Torque Limiting Wrench with Pivot Jaw for Tight Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
In fluid flow applications, closely packed fittings make it difficult to access individual fittings for tightening, increasing the risk of leakage, despite the use of high-quality flared tube ends that minimize leaks.
Innovation Solution
A torque limiting wrench with a pivot jaw mechanism that applies pre-calibrated torque to nuts on fittings, allowing for transverse engagement and incremental tightening, ensuring consistent and secure connections without the need for axial alignment, thus facilitating use in tight spaces and reducing leakage risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If closely packed fittings are used to reduce footprint size, then the assembly size is minimized, but the accessibility to individual fittings for tightening becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The wrench jaw is segmented into multiple teeth that can engage with different portions of the nut, allowing the wrench to access nuts at various angles and positions within the tightly packed assembly without requiring direct axial alignment
Solution Approach 2:
The wrench mechanism transitions from requiring axial engagement to enabling transverse engagement by allowing the jaw to pivot and approach the nut from perpendicular directions, effectively moving the engagement approach to another dimensional plane
2Device complexity
If traditional wrenches requiring axial alignment are used, then the tightening mechanism is simple, but the ability to access fittings in tight spaces is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The wrench jaw is made dynamic through a pivot connection that allows it to rotate from an initial transverse position to a final axial position during the tightening stroke, enabling both compact access and effective torque application
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot jaw mechanism acts as an intermediary that transforms the user's input motion into the required tightening motion, mediating between the limited access space and the nut that needs to be tightened
3Ease of operation
If manual tightening without torque control is used, then the operation is simple and quick, but consistent torque application is difficult leading to leakage risks
Solution Approach 1:
The wrench incorporates a torque-limiting mechanism with a breakaway joint that provides tactile feedback to the operator when the pre-calibrated torque is reached, ensuring consistent and reliable torque application without requiring the operator to estimate or judge the appropriate tightening force
Solution Approach 2:
The wrench is self-regulating through its pre-calibrated torque mechanism, automatically limiting the torque applied to the nut without requiring external monitoring or adjustment by the operator
Data Source
AI summary
A torque limiting wrench for tightening nuts on a fitting, and a jaw structure for the wrench. An exemplary embodiment of the wrench includes a handle structure, the jaw structure pivotably mounted to the handle for movement between a tightening position and a fully tightened position. A mechanism applies a force to hold the jaw structure in the tightening position, and allows the jaw to pivot to the fully tightened position when a pre-set torque limit is exceed. The jaw structure including a plurality of spaced teeth supported on a curved jaw arm and having a circumferential extent of less than one half the entire circumference of the nut to be tightened, so that the jaw structure can be engaged to the nut without requiring an axial movement from a first end of the nut toward a second end of the nut.