Plier-type gear operated ratchet tool

April 22, 1958 m. p. weiss 2,831,384

FLIER-TYPE GEAR OPERATED RATCHET TOOL

Filed June 8, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

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April 22, 1958 m. p. weiss

2,831,384

PLIER-TYPE GEAR OPERATED RATCHET TOOL

Filed June· 8, 1956

Sheets-Sheet 2

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FIG. 5

INVENTOR.

Marvin R Weiss

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ATTORNEYS

United States Patent Office 2,831,384 ___________________________________ Patented Apr. 22, 1958

2,831,384

FLIER-TYPE GEAR OPERATED RATCHET TOOL Marvin P. Weiss, Jackson Heights, N. Y. Application June 8,1956, Serial No. 590,165 13 Claims. (Cl. 81—57)

This invention relates generally to ratchet wrenches and more particularly to a plier-type gear operated ratchet wrench.

There are many instances when one using a wrench such as a socket wrench does not have the necessary space to move the handle in lever fashion more than a few inches. When a tool of this type is used the bolt or nut which is being loosened or tightened is rotated with each movement of the handle only a fraction of a complete turn. The result is that a long, fatiguing back and forth movement must be undertaken until the bolt or nut is completely loosened or tightened.

. The invention herein disclosed has as its principal object the provision of a socket wrench which will enable the operator to rapidly rotate a bolt or nut which is mounted in such a position that there is little surroundin·» space wherein a tool may be used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a socket wrench which has a mechanical advantage so that slight movement of its handle will effect many rotations of the socket portion and which may be used as an ordinary wrench if it is so desired.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a tool having a socket portion which will be rotated when the tool handle is depressed and will be prevented from rotating when the handle is returned to its original 40 position. °

Another object of this invention is the provision of a saiety means which will prevent the tool from being damaged due to overloading.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro- 45 vide- a speed socket tool which is of simple construction and has relatively few parts so that it may be manufactured inexpensively.

The construction of the speed socket tool and manner of using the same is described herein with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a partially sectional side elevation of a tool embodying my invention;

• 5^S’ ? ’^S, ^{a se&lt;}'^t*°”^{al v}’^ew taken on the drawing shown m Fig. 1 along the line 2—2, showing a socket positioned tor rotation in one direction and another socket shown m phantom positioned for opposite rotation;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectional side elevation of mv invention showing the handle of the tool in a depressed position; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevation in section showing in detail tne interaction of the various gears;

Fig. 5 is a partially sectional side elevation of the tool shown in Fig. 1 with the handle thereof shown partially rotated; ^J

Fig 6 is a segmentary perspective view of the handle ” pivotal mounting.

The invention herein is described in terms of a socket wrench, however, it is to be understood that the socket Head can be adapted to turn a screw or other form of ing about an axis.

_ , . , x - -----— υνινττ vi umci xuilll UI 4 mechanical component of the type which requires turnme annul on αν™ . As shown in the figures, the tool consists of a supporting structure designated generally as 10 which is stamped out of metal and folded to form base 11 and sides 12 and 13 which extend for the length of base 11. At one end of the supporting structure each of the sides is restricted in height so that it can be easily grasped in the hand of an operator.

Member 14 upon which is mounted socket 15 is rotatably supported by sides 12 and 13 in slots 12α and 13α respectively formed in the sides. Member 14 is a conventional shaft having a hexagonal cross-section at each of its end portions. This cross-sectional construction is employed so that conventional socket 15 when placed thereon will be restricted from rotary motion relative to member 14. However, member 14 can have a differently shaped cross-section or any other construction by which relative motion between member 14 and socket 15 is prevented.

The teeth of gear 16 which is also mounted on member 14 mesh with the teeth of gear 17 which is mounted on axial member 18. Axial member 18 is rotatably supported at each of its ends in slots in sides 12 and 13 °^f tool 10. Thus one end of member 18 is supported bv side 12 m slot 126 and the other end of member 18 is supported by side 13 in slot 136. Axial member 18 is thereby supported in a plane parallel to base 11. It will be noted that gear 17 has a greater number of teeth than gear 16 thereby effecting a step-up gear ratio between gear 17 and gear 16. The operation of pinion 19 which is also mounted on axial member 18 will be explained below. ^r

The ends of axial member 20 are fitted in slots 21 and 22 in sides 12 and 13 respectively. Member 20 is a cylindrical shaft forming an axis which supports gear section 23 and about which the gear section can pivot It will be noted from Fig. 1 that slots 21 and 22 are identical and, elongated having their major axes forming the same angle with base 11 of structure 10. Semi-circular members 24 and 25 which are identical and in spaced relation ^t0.each other extend from an end of handle 26. Members 24 and 25 partially encircle shaft 20 thereby forming a pivotal mounting for handle 26. Members 24 and 25 are so spaced that section 23 is supported by shaft 20 between them and so that there can be relative roand25 ^between section 23 and members 24

Section 23 and handle 26 have surfaces thereon desigwh^ted a⁷ T^{d r}?^sP^ectively which abut against each other when the handle is,not completely depressed such as seen Lhto and section 23 has in addition portion designated 29, which is formed to receive end 30 of leaf spring 31 as seen in Fig. 1. ^s

Leaf spring 31 is maintained on handle 26 by being snugly held between the top handle 26 and pin 32 which is rigidly fastened to the handle. Portion 33 of handle 26 maintains end 34 of leaf spring 31 in position on the ΠαΏΟΙβ.

It is seen in Fig. 1 that when the handle 26 is not comen fw^{ly dep}^{essed sectl0n 23} « held in position by the 60 abutment of surfaces 27 and 28 and end 30 of leaf spring 31 which is engaging portion 29 of section 23. It is also noted that leaf spring 31 is held in such position that it is slightly arcuate. The reason for this will be explained below when the operation of the tool is considered Wi^snri™⁶™¹¹^ °^{f aXhl member 20 is in contact}with spring 35 which is mounted on cover 36 at 37 and winch yieldmgly presses member 20 downwardly in slots 1 an^d 22. Spring 35 cannot, however, force member τη _t^{Upper P0Slti0n in slots 21 and 22} when the ^{e not depressed}· This is because the underlying surface 23α of gear section 23 is so formed that it is in contact with base 11 when the handle is in this position.

2,831,884 counterclockwise since counterclockwise rotation of gear 40 will force tooth 42 of pawl 41 into the teeth of gear 40 and prevent further counterclockwise rotation of member 14.

When handle 26 is released member 20 moves upwardly in slots 21 and 22 against the action of spring 35 thereby causing the teeth of gear section 23 to disengage themselves from the teeth of gear 19.

In the present embodiment gear section 23 has the same number of teeth as gear 19. Gear 17 has 32 teeth and gear 16 has 16 teeth giving a ratio of two to one. The gear section 23 moves through an arc of one inch and the handle 24 moves through an arc of four inches. This is a mechanical advantage of four; but with the two to one ratio, the net mechanical advantage is two. The net mechanical advantage may be changed, however, by altering the various ratios.

An important feature of this invention is the overload protection feature. If an operator attempts to use the tool to rotate a bolt which was restricted from rotation the gears of the tool would be stripped were not this safety feature provided.

Considering Fig. 1, it is seen that end 30 of leaf spring 31 is maintained at portion 29 of section 23 by means of ²⁵ friction force. This force is sufficient to keep end 30 in portion 29 during normal operation. If, however, an overload condition is reached member 14 would not turn and section 23 would not rotate but the operator would continue attempting to bring handle 26 in contact ³⁰ with base 11. Since gear 23 is under this condition rigid, the friction which maintains end 30 in portion 29 would be overcome before any of the gears are damaged and end 30 would rotate about shaft 20 until it became flush with base 11 but gear section 23 would not rotate and ³® the condition seen in Fig. 3 would be achieved. Upon release of handle 26, it would return to the released position due to the action of spring 38.

Thus, among others, the several objects in the invention as specifically aforenoted are achieved.

Obviously, numerous changes in construction and arrangement of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.