 must be straightened by grasping the tube at positions A 1 and A 2 and sliding it toward housing 48 manually. At the same time, handle 83 must be gripped at positions B 1 and B 2 to keep screw 84 from turning while bar 82 is turned and advanced along screw Bar 82 is turned by using tube 81 as a crank handle as shown by circular arrow C.
The tool is poorly designed from an anatomical point of view because the hand holding the screw at positions B 1 and B 2 gets in the way of the hand turning the crank so the operator must turn, let go, reach over to re-grasp the crank, turn, let go, and repeat. There is much turning, letting go, reaching over and re-grasping until the tool is tightened down. In the mean time, spacer element 85 must be constantly realigned so bar 82 can advance properly.
This clumsy operation is significantly inferior to the simple one-hand operation of the present invention previously described. The operation of the Hseu tool is similarly awkward. Referring back to FIG. Core 38 will then come out of sleeve 46 leaving sleeve 46 frozen inside housing In practice, sleeve 46 is often left frozen inside housing In these cases, sleeve 46 is removed using sleeve puller The preferred embodiment of sleeve puller 50 is shown in FIGS.
Sleeve puller 50 is composed of generally tubular body 56 , shaft 52 and handle Shaft 52 has a centered hole at one end containing right-hand thread 55 to engage core puller 20 for a final pull, followed by transverse hole 53 for slidably mounting handle 10 , followed by left-hand screw 61 to engage left-hand thread 60 of body 56 , followed by conical expander 64 at the opposite end to provide pressure against pressure ring Body 56 has external hex 54 at one end for attaching a wrench and knurled grip 66 at the opposite end for gripping the wall of sleeve Lengthwise slots 72 are cut at intervals around body 56 dividing the circumference of body 56 into segments A recessed step is cut inside body 56 at a position located under knurled grip 66 to provide pressure ring Slots 72 are cut with enough length to allow knurled grip 66 to expand outwardly when conical expander 64 is pulled against pressure ring It is an object of this invention that knurled grip 66 contact flatly against the wall of sleeve 46 in order to provide the maximum gripping power.
Generally, segments 74 are extremely stiff due to their curvature, hardness and thickness. As a result, a flexing means must be added so that segments 74 bend with the application of moderate forces on pressure ring Such a flexing means for segments 74 is provided by adding one or more grooves 63 around the exterior circumference of body 56 adjacent to knurled grip 66 and at other positions along segments 74 as needed.
Groove 63 functions to weaken the walls of segments 74 and create flexible members 70 along the length of segments Our exclusive integration of chemistry, pack design and circuitry come together for superior output in the harshest environments. Swap replacement cartridges on a single powered base between different sizes, types and when cartridges need replacement. Clear All Filters. Loading Results. You Might Also Like. Get Connected.
Email Address Field 'Email Address' is required. The use of adjustable torque wrenches, however, made l it necessary for the operator thereof to continually adjust and readjust the torque setting of the wrench -as he moved from one job to another. A number of spring cartridges might be utilized by the operator of the wrench which are preset with different spring loads, and the handle housing of the wrench is provided with means whereby the cartridge may readily be inserted and removed therefrom.
The use of such self-contained preset replaceable spring cartridges in torque Wrenches obviates the necessity of 3,0l Patented Jan. Such self-contained preset spring cartridges may, of course, have utility in combination with other structures than torque wrenches, but since they have particular utility with torque wrenches they have been described as being so employed herein.
The torque wrench which is illustrated in the appended drawings now employs such a preset replaceable spring cartridge and has means provided therein for preventing the reaction block from moving out of its proper position within the handle housing upon removal of the spring cartridge.
It such a means were not provided, the interior components of the -torque wrench might become disassembled upon removal of the spring cartridge. An adjusting screw is provided in one end of the spring cartridge with which the spring load of the cartridge may be adjusted, but a wax or lead seal may 4be formed over the adjusting screw so that once the desired spring load has been determined by adjustment of the screw, further movement thereof will be prevented.
Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a self-contained spring cartridge having a cylindrical casing and having a movable wall member at one end thereof which is biased toward the outer end of the casing by a compression spring but which is prevented from moving out of the casing by a conning lip. A further object of the invention is the provision of a torque indicating wrench of the type above described and employing a self-contained preset replaceable spring cartridge, wherein the reaction block has abutment means associated therewith which limit the degree of axial movement thereof within the wrench handle,.
These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following speciication proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:.
FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional View through a torque Wrench constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and employing a self-contained preset replaceable spring cartridge;. Referring initially to FIGURE 1, a torque wrench 10 includes a housing 11 having a generally cylindrical inner bore 12 within which a reaction block 13 is mounted for axial sliding movement. A tool part 14 has one end disposed within the housing 11 and is pivotally mounted by means of a pin 15 in the housing.
The outermost end of the tool part 14 has engagement means 16 formed thereon which are adapted to serve as a means for mounting a tool such as an open ended or crescent wrench 17 thereon. The innermost end of the tool part 14 is formed in the configuration of a clevis, as at 18, across which a pin 19 is mounted.
A cylindrical bearing 20 is tted about the pin 19 and is adapted to move rotatably. The outermost end of the reaction block 13 is similarly formed in the configuration of a clevis, as at 22, and has a pin 23 mounted thereacross and spaced radially outwardly of the center axis of the bore 12, upon which, in turn, a three-lobed cam 24 is mounted.
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