US3858466A - Adjustable spanners - Google Patents

Abstract

An improvement in adjustable spanners of the type comprising a handle having a fixed jaw, an adjustable jaw mounted on a traveler, an adjuster screw for adjusting the traveler, and an opening into which the adjuster screw is secured; the improvement comprising a leaf spring in the form of a substantially cylindrical shell presenting an inwardly folded long edge portion extending along one long edge of a longitudinal extending slot in the shell. The leaf spring is placed in an opening that communicates with the adjuster screw opening and is removable therefrom.

Description

' llnited States Patent 1 1 Brunosson Jan. 7, 1975 [5 ADJUSTABLE SPANNERS 618,859 2/1899 Gardiner 81/176 Inventor: Bengt Bruno Brunosson p g 637,375 11/1899 Davldson 81/180 R X Sweden Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith [73] Assignee: AB Bahco Verktyg, Enkoping, Assistant Examiner-James G. Smith Sweden Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Klarquist, Sparkman, Filed Feb 11 1974 Campbell, Leigh, Hall & Whinston [21] Appl. No.: 441,168 57] ABSTRACT An improvement in adjustable spanners of the type [30] Foreign Application Priority Data comprising a handle having a fixed jaw, an adjustable Mar. 2, 1973 Sweden .4 73029860 jaw mounted a trawler adjuster Screw for justing the traveler, and an opening into which the ad- 52] us. (:1. 81/170, 81/180 R juster Screw is Cured; the improvement Comprising a 51 1m. 01 1325b 13/16, B25b 23/00 leaf spring in the form of a Substantially cylindrical [58] Field Of Search 81/129, 155, 159, 162, Presenting an inwardly folded long g Portion 81/170 176, 180 R, 180 C extending along one long edge of a longitudinal extending slot in the shell. The leaf spring is placed in an 8 [56] References Cited opening that communicates with the adjuster screw opening and is removable therefrom.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing; Figures ADJUSTABLE SPANNERS The invention relates to an improvement in adjustable spanners of the type comprising a handle having a stationary jaw, an adjustable jaw arranged on a travel ler, a traveller adjusting screw provided to enable the jaws to the set to the desired width therebetween, and a pin which rotatably supports the adjusting screw, the adjusting screw being arranged in an opening in the handle or in the traveller and being arranged to co-act with a toothed rack located on said traveller or on said handle, the pin being mounted in a bore in said handle or said traveller.

With the type of adjustable spanner most commonly used today, the pin and the bore receiving said pin are threaded along a short portion thereof adjacent the outer end of the pin and the bore, and the outer end surface of the pin is provided with a screw driver engaging slot. The pin, which thus has the form of a screw, affords effective locking of the spanner components to one another, while permitting rapid dismantling of the spanner, to enable a damaged portion to be replaced, for example. The arrangement of a threaded pin and bore, however, has the disadvantage that it creates manufacturing difficulties which result in a higher priced spanner, caused by the expensive working operations involved.

Consequently, many solutions have been proposed for locking the spanner components by means of a nonthreaded pin. These solutions, however, are encumbered with the disadvantage whereby the spanner components are so locked together that they cannot be dismantled to exchange broken parts, or whereby the spanner, in accordance with said solution, is provided with space-requiring attachment elements which are liable to collect dirt and to inconveniently fasten in articles of clothing or adjacent structures.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved spanner construction which eliminates the necessity of providing a threaded pin and bore while retaining the exchangeability of the spanner components'and without impairing the appearance or effectiveness in operation of the spanner.

This object is obtained with the spanner according to the invention, which is mainly characterized by a leaf spring in the form of a substantially cylindrical shell presenting an inwardly folded long edge portion extending along one long edge of a longitudinal extending slot in said shell, said leaf spring being placed externally on the outer end of the pin in the bore and being completely accommodated in said bore with the outside of I said shell lying in spring contact with the wall of the bore and with at least the inwardly folded end portion blocking axial outward movement of the pin in said bore.

So that the invention may be more readily understood and other features thereof made apparent, a spanner constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 shows in perspective the jaw end of an adjustable spanner, a portion of the spanner adjacent the pin and the bore receiving the pin having been cut away for illustration purposes, and

FIG. 2 shows in perspective and in larger scale a locking means for the pin according to the invention.

The illustrated spanner has a handle I, of which only the head and jaw portion is shown in FIG. 1. The handle has at its outer end a stationary jaw 2 forming a portion of the spanner head. Also arranged in the spanner head is a groove 3 which extends at right angles to the gripping surface of the stationary jaw and which is arranged to receive the rod 4 of a traveller 5, which carries a jaw 6 capable of being adjusted relative to the jaw 2. The rod 4 of the traveller 5 has the form of a toothed rack arranged toco-act with the thread of an adjusting worm screw 7 through an opening 8 arranged in the handle, in which opening the adjusting screw is located.

The adjusting screw 7 is arranged for rotation in the opening 8 on a pin 9 having the form ofa smooth (nonthreaded) cylindrical pin whose length is considerably shorter than the depth of the blind pin bore 10, which in a conventional manner extends through a handle portion on one side of the opening Sand bottoms on the other side thereof. The pin is arranged to fit freely in the inner portion of the pin bore, the diameter of said inner portion being smaller than the diameter of the pin bore portion located externally of the outer end of said pin when said pin is inserted in said bore.

A locking member 11 arranged to lock the pin 9 in the blind bore 10 is arranged in the wider, outer portion of said bore. The locking member 11 comprises a leaf spring having a portion substantially in the form of a hollow cylindrical shell 12 leaving a longitudinally extending slot 13 between the circumferentially meeting.

long-edge portions of the shell. With the embodiment of FIG. 2, one of the aforementioned long edge portions of the cylindrical shell 12 is formed as shown at 14, while the other end, 15, of said leaf spring is bent radially inwardly from the edge of the slot 13, so as to form a surface extending generally diametrically across theshell 12. The whole of the locking member 11 is accommodated in the wider, outer portion of the pin bore 10, with the outer cylindrical surface of the'shell l2 urged against the wall of the bore 10 with a pressure generated by the inherent springiness of said shell. Movement of the pin 9 axially outwards is therewith blocked by the locking member 111, which as a result of its thickness of material and the dimensioning of the pin bore is in greater or lesser engagement with the outer end surface of the pin, but in every instance at least the inwardly bent end portion 15 is located so as V to block the passage of the pin.

When assembling the illustrated spanner, the traveller and the adjusting screw are assembled in a conventional manner, whereafter the pin is inserted into the pin bore and is locked therein by means of the locking member 11, said member being deformed to anextent which enables it to be inserted into the bore. If it is necessary to remove the pin in order to replace a damaged component, e.g., the adjusting screw, the locking memher 1 1 is loosened by means of a pair oflong nose pliers by engaging the inwardly folded end portion 15 and withdrawing the locking member from the bore 10 while turning said member, more specifically while turning said member anti-clockwise with the embodiment of FIG. 1.

To secure the position of the locking member 11 in the pin bore 10 still further,the edge of the bore can be slightly deformed to reduce the diameterof the mouth of the bore, or the diameter of said mouth can be reduced in some other appropriate manner. Reducing the diameter of the bore mouth prevents unintentional release of the locking member while still enabling the spanner to be dismantled to change possibly damaged parts thereof.

The locking member 11 may be produced from thin, spring-steel plate or from other elastic material, even plastic being conceivable in this connection.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to an embodiment thereof, it is not restricted thereto, but can be modified within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. An improvement in adjustable spanners of the type comprising a handle having a fixed jaw, an adjustable jaw mounted on a traveler, an adjuster screw for adjusting the traveler so that the desired width can be obtained between the jaws, a pin arranged to rotatably support the adjuster screw, said adjuster screw being located in an opening in the handle or the traveler and being arranged to co-act with a toothed rack on said traveler or said handle, the pin being mounted in a bore arranged in said handle or said traveler, wherein a leaf spring in the form of a substantially cylindrical shell presenting an inwardly folded long edge portion ex tending along one long edge of a longitudinal extending slot in said shell, said leaf spring being placed externally on the outer end of the pin in the bore and being completely accommodated in said bore with the outside of said shell lying in spring contact with the wall of the bore and with at least the inwardly folded end portion blocking axial outward movement of the pin in said bore.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the inwardly folded end portion forms a surface extending substantially diametrically across the shell.

3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the diameter of an outer portion of the bore arranged to accommodate the leaf spring has a larger diameter than an inner portion arranged to accommodate the pin.

4. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the bore mouth is reduced slightly, e.g., by being slightly deformed at the edge thereof.

Claims (4)

1. An improvement in adjustable spanners of the type comprising a handle having a fixed jaw, an adjustable jaw mounted on a traveler, an adjuster screw for adjusting the traveler so that the desired width can be obtained between the jaws, a pin arranged to rotatably support the adjuster screw, said adjuster screw being located in an opening in the handle or the traveler and being arranged to co-act with a toothed rack on said traveler or said handle, the pin being mounted in a bore arranged in said handle or said traveler, wherein a leaf spring in the form of a substantially cylindrical shell presenting an inwardly folded long edge portion extending along one long edge of a longitudinal extending slot in said shell, said leaf spring being placed externally on the outer end of the pin in the bore and being completely accommodated in said bore with the outside of said shell lying in spring contact with the wall of the bore and with at least the inwardly folded end portion blocking axial outward movement of the pin in said bore.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the inwardly folded end portion forms a surface extending substantially diametrically across the shell.

3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the diameter of an outer portion of the bore arranged to accommodate the leaf spring has a larger diameter than an inner portion arranged to accommodate the pin.

4. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the bore mouth is reduced slightly, e.g., by being slightly deformed at the edge thereof.

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