Improvements in and relating to Spanners or Wrenches.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Spanners or Wrenches.
I, FREDERICK EDWARD BLACKETT BEAUMONT, of St. Margaret's Mansions,
51, Victoria Street, Westminster, in the County of London, late Colonel R.E.,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention:-
This invention relates to an improved construction of spanner or wrench by
the employment of an arrangement of ratchet gear similar in principle to that
described in my Specification of Patent No. 19870 of 1898 in connection with the
wheels of bicycles and other velocipedes. I utilize this principle as applied to
the subject of the present invention with the object not of increasing the power
but to make the spanner more convenient as the action is continuous, without
having to remove the spanner from the nut for each stroke of the hand. The
spanner or wrench consists essentially of an annular disc shaped head which is
cut out centrally and formed on the inner periphery with a series of ratchet
teeth. The grip portion of the spanner head consists of a hexagon or other
centre part circular on its outer periphery and having a circular collar or flange
secured to same preferably cut out of the solid; this collar is formed with three or
more notches cut down at unequal distances (or equal distances) apart the seg-
mental collar so formed is slotted on each segment horizontally on the outer
peripheries within which slot a small flat blade spring or wire is secured in each
case. The notches are arranged so that only one pawl shall engage at a time
thus increasing the number of catches on engagements. Into the aforesaid
notches are fitted loose blocks serving as pawls being arranged to abut with their
slightly rounded rear ends against the one side of the notches in the collar or
flange and with their toothlike front ends against the ratchet teeth upon the
inner periphery of the centre disc portion of the spanner the pawls are pressed
outward for effecting engagement with the ratchet teeth by the small blade
springs or wire contained in the grooves on the peripheries of the flanges before
referred to. The above described parts are secured in their relative positions by
two annular cover plates which are fixed by screws or rivets passing from one
to the other and through the centre part of the spanner head which annular
plates fit without pressure around the centre part. The parts are thus strongly
held together. The action is thus. The hexagon or other centre when applied
to the screw nut is stationary the operation of the handle when moved in the one
direction causes the loose blocks or pawls to engage the ratchet teeth being
pressed into same by the springs or wires which govern their action, so that the
handle portion is acting in unison with the gripping portion. The operation of
the handle the reverse way obviously forces the pawls back so as to clear the
ratchet teeth. As a modification the above arrangement may be reversed that
is to say the pawls are contained in notches on the inner periphery of the centre
part of the head and engage with ratchet teeth or notches formed on the outer
periphery of the grip portion being pressed into engagement by suitable wires

page_text: or springs. In this case the pawls may either be loose blocks as before or they
may be carried on pivot pins carried in holes in the cover plates.
By my improvements an effective ratchet spanner or wrench is provided which
can be manipulated without removing it, from the nut and without the necessity
of making complete revolutions.
For taking different size nuts I employ loose bits which fit into the hole in
the spanner head and have smaller internal openings which may be of any size
necessary to fit the different nuts. A number of the said bits may be supplied
with each spanner.
EDWD. J. PAYNE & SON,
Warwick Chambers, 104, Colmore Row, Birmingham,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Spanners or Wrenches.
I, AMY KATHERINE WELLESLEY FARIE, Spinster, Administratrix of the late
Colonel F. E. B. Beaumont, of "Ruthven," 29, The Boltons, S.W., do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates firstly to the combination with a ratchet spanner of any
known construction, of an appliance for enabling it to be used for turning screw
nuts of different sizes, and secondly to an improved construction of ratchet
spanner for the above purpose.
According to my invention I construct a tubular piece A such as is shewn in
side elevation and opposite end views at Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing,
the outer configuration of which is hexagonal and of such a size as to fit easily
into the hexagonal hole B of the rotatable centre piece of any ordinary ratchet
spanner C Fig. 2, the piece A being formed with a collar D at the middle of its
length. The one half of the piece A is formed with a hexagonal bore B', which
is consequently of a smaller size than the hexagonal hole B of the spanner, so
as to engage with a smaller sized nut, and the other half of A is formed with a
hexagonal bore B2 of a smaller size than B. Thus the spanner C can be used
either for nuts of the size of B, or, on inserting A into the spanner, as at Fig. 3,
so that the end with bore B1 is outermost, the spanner can be used with nuts of
the size of B', or, on inverting the position of A in B so that the end with the
bore B2 is outermost, the spanner can be used with nuts of the size of B³. It
will be obvious that more than one piece such as A may be provided with
hexagonal bores. of other sizes, so as to enable the spanner C to be used with
nuts of more than three different sizes.
Or the piece A might be made of a cross form, that is with two other bores of
different sizes at right angles to B¹ B².
As before stated, the spanner C may be any known construction. of ratchet
spanner, whether of the ordinary form with external ratchet teeth on the
piece B and pivotted spring pawls on the spanner lever C, or of the form with
internal toothed or roller ratchet gear, but by preference I employ the form of
ratchet spanner shewn in sectional plan at Fig. 4, and in cross section at Fig. 5.
Here the central piece B is formed with a collar E having ratchet notches E¹ and
fitting within the circular opening of the spanner head C.
In the periphery of this opening are formed rectangular notches and into

page_text: these notches are fitted loose rhomboidal blocks F adapted to fit with an angular
front edge into the notches E¹ of the collar E while the rear end is preferably
rounded as shewn. In the head C are fixed straight wire springs G projecting
against the hollowed outer edge of the blocks F and tending to press them
inwards into engagement with the notches E¹. The construction might also be
reversed, that is, the rectangular notches containing the blocks F formed in the
collar E, and the angular ratchet notches be formed in the head C.
The blocks F are kept in position in the notches by side cheeks H secured to
the head C by screws.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The use in combination with a ratchet spanner of a separate tubular piece
such as A, the outer surface of which is formed to fit the hexagonal or other
shaped opening of the spanner, while the end or ends of the piece A has or have
one or more hexagonal or other shaped bores for fitting screw nuts of sizes
different from those which the spanner fits, substantially as described.
2. In a ratchet spanner, a ratchet connection between the head of the spanner
and the central part that fits the nut, consisting of rectangular notches formed
in the one such part containing loose blocks F acted upon by wire springs G so
as to engage with angular ratchet notches in the other part, the blocks F being
kept in position by side cheeks H substantially as described.
Dated this 12th day of March 1900
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.