Patent Application
20250010438
The present invention relates to a swingable wrench.
Compared with the one-piece wrench, the head of the swingable wrench is swingable at a certain angle relative to the handle so that it can flexibly reach into places that are difficult for the one-piece wrench to reach to perform rotation operations. It is common in auto repair and mechanical processing fields. The swingable wrench with its head adjustable at different angles is also conducive to operation for the user in various positions, which saves time and effort.
However, the conventional swingable wrench also has some disadvantages such as high cost, poor durability, and low torque-limit.
The present invention is, therefore, arisen to obviate or at least mitigate the above-mentioned disadvantages.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a swingable wrench which has large structural strength, better durability and high torque-limit.
To achieve the above and other objects, a swingable wrench is provided, wherein the swingable wrench includes: a handle including a main body and two ear portions, the two ear portions being arranged in interval in a first direction and projecting from the main body to define a space; a drive head including a projection inserted in the space; and a pivot structure including two through holes, a perforation, a first thread section and a shaft, the two through holes being respectively disposed through the two ear portions in the first direction, the perforation being through the projection, the first thread section being disposed on an inner surface of one of the two through holes, the first thread section being distanced from a side wall of one of the two ear portions facing the space, the shaft including a second thread section, the shaft being disposed through the perforation and inserted in the two through holes, the second thread section being screwed to the first thread section so that the drive head is swingable about the shaft.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment(s) in accordance with the present invention.
Please refer to
Specifically, the handle 1 includes a main body 11 and two ear portions 12, and the two ear portions 12 are arranged in interval in a first direction 71 and projects from the main body 11 to define a space 13. The drive head 2 includes a projection 21, and the projection 21 is inserted in the space 13.
Specifically, the pivot structure 3 includes two through holes 31, a perforation 32, a first thread section 33 and a shaft 34. The two through holes 31 are respectively disposed through the two ear portions 12 in the first direction 71, the perforation 32 is through the projection 21, the first thread section 33 is disposed on an inner surface of one of the two through holes 31, and the first thread section 33 is distanced from a side wall 121 of one of the two ear portions 12 facing the space 13, the shaft 34 includes a second thread section 35, the second thread section 35 is disposed on an end portion of located in the shaft 34, the shaft 34 is disposed through the perforation 32 and inserted in the two through holes 31, and the second thread section 35 is screwed to the first thread section 33 so that the drive head 2 is swingable about the shaft 34.
The first thread section 33 is disposed on a side of the ear portion 12 remote from the space 13 so that it ensures that the side wall 121 of the ear portion 12 facing the space 13 has a relatively complete surface. As such, during operation, the side wall 121 and the projection 21 contact each other in a large contact area in the first direction 71, thus distributing the force uniformly and improving the strength to withstand torsion. This also ensures that the side wall 121 of the ear portion 12 facing the space 13 maintains better structural strength, ensuring that the structure on this side wall 121 will not decrease due to other process such as a secondary penetration (forming the through hole 31 and forming the first thread section 33).
Preferably, in the first direction 71, the first thread section 33 extends for a distance of 0.5 times an axial dimension of one of the two through holes 31, which provides the large structural strength of the ear portion 12 and the strong connection of the shaft 34.
Preferably, the swingable wrench further includes an adhesive 5 (such as NYLOK BLUE patch, Teflon paste or the like. The adhesive 5 is disposed between the first thread section 33 and the second thread section 35, which enhances the connection strength and stability of the shaft 34 and the ear portion 12 so that the shaft 34 is not easy to disengage.
Preferably, the first thread section 33 has a diametric dimension smaller than or equal to a diametric dimension of the through hole 31 so that it make the hollow structure of the ear portion 12 smaller and ensures that the ear portion 12 has a more complete structure. In the first embodiment, the diametric dimension of the first thread section 33 is smaller than the diametric dimension of the through hole 31.
However, the diametric dimension of the first thread section 33A may be equal to the diametric dimension the through hole 31A (in a second embodiment as shown in
Preferably, the swingable wrench further includes a positioning member 61 and an operation member 62. The drive head 2 further includes a plurality of positioning holes 24, the plurality of positioning holes 24 are disposed in intervals on an outer surface of the projection 21 and around the perforation 32, the positioning member 61 is disposed on the handle 1 and is movable to be within the space 13 to engage in one of the plurality of positioning holes 24 to lock the drive head 2, and the operation member 62 is movably disposed on the handle 1 and movable with the positioning member 61. As such, the drive head 2 can be locked or released by controlling the operation member 62.
Specifically, in a direction in which the perforation 32 extends, each of the plurality of positioning holes 24 does not penetrate through the projection 21, which ensures that the structure of the two sides of the projection 21 facing the two ear portions 12 remains intact so that a side of the projection 21 can reliably contact the side wall 121 of the ear portion 12 in the rotation direction during use, thus evenly dispersing the force. Each of the plurality of positioning holes 24 is oval, and in the first direction 71, each of the plurality of positioning holes 24 extends for a distance of 0.5 times a length of the projection 21, which provides a strong structure of the projection 21.
Specifically, a side of the drive head 2 facing one of the two through holes 31 includes a room 22, the room 22 is in communication with the perforation 32, a first elastic member 4 is received in the room 22, and in the first direction 71 the first elastic member 4 is abutted against a bottom wall 23 of the room 22 and the side wall 121 of one of the two ear portions 12. The first elastic member 4 biases the projection 21 in the first direction 71 so that the projection 21 is abutted against the side wall 121 of the other of the two ear portions 12. When the positioning member 61 is disengaged from one of the plurality of positioning holes 24, the drive head 2 can be slightly held in position.
In the first embodiment, in the first direction 71, the room 22 has a dimension of 0.25 times the length of the projection 21, which provides a sufficient structural strength of the projection 21. An opening of the room 22 is sized larger than an opening of each of the two through holes 31, which avoids the contact of the edge of the through hole 31 to prevent it from damage. The opening of the room 22 is open toward one of the two ear portions 12 which includes the first thread section 33.
However, the opening of the room 22A may be open toward a direction away from the ear portion 12 which includes the first thread section 33 (in a third embodiment as shown in
The positioning member 61 is disposed on the handle 1 and movable in a second direction 72, the second direction 72 is perpendicular to the first direction 71, the operation member 62 is disposed on the handle 1 and movable between a locked position and a release position in the first direction 71, the operation member 62 and the positioning member 61 are abutted against and movable with each other, a side of the operation member 62 abutted against the positioning member 61 includes a recess 621 and a plurality of upper engaging portions 622, the recess 621 and the plurality of upper engaging portions 622 are arranged in a direction in which the operation member 62 moves, and the plurality of upper engaging portions 622 ascends steppedly in a direction away from the recess 621.
When the operation member 62 is located in the release position, the positioning member 61 is movable into the recess 621 to release the drive head 2 so that the drive head 2 is swingable, and when the operation member 62 moves from the release position to the locked position, the positioning member 61 is disengaged from the recess 621 and pushed by the plurality of upper engaging portions 622 to approach the drive head 2 so that the drive head 2 is not swingable.
Preferably, a second elastic member 8 is abutted against and between the handle 1 and the operation member 62, and the second elastic member 8 biases the operation member 62 toward the locked position so that the operation member 62 can automatically return to the locked position when no external force is applied thereto, which can effectively improve operation safety.
The positioning member 61 includes a column 611 and two ribs 612, the two ribs 612 are disposed on opposing ends of the column 611, respectively, and the two ribs 612 are perpendicular to each other, one of the two ribs 612 is engaged within one of the plurality of positioning holes 24 to lock the drive head 2, and the other of one of the two ribs 612 is abutted against the operation member 62. In the first embodiment, the two ribs 612 are identical, which is easy to produce; the column 611 and each of the two ribs 612 are preferably formed of one piece, which provides a large structural strength; the column 611 is cylindrical, each of the two ribs 612 is of an isosceles right triangle prism shape; and the corner of each of the two ribs 612 remote from the column 611 is chamfered, which reduces stress concentration when in contact with other components.
Specifically, the operation member 62 is a pin, each of the plurality of upper engaging portions 622 is toothed-shaped, the plurality of upper engaging portions 622 are tooth-shaped ribs extending on a reference plane 9, the reference plane 9 and an axial direction of the operation member 62 define a first angle 91, and the first angle 91 is smaller than 45 degrees. Specifically, the plurality of upper engaging portions 622 define a plurality of grooves 623, each of the plurality of grooves 623 includes a first surface 624 and a second surface 625, the first surface 624 is nearer the recess 621 than the second surface 625, and the first surface 624 and the second surface 625 define the groove 623 and define an obtuse angle therebetween so that each of the plurality of grooves 623 has sufficient space to accommodate a portion of the rib 612.
The first surface 624 extends obliquely away from the axial direction of the operation member 62 such that when the drive head 2 reversely pushes the positioning member 61 to move toward the recess 621, the first surface 624 which is tilted can restrict the movement of the positioning member 61 since the positioning member 61 will extend further into the positioning hole 24 to resist the force from the drive head 2 because the positioning member 61 moves along the first surface 624 toward the recess 621, thereby preventing reverse slippage movement. The first surface 624 and the operation member 62 define a second angle 92, and the second angle 92 is preferably smaller than 15 degrees.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112125315 | Jul 2023 | TW | national |
