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Title:
FRICTION HELD MULTI-PIN SOCKET INSERT
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2014/189802
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A multi-pin multisocket with a gripping surface defined on the interior of a socket housing and designed to receive a plurality of pins comprising a rod, a spring, and a grip head, each slidably mounted in holes on a guide frame which is constructed from an elastic material that can elastically deform when inserted into the socket housing. The elastic deformation creates a significant friction force between the gripping surface and the guide frame such that sufficient friction is created to hold the guide frame in place within socket housing during normal use without the use of notches, ledges, shoulders and/or other protruding structures. In alternate designs, a shoulder on the interior of socket housing can be used as a stop to prevent the guide frame from sliding further into socket housing, and friction still prevents the guide frame from sliding back out of the socket housing.

Inventors:
RAGNER GARY DEAN (US)
Application Number:
PCT/US2014/038522
Publication Date:
November 27, 2014
Filing Date:
May 17, 2014
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
RAGNER GARY DEAN (US)
International Classes:
B25B13/06; B25B13/00
Foreign References:
US7886637B22011-02-15
US5460064A1995-10-24
US20090241740A12009-10-01
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS:

1. A multisocket, comprising:

a) a socket housing comprising an interior gripping surface with an outer opening for gripping a rotary fastener, wherein the interior gripping surface defines a plurality of longitudinal gripping surfaces that are substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the socket housing;

b) a guide frame made of a resilient material and comprising a plurality of longitudinal guide holes, and one or more friction surfaces on a periphery of the guide frame, wherein the guide frame is designed to be forcibly inserted into the interior gripping surface through the outer opening, wherein the guide frame and its one or more friction surfaces can elastically deform and provide an outward force that generates sufficient frictional force between the guide frame and the interior gripping surface to securely hold the guide frame in place within the socket housing during normal operation by a user, and

c) a plurality of gripping pins each slidably mounted in the longitudinal guide holes of the guide frame, wherein each of the plurality of gripping pins are longitudinally biased by a spring to extend toward the outer opening of the interior gripping surface, wherein each of the plurality of gripping pins are independently slidable in the longitudinally direction through a predetermined range of motion, whereby the plurality of gripping pins can conform to the shape of a plurality of different rotary fastener of multiple sizes and types at the outer opening.

2. The multisocket in claim 1, wherein the socket housing defines one or more raised surfaces on the interior gripping surface for generating a large frictional force between the guide frame and the raised surfaces when the guide frame is forcibly installed into the socket housing, wherein the guide frame is held in place within the socket housing by the large frictional force.

3. The multisocket in claim 1, wherein the socket housing defines a shoulder on the interior gripping surface for stopping the guide frame at a predetermined position when assembled and stopping slippage of the guide frame further rearward into the socket housing.

4. The multisocket in claim 1, wherein the socket housing defines a plurality of pillars protruding from the interior gripping surface for stopping the guide frame at a predetermined position when assembled and stopping slippage of the guide frame further rearward into the socket housing.

5. The multisocket in claim 1, wherein the socket housing defines a converging surface portion on the interior gripping surface for stopping the guide frame at a predetermined assembled position when the guide frame is inserted onto the converging portion and providing a large frictional force on the guide frame, wherein the guide frame is held in place within the socket housing by the large frictional force.

6. The multisocket in claim 5, further comprising a shoulder defined on the interior gripping surface, wherein a seating surface is defined between the converging surface portion and the shoulder.

7. The multisocket in claim 1, further comprising an adhesive applied between the friction surfaces of the guide frame and the interior gripping surface of the socket housing, whereby the guide frame is bonded inside the socket housing at a predetermined position .

8. The multisocket in claim 1, wherein the guide frame comprises a guide plate and a guide skirt, where the guide plate comprises the longitudinal guide holes, wherein the guide skirt extends rearward from the guide plate when assembled in the socket housing.

9. The multisocket in claim 8, wherein the guide skirt is integral with the guide plate.

10. The multisocket in claim 8, wherein the guide skirt is a separate component from the guide plate.

Description:
FRICTION HELD MULTI-PIN SOCKET INSERT

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[001] This is a Non-Provisional Application of, and claims priority and benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/825,025, filed on May 18, 2013, titled: "Friction Held Multi- Pin Socket Insert" by the Applicant.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[002] The field of this invention relates to multisockets for turning rotary fasteners of more than one size and/or type, and more specifically to multi-pin sockets that use a guide frame insert to hold the pins in place within the socket housing.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[003] The present state of the art for socket tools is diverse. Socket sets often include a ratchet wrench to turn a rotary fastener without having to remove the socket from the fastener. There are also multisockets that provide multiple sized gripping surfaces in a single socket. These multisockets can use multiple ends, sliding elongated sleeves, sliding plates, sliding pins, and/or other structures to provide multiple gripping surface sizes and shapes. The disclosed invention uses a multitude of sliding elongated structures (pins, rods, plates, etc.) that can individually conform to a given rotary fastener by sliding the structures around the fastener. The disclosed invention can use all three of the above mentioned sliding structures (elongated sleeves, plates and pins) for the disclosed multisockets (multi-pin sockets). The disclosed multi-pin sockets use a guide plate (guide frame) to facilitate assembly and to limit the range of motion of the pins, plates, and/or sleeves (here after referred to as pins or rods). In this patent only slide pins with circular and hexagonal cross-sections are shown as examples, but the reader should understand that nearly any pin cross- section can be used, whether square, rectangular, octagonal, hollow sleeve, angled plates, and/or oddly shaped cross-sections. The disclosed multi-pin sockets can use more than one of these shapes of sliding pin, (rod, plate, and/or sleeve) on the same multisocket.

[004] Prior art multi-pin sockets comprise a multitude of ways of arranging the pins to provide torque to various rotary fasteners, and are often designed to removably connect to a ratchet wrench with a wrench connector end. This way different wrench tools can be connected to the multisocket, including a bidirectional (selectively reversible) ratchet wrench. Many prior art multi- pin multisockets show the use of a guide frame (guide plate, guide structure) to hold the pins within the socket housing and limit their range of motion. These prior art multi-pin multisockets show multiple ways of attaching their guide frame to the socket housing, including using notches, grooves, ledges, shoulders, screws, rivets, pins, other support sleeves in combination with a ledge or shoulder, and other securing means. However, none were found that use friction alone to prevent the pins' guide frame from sliding back out of the socket after installation. By using friction instead of notches, screws, sleeves, pins, or rivets, one step is eliminated in the manufacture of many of the prior art multi-pin sockets.

PRIOR ART

[005] In the prior art, various multisockets are disclosed that use slidable pins to change the effective gripping surface size within a socket housing. Many designs exist in the prior art that provide multiple socket sizes in a single multisocket, however none were found that provide a friction held guide frame for supporting its slidable pins.

[006] In Fig. 1A we see U.S. Patent Nos. 5,622,090 and 5,791,209 to Marks showing a multi-pin self-forming socket 10 comprising a socket housing 12, a guide plate frame 15, a plurality of slidable pins 20, and a center spacer pin 25. Socket housing 12 (housing) comprises a ratchet wrench connector 11, six flat interior walls 13 (gripping surfaces), and six notches 14 cut into the side walls at positions matching locking tabs 17 on guide frame 15. Gripping surfaces 13 are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of socket housing 12, and thus maintain a substantially constant cross-sectional diameter along the length of surfaces 13. Slight variations in flatness of surfaces 13 may exist from the forging or machining processes used to make socket 12. Notches 14 are ground into surfaces 13 as a secondary process. Guide plate frame 15 comprises a plurality of longitudinal holes 16, a set of six tabs 17, and a center hole 18. Marks shows an exploded view of multi-pin socket 10 (multisocket). The figure has been simplified insofar as fewer pins 20 are illustrated for the sake of clarity. Pins 20 comprise an elongated rod 22 with a larger diameter top end 21 (gripping head) , and an insertion end 23 with a biasing spring 24 inserted on rod 22. Insertion end 23 is designed to pass through holes 16 under force but not come back out during normal operation. Spacer pin 25 comprises a spacer head (top end) 26, a biasing spring 27, and an insertion end 28 (inner end) designed to pass into hole 18 under force but not come back out during operation. As explained above, the present invention includes a plurality of pins 20 that are bundled in parallel, and is slidably disposed on a polygonal shaped frame 15 (guide frame). The guide frame 15 is lodged in notches 14 cut on the inside wall surfaces 13 of housing 12 by engagement with a matching set of tabs 17 on frame 15. Notches 14 is preferably circular within housing 12 to facilitate manufacture. In the preferred embodiment, each pin 20 includes a biasing member such as the coiled biasing spring 24 shown here. The coiled spring 24 maintains the extended position of the pins 20 so that the top end 21 of each pin is urged away from the frame 15. Pin 20 is preferably still biased by spring 24 even in its fully extended state. Likewise, spacer pin 25 passes through a respective opening, center hole 18, at a central location on the frame 15. A coiled spring 27 is installed longitudinally on the spacer pin 25 and biases the top end 26 away from frame 15. Spacer pin 25 is not specifically required, however, and in a alternative embodiment, the central space of socket 10 could instead be filled with additional pins 20 (e.g., see guide frame 80 in Fig. IB). The interior of housing 12 is comprised of substantially fiat walls 13 that in a preferred embodiment form a hexagon. Importantly, because the pins 20 have a circular cross-section, the flat walls 13 can be arranged into the hexagonal shape, which is conductive to form fitting on a conventional hexagonal shaped fastener. Naturally, flat walls 13 can be shaped into other polygonal

configurations including pentagons, octagons, etc, or other gripping surface shape. Similarly, the spacer pin top end 26 can be formed to the same shape as the cross-section of the flat walls 13, or to the cross-section shape of pins adjacent pin top end 26. Once assembled the multi-pin assembly (guide frame 15 with pins 20 and 25 installed) is installed longitudinally into the open end of socket 12.

[007] In Figs. IB and 4A, we see U.S. Patent No. 6,098,507 to Lin shows a universal socket wrench comprising a socket housing 31 (socket body) including an inner bore 32 formed in the inner portion thereof and including an outer opening 34 (gripping surface) formed in the outer portion thereof and having a substantially hexagonal cross section. Housing 31 includes six curved slots 36 (longitudinal slots) formed in the corners of the hexagonal opening 34 of socket housing 31. Surfaces 34 and 36 are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of socket housing 31, and thus maintain a substantially constant cross-sectional diameter along the length of surfaces 34 and 36. Slight variations in flatness of surfaces 34 and 36 may exist from the forging or machining processes used to make socket 31. Notches 35 are ground into surfaces 34 as a secondary process. Gripping surface opening 34 of housing 31 is sized slightly larger than the inner bore 32 of housing 31 such that an annular ridge surface or a shoulder 33 is formed between the inner bore 32 and gripping surface 34 of the housing 31. Housing 31 includes a number of depressions 35 (notches) formed in the middle portion thereof and communicating with the shoulder 33 of the housing. A guide plate 46 (guide frame) comprising a hexagonal cross section having a number of projections 48 (locking tabs) extending outward from the peripheral portion thereof for engaging with the depressions 35 and the curved slots of housing 31 and for allowing the plate 46 to be secured in the middle portion of the housing 31 when the plate 46 is force-fitted into the housing 31. The peripheral portion of the plate 46 includes a bottom edge engaged with the shoulder 33 of the housing 31 for allowing the plate 46 to be further solidly retained in place. The plate 46 includes a number of apertures 47 (longitudinal holes) formed therein for slidably receiving a number of rods 40. The rods 40 each includes a head 41 formed on one end for engaging with the plate 46 and an outer threaded end 42 formed on the other end. A number of hexagonal posts 45 (gripping head) each including six flat surfaces formed on the outer peripheral portion and each including an inner threaded end 44 formed in one end for engaging with the outer thread 42 of the rods 40 such that the posts 45 are solidly secured to and moved in concert with the rods 40. The hexagonal shape shown here is only for example and other cross section shapes can easily be used, including hexagonal posts with slightly rounded corners. A number of biasing springs 43 are engaged on the rods 40 and biased between the plate 46 and the posts 45 for biasing the posts 45 away from the plate 46 and for allowing the posts 45 to be depressed inward of the housing 31 against the springs 43. The heads 41 of the rods 40 may prevent the rods 40 from being disengaged from the plate 46. Once assembled, the multi-pin assembly (guide frame 46 with all pin components 40, 43 and 45 installed) is installed longitudinally into the open end of socket 12.

[008] In Figs. 1A and IB, neither Marks nor Lin show a multi-pin socket with a guide plate frame held by sliding friction. Instead notches 14 in Marks, and notches 35 in Lin, are used to hold the resilient guide frames in place within the notches by "snapping" them into place. With the disclosed friction secured guide frame construction, a raised ridge, ledge, shoulder, protrusion or other support backing, can be formed on the inside wall of the socket housing during the manufacture of the socket housing (e.g., formed during the drop-forging process). The friction between the guide frame and the housing would then only be needed to prevent the guide frame from sliding back out of the socket body housing. This is all accomplished without having to grind notches into the side walls of the socket housing, or use other fasteners, and thus, eliminates one step from the manufacturing process of these two prior art examples. SUMMARY

[009] The disclosed multi-pin sockets (multisockets) provide a simplified structure for assembly of the multi-pin multisocket compared to other multi-pin socket designs. The disclosed multisockets uses a guide frame for the plurality of slidable pins that uses friction against the walls of the socket housing to eliminate the need for notches on the inside wall of the socket housing. The guide frame, which supports the many slidable pins, can generate sufficient friction against the interior side wall of the socket housing to hold it securely in place after assembly and during use. This eliminates the need for grinding notches on the inside of the socket housing, and/or provide other holding structures. This multisocket design allows for a ridge or shoulder to be formed on the interior of the socket housing during its manufacture (e.g., forging process) so that no additional grinding or forming is needed. Thus, the disclosed multisocket design eliminates one step in the manufacturing process compared to other prior art multi-pin socket designs. This friction held guide technology can be used with nearly any prior art multi-pin socket design that uses a pin guide frame or guide plate to hold the slidable pins in alignment.

OBJECTIVES AND ADVANTAGES

[010] Accordingly, many unique structures and advantages of my invention are:

a) To provide a multisocket comprising a multiple-pin assembly designed for insertion into a socket housing, where friction alone is used to hold the multiple-pin assembly in place against the inside wall of the socket housing after insertion.

b) To provide a multisocket comprising a multiple-pin assembly designed for insertion into a socket housing, where friction from the inside wall of the socket housing alone is used to prevent the multiple-pin assembly from sliding back out of the socket housing after insertion.

c) The multisocket in items a) and b) wherein the socket housing further defines a stop on the inside wall of the socket housing prevents the multiple-pin assembly from sliding further into the socket housing.

d) The multisocket in items a) through c) wherein the multiple-pin assembly defines a solid adhesive on the periphery of the assembly designed to bond to the inside wall of the socket housing after insertion.

e) The multisocket in items a) through d) wherein the multiple-pin assembly comprises a plurality of friction tabs around its periphery for interacting with the inside wall of the socket housing and provide a predetermined amount of holding force for the assembly after insertion.

f) The multisocket in items a) through e) further comprising an adhesive applied to the

interior wall of the socket housing for bonding the multiple-pin assembly to the inside wall of the socket housing after insertion.

g) The multisocket in items c) and f) wherein a stop is defined that comprises an annular shoulder or ridge on the inside wall of the socket housing.

h) The multisocket in items c) and f) wherein the stop comprises a converging surface on the inside wall of the socket housing.

i) The multisocket in items c) and f) wherein the stop comprises a plurality of longitudinal pillars on the inside wall of the socket housing.

j) The multisocket in items g) through i) further comprising an adhesive applied to the stop on the interior of the socket housing for bonding the multiple-pin assembly to the inside wall of the socket housing after insertion.

k) To provide a multisocket with a socket housing sized to provide a friction fit for holding a guide frame in place after assembly. Where the guide frame comprises a multiplicity of holes for securing and guiding a multiplicity of slidable grip pins.

1) To provide a multisocket with a socket housing sized to provide a friction fit to hold a guide frame from sliding back out of the socket housing and a ridge for stopping the guide frame from sliding further into the socket housing. Where the guide frame comprises a multiplicity of holes for securing and guiding a multiplicity of slidable grip pins.

m) To provide a multisocket with a socket housing sized to provide a friction fit to hold a guide frame from sliding back out of the socket housing and a plurality of protrusions extending inward from the inside wall of the socket housing each with a top portion for making contact and for stopping the guide frame from sliding further into the socket housing. Where the guide frame comprises a multiplicity of holes for securing and guiding a multiplicity of slidable grip pins.

n) To provide a multisocket with a socket housing sized to provide a friction fit to hold a guide frame from sliding back out of the socket housing and a tapered friction surface for stopping the guide frame from sliding further into the socket housing. Where the guide frame comprises a multiplicity of holes for securing and guiding a multiplicity of slidable grip pins.

o) The multisockets in items k) through n) wherein the guide frame comprises a

circumference sized to fit within the interior of the socket housing with a substantial radial compressive force from the socket housing, which provides a significant amount of friction between the peripheral edge of the guide frame and the inside wall of the socket housing to resist the guide frame from slipping back out of the socket housing during normal use.

The multisockets in items k) through n) wherein the guide frame comprises a multiplicity of protrusions on the circumference of the guide frame designed to fit within the interior of the socket housing with a substantial radial compressive force from the socket housing. Where the radial compressive force provides a significant amount of friction between the protrusions on the guide frame and the inside wall of the socket housing to resist the guide frame from slipping back out of the socket housing during normal use.

The multisockets in items k) through n) wherein the guide frame comprises a multiplicity of protrusions on the circumference of the guide frame designed to fit within the interior of the socket housing and be narrow enough to crush under a predetermined radial compressive forces to provide an increased tolerance to off sized interior gripping surfaces of the socket housing. Where the radial compressive force provides a predetermined amount of friction between the partially crushed protrusions on the guide frame and the inside wall of the socket housing to resist the guide frame from slipping back out of the socket housing during normal use.

DRAWING FIGURES

[Oil] Fig. 1 A Prior Art multi-pin multisocket with center plug.

[012] Fig. IB Prior Art multi-pin multisocket with support ridge and notches inside socket housing

[013] Fig. 2A Exploded section view of a multisocket with multiple slidable pins 20 and a friction fit guide frame 55.

[014] Fig. 2B Exploded section view of a multisocket 70 with multiple slidable pins and a friction fit guide frame 80.

[015] Fig. 2C Perspective section view of a socket housing 71c with a converging surface 75a

and seating surface 75b for installing and securing guide frame 80.

[016] Fig. 3 A Exploded section view of a multisocket 70a with multiple slidable pins, a

friction fit guide frame 80, and a multiplicity of protrusions 73a for stopping guide frame from sliding further into socket housing 71a.

[017] Fig. 3B Exploded section view of a multisocket 70b with multiple slidable pins, a

friction fit guide frame 80, and a slightly converging friction section 73b.

[018] Fig. 4 A End view of a multisocket 70 with multiple slidable grip heads 45 and a friction fit guide frame 80.

[019] Fig. 4B End view of a multisocket 90 with multiple slidable pins 92 arranged in a more compact configuration with small longitudinal notches in the inner surface of socket housing 91 to support one corner of the peripheral hexagonal pins.

[020] Fig. 5 Perspective exploded view of Multisocket 100, another embodiment of the invention with an elongated friction guide frame 105.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[021] All of the multisockets disclosed in this patent would generally be made of a hardened metal or metal alloy such as high carbon steel, chrome vanadium steel, stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, cobalt alloys, etc. The materials used to make the disclosed multisockets are not limited to metals, and other materials like reinforced plastics and composite materials can be used depending on the socket's use. The standard manufacturing methods of drop forging, rolling, machining, pour molding, injection molding, extrusion, etc. can be used here to manufacture the disclosed multisocket. Chrome vanadium steel is popular for sockets, wrenches, ratchets, and other tools because of its combination of relatively inexpensive cost, high strength, and good corrosion resistance. Standard tool manufacturing techniques can be used to construct the disclosed multisockets. For spacer pin 25 and guide frames 55, 80, 95 and 105 standard injection molding manufacturing methods can be used.

[022] In Fig. 2A, we see an exploded view of a multi-pin multisocket (or simply multisocket) very similar to Marks self-forming socket design with the difference being the removal of notches 14 and adding an optional shoulder 53 (ridge), and the replacement of tabs 17 with smaller friction tabs 57 (tabs 17 are optional). The disclosed multisocket seen in Fig. 2 A comprises a socket housing 50 (socket body), a guide frame 55, a plurality of slidable pins 20 and a central spacer pin 25. Housing 50 comprises a wrench connector port 51 for attaching a ratchet wrench, an inner surface bore 52, an interior gripping surface 54, and optional shoulder or ridge portion 53 defined between surfaces 52 and 54. Housing 50 can have a standard socket housing design

(shoulder 53 and smaller bore inner surface 52 not used) with gripping surface 54 designed to receive and hold guide frame 55 and pins 20 using only friction between frame 55 and surface 54. To help stabilize guide frame 55 without assistance from ridge 53, guide frame 55 can be made significantly thicker than shown in Fig. 2A. This helps prevent the guide frame from twisting within the socket and to remain straight. The thicker guide frame also can provide greater friction force to hold the guide frame in place within the socket. Inner surface 52 can be designed with a smaller bore than gripping surface 54 so that a shoulder 53 (ridge) is formed within the middle of housing 50. Surfaces 52 and 54, and shoulder 53 can all be formed during the drop forging process used to manufacture housing 50. Socket gripping surface 54 has a substantially constant bore size along its length so that it can be effectively used to turn rotary fasteners. Because pins 20 can slide in and out for frame 55, the walls of inner surface 52 should also have a substantially constant bore size (parallel walls) so that the rear portions of pins 20 can slide into the rear portion of housing 50 without binding against inner surface 52. Heads 21 of pins 20 are preferably positioned

approximately flush with the open end of socket housing 50. Inner surface 52 can have a slight narrowing toward connector 51 as long as pins 20 are still free to slide in and out along longitudinal guide holes 56. The thickness of shoulder 53 is quite small and can be approximately one- hundredth of an inch (0.25 millimeters). Because of the tight fit of guide frame 55, shoulder 53 can be a somewhat rounded and still provide a functional stop for frame 55 and prevents frame 55 from sliding onto inner surface 52 of housing 50. In alternate designs, seen in Figs. 3A-B, a set of raised pillars 73a, or an angled friction surface 73b, respectively, can also be used to provide the stopping function of shoulder 53.

[023] In Fig. 2A, slidable grip pins 20 each comprise a gripping head 21, an elongated rod 22, an insertion end 23 (inner end), and a biasing spring 24. Gripping head 21 is sized to have a larger cross section than rod 22 and inner end 23. Gripping heads 21 on pins 20 when all inserted into housing 50 are sized to fit within gripping surface 54 with very little space, or play, between the pins, but not snug. This allows pins 20 to individually slide back and forth within surface 54 to accommodate various sizes and shapes of rotary fasteners. Inner end 23 can be forcibly pushed through hole 56 during assembly because of the elastic nature of the material guide frame 55 is made from. Inner end 23 is sized and shaped so that it cannot easily be disengaged from frame 55. Frame 55 can be made of an elastic material, such as a thermal plastic, that can temporarily deform to allow inner end 23 of pin 20 to pass through hole 56 in the direction shown, but not easily pull back out of hole 56. When pin 20 is inserted into frame 55, spring 24 is compressed between gripping head 21 and frame 55 to biasing gripping head 21 outward toward the open end of housing 50. Rod 22 is longitudinally slidable within hole 56, with gripping head 21 and inner end 23 stopping the inward and outward sliding motion of pin 20, respectively. The pin portion of slidable pin 20 can be made from a single piece of metal or comprise assembled pieces such as grip head 45 and rod 40 seen in Fig. IB. Center spacer pin 25 comprises a spacer head 26, a spring 27 and an inner end 28. Inner end 28 of spacer pin 25 is designed to be forcibly inserted into center hole 58 on frame 55, but not easily be pulled back out of hole 58. Spacer pin 25 is then longitudinally slidable within hole 58 with spring 27 compressed between spacer head 26 and frame 55 and biasing spacer head 26 in an outwardly direction away from frame 55 and housing 50. The pin portion of spacer pin 25 can be made from a single piece of injection molded plastic with spring 27 inserted over its shaft.

[024] In Fig. 2 A, guide frame 55 comprises a plurality of longitudinal guide holes 56, a plurality of friction tabs 57, and a center guide hole 58. Guide holes 56 are designed to slidably receive pins 20 with spring 24 trapped between gripping head 21 and frame 55 and biasing gripping head 21 away from frame 55. Center hole 58 is designed to slidably receive center spacer pin 25 with spring 27 biasing head 26 away from frame 55. The friction tabs 57 are positioned around the periphery of frame 55 and can be designed to deform under pressure against the side walls of gripping surface 54 of socket housing 50. The narrow structure of tabs 57 can allow them to crush under pressure to accommodate variations in the bore size of gripping surface 54 from one socket housing to the next. Frame 55 can be made of an elastic polymer (e.g., ABS, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, etc.) that has sufficient resiliency so that it can be compressed when inserted into a socket housing. This compression causes frame 55 to exert a force on surfaces 54 of socket 50. That is, tabs 57 press outwardly against griping surfaces 54 to generate friction between surfaces 54 and tabs 57 and substantially hold frame 55 in place once inserted into socket housing 50. The placement of tabs 57 are located between the holes 56 on the periphery of frame 55 to reduce forces tending to compress holes 56 and cause binding of rods 22 with the interior surface of holes 56. Lesser or greater numbers of tabs 57 can be used. In alternative designs, tabs 57 and/or frame 55 can be made from a material that has the tendency to bond to the interior surfaces of housing 50, such as a polymer that reacts to the metal that housing 50 is made. Shoulder 53 can be used to provide a stop when inserting frame 55 and pins 20 and 25, that prevents frame 55 from being forced too far back into housing 50 during assembly and/or use. Because of the tight fit of frame 55 within gripping surface 54, the ridge height of shoulder 53 can be very small and still provide sufficient stopping force to prevent frame 55 from being forced further into housing 50 during normal use. Forces tending to pull frame 55 out of housing 50 are generally very small during normal use of the multisocket and friction alone is sufficient to keep frame 55 and its collection of slidable pins within housing 50. Notice that gripping surfaces 54 do not require notches or grooves to lock orsecure guide frame 55 in place as is done on prior art multi-pin multisockets. In alternative designs, an adhesive 59 (liquid or solid) can be applied to gripping surface 54 and/or shoulder 53 to insure that guide frame 55 does not move within housing 50 after assembly.

Adhesive 59 can be any liquid or solid that can bond to both guide frame 55 and housing 50.

[025] In Fig. 2B, multisocket 70, comprises a socket housing 71 defining an interior gripping surface 74 with an outer opening for gripping a rotary fastener and a longitudinal axis extending through the center of gripping surface 74. Wherein the interior gripping surface 74 defines a plurality of gripping surfaces 74 that are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of socket housing 71. Multisocket 70 further comprises a guide frame 80, made of a resilient material and defining a plurality of longitudinal guide holes 82 and one or more gripping surfaces 81 defined on a periphery of guide frame 80. Wherein guide frame 80 is designed to be forcibly inserted into the interior gripping surface 74 through the outer opening of socket 71. Wherein guide frame 80 and its one or more friction surfaces 81 can elastically deform and provide an outward force that generates sufficient friction between the guide frame 80 and interior gripping surface 74 to secure guide frame 80 within socket housing 71 for normal used of multisocket 70. Multisocket 70 further comprises a plurality of gripping pins slidably mounted in longitudinal holes 82 of guide frame 80, wherein each pin of the plurality of gripping pins comprises a grip head 45, a rod 40 and a biasing spring 43 for longitudinally biased the gripping pins to extend toward the outer opening of interior surface 74. Wherein each pin of the plurality of gripping pins is independently slidable in the longitudinal direction through a predetermined range of motion. Whereby the plurality of gripping pins can to conform to a plurality of different shaped rotary fasteners of multiple sizes and types.

[026] In Fig. 2B, we see an exploded view a multisocket 70 that is similar to prior art multisocket 30, but with notches 35 removed, and tabs 48 replaced with friction tabs 81. The disclosed multisocket seen in Fig. 2B comprises a socket housing 71 (socket body), a guide frame 80 (guide plate), and a plurality of slidable pins comprising a rod 40, a hexagonal grip head 45, and a spring 43. Socket housing 71 comprises a wrench connector port end 77 for attaching a ratchet wrench or other similar attachable wrench handle, an inner surface 72 (inner socket bore), a ridge or shoulder portion 73, six internal wrench gripping surfaces 74 (gripping surface 74), six optional longitudinal corner slots 76, a plurality of optional longitudinal friction tabs 78, and optional adhesive 79. The longitudinal corner slots 76 shown here are typical of some lobe style sockets which have slightly convex inner walls 74 and curved corner slots 76. This style of sockets is only shown for example and standard hex-head or other non-standard socket housings can be substituted for socket housing 71 in all the following multisocket examples.

[027] In Fig. 2B, socket gripping surface 74 (six gripping surfaces 74) has a substantially constant bore size along its length so that it can be used effectively for turn a rotary fasteners.

Gripping surfaces 74 are preferably substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of socket housing 71 (also see housings 71a-c and 110), but may be slightly converging (narrowing toward connector end 77) to assist in forging the socket housings. However, any such converging should be small enough to not interfere with the longitudinal sliding of the gripping pins (grip heads 45). Similarly, inner surfaces 72 are preferably substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the socket housing, but may be slightly converging (narrowing toward connector end 77) to assist in the forging process of housing 71. Any such converging of surfaces 72 should be small because rods 40 must slide in and out longitudinally along their length. Thus, inner walls of inner surface 72 should preferably have a substantially constant bore size (walls substantially parallel to the socket's longitudinal axis) so that the rear portions of rods 40 (heads 41) can slide past these surfaces without binding against them. The thickness (radial height) of shoulder 73 must also be kept small to prevent binding of rods 40 when slide longitudinally rearward. Shoulder portion 73 forms a ledge defined between surfaces 72 and 74, with gripping surface 74 having a slightly larger hexagonal shaped bore than inner surface 72.

[028] In Fig. 2B, frame 80 can comprise an elastic polymer such as ABS, nylon, polyester, polypropylene or other resilient polymer that has sufficient resiliency to be compressed when inserted into socket housings 71 or 71a-c and continue to press outward on gripping surfaces 74 of the socket housings. This outward force created by frame 80 causes a strong frictional force to exist between frame 80 and gripping surface 74. Gripping surface 74 is designed to receive guide frame 80 with peripheral tabs 81 being oversized by a predetermined amount so that frame 80 and tabs 81 can deform elastically when inserted longitudinally down the bore of socket 71 or 71a-c. The elastic nature of frame 80 and tabs 81 cause tabs 81 to press against gripping surfaces 74 and create a friction force that resists further movement of frame 80 within housing 71. In alternative designs, tabs 81 and/or frame 80 can be made from a material that has the tendency to bond to or react with the interior gripping surfaces of the socket housing (e.g., housing 71). Another alternative design is to make guide frame 80 slightly wedge shaped (front surface has a slightly larger area than the back surface) to allow easier insertion and also more frictional resistant to being pulled out once seat

[029] In Fig. 2B, inner surface 72 is designed with a smaller bore than gripping surface 74 so that shoulder 73 is formed within the middle of housing 71. Surfaces 72 and 74 and shoulder 73 can all be formed during the drop-forging process (or other manufacturing process) used to manufacture housing 71. The thickness of shoulder 73 can be small and can be approximately one- hundredth of an inch (0.25 millimeters). Because of the tight fit of guide frame 80, shoulder 73 can be a somewhat rounded and still provide a functional stop for frame 80 that prevents frame 80 from sliding onto inner surface 72 of housing 71. In alternate designs, socket housing 71 can have a standard socket structure with straight gripping surfaces 74 that extend to the back of the socket (no shoulder 73, no smaller bore surface 72). With this standard socket housing structure, gripping surface 74 would be designed to receive guide frame 80 to the desired position and generate a predetermined amount of friction force to hold frame 80 fixed in place using friction alone. More than ten pounds of friction force can be generated using flat gripping surfaces (no shoulder or taper). With a slight roughening of surface 74 even greater friction forces can be realized. In prototype tests, the elastic properties of commercially available plastic guide frames like frame 80, was sufficient to generate more than ten pounds of friction force on insertion into a standard deep- well socket. Even greater forces were required when trying to remove the guide frame from the standard deep-well socket. Thus, no ridge or shoulder is needed to hold guide frame 80 or 55 in place, but is desirable because a shoulder or ridge can more securely prevent accidental forcing of frame 80 or 55 too far into their respective socket housing. In alternate designs other stop structures can be used besides shoulder 73, such as, a set of raised pillars 73a (see Fig. 3A), or a slightly angled friction surface 73b (see Fig. 3B).

[030] In Fig. 2B, a multiplicity of slidable pins is installed in holes 82 with each pin comprising a rod 40, a hexagonal grip head 45, and a biasing spring 43. Grip head 45 is sized to have a larger cross section than rod 40. Rod 40 comprises a head 41 at one end and an external outer threaded end 42 on the other end. Gripping heads 45 are designed with an internal thread 44 for receiving and holding external threads 42 on rod 40. Rods 40, are mounted through holes 82 of frame 80 and springs 43, and then screwed into gripping heads 45. This assembly is then inserted into the open end of housing 71. The size of heads 45 are designed to fit within gripping surface 74 in a particular pattern, such that, very little clearance space, or play, exists between adjacent gripping heads 45 and/or surface 74. However, heads 45 should not be snugly packed inside surface 74, otherwise they will bind and springs 43 would not be able to bias them properly. This balance between tight packing and no binding allows heads 45 to individually slide back and forth longitudinally within surface 74 to accommodate various rotary fastener shapes and sizes. Outside ends of the pins (the outer edge of gripping heads 45) are preferably approximately flush with the open end of socket housing 71 when frame 80 is mounted in its desired location next to shoulder 73. Frame 80 can be made of an elastic material that can elastically deform to allow tabs 81 to be forcibly inserted into gripping surface 74. Once installed, friction between tabs 81 and gripping surface 74 work to resists forces trying to move guide frame 80 within socket housing 71. In alternative designs, an adhesive 79 (liquid or solid) can be applied to gripping surface 74 and/or shoulder 73 to insure that frame 80 does not move within housing 71 after assembly. Adhesive 79 can be any liquid or solid that can bond to both guide frame 80 and housing 71. However, care must be taken if liquid adhesives are used since they might bond rods 40 to frame 80 if their application is not tightly controlled.

[031] In Fig. 2B, to assemble guide frame 80, slidable pins rods 40 are inserted through holes 82, then springs 43 and then screwed into their respective grip head 45. Screw thread attachment of the rods to the heads is shown here only as an example of the many methods available for assembly of the pins (i.e. friction fit, spin welding, using ridged surfaces, etc.). Rod head 41 and grip head 45 are sized and shaped so that heads 41 and 45 can not be easily disengage from frame 80 once rod 40 is connected through frame 80 to its corresponding grip head 45. When rods 40, spring 43 and head 45 are assembled through holes 82, springs 43 are preferably compressed between their grip head 45 and frame 80 to bias gripping head 45 outward toward the opening in housing 71 and away from frame 80. Rods 40 and heads 45 are then longitudinally slidable within holes 82, with grip head 45 and rod head 41 stopping the inward and outward sliding motion of each pin, respectively. Alternatively, other assembly methods can be used to assemble pins on a guide frame before being inserted into its socket housing (e.g. gripping head and rod formed from a single piece of metal and inserted into the frame with a cap attached to the open end of the rod). Both rods 40 and gripping heads 45 can be made out of a metal or metal alloy to provide good durability.

[032] In Fig. 2B, guide frame 80 comprises a plurality of friction tabs 81, and a plurality of longitudinal guide holes 82. Guide holes 82 are designed to slidably receive rods 40 with spring 43 trapped between grip head 45 and frame 80 with spring 43 tending to bias grip head 45 away from frame 80. The friction tabs 81 are positioned around the periphery of frame 80 and designed to elastically deform under pressure against side walls of gripping surface 74 of housing 71. Holes are sized so that enough clearance is provided for rods 40 so that radially directed pressure from tabs 81, as gripping surface 74 presses on them, does not cause rods 40 to bind within holes 82 during use. The chances of rods 40 binding with holes 82 is further reduced by placing tabs 81 midway between the holes that are substantially adjacent the periphery of frame 80. The wider structure of tabs 81 compared to tabs 57 can allow large inward directed forces to be generated on frame 80 to provide large frictional forces to hold it in place after assembly. In alternate designs the entire periphery of frame 80 can be used as an elastic member to create friction, not just localized tabs, like tabs 81. When frame 80 is forced into gripping surface 74, tabs 81 press outwardly against surface 74 to generate friction between surface 74 and tabs 81 and substantially holds frame 80 in place once inserted into housing 71. Shoulder 73 provides a stop when inserting frame 80 to prevent frame 80 from being forced further back into housing 71. Because of the tight fit of frame 80 within gripping surface 74, the ridge height of shoulder 73 can be very small and still provide sufficient stopping force to prevent frame 80 from being forced further into housing 71 during normal use. Forces tending to pull frame 80 back out of housing 71 are generally small during normal use of multisocket 70, and friction alone can prevent frame 80 and its collection of slidable pins from sliding back out of housing 71. However, the forces tending to push frame 80 further into socket housing 71 can be significantly greater, thus shoulder 73 is used here to prevent frame 80 from moving further into housing 71. Notice that gripping surfaces 74 do not require notches or grooves to secure or lock guide frame 71 in place as is done on prior art multi-pin multisockets.

[033] In Fig. 2B, we see optional longitudinal tabs or ribs 78 added to the gripping surfaces 74 to assist in securing and holding guide frame 80 against shoulder 73. The plurality of tabs 78 (longitudinal ribs) protrude (rise) from gripping surface 74 near shoulder 73. These longitudinal ribs 78 can create additional friction against the modified guide frame to hold the frame in place once seated against shoulder 73 (Fig. 2B) or the top of pillars 73a (Fig. 3B). The use of friction tabs 78 can allow greater tolerance in the dimensions of guide frame 80 and socket housing 71, by relying less on the fit (tolerance) between guide frame 80 and surfaces 74 than the more greatly deformable fit between guide frame 80 and friction tabs 78. Friction tabs 78 (longitudinal ribs) can have horizontal notches ground into their surface to provide gripping edges on the friction tabs to help hold guide frame 80 in place. Notice that such horizontal notches can be ground into the raised friction tabs 78 without grinding down into gripping surfaces 74.

Alternatively, friction tabs 78 can comprise a continuously raised section similar to seating surface 75b seen in Fig. 2C, which is then roughened by grinding or machining after the socket housing has been forged. Friction tabs 78 (longitudinal ribs) do not need to be very large or tall (height above surfaces 74 and/or 76) to generate significant additional friction. Alternatively, guide frame 80, as well as others, may be modified by eliminating tabs 81 on frame 80 and provide an exterior shape that substantially matches the interior surfaces 74 and/or 76 of socket 71. This modified guide frame can be designed to fit tightly into surfaces 74 and 76 with or without friction tabs 78 to secure the guide frame with friction.

[034] The multisockets shown in Figs. 2A-B, are some preferred examples of the disclosed friction held multi-pin assembly. However, the use of a shoulder or ridge should be understood to be optional in these designs though they are the preferred design. Inner surface 52 and shoulder 53 on socket housing 50 and inner surface 72 and shoulder 73 on housing 71 are optional and can be eliminated if desired. This modified design can be achieved by allowing gripping surfaces 54 and 74 to extend to the back of socket housings 50 and 71, respectively. Sufficient friction can be provided between friction tabs 57 and gripping surface 54 that there is no need for a shoulder 53 or raised inner surface 52. Similarly, sufficient friction can be provided between friction tabs 81 and gripping surface 74 so that shoulder 73 and inner surface 52 is not needed. Thus, a standard socket with a substantially constant gripping surface bore size can be used with the disclosed guide frames 55 and 80 and their associated pins. The inventor has built several prototypes using friction alone to hold the guide frame in place within the socket housing. Standard constant bore sockets were used and friction between the guide frame and the gripping surface of these standard sockets was adjusted to be between ten and fifteen pounds of insertion force. This proved to be more than sufficient friction to fix the guide frame and pins in place within the socket housing during normal use. This level of friction and its associated compression of the guide frame did not appear to significantly deform the guide holes since the pins still slid freely on the assembled prototypes.

[035] In Fig. 2C, we see an alternative socket housing 71c for use with guide frame 80 and its associated pins as shown in Fig. 2B. Socket housing 71c comprises substantially the same structure as housing 71 with the addition of a converging surface 75a and a raised seating surface 75b. Shoulder 73c can be substantially the same as shoulder 73, but some of its height is taken up by the raised surfaces 75a-b. Surfaces 72 and 74 can have the same bore size as socket housing 71, but might have slightly different longitudinal lengths and/or bores depending on the design. For socket housing 71c, frame 80 could be designed to snugly fit within gripping surface 74 and not experience significant friction until its friction tabs 81 ride up converging surface 75a and onto seating surface 75b. Friction tabs 81 can actually be removed for socket housing 71c so that the periphery of frame 80 substantially matches the shape of gripping surface 74 and seating surface 75b. This arrangement could facilitate assembly since frame 80 and its associated slidable pins could be inserted into to converging surface 75a before significant force is needed to slide frame 80 up surface 75a and onto seating surface 75b. The final assembled position for frame 80 is with the underside of frame 80 pressed against shoulder 73c. This arrangement can provide a large friction force preventing frame 80 from sliding back out of housing 71c, and a shoulder 73c to prevent frame 80 from sliding further into housing 71c. In alternate designs, converging surface 75a and seating surface 75b do not need to be continuous around the inner circumference of housing 71c, but can instead portions can be removed to leave a series of protrusions (spline like configuration) with inner surfaces matching those of surfaces 75a-b. These protrusions can be positioned so that they contact frame 80 between holes 82 to reduce the chances of binding of rods 40 sliding within the periphery holes. Many other arrangements of the friction surfaces are possible, with many arrangements of friction tabs or surfaces on the guide frame, and many arrangements of protrusions or friction surfaces on the socket housing. While these examples should be sufficient to allow the reader to adjust these surfaces as needed, Figs. 3A-B will show two more specific examples to insure understanding.

[036] From the previous discussion the reader should understand that the guide frames in the disclosed multisocket designs can be supported on the underside by a shoulder or ridge formed into the wall of the socket housing. While the examples seen in Figs. 2A-C show a shoulder fully encompassing the interior surface of the socket housings, this is not the only way a stop can be formed into the wall of the socket housing. In Fig. 3A, socket housing 71a shows pillars formed longitudinally and protruding radially inward from the side walls. In Fig. 3B, an angled portion 73b is formed between surfaces 72 and 74 to provide a gradually increasing friction force as guide frame 80 is progressively inserted further and further onto surface portion 73b (converging surface) within housing 71b. Other methods of forming a stop for guide frame 80 are also possible, such as, defining a plurality of friction tabs 78 (longitudinal ribs) on housing 71b that progressively rise from gripping surface 74 as they near shoulder 73 (see Fig. 2B).

[037] In Fig. 3A, we see alternate design for providing a physical stop for frame 80 within housing 71a, that prevents frame 80 from sliding further into housing 71a during normal use. Guide frame 80 and its associated pins can be the same as seen in Fig. 2B. Socket housing 71a is a slightly modified version of socket housing 71 seen in Fig. 2B. Housing 71a comprises, an inner surface 72a, a plurality of longitudinal pillars 73a, a gripping surface 74, six optional longitudinal slots 76 and a wrench connector end 77. Inner surface 72a can angle inward slightly if desired, but no so much that it would interfere with rods 40 sliding back into housing 71a when gripping heads 45 are pushed in during use. Optionally, surfaces 72a and 74 can have the same constant bore size. Socket gripping surface 74 has a substantially constant bore size along its length so that it can be used effectively to turn rotary fasteners. Because rods 40 must slide in and out along their length, the inner walls of inner surface 72a and pillars 73a should have a substantially constant bore size (parallel walls), or very slowly converging surfaces, so that the rear portions of rods 40 (head 41) can slide past these surfaces without binding against them.

[038] In Fig. 3B, we see an alternate design for providing a physical stop for frame 80 within housing 71b, that prevents frame 80 from sliding further into housing 71b during normal use. Guide frame 80 and its associated pins can be the same as seen in Fig. 2B. Socket housing 71b is a slightly modified version of socket housing 71 seen in Fig. 2B. Housing 71b comprises, an inner surface 72b that can be identical to surface 72 seen on multisocket 70, a slowly converging surface 73b, a gripping surface 74 that can be identical to surface 74 seen on multisocket 70, six optional longitudinal slots 76 and a wrench connector end 77. Inner surface 72b can angle inward toward connector end 77 if desired, but no so much that it would interfere with rods 40 sliding back into housing 71a when grip head 45 is pushed in during use. Gripping surface 74 has a larger bore size than inner surface 72b so that surface in contact with guide frame 80 narrows (converges) as frame 80 slides from gripping surface 74 onto inner converging surface 73b. The bore size of inner surface 72b and the angle of convergence of surface 73b are chosen to provide the desired friction force when guide frame 80 is inserted to the desired position. Socket gripping surface 74 can have a substantially constant bore size along its length so that it can be used effectively to turn rotary fasteners. Because rods 40 must slide in and out along their length, the inner walls of inner surface 72b should have a substantially constant bore size (parallel walls) so that the rear portions of rods 40 (head 41) can slide past these surfaces without binding against them. Converging surface 73b can have a very shallow angle so that friction forces increase slowly as frame 80 is forced further onto converging section 73b. Somewhere near the middle of narrowing section 73b is the desired position of frame 80. In this design, friction alone holds frame 80 in place. The angled nature of section 73b causes friction forces that cause frame 80 to resist any further movement into housing 71b either toward connector end 77 or back out of the housing. The friction force can be increase in all of the disclosed designs by roughing the surface where the guide frame will make final contact with the housing. For this particular design section 73b can be made rough so that after installation, frame 80, which is made of an elastic material, slowly deforms and fills the small pores of the roughened surface to create a large static friction force between housing 71b and frame 80. Some plastics over time will also tend to bond to metal, and such plastics can be used in the construction of frame 80 and/or its friction tabs 81 to help increase friction between housing 71b and frame 80 after assembly.

[039] In Figs. 4A and 4B, we see the end view of two multisocket gripping head patterns. In Fig. 4 A we see the pattern formed by hexagonal grip heads 45 on multisocket 70, seen in Fig. 2B. This pattern uses forty- three gripping heads arranged in such a way that each of the six sides of gripping surfaces 74 has three gripping heads 45 touching it. Two of these three heads 45 are in the corners and actually touching two sides. This means there are relatively few gripping heads 45 near each gripping surface 74. As a result, this arrangement of heads 45 can cause certain sizes of bolts, nuts, or other rotary fastener to slip within the pin structure especially near the maximum size for the socket where fewer pins are positioned. To reduce this possibility of slippage, the prior art design seen in Fig. 1 A and the disclosed multisocket seen in Fig. 2A each use of six round pins on each side of the hexagonal gripping surface 13 and 54 respectively. This turns out to be slight overkill with a possible ninety-one pins 20 in this arrangement, seventy-seven pins with the fourteen center pins replaced by spacer pin 25. Multisockets similar to these, that are actually in production, use five round pins per side of a hexagonal socket housing, which provides three concentric rows of pins around a center spacer pin, and uses fifty-four pins when the spacer pin is used. This give a relatively good grip on most rotary fasteners.

[040] In Fig. 4B we see multisocket 90 which has a similar layout for its hexagonal pins 92 as discussed above for the multisockets in Figs. 1A and 2 A, with five pins 92 adjacent each of the six sides of inner gripping surfaces 94. Multisocket 90 comprises a housing 91, a set of fifty- four longitudinally slidable pins 92, a central spacer pin 93, hexagonal gripping surfaces 94, a guide frame 95 similar to frames 55 and 80, a plurality of longitudinal pin slots 96 and six corner slots 97. Pins 92 can have a construction similar to pins 20 seen in Fig. 2A, but with a hexagonal shaped gripping head. Pins 92 may also be constructed identical to those used in multisocket 70, using rods 40, springs 43, and grip heads 45. However, if socket housing 91 has a gripping surface 94 that is the same size as gripping surfaces 74 on multisocket 70, then a slightly smaller hexagonal head size is need to fit all the pins within socket housing 91. The slightly smaller pins allows better conformity of the hexagonal gripping surfaces to a rotary fastener. Also notice that multisocket 90 has twenty-four pins 92 arranged on the outermost periphery next to its housing, compared to only twelve outermost grip heads 45 on multisocket 70. These periphery pins are also seated in their own longitudinal slot 96 that helps to hold them in place during use and provides better transfer of torque from housing 91 to hexagonal pins 92. Further the corner pins are fit securely in longitudinal corner slots 97. All these features combine to provide a more sure grip on various sized rotary fasteners, especially near the maximum gripping size of gripping surface 94. This design can also reduce the weight of the multisocket compared to prior art designs that use hexagonal pins because center spacer pin 93 (made out of plastic) can take the place of seven of the pins 92 (generally made out of steel) that would normally be where it is positioned. Spacer pin 93 can be slidable through substantially the same longitudinal range of motion as pins 92.

[041] In Fig. 5 we see multisocket 100 comprising a guide frame 105 with a plurality of gripping pins each comprising a gripping post 45, biasing spring 43 and connecting rod 40, and a wrench socket housing 110. Rods 40, biasing springs 43 and gripping post 45 can be similar to other prior art designs, but can also comprise a variety of other cross-sectional shapes for gripping post 45, including but not limited to, round, oval, square, various polygonal shapes, etc. Once assembled, the multi-pin assembly (guide frame 105 with all pin components 40, 43 and 45

installed) can be installed longitudinally into the open end of socket 110 and frictionally grip surfaces 74. Surfaces 74 and 76 can be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of socket housing 110, but may be slightly converging (narrowing toward connector end 77) which can assist in forging the socket housings. However, any such converging should be small enough to not interfere with the longitudinal sliding of the gripping pins (grip heads 45 and rod heads 41). Notice that gripping surfaces 74 do not require notches or horizontal grooves to help secure or lock guide frame 105 in place as is done on prior art multi-pin multisockets.

[042] In Fig. 5, frame 105 can comprise an elastic polymer such as ABS, nylon, polyester, polypropylene or other resilient polymer that has sufficient resiliency to be compressed when inserted into socket housing 110 and continue to press outward on gripping surfaces 74. Guide frame 105 comprises a front guide plate 101, and a friction skirt 103 extending longitudinally backward from guide plate 101 and defining a back edge 103a. Guide plate 101 and guide skirt 103 can be separate components or a single piece of polymer. Guide plate 101 can be similar in construction to previously discussed guide frames 15, 46, 55 and 80, and comprise a plurality of longitudinal guide holes 102 arranged as desired for supporting and guiding rods 40 as they slide longitudinally within holes 102. The front portion of skirt 103 is attached to back surface of guide plate 101 and designed to fit tightly into socket housing 110 and create significant friction against surfaces 74 and 76. Front guide plate 101 and skirt 103 can be injection molded as a single piece of resilient plastic with the wall thickness of skirt 103 relatively thin compared to the thickness of guide plate 101. A solid adhesive 109 can be applied to the exterior of friction skirt 103 to help bond and/or frictionally hold skirt 103 to the interior surface 74 of socket housing 110 after assembly. Adhesive 109 can be a high friction polymer designed to allow guide frame 105 to slide into socket 110 during assembly, and provide a high friction coefficient against surfaces 74 and 76 which can be made of a steel alloy, chrome coating, etc. Skirt 103 can be comprised of a relatively thin piece of material with an external shape similar to surfaces 74 and 76 and an interior surface sufficiently large to allow pin rods 40 with pin heads 41 to fit within the interior of skirt 103 and still allow the pins to slide freely within their longitudinal operational range. Skirt 103 can also help stabilize guide plate 101 within socket 110 and can create additional friction between itself and socket surfaces 74 and 76 to help hold guide frame 105 in place after assembly.

[043] In Fig. 5, socket housing 110 comprises six gripping surfaces 74, six corner slot surfaces 76, a connector end 77, a stop ridge 112, and a rear interior surface 114. Socket body 110 can have similar gripping surfaces 74 and 76 as seen on multisockets 70, 70a and 70b but is slightly longer than in these previous designs. The actual gripping surfaces for the socket body can also comprise a number of standard or non-standard gripping surface styles (e.g., a 6-point standard, 12- point standard, 12-point lobe, 12-point star, square, etc.). Socket housing 110 can be a standard wrench socket since no special structures are needed to hold a properly designed guide frame 105 in place. If a standard wrench socket were used, the rear interior portion of the socket can act as ridge 112 to stop further insertion of guide frame 105. Gripping surfaces 74 and corner slots 76 are sized to be slightly smaller than the exterior surface of guide frame 105. This allows significant friction to be generated between the interior of socket housing 110 and the sides of guide plate 101 and skirt 103 (guide frame 105) when forcefully inserted into housing 110. This friction is sufficient to hold guide frame 105 in place within socket 110 during use, though if needed, guide frame 105 can be designed to be removable from socket 110 by overcoming the friction force between guide frame 105 and socket 110 by pushing on the back-side of rod heads 41 (assembled in frame 105) through connector end 77. Optionally, an adhesive 119 can be applied to the back interior surface of socket 110 before inserting guide frame 105 to help bond guide frame 105 to socket surfaces 74. Guide stop 112 provides a ridge to stop guide frame 105 from being pushed further into socket 110.

[044] In Fig. 5, the contact between skirt edge 103a and ridge stop 112 can prevent guide frame 105 from sliding further into socket 110. Skirt 103 is shown with sufficient length to fully enclose the range of motion of pin rods 40. This means that the rear surface (hidden from view) of socket 110 can act as the stop for guide frame 105 and there is no need for a separate shoulder 112. If skirt 103 is not long enough to fully enclose the motion of pin rods 40, then interior surface 114 at the rear portion of socket housing 110 needs to be large enough to allow rod heads 41 to extend past skirt end 103a and stop ridge 112 when hexagonal posts 45 are fully depressed. Skirt 103 can thus be made much shorter than shown, with rear interior surface 114 sized only slightly smaller than surfaces 74 (e.g., ridge stop 112 only a hundredth of an inch wide) so that pin rods 40 can extend into the space within interior surface 114. In alternate designs, skirt 103 be designed with nearly any length desired (e.g., skirt 103 can be shorter or longer than the length shown in Fig. 5). Socket 110 can have other raised longitudinal structures defined on surfaces 74 and 76 to generate additional friction between guide frame 105 as needed to help hold guide frame 105 inside housing 110 after insertion and during use of the assembled multisocket 100 (see friction tabs 78 in Fig. 2B and ramped surfaces 75a).In alternate designs, guide stop 112 can be simply the rear surface of socket housing 110 (where socket 110 reduces in size for connector end 77), provided that skirt 103 is sufficiently long to fully enclose the range of motion of pin rods 40 (rod heads 41 do not need to extend past skirt end 103a).

OPERATIONAL DESCRIPTION

[045] All the multisocket designs presented in this patent can operate generally in the same way. That is, the user connects the multisocket to a wrench and puts the open end of the

multisocket, with its exposed multiplicity of pins, over a rotary fastener and pushes down on the multisocket to depress the pins that are in contact with the rotary fastener. The pins in contact with the rotary fastener are pushed up into the socket while the other pins remain extended and surround the rotary fastener on all sides because of their biasing springs. Since the pins are tightly packed in their housing, these pins that surround the rotary fastener cannot easily move within the socket housing, and torque applied to the multisocket housing (socket body) is easily transferred to the pins and then to the rotary fastener. Multisockets with center spacer pins operate the same way, with spacer pin being pushed up into the socket housing when in contact with a rotary fastener.

[046] Now consider the process of assembling these multisocket designs and some of the inner workings of the multisockets that allow them to operate as they do. Prior art multisocket 10 in Fig. 1A is assembled by forcibly inserting pins 20 and 25 into holes 16 and 18, respectively, with springs 24 and 27 providing biasing for their respective pins. Insertion ends 23 and 28 resist being removed, or pulled back out of guide frame 15 because of their shape, and once inserted in their respective holes they form an assembly that can be inserted into socket housing 12. During insertion of this assembly, tabs 17 are elastically temporarily depressed by flat side walls 13 as the assembly slides down housing 12. When tabs 17 reach notches 14, on the inside of walls 13, they snap back out elastically into notches 14 to lock frame 15 in place within housing 12. Multisocket 10 is then ready to be used.

[047] In Fig. IB, multisocket 30 is assembled in much the same way, but the pins are assembled onto guide plate 46 differently. In this design, rod 40 is inserted through hole 47 and then spring 43 and finally screwed into threaded hole 44 on hexagonal head 45. All forty-three pins are assembled this way to form a complete assembly that is inserted into socket housing 31. Tabs 48 are elastically depressed when inserted into the open end of housing 31, and gripping surfaces 34 keep tabs 48 depressed until they have slid into notches 35. Housing 31 also has shoulder 33 to prevent plate 46 from being pressed accidently past notches 35, either during assembly or during use.

[048] In Fig. 2A, the disclosed multisocket is assembled substantially the same as multisocket 10 seen in Fig. 1A with pins 20 and 25 inserted under force into their respective holes 56 and 58 in guide frame 55. Guide frame 55 is then inserted into socket housing 50 with gripping surface 54 deforming tabs 57 and creating a controlled amount of friction between frame 55 and housing 50. Frame 55 is slid into housing 50 until the back portion of frame 55 makes contact with shoulder 53. The multisocket is then assembled and ready for use. Friction between tabs 57 and gripping surface 54 prevents frame 55 from sliding back out of housing 50 during normal use, and shoulder 53 prevents frame 55 from being pushed further into housing 50.

[049] In Fig. 2B, multisocket 70 is assembled substantially the same as multisocket 30 seen in Fig. IB with rods 40, springs 43 and grip heads 45 assembled through holes 82 in frame 80 in substantially the same manner as discussed for multisocket 30. Guide frame 80 along with its slidable pins is then inserted into socket housing 71 with gripping surface 74 deforming rounded tabs 81 creating a controlled amount of friction. The amount of friction can be controlled by predetermining the correct dimensions of gripping surface 74, the surface roughness of surface 74, and the dimensions of frame 80 and tabs 81. Significant friction forces, greater than ten pounds, can be generated by properly sizing socket housing 71 and guide frame 80. Frame 80 is slid into housing 71 until the back portion of frame 80 makes contact with shoulder 73. In that position multisocket 70 is fully assembled and is ready for use. Friction between tabs 81 and gripping surface 74 prevents frame 80 from sliding back out of housing 71 during normal use. Locking notches, like notches 35, are not needed in this design since the large friction forces created between tabs 81 and gripping surface 74 are more than enough to offset any small force experienced during normal use that is trying to pull frame 80 back out of the socket housing.

[050] In Fig. 2C, we see an alternative socket housing 71c for use with guide frame 55 with its associated pins as shown in Fig. 2 A or guide frame 80 and its associated pins as shown in Fig. 2B. For assembly, guide frame 80 and its slidable pins can be inserted into socket housing 71c with frame 80 snugly fitting within gripping surface 74. A small amount of force can be used to slide frame 80 down to converging surface 75a, where a larger force is needed to deform tabs 81 and slide frame 80 onto converging surface 75a. This creates an increasing amount of friction as frame 80 slides further onto surface 75a. The amount of friction can be controlled by controlling the slope and length of surface 75a. Frame 80 can be forced all the way passed ramped surface 75a and onto seating surface 75b. Seating surface 75b can be substantially parallel with gripping surface 74 and can have a slightly roughness surface texture to increase friction and help hold frame 80 in place on surface 75b. However, surface 75b can have a smooth texture and still provide sufficient friction to hold it in position. Frame 80 is slid to the back portion of surface 75b so that it makes contact with shoulder 73c. In that position the multisocket is fully assembled and ready for use. Grip heads 45 are preferably approximately flush with the open end of socket housing 71c when frame 80 is fully inserted against shoulder 73c. Friction between tabs 81 and seating surface 75b prevents frame 80 from sliding back out of housing 71c during normal use, and shoulder 73c prevents frame 80 from being pushed further into housing 71c.

[051] In Fig. 3 A, multisocket 70a is assembled substantially the same as multisocket 70 seen in Fig. 2B with rods 40, springs 43 and grip heads 45 assembled through holes 82 in frame 80 as shown in Fig. 3A. Guide frame 80 along with its assembled pins is then inserted as shown into socket housing 71a with gripping surface 74 deforming rounded tabs 81 to create a controlled amount of friction. Frame 80 is slid down gripping surface 74 until the back portion of frame 80 makes contact with all the ends of raised pillars 73a. Multisocket 70a is then assembled and ready for use. Friction between tabs 81 and gripping surface 74 prevents frame 80 from sliding back out of housing 71a during normal use.

[052] In Fig. 3B, multisocket 70b is assembled substantially the same as multisocket 70 seen in Fig. 2B with rods 40, springs 43 and grip heads 45 assembled through holes 82 in frame 80 as shown in Fig. 3B. Guide frame 80 along with its assembled pins is then inserted as shown into socket housing 71b with gripping surface 74 deforming rounded tabs 81 creating a controlled amount of friction. Frame 80 is slid down gripping surface 74 until it reaches angled surface 73b (converging surface) at which point friction between frame 80 and socket housing 71b increases quickly. As frame 80 is inserted to its desired depth within housing 71b, insertion is stopped and friction between tabs 81 and surface 73b hold frame 80 in place. The tapered angle of surface 73b can be very small and normally will not be greater than five degrees. The converging slope of surface 73b provides large friction forces to prevent frame 80 from sliding further into housing 71b during normal use. A smaller friction force holds frame 80 from sliding back out of housing 71b. Once frame 80 and its pins are install to the desired position multisocket 70b is ready for use.

[053] While more detail could be provided on the operation of the disclosed examples, the above operational descriptions should be sufficient for most mechanically inclined people to understand how to use and assemble the disclosed multisockets, as well as, variation on socket housings and guide frams not shown here.

[054] In Fig. 5, multisocket 100 is assembled substantially the same as the previous examples with pin heads 45, springs 43 and pin rods 40 assembled through guide holes 102 of guide plate 101. That is, one gripping pin installed in each hole 102. Then this assembly of pins with guide frame 105 is inserted into the open end of socket 110 against the friction force between frame 105 and socket 110. If guide plate 101 is a separate component from guide skirt 103, then skirt 103 and plate 101 can be inserted together or separately into socket housing 110. The outside dimensions of skirt 103 and the outer surfaces of guide plate 101 are slightly larger than the interior dimensions of surfaces 74 and 76, such that skirt 103 and/or guide plate 101 is compressed radially against the interior surfaces of socket 110. This force creates friction between guide frame 105 and socket surfaces 74 and 76 which hold guide frame 105 in place during use of the multisocket. During manufacture of socket housing 110, surfaces 74 and 76 can be left rough to further enhance friction between guide frame 105 and socket 110. Adhesive 109 can be applied to the outer surface of guide frame 105 and adhesive 119 can be applied to the interior of socket housing 110 before assembly, so that when guide frame 105 is installed, adhesives 109 and/or 119 are positioned between skirt 103 and surfaces 74 and/or 76 to help hold guide frame 105 in place within socket 110. A portion of adhesive 119 may also be pushed down to ridge stop 112 to bond skirt end 103a to ridge stop 112. Adhesives 109 and 119 can comprise any of a number of adhesives, glues, bonding agents and high coefficient of friction polymers. Skirt 103 can be injection molded along with guide plate 101 to form a single guide frame 105 without significantly increasing the production cycle time nor the cost to injection molded guide frames compared to guide frames 55 and 80. RAMIFICATIONS, and SCOPE

[055] The disclosed multisockets can provide a full range of socket sizes in one convenient socket. Because the pins can conform to nearly any shape, other rotary fasteners that are not normally usable with sockets can be turned by the disclosed multisockets. For example, thumb screws, eye bolts and screw hooks can all be grasped by the sliding pins on the disclosed

multisockets. The construction of the disclosed multisockets is simplified by eliminating notches on the inner gripping surface of the socket housing. Instead of notches or other securing devices, a friction fit is used between the multi-pin guide frame assembly and the socket housing. Shoulders, pillars, narrowing surfaces, ridges and other structures can also be used to improve the multisockets resistance to the guide frame assembly from being pushed into the socket housing beyond its desired position within the socket housing.

[056] Although the above description of the invention contains many specifications, these should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the invention. Instead, the above description should be considered illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, many other configurations of friction surfaces with raised shoulders, pillars and the like can be designed to provide an effective stop for the guide frame and pins. Similarly, many arrangements of friction tabs or other protrusions can be configured around the periphery of the guide frames to provide the desired friction forces. The guide frame can also have its contact surfaces (periphery of a guide frame) made of a different material than the body of the guide frame. Such different materials might comprise a polymer that has a high coefficient of friction with the gripping surfaces of the socket housing or a material that bonds to the socket housing. The guide frames can also have many other shapes beside a flat disk shape, the longitudinal thickness of the guide plate can be adjusted as needed to provide more friction or to increase the stability of the guide frame. A variety of different skirt can also be added to, or formed onto, guide frame 55 and 80 to increase their stability, maintain their position and/or increase their friction against the socket housing.

[057] Thus, the scope of this invention should not be limited to the above examples, but should be determined from the following claims.