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US 8,984,990 B2Granted
Lockable grip wrench
AssigneeApex Brands, Inc.
InventorsEric Broadaway, Yongsheng Xu, Fengping Zhu, Zhihong Fu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wrench includes a locking mechanism that provides variable locking positions. The wrench has handles that are rotatably connected such that a closing motion of the handles allows the wrench to grip workpieces as desired by moving a plurality of jaw elements inward toward the workpiece. The locking mechanism advantageously allows the jaws and handles of the wrench to be locked precisely on any size workpiece within the working range of the wrench. Related methods are also described.
Claims19
A lockable grip wrench, comprising:
- a first handle having a first grip section and a first working section;
- a second handle having a second grip section and a second working section;
- the second handle rotatably mounted to the first handle such that the first and second working sections overlap and the first and second handles are rotatable relative to each other about a first axis;
- a workpiece-receiving opening extending through the first and second handles and disposed about the first axis;
- a plurality of jaw elements disposed about the first axis in spaced relation to each other and movable toward and away from the first axis;
- wherein the jaw elements are movable toward and away from the first axis in response to movement of the first and second grip sections toward and away from each other, respectively;
- a lock mechanism comprising:
- a lock element movably disposed in the first handle;
- an actuator mounted for rotational movement about the first axis, the actuator having a peripheral cam surface eccentrically disposed relative to the first axis and selectively engagable against a lock element;
- wherein the wrench is configured such that a spacing between the jaw elements is variably controlled based on a rotational position of the actuator relative to the first axis.
7 more elements
A lockable grip wrench, comprising:
- a first handle having a first grip section and a first working section;
- a second handle having a second grip section and a second working section;
- the second handle rotatably mounted to the first handle such that the first and second working sections overlap and the first and second handles are rotatable relative to each other about a first axis;
- a workpiece-receiving opening extending through the first and second handles and peripherally surrounding the first axis;
- the first handle having:
- a plurality of arcuate first guide slots disposed about the workpiece-receiving opening and outboard thereof;
- a first lock slot disposed in spaced relation to the workpiece-receiving opening;
- the second handle having:
- a plurality of outwardly extending second guide slots oriented toward the workpiece-receiving opening;
- a second lock slot disposed in spaced relation to the workpiece-receiving opening;
- a plurality of jaw elements disposed about the first axis in spaced relation to each other, the jaw elements movable in the second guide slots toward and away from the first axis in response to movement of the first and second grip sections toward and away from each other, respectively, such that movement of the first and second grip sections toward each other causes the jaw elements to be displaced toward the first axis, while movement of the first and second grip sections away from each other causes the jaw elements to be displaced away from the first axis;
- a lock mechanism comprising:
- a lock element disposed generally parallel to the first axis and movably disposed in the first and second lock slots, the lock slots distinct from the guide slots;
- an actuator selectively engagable against the lock element at a plurality of positions;
- wherein the wrench is configured such that a spacing between the jaw elements is variably controlled based on a position of the actuator.
12 more elements
A lockable grip wrench, comprising:
- a first handle having a first grip section and a first working section;
- a second handle having a second grip section and a second working section;
- the second handle rotatably mounted to the first handle such that the first and second working sections overlap and the first and second handles are rotatable relative to each other about a first axis;
- a workpiece-receiving opening extending through the first and second handles with the first axis extending through the workpiece-receiving opening;
- a plurality of jaw elements disposed about the first axis in spaced relation to each other and movable toward and away from the first axis;
- wherein the jaw elements are movable toward and away from the first axis in response to movement of the first and second grip sections toward and away from each other, respectively;
- a lock mechanism comprising:
- a lock element movably disposed in both a lock slot of the first handle and a lock slot of the second handle;
- an actuator moveable relative to the lock element and the first and second handles;
- the actuator having a cam surface;
- wherein, with the actuator in a locking position, the cam surface limits movement of the lock element toward the first axis to thereby limit movement of the jaw elements away from the from the first axis.
8 more elements
A method of operating a manually-powered wrench, comprising:
- moving grip sections of first and second handles toward each other to cause a plurality of jaw elements mounted in the handles to move toward an axis about which the first and second handles rotate relative to each other;
- establishing a limit of movement of a plurality of jaw elements in a direction away from the axis by rotating a lock actuator about the axis to a locking position;
- wherein, in the locking position, a cam surface of the locking actuator is positioned in the path of a movable locking pin, the locking pin extending into both the first and second handles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.