US2201827A - Ratchet mechanism - Google Patents

Description

May 21, 1940; o. P. FROESCHL ET AL. 2,201,827

RATCHET MECHANISM Filed April 17, 1939 3nventor6.

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Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES RATCHET MECHANISM Otto P. Froeschl and Paul A. Froeschl, Kansas City, Mo.

Application April 17, 1939, Serial No. 268,197

I 1 Claim.

This invention relates to ratchet wrenches and the like and has for one of its objects to produce a construction in which all of the operating parts are concealed, but having means conveniently accessible to the operator for quickly and easily changing from a right or left hand ratchet without removing the tool from operative position.

Another object of the invention is to produce a construction in which the point of contact be tween a pawl and the ratchet wheel is brought as close to the center line of the wrench as possible, the load being thus imposed on the solid and more substantial part of the wrench.

A further object of the invention is to produce a double ratchet wrench of the general character set forth which is of strong, durable, efficient and inexpensive construction; and in order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational face View of a ratchet Wrench embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a similar View of the opposite side of the wrench, but with the pawl-retracting plate omitted to disclose the two pawls in position to lock the ratchet wheel against rotation in either direction, independently of movement of the tool as a whole.

Figure 3 is a central vertical section of the head of the wrench and of certain parts, the ratchet wheel and the ratchet wheel retaining plate being shown in elevation.

Figure 4 is a section on the line IVIV of Figure 3, with the setting plate adjusted to retract one dog to inoperative position and permit the other one to engage the ratchet wheel, the setting plate except its hub and pin, appearing in dotted lines.

Figure 5 is an elevation of the underside of the setting plate or pawl retracting plate.

In the drawing, Where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures, l is an operating handle, which at one of its ends terminates in an enlarged head 2.

One side of the head is chambered out to form a cylindrical socket 3, and rotatably received within said socket is a ratchet wheel 4 having a reduced bearing extension 5 journaled in an opening in the closed side of the head 2.

The ratchet wheel is retained in the socket by a closure plate 6 having a central opening through which the tool-engaging stem 1 of the ratchet wheel projects. The cover or closure plate may be secured in position in any suitable 55 manner as by being threaded in position, in

which event the cover plate has spanner wrench receiving sockets 8.

By preference, the ratchet teeth 9 having identical opposite operating faces for engagement respectively with one of a pair of right and left hand pawls hereinafter identified. Extending angularly through the side wall of the head are a pair of rectangular bores or passageways which intersect each other, and also intersect the chamber containing the ratchet wheel; and slidingly 10 mounted in said bores are a pair of hollow rectangular pawls In, which are advanced against the ratchet Wheel, when unrestrained, by means of springs ll inserted between said pawls and closure plugs I2 closing the ends of the bores. 15 With the construction described and shown, the pawls bear such a relation to the teeth of the ratchet wheel that the operating face of each tooth finds a broad and full seat on its respective pawl. It will be apparent that swinging 20 movement of the handle I in either direction will, through one or the other pawl, lock the ratchet wheel so that it is rotated in accordance with the swinging of said handle, the operative pawl being repressed by pressure applied against its 25 end longitudinally of its axis, when the handle is swung in the opposite direction.

In order to selectively withdraw one pawl or the other, depending upon the direction it is desired to drive the ratchet wheel, the closed side 30 of the head is formed with a cylindrical socket l3, having its axis in the plane of the longitudinal center line of the handle, said socket intersecting a side wall of the bores containing the pawls, so that said pawls form a portion of the 5 bottom of the socket, see Figure 2. The socket is axially counterbored and received in the counterbore is a threaded screw M which is engaged with an internally threaded hub or stem l5 projecting from the underside of a cylindrical plate 40 i6 rotatively mounted in the socket I3. The upper face of the plate has a cross rib l1 forming an operating handle for rotating the plate. Projecting from the underside of the plate is a pawl repressing pin I8, which can be oscillated by 45 movement imparted to the plate, so that said pin swings from one pawl-bore to the other, and functions to repress either of the pawls from operative engagement with the ratchet wheel according to whether it is desired to have a right or a left hand ratchet wrench. Mounted in a socket in the head 2 underlying the plate I6 is a frictional ball catch is pressed outwardly by a spring 29 to selectively enter one or the other of a pair of sockets 2| formed on the underside of said plate, so that the device may be automatically locked with the selected pawl in retracted position, the frictional lock offering sufiicient resistance to overcome the pressure of the springs ll against their respective pawls.

From the above description, it will be apparent that while we have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that we reserve the right to all changes within the spirit of the invention and without the ambit of the prior art.

We claim:

In ratchet mechanism a tool head having a through passageway counterbc-red to form a socket, a removable plate closing the open end of the counterbore, a ratchet wheel journaled in said socket and held in position by said plate, a second through passageway in the tool head and spaced from and parallel to the first-named passageway, a counterbore in said second passageway and intersecting the first-named counterbore, a pair of non-circular bores having their axes at right angles to the axes of the through passageways and intersecting said passageways at a line connecting the axes of said passageways, said bores diverging outwardly and being so related that a line connecting the axes of the two passageways bisects the angles formed between prolongations of the axes of bores, spring-advanced pawls non-rotatively received in each bore, a pair of diametrically opposite sides of each pawl being in parallel relation and respectively adapted to simultaneously engage one wall of its respective bore and a correspondingly parallel face of a ratchet tooth, a pawl-retracting member bearing a journaled relation to the second through passageway, a pin projecting from said member and adapted for selective positioning in either bore to effect repression of the corresponding pawl, and a frictional lock carried by the head for securing the pawl-retracting member in selected position.

o'r'ro P. FRoEscHL. PAUL A. FROESCHL.

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