US2664020A - Gear operated pancake-type wrench for use in confined spaces - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 29, 1953 F. J. DE NOTE GEAR OPERATED PANCAKE-TYPE WRENCH FOR USE 1N CONFINED SPACES 1951 2 sheets-sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 6,

origin-1 Filed Jan. e, 1951 Dec. 29, 1953 J DE NQTE 2,664,020

F. GEAR OPERATED PANCAKE-TYPE WRENC FOR USE IN CONFINED SPACES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR. Flu/wr J. nenn' ATTORNEY.

atented Bec. 29, r1953 GEAR OPERATED vPANCAKE-TYPE WRENCH FOR USE IIN GONFINED SPACES Frank J. vDe Note, Forestville, Conn., assigner to The Bristol Tool Machine Company, Inc., lForestville, Conn., acorporation of 'Connecticut Original application January 6, 1951, Serial No.

204,773, now Patent No. 2,629,278, dated February 24, 1953. VDivided and this application January 23 1953'Seral No.332,920

This invention relates to yautomatic wrenches, and is more particularly directed to improvements in powei` driven socket Wrenches for use in tightening or loosening nuts situated in places 'that are either inaccessible, or diicult to Vreach with ordinary wrench tools.

One object of this invention is to provide a power driven socket Wrench having an angularly offsset nut-engaging member which is substantially tree from interfering mechanisms so that it may be used in uniiorinly tightening or loosening nuts or bolts about which there is a minimum of clearance from surrounding structures.

Another object or this invention is to provide a device of the character described which has Aan ofi-set nuten.gaging member .at v.the :rei/note end oi an elongated barrel housing so that the wrench may be used to operate on nuts located in deep, confined recesses, such as are encountered inthe assembly of cylinder' heads in radial aircraft engines.

A further object is to provide a device -of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate, compact, and very efficient and durable in use.

rEhe present application constitutes a division of my prior copending application Serial Number 204,773, filed January G, i951 entitled Gear-Operated Pancake-Type Wrench for Use in Confined Spaces, patented February 24, 1953, Number 2,629,278.

With these and other objects in View there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

in the drawings,

1 shows in two parts, the invention as applied to a motor-driven, trigger-actuated power tool, and further illustrates its adaptability for operation on a nut in the closely confined space between two cylinders of a radial aircraft engine,

represented by the dashed lines.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the ofi-set nut-engaging drive mechanism, partly in section, taken along the bro-sen line 2-2 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. `f5 is a sectional view of the same, taken along the line 5in-3 of Fig, 1.

Fig. e is a bottom view ci the off-set nut enaging drive mechanism taken along the line .-1- of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a side View of the hexagonally rounded end of the drive shaft.

Fig. S is an end view ci the same.

Fig. 7 is a side View, partly in section, `of 'the shaft barrel' housing, showing the lower sleeve bearing in `place therein, and further showing how rthe end of the barrel is fixed in angular relationship to the rear .cover of the socket drive mechanism.

Referring now to .the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote corresponding `parts throughout the several views, the numeral iii indicates generally a trigger-actuated tool embodying the invention.

The tool .lo includes an yain-driven slip clutch C having a `rotative drive `member 'il provided with an Ahexagonal central socket to within which is disposed 'the hexagonal end portion t2 of an elongated drive shaft I3. The drive shaft it is rotatably disposed with an elongated barrel housing l 4, for Whichpurpose said rbarrel housing has a pair of sleeve 'bearings l5 and it, one disposed within either `end thereof. The Ybarrelhousing lf3 is held in xedaligned relationship tothe casing of the tool It, by a split tubular .housing member ll, tightly securedin place by means oi a clamping screw .I8 within one side thereof.

'The outer lower end of' the elongated drive shaft I3 is provided with a hexagonal oval-shaped pointed head I9, adapted to be received within a hexagonal central opening 2s in an externally toothed drive gear 2|, driven by said drive shaft I3.

The drive gear 2i is provided with an annular shoulder 22 of reduced diameter, rotatably seated Within a replaceable bushing 35 located at the inner end of a gear housing body 23, the latter being provided with a centrally located stepped pin 24 on which is rotatably disposed an idler gear 25, in meshing engagement with the drive gear 2l. At the outer end oi the gear housing body 23, there is rotatably disposed an externally toothed wrench socket having a plurality oi internal nut engaging .faces 2i. The wrench socket 26 is also provided with an annular shoul der 28, of reduced diameter, embraced by the gear housing body 23, the outer end of said gear housing body 23 comprising merely a thin arcuate band 29. The arcuate band 2Q could form part of a replaceable ring t? xed in the housing body 23 as by spot welding 38.

The outer end of the elongated barrel housing hi has a rear cover member 3D fixed to it, as by a circumferential weld 3|, and disposed in inclined relationship thereto. The rear cover member it@ is detachably ixed to the gear housing body 23 as by means of a pair of machine screws 32.

The front cover member 33 is similarly detachably xed to the gear housing body 23 by a pair of machine screws 34, the purpose of said front cover member being to retain the idler gear 25 and the externally toothed socket 26 in operating position within the housing body 23. The front cover member 33 is provided with a pair of forwardly-extending ear portions 35 overlaying the rearward half of the externally-toothed socket 26.

Operation The operation of the improved socket wrench can readily be understood by referring to Fig. l of the drawing. Thus it will be seen that the toothed wrench socket 26, being unincumbered at the outer end of the gear housing body 23, may

readily be placed over a nut or boit to be turned. The fact that the housing portion holding the socket at its outer end consists merely of the thin band 29 of the ring 31 allows the improved tool to be used in cases where the nut to be operated upon is closely adjacent a side wall.

When the trigger T is pressed, the clutch C will continuously rotate the drive shaft I3 until the nut is tightened to a predetermined torque, after which the clutch C will slip and prevent damage to the parts. The tool will then be removed from the nut and applied to the next nut on the engine cylinder. To remove the nut, the drive shaft i3 will be operated in the reverse direction, under the control of a rotary reversing switch knob S.

Although the particular embodiment herein described shows the wrench socket 26 disposed at a certain angle with respect to the elongated barrel housing i4, it is to be understood that this angle may be varied considerably, within the spirit and scope of the invention, to suit the particular job to be done.

One advantage of the improved wrench herein disclosed is that it is capable of operating on nuts or bolts in small restricted areas.

Another advantage is that the improved tool is very small in size and light in weight, therefore making it ideal for assembly line production.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specic disclosure, but may be modied and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In an angularly offset socket wrench, an open-ended hollow handle rotatably supporting' a drive shaft therein, power means supported on one end of the handle and drivingly connected to said drive shaft, the free end of said drive shaft being oval in longitudinal section and polygonal in cross section, and extended beyond the free end of said handle, a pancake type transmission gear and wrench housing rigidly connected to the free end of the handle in angular relation thereto, a drive gear mounted in one end of the housing and having a polygonal opening which receives the correspondingly shaped end of the drive shalt, and transmission gearing in the housing interposed between the drive gear and a wrench socket.

'2. The invention as dened in claim l, in which a slip clutch is interposed between said power means and said drive gear, said clutch being permitted to slip when a predetermined torque is reached.

FRANK J. DE NOTE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,469,662 Leopold Oct. 2, 1928 2,235,374 Kellogg Mar. 18, 1941 2,482,387 Veneman Sept. 20, 1949 2,501,386 Gibbs Mar. 2l, 1950 2,532,027 Maddox Nov. 28, 1950 2,629,278 De Note Feb. 24, 1953

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