Wrench ratchet mechanisms and wrenches
AssigneeAmerican Grease Stick Company
InventorNigel A. Buchanan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wrench ratchet mechanism has a driven member, a housing having a chamber in which said driven member is at least partially received and a torque transmitter disposed between the housing and the driven member to transmit an applied torque from the housing to the driven member. The torque transmitter is deformable from a non-torque transmitting condition to a torque transmitting condition in response to rotation of the housing in a first direction and returnable to the non-torque transmitting condition in response to rotation of the housing in a second direction that is opposite the first direction.
Claims45
A wrench ratchet mechanism comprising:
- a driven member;
- a housing having a chamber in which said driven member is at least partially received;
- and
- a torque transmitter disposed between said housing and said driven member to transmit an applied torque from said housing to said driven member,
- wherein said driven member has an axis of rotation and is rotatable about said axis in response to said applied torque and wherein said torque transmitter is deformable from a non-torque transmitting condition to a torque transmitting condition in response to rotation of said housing in a first direction and wherein said torque transmitter is returnable to said non-torque transmitting condition in response to rotation of said housing in a second direction that is opposite said first direction.
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A wrench ratchet mechanism comprising:
- a driven member having an outer sidewall;
- a housing having an inwards facing sidewall that at least partially defines a passage in which said driven member is at least partially received, said passage having a longitudinal axis defining an axial direction;
- and
- an arcuate torque transmitter disposed between said driven member and said housing and extending at least partially around said driven member in a circumferential direction thereof, said torque transmitter comprising an outer sidewall facing said inwards facing sidewall of said housing and an inner sidewall facing said outer sidewall of said driven member and in response to rotation of said housing in a first direction being movable between a torque transmitting condition in which it causes said driven member to rotate with said housing and a non-torque transmitting condition in which said housing can rotate relative to said driven member, and said torque transmitter being configured such that when in said torque transmitting condition in said circumferential direction there is contact between:
- i) said inner sidewall of said torque transmitter and said outer sidewall of said driven member through at least 90 degrees of a hypothetical circle extending around said driven member between said driven member and said torque transmitter;
- and
- ii) said outer sidewall of said torque transmitter and said inwards facing sidewall of said housing through at least 90 degrees of a hypothetical circle extending around said torque transmitter between said inwards facing sidewall and said torque transmitter.
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A wrench comprising a ratchet wrench head and a lever connected with said ratchet wrench head, said ratchet wrench head comprising:
- a body defining a chamber having an inwards facing sidewall;
- a driven member at least partially housed in said chamber and rotatable therein about an axis of rotation, said driven member having an outwards facing sidewall and a formation to engage an object to which a torque is to be applied;
- at least one arcuate member disposed between said inwards and outwards facing sidewalls;
- and
- a cam system configured to shape change said at least one arcuate member from a non-torque transmitting shape to a torque transmitting shape in response to rotation of said housing in a first direction,
- wherein when in said torque transmitting shape said at least one arcuate member is forced into locking engagement with said body and said driven member to lock said driven member to said body whereby a torque applied to said body by said lever arm is transmitted to said driven member via said at least one arcuate member to be applied to said object.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.