Mechanism for conteracting reaction torque in a powered, reversible, hand-held rotary driver

Claim 2

A hand operated, reversible, rotary power tool having a housing, a powered rotor rotatable on a defined axis with respect to said housing, and an output shaft coaxial with said rotor, and being adapted to reduce the reaction torque that would otherwise be exhibited directly upon the housing, comprising: an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis laterally offset from the axis of said rotor; means for inhibiting rotation of said offset shaft in either direction relative to said housing after a predetermined angle of rotation; and a planetary differential mechanism having an input driven from said powered rotor, and two separate outputs, one of said separate outputs being coupled to said output shaft and the other of said separate outputs being a ring gear coupled to said laterally offset shaft.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said planetary differential mechanism includes a sun gear rotatably supported from said housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear rotatably supported from the housing and coacting with said planetary gears; means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output shaft; and said ring gear being drivingly coupled to said laterally offset shaft.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output shaft is a set of combined speed reduction gears.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said laterally offset shaft has an input end with a crank arm attached thereto, said ring gear has at least two external gear teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft, and said lever arm extending perpendicularly from said offset shaft for restricting rotation of said offset shaft.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said lever arm also has an outer end extending toward said output shaft, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a pair of stops attached to a wall of said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said outer end of said lever arm.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said stops are sufficiently close together to allow said offset shaft to rotate by no more than about ninety degrees.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said laterally offset shaft has an input end with a crank arm attached thereto, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft and an outer end extending perpendicularly therefrom for restricting rotation of said offset shaft.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said outer end of said lever arm extends toward said output shaft, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a pair of stops attached to a wall of said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said outer end of said lever arm.

Claim 10

A reversible, single-output hand operated rotary power tool having a housing, and a powered rotor rotatable on a defined axis with respect to said housing, said reversible power tool being characterized by a mechanism for reducing reaction torque that would otherwise be exhibited directly on the housing, and comprising: an output shaft; a planetary differential mechanism including a sun gear rotatably supported from the housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear rotatably supported from the housing and coacting with said planetary gears; gear means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output shaft; an offset shaft rotatably supported from the housing on an axis that is laterally offset from both the axis of said rotor and the axis of said output shaft, said ring gear being drivingly coupled to said laterally offset shaft; and means for inhibiting rotation of said laterally offset shaft in either direction relative to the housing after a predetermined angle of rotation.

Claim 11

A reversible, single-output hand operated rotary power tool having a housing, and a powered rotor rotatable on a defined axis with respect to said housing, said reversible power tool being characterized by a mechanism for reducing reaction torque that would otherwise be exhibited directly on the housing, and comprising: an output shaft; a planetary differential mechanism including a sun gear rotatably supported from the housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear rotatably supported from the housing and coacting with said planetary gears; gear means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output shaft; an offset shaft rotatably supported from the housing on an axis that is laterally offset from both the axis of said rotor and the axis of said output shaft, said ring gear being drivingly coupled to said laterally offset shaft; and means for inhibiting rotation of said laterally offset shaft in either direction relative to the housing after a predetermined angle of rotation.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said gear means is a set of combined speed reduction gears.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said laterally offset shaft has an input end with a crank arm attached thereto, said ring gear has at least two external gear teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft and which extends perpendicularly therefrom for restricting rotation of said offset shaft.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said lever arm also has an outer end extending toward said output shaft, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a pair of stops attached to a wall of said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said stops are sufficiently close together to allow said offset shaft to rotate by no more than about ninety degrees.

Claim 16

A reversible, hand operated rotary power tool comprising a housing, a powered rotor rotatable on a defined axis with respect to said housing, and an output shaft, said reversible rotary power tool being characterized by a mechanism for reducing the reaction torque that would otherwise be exhibited upon said housing, and comprising: an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis that is laterally offset from the axis of the rotor; means for inhibiting rotation of said laterally offset shaft in either direction relative to said housing after a predetermined angle of rotation, including a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft and an outer end extending toward the axis of said rotor, and means for restricting the movement of said outer end of said lever arm relative to said housing; and a planetary differential mechanism having an input driven from said powered rotor, and two separate outputs, one of said separate outputs being drivingly coupled to said output shaft and the other of said separate outputs being drivingly coupled to said laterally offset shaft.

Claim 17

A reversible, hand operated rotary power tool comprising a housing, a powered rotor rotatable on a defined axis with respect to said housing, and an output shaft, said reversible rotary power tool being characterized by a mechanism for reducing the reaction torque that would otherwise be exhibited upon said housing, and comprising: an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis that is laterally offset from the axis of the rotor; means for inhibiting rotation of said laterally offset shaft in either direction relative to said housing after a predetermined angle of rotation, including a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft and an outer end extending toward the axis of said rotor, and means for restricting the movement of said outer end of said lever arm relative to said housing; and a planetary differential mechanism having an input driven from said powered rotor, and two separate outputs, one of said separate outputs being drivingly coupled to said output shaft and the other of said separate outputs being drivingly coupled to said laterally offset shaft.

Claim 18

The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said planetary differential mechanism includes a sun gear rotatably supported from said housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear rotatably supported from said housing and coacting with said planetary gears; said ring gear being drivingly coupled to said laterally offset shaft; and which further includes means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output shaft.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output shaft is a set of combined speed reduction gears.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said laterally offset shaft has an input end with a crank arm attached thereto, and said ring gear has at least two external gear teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm; and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a lever arm fixedly attached to said offset shaft and extending perpendicularly therefrom for restricting rotation of said offset shaft.

Claim 21

The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said lever arm also has an outer end extending toward said output shaft, and wherein said inhibiting means further includes a pair of stops attached to a wall of said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm.

Claim 22

The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said stops are sufficiently close together to allow said offset shaft to rotate by no more than about ninety degrees.

Claim 23

A hand operated rotary power tool comprising: a housing, and a powered rotor rotatably supported on a defined axis with respect to said housing; a planetary differential mechanism having a sun gear rotatably supported from said housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear rotatably supported from said housing and coacting with said planetary gears; an output means rotatably supported from said housing; means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output means; an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis laterally offset from the axis of said rotor; said laterally offset shaft having an input end with a crank arm attached thereto, and said ring gear having at least a pair of output teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm; a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft, and having a remote end extending from said offset shaft perpendicularly towards the axis of said rotor; stop means secured to said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm; and the application of torque from said ring gear through said offset shaft, said lever arm, and said stop means to said housing having a mechanical disadvantage whereby the reaction torque imparted to said housing is less than if said ring gear were fixedly attached to said housing.

Claim 24

A hand operated rotary power tool comprising: a housing, and a powered rotor rotatably supported on a defined axis with respect to said housing; a planetary differential mechanism having a sun gear rotatably supported from said housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear rotatably supported from said housing and coacting with said planetary gears; an output means rotatably supported from said housing; means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output means; an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis laterally offset from the axis of said rotor; said laterally offset shaft having an input end with a crank arm attached thereto, and said ring gear having at least a pair of output teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm; a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft, and having a remote end extending from said offset shaft perpendicularly towards the axis of said rotor; stop means secured to said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm; and the application of torque from said ring gear through said offset shaft, said lever arm, and said stop means to said housing having a mechanical disadvantage whereby the reaction torque imparted to said housing is less than if said ring gear were fixedly attached to said housing.

Claim 25

A hand operated rotary power tool as in claim 20 wherein said stop means is adapted to restrict the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm in either direction of rotation of said offset shaft.

Claim 26

A hand operated rotary power tool as in claim 20 wherein the application of torque from said ring gear to said housing has a mechanical disadvantage of about 65 to 1.

Claim 27

In a hand operated rotary power tool including a housing; a powered rotor rotatably supported on a defined axis with respect to said housing; a planetary differential mechanism having a sun gear rotatably supported from said housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear coacting with said planetary gears; an output means rotatably supported from said housing; and means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output means; an improvement for reducing the reaction torque imparted through the housing to the hand of an operator, comprising: an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis laterally offset from the axis of said rotor, and having an input end with a crank arm attached thereto; said ring gear being rotatably supported from said housing and having at least a pair of output teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm; a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft, and having a remote end extending from said offset shaft perpendicularly towards the axis of said rotor; and stop means secured to said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm.

Claim 28

In a hand operated rotary power tool including a housing; a powered rotor rotatably supported on a defined axis with respect to said housing; a planetary differential mechanism having a sun gear rotatably supported from said housing coaxial with and driven by said rotor, a set of planetary gears coacting with said sun gear, and a ring gear coacting with said planetary gears; an output means rotatably supported from said housing; and means drivingly coupling said set of planetary gears to said output means; an improvement for reducing the reaction torque imparted through the housing to the hand of an operator, comprising: an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing on an axis laterally offset from the axis of said rotor, and having an input end with a crank arm attached thereto; said ring gear being rotatably supported from said housing and having at least a pair of output teeth drivingly coupled to said crank arm; a lever arm having an inner end fixedly attached to said offset shaft, and having a remote end extending from said offset shaft perpendicularly towards the axis of said rotor; and stop means secured to said housing for restricting the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm.

Claim 29

A hand operated rotary power tool as in claim 23 wherein said stop means is adapted to restrict the rotating movement of said remote end of said lever arm in either direction of rotation of said offset shaft.

Claim 30

A hand operated rotary power tool as in claim 23 wherein the application of torque from said ring gear to said housing has a mechanical disadvantage of about 65 to 1.

Claim 31

A hand operated rotary power tool as in claim 24 wherein the application of torque from said ring gear to said housing has a mechanical disadvantage of about 65 to 1.

Claim 32

A rotating drive mechanism with reduced reaction torque comprising: a housing; a differential mechanism having a driven sun gear rotatably supported from said housing, a ring gear, and a set of planetary gears with a cage adapted to be drivingly coupled to an output means; means rotatably supporting said ring gear of said differential mechanism from the housing; an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing in laterally offset relation to the axis of the sun gear, and having a crank arm fixed to one end thereof; said ring gear being drivingly coupled through said crank arm to said offset shaft; and means restricting rotation of said offset shaft to a portion of a revolution.

Claim 33

A rotating drive mechanism with reduced reaction torque comprising: a housing; a differential mechanism having a driven sun gear rotatably supported from said housing, a ring gear, and a set of planetary gears with a cage adapted to be drivingly coupled to an output means; means rotatably supporting said ring gear of said differential mechanism from the housing; an offset shaft rotatably supported from said housing in laterally offset relation to the axis of the sun gear, and having a crank arm fixed to one end thereof; said ring gear being drivingly coupled through said crank arm to said offset shaft; and means restricting rotation of said offset shaft to a portion of a revolution.