Hand tool with handle storage of interchangeable elements

Claim 1

In a hand tool which has a generally cylindrical handle provided with a bore, and mounting means to selectively mount any of a plurality of interchangeable tool elements, said mounting means including a shank non-rotatably mounted in said bore in the handle, and means at the end of the shank remote from the handle to operatively receive one of said tool elements at a time, the improvement comprising: the interchangeable tool elements are socket wrench socket elements each of which is cylindrical with a first end portion having an axially extending square drive hole and a second end portion having an axially extending hexagonal socket, said socket elements being of various diameters, all of said drive holes being identical with one another, and all of said hexagonal sockets being of different sizes each of which is adapted to slidably and non-rotatably engage a hexagonal fastener of a predetermined size; the means to operatively receive said tool elements is a socket wrench ratchet drive with a square mounting stub which projects laterally from the shank and slidably engages in a square drive hole of a socket element; and the handle has a plurality of longitudinally extending pockets about its periphery for storing all said socket elements, said plurality of pockets being arranged in sets of two pockets which are end-to-end, there is a partition separating the two pockets of each set, and the pockets are of various diameters each of which snugly receives and stores a particular one of the socket elements, each socket element being individually removable by digital manipulation from the pocket in which it is stored.