Fire hydrant wrench

Details Fire hydrant wrench Fire hydrant wrench

1999-03-04

2001-04-24

Smith, James G. (Department: 3723)

Tools

Wrench, screwdriver, or driver therefor

Slidable jaw adjustments

C081S155000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06220124

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to wrenches, and more particularly relates to wrenches adapted for rapid use on fire hydrant fixtures.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Wrenches especially adapted for use on fire hydrants have been the subject of patents for many years. An example is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,019, a simplified version of which is illustrated in FIG.
1
.
The illustrated wrench
10
includes a head
12
and a handle
14
. An end
16
of the handle is fashioned with helical threads
18
designed to mate with corresponding threads in a base end
20
of the head.
In use, a firefighter must unthread the handle
14
from the head
12
enough to accommodate the fire hydrant fixture (e.g. a five-sided bolt head) in an opening
22
. Then the firefighter must thread the handle back into the head in order to grip the fixture in the opening
22
prior to turning. This is a time-consuming sequence of operations. While in many contexts “time is money,” in case of fire, time can be a matter of life or death.
The inherently slow unthread/thread operation of prior art wrenches is not their only drawback. Another is the time that can be lost fumbling with a wrench that falls off a hydrant. Due to the urgency of time, the firefighter typically does not thread the handle into the head to tightly grip the hydrant fixture. Instead, the handle is loosely coupled to the fixture—tightened only enough to avoid the wrench head from idly spinning around the fixture when the firefighter applies rotating torque. When the firefighter lets go of the wrench, the loose coupling often permits the wrench to fall off the hydrant onto the ground.
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the foregoin, drawbacks of the prior art are overcome.
According to one aspect of the invention, a fire hydrant wrench is provided with a “chatter thread” arrangement that allows the firefighter to avoid much, if not all, of the handle-turning required in the prior art to attach a wrench to a hydrant.
According to another aspect of the invention, a fire hydrant wrench is provided with a release trigger that permits the wrench to be quickly disengaged from a hydrant.
According to another aspect of the invention, a fire hydrant wrench is provided with reversible means (e.g. gripper teeth) tending to prevent even a loosely coupled wrench from falling off a fire hydrant.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 560220 (1896-05-01), Klose
patent: 1096317 (1914-05-01), Peoples
patent: 1201739 (1916-10-01), Johnston et al.
patent: 3662630 (1972-05-01), Baxter
patent: 4690019 (1987-09-01), Daghe et al.
patent: 5255576 (1993-10-01), Keith
patent: 5392672 (1995-02-01), Larson et al.
patent: 83349 (1920-05-01), None
patent: 544343 (1922-06-01), None
patent: 558845 (1944-01-01), None
Photocopy of prior art tubing cutter marked with the RIDGID brand name (photocopy made from actual tool, before filing date of the application). WWW.RIDGID.COM.

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