• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    A ratchet wrench comprises a handle having a head portion and an end thereof. The head portion has a through hole and a chamber. The chamber has a side thereof communicated with the through hole and has a side wall at the other side thereof. An engaging member has a central polygonal hole and an annular tooth portion and exterior surface thereof. The engaging member is installed in the through hole of the handle for free rotation. Apawl having a tooth portion at a side thereof is received in the chamber of the handle at a side thereof resting against the side wall in the chamber. The tooth portion thereof is removably meshed with the tooth portion of the engaging member. A self-positioned elastic member is made from a flexible wire to form a spiral positioning portion and an elastic arm. The self-positioned elastic member is received in the chamber of the handle at the side opposite from the pawl. The positioning portion rests against both of the side wall of the chamber and the engaging member, and the elastic arm has the free end thereof resting against the pawl.
    公开号:CA2431182A1
    申请号:C2431182
    申请日:2003-06-10
    公开日:2003-12-20
    发明作者:Arthur Wu
    申请人:Arthur Wu；
    IPC主号:B25B13-46
    专利说明:
    FIEZD of THE INVENTION The present invention relates to hand tools, and more particularly to ratchet wrenches. BRIEF DESCRIPTION of THE DRAWINGS The characteristics of the known relevant prior art ratchet wrenches are set forth in the first four of the following drawings. Further, the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the ratchet wrench according to t=he present invention, as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further objectivE:s and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the follow_Lng drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the accompanying draw:ingse Figure 1 is a sectional view of a first conventional prior art ratchet wrench; Figure 2 is a sectional view of a second conventional prior art ratchet wrench; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a third conventional prior art ratchet wrench; Figure 4 is a sectional View of a fourth conventional prior art ratchet wrench; Figure 5 is a sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a sectional view along section line 6-6 in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a self-positioned elastic member of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure ~ is a perspective view of the self-positioned elastic member engaging a pawl;
    Figure 9 is a perspective view of an alternate self-positioned elastic member of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;Figure 10 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the handle being turned in a reverse direction;Figure 11 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 12 is a perspective view of a self-positioned elastic member of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 13 end Figure 14 are perspective views of two alternate self-positioned elastic members of the second preferred embodiment of the present inventions BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFigure 1 shows a conventional ratchet wrench 60 having a handle 61, an engaging member 63, a pawl 64 and a spring 65. The handle 61 has a head portion 62 at an end thereof, a through hole 621 at the head portion 62 and a chamber 622 communicated with the through hole 621. The handle 61 further has a slot X23 on the sidewall of the chamber 622. The engaging member 63 has a polygonal hole 631 at central and an annular tooth portion 632 at exterior surface thereof. The engaging portion 63 is rotatably installed in the through hole 621 of the handle 61. The pawl 63 is received in the chamber 622 of the handle 61 having a rod 641 at a side thereof. The spring 65 has one end received in the slot 623 on the sidewall of the chamber 622 and the other end engaging the rod 641 of the pawl 64.Figure 2 shows an improved ratchet wrench 70, which has a drill hole 711 at lateral side of the head 71. A bolt 72 is threadibly engaged into the hole 711 to make the spring 73 having an end resting against on the bolt 72. Patents showing similar inventions are U.S. Patent 6,334,373, U.S. Patent 6,205,889 and U.S. Patent 4,991,468._4_ Figure 3 shows a ratchet wrench 80 as taught in U.S. Patent 5,636,557. A stop piece 81 is installed in the chamber 82. The fourth improved ratchet wrench 90 shown in Figure 4 provides a movable metal block 92 in the chamber 91 biased into frictional engagement with the annular collar by spring 93 pressing thereagainst. In the known prior art ratchet wrenches, the spring is more difficult to install than necessary. The primary object of the invention is to provide a ratchet wrench, wherein the spring is easy to install. SU1~ARY OF THE INVENTION According to the objectives of the invention, a ratchet wrench comprises a handle having a head portion at an end thereof and a through hole and a chamber at the head portion, wherein the chamber is communicated with the through hole at a side thereof and has a sidewall at the other side thereof. An engaging member has a polygonal hole at central thereof and an annular tooth portion at exterior surface thereof. The engaging member is rotatable installed in the through hole of the handle. A pawl has a tooth portion at a side thereof. The pawl is. received in the chamber of the handle at a side thereof and rests against the sidewall in the chambero The pawl has the tooth portion thereof detachable meshed with the tooth portion of the engaging member, and a self-positioned elastic member has a positioning portion and an elastic arm as a unity. The self-positioned. elastic member is received in the chamber of the chamber of the handle at the side opposite from the pawl, whereby the positioning portion rests against both of the sidewall of the chamber and the engaging member and the elastic arm has the free end thereof resting against the pawls Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as methods of operation and functions of the related elements of the structure, and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, the latter of which is briefly described herein below. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION n CA 02431182 2003-06-10 Reference will now be made to Figures 5 and 6 which show the first preferred embodiment of the ratchet wrench 1 of the present invention. The ratchet wrench 1 comprises a handle 10 having a head partion 11 at the end thereof. The head portion 1J_ surrounds a through hole 12 and a chamber 13. The chamber 13 i_s communicated with the through hole 12 at a side thereof and has a curved sidewall 14 at the other side thereof. An engaging member 20 is an annular column in the present invention, which has a hexagonal hole or a dodecahedral hole 21 at central and an annular tooth portion 22 at exterior surface thereof. The engaging member 20 is rotatably installed in the through hole 12 of the handle 10. It is well known in the field how to install the engaging member 20 into the handle 10, and will not be discussed in the detail herein. A pawl 30 has a tooth portion 32 and a slot 34. The pawl 30 is received in the chamber 13 of the handle 10 at a side thereof and rests against on the sidewall 14 of the chamber 13. The tooth portion 32 of the pawl 30 is meshed with the tooth portion 22 of the engaging member 20. Only a small amount of movement of ,, CA 02431182 2003-06-10 the pawl 30 is required to remove it from engagement with the engaging member 20.As can be best seen in Figures 6 and 7, a ress_lient self-positioned spring member 40, is made from a metal wire to form a spiral positioning portion 41 and an spring arm 42 projected from the positioning portion 41. The self-positioned spring member 40 is installed in the chamber 13 of the handle 10 at the side opposite from the pawl 30. The positioning portion 41 of the self-positioned spring member 40 rests against both. of the sidewall 14 of the chamber 13 and the tooth portion. 22 of the engaging member 20. The spring arm 42 has its free end extending outwardly to be received in the slot 34 of the pawl 30 to provide the pawl 30 a spring force, to bias the pawl 30 into engagement with the engaging member 20, as described above.Figure 9 shows an alternate self-positioned spring member 40', which has a positioning member 41' and an spring arm 42'.The self-positioned spring member 40' is similar to aforesaid self-positioned spring member 40, except that the spiral orientation of the positioning member 41' is opposite from the positioning member 41 of aforesaid self-positioned spring member _g_ 40, but it has the same function as aforesaid self-positioned spring member 40.Reference will again be made to Figure 5, to describe the moving parts of the wrench 1 in use. When the handle 10 is turned clockwise, as indicated by arrow "A", the tooth portion 32 of the pawl 30 will be biased intc meshed engagement with the tooth portion 22 of the engaging member 20. In this manner, the engaging member 20 turns with the handle 10 for tic(htening or loosening a bolt or a nut engaged by the engaging member 20. In contrast, referring to Figure 10, when the handle is turned counterclockwise, as indicated by arrow "B", the pawl 30 will disengage from the engaging member 20, thus precluding the handle from turning the engaging member 20 and the bolt or nut engaged by the engaging member 20.As can be best seen in Figure 5, the included angle between the orientation of the slot 34 and the orientation of the diameter of the engaging member 20 is an acute angle.Accordingly, the elastic force "F'° provided by the spring arm 42 to the pawl 30 can be divided into a tangential force "Ft" and a normal force "Fn". The normal force "Fn" helps retain the entire tooth portion 32 of the pawl 30 meshed with the tooth portion 22 of the engaging member 20 even though the force Pram the head portion 11 is trying to push the pawl 30 out of engagement with the engaging member 20. Thus, the ratchet wrench 1 of the present invention provides a strong ratcheting structure for turning bolts or nuts. The ratchet wrench 1 of the present invention has no extra elements provided for installing the spring, as compared to the prior art. The self-positioned spring member 40 of the present invention has advantages of having a simple structure and easy to be installed in the ratchet wrench. Figure 11 shows a ratchet wrench 2 of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, which has a handle 51 and a head portion 52 disposed at an end of the handle 51. The head portion 52 surrounds a through hole 53 and a chamber 54, and an engaging member 55 rotatably installed within the through hole 53. A pawl 56 and a self-positioned elastic member 57 are installed with the chamber 54. As can be best seen in Figure 12, the self-positioned elastic member 57 of the second preferred embodiment is made from a flexible piece of suitable metal to form a positioning portion 571, which has a "C°'-shape in cross-section, and a curved elastic arm 572. The pawl 56 is provided ,., CA 02431182 2003-06-10 with a gap 561 thereon for the elastic arm 572 of the self-positioned elastic member 57 to rest against. The operation and the functions of the second preferred embodiment ratchet wrench 2 are as the same as the first preferred embodiment ratchet wrench 1. Figures 13 and 14 show two alternate self-positioned spring members 57' and 57" of the second preferred embodiment. The self-positioned spring member 57' shown in Figure 13 is made from a flexible piece having a positioning portion 571' and an elastic arm 572'. The self-positioned spring member 57' has an elongate opening 573' therein to reduce the material cost and to adjust the elastic capacity of the elastic arm 572'. Another self-positioned spring member 57" as is shown in Figure 14, is also made from a flexible piece of material. It has a narrow strip-like elastic arm 572" having a width smaller than the height of the positioning portion 571". Other variations of the above principles will be apparent to those who are knowledgeable in the field of the invention, and such variations are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Further, other modifications and alterations may be used in the design and manufacture of the ratchet wrench of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims.
    权利要求:
    Claims (8)
    [1] 1. A ratchet wrench comprising:a handle having a head portion at an end thereof, a through hole at said head portion and a chamber, wherein said chamber is communicated with said through hole at a side thereof and has a side wall at the other side thereof;an engaging member having a polygonal hole at central thereof and an annular tooth portion at exterior surface thereof, said engaging member rotatably installed in said through hole of said handle;a pawl having a tooth portion at a side thereof, said pawl received in said chamber of said handle at a side thereof, such that said pawl rests against said side wall in said chamber in said tooth portion thereof, and is detachably meshed with said tooth portion of said engaging member; and, a self-positioned spring member having a positioning portion and a spring arm as a unity, said self-positioned spring member received in said chamber of said handle at the side opposite from said pawl, whereby said positioning portion rests against both of said side wall of said chamber and said engaging member, and said spring arm has a free end thereof resting against said pawl.
    [2] 2. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 1, wherein said self-positioned spring member is made from a flexible wire for said positioning portion having a spiral shape and said spring arm projected from an end of said positioning portion.
    [3] 3. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 1, wherein said pawl has a slot at a side thereof for receiving the free end of said spring arm of said self-positioned spring member therein.
    [4] 4. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 3, wherein an included angle between the orientation of said slot of said pawl and the diameter orientation of said engaging member is an acute angle.
    [5] 5. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 1, wherein said self-positioned elastic member is made from a flexible piece for said positioning portion having a substantial "C"-shaped in cross-section and said spring arm projects from said positioning portion.
    [6] 6. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, wherein said pawl has a gap at a side thereof for receiving the free end of said spring arm of said self-positioned spring member therein.
    [7] 7. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, wherein said flexible piece has an opening.
    [8] 8. The ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, wherein the width of said spring arm is smaller than the height of said positioning portion.
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    法律状态:
    2006-06-12| FZDE| Dead|
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    TW91207076U|TW519016U|2002-05-17|2002-05-17|Improvement for ratchet wrench|
    TW91207076||2002-05-17||
    US10/175,405||2002-06-20||
    US10/175,405|US20030213342A1|2002-05-17|2002-06-20|Ratchet wrench|
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