US2385654A - Wrench - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 25, 1945. Q VF SEASHORE 2,385,654.

I WRENCH Filed May 5, 1943 L50 l A 550771/@55 Patented Sept. 25, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WRENCH! Gunnar F. Seashore, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application May 5, 1943, Serial No. 485,717

(Cl. ill-94) its fulcrum at longitudinally adjustably selected IClalm.

rtMy present invention belongs to the wrench a One phase of the invention pertains to improvements in the gripping jaws' of hand wrenches, and has as an important objective the provision of an improved jaw construction whereby the gripping faces of Vthe cooperating jaws will adapt themselves to engage flat surfaces of gripped objects regardless of whether the engaged at surfaces be parallel or flaring. In ac` cordance with the invention, this and other important objectives are arrived at by providing one of the relatively movable'jaws with a movable gripping plate that is anchored therethrough for limited pivotal movements. In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, the

wrench jaws are pivotally connected i'or swinging movements toward and from one another and, of course, the invention is particularly advantageous when used in connection with this pivoted jaw construction in that the pivoted gripping plate on one of the jaws will move under gripping action and adjust itself to compensate for variations in angularity between the gripping faces of the jaws caused by pivotal opening and portions along the linkage. This phase of the invention has as its main object to provide improved handle and fulcrum portion adjusting means for wrenches of this general character.

The above and other important objects and advantages sf the invention will be made apparent from the following specification, claim, 'and appended drawing.

In the accompanying drawing, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views. Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 .is a view in side elevation of a wrench embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken through the longitudinal axis of the wrench illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional Aview taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional viewv taken on the lille 4-4 of F18. 2;

closing movement thereof one with respect to the other. In the case of the pivoted jaw construction, the movable gripping plate is preferably anchored to the pivotally movable of the .laws

on an axis parallel to but spaced from the jaw pivot. Preferably, the movable jaw plate is pivotally anchored to its respective jaw by a pivot located considerably outwardly of the longitudinal center ,of the pivoted jaw plate, and, in many respects, it has been found that best results can be expected when the pivot is spaced from the inner end of said jaw plate a distance approximately equalling 3/4 of the total length of vthe pivoted jaw plate. Also, in the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, pivotal 4 movements of the jaw plate are definitely limited in two directions, and the said pivoted jaw plate is spring pressed toward an outwardly flaring relationship with the gripping face of the cooperating jaw. Other advantages of this construction are eillcient gripping at the extreme ends of the jaw and the ability to withstand greater stresses when so used; and eliicient gripping action on pipes and the like engaging the gripping faces of the jaws only inwardly of the pivot of the movable law plate.

-Another phase of the invention is confined to wrenches of the type wherein the movable jaw of the wrench is operated through the medium of toggle linkage comprising a stub link having Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line l-l of Fig. l.; y

Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, `but showing ya modification of the wrench handle and stub lever fulcrum adjusting means;

Fig. 'I is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6, some parts being re- 1 moved and some parts being broken away; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing a still further modication of the invention as pertains to the fulcrum adjusting means for the stub link of the toggle.

With reference ilrstto Figs. 1-5 inclusive, the numeral 9 indicates, as an entirety, a lever involving a handle l0 and a jaw Ii, which may hereinafter be referred to as a fixed Jaw. The lever 9 may be assumed t be pressed fromsheet metal, but may, ofcourse, be otherwise formed, and at its intermediate portion and jaw end is shaped to provide a downwardly-opening channel having spaced parallel side flanges i2. Ex-f tending between the spaced parallel flanges l2 at the free end of the jaw i i is a hardened grippingy plate I! having suitable-teeth in its gripping surface. 'I'he gripping plate i3 may be assumed to be welded or otherwise rigidly anchored to the jaw il. To form the handle portion ill of the lever, the flanges i2 thereof are bent into circular formation to provide a completely circular tubular part I4 at the extreme rear end part of the handle and a somewhat incomplete slotted tubular part forwardly of the completely tubular part i4. As will be seen particularly by reference to Fig. '7, the slot, indicated by i5, in

,2,385,654 Y v y stub toggle leverv orlink 24 works in the slotted the incompletas?. fumar handle lo is in the but;

tom thereof and opens into the wider channel portion between the flanges I2 at the intermediate portion of theglever 9.

The movable jaw I6 of the wrench of Figs. 1-5 inclusive is shown as being of solid form such asattained by casting or drop forging and is pivotally anchored toand between the anges I2 of the lever 9 by a riveted pivot pin I1. At

sides of the pivotally movable jaw `I8 and have close-fitting sliding engagement therewith to` thereby prevent lateral movements thereon in handle III of the lever 9 and, in the construction shown in Figs. 1-'5 inclusive, is retained ragainst accidental displacement from .the slot I5 by a pin 28. In Figs. 1-5 inclusive, the rear or free end of this stub toggle lever 24 ilnds its base of reaction against the inner end of a screwfthreaded'shank 30 that has screw-threaded engage- 1 ment with and works throughthe completely tubular portion I4 of the handle I0. The shank 30 is welded or otherwise anchored at 3I to and forms an integral part of a tubular hand grip 32.

The tubular hand grip 32 works telescopica'lly over the cylindrical 'handle portion I8 of the lever 9. VWith .this construction, the fulcrum point or the rearor outer portion of the stub toggle lever 24 is adjustable longitudinally of the respect to the Ijaw I6; -'l''he pivotal anchoring of the movable gripping plate I8 to the movablejaw I8 is accomplished by passing a pivot pin 20 through the'spaced ilanges I9 and jaw' I8. As previously indicated, this pivot 23 is located outwardly of the longitudinal center oi' the gripping plate 18, and preferably is spaced from the inner end oi' the plate about of its length. Also,-for best results, the axis ofthe pivot 20 should be located as close as practical to the gripping fafe of the plate .I8 and in this connection it will ,be seen, by reference to Fig. 2, that the bore in the jaw I 8 receiving the pivot pin 20 opens slightly through the face of the jaw adjacent the plate I8, so that the under side of the plate I8 is substantially in contact with an exposed portion of the pin 20.- Outwardly'of the pivot pin 2liV the jaw I8 is formed with a ilat surface 2| 'for limiting pivotal movements of the gripping plate I8 "-1 in one direction, and inwardly of the pivotf2II the jaw I 8 is formed with ay fiat stop surface 22 for limiting pivotal movements of the gripping plate I8 in the other direction; one extreme position of the gripping plate I 3 being shown in Fig. 2 and another `extreme position thereof being shown in Fig. 6, later to be described,'but wherein l the jaw construction is retained.

The spring for yieldingly pressing the plvoted gripping plate I8 toward its extreme vportion shown in Fig. 2 is indicated by I8a and is of the coil compression type; this spring'beingsea'ted' at one end in a suitable, bore inthe ja-w I8 and reacting at its other end against the under surf face of the plate I8'betwee`n the flanges I9.

For operating .the movable jaw I8-, there is provided an operating mechanism comprising a lever 23, a suitable lever or link 24, and a coil tension 'spring 25. The spring 25 is anchored at one end to the lever I II and at the other end to the jaw 16,` and urges the parts toward their jaw op'en positions. 'I'he lever 23 underlies the lever 9 and is formed at its rear end with a handie-acting portion for cooperation with the handle I0. At its front end, the lever 23 is pivoted to the jaw I6 at a point 26 well spaced from the pivot I8, and the stub lever or link 24 is pivotally l connected to the intermediate portion of the lever 23 at 21 to form with said lever a toggle operated by the rear or handle portion of th lever 23. To stop inward jaw cooperating movement of the l lever 23 just after the toggle has passed its dead l center portion, the stub link or lever 24 is provided at its intermediate portion with a stop lug 28 for engagement with .the intermediate portion of the lever 23. The rear or other end Qi the operator when applying clamping pressure by the levers 9 and 23.

It should be apparent that movement of the lever 28 from its dotted lineposition of Fig. 1 to its full line position of Fig. 1 will cause the pivotally movable jaw I8 to move from its open inoperative position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 toits full line operative position of Fig. 1. Furthermore, it would appear to be evident that the position of the iulcrumpolnt of toggle lever or arm 24 by means of the tubular hand grip 32 and its shank portion 30 is valid to accommodate work pieces of different thickness, the position of the shank 30 in Figs. 1 and 2 being as required to accommodate the work piece y shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, it will be obvious by reference particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 that the knee portion of the toggle linkage moves slightly past dead center in a closed position of the leversl 8 and 23 so as to automatically lock the wrench jaws in clamped relation on the work. y

- 32 having a. shank 38', but in Fig. 8 the tubularlhand grip 32' is internally threaded and is as-l sumedto have threaded engagement with the exteriorof the handle portion I0 of the lever 9',

whilethe, shank 30' isfdevoid of threads and is assumed to merely slide through the tubular portion I4' of the handle I0'.

For the purpose of simplicity, all .parts in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, corresponding to parts in Figs. 1-5 inclusive or having the same general function will be assigned like characters plus the prime mark.

Now, with reference to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the tubular hand grip 32 is screw-threaded onto the handle I0 of lever 9 just as in' Fig. 8, but is devoid of any shank portion such as 30 of Fig. 2v or 30' of Fig". 8. In Fig. 6 it y.will be seen that the I stub toggle link or lever 24 is notched to provide a shoulder 33 and a rearwardly extending tongue portion 34. In this form of the invention, the shoulder 33 of the link 24' reacts against the inner end of the tubular hand grip 32' and the tongue 34 of the link 24 overhangs the inner end portion of the tubular hand grip 32 toprovide accidental displacement of. the rear end of link 24' .from the handle I0 through the slot I5' thereof.

Of course, in the forms shown in Figs.6 and 7, the variable adjustment of the fulcrum point of line 24' is accomplished by rotationand screwthreaded action on hand grip 32 on the screwthreaded handle I.

By reference to the drawing, it will be apparent that the gripping plate will move on its pivot 20 to automatically provide parallel gripping of the gripping plates I3 and I8 with any flat surface object squeezed between the plates I3 and I8 and extending both forwardly and rearwardly of the pivot 20 thereof. Now, by reference particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that when a work piece y is gripped between the free ends of the gripping plates I3 and I8 outwardly of the pivot 20 the gripping plate I8 will remain at rest against the flat stop surface 2l, and the parts will function just as in the case of a wrench of similar construction but having conventional rigid gripping plates. Another advantage of the invention resides in the fact that when a work piece such as shown at y" in Fig. 6 is clamped between those portions of the gripping plates inwardly of the pivot 20', the pivoted gripping plate I8 is forced into position wherein the gripping plates I3 and I8 converge outwardly one with respect to the other and thereby lock the work piece y therebetween and the outer edges of the flanges I2', thereby providing a highly enective pipe wrench.

In all figures, the movable gripping plate I8 is anchored to its respective jaw by a pivot having its axis extending transversely of the direction of movement of the pivoted Jaw and may be said to be mounted for pivotal or locking movements in the plane of movement oi' the pivoted or movable v law.

What I claim is: f

In a wrenchfa relatively fixed j aw, a relatively movable jaw pivotally connected to the fixed jaw for swinging movements with respect thereto, one of said jaws having a relatively fixed gripping surface and the other thereof carrying a movable gripping plate having a gripping surface for cooperation with the gripping surface of the other jaw, said relatively movable gripping plate being pivoted to its respective jaw for rocking movements thereon in the plane of movement of the movable jaw, the axis of the pivot of the gripping plate being located outwardly of the rear end of the gripping plate by a distance approximately equal to 3A of the length of the gripping plate, the under surface of the gripping plate being relatively flat and the cooperating jaw being formed with substantially flat stop surfaces extending oppositely from said pivot and at an angle to each other for engagement with the said flat surface of the gripping plate, the said flat surfaces of the jaw being substantially tangent with the periphery of the gripping plate pivot, and the said flat surface of the gripping plate also being substantially tangent with the periphery of the said pivot.

GUNNAR F, SEASHORE.

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