Patent Application
20250114918
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The disclosure relates to wrench devices and more particularly pertains to a new wrench device for facilitating an adjustable wrench to be adjusted when a head of the adjustable wrench is positioned in a difficult to access location. The device includes an adjustable wrench that includes a fixed jaw and a movable jaw and an adjustment mechanism that is in mechanical communication with the movable jaw. The adjustment mechanism includes a knob rotatably disposed on a distal end of a handle of the wrench to facilitate the movable jaw to be adjusted when the fixed jaw and the movable jaw are positioned in a difficult to access location.
The prior art relates to wrench devices including a variety of adjustable wrenches that each at least includes a movable jaw that is urgeable upwardly toward or downwardly away from a fixed jaw and a knob that is located on a handle of the wrench for adjusting the movable jaw. In no instance does the prior art disclose an adjustable wrench that includes a movable jaw that is laterally slidable toward or away from a fixed jaw and a knob that is located on a handle of the wrench for adjusting the movable jaw.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a wrench that has a head and a handle extending away from the head. The head including a fixed jaw and a movable jaw and the movable jaw is slidable toward or away from the fixed jaw to engage fasteners of varying dimensions. An adjustment mechanism is movably integrated into the wrench and the adjustment mechanism is in mechanical communication with the movable jaw thereby facilitating the adjustment mechanism to urge the movable jaw toward or away from the fixed jaw. The adjustment mechanism includes a knob that is rotatably disposed on the handle to facilitate a user to grip the knob when the head is positioned in a tight location thereby facilitating the user to adjust the movable jaw while the head is positioned in the tight location.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The fixed jaw 18 extends upwardly from a top surface 24 of the head 14 at a point located adjacent to a first lateral side 26 of the head 14. The fixed jaw 18 has a first lateral surface 28 that is perpendicularly oriented with the top surface 24 and a second lateral surface 30 sloping downwardly between the first lateral surface 28 and the first lateral side 26 of the head 14. Furthermore, the first lateral surface 28 can abut a respective one of a plurality of intersecting sides 32 of the fastener 22.
The head 14 has a slot 34 extending downwardly into the top surface 24 and the slot 34 extends between the first lateral side 26 of the head 14 and a second lateral side 36 of the head 14. The slot 34 has a rounded portion 38 that is spaced downwardly from the top surface 24 of the head 14 and the rounded portion 38 has a bounding surface 40 that is concavely arcuate with respect to the top surface 24 such that the rounded portion 38 has a circular shape. The head 14 has a gear chamber 42 that is positioned within the head 14 and the gear chamber 42 is positioned beneath the rounded portion 38 of the slot 34. The gear chamber 42 is elongated along an axis which extends between the first lateral side 26 and the second lateral side 36 of the head 14 and the gear chamber 42 is positioned closer to the second lateral side 36 than the first lateral side 26. The head 14 has a first rod hole 44 extending between the first lateral side 26 of the head 14 and the gear chamber 42 and the head 14 has a second rod hole 46 extending between the second lateral side 36 of the head 14 and the gear chamber 42.
The handle 16 extends downwardly from a bottom surface 48 of the head 14 and the handle 16 is substantially hollow. The handle 16 has a distal end 50 with respect to the bottom surface 48 and the distal end 50 is open into an interior of the handle 16. Furthermore, the interior of the handle 16 is in fluid communication with the gear chamber 42 in the head 14. The movable jaw 20 has a foot 52 that is slidably positioned in the slot 34 in the top surface 24 of the head 14. The foot 52 has a first end 54 and a second end 56 and the foot 52 is elongated between the first end 54 and the second end 56. Additionally, the foot 52 has a lobe 58 that is positioned in the rounded portion 38 of the slot 34 thereby inhibiting the foot 52 from being removed from the slot 34. The movable jaw 20 is positioned closer to the second end 56 of the foot 52 than the first end 54 of the foot 52.
The movable jaw 20 has a plurality of teeth 60 which each extend downwardly from the lobe 58 on the foot 52. The teeth 60 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed from the second end 56 of the foot 52 toward the first end 54 of the foot 52. Furthermore, each of the plurality of teeth 60 extends downwardly into the gear chamber 42. The movable jaw 20 has a primary lateral surface 62 that is perpendicularly oriented with an upper surface 64 of the foot 52 and the primary lateral surface 62 faces the first lateral surface 28 of the fixed jaw 18. In this way the primary lateral surface 62 can abut a respective one of the plurality of intersecting sides 32 of the fastener 22.
An adjustment mechanism 66 is movably integrated into the wrench 12 and the adjustment mechanism 66 is in mechanical communication with the movable jaw 20 thereby facilitating the adjustment mechanism 66 to urge the movable jaw 20 toward or away from the fixed jaw 18. The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a knob 68 that is rotatably disposed on the handle 16 such that the knob 68 can be gripped by a user 70 when the head 14 is positioned in a tight location. In this way the user 70 can adjust the movable jaw 20 while the head 14 is positioned in the tight location.
The adjustment mechanism 66 comprises a worm gear 72 that is rotatably positioned within the gear chamber 42. The worm gear 72 engages each of the plurality of teeth 60 which extend downwardly from the lobe 58 of the foot 52. Additionally, the worm gear 72 has an axis of rotation that is oriented parallel to an axis extending between the first end 54 and the second end 56 of the foot 52. The movable jaw 20 is urged to travel toward the fixed jaw 18 when the worm gear 72 is rotated in a first direction and the movable jaw 20 is urged to travel away from the fixed jaw 18 when the worm gear 72 is rotated in a second direction.
The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a first shaft 74 that is coupled to and extends away from a primary end 76 of the worm gear 72 and the first shaft 74 is positioned in the first rod hole 44 in the head 14. The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a second shaft 78 that is coupled to and extends away from a secondary end 77 of the worm gear 72. The second shaft 78 is positioned in the second rod hole 46 in the head 14 and the first shaft 74 and the second shaft 78 rotatably retains the worm gear 72 in the gear chamber 42. The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a first gear 79 that is positioned around the first shaft 74 such that the first gear 79 abuts the primary end 76 of the worm gear 72.
The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a drive shaft 80 that has a lower end 82 and an upper end 84. The drive shaft 80 is positioned within the handle 16 such that the upper end 84 is positioned in the gear chamber 42 and the lower end 82 is positioned adjacent to the distal end 50 of the handle 16. The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a pair of bearings 86 that is each positioned within the handle 16. The drive shaft 80 extends through each of the pair of bearings 86 such that each of the pair of bearings 86 retains the drive shaft 80 in a preferred orientation.
The adjustment mechanism 66 includes a second gear 88 that is coupled to the upper end 84 of the drive shaft 80. The second gear 88 has a rotational axis that is perpendicularly oriented to a rotational axis of the second gear 88. Furthermore, the second gear 88 enmeshes with the first gear 79 such that the worm gear 72 rotates when the drive shaft 80 is rotated. An upper surface 90 of the knob 68 is attached to the lower end 82 of the shaft. The worm gear 72 rotates in the first direction when the knob 68 is rotated in a tightening direction. Conversely, the worm gear 72 rotates in the second direction when the knob 68 is rotated in a loosening direction. Additionally, an exterior surface 92 of the knob 68 is knurled to enhance gripping the exterior surface 92 for rotating the knob 68.
In use, the handle 16 of the wrench 12 is gripped to facilitate the head 14 of the wrench 12 to be positioned in a preferred orientation to position the fastener 22 between the fixed jaw 18 and the movable jaw 20. The knob 68 is rotated in the first direction to facilitate the fastener 22 to be enclosed between the fixed jaw 18 and the movable jaw 20. In this way the movable jaw 20 can be adjusted when the head 14 of the wrench 12 is positioned in a tight location that would not allow the user 70 to effectively reach the head 14. Thus, a variety of sizes of fasteners 22 can be broken loose, or tightened, with the wrench 12 even when the fasteners 22 are located in a difficult to reach location.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, device and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
