US2491089A

US2491089A - Socket wrench

Info

Publication number: US2491089A
Application number: US650922A
Authority: US
Inventors: Raymond L Cowden
Original assignee: TRUTH TOOL CO
Current assignee: TRUTH TOOL CO
Priority date: 1946-02-28
Filing date: 1946-02-28
Publication date: 1949-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 1966-12-13

Description

Dec. 13, 1949 R. L, COWDEN 4 2,491,089

SOCKET WRENCH Filed Feb. 28, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE SOCKET WRENCH Raymond L. Cowden, Mankato, Minn., assignor to Truth Tool Company, Mankato, Minn.

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to socket wrenches.

It is a fact well known to users of wrenches of this type that there are certain conditions under which it is desired to maintain the socket of the wrench in engagement with a nut while being applied to a bolt, or for holding the head of a bolt While the bolt is being placed in position. Generally extraordinary care must be used in handling nuts and bolts in socket wrenches to prevent them from spilling out of the sockets while the parts are being brought into position for tightening.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a socket member of a wrench With a resilient gripping means which will tightly engage and hold the inserted nut or other object to be rotated so that it will not drop therefrom accidentally while being handled.

A further object is to provide a holding means vwhich can be inserted in wrench sockets already in use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a holding device which is simple and inexpensive in construction and can be easily placed in position.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a face view of a wrench socket equipped with the present improvement.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2 showing a nut seated in the socket and engaged and held by the attachment constituting the present invention.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, A designates a Wrench socket member of the usual or any preferred configuration, said socket being provided with the usual inner working surface B, which can be channeled, toothed, or otherwise shaped so as to properly engage and turn a nut or the like seated in the socket.

The present invention comprises a cup-like disk I formed of rubber or other suitable resilient or compressible material of a flexible nature, this disk being proportioned to t snugly in the back portion of the recess C in socket A. The disk is provided with an annular flange 2 fitted snugly against the wall of the socket and extended towards the open end thereof. This flange forms a tapered recess 3 so proportioned that when a nut or the like adapted to be turned by the socket member is pressed backwardly into recess C, it will become wedged Within the area defined by the ange 2 so as to be tightly gripped by the flange as shown in Figure 3. This engaged element N, which can be a nut, as shown in Figure 3 or a bolt head, will be prevented from falling out of the socket member A While being brought into position to be turned. Consequently, a considerable saving in time otherwise lost in replacing fallen nuts or the like is eifected.

As seen from Figures 1 and 2, only the outer end of the side Wall of the nut receiving cup of the wrench is polygonally faced. The inner end of said side wall is of cylindrical cross section, the marginal flange 2 overlying the cylindrical surface of said side wall. By reference to Figure 1, it is noted that at least some of the several diametrically opposite portions of the polygonal end are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of the cylindrical end. As a result, inwardly extended projections are defined by said diametrically opposite portions, that act as stops preventing accidental removal of the compressible disk from the cup. Thus, the invention is applicable to socket Wrenches previously manufactured, the disk being capable of being simply a loose lit Within the cup so as to be capable of ready replacement when worn and so as also to be more readily compressible by an inserted object.

What is claimed is:

The combination, with a socket wrench formed With a cup having a side Wall of polygonal cross section at its outer end and of cylindrical cross section at its inner end, the distance between at least some diametrically opposite portions of said polygonal end being less than the diameter of said cylindrical end, of a cup-shaped disk of compres- .sible material seated in the inner end of the cup and having a marginal flange overlying the cylindrical end of said side wall to provide a wedge compressible between an inserted object and said side wall for holding said object in the cup, said diametrically opposite portions of the polygonal end of said side wall constituting means for preventing accidental removal of the disk from the cup.

RAYMOND L. COWDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 30, 1938