ADJUSTABLE WRENCH AND METHOD FOR ITS MANUFACTURE

Abstract: An adjustable wrench comprising partly a wrench head with a fixed jaw and an adjustable jaw displaceable by means of a ratchet and pertaining adjusting worm, partly a shaft, said shaft (10; 16) and wrench head (1, 2; 14) being interconnected units preferably separately manufactured. The invention further relates to a method for making such wrench. Adjustable wrenches of conventional make have the wrench head and the shaft made in one integral piece and are generally produced by die forging. This means that the same high quality material has to be used for both the wrench head and the handle, even if, when considering its strength, it would be motivated to make the handle of a cheaper material. As to the machining technique it additionally involves a complication to make the wrench head and the handle in one integral piece, in particular, if it is desirable to have plane guide and abutting surfaces between the wrench head and the ratchet of the slidable jaw in order to minimize deformations with the wrench loaded. The object of the invention is to avoid the above drawbacks, and this is obtained essentially by making the wrench head with the fixed jaw of two at least mainly mirror symmetrical halves (1, 2; 21, 22; 25, 26) joined together into one unit, which halves at their sides facing each other are provided with notches or grooves (3, 4; 17, 18) together forming channels or axle journals required for the ratchet and the adjusting worm axle.

Description: ADJUSTABLE WRENCH AND METHOD FOR ITS MANUFACTURE The present invention relates to an adjustable wrench of the kind comprising partly a wrench head provided with a fixed jaw and an adjustable jaw displaceable by means of a ratchet and pertaining adjusting worm, partly a shaft connected to the wrench head, said shaft and wrench head being inter- connected units preferably separately manufactured. In addition, the invention has for its object a method for ma ing such a wrench. Adjustable wrenches of the conventional make have the wrench head and the shaft or handle made in one integral piece and are generally produced by die forging. This means that the same high quality material has to be used for both the wrench head and the handle, even if, from the viewpoint of its strength, it could be motivated to make the handle of a cheaper material. As to the machining technique it additionally involves a-complication to make the wrench head and handle in one integral piece, in particular, if it is desirable to have plane guide and abutting surfaces between the wrench head and the ratchet of the slidable jaw in order to minimize deformations with the wrench loaded. According to the invention the mentioned drawbacks are first of all essentially avoided by the fact that the wrench has the characteristics set forth in the head claim and is made in accordance with the method indicated by the characteristics of claim 2. The invention is described more in detail hereinafter with reference to the attached drawing, in which Pigs, la and lb are schematical lateral views of two mirror sym et- rical halves of a wrench head of a so called adjustable ratchet wrench, the displaceable jaw, adjusting worm and certain other details being removed; Fig. 2 is a section along line II - II of the wrench head halve according to Fig. la, seen from the top; Fig. 3 is a lateral view of a conventional adjustable wrench partly in section, the slidable jaw, adjusting worm and certain other details likewise being removed; Fig. 4 is a section of the same wrench along line IV - IV in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the slidable jaw of an wrench; Fig. 6 is a sectional view along line II - Ila in Fig. la of a wrench head comprising two mirror symmetrical halves of the kind shown in Figs, la and lbj Fig. 7 is a corresponding sectional view of an embodiment of the wrench head shown in Fig. 6. The two mirror symmetrical wrench head halves 1, 2 as shown in Figs la and lb are intended to be parts of an adjustable ratchet wrench of the type illustrated and described in the Swedish patent No. 374683 and are provided with channel-like notches 3» 4 which, with the two halves put together and interconnected to a rigid unit, match one another in such a way that the notches 3 form axle journals or channels for the ratchet ar¬ ranged at the slidable or displaceable jaw of the wrench, while the notches 4 form journals or channels for the axle of the adjusting worm cooperating with the ratchet. In a method according to the invention each wrench head half is made separately, for example by rolling, sintering, stamping, casting, die forging and/or punching and is in this way furnished with the said notches and grooves as well as any holes required. The method offers special advan- tage;-in case the ratchet of the slidable jaw is provided with plane guide and contact surfaces, which preferably are at least approximately perpen¬ dicular to the principal plane of the wrench and are to engage correspondin guide and contact surfaces 5 of the channels or axle journals of the wrench halves, as seen in Fig. 2. By the method according to the invention it is thus possible to make such contact surfaces in the wrench head halves in connection with the rolling, stamping, sintering, casting or die forging etc. of the same, viz. without any complicated and costly boring and bro¬ aching operation otherwise required. In addition, it is, however, also possible to provide the channels or axle journals of the wrench head halves with a lining of a material espe cially selected with regard to local strains which may also be of advantage taking into consideration possible tolerance demands. Such a lining 6 as attached to the ratchet 7 of the slidable jaw 8 in,Fig. 5 should preferably one way or the other be fixed to the wrench head, for example, by soldering, welding or the like. The two wrench head halves 1, 2 may preferably be made of strips j _ 0.--.P flat rolled steel or sheet material suitable for stamping operations which material at certain places may be completed by spacers or washers so that the wrench head obtains the necessary thickness all over. For instance, the gauge of the jaw of the wrench head may exceed the double plate gauge and therefore should be completed by such spacers or washers. The washers 9 are here put into place suitably in connection with the joining of the two wrench head halves, which can be effected by a welding or cementing operation or the likββ Of course, it can be contemplated to make also the slidable jaw and its pertaining ratchet in a similar way of strips or sheet material by rolling, stamping, sintering, casting or die forging and/or a punching ope¬ ration. Possibly the jaws may be made as separate units of any material having the gauge required for the same and then being fixed by welding, the use of special spacers or washers being thereby avoided. The wrench handle is only indicated by dash lines in the lower .. wrench head half 1 in Fig. lb and here designated by 10. The handle of this embodiment is pivotally joined to the wrench head by a pivot and is in this case intended to be made in a shell construction. However, the handle may optionally be made of a solid material and in a conventional manner by die forging or by precision or shell mold forging, respectively. The two wrench head halves are provided with one another correspondingholes one of which, i.e. the hole 11, is designed for the adjusting worm, while the other, hole 12, is to take up the mentioned pivot. The third hole 13, which is oblong and circularly bent with the pivot as its centre, is designed to embrace a spring and arresting mechanism of a kind known per se and acting inbet- ween the wrench head and the handle. The holes 11, 12 and 13 fflay» owing to circumstances, be made either when manufacturing each wrench head half or simultaneously for both halves after putting together and joining the same. The wrench head 14 illustrated un Figs. 3 and 4 and relating to a wrench of the conventional type is rigidly connected to the handle 16 by a screw joint, welding seem 15 or the like, and consists likewise of two mirror symmetrical halves, of which only one is shown in a lateral view in Fig. 3 and in section along line IV - IV in Fig. 4. These two halves are made in accordance with the method according to the invention and are, in the same way as the wrench head halves 1, 2 shown in Figs, la, lb and 2, provided with notches and grooves which, by putting together and joining the two halves, form the channels and axle journals 17, 18 required for the ratchet of the displaceable jaw, and for the axle of the worm. Also in this case spacers or washers 19 are required mainly in order that, with the two wrench halves made of strips or sheet material, the fixed jaw shall obtain sufficient thickness and strength. The handle 16 may, of course, be made in a conventional manner, for example by die forging of solid material or in a shell construction by joint ing several parts produced by stamping of strips or sheet material or in any other manner, e.g. by precision casting, shell mold casting, sintering, or the like. The same may also be the case with the handle 10. The two wrench head halves according to Figs, la and lb are wholly mirror symmetrical. It is, however, also possible to arrange the wrench head in such a way that only the outer end portion thereof comprising the stationary jaw and the channel-like notches consists of two mirror symmet¬ rical halves whereas the inner end portion of the wrench head is made in- tegral to one of said helves or constitutes a separately fabricated portion which by _ welding operation or suchlike is connected to the mirror sym¬ metrical portions at their inner ends. According to the transverse section in Fig. 6 the wrench head has an outer end portion comprising two mirror symmetrical parts 21, 22 joined to one another by a welding or cementing operation. The lower of said parts 22 is made integral with an inner end portion 23 of the wrench head. Said inner end portion 23 has an inclined surface 24 abutting a corresponding surface on the part 21 and joined therewith by welding or cementing. Fig. 7 which likewise is a transverse section of & wrench head has an outer end portion comprising two mirror symmetrical parts 25, 26 joined to one another by a welding or cementing operation. The inner end portion 27 in this case, however, is provided with a suitably V-formed joint sur- face 28 abutting a corresponding joint surface formed by the two parts 25, 26 of the outer end portion and joined therewith by welding or cementing. The arrangement of the mirror symmetrical halves as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 in certain cases, especially when making the wrench head by casting or die forging, involves technical advantages in manufacturing. In a modified method -according, t the invention it-is-.possihle to, h Tδ the handle made integral with one of the mirror symmetrical halves or members of the wrench head and by a welding or cementing operation con¬ nected to the other of said halves or members. According to a further modi- 4/1 fication of the invention the handle may also be made in two mirror sym¬ metric halves one of which being integral with one of the mirror symmetri¬ cal halves of the wrench head and the other of which is made integral with the other of the mirror symmetrical halves of the wrench head said units being finally interconnected by a welding or cementing operation.

Claims: 1. Adjustable wrench comprising partly a wrench head having a fixed jaw and a jaw displaceable by means of a ratchet and pertaining adjusting worm, partly a handle, the wrench head and the handle being preferably separately manufactured interconnected units, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the wrench head with th fixed jaw is composed of two, at least mainly mirror symmetrical halves or memb (l, 2) joined together into one unit, which halves at their adjacent faces each are provided with notches or grooves (3, 4) together forming channels or axle journals required for the ratchet and the adjusting worm axle. 2. A method of making an adjustable wrench according to claim 1, c h ar a c t e r i z e d in that the portion of the wrench head provided with the fixed j is cade in two, at least mainly mirror symmetrical halves or members (l, 2) whi are made by rolling, sintering, stamping, precision casting, shell mold casting die forging or the like and thereby furnished with notches or grooves (3, 4) an possibly after a punching operation, by putting together or joining to a rigid unit form the channels or axle journals required for the ratchet and the adjust worm axle, the rigidly interconnected wrench halves or members being then dispo on or connected with the handle (lO) made in a separate operation, possibly as shell construction. 3. A method according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the wrenc head halves or members (l, 2) are interconnected by riveting, welding or T-y a cementing operation, washers or spacers (9) being thereby possibly arranged bet the halves or members in places whererequired. 4. A method according to claim 2 or 3, in which the wrench head is rigidly connected with the handle (16) by welding or by a cementing operation. 5. A method according to claim 2 or 3 n which the wrench head is pivotally connected with the handle (lO). 6. A modified method according to claim 2 in which the handle is made integra with one of the mirror symmetrical halves or members of the wrench head and by a welding, riveting or cementing operation connected to the other of the mirror symmetrical halves or members.

Inventors: NORDGREN S
Applicants: NORDGREN S
Application year: 1980
Main classification: B25B13
IPC codes: B21K5, B25B13