The present invention relates to a wrench, especially to a wrench that has a sleeve driven by rotating the handle.
A conventional ratchet wrench is a common tool for daily use. The ratchet wrench has a handle and a head. The handle is a rod. The head is mounted on an end of the handle. The head has an inner space. A ratchet, a sleeve mount, and a switching knob are mounted in the head. One end of the ratchet is connected to one end of the sleeve mount, and the sleeve mount protrudes from one end of the head. Another end of the ratchet is connected to the switching knob. The switching knob protrudes from another end of the head. One end of a sleeve can be connected to the sleeve mount, and another end of the sleeve can be used for connecting a nut which is to be tightened or loosened. The user turns the switching knob to select between a tightening mode and a loosening mode, and then the user can swing the handle to rotate the wrench around the head within a specific angle to tighten or loosen the nut.
However, in order to operate the conventional ratchet wrench, sufficient operating space must be kept around the nut for the handle to be swung. Therefore, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to operate the conventional ratchet wrench when the nut is located in a tight space where the handle can hardly be swung. In other words, when the nut is in a tight space, a swing angle, at which the handle can be swung each time inside the tight space, of the handle is very limited. Because a rotating angle of the sleeve is dependent on the swing angle of the handle, the user needs to swing the handle much more times in order to tighten or loosen the nut, which makes operating the conventional wrench time consuming and induces more labor cost. Therefore, the structure of the ratchet wrench needs to be improved.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a wrench which the user can rotate the main rod to tighten or loosen a nut, thereby greatly reducing required operating space of the wrench and allows the wrench to be operated in a tight space.
The wrench includes a handle portion and a head portion. The handle portion includes a main rod and a rotating rod. Two opposite ends of the rotating rod are respectively a first end and a second end, and the first end is fixed to the main rod. The head portion is connected to the handle portion, and includes an accommodating element, a sleeve mount, a driven gear and a driving gear. The accommodating element has an internal space, a front opening, a rear opening, a side opening and an engaging portion. The front opening and the rear opening are respectively formed on two ends of the accommodating element. The side opening is formed through a side wall of the accommodating element. The engaging portion extends outward from a periphery of the side opening, and is rotatably mounted around and attached to the main rod. The sleeve mount is rotatably mounted through the rear opening and the front opening of the accommodating element. The driven gear is mounted around the sleeve mount and located in the internal space of the accommodating element. The driven gear is a bevel gear. The driving gear is mounted around the second end of the rotating rod and located in the internal space of the accommodating element. The driving gear is a bevel gear engaged with the driven gear.
The advantage of the present invention is that a user tightens or loosens the nut by rotating the main rod of the handle portion. An operating space required by the present invention is greatly reduced compared to an operating space required by a conventional wrench whose handle must be swung to operate. Therefore, the present invention can be used to operate the nut located in a tight space as long as the sleeve mount can be connected to the nut.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
With reference to
The rotating rod 13 is a polygonal rod. The rotating rod 13 corresponds to the second recess 113 in shape. One end of the rotating rod 13 is mounted in the second recess 113 and mounted through the first recess 112. An outer surface of the rotating rod 113 abuts against a mounting surface of the second recess 113. The design of the second recess 113 and the rotating rod 13 can be changed according to user needs, as long as the rotating rod 13 is fixed to the main rod 11.
With reference
The sleeve mount 22 is adopted to connect a sleeve (not shown in the figures). The sleeve mount 22 is the same as a conventional sleeve mount. The sleeve mount 22 is rotatably mounted through the rear opening 213 and the front opening 212. A front positioning groove 221 and a rear protrusion 222 are formed on the sleeve mount 22. The front positioning groove 221 is annularly formed in an outer surface of the sleeve mount 22. The front positioning groove 221 is adjacent to the front opening 212. The front cover 23 is a hollow sheet. The sleeve mount 22 is mounted around the front cover 23. The front cover 23 is fixed to a periphery of the front opening 212 of the accommodating element 21. The front positioning piece 24 is a hollow sheet. The front positioning piece 24 is mounted around the front positioning groove 221. The front positioning piece 24 is attached to the front cover 23. The rear protrusion 22 is formed around the outer surface of the sleeve mount 22 and is adjacent to the rear opening 213 of the accommodating element 21.
The driven gear 25 is a bevel gear. The driven gear 25 is mounted around the sleeve mount 22 and located in the internal space 211 of the accommodating element 21. The driven gear 25 abuts against the rear protrusion 222 of the sleeve mount 22. A rear positioning groove 251 is annularly formed in an outer surface of the driven gear 25. The rear positioning groove 251 is adjacent to the rear opening 213. The rear positioning piece 26 is a hollow sheet. The rear positioning piece 26 is mounted around the rear positioning groove 251. The rear positioning piece 26 is attached to an outer surface of the accommodating element 21. The sleeve mount 22 is rotatably located in the accommodating element 21. To be precise, the sleeve mount 22 is confined in the accommodating element 21 by the front cover 23, the front positioning piece 24, the rear positioning piece 26 and the rear protrusion 222. The design of the sleeve mount 22 can be changed according to user needs, as long as the sleeve mount 22 is rotatably located in the accommodating element 21.
The driving gear 27 is a bevel gear. The driving gear 27 is mounted around the second end of the rotating rod 13 and mounted in the first recess 112. The driving gear 27 is engaged with the driven gear 25. Furthermore, the driving gear 27 includes a tooth portion 271 and a connecting portion 272. The tooth portion 271 is located on one end of the driving gear 27 and located in the internal space 211 of the accommodating element 21. The tooth portion 271 is engaged with the driven tooth 25. The connecting portion 272 is formed on another end of the driving gear 27. The connecting portion 272 is a hollow cylinder or prism. A fixing hole 273 is formed through the connecting portion 272 of the driving gear 27. The fixing hole 273 is a polygonal hole. The fixing hole 273 corresponds in shape to the rotating rod 13. An outer surface of the second end of the rotating rod 13 is fixed to an internal surface of the fixing hole 273. When the driving gear 27 is engaged with the driven gear 25, the axis of the driving gear 27 and the axis of the driven gear 25 are perpendicular to each other. When the rotating rod 13 rotates, the driving gear 27 rotates the driven gear 25 to make the sleeve mount 22 rotate.
When the present invention is in use, a sleeve (not shown in the figures) is connected to the sleeve mount 22, and then the sleeve is mounted around a nut (not shown in the figures). A user then holds the grabbing portion 12 and rotate the rotating rod 13 clockwise or counterclockwise around the axis of the rotating rod 13. When the grabbing portion 12 is rotated by the user, the grabbing portion 12 makes the rotating rod 13 rotate simultaneously and makes the driving gear 27 located on another end of the rotating rod 13 rotate simultaneously. Because the driving gear 27 is engaged with the driven gear, the driven gear 25 is rotated by the driving gear 27 to tighten or loosen the nut.
Because the user tightens or loosens the nut by rotating the grabbing portion 12 of the handle portion 10, an operating space required by the present invention is greatly reduced compared to an operating space required by a conventional wrench of which the handle must be swung to operate. Therefore, the present invention can be used to operate the nut located in a tight space as long as the sleeve mount 22 can be connected to the nut.
In the second embodiment, as shown in
The second mounting recess 142A is formed in the mounting surface 140A and located at one end of the base 14A. The second mounting recess 142A is formed through the base 14A to form an opening. The third mounting recess 143A is formed in the mounting surface 140A, and is located between the first mounting recess 141A and the second mounting recess 142A. Moreover, the third mounting recess 143A is located among the two rotating arms 16A and the second mounting recess 142A. The first mounting recess 141A, the second mounting recess 142A and the third mounting recess 143A communicate with each other. In a preferred embodiment, the first mounting recess 141A, the second mounting recess 142A and the third mounting recess 143A are symmetrical. However, the shapes of the mounting recesses 141A, 142A and 143A are not limited thereto, as long as the mounting recesses accommodates parts that are necessary for the present invention.
The cover 15A corresponds in shape to the base 14A. The cover 15A is selectively mounted on the mounting surface 140A of the base 14A. In the present embodiment, a through hole 151A and two locking holes 152A are formed through the cover 15A. The through hole 151A is formed in a bottom of a moving recess 154A. A position of the through hole 151A corresponds to a position of the third mounting recess 143A. Furthermore, the cover 15A has a cover surface. The moving recess 154A is formed in a surface, which faces towards the base 14A, of the cover 15A. The moving recess 154A is formed around a periphery of the through hole 151A. The moving recess 154A has a recess bottom 155A. The two locking holes 152A are formed through the cover 15A and respectively correspond in position to the two screw holes 144A. The cover 15A is fastened to the base 14A by the locking components 153A. The two locking components 153A are mounted through the two locking holes 152A respectively, and are fastened to the two screw holes 144A respectively. The locking components 153A are not limited to screws, as long as the cover 15A can be fastened to the base 14A by the locking components 153A.
With reference to
One end of each one of the rotating arms 16A is adjacent to one end of another one of the rotating arms 16A. Each one of said two ends of the two rotating arms 16A has multiple coupling teeth 162A. The coupling teeth 162A are formed along a periphery of the corresponding rotating arm 16A. The coupling teeth 162A of one of the two rotating arms 16A engage with the coupling teeth 162A of another one of the two rotating arms 16A. Each rotating arm 16A extends away from the corresponding coupling teeth 162A. The cross-sectional area of each one of the two rotating arms 16A gradually decreases toward a direction away from the corresponding coupling teeth 162A. The structure of the rotating arm 16A can be changed according to user needs, as long as the rotating arms 16A can pivot. Two engaging portions 163A are respectively formed on opposite sides of the two rotating arms 16A. The shape of the engaging portion 163A is a āCā. Two hook portions 164A protrude from the two ends of each engaging portion 163A respectively. Each hook portion 164A is a block formed by an end of the corresponding engaging portion 163A.
With reference to
The pressing portion 174A is a cylinder or a prism, and is formed on another end of the body 172A. In the present embodiment, the positioning element 171A is mounted in the third mounting recess 143A and the moving recess 154A. The positioning element 171A corresponds in shape to the third mounting recess 143A and the moving recess 154A.
The resilient element 176A is a spring and is mounted between the positioning element 171A and a bottom of the third mounting recess 143A. The resilient element 176A presses the positioning element 171 against the base 14A. To be precise, the end of the positioning element 171A having the stopping portion 173A abuts against the resilient element 176A. The pressing portion 174A is mounted through the through hole 151A of the cover 15A, so that the positioning element 171A can be moved in the third mounting recess 143A and the moving recess 154A by pressing against the resilient element 176A or being driven by the resilient element 176A. The movement of the positioning element 171A allows the stop portion 173A to be aligned in a same plane with the two rotating arms 16A or to be separated from the two rotating arms 16A.
When the present invention is in use, the two rotating arms 16A have a folded status and an unfold status. As shown in
With reference
In the unfolded status, the two rotating arms 16A are protruded from the cover 15A, allowing the user to hold the two rotating arms 16A to rotate the wrench. Because the two rotating arms 16A provide the user with a longer force arm than the grabbing portion 12A does, the two rotating arms 16A generate larger torque than the grabbing portion 12A when the forces exerted by the user are the same in magnitude, thereby saving effort.
When the wrench is no longer in use, the user can press the pressing portion 174A to compress the resilient element 176A and force the stopping portion 173A to separate from the two rotating arms 16A, so that the rotating arms 16A can be returned to the folded status.
In the present invention, the two rotating arms 16A have the folded status and the unfold status to allow the wrench to be folded into the grabbing portion 12A to reduce the size of the wrench for ease of storage. In addition, the wrench of the present invention can maintain the operating method of a conventional wrench. The user can choose a suitable method according to user needs.
In a third embodiment, as shown in
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.