Adjustable wrench

Details Adjustable wrench Adjustable wrench

1999-07-27

2001-08-28

Hail, III, Joseph J. (Department: 3723)

Tools

Wrench, screwdriver, or driver therefor

Slidable jaw adjustments

C081S155000, C081S165000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06279429

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates generally to adjustable wrenches, and more specifically to a wrench which permits easy adjustment and locked positioning due to a singly-grooved screw adjust assembly.
BACKGROUND
Adjusting a wrench to conform to the size of the object being torqued stands as a cumbersome and unwieldy task. Most wrenches require the user to make tedious macro-adjustments by screwing a moveable jaw into position. Upon nearing the correct position, these wrenches then require the user to guess and check iteratively to ensure the exact micro-adjustment. As most pipes, bolts, and screws are not readily accessible, this procedure becomes a frustrating exercise. Other wrench manufacturers produce an entire set of wrenches in different sizes, both metric and English in order to overcome this problem.
Some effort has been made to alleviate this problem by producing a single wrench capable of easy macro-adjustment. U.S. Pat. No. 783,845 teaches a wrench allowing for easy movement of the floating jaw, which apparently slides freely when the thrice-mutilated threads of the nut and the rock-stem are out of alignment. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 953,346 teaches a wrench that includes a moveable jaw which slides into position when the twice interrupted threads are not engaged.
These efforts, heretofore, however, have suffered serious deficiencies. Each wrench is very expensive and difficult to manufacture. Twice and thrice interrupted thread designs require extensive machining, including potentially, extensive exterior and interior machining. In addition, these efforts produce wrenches prone to slippage of the jaws, even once locked into position. Multiple thread interruptions do not provide a jaw locked into position securely enough for most high torque applications. Moreover, multiple thread interruptions allow for the additional possibility of the threads disengaging entirely, and the jaws of the wrench falling open during use.
Indeed a need exists for a wrench which allows for easy adjustment due to a singly grooved screw adjust assembly. Such a wrench could be produced in a cost-efficient manner and without the need for extensive machining. Moreover, such a wrench would lock into position securely, without the fear of the jaws slipping or falling open during use.
SUMMARY
The present invention describes a wrench that permits quick and effortless speed slip adjustment and locked positioning. The wrench includes a singly grooved interrupted screw adjust driver
1
. When the single groove
5
of the screw adjust driver
1
is aligned with serrated teeth
21
along a shank
22
of a floating jaw
20
, the floating jaw
20
is freely movable to a desired position. Once the floating jaw
20
attains the desired position, the screw adjust driver
1
may be turned to engage the serrated teeth
21
of the floating jaw
20
and lock the floating jaw
20
into place
In an important aspect of the invention, the wrench employs a handle
10
that is continuous with a wrench body
12
and a fixed jaw
15
. The wrench body
12
includes a slot
27
configured to receive an adjustable shank
22
of a floating jaw
20
. The floating jaw
20
, with serrated teeth
21
along an adjustable shank
22
, slides inside the body of the wrench when the serrated teeth
21
are not engaged by helical threads
25
of the screw adjust driver
1
.
Once the floating jaw
20
attains a desired position, the screw adjust driver
1
may be turned, engaging the helical threads
25
of the screw adjust driver
1
and the serrated teeth
21
of the floating jaw
20
, and holding the floating jaw into position. This strong and secure engagement allows for maximum torque without slippage. Micro-adjustment may be accomplished, without any compromise in torque, by further turning the screw adjust driver
1
up to one revolution, such as for example ¾ to ⅞ of one revolution or 85% of one revolution.
The jaws of the wrench may be manufactured as forged jaws or as replaceable machined-insert jaws held, for example, by rivets, rollpins, or machine screws. In an important aspect of the invention, machine-insert jaw are cost-efficiently produced and may be easily replaced upon breakage, thereby extending the life and usefulness of the wrench. Forged jaws or machined-insert jaws may be produced in any style, for example, radius serrated jaws
30
, straight serrated jaws
31
, or standard straight jaws
32
. In another important aspect of the invention, radius serrated jaws
30
find particular application in pipe work.
The floating jaw
20
slides inside the body of the wrench by a singly-grooved, interrupted thread screw adjust driver
1
mounted upon an assembly shaft
2
. The assembly shaft
2
., for example, may be a key-way shaft or a straight shaft. A shaft keeper
8
ensures that the assembly shaft
2
remains in position. In an important aspect of the invention, the assembly shaft
2
and screw adjust driver
1
may be removed entirely from the wrench by unscrewing the shaft keeper
8
. In this way, the assembly shaft
2
and screw adjust driver
1
may be machined individually, thereby reducing the cost and effort required to manufacture the wrench as well as providing for easy replacement parts, thereby increasing the life and usefulness of the wrench.
The screw adjust driver includes, for example, a helical thread design
25
. When the single groove
5
in the screw adjust driver
1
envelops the teeth of the floating jaw
20
, the floating jaw
20
may be moved up and down quickly and effortlessly to conform to the size of the object being adjusted. The wrench also may be pre-configured according to the Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) standards or the metric scale
40
on the body of the wrench
12
. In an important aspect of the invention, ball stop
45
and ball stop receiving area
46
, inserted on the floating jaw and in slot
27
, respectively, prevent the floating jaw
20
from detaching completely from the body of the wrench unless so desired.
In an alternative aspect of the invention, the screw adjust driver
1
, and hence the jaws of the wrench, can be additionally locked into place by means of a push button lock
50
. When the push button lock
50
is not depressed, locking teeth
60
are engaged, locking the screw adjust driver
1
, and hence, the jaws of the wrench into place. When the push button lock
50
is depressed, locking teeth
60
are disengaged allowing the screw adjust driver
1
to move freely, and hence, allowing the jaws of the wrench to be freely positioned. In assisting this operation may be a hold down assembly
70
so that the screw adjust driver
1
may be turned using one hand.


REFERENCES:
patent: 162500 (1875-04-01), Rost
patent: 245290 (1881-08-01), Fink
patent: 300145 (1884-06-01), Simon
patent: 370848 (1887-10-01), Barber
patent: 783845 (1905-02-01), Munro
patent: 953346 (1910-03-01), Newbauer
patent: 1846380 (1932-02-01), Anderson
patent: 2458794 (1949-01-01), Ogden
patent: 2729999 (1956-01-01), Barnes
patent: 3901107 (1975-08-01), Halls
patent: 3948120 (1976-04-01), Hancock
patent: 5644957 (1997-07-01), Gustafson

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