The present invention relates to a wrench, and more particularly, to a ratchet wrench with a universal driving part so as to be operated in different directions.
A conventional universal wrench is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,703 and includes a first connector and a second connector, wherein the first end of the first connector has a rectangular hole so as to be connected with the driving part of the socket wrench, and the second end of the first connector has a hexagonal hole. The first end of the second connector has a head with a hexagonal and curved outer surface. The head is accommodated in the hexagonal hole. The second end of the second connector has a hexagonal recess so as to be mounted to a bolt. The most universal wrench has rectangular driving part to be connected with a socket like the wrench disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,801.
The connection between the first and second connectors in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,703 uses the hexagonal recess accommodating the head so that the head can be pivoted. However, when the rectangular hole of the first connector is connected with a socket wrench, the rectangular driving part of the second is then connected with a socket, the socket wrench, the universal connector and the socket is located on a straight line which extends for a significant distance and is not convenient for operation in a limited space such as in an engine room. If the hexagonal recess of the second connector is directly mounted to a bolt, although the total length is shortened, only one fixed sized bolt can be operated and this cannot meet the requirements of the users.
The present invention intends to provide a wrench with is easily operated and improves the shortcomings of the conventional universal wrenches.
The present invention relates to a wrench includes a body, a universal connector, a resilient member and a clip. The body has a driving head which has a ratchet mechanism having a rotatable ratchet gear. An engaging hole is defined in one side of the ratchet gear and a groove is defined in the inner periphery of the engaging hole. The stop portion extends from the other side of the ratchet gear. The universal connector has a driving part extending from the first end thereof and a head is located on the second end of the universal connector. The head is located within the engaging hole and swingable relative to the axis of the head and non-rotatable relative to the axis of the head. The resilient member is located in the engaging hole and located between the stop portion and the head. The clip is engaged with the groove so as to restrict the universal connector from dropping out from the engaging hole.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
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The stop portion 23 has a mounting hole 24 defined centrally therethrough and a cover 90 is mounted to cover the through mounting hole 24. The cover 90 has a protrusion 92 on one side and a pressing portion 91 the other side. The cover 90 is biased by the first resilient member 70 to contact the stop portion 23 so as to prevent the cover 90 from disengaging from the engaging hole 21. The universal connector 30 has a through hole 33 defined axially therethrough and a pin 81 is movably located in the through hole 33. A second resilient member 82 is located between the pin 81 and the universal connector 30, the second resilient member 82 biases the pin 81 toward the head 31. The pin 81 has a first end and a second which is located opposite to the first end. The first end extends out from the through hole 33 of the head 31 and the protrusion 92 of the cover 90 is located corresponding to the first end of the pin 81. A first bead hole 321 is defined through the driving part 32 and communicates with the through hole 33. A first bead 50 is located in the first bead hole 321. The pin 81 has a recess 810 which includes a first portion 812 and a second portion 813 which is deeper than the first portion 812. The first portion 812 is located corresponding to the first bead hole 321. The first bead 50 partially protrudes from the driving part 32 so that the protrusion 92 is engaged with a recessed area of the object connected with the driving part 32. The protrusion 92 pushes the pin 81 within the through hole 33 when the cover 90 is applied by a force. When the second portion 813 is located corresponding to the first bead hole 321, the first bead 50 is completely merged into the first bead hole 321. Therefore, the object can be removed from the driving part 32.
The pin 81 has an enlarged first flange 811 located close to the first end of the pin 81 and a second flange 331 is located in the through hole 33, the second flange 331 is located corresponding to the first flange 811. The second resilient member 82 is a spring 820 whose inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the pin 81. The spring 820 is mounted to the pin 81 and biased between the first and second flanges 811, 331. A second bead hole 311 is defined through the head 31 and communicates with the through hole 33. A second bead 60 is located in the second bead hole 311 and biased by the spring 820 to partially protrude out from the head 31.
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While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5630342 | Owoc | May 1997 | A |
6971286 | Hu | Dec 2005 | B2 |
7278342 | Chang | Oct 2007 | B1 |
7472629 | Davidson | Jan 2009 | B2 |
7966915 | Chen | Jun 2011 | B2 |
8176817 | Liu | May 2012 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130104703 A1 | May 2013 | US |