1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to means for removing nails, pins, spikes and the like from wood and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various means and methods have been developed over the years for use in extracting or removing nails, pins, spikes and the like from wood and the like. Perhaps, the most common nail extraction tools are the typical claw hammer and the typical crowbar. These tools require the user to force the distal end of the claw hammer or crowbar under the head of the nail, and then to use the claw hammer or crowbar as a lever to urge the head of the nail upward. The problems associated with removing a nail or the like that has been completely driven into a workpiece or the like so that the head of the nail is flush or even slightly below the outer surface of the workpiece are well known and include sever damage to the surface of the workpiece, injury to the worker attempting to use a claw hammer or crowbar to remove such nails, etc. Typically, a claw hammer, crowbar or pry bar is used to first pry the workpiece from its attached structure in hopes of exposing the head of the nail. However, this often results in breaking the lumber or underlying structure. Present devices and methods used to remove nails holding plywood or sheeting to existing structure usually results in broken plywood or sheeting.
A preliminary patentability search was conducted in class 254, subclasses 18, 20 and 21.
Devine, U.S. Pat. No. 155,429, issued Sep. 29, 1874, discloses a spike extractor for removing spikes from wood. The spike extractor includes a frame, a screw mounted for vertical movement in the frame, a grapple for being attached to the lower end of the screw and having a pair of jaws for being driven into the wood around the upper end of the spike, and a becket or ring for compressing the jaws against the spike so that rotation of the screw will cause the grapple to move and cause the spike to be extracted from the wood.
Baumeister, U.S. Pat. No. 401,113, issued Apr. 9, 1889, discloses a nail extractor for withdrawing nails from wood. The nail extractor includes a shell, a sliding carrier mounted within the shell, jaws within the carrier projecting below the carrier and having inwardly-turned edges at their extremities to undercut the head of a nail, a spring for urging the jaws downward, another spring for opening the jaws when raised, and cam means for turning the carrier and jaws backward to cut away the wood from under the head of the nail and for raising them straight outward to withdraw the nail from the wood.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 559,803, issued May 12, 1896, discloses a horseshoe-calk extractor including a tubular body, a branched standard received in one end of the body, a pair of semicylindrical clamping-jaws coupled to one end of the standard, and a cam-crank arm combination coupled to the other end of the standard for drawing the standard and the clamping jaws into the body.
Morrill, U.S. Pat. No. 712,083, issued Oct. 28, 1902, discloses a spike extractor including an upright frame, a lifting block mounted for vertical movement within the frame, a lever cam pivotally attached to the frame for engaging the lifting block through antifriction rollers, and a pair of gripping jaws coupled to the lifting block through a rod whereby movement of the lever cam will cause vertical movement of the lifting block and, thereby, the gripping jaws.
Swallert, U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,649, issued Feb. 21, 1956, discloses a pneumatic spike extractor including a pneumatic piston having a piston rod, two jaws pivotably mounted on the outer end of the rod, a double-armed lever pivotably mounted on the piston rod for locking the jaws in an opened position when the piston rod is retracted and in a gripping position when the piston rod is protruded.
Mustoe, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,576, issued Sep. 7, 1976, discloses a nail extractor including a cylinder, a piston reciprocable in the cylinder under the influence of fluid pressure, a pair of gripping jaws located externally of the cylinder, at least one of which is movable between nail gripping and non-gripping positions as a result of mechanical interactions between the piston and the movable jaw upon displacement of the piston towards and away from the jaws under the action of fluid pressure.
Saurwein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,766, issued Mar. 14, 1978, discloses a fluid actuated nail extractor including a pair of jaws pivotally mounted on a reciprocable rod. An impact piston impacting a second rod coupled to the jaws closes the jaws about a nail embedded in a workpiece when the extractor is positioned adjacent the nail. A second piston actuates the reciprocable rod to extract the nail from the workpiece. Pressurized fluid, controlled by a plurality of poppet valves, drives the pistons through a predetermined sequence of operations.
Nothing in the prior art discloses or suggests the present invention. More specifically, nothing in the prior art discloses or suggests a nail extractor including a body member having a first end and a second end; at least three leg members, each of the leg members having a first end and a second end, the first end of each of the leg members being attached to the second end of the body member; and collar means slidably positioned over at least a portion of the leg members for causing the second ends of the leg members to be urged inwardly.