Improvements in volt alert pens

Abstract

A volt pen 1 having a fuse holder claw clamp 4 attached to the outer surface of the pen’s body 2 and a fuse pry tool 6 which may be fixed to the end of removable battery cap 12 or the end of a rotatin

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to devices which are used to test for live electrical currents when working on electrical or gas servicing work. Background The use of electrical testing devices are common among electricians and gas appliance workers and they often come in the form of a pen. Amplified electronic testers (informally called electrical tester pens, test pens, or voltage detectors) rely on capacitive current only, and essentially detect the changing electric field around AC energized objects. This means that no direct metallic contact with the circuit is required. The user must touch the top of the handle to provide a ground reference (through stray capacitance to ground), at which point the indicator LED will light up or a speaker will buzz, if the conductor being tested is live. Additional energy to light the lamp and power the amplifier is supplied by a small internal battery, and does not flow through the user's body. When the device is placed near a live conductor, a capacitive voltage divider is established, comprising the parasitic capacitance between the conductor and the sensor, and between the sensor to ground (through the user's body). When the tester detects current flowing through this divider, it indicates the presence of voltage. Some amplified testers will give a stronger indication (brighter light or louder buzz) to gauge relative strength of the detected field, thus giving some clues about the location of an energized object. Other testers give only a simple on / off indication of a detected electric field. Professional-grade testers will also have a feature to reassure the user that the battery and lamp are working. Voltage detector pens are made for either line-voltage or lower-voltage (around 50 volt) ranges. A tester intended for mains-voltage detection may not provide any indication on lower-voltage control circuits such as those used for doorbells or HVAC control. Unlike tong ammeters which sense changing magnetic fields, these detectors can be used even if no current is flowing through the wire in question, because they sense the alternating electric field radiating from the AC voltage on the conductor. A non-contact tester which senses electric fields cannot detect voltage inside shielded or armored cables (a fundamental limitation due to the Faraday cage effect). Another limitation is that DC voltage cannot be detected by this method, since DC current does not pass through capacitors (in the steady state), so the tester is not activated. During repair or testing work the engineer often has to remove a fuse which involves the use of a screwdriver with a flat head, in most cases, but it is often the case that such a tool may not be at hand at the moment the fuse needs to be removed. A further common issue is what to do with the fuse once it has been removed, due to their shape fuses often roll away from work surfaces and can fall down gaps to be lost. The prior art therefore shows that there is a need for a more effective volt pen design which incorporates a tool to pry the fuse from its fitting and also hold a fuse to ensure it is not lost during the working process. The present invention aims to provide an improved volt pen to improve safe isolation when working on gas and electric appliances by the volt pen being used as normal to detect voltage but also providing a pry tool on the end of the pen to open fuse spurs to remove the fuse and a small claw clip to hold the fuse, all in the single volt pen therefore. Summary of the invention According to the present invention there is provided a volt pen which is presented in the known way with an activation button to commence the volt test and a glowing tip which lights up when the tip locates voltage. A torch light lens is also provided near the testing tip to enable the user to illuminate the work area, which is advisable in more confined and darker spaces. To the rear of the volt pen is a fuse pry tool and this may be fixed to the end of the removable battery cap. When the user wishes to pry a fuse they simply turn the pen around and use this end with the pry tool to remove the fuse from its fitting. The user then pushes the fuse into a claw fitting located on the barrel body of the pen, the claw is a flexible metal or plastic which flexes to grip fuses of varying sizes and hold them. The claw fitting is also used to store spare fuses on the pen. The pry tool may also be located on the end of the pens pocket clip which has been designed to enable it to rotate. The pocket clip is presented in its known form but has an end which is shaped as a pry tool for a fuse. The pocket clip connects to the pens barrel body by way of a short fitting shaft extending from it which engages with a round rotating collar installed on the pens barrel body, the fitting shaft is short and it interlocks with the rotating collar to allow the pocket clip to rotate as shown in Figure 3 and 4. Once the user has fully rotated the pocket clip and therefore the pry tool, the pocket clip is facing in its opposite direction, see Figure 4. The volt pen is then held in the hand and the rear extending pocket clip and its pry tool and now, preferably, facing forward to pry the fuse from its fitting. However, the user may still use the pry tool with the pocket clip partially rotated, for example; in a quarter turn. Once used the pocket clip is rotated round again and back to its normal position it is used again to clip the volt pen into a tool pocket, box, or the users clothing pocket thereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved a volt pen which has all the advantages of the prior art volt pens and none of the disadvantages. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new a volt pen which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved a volt pen which is of durable and reliable construction. An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved a volt pen which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public. Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved a volt pen which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith. These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. Brief description of figures Figure 1 shows a dimensional view of the volt pen with fuse pry tool and holder. Figure 2 shows a dimensional view of the volt pen with the fuse removed from the claw clamp. Figure 3 shows a dimensional view of the volt pen with the pry tool on the end of the pocket clip. Figure 4 shows a dimensional view of the volt pen with the pocket clip rotating with the pry tool being positioned for use. Detailed description of figures A typical embodiment of the volt pen is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the volt pen 1, which has a barrel body 2 in the known way with a removable cap 12 for the replacement of batteries with a fuse pry tool 6 which is tapered to a narrowed flat end to enable it to get under fuses and pry them out, located on the pens end opposite to the testing tip. A switch 10 to turn on the pen when in use is provided on said cap 12. Below the cap and on the barrel body 2 is a pocket clip 9 which is used to attach the pen to the users pocket or tool case. The body barrel 2 has a fuse holder in the form of a claw clamp 4 which is attached to the body and holds the fuse 5 when it has been removed or when a spare fuse is required to be stored. Fuses of varying size can be held by the flexible claw clamp. A light button 11 is provided to illuminate the torch LED 8 near the testing tip 7, in the known way, to illuminate the work subject area when in use. Figure 2 shows the volt pen 1A with the fuse 5A removed from the claw clamp 4A and the LED 8A illuminated. The volt pen 1B may have the pry tool 6B located on the end of the pocket clip 9B. The pocket clip 9B connects to the pens barrel body 2B by way of a fitting shaft 14 extending from it which engages with a round rotating collar 13 installed on the pens barrel body. The short fitting shaft 14 is short and it interlocks with the rotating collar 13 to allow the pocket clip to rotate as shown in Figure 3. Once the user has fully rotated the pocket clip 9C and therefore the pry tool 6C, the pocket clip 9C is facing in its opposite direction, see Figure 4. The volt pen 1C is then held in the hand and the rear extending pocket clip and its pry tool 6C are now facing forward from the users hand to pry the fuse from its fitting. Once used the pocket clip is rotated round again back to its normal position to clip the tool into a tool pocket, box, or the users clothing pocket thereto.

Claims

1) A volt pen comprising; known functional features found on volt pens and further having a fuse holder claw clamp attached to its outer surface of the pens barrel body, even further having a fuse pry tool for removing fuses from their fittings, which may be fixed to the end of the removable battery cap on the end of the barrel body of the pen or on the end of a rotating pocket clip with rotating means, on the pen.2) A volt pen as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fuse holder claw clamp is flexible to grip electrical fuses of varying sizes.3) A volt pen as claimed in claim 1 wherein a fuse removing tool is tapered to a narrowed flat end.4) A volt pen as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pocket clip with the pry tool on its end rotates to enable the pry tool to be positioned for use.5) A volt pen as claimed in claim 4 wherein the pocket clip rotates via its rotating means being partially provided by it being mounted onto a short fitting shaft.6) A volt pen as claimed in claim 5 wherein the short fitting shaft engages with non-removable fixture inside further rotating means being a round rotating collar which is attached to the outer barrelled body of the volt pen.7) A volt pen as claimed in claim 6 wherein the short fitting shaft may be statically fixed to the pocket clip but rotates within the rotating collar, the rotating collar may be static to the volt pen body.8) A volt pen as claimed in claim 7 wherein, in use, the pocket clip with its fuse pry tool is rotated by the fingers of the user, preferably to the opposite direction from which it is normally presented on the volt pen.9) A volt pen as claimed in claim 8 wherein, in use, when the user wishes to pry a fuse they simply turn the pocket clip and use the end with the pry tool to remove the fuse from its fitting and then rotates the pocket clip to its original position on the volt pen.A

Images