Patent Application
20210101262
The present application relates to the field of manual tools, and in particular to a pipe wrench.
An existing pipe wrench generally comprises a fixed wrench body having a holding part, an L-shaped movable wrench body slidable relative to the fixed wrench body, and an adjustment element used to adjust and fix the position of the movable wrench body relative to the fixed wrench body. A front end of the fixed wrench body is provided with a sliding through hole. The movable wrench body is slidably disposed in the sliding through hole. A fixed jaw is disposed on the fixed wrench body, and a movable jaw opposite the fixed jaw is disposed on the movable wrench body, so as to form a gripping gap between the movable jaw and the fixed jaw. In addition, a certain gap is provided between the movable wrench body and the sliding through hole, and a corresponding spring is disposed in the sliding through hole, so that the movable wrench body can elastically swing by a small angle relative to the fixed wrench body, and an opening between the movable jaw and the fixed jaw forms a bell-mouth-shaped shape with the size decreasing from outside to inside. When a circular pipe needs to be gripped and rotated, the adjustment element is first used to adjust the position of the movable wrench body relative to the fixed wrench body, so that the gripping gap between the movable jaw and the fixed jaw is slightly less than the diameter of the circular pipe, and the circular pipe is then pushed into the gripping gap through the opening between the movable jaw and the fixed jaw. Because there is a certain fitting gap between the movable wrench body and the fixed wrench body, the movable wrench body may form a relatively small swing angle relative to the fixed wrench body. When the circular pipe is pushed into the gripping gap, the movable wrench body overcomes the elastic force of the spring to swing by a relatively small angle. In this case, the opening between the movable jaw and the fixed jaw has a bell-mouth-shaped shape with the size decreasing from outside to inside, so that the circular pipe is conveniently pushed into the gripping gap and the movable jaw and is tightly attached to the fixed jaw. When the holding part is held by a hand to rotate the pipe wrench, the circular pipe may be driven by the friction between the fixed jaw, the movable jaw, and the circular pipe to rotate.
Next, the existing pipe wrench has the following deficiencies: A structure, such as a recess or a protrusion, used to mount or position a member such as a spring further needs to be disposed in the sliding through hole at the front end of the fixed wrench body. An existing machining method using a cutting machine cannot be used to perform secondary machining inside the sliding through hole of the movable wrench body. That is, the structure such as the recess and the protrusion in the sliding through hole cannot be formed through secondary machining. Therefore, an existing fixed wrench body is usually manufactured by using a casting process, so that the structure such as the recess and the protrusion is directly molded inside the sliding through hole. It is known that the casting process has relatively low production efficiency and relatively high production costs, and a molded sand core for casting cannot be reused. In addition, the cast fixed wrench body has relatively low strength. The fixed wrench body needs to bear a relatively heavy load such as a bending moment. Therefore, only the size of the fixed wrench body can be increased to provide the fixed wrench body with sufficient strength. As a result, the overall weight of the pipe wrench increases, the workload of the operator increases, and it demands more effort for the operator to keep using the pipe wrench for a long time.
Therefore, a person skilled in the art strives to develop a pipe wrench that is light in overall weight, is convenient to use, is convenient for machining and grooving, and can reduce the manufacturing costs.
In view of the above deficiencies in the prior art, the technical problem to be resolved by the present application is to provide a pipe wrench that is light in overall weight, is convenient to use, is convenient for machining and grooving, and can reduce the manufacturing costs.
To achieve the above objective, the present application provides a pipe wrench, comprising a first portion, a second portion, and an adjustment element;
the first portion comprising:
a holding part;
a mounting part disposed at one end of the holding part; and
a first jaw disposed at one end, away from the holding part, of the mounting part; the second portion comprising:
an adjustment part adjustably connected to the first portion;
a gripping part disposed at one end of the adjustment part; and
a second jaw disposed on the gripping part and located opposite the first jaw; and
the adjustment element being disposed between the first portion and the adjustment part and configured to adjust the distance between the first jaw and the second jaw; wherein
the mounting part has a sliding cavity provided therein penetrating in a lengthwise direction of the first portion, and the adjustment part is adjustably connected in the sliding cavity;
an elastic element is disposed in the sliding cavity, and the elastic element is configured to apply an elastic force to the adjustment part; and
the pipe wrench further comprises a seal cover detachably blocking the sliding cavity.
In some embodiments, optionally, the first portion is integrally formed by forging.
In some embodiments, optionally, an outer side of the mounting part is provided with a notch penetrating inward through the sliding cavity, and the seal cover is fixed on the notch.
In some embodiments, optionally, the notch is provided at an upper side, away from the first portion, of the mounting part, and the sliding cavity is located in the middle of the notch in a thickness direction.
In some embodiments, optionally, the notch is provided at one side, in a thickness direction, of the mounting part.
In some embodiments, optionally, a swing gap allowing the adjustment part to swing is provided between the sliding cavity and the adjustment part.
In some embodiments, optionally, a first groove and a second groove are separately provided at two sides, in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion, of the sliding cavity; and wherein a first elastic element is provided in the first groove, and a second elastic element is provided in the second groove.
In some embodiments, optionally, the pipe wrench further comprises a connecting piece, wherein a first edge of the connecting piece bends to form a first stop piece attached to the adjustment part; a second edge, opposite the first edge, on the connecting piece bends to form a second stop piece attached to the adjustment part; the connecting piece, the first stop piece and the second stop piece form a U-shaped groove; and the adjustment part is movably located in the U-shaped groove.
In some embodiments, optionally, the sliding cavity is bell-mouth-shaped, and an opening at one end, away from the holding part, of the sliding cavity is larger than an opening at one end, near the holding part, of the sliding cavity; and one end, near the holding part, of the second stop piece is attached to a side wall of the sliding cavity, and the swing gap is provided between the adjustment part and an upper side wall of one end, near the holding part, of the sliding cavity and between upper and lower side walls of one end, near the first jaw, of the sliding cavity.
In some embodiments, optionally, the first elastic element comprises a column-shaped first compression spring, with one end of the first compression spring abutting the first stop piece, and the other end of the first compression spring abutting a side wall of the first groove; and the second elastic element comprises a column-shaped second compression spring, with one end of the second compression spring abutting the second stop piece, and the other end of the second compression spring abutting a side wall of the second groove.
In some embodiments, optionally, the first stop piece is provided with a first rectangular through hole, the first elastic element comprises a first elastic piece integrally extending outward obliquely from a width edge on one side of the first rectangular through hole, with a suspended end of the first elastic piece abutting the side wall of the first groove; and the second stop piece is provided with a second rectangular through hole, the second elastic element comprises a second elastic piece integrally extending outward obliquely from a width edge on one side of the second rectangular through hole, with a suspended end of the second elastic piece abutting a side wall of the second groove.
In some embodiments, optionally, the first elastic element comprises a column-shaped first compression spring, with one end of the first compression spring abutting the first stop piece, and the other end of the first compression spring abutting a side wall of the first groove; and the second stop piece is provided with a second rectangular through hole, the second elastic element comprises a second elastic piece integrally extending outward obliquely from a width edge on one side of the second rectangular through hole, with a suspended end of the second elastic piece abutting a side wall of the second groove.
In some embodiments, optionally, the first jaw is detachably mounted on the mounting part.
In some embodiments, optionally, a sliding groove is provided at one side, opposite the gripping part, of the mounting part, the first jaw comprises a connecting part, and the connecting part is located in the sliding groove and connected to the mounting part by means of a pin shaft.
In some embodiments, optionally, a third groove is provided at a connection between the holding part and the mounting part, the adjustment element is an adjusting screw sleeve threaded on the adjustment part, and the adjusting screw sleeve is partially located in the third groove.
In some embodiments, optionally, the first portion is provided with a slot hole extending in the lengthwise direction of the first component, at least one obliquely arranged rib plate is disposed in the slot hole, and one of the at least one rib plate is disposed in a position, corresponding to the adjustment element, in the slot hole.
In some embodiments, optionally, an included angle between the rib plate and the lengthwise direction of the first portion is 40 degrees to 70 degrees.
In some embodiments, optionally, the number of the rib plates is 3-4.
In some embodiments, optionally, the slot hole penetrates two side surfaces in a thickness direction of the first portion.
In some embodiments, optionally, the slot hole penetrates at least part of a lower surface of the first portion.
The advantages of the present application are as follows:
1. Restricted by process conditions, a cast fixed wrench body (the first portion) is prone to defects such as air holes, resulting in low overall strength. Therefore, a pipe wrench needs to have a relatively large size to ensure sufficient strength, and consequently has a relatively large weight. In addition, the fixed jaw (the first jaw) and a mounting part usually need to be separately manufactured to provide the fixed jaw (the first jaw) with sufficient hardness and stiffness. In the present application, a notch is provided in an outer side of the mounting part and is used to mount the seal cover, so as to turn the fixed wrench body (the first portion) into a joint structure. In this case, the sliding cavity becomes an open structure. In this way, the fixed wrench body may be manufactured by using a use forging process. Correspondingly, the open sliding cavity may be directly molded by using a forging process, so as to omit a subsequent machining procedure and help reduce manufacturing costs.
2. A forging process can eliminate air hole defects, as-cast loose defects, and the like during metal smelting, thereby optimizing micro-structure, and at the same time a complete metal streamline can be saved, thereby significantly improving mechanical performance such as strength and stiffness. Therefore, the material of the fixed wrench body (the first portion) may be appropriately selected, and a forging process is combined to minimize the size of the fixed wrench body (the first portion), especially the holding part, while the fixed wrench body (the first portion) is provided with sufficient strength, thereby reducing the weight of the pipe wrench. In this way, material consumption can be reduced, and the operation of a user facilitated. Further, the slot hole and the rib plate may be disposed at the holding part to further reduce material consumption.
3. The fixed wrench body (the first portion) with relatively high strength enables the fixed jaw (the first jaw) to be integrally formed by forging with the mounting part, and a thermal treatment process is performed to provide the fixed wrench body with sufficient hardness and stiffness, thereby facilitating assembly and improving the combining strength between the fixed jaw and the mounting part. Further, the open sliding cavity facilitates the assembly of the movable wrench body and the like, and a sliding cavity with a complex shape can be designed according to an actual requirement, thereby making the structural design more convenient.
The concept, specific structure, and resulting technical effect of the present application are further described below in conjunction with the drawings to fully understand the object, features and effects of the present application.
In the figures: 1—first portion, 11—holding part, 12—mounting part, 13—first jaw, 14—third groove, 15—seal cover, 16—first slot hole, 17—first rib plate, 18—second rib plate, 19—third rib plate, 101—central line, 102—second slot hole, 103—fourth rib plate, 104—fifth rib plate, 105—sixth rib plate, 106—hanging hole, 107—anti-skid part, 121—sliding cavity, 122—notch, 123—first groove, 124—second groove, 125—swing gap, 126—sliding groove, and 131—connecting part;
Preferred embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the drawings of the specification to make the technical contents clearer and easier to understand. The present application can be embodied in various forms of embodiments, and the scope of protection of the present application is not limited to the embodiments mentioned herein.
In the drawings, the same reference numeral indicates elements having the same structure, and similar reference numerals indicate assemblies having similar structures or functions throughout. The size and thickness of each assembly shown in the figures are shown arbitrarily, and the present application does not define the size and thickness of each assembly. In order to make the illustration clearer, the thickness of the element in some places of the figures is appropriately exaggerated.
As shown in
The mounting part 12 protrudes in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the first portion 1 to form a protruding part. The protruding part is provided with a penetrating sliding cavity 121 in the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1. The adjustment part 21 is slidably connected in the sliding cavity 121, and a swing gap 125 (as shown in
The sliding cavity 121 is an open structure. That is, in addition to two openings for the adjustment part 21 to pass through, the sliding cavity 121 further has an opening. During mounting, the adjustment part 21 is placed in the sliding cavity 121, and a seal cover 15 is then used to cover the sliding cavity 121, so that the first portion 1 is turned into a joint structure. The first portion 1 is manufactured by using a forging process. The open sliding cavity 121 may be directly molded by using a forging process. Compared with a conventional casting process, a subsequent machining procedure is omitted, thereby helping reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, a forging process can eliminate air hole defects, as-cast loose defects, and the like during metal smelting, thereby optimizing micro-structure, and at the same time a complete metal streamline is saved, thereby significantly improving mechanical performance such as strength and stiffness of the first portion 1. Therefore, the material of the first portion 1 may be appropriately selected, and a forging process is combined to minimize the size of the first portion 1, especially the holding part 11, while the first portion 1 is provided with sufficient strength, thereby reducing the weight.
To facilitate both the forging of the first portion 1 and the assembly of the pipe wrench, a concave mounting notch 122 is provided in an outer side of the mounting part 12. The notch 122 extends into the mounting part 12 to penetrate the sliding cavity 121. A bottom surface of the notch 122 forms a joint interface mounted between the notch 122 and the sliding cavity 121. The seal cover 15 is mounted on the joint interface, so as to cover the sliding cavity 121, so that the mounting part 12 forms the joint structure.
In a preferred implementation, as shown in
During the working of the pipe wrench, the first portion 1 mainly bears a bending moment in a vertical direction. As can be seen from the theory of mechanics of materials, the width of the mounting part 12 in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1 mainly helps increase the flexural strength of the pipe wrench. The size of the first portion 1 in the lengthwise direction does not greatly affect the flexural strength of the pipe wrench. Therefore, by means of this implementation, the width of the mounting part 12 can be minimized.
In another preferred implementation, as shown in
To enable the adjustment part 21 to be elastically positioned in the sliding cavity and form the swing gap 125 between the adjustment part 21 and the sliding cavity 121 to make it convenient for the adjustment part 21 to swing back and forth in the sliding cavity 121 in the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1. Grooves may be separately provided in two sides, in the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1, of the sliding cavity 121. That is, a first groove 123 is provided in an upper side in the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1, and a second groove 124 is provided in the lower side in the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1. An elastic element elastically abutting the adjustment part 21 is separately disposed in the first groove 123 and the second groove 124. In this way, each of the elastic elements on both sides in the vertical direction applies a pretightening elastic force to the adjustment part 21 to elastically position the adjustment part 21 in the sliding cavity 121. When a pipe is clamped in the opening 231 between the first jaw 13 and the second jaw 23 of the pipe wrench, the pipe applies upward torque to the second portion 2. The second portion 2 swings upward by an angle. Correspondingly, the gap of the opening 231 is slightly expanded. In this case, the elastic elements enable the first jaw 13 and the second jaw 23 to apply pretightening gripping forces to the pipe, so as to apply sufficient friction between the first jaw 13, the second jaw 23, and the pipe. When a force is applied to rotate the holding part 11 to rotate the pipe, a front end of the first portion 1 swings downward slightly. Correspondingly, in this case, the opening 231 is shrunk slightly to prevent the adjustment part 21 from being stuck in the sliding cavity 121, to further enable the first jaw 13 and the second jaw 23 to grip the pipe tightly.
In an implementation, when the seal cover 15 is disposed on a side wall of the mounting part 12 in a thickness direction, as shown in
In another implementation, when the seal cover 15 is disposed on the upper side, away from the first portion 1, of the mounting part 12, as shown in
As shown in
In a preferred implementation, as shown in
In another preferred implementation, as shown in
A suspended end of an elastic piece 421 abuts a side wall of the second groove 124.
During the use of the pipe wrench, an angle by which the second portion 2 swings upward is much greater than an angle by which the second portion swings downward. Therefore, the elastic element on two sides in this implementation are separately formed by the first compression spring 50 and the second elastic piece 421. In an aspect, the compression spring on the upper side has a relatively large amount of deformation, the second portion 2 may have a relatively large amount of upward swing. In another aspect, the second elastic piece 421 on the lower side may minimize the size of the second groove 124, to prevent the strength of the mounting part 12 from being adversely affected.
In still another preferred implementation, as shown in
Compared with the column-shaped first compression spring 50 and second compression spring 51, the elastic element formed by an elastic piece can minimize the sizes of the first groove 123 and/or the second groove 124, thereby reducing the size of the mounting part 12 in a direction perpendicular to the first portion 1. The elastic piece may be integrally manufactured with the connecting piece 40 and the stop pieces 41 and 42 by using a stamping molding process, so as to simplify a manufacturing procedure and assembly.
To make it convenient for the adjustment part 21 to swing in the sliding cavity 121, the sliding cavity 121 is bell-mouth-shaped, and an opening at one end, away from the holding part 11, of the sliding cavity 121 is larger than an opening at one end, near the holding part 11, of the sliding cavity 121. As shown in
By means of a member formed by the connecting piece 40, the first stop piece 41, and the second stop piece 42, when the adjustment element 3 is rotated to enable the adjustment part 21 to move longitudinally, friction or interference can be prevented between the adjustment part 21 and two side walls of the sliding cavity 121 in the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1. In addition, an attachment point between the end, near the holding part 11, of the second stop piece 42 and the sliding cavity 121 forms a swing fulcrum during vertical swing of the adjustment part 21, to enable the adjustment part 21 to swing vertically around the swing fulcrum in the bell-mouth-shaped sliding cavity 121.
In all the foregoing implementations, the holding part 11, the mounting part 12, and the first jaw 13 of the first portion 1 may all be integrally manufactured through forging. In another implementation, the first jaw 13 is detachably fixed on the mounting part 12. As shown in
In all the foregoing implementations, the body part of the first portion 1 in the lengthwise direction may be completely a solid structure. While the structural strength is ensured, to further reduce the weight of the pipe wrench and facilitate use by a user, a hollowed-out design may be used on the first portion 1.
In a preferred implementation, as shown in
In another preferred implementation, as shown in
In the foregoing two implementations, the number of the rib plates is not limited to three and may be set according to an actual requirement. More or fewer rib plates may be disposed. Stress analysis in a working state of the present application is provided below. The pipe wrench may be simplified as a diagram in
In
To further facilitate use, a hanging hole 106 may further be provided at the rear end of the first portion 1. An anti-skid part 107 may further be disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the rear end of the first portion 1. The anti-skid part 107 comprises several strip-shaped convex parts. The convex parts are separately disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the rear end of the first portion 1 and are sequentially disposed in the lengthwise direction of the first portion 1.
The specific preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail as above. It should be appreciated that a person of ordinary skill in the art would be able to make modifications and variations in accordance with the concept of the present application without involving any inventive effort. Therefore, any technical solution that can be obtained by a person skilled in the art by means of logical analysis, reasoning or limited trials on the basis of the prior art and according to the concept of the present application should be comprised within the scope of protection of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201822096650.7 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2020/074769 | 2/11/2020 | WO | 00 |
