Keeper accessory for holding a fastener seated in a wrench socket

Claim 2

A fastener keeper accessory adapted to be held frictionally assembled on a conventional 12-point wrench head without need for altering the wrench head structure to accommodate the keeper accessory and without interferring with the use of one hexagonally related set of points to seat the hexagonal portion of a threaded fastener and effective to frictionally hold a loose fastener of a size for which the wrench was designed captive on the wrench head while the same is being maneuvered into and out of an assembly position thereof, said accessory comprising a unitary length of stiff resilient spring stock having a first Cshaped portion the opposite ends of which are formed to resiliently press against the adjacent sidewall portion of a wrench to frictionally grip the wrench head and hold said keeper accessory in assembled position on said head, said unitary length of spring stock including a portion designed to extend longitudinally into one of the points of the wrench head in an area radially opposite one of said wrench head points and into snug frictional engagement with one face of a hexagonal fastener socketed in said wrench head.

Claim 3

A keeper accessory as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said first portion comprises a split ring adapted to snugly encircle the exterior midportion of a wrench socket and effective to hold said accessory resiliently and detachably assembled thereto.

Claim 4

A keeper accessory as defined in claim 2 characterized in that said unitary spring is formed from spring wire stock.

Claim 5

A keeper accessory as defined in claim 1 characterized in that the portion of said accessory adapted to seat in a point of a socket wrench is generally triangular in cross section with one face thereof positioned to press flush against one face of a hexagonal fastener when the latter is seated in a socket to which said keeper is assembled.

Claim 6

A keeper accessory as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said spring member includes a third portion adapted to lie along one side of the socket and to press resiliently inwardly against the rearward outer surface of the socket to aid in holding the same assembled to the socket.

Claim 7

A keeper accessory as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said spring member includes a third portion extending oppositely to the fastener-engaging end thereof and formed with a detent extending radially inwardly and adapted to interlock with a complementally shaped radial ledge of a socket to hold said accessory locked in assembled position thereon.

Claim 8

A keeper accessory as defined in claim 6 characterized in that the detent of said third portion is positioned to engage over and interlock with the rear rim edge of a socket.

Claim 9

A keeper accessory readily attachable to and detachable from a conventional 12-point wrench socket without need for tools or passages through the sidewall of the socket and effective to hold a threaded hexagonal fastener captive therein of the size for which that conventional wrench socket was designed to fit, said accessory being formed in one piece from spring stock and having a split-ring portion adapted to embrace the midportion of a wrench socket and including a pair of hooked ends extending in opposite directions from said split-ring portion, one of said hooked ends being shaped to engage over the rim edge at the open forward end of a socket with the hook end prOjecting lengthwise along one of the 12 points thereof between a pair of points to either side thereof to resiliently press against a face of a hexagonal fastener when seated in said socket to hold the latter captive in the socket, and the other of said hooked ends being positioned to engage over a rearwardly facing radially disposed surface of the socket and cooperable with said first mentioned hooked end and with said split-ring portion to hold the keeper accessory detachably assembled to a wrench socket.

Claim 10

A keeper accessory readily attachable to and detachable from a conventional 12-point wrench socket without need for tools or passages through the sidewall of the socket and effective to hold a threaded hexagonal fastener captive therein of the size for which that conventional wrench socket was designed to fit, said accessory being formed in one piece from spring stock and having a split-ring portion adapted to embrace the midportion of a wrench socket and including a pair of hooked ends extending in opposite directions from said split-ring portion, one of said hooked ends being shaped to engage over the rim edge at the open forward end of a socket with the hook end prOjecting lengthwise along one of the 12 points thereof between a pair of points to either side thereof to resiliently press against a face of a hexagonal fastener when seated in said socket to hold the latter captive in the socket, and the other of said hooked ends being positioned to engage over a rearwardly facing radially disposed surface of the socket and cooperable with said first mentioned hooked end and with said split-ring portion to hold the keeper accessory detachably assembled to a wrench socket.