Wrenches, specifically ratcheting wrenches are well known to those in the art, Generally, most ratcheting wrenches consist or a gear with teeth and a spring-loaded finger, or pawl making contact with the teeth. By the internal mechanics of these types of ratcheting wrenches, as the year rotates in an unrestricted direction the pawl rides along the teeth and when it passes over a tooth the spring will force the pawl back in contact with the gear. This creates an audible “click.” The audible click signals to the user that the wrench is turning in the unrestricted. direction.
Alternatively, some wrenches employ a type of one-way freewheel clutch to provide one-way operation. This type of wrench may comprise a plurality of rollers placed in the space between the outer surface of a one-way freewheel clutch member having a through-hole for receiving an article to be turned and the inner surface of an outer box-end member. When the wrench turns in the restricted direction, the shape of the one-way freewheel clutch member promotes the wedging of the rollers between the one-way freewheel clutch member and the outer member, thereby essentially locking the two together. However, when burned in the unrestricted direction, the rollers will move along with the one-way freewheel clutch member along inside surface of the outer member. Unlike the ratcheting wrench, a one-way freewheel n clutch. wrench. makes no audible sound when turning in the unrestricted direction. This may be problematic as there is no audible or tactile feedback from the wrench. to know whether the wrench is “reloading” or just rotating along with the article being tightened or loosened.
The present invention relates to a one-way freewheel clutch type wrench, more specifically to an indicator mechanism for providing audible and tactile feedback when a one-way freewheel clutch wrench is rotating in the unrestricted direction. The mechanism indicator comprises a toothed wheel or “ratchet” wheel fixedly attached to a one-way freewheel clutch member and at least one indicator member which interacts with the ratchet wheel as it rotates relative to the wrench. handle in the unrestricted direction to create audible and tactile feedback to a user.
One aspect of the invention provides a gearless wrench having a box end; a freewheel clutch socket, with a collar, positioned within the box end; a ratchet wheel, with ratchet teeth, securely fastened to the collar of the freewheel clutch socket; and an indicator placed within the box end and in contact with the ratchet teeth.
The gearless wrench may also have a snap-ring groove located in the box end, a cover elate configured to cover the ratchet wheel and the indicator, and a snap-ring positioned against the cover plate and within the snap-ring groove to retain the freewheel clutch socket and the ratchet wheel, the indicator, and the cover plate within the box end. The indicator may be a leaf spring. The indicator may also be a plurality of leaf springs. The ratchet wheel may be friction-fit to the collar of the freewheel clutch socket.
Another aspect of the invention provides a gearless wrench configured to provide auditory and/or tactile feedback during reloading, the gearless wrench having a box end comprising an indicator pocket; a freewheel clutch socket, with a collar, positioned within the box end; a ratchet wheel, with ratchet teeth, securely fastened to the collar of the freewheel clutch socket; and an indicator placed within the indicator pocket and in contact with the ratchet teeth.
The gearless wrench may also have a snap-ring groove located in the box end, a cover plate configured to cover the ratchet and the indicator, and a snap-ring positioned against the cover plate and within the snap-ring groove to retain the freewheel clutch socket and the ratchet wheel, the indicator, and the cover plate within the box end. The indicator may be a leaf spring. The indicator may also be a plurality of leaf springs. The ratchet wheel may be friction-fit to the collar of the freewheel clutch socket.
Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structures. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.
A completely assembled one-way freewheel clutch wrench 10 having a one-way freewheel clutch socket 20 inside a box-end 30 according to the present invention is shown in
Looking to
As the handle is turned in the direction of arrow A (
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.
This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/806,070, tiled on 28 Mar. 2013.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61806070 | Mar 2013 | US |