Jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench

Disclosed therein is a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench. The jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench includes: a body part having a round hole formed at one side thereof and a stopper embedded therein; a head part rotatably mounted in the round hole; a bevel gear having a first gear portion rotatably joined to one end portion of the control roller inside the housing and a second gear portion rotatably geared with the first gear portion in interlock with the rotation of the first gear portion; a rotary shaft located inside the housing and joined to the second gear portion; and a pair of jaws having an end portion inserted into the housing, wherein the head part is selectively rotated only in one direction when the ratchet gear engages with the stopper.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0030810 filed on Mar. 26, 2012 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench, and more particularly, to a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench, which can continuously assemble or disassemble bolts or nuts of various sizes without using additional socket.

2. Background Art

In general, ratchet wrenches are tools used for easily tightening or releasing bolts or nuts, and are classified in various ways according to their sizes, forms and using methods.

A ratchet wrench having a structure shown inFIG. 1is generally used, and generally includes: a body10; a head part20mounted on one side of the body10and having a ratchet gear formed on an outer rim thereof; a hand-grip part30mounted on the other side of the body10; and a socket40fit to the head part20and having a recess to which a bolt or a nut head is fit.

In the case that a user wants to assemble or disassemble bolts or nuts using the ratchet wrench, when the user rotates the hand-grip part30in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction at a predetermined angle, the head part20and the socket40are rotated and a bolt head50inserted into the socket40is rotated, and thereby, the bolt is tightened or released.

However, because the socket of the conventional ratchet wrench can be used only in the case that a bolt of a single size is assembled or disassembled, there is a problem in that sockets of different sizes according to sizes of bolts must be separately joined to the head part in the case that bolts of different sizes are assembled or disassembled.

That is, in the case that bolts of different sizes are assembled or disassembled, after one bolt is assembled or disassembled using the ratchet wrench, the socket must be detached from the head part, and hence, the sockets of different sizes must be joined or detached whenever bolts or other fasteners of different sizes are used.

Moreover, the conventional ratchet wrench has other problems in that the ratchet wrench costs high and the user have to carry a heavy tool box because sockets of different sizes must be prepared, and in that it is difficult to assemble or disassemble bolts or nuts into deep holes of objects.

Furthermore, the conventional ratchet wrench has another problem in that it is difficult to assemble or disassemble bolts having a slotted head, a Phillips head, a socket head, a torx head and others, hex bolts, wrench bolts, and square bolts and in that it requires additional drivers, sockets, and wrenches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench, which has a simple structure using a bevel gear and includes a pair of jaws mounted on a head part, thereby enhancing work efficiency as being adjusted according to sizes of bolt heads and reducing costs because it does not need a tool box.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench, which includes a space portion formed inside a body part and accommodates driver pieces of various shapes inside the space portion, thereby easily assembling and disassembling bolts having a slotted head, a Phillips head, a socket head, a torx head and others, hex bolts, wrench bolts, and square bolts without using additional driver, socket or wrench.

To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench including: a body part having a round hole formed at one side thereof and a stopper embedded therein; a head part rotatably mounted in the round hole, the head part having a housing, which has a control roller disposed at one side of an upper face thereof, and a ratchet gear formed on the outer face of the housing; a bevel gear having a first gear portion rotatably joined to one end portion of the control roller inside the housing and a second gear portion rotatably geared with the first gear portion in interlock with the rotation of the first gear portion; a rotary shaft located inside the housing and joined to the second gear portion in such a way as to rotate in interlock with the rotation of the second gear portion; and a pair of jaws having an end portion inserted into the housing, the jaws respectively being screw-coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the rotary shaft so as to be slidably moved along a longitudinal direction of the rotary shaft, wherein the head part is selectively rotated only in one direction when the ratchet gear engages with the stopper.

The stopper is formed in a triangular shape, and includes: sawteeth formed at both ends of one side of the stopper in such a way as to engage with the ratchet gear; and a pair of arc-curved portions formed adjacent with each other at the other side of the stopper in such a way as to get in contact with a ball of a ball plunger disposed at one side of the stopper.

The housing is formed in a cylindrical shape having an inner space, and includes: a mounting recess formed in the upper face thereof for mounting the control roller therein; and a housing cover joined to the lower face thereof and having a jaw guide groove for guiding a slide of the jaws.

The rotary shaft includes spiral threads formed symmetrically relative to the central portion thereof so that the jaws are slidably moved in opposite directions according to the rotation of the rotary shaft.

A hand-grip is joined to the outer face of the body part, and an adapter detachably joined to the lower end portions of the jaws is disposed at one end portion of the hand-grip.

The adapter includes: a jaw-joining portion having a jaw-joining recess formed inside the jaw-joining portion; and a socket-joining portion protrudingly formed at the lower portion of the jaw-joining portion.

The socket-joining portion includes a driver piece hole, which is formed inside the body part, and, to which a driver piece accommodated in the space portion formed along the longitudinal direction is joined.

The jaw-joining portion includes: a retaining groove formed in a predetermined position of the outer circumferential surface of the jaw-joining portion in the circumferential direction; and a retaining projection formed at a predetermined position of the inner circumferential surface of one end portion of the hand-grip in such a fashion that the retaining groove is retained and joined to the retaining projection.

A ball plunger for joining a wrench socket is disposed at one side of the jaw-joining portion.

According to the present invention having the above structure, because the jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench has a simple structure using the bevel gear and includes a pair of the jaws mounted on the head part, the ratchet wrench can enhance work efficiency as being adjusted according to sizes of bolt heads and reduce costs because it does not need a tool box.

Furthermore, the jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench can easily assemble and disassemble wrench bolts or no-headed wrench bolts having a slotted head, a Phillips head, a socket head, a torx head and others without using additional driver wrench because the ratchet wrench includes the space portion formed inside the body part and accommodates driver pieces of various shapes inside the space portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. It will be understood that thickness of lines or sizes of components in the drawings would be illustrated exaggeratedly for convenience sake and for clarity in description.

Additionally, it will be understood that words or terms used in the specification and claims are defined in consideration of functions of the present invention and hence may be changed according to users' intentions or according to practices. Accordingly, it will be further understood that the words or terms should be defined based on the contents of the whole specification of the present invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3are perspective views of a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 4is a plan sectional view of the jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench,FIG. 5is cross-sectional view of the jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench,FIG. 6is a view showing operational states of a control roller, a bevel gear and a jaw according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention,FIGS. 7aand7bare schematic views of an adapter according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, andFIGS. 8aand8bare views showing a used state of the jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIGS. 2 to 8, a jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench100according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a body part110, a head part200, a bevel gear220, a rotary shaft226, and a pair of jaws230.

The body part110includes a round hole112formed at one side thereof and a hand-grip114extending long at the other side thereof.

The body part110further includes a space portion110aformed inside the body part110in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of driver pieces140accommodated in the space portion110a.

The driver piece140is joined to a driver piece hole244aformed in a socket joining portion244of an adapter240, which will be described later. It is preferable that the driver piece140has an end portion having one of various shapes, such as a slotted shape, a cross shape, a hexagonal shape, a star shape, and so on, at one end portion thereof and the other end portion having a shape corresponding to the driver piece hole244aso as to be joined with the driver piece hole244a.

Here, it is preferable that the hand-grip114is made of rubber, silicon, or synthetic resin so as to allow a user to easily grasp the ratchet wrench and to prevent a slip.

Moreover, a cover116for supporting a housing210and a ball plunger124, which will be described later, is detachably joined to one side of a lower portion of the body part110.

The cover116includes a cover hole116ato which a lever screw122is inserted, and the lever screw122rotatably fixes a lever pin120, which penetrates into the lever screw122and connects a stopper130and a control lever118.

The control lever118is mounted at one side of the outer face of the body part110by the lever pin120, and functions to selectively rotate the stopper130in one direction.

The stopper130is mounted inside the body part110, and is joined with the ratchet gear212of the head part200so as to control the head part200to rotate in one direction.

The stopper130is penetratedly joined to the lever pin120so as to interlock with the action of the control lever118.

Here, the stopper130is formed in a triangular shape, and includes sawteeth132aand132bformed at both ends of one side thereof and engaging the ratchet gear212and a pair of arc-curved portions134aand134bformed adjacent with each other at the other side thereof and having a curvature to get in contact with a ball124bof the ball plunger124disposed at one side of the stopper130.

The ball plunger124includes an elastic spring124aand the ball124b, and operates in such a fashion that the ball124bapplies power in one direction by elasticity of the elastic spring124a.

The elastic spring124ais seated on a spring insertion hole126of the body part110and its one end is fixed to the body part110. The ball124bis mounted between the other end of the elastic spring124aand the stopper130so as to transfer elasticity of the elastic spring124ato the stopper130.

The sawteeth132aand132bare respectively caught to the ratchet gear212in one direction and are inclined at an predetermined angle outwardly from the central portion of the stopper130in the opposite direction so that the sawteeth132aand132bcan run over the ratchet gear212.

Accordingly, referring toFIG. 4, when the body part110is rotated in the clockwise direction, the stopper130mounted on the body part110is also rotated, and in this instance, because the sawteeth132aof the stopper130is caught to the ratchet gear212, the stopper130transfers a rotational force to the ratchet gear212, and then, the housing210mounted in the round hole112of the body part110can be rotated together with the body part110.

On the contrary, when the body part110is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, because the sawteeth132aof the stopper130run over the ratchet gear212, the rotational force is not transferred to the housing210, and hence, only the body part110is rotated with no rotation of the housing210.

The head part200includes the housing210, the ratchet gear212, the bevel gear220, and a pair of the jaws230.

The housing210is in a cylindrical form having a space therein, rotatably penetrates into the round hole112of the body part110, and has the ratchet gear212formed on the outer face thereof.

The housing210includes: a mounting recess210aformed at one side of the upper face thereof in such a fashion that the control roller214is mounted by a gear shaft216; and a housing cover218joined to the lower face thereof and having a jaw guide groove218afor guiding a slide of the jaws230.

The bevel gear220includes: a first gear portion222rotatably joined to one end portion of the control roller214through the gear shaft216inside the housing210; and a second gear portion224rotatably geared with the first gear portion222in interlock with the first gear portion222.

That is, the first gear portion222is joined to the control roller214by the gear shaft216and located inside the housing210in such a way as to be rotated in a horizontal direction, and the second gear portion224is geared with the first gear portion222and located inside the housing210in such a way as to be rotated in a vertical direction.

Furthermore, the rotary shaft226, which interlocks with the second gear portion224, is joined to the second gear portion224, and has spiral threads226aand226bformed symmetrically relative to the central portion of the rotary shaft226. In more detail, the left-side spiral thread226arelative to the central portion of the rotary shaft226is inclined somewhat to the left by left-handed screw machining and the right-side spiral thread226bis inclined somewhat to the right by right-handed screw machining.

Therefore, a pair of the jaws230respectively joined to the outer circumferential surfaces of both sides of the rotary shaft226are slidably moved in opposite directions to each other according to the rotation of the rotary shaft226.

Because the bevel gear220is rotated by a rotational manipulation of the control roller214, the rotary shaft226joined to the second gear portion224is also rotated, so that a distance between the jaws230can be adjusted according to the rotation of the rotary shaft226.

One end of each jaw230is inserted into the housing210and the other end is screw-coupled to the outer circumference of the rotary shaft226in such a way as to be slidably moved in a longitudinal direction of the rotary shaft226.

The opposed faces of the jaws230, namely, the faces which are in contact with the bolt head, respectively have V-shaped retaining holes232, and edge portions where outer sides of the bolt head meet are inserted into the V-shaped retaining holes232.

Here, in the case that the outer edge portions of the bolt head are in contact with the retaining holes232, because the edge portions of the bolt head may be worn or damaged due to friction generated during the assembling or disassembling process of the bolt, it is preferable that the retaining holes232respectively have round holes232a.

In addition, the adapter240for attaching or detaching a wrench socket is detachably joined to lower end portions of the jaws230, namely, at one end portion of the hand-grip114.

Moreover, the adapter240includes a jaw-joining portion242, which is formed at one side of the adapter240and detachably joined to the jaws230, and a socket-joining portion244, which is protrudingly formed at the other side of the adapter240, and to which the wrench socket is detachably joined.

The jaw-joining portion242includes a round jaw-joining recess242aformed inside the jaw-joining portion242such that a pair of the jaws230are inserted and joined into the jaw-joining recess242a.

Furthermore, the jaw-joining portion242further includes a retaining groove242bformed along the circumference of the outer face thereof, and the retaining groove242bis retained and joined to a retaining projection114aformed at a predetermined position of the inner face of the hand-grip114.

Additionally, it is preferable that the jaw-joining portion242has a knurled outer surface for preventing a slip.

The socket-joining portion244has the driver piece hole244a, which is formed inside the socket-joining portion244, and, to which the driver piece140accommodated in the space portion110aformed inside the body part110along the longitudinal direction is joined.

In addition, the ball plunger246having the ball246band the spring246ais inserted and fixed into one side of the socket-joining portion244.

Hereinafter, a process of assembling or disassembling the bolt using the jog-shuttle type ratchet wrench according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In order to assemble the bolt, first, when the control lever118is rotated, the sawteeth132a, which are in assembly, out of the sawteeth132aand132bformed at both sides of the stopper130of the body part110engage the ratchet gear212formed on the outer face of the housing210.

After that, when the control roller214mounted at one side of the upper face of the housing210is rotated in the clockwise direction or in the counterclockwise direction, the first gear portion222of the bevel gear220connected with the control roller214through the gear shaft216is rotated, and then, the second gear portion224rotatably geared with the first gear portion22in interlock with the first gear portion222is also rotated.

When the second gear portion224is rotated, the rotary shaft226joined to the second gear portion224is rotated, so that the distance between a pair of the jaws230respectively joined to the outer circumferences of both sides of the rotary shaft226gets narrower or wider and the jaws230press and fix the right and left of the bolt head.

After that, when the hand-grip114is rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawings, the stopper130pushes the ratchet gear212, and hence, the head part200is rotated in the clockwise direction.

Accordingly, the bolt fixed to the jaws230is rotated in the clockwise direction when the head part200is rotated in the clockwise direction. After the body part110and the head part200are rotated at predetermined angles, when the hand-grip114is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the body part110is returned to its original position. After that, if the above process of rotating the hand-grip114in the clockwise direction is repeated, the assembly of the bolt is finished.

In the meantime, in order to disassemble the bolt, when the control lever118is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawings, the sawteeth132b, which are in disassembly, out of the sawteeth132aand132bformed at both ends of the stopper130mounted inside the body part110are joined with the ratchet gear212.

After that, when the hand-grip114is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawings to rotate the body part110in the counterclockwise direction, the sawteeth132bof the stopper130push the ratchet gear212, and thereby, the head part200is rotated in the counterclockwise direction.

Accordingly, when the head part200is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the bolt fixed to the jaws230is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and then, is disassembled. Also in this instance, after the body part110and the head part200are rotated at the predetermined angle, when the hand-grip114is rotated in the clockwise direction, the body part110is returned to its original position. After that, when the process of rotating the hand-grip114in the counterclockwise direction is repeated, the disassembly of the bolt is finished.

Moreover, in order to assemble into or disassemble from a deep hole of an object, the adapter240is joined to the lower end portion of the jaws230so as to use the conventional socket40shown inFIG. 1.

In other words, in order to join the socket40, when the control roller214is rotated and the bevel gear220is also rotated, the rotary shaft226is rotated, so that the opposed faces of the jaws230get in contact with each other. After that, the jaws230are inserted and joined into the jaw-joining recess242aof the adapter240.

After that, when the socket-joining portion244is inserted into a socket hole42of the socket40to be used, the ball plunger246disposed at one side of the socket-joining portion244is inserted and fixed into a plunger hole (not shown) disposed inside the socket hole42, and then, the process of joining the socket40to the adapter240is finished, and hence, the bolt can be assembled or disassembled.

Here, the ball plunger246includes the spring246aand the ball246b.

Moreover, driver pieces140of various types may be joined to the adapter240, and in this instance, a plurality of the driver pieces140accommodated in the space portion110aof the body part110are joined to the driver piece hole244aformed in the socket-joining portion244of the adapter240, and then, a bolt having a slotted head, a Phillips head, a socket head, a torx head or other-shaped head, a hex bolt, a wrench bolt, or a square bolt can be assembled or disassembled to the head part.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiment, it is not to be restricted by the embodiment but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.