초록

A hand guard strap which mounts to and is held onto the handle of a tool, such as a knife, by sliding onto the handle at distal and proximal ends, the hand guard being held in a secured position by means of spring tension in the strap.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A hand guard for a tool handle, comprising: a strap having a proximal end and a distal end, an outer face and an inner face, first and second edges, and a longitudinal direction extending from said proximal end to said distal end;a pin projecting inwardly from the proximal end of the strap, said

1. A hand guard for a tool handle, comprising: a strap having a proximal end and a distal end, an outer face and an inner face, first and second edges, and a longitudinal direction extending from said proximal end to said distal end;a pin projecting inwardly from the proximal end of the strap, said pin having an enlarged head spaced inwardly a distance away from the strap; andsaid strap defining a T-shaped opening at the distal end of the strap, said T-shaped opening having a base and two arms, with an open side at the base, said open side being open through the first edge of the strap, and a closed side at the two arms, said base having a first dimension in the longitudinal direction between a first tab and a second tab, and said arms being recessed away from said first edge and having a second dimension in the longitudinal direction that is greater than the first dimension. 2. A hand guard for a tool handle as recited in claim 1, and further comprising a tool, including a tool handle having left and right sides, top and bottom edges, a proximal end and a distal end which defines a distal shoulder, said tool handle defining a hole adjacent the proximal end of the tool handle, and said tool defining opposed recesses in the top and bottom edges distal to the distal shoulder, wherein said tool defines a distance between said opposed recesses in said top and bottom edges; wherein said pin is received through said hole, with the enlarged head extending outside of the tool handle, and wherein said first dimension of said base is slightly larger than said distance between said opposed recesses, such that the distal end of the strap can be slid onto the tool at the recesses and can then be moved proximally with the tool being received in the arms of the T-shaped opening to lock the distal end of the strap onto the tool. 3. A hand guard for a tool handle as recited in claim 2, wherein said strap is made of a flexible, spring-like material that can be distorted from an “at rest” shape and that tends to return to the “at rest” shape when released, wherein when the strap is installed on the handle, with the pin through the hole and the portion of the strap adjacent to the T-shaped opening receiving the tool and abutting the distal shoulder, the spring-like material is extended in the longitudinal direction from said “at rest” shape and is twisted to create a spring force in said strap that keeps the strap in tension, exerting forces both in the longitudinal direction and in a direction crosswise to the longitudinal direction. 4. A hand guard for a tool handle as recited in claim 3, wherein the force in the longitudinal direction presses the pin against an edge of the hole and presses the distal end of the strap against the distal shoulder and the force in the crosswise direction urges the pin into the hole and pushes the closed side of the T-shaped opening against the tool. 5. A method for installing a hand guard on a tool with a handle having an elongated direction, comprising the steps of: sliding a first securement means at a proximal end of a hand guard strap in a direction crosswise to the elongated direction of the tool handle and adjacent to the respective end of the tool handle to engage the tool and then in a direction along the elongated direction of the tool handle to secure said first securement means on said tool;wherein said first securement means includes a pin with an enlarged head projecting from the proximal end of the hand guard strap, and said step of sliding said first securement means in a direction crosswise to the elongated direction of the tool handle includes sliding said pin through a hole in said tool handle until said enlarged head exits said hole and lies outside of said tool handle; and said step of sliding said first securement means in a direction along the elongated direction of the tool handle includes sliding said pin along the elongated direction of the tool handle until said pin abuts the side of said hole;and sliding a second securement means at a distal end of the hand guard strap in a direction crosswise to the elongated direction of the tool handle to engage the tool and then in a direction along the elongated direction of the tool handle to secure said second securement means on said tool;wherein said hand guard strap is made of a spring-like material and is in an extended position with the hand guard strap in tension when said first and second securement means of the hand guard strap are secured on said tool, with said hand guard strap being in tension between said distal and proximal ends such that the spring force in the hand guard strap creates a tension acting on said tool both in the elongated direction and in a direction crosswise to the elongated direction, with the forces in both of those directions acting to keep the first and second securement means secured to said tool. 6. A method for installing a hand guard on a tool with a handle having an elongated direction as recited in claim 5, wherein said second securement means includes a T-shaped opening through an edge of said hand guard strap and securing the second securement means includes sliding the T-shaped opening crosswise over a notched place on the tool and then sliding the T-shaped opening in the elongated direction until the hand guard strap abuts a shoulder on the tool. 7. A hand guard for a tool handle as recited in claim 1, wherein said strap has a tip at the distal end of the strap that is bent outwardly to form a forward tab located distally from the T-shaped opening. 8. A hand guard for a tool handle as recited in claim 7, wherein said strap is made of a flexible, spring-like material that can be distorted from an “at rest” shape and that tends to return to the “at rest” shape when released. 9. A hand guard for a tool handle as recited in claim 2, wherein the pin presses in the longitudinal direction against an edge of the hole.