Patent Publication Number: US-2017361450-A1

Title: Quickly rotary and expandable ratchet wrench

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a ratchet wrench and, in particular, to a quickly rotary and expandable ratchet wrench. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Wrenches are commonly used tools. In conventional wrenches, operation method includes moving a head portion horizontally or rotating a ratchet back and forth. There are various nuts and bolts in different sizes provided to adapt to different purposes and requirements, and even in the same machine there may also be various nuts and bolts in different sizes. As a result, it is required to prepare a large number of wrenches to adapt to various sizes of nuts and bolts for loosening or tightening operations. However, it is costly to buy many wrenches and it is also complicated and inconvenience to store and manage them. 
     Moreover, the conventional wrench is normally provided with a short handle, a middle handle, a long handle, or etc. To have wrenches of multiple lengths is not only costly but also inconvenience since storing them requires a large storage space. 
     Accordingly, the inventor made a lot of studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, on the basis of which the present invention is accomplished. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a quickly rotary and expandable ratchet wrench, whereby a user can hold an operation ring to expand or shorten an operation handle and can rotate an object quickly. 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a quickly rotary and expandable ratchet wrench, comprising a drive bar, an operation handle, a rotary head, and an operation ring. The drive bar includes a bar body and a fork arm connected to the bar body. The bar body includes a plurality of retaining recesses spaced apart from each other and a groove passing through each of the retaining recesses. The operation handle includes a retaining element slidable to position in any of the retaining recesses, a restraint element protruding into the groove, and a cavity accommodating the bar body. The rotary head includes a round housing and a ratchet apparatus disposed in the round housing, and the rotary head is pivotally connected to two ends of the fork arm. The operation ring sleeves on one end of the operation handle, wherein the retaining element is movable in association with movement of the operation ring to be positioned in any of the retaining recesses, and the operation ring is rotatable with respect to the drive bar. 
     The present invention further has the following merits. The retaining element of the operation handle is protrudingly disposed to be engaged with the groove of the bar body, and the retaining element is positioned in a corresponding retaining recess, so that no matter which retaining recess the operation ring is fastened to, the operation handle can rotate quickly. Moreover, the present invention further includes a locking button disposed in an axial hole. The locking button can keep engaged with a fastening recess of the rotary head, so as to achieve safety and stability during operation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description, and the drawings given herein below is for illustration only, and thus does not limit the disclosure, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the present invention according to a first preferable embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the present invention according to the first preferable embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is another cross-sectional view illustrating the present invention according to the first preferable embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is another perspective view illustrating the present invention according to a first preferable embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating the present invention according to a second preferable embodiment; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the present invention according to the second preferable embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Detailed descriptions and technical contents of the present invention are illustrated below in conjunction with the accompany drawings. However, it is to be understood that the descriptions and the accompany drawings disclosed herein are merely illustrative and exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the present invention provides a quickly rotary and expandable ratchet wrench  100 , comprising a drive bar  110 , an operation handle  130 , a rotary head  150 , and an operation ring  200 . The drive bar  110  includes a bar body  112  and a fork arm  120  connected to the bar body  112 . The bar body  112  includes a plurality of retaining recesses  114  spaced apart from each other and a groove  116  passing through each of the retaining recesses  114 . A depth of each of the retaining recesses  114  is greater than a depth of the groove  116 . The operation handle  130  includes a retaining element  132  slidable to position in any of the retaining recesses  114 , a restraint element  134  protruding into the groove  116 , and a cavity  136  accommodating the bar body  112 . 
     The rotary head  150  is pivotally connected to two ends of the fork arm  120 . In the present embodiment, the rotary head  150  includes a round housing  156 , a ratchet apparatus (not illustrated) disposed inside the round housing  156 , an output element  152  of rectangular shape protrudingly disposed at one end of the round housing  156 , a plurality of fastening recesses  160  externally disposed on the round housing  156 , a positioning ball  154  at one side surface of the output element  152 , and a ratchet apparatus (not illustrated) connected to the output element  152 . The output element  152  can be in various sizes, e.g. ¼ inch, ⅜ inch, or ½ inch; however, the present invention is not limited in this regard. The rotary head  150  can be engagedly assembled with a variety of sleeves (not illustrated) in different sizes by means of the positioning ball  154  of the output element  152 , so as to tighten or loosen the object (not illustrated). The ratchet apparatus is a conventional apparatus, so a detailed description thereof is omitted for brevity. 
     In addition, the drive bar  110  further includes two supporting bolts  124  and a pivot axis  170  passing through two ends of the fork arm  120 . The two supporting bolts  124  are installed at the two ends of the fork arm  120  and pivotally connected between the round housing  210  and the fork arm  120 , so that the rotary head  200  is freely rotatable about the pivot axis  170  at the fork opening  122  to certain angles, e.g. from 0 to 270 degrees. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the fastening recesses  160  at least include a first fastening recess  162  disposed on a top of the round housing  156  and a second fastening recess  164  disposed at each of two opposite sides of the round housing  156 . The first fastening recess  162  and the second fastening recess  164  form an included angle of 90 degrees therebetween, so that a user can quickly rotate the ratchet wrench  100  in an upright state thereof or swing the operation handle  130  in a horizontal state thereof, so that the rotary head  200  can tighten or loosen an object (not illustrated). 
     In other words, when a central axis  158  of the output element  152  is parallel to a rotation axis  140  of the drive bar  110 , one hand of the user can hold the operation ring  200  in its upright state, and the other hand can quickly rotate the operation handle  130  to tighten or loosen the object. However, in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , when the central axis  158  of the output element  152  is perpendicular to the rotation axis  140  of the drive bar  110 , the user can move the ratchet wrench  100  back and forth in its horizontal state. The rotation axis  140  herein is preferably a central line of the drive bar  110  and/or the operation handle  130 . 
     The operation ring  200  sleeves on one end of the operation handle  130 . The retaining element  132  is movable in association with movement of the operation ring  200  to be positioned in any of the retaining recesses  114 , and the operation ring  200  is rotatable with respect to the drive bar  110 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 , the operation ring  200  further includes a first indentation  210  and a second indentation  220  disposed corresponding to the first indentation  210 . The first indentation  210  and the second indentation  220  are respectively formed on the inner surface at two ends of the operation ring  200 , and the retaining element  132  is disposed in the first indentation  210 . 
     The operation handle  130  includes a through hole  138  receiving the retaining element  132 , a fastener  240  disposed in the second indentation  220 , and a flexible element  230  in contact with the fastener  240  at one side thereof. The through hole  138  is in communication with the first indentation  210 , so the retaining element  132  is movable in the through hole  138  along the groove  116  of the bar body  112 . The flexible element  230  is disposed corresponding to the second indentation  220  and encloses an outer circumferential surface of the operation handle  130 . The fastener  240  herein is preferably a C-shaped fastener or other suitable fastening element. The operation ring  200  includes an inclined surface  212  in the first indentation  210 , and the retaining element  132  is slidable along the inclined surface  212  to be positioned in any of the retaining recesses  114 . In the present embodiment, the retaining element  132  is preferably a spherical rolling ball, an arc-shaped rolling ball, or other suitable elements. The flexible element  230  is a compression spring or other suitable element. 
     How to operate the quickly rotary and expandable ratchet wrench  100  is more full detailed as follows. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , when the operation handle  130  does not expand, the retaining element  132  is compressed and positioned in the retaining recess  114  in the front-most end of the bar body  112 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , when the operation handle  130  extend in length, the operation ring  200  moves with respect to the operation handle  130  toward a bottom of the cavity  136 . The flexible element  230  is compressed, and the restraint element  134  of the operation ring  200  moves along the groove  116  of the bar body  112 . 
     That is to say, the operation ring  200  drives the retaining element  132  and the operation handle  130  to axially move at the same time on the bar body  112 , and the operation ring  200  is released when the operation handle  130  is adjusted to a suitable length. At this point, the flexible element  230  recoils to position the retaining element  132  in a corresponding retaining recess  114  by means of the inclined surface  212 . On the contrary, when it is desired to shorten a length of the operation handle  130 , this can be done by moving the operation ring  200  to be close to the rotary head  150 , and then releasing the operation ring  200  when the operation handle  130  is adjusted to a desired length, and thus operations can be done with ease. Therefore, no matter whether it is required to expand or shorten the operation handle  130 , the user has to push the operation ring  200  backwards, so that the retaining element  132  of the operation ring  200  can be released and moved to a suitable one of the retaining recesses  114  of the bar body  112 . 
     In particular, when the operation needs quick rotations, the restraint element  134  of the operation handle  130  is protrudingly disposed to be engaged with the groove  116  of the bar body  112  to restrain movement with respect each other, and the retaining element  132  is positioned in a corresponding one of the retaining recesses  114 , and therefore no matter which retaining recess  114  the operation ring  200  is fastened to, the operation handle  130  can rotate quickly without sliding away. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 6 and 7  which are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view according to a second preferable embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the operation ring  200  of the present embodiment includes an annular groove  252  and a rotary ring  250  disposed at the annular groove  252 . The rotary ring  250  is rotatable with respect to the operation ring  200  and the operation handle  130 , so that one hand of the user can hold the rotary ring  250 , and the other hand can quickly rotate the operation handle  130  to tighten or loosen the object (not illustrated). 
     Furthermore, the present embodiment further includes a locking button  260  for fastening the rotary head  150 . In addition, referring to  FIG. 3 , the locking button  260  is preferably disposed in the drive bar  110  having an axial hole  128 . The locking button  260  includes a slide button  262 , a fixing pin  264  connected to one end of the slide button  262 , and a locking spring  266  connected to the other end of the slide button  262 . One end of the slide button  262  preferably protrudes out of the axial hole  128  of the drive bar  110  so as to facilitate the user&#39;s operations. The fixing pin  264  preferably has a shape corresponding to the shape of the fastening recess  160 , e.g. a semi-circular shape, an arc shape, or other suitable shape, so that the fixing pin  264  can be engaged with the fastening recess  160  easily. 
     The fixing pin  264  protrudes outwardly into the fork opening  122  under the action of the locking spring  266  and keeps engaged with any fastening recess  160  (the first fastening recess  162  in this embodiment). The user just needs to move or push the locking button  260  to disengage the fixing pin  264  from the first fastening recess  162 , and then the rotary head  150  can rotate to a desired angle as required, e.g. to the second fastening recess  164 . After the locking button  260  is released, the locking spring  266  recoils to enable engagement with the second fastening recess  164 , so that the rotary head  150  can be secured, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     It should be noted that, a size of the fork arm  120  of the drive bar  110  is usually greater than a size of the bar body  142 , so that the ratchet wrench  100  has better strength and provides superior operation quality. Furthermore, in order to allow the user to firmly and stably hold the operation ring  200  and/or the operation handle  130 , the operation ring  200  and/or the operation handle  130  further includes a knurl structure on its partial surface or its outer surface. 
     Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation handle  130  of the ratchet wrench  100  can be expanded or shortened with ease at any time to adapt to the work environment. In addition to that, the operation handle  130  can be rotated quickly when the ratchet wrench  100  is in the upright state, i.e. the central axis  158  of the output element  152  is parallel to the rotation axis  140  of the drive bar  110 , so as to quickly tighten or loosen the object (not illustrated). 
     It is to be understood that the above descriptions are merely the preferable embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Equivalent changes and modifications made in the spirit of the present invention are regarded as falling within the scope of the present invention.