US2641291A - Ratchet clutch handle - Google Patents

Description

June 9, 1953 T Y ss RATCHET CLUTCH HANDLE Filed Nov. 6, 1947 Thomas R. Yess mag Patented June 9, 1953 TED STATES- PAT E N T OFFICE RATCHET CLUTCH Thomas R. Yess, Schenectady, N.- Y.

Application November 6, 1947, Serial No. 784,473

2 Glaims.

1! The present invention relates to multipl'e purpose and combination tools and implements and has reference in particular to structural means cha acter'ize'd by a shank whose outer or forward end is constructed for ooactionwith the work, a

hand grip for handling and imparting rotation to--the*shank and clutch means, of a ratcheting type,- for rotating andd'riving the shank.

Moreexplicitly; one phase of the invention has to* do with a hand grip to which the shank may be either permanently or det'achably connected, said' hand -grip being provided with ax conveniently" situates socketand said socket being adaptes-toaccommodate an insertable and rem'o'vableelement which is usable as a shank tages or theinvention will become more readily apparent from :the. following description" and the accompanying illustrative drawing.

In the drawing; wherein like numerals are em ployed' to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 11 is a view partly in section and. partly in elevatiorrshowing one embodiment of the improved tool means constructed in accordance with principles of the instant invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational view, partly: in section; with the lever iragmentarily shown and" positioned for shank turning and driving use;

Figure 3 is an elevational view'of the detach a'blel'ever element Figure 4 is a view, in elevation, showing the.

hand gripwithiarshort shank constructed to accommodate an extension shank or equivalent par tfor turning the latter, the figure including, in separated fashion, the shank to be turned; 25nd,.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the shank means seen-in Figure 4.-

Rleferringnow to the drawing andtoFigures' 1 to 3' -inclusive it will be seen that the shank is denoted by'thenumeral l and, in Figure 1, has one end portion, 8,- providedwith radial fins, pins or the like 9 and securely anchored in an ad 2, jac'ent end: portion of a; hand-grip HT. The por-' tion 8 is provided. with an internally screw threaded socket l li which registers with a bore t2? passing through the hand-grip and provid ing a socket for the insertableand detachable element l 3=. This is a rigid part and is screw threaded as at I! where it is threaded into the socket Il The-outer end: is formed: with a knobwhich is convex as at t5 and whose marginal portion: is milledorkmirled as at It to provide a suitable finger grip'l Wh'en not in use, the ele ment in question, which we shall call a detacha-b'l'e' lever, is mounted in" an out of-the-way position the hand-grip Hi; When it is broughtinto use it is: screwed into a socket l'lprovided in: one side and adjacent one end of a turnable and slidab'le sleeve t8" carried by the shank. This sleeve" is of hexagonal cross sectional form so that it has the function of a. tool nut, that is to say awrench (not shown) may be engaged therewith for turning the same. 01', if a wrench is not. used the detachable lever l3may be brought into play and applied totake a position at rightangles to thev sleeve: as seen; in Figure 2'. The sleeve is normally forced down against a flanged: shoulder IS on. the shank by a coiledspring 2432 which surrounds the shank between the hand-grip and: the sleeve. The lower end of. the sleeveis scalloped or notched as at 2! to provide clutch members engageable with clutch lugs 22" providedton annadjacent coacting surface of: the shoulder l9. That portion of the shank beyond the lug equipped shoulder constitutes what may be described as an extension 23 and this may terminate either in a screw driver bit 2 4 as shown in: Figure 1 ormay be of reduced polygonal: or equivalent cross-section, as at 25 and provided with ballrclutch elements: 26'toaccommodatean attachable and detachable socket for turning bolt heads, nutsand the like (socket not shown) It isobviou-s' that using'the device as a screw driver: as seeri-imFig-ure I the ordinary mode of operation issto grasp the hand-grip, toinsert the bitfl into" the: k'e'ri of the screw (not shown) anditot turn as-is customarily done. Where the screw is stuck andcan not be turned either out or" then. additional leverage afforded by themechanical expediency herein shown is available. That isto say, the: clutch notches 2-1 onthe sleeve 58- may be engagedwith the clutch lugs 22 on the shoulder I9 anda wrench (not shown) may beengaged with the sleeve, using the same as a driving nut. This will then serve to impartrotationto the shank for loosening stubborn screws. If a wrench is not handy and it is desired to use the lever, this may be done. That is to say, the small readily available lever l3 may be detached from the hand-grip in Figure 1 and attached to the sleeve 18 as shown in Figure 2. Then it may be ratcheted back and forth to apply a combined ratcheting and driving action to the shank. It is understood that shank covers a linearly straight and rigid part which may constitute either a screw driver shank or tool shank for actuating extra socket wrenches, etc.

In Figure 4 a modification is shown wherein a hand-grip 21 is provided with a short stubshank 28 with retention balls 29. Here the detachable lever is shown but it is not illustrated except for the head portion l5a and knurled surface portion l6u,.

In this arrangement the main shank portion seen below in Figure 4 is denoted by the numeral 30, is provided with a socketed head 3| with a knurled surface 132, said shank having an outstanding shoulder 33, an extension portion 34, the shoulder having clutch lugs 35 engaging in the clutch notches 36a in the adjacent coacting end of the polygonal sleeve 36. The sleeve is pressed down on the shank and against the shoulder by a coiled spring 31 as already explained. The sleeve is usable as a nut to accommodate a wrench or it may be provided in one side with a socket 38 to accommodate the attachable and detachable lever.

It will be seen that the invention serves to provide a tool with a handle and lever and simple ratchet and shank so constructed that any suitable tool shank having a tool socket may be used in connection therewith, provision being made in said tool to afford the user lever means and a degree of leverage insuring ease of operation and effective results. In addition the tool affords the user improved means for use as a tap wrench in that when a socket adaptor and tap is secured on the tool shank, steady and true guidance of tap is insured, revolving same in either direction. What is more, the device may be used as a practical hand tool for grinding valves in automobile motors, the same supplying motion in either direction with the result that proper purchase with the lever and ratchet mechanism is available without removing the tool from driving contact with the valve seat.

Manifestly the structure is such that it may be interpreted primarily as a new type of screw driver; or the importance of the structure may be emphasized as a combined tool shank with lever and ratchet-like driving means therefor. What is more, a further version may be a screw driver, combined tool shank with lever and ratchet drive, and hand-grip in proper relation to coacting parts. I desire these various interpretations to be kept in mind as the reader will appreciate.

The construction embodied in the device herein shown and described serves to provide a satisfactory and adequate tool which may be revolved in one direction or another without complete rotation of the hand-grip or lever, in close quarters where, lack of space, would prevent convenient use of an'ordinary screw driver or straight tool shank. Furthermore, due to the provision of the lever on the hand-grip the screw driver of Figure 1 will enable the user to seat the screw tightly and to remove stubborn screws with comparative ease, an accomplishment not usually attainable with the regularly employed screw driver. Novelty is also predicated upon the detachable lever and its temporary placement and retention in the hand-grip. Finally the idea of having the lever in the hand-grip, removing it and attaching it to the sleeve and again restoring it to the hand-grip, plus the fact that the sleeve may be grasped with a wrench and turned independently of the lever makes for a novel adaptation of parts.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawing will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made from the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what claimed as new is:

1. A hand tool of the class shown and describedcomprising a hand-grip provided with an axial bore opening through opposite ends of the handgrip, an elongated shank having an end portion telescoping into one end of the bore in said handgrip, enlarged in cross-section and embedded in said hand-grip and provided with an internally screw-threaded socket in alignment with said bore, an intermediate portion of said shank, at a point spaced from said hand-grip, having an outstanding discal flange provided with fixed circumferentially spaced lugs, a sleeve slidably and rotatably mounted on said shank between the flange and hand-grip, said sleeve being polygonal in cross-section and providing external flat faces forming tool grips, one end of said sleeve being provided with notches and said notches being releasably engageable with said lugs, a coiled spring surrounding the shank and bearing at one end against the shoulder provided by the hand-- grip and at its opposite end against the adjacent end of said sleeve, said sleeve being provided with in one side a screw-threaded opening right angles to said shank and constituting another socket, a rod member fitted telescopically and removably in the bore in said hand-grip and having a screw-threaded portion screwed into the first named socket, the outer end of the rodmember having a head and said head bearin against the adjacent end of the hand-grip and closing the corresponding end of said bore, the socket in said sleeve corresponding in diameter to the socket in said bore in order that both of said sockets may be selectively employed to accommodate the screw-threaded end of said rodmember.

2. A hand tool of the class described comprising a hand-grip provided with an axial bore opening through opposite ends of the hand-grip,

an elongated shank having an end portion telescoping into one end of said bore, embedded in said hand-grip, closing said end of the bore and having an spring-pressed clutch means mounted on said shank, and a readily attachable and detachablehandle associable with said clutch means to assist in turning the latter and shank, said handle embodying a rod member of a length slightly greater than the length of the bore in said handgrip, said rod member fitting telescopically and removably into said bore and having a screwthreaded end portion screwed into the socket at the first-named end of said bore, the outer end of said rod member projecting beyond the cor-.

internally screw-threaded socket,

n a responding end of said bore and having a head and said head bearing against the adjacent end I of said hand-grip and closing the corresponding end of the bore.

THOMAS R. YESS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10 862,244 Garratt Aug. 6, 1907 1,047,634 Hofimann Dec. 17, 1912 1,079,912 Cutter Nov. 25, 1913 Number Number Name Date Fullenwider May 30, 1922 Linden July 4, 1922 Eisenhard Dec. 12, 1922 Rude Dec. 4, 1923 Sedgley Dec. 30, 1924 Letz Dec. 3, 1935 Blalock June 15, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 19, 1933

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