Opening ratchet wrench

Abstract

The invention provides a single-way small-swing-angle ratchet wrench. The wrench is designed to be used for twisting a hexagonal nut fastener axially placed on a hydraulic hose or similar pipeline; the wrench is composed of a pair of two pointed firm shells which face each other and are matched with the mirror image; the shells are combined together through a firm flat filler clamped between handle segments; and the filler further serves as a mechanical support and a distance piece; a head cavity is located in a U-shaped oval head segment of the wrench to contain a wrenching and twisting mechanism, the wrenching and twisting mechanism is composed of an opening ratchet gear provided with a central hexagonal groove of the determined size; through pawls which are arranged in a neck cavity of an assembling tool and arranged in a deflection manner through springs, the gear is subject to ratchet operation, the pawls are continuously and alternatively engaged in a single-way manner, the firm shells on the head are properly molded to allow the gear to protrude on the tooth side face so as to carry out simple direct rotation of the gear, and therefore the gear is aligned with openings of the shells together to be used for jointing and removing of the tool.

Description

Background technique [0001] Wrenches can be divided into two categories: closed end wrenches (also known as ring wrenches) and open end wrenches. Closed end wrenches are those that must be applied axially to a nut, bolt head, or other torque receiving surface, while open end wrenches are those that can be applied axially or radially to a torque receiving surface. [0002] A closed end wrench typically has four to eight contact surfaces and is usually designed to contact all torque receiving surfaces simultaneously. Representatives of this type of wrench are ordinary box wrenches or socket wrenches. Wrenches in this category generally include a twisting head that is rigidly attached to an elongated arm. Torsion of a nut by means of a closed end wrench, especially in confined areas, generally requires continuous placement of the wrench head onto the nut and removal of the wrench head from the nut to complete the torsion operation. [0003] Another type of closed end wrench is...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, no ratchet wrench appears to meet all the essential qualities required for such a wrench as described above

[0007] U.S. Patent Nos. 2,712,256 and 5,501,124 present solutions whereby two pairs of pawls are used to provide bi-directional twisting, resulting in excessive head size and the use of moving parts that excessively increase production costs and make the tool in use prone to dysfunction

Also, because the tool's gears only engage four faces of the nut fastener, this can cause the nut to slip out of position when the tool is in the open configuration, thus interfering with the twisting operation and potentially damaging the tool and assembly

[0009] The tool wrench of US Patent No. 7,895,920 has too many components and thus can be expensive to manufacture and subject to premature wear when in use

Loosening of the wrench from the fastener can be problematic in confined spaces as the ratchet wheel will have to be turned 30° to align the ratchet insert with the open position of the swing collar for opening

[0010] U.S. Patent No. 5,960,679 relies on a complex mechanism that is expensive to manufacture and prone to premature wear with use

The tool's 60° ratchet swing angle may make the tool unusable in confined spaces during ratcheting operations

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