Ratcheting Wrench For Octagonal Members

Abstract

A ratcheting wrench for octagonal or hexagonal members having a body, a handle means attached to the body, a torqueing jaw and a backup jaw extending from the body to receive the octagonal or hexagonal member therebetween, the backup jaw has a planar working surface and the torqueing jaw having a working surface parallel to and spaced from the working surface of the backup jaw, the length of the torqueing jaw working surface being less than one-half the length along a side of the octagonal member, the torqueing jaw terminating at the outer end opposite the handle in an inclined slipping surface, the ratcheting wrench serving to engage the octagonal or hexagonal member in successive rotary motion without removing contact from the octagonal member.

Description

BACKGROUND, SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Others have provided ratcheting wrenches for rotating hexagonal members in an arrangement wherein the ratcheting wrench has no moving parts and does not have to be removed from contact with the member to be ratcheted. For information relating to the provision of ratcheting wrenches for hexagonal members reference may be had to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,620,107, entitled "Speed Wrench," James P. Evans, inventor, issued Nov. 16, 1971; 2,652,735, entitled "Open End Wrench", G. W. Wilder, inventor, issued Sept. 22, 1953.

None of the references above mentioned, nor any other known teaching, has suggested a wrench without moving parts particularly adapted for ratcheting an octagonal member. While most nuts, bolts, and other devices utilized in industry are commonly either four sided, six sided, or twelve sided, some octagonal devices are in use. For instance, in the plumbing industry fittings frequently are octagonal in external configurations. Unions and other coupling devices are examples of octagonal shaped apparatus. To this time most artisans working on octagonal devices have utilized adjustable end wrenches or adjustable pipe wrenches. Both of these types of wrenches require the wrench to be removed from the member and repositioned to newly engage the member at each stroke of the rotary motion in threading or unthreading one member from another. The present invention is directed towards the provision of a ratcheting wrench for octagonal members. More particularly, the invention is directed towards the provision of a ratcheting octagonal wrench free of moving parts which can be utilized for rotating an octagonal member without removing contact of the wrench from the member to be rotated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wrench for ratcheting an octagonal member including improved means for engagement of the wrench with the octagonal member.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ratcheting wrench for an octagonal member including means for increasing the torqueing grip applied by the wrench to the octagonal member.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ratcheting wrench for an octagonal member including means of preventing the wrench from slipping out of contact with the octagonal member while it is being rotated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ratcheting wrench for octagonal members in which the wrench may be adjusted to accept a variation in size of the octagonal members.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ratcheting wrench having no moving parts and which can be used to ratchet either an octagonal member or a hexagonal member.

These general objects, as well as more specific objects, will be fulfilled in the invention to now be set forth in the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS

FIG. 1 is an external view of a wrench embodying the principles of this invention. The wrench is shown engaging an octagonal member, the octagonal member being shown in dotted outline.

FIG. 2 is an alternate view of the invention showing the arrangement wherein a detachable handle may be utilized, wherein inserts of hard material may be utilized in the formation of the wrench, and wherein the wrench is configured such that it will not accidentally slip from the member being rotated.

FIG. 3 is an alternate arrangement of the invention including means wherein the wrench is adjustable to receive different size octagonal members.

FIG. 4 is a view of an octagonal member showing indicia of the dimensions thereof.

FIG. 5 is an additional alternate arrangement of the invention depicting a ratcheting wrench having no moving parts adaptable to rotate both an octagonal and a hexagonal member.

FIG. 6 shows the wrench of FIG. 5 receiving an octagonal member for ratcheting rotation thereof.

FIG. 7 shows the embodiment of FIG. 5 receiving a hexagonal member for the ratcheting rotation thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, the wrench of this invention includes a body 12 having a handle 14 extending therefrom. Integrally formed with and extending from body 12 in the direction opposite the handle 14 is a backup jaw 16 and a torqueing jaw 18. The backup and torqueing jaws are spaced from each other to receive an octagonal member 20 therebetween, the member being illustrated in dotted outline. Octagonal member 20 may be a nut, bolt, portion of a pipe fitting union, or any other device which is to be rotated.

FIG. 4 shows an octagonal member and illustrates representative dimensions. The letter A indicates the width between opposed paralleled faces of the member; the letter B indicates the width across the opposing corners of the member and the letter D represents the length along one side of the member.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the backup jaw 16 has a planar working surface 22 which engages member 20. The torqueing jaw 18 has a working surface 24 which is parallel to the backup jaw working surface 22 and spaced from working surface 22 a distance just slightly greater than A so as to receive the octagonal member 22 between the two working surfaces. The length E of torqueing jaw working surface 24 is less than 1/2 D.

Between the backup jaw working surface 22 and the torqueing jaw working surface 24 the body has a member engaging surface formed of three body working surfaces. The first body working surface 26 has a length slightly greater than D and intersects the backup jaw working surface 22 at an angle of 45.degree.. The second body working surface 28 has a length slightly greater than D and intersects the first body working surface 26 at an angle of 45.degree.. The plane of the second body working surface 28 is thereby perpendicular to the plane of the backup jaw working surface 22 and the plane of the torqueing jaw working surface 24. The third body working surface 30 has a length slightly greater than D and intersects the second body working surface 28 at an angle of 45.degree. and, in addition, intersects the torqueing jaw working surface 24 at an angle of 45.degree..

The torqueing jaw terminates at the outer end with an inclined slipping surface 32, the plane of the slipping surface intersecting the plane of the backup jaw working surface 22 at an acute angle in the direction toward the handle 14. The octagonal member 20 is rotated by moving handle 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow 34. When the handle is moved in the direction opposite the arrow 34 the wrench slips upon member 20. To help maintain the wrench in contact with the member 20, a guide lip indicated in dotted outline, and identified by the numeral 36, may be utilized. The guide lip 36 is integrally formed as a part of torqueing jaw 18 and has an arcuate surface 38 facing backup jaw working surface 22. The distance between the arcuate surface 38 and backup jaw working surface 22 measured perpendicular to the working surface 22, as indicated by the arrow C, must be greater than the width B of member 20 so as to permit the wrench to rotate around the member when moved in the direction opposite the arrow 34.

FIG. 2 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 2 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 2 the handle means 14A includes an opening 14B which is adaptable to receive a removable extension handle. The extension handle may include torque indicating means. A comparison of the arrangement of FIG. 2 with FIG. 1 indicates that wrenches having various handle means may be designed employing the invention.

An additional alternate arrangement of FIG. 2 includes the provision of wear resistant inserts 40A through 40D which engage the hexagonal member 20. The inserts may be of material such as tungsten carbide. The wear resistant elements 40A to 40D may be made to be flush with the working surfaces as in the arrangement of FIG. 1, or as shown in FIG. 2, they may protrude outwardly so the working surfaces are formed by edges 24A, 30A, 28A, and 26A to engage the member 20. The edges may be blunt, or very sharp, or any configuration inbetween.

Another alternate arrangement of FIG. 2 includes the provision wherein the backup jaw 22 terminates at the outer end thereof opposite the handle portion 14A with a retaining portion 42; and the torqueing jaw 18 terminates at the outer end thereof opposite the handle portion with a retaining portion 44. The distance E between the retaining portions 42 and 44 is less than the width A of member 20. In this arrangement the wrench must slip onto the member 20 in the direction axially of the member. Once in position the wrench can be utilized to ratchet the member 20. The retaining portions 42 and 44 prevent the wrench from inadvertently slipping off the member.

FIG. 3 shows an additional alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the backup jaw 16 is movable relative to torqueing jaw 18. This adjustable feature permits accepting octagonal members 20 of varying sizes. It is understood that since varying the distance between backup jaw 16 and torqueing jaw 18 will change the length of second body working surface 28, the adjustability of FIG. 3 permits only a limited range of various size octagonal members which may be ratcheted by the wrench. The arrangement of FIG. 3 does permit, however, adjustments for variations in sizes of hexagonal members which occasionally occurs, particularly in plumbing fittings which are heavily galvanized.

FIG. 3 shows the arrangement wherein the backup jaw working surface 22 includes an undercut 46 therein adjacent the first body working surface 26. The undercut 46 must have a length measured from the first body working surface 26 of less than the dimension D of member 20. Undercut 46 serves to facilitate positioning the wrench into engagement with member 20 as it is being ratcheted.

An additional design difference of the arrangement of FIG. 3 compared to FIG. 1 is the provision of a recess or notch 48 in the torqueing jaw working surface 24. By the provision of the recess 48 the torqueing jaw working surface 24 takes the form of a tooth having a working surface 24 in an edge which may be sharp, blunt or rounded for engaging member 20. The tooth 24 could obviously be a material harder than the wrench body 12, such as the use of an element 40A as in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the wrench may be utilized not only to ratchet an octagonal member but also to ratchet a hexagonal member. The wrench of FIG. 5 is essentially that of the arrangement of FIG. 1 having the recess 48 as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3 and further, having a V-shaped notch 50 at the intersection of the second body working surface 28 with the third body working surface 30, and a V-shaped notch 52 in the first body working surface 26 adjacent the intersection with the second body working surface 28. As shown in FIG. 6, an octagonal member 20 is received in the wrench and is contacted by the same working surfaces as described relative to FIG. 1. A hexagonal member 54 is received in the wrench as shown in FIG. 7 and is engaged by the torqueing jaw working surface 24, notch 50, notch 52, and backup jaw working surface 22. The hexagonal member is ratcheted in the same way as the octagonal member. Thus the embodiment of the wrench in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 may be successfully employed to ratchet either hexagonal or octagonal members in an arrangement wherein no moving parts are employed.

It can be seen that the embodiment of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 may employ the various alternate features of FIGS. 2 and 3, including the removable handle means, the utilization of wear resistant inserts, the adjustable jaw arrangement, and the provision of retaining portions to prevent the wrench from slipping from the member to be ratcheted.

While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that this invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification, but is limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A ratcheting wrench for an octagonal and a hexagonal member, the width across opposite corners of the octagonal member being designated by B, the width across opposite sides of the member being designated by A, and the length along a side of the member by D, the wrench comprising: a body;

a handle means attached to the body;

two spaced apart, parallel jaws designated a torquering jaw and a backup jaw, the jaws extending from the wrench body in the direction opposite the handle means, the backup jaw having a planar working surface facing the torqueing jaw, the torqueing jaw having a working surface, facing the backup jaw working surface the torqueing jaw working surface being in the form of a projecting tooth, the distance between said backup and torqueing jaw working surfaces being slightly greater than A, and the body having member engaging working surfaces between the backup jaw and torqueing jaw working surfaces defined by:

a. a first body working surface of length slightly greater than D intersecting said backup jaw working surface at an angle of 45.degree.,

b. a second body working surface of length less than D intersecting said first body working surface at an angle of 45.degree., the plane of the second body working surface being perpendicular to the plane of said backup jaw working surface, and

c. a third body working surface of length slightly greater than D and at a 45.degree. angle with respect to said second body working surface,

said torqueing jaw terminating at the outer end thereof opposite said handle in an inclined slipping surface adjacent said torqueing jaw working surface, the plane of the inclined slipping surface intersecting the plane of said backup jaw working surface at an acute angle and in the direction of said handle,

said torqueing jaw working surface having a recess therein formed by the intersection of said third body working surface and said projecting tooth, the distance between said backup jaw working surface and said recess being greater than A,

said first body working surface having a first V-shaped notch formed therein adjacent the intersection of said first body working surface with said second body working surface and a second V-shaped notch formed at the end of said second body working surface opposite said first body working surface, said third body working surface forming one side of said second V-shaped notch, said recess in said torqueing jaw working surface, said first and second V-shaped notches, and said backup jaw working surface engaging a hexagonal member.