Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a wrench, in particular relates to a wrench that
is capable of turning an object continuously in the same direction when moving
a handle member in both directions, namely in the screwing on direction and the
direction opposite thereto or vice versa, while keeping engagement by a
stationary jaw and a moving jaw the object is such as a nut or bolt head and
the wrench functions as a ratchet wrench.
In a conventional wrench, the handle member is constructed integrally with
the head member having the stationary jaw and the moving jaw. Due to this,
when the handle member is turned in one direction with the stationary jaw and
the moving jaw of the head member in contact with the object, the object is
screwed on or tightened, but when the handle member is turned in the direction
opposite thereto, the object is screwed off or loosened. In order that the
screwing operation may be conducted continuously, accordingly, it is necessary
to remove the head member from the object being screwed on and change the
engagement of stationary and moving jaws with the object. Therefore, the
conventional wrench is defective in that continuous screwing is available with
difficulty and the work efficiency is not good. In view of this fact, there
has been proposed, wrenches designed to screw turn an object continuously in
one direction by repeatedly turning the handle member in both directions,
namely in the screwing on direction and the direction Opposite thereto, while
keeping engagement of the stationary jaw and the vying jaw with the object
being turned without removing the head member each time from the object
However, such ratchet wrenches are defective in that they are expensive because
their structure is complicated and usually of a large size.
It is an object of this invention to provide a wrench that can eliminate
the drawbacks inherent in the conventional wrenches, can rotate an object being
screwed continuously as the ratchet wrench does, and further can be
manufactured cheaply because its structure is simple.
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cording to this invention, the above object can be achieved by providing
a wrench including a handle member, a head member having a stationary jaw and a
moving jaw, a pivot for pivotal supporting the head member at one end part of
the handle member, and an actuating member for actuating the moving jaw to move
towards the stationary jaw, the moving jaw having an inhibiting means that
engages an engaging part provided at one end part of the handle member in the
normal state for inhibiting the vying jaw from moving away from the stationary
law, such that when the handle member is turned at a fixed angle in the
direction opposite to the screwing direction while retaining engagement with
said head member with an object being screwed, the inhibiting means disengages
from the engaging part and thus the vying jaw is allowed to move in the
direction parting from the stationary jaw against the actuating force generated
from the actuating member.
The invention also provides a wrench that can control the engaging
distance between the stationary jaw and the moving jaw and so is rapidly
applicable to different sized objects being screwed.
The above object can be achieved by the embodiment of this invention
wherein a working means supported movably on the moving jaw is employed as the
inhibiting means, and the working means is designed to include an adjustable
screw thread that meshes with the teeth of the moving jaw and an inhibiting
means that is supported on this adjustable thread and can engage and disengage
the engaging part of the handle member.
IN THE ATTACHED DRAWINGS:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a wrench according
to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned main part plan view illustrating the
operating state of the wrench of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 it a partly sectioned main part front view of the wrench of Fig. 1.
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Fig. 4 is a main part plan view illustrating the operating state of the
wrench of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a main part plan view illustrating a deified embodiment of the
wrench of Fig. 1.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the wrench
according to this invention.
Fig. 7 is a main part exploded perspective view illustrating disassembled
constituting members of the wrench of Fig. 6.
Figs. 8 and 9 are partly sectioned main part plan views illustrating
different operating states of the wrench of Fig. 6.
Referring to the attached drawings, in Figs. 1 to 5, there is shown a
first embodiment of a wrench according to this invention. This wrench 1
includes a handle member 2 and a head member 3. This head member 3 has a
stationary jaw 4 and a moving jaw 5, and is rotatable supported on a support
plate 6 attached to one end part of handle member 2 by a pivot 7. On the side
of the pivot 7 of the head member 3 there is formed a location groove 8.
In this groove 8 there is fitted the upper half of the plate 6 on the side of
pivot 7. In the head member 3 opposed to the lower half of plate 6 there is
formed a slide groove 9. In this groove 9 there is slid ably fitted a base part
2Q 10 of the moving jaw 5. This base part 10 is substantially thinner than the
moving jaw 5. On the end surface of base part 10 in the direction opposed to
the moving jaw 5 there is formed an inhibiting means 11 whose thickness is
substantially the same as that of the vying jaw 5. This inhibiting means 11
it designed to engage an engaging part 12 that has been formed at the lower
half of the fixing plate 6, in the normal state, and inhibit the vying jaw 5
from moving away from the stationary jaw 4. At the central part of the head
member 3 there is formed a hollow 13 in substantially parallel with the fitting
groove 8, one end of said hollow 13 opening in the slide groove 9. A spring
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seat 14 is disposed in the hollow 13. Between the spring seat 14 and the
moving jaw 5 facing the hollow 13 there is interposed a spring 15 that acts to
actuate the moving jaw S to move towards the stationary Jaw 4. Fig. 5 shows a
modification of the aforesaid embodiment. According to this modified
embodiment, a spring bearing plate 17, whose section is channel-shaped, is
attached to the lower end surface of the head member 3 where the slide groove 9
has been formed. Between the spring bearing plate 17 and the base part 10 of
the moving jaw 5 there is interposed a spring 18 that actuates the moving jaw 5
to move toward the stationary jaw 4. The upper half of the plate 6 is
substantially thinner than the lower half thereof because stepped parts 19 have
been formed on both sides of the upper half, and an inhibiting means 20 is
formed to be larger than the inhibiting means 11.
Reference will be made to the operation of the above embodiment as
follows.
As shown in Fig. 2, when screwing an object, namely a nut a, the handle
member 2 is turned downwards in the direction of the arrow while engaging the
stationary jaw 4 and vying jaw 5 of the head member 3 with the flat a of nut
a. In this normal state, the inhibiting means 11 formed at the base part 10 of
the vying jaw 5 engages the engaging part 12 of the plate 6 so that the moving
jaw 5 is inhibited from moving away from the stationary jaw 4. Due to this,
the turning force of the handle member 2 is exerted upon the stationary jaw 4
and the moving jaw 5 so that the nut a is turned and screwed on.
When further turning the nut a, as shown in Fig. 4, the handle member 2 is
turned upwards in the direction of the arrow at such a fixed angle as the end
face 21 of the plate 6 on the side of pivot 7 may abut the bottom of the
fitting groove 8 formed in the head member 3 while still engaging the
stationary jaw 4 and moving jaw 5 with the nut a as mentioned previously. This
turning disengages the engaging part 12 from the inhibiting means 11 and
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exerts, on the moving jaw 5, the reaction force generated at the time when
turning the handle member 2 further upwards. As the result of this, the moving
jaw 5 it allowed to Eve against the actuating force of the spring 15 thereby
to loosen the engagement of the nut a When keeping on turning the handle
member 2 upwards with the nut a as the center, the stationary jaw 4 and moving
jaw 5 pass over the corner a of the nut a. Since the moving jaw 5 has been
actuated to move toward the stationary jaw 4 by the action of the spring 15 at
this time, directly after the completion of this movement, the stationary jaw
and moving jaw engage the next flat a of the nut a. Thereafter, when turning
the handle member 2 downwards at a fixed angle, as shown in Fig. 2, the
engaging part 12 of the fitting plate 6 engages the inhibiting means 11 of the
moving jaw 5 again and the end face 21 of the plate 6 is separated from the
bottom of the fitting groove 8, whereby the original normal state is restored.
The nut a is screwed on by turning the handle member 2 downwards again, as
mentioned previously, from this normal state.
As mentioned above, the nut a is screwed up gradually and rigidly by
repeatedly turning the handle member 2 in both directions, namely downwards and
upwards, while engaging the stationary jaw 4 and moving jaw 5 of the head
member 3 with the nut a. Accordingly, this wrench 1 can screw on the nut a
continuously by turning repeatedly without the trouble of removing the head
member 3 each time from the nut a inspire of its simple structure, and can
enhance the work efficiency markedly. In addition, this wrench 1 can be
manufactured cheaply because its structure is simple.
In Figs. 6 to 9, there is shown a second embodiment of a wrench according
to this invention. This wrench 31 is commonly named a Lobster adjustable
wrench and is basically different from the above mentioned wrench in that the
engaging distance between a stationary jaw 34 and a moving jaw 35 that engages
the nut a can be set properly.
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In the wrench 31, a stepped part 37 is formed at the connecting base part
of each surface of a support plate 36. In a head member 33 there is formed a
location groove 38 that fits up to the location adjacent to the stepped part 37
of the plate 36~ A slide groove 39 is formed in the head member 33 in a
direction opposite to groove 38. In groove 39 there is slid ably fitted a base
part 40 of the moving jaw 35.
Base part 40 is substantially thinner than the moving jaw 35, and is
provided with teeth 41 in the longitudinal direction. An adjusting screw 42
meshes the teeth 41 so that the engaging distance between the stationary jaw 34
and the moving jaw 35 may be arranged properly by sliding the base part 40
along the slide groove 39 by the action of adjusting screws 42. The adjust
screw 42 is received into a rectangular opening 43 formed in the head member 32
in the manner of being insert-fitted in a guide rod 44. This guide rod 44 is
designed so that one end part is screw-attached to the head member 32 and
another end part is located in a slide groove 45 formed in communication with
the fitting groove 38. In the groove 45 there is slid ably fitted a slider 46
that is insert-fitted to another end part of the guide rod 44 adjoining the
adjusting screws 42. The slider 46 is provided with an inhibiting means 49
that is inhibited from rotating by slid ably fitting in the fitting groove 3B
and operates to inhibit the moving jaw 35 from moving away from the stationary
jaw 34 by engaging an engaging part 48 in the normal state, the engaging part
48 being formed at the end part of the fitting plate 36 in the direction
opposite to a pivot 47. Furthermore, the slider 46 has a recessed part 50.
Between the recessed part 50 and an engaging collar 51, provided at the edge of
another end part of the guide rod 44, there is interposed a spring 52 that
actuates the slider 46 to move the moving jaw 35 through the adjusting screws
42 toward the stationary jaw 34.
Reference numeral 53 denotes a spring interposed between plate 6 and the
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head member 3.
In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, when a reaction force is
exerted on the moving jaw 35, the adjusting screw 42 and the slider 46 move on
the guide rod 44 towards the engaging collar 51 against the actuating force of
the spring 52 together with the vying jaw 35, and when the stationary jaw 34
and the moving jaw 35 have passed over the opposite angle a of the nut a, the
adjusting screw and the slider move in the direction opposite thereto together
with the moving jaw 35. This embodiment is different in these points from the
above mentioned embodiment, but those embodiments are substantially identical
in the other points. Therefore, detailed explanations will be omitted. In
this embodiment, furthermore, when screwing up different-sized nuts a, the
adjust screw 42 is turned for moving the moving jaw 35 away from the stationary
jaw 34 and thus the engaging distance between the stationary jaw 34 and the
moving jaw 35 is set correctly.
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