Patent ID: 6530298
Filing Date: 2003-03-11
Classification: B25B

Abstract:
A ratcheting open-end wrench, comprising:a handle, a head connected to the handle, a fixed jaw integral with the head and having a fixed jaw face for engaging a nut or bolt, an obliquely angled jaw guide integral with the head and opposite the fixed jaw, angled obliquely and outwardly relative to the fixed jaw face and positioned to slidably guide a movable jaw, a movable jaw with a jaw face essentially parallel to the fixed jaw face and being wedge-shaped with a slide face in contact with the jaw guide for sliding movement thereon, and jaw opening and closing means connected to the movable jaw for sliding the movable jaw outwardly on the jaw guide to increase the jaw clearance between the jaws when the handle is rotated about a nut or bolt in a non-work direction, and for preventing outward sliding of the movable jaw when the wrench handle is rotated in an opposite, work direction, thereby enabling the nut or bolt to be tightly gripped between the jaws in the work direction.