IMPROVEMENTS IN WRENCHES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WRENCHES."-A communication from
abroad by Louis Schwartzkopff, of Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia.
Sealed the 23rd June 1863, and dated the 21st April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st April 1863.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
tho said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WRENCHES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the construction of improved self-acting wrenches
for screwing and unscrewing nuts of any shape or dimensions, whether circular,
square, hexagonal, or of other form, and for screwing and unscrewing gas
pipes. The improved wrench may be formed with two jaws, or with a double
pair of jaws, which may differ in size and strength; one of the jaws is fixedl
firmly, while the other, which is moveable, slides in a forked part of the fixed
jaw. The pressure against the moveable jaw is exerted by means of a lever
or arm, which turns on a pin fixed in the stationary jaw, and is connected to
the moveable jaw by a link. By pulling forward the lever the nut will be

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ¡WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WRENCHES," being a communication from Louis
Schwartzkopff, of Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, (reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to the construction of improved self-acting wrenches
for screwing and unscrewing nuts of any shape or dimensions, whether circular,
square, hexagonal, or of other form, and for screwing and unscrewing gas

page_text: pipes and other articles requiring such an operation. The improved wrench
may be formed with two jaws or with a double pair of jaws, which, if desired,
may differ in size and strength; one of the jaws is fixed firmly, while the other,
which is moveable, slides in a forked part of the fixed jaw. The pressure
against the moveable jaw is exerted by means of a lever or arm, which turns
on a pin fixed in the stationary jaw, and is connected to the moveable jaw by
a link. By pulling forward the lever the nut will be firmly gripped between
the jaws. The pressure exerted will correspond with the amount of force
applied for turning the main lever, and will incréase if nuts of smaller size
are gripped.
In the accompanying Drawing are represented two arrangements of these
mechanical wrenches constructed according to this Invention.
Figs. 1, 2, and 3 represent side elevations of one of the arrangements shewn
in different positions; Fig. 4 is an edge view of the jaws, partly in section;
Fig. 5 is an edge view of the main lever or handle.
In the several Figures, a is the main lever, handle, or stem of the wrench.
The inner end of this lever or handle moves in the forked part of the fixed
jaw b, and turns upon the fulcrum formed by the bolt c; d is the second or
moveable jaw, which slides in the forked part of the fixed jaw b; f, f, are
straight bars or links of steel (shewn by dots in the Figures) for connecting
the lever a with the moveable jaw d; h and i are two joint pins acting only
in moving the moveable jaw backward at the forward motion (that is to say),
if the jaw is pressed or drawn against the nut, the bars or links f, f, are
pressed directly by a small cam cut in the lever a against the moveable jaw d.
By moving the lever or handle a on the pin c (which handle is capable of
moving to the right or left, as shown by Figs. 1 and 3), this lever in its
movement either carries with it the pin h or presses with its heel and forces
forward the bars f, f, and with them the moveable jaw d, so that the jaw d
opens out from or closes on the fixed jaw b, so as to make the space between the
two jaws of greater or less extent for the purpose of gripping nuts or tubes of
various dimensions with greater or less force, according to the position of the
lever and the amount of force exerted on the handle a. It will be readily
understood that the more difficult the nuts or tubes are to screw or unscrew
the more force will be required to be exerted on the handle a, and con-
sequently the harder the jaws will be pressed together, in order to compress
the nut. On the other hand, as the wrench cannot slip the nut must give
way when screwing or unscrewing it, but the jaws can be easily removed from
the nut by turning the lever a in the opposite direction.

page_text: By constructing the wrench with two pairs of jaws of different sizes, as
shown in the Drawing, the difference in the space between the jaws is more
variable, and admits of the wrench screwing or unscrewing a greater set of
nuts or pipes of different sizes, thereby increasing the utility of these wrenches.
On the other hand this arrangement admits of the smaller mouth of the
wrench being constructed as a pincers for extracting nails, or, if preferred, this
part of the wrench may be employed for other suitable objects or purposes.
Fig. 6 represents a side view of a modification of the foregoing wrench
constructed on the same principle, but furnished with one pair of jaws only, a
fixed jaw b and a moveable one d; Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 represent various
views of the several parts detached. This arrangement is especially adapted
for screwing or unscrewing nuts at places where the space of operation is not
sufficient to admit of operating with the other wrenches which are furnished
with a double pair of jaws, as before described. But as the same description
will apply to this wrench as to the other just explained, the same letters of
reference are marked on the corresponding parts, in order to avoid the repe-
tition of the description.
The effect of the combination of the lever d and the straight bar or link f
in pressing the moveable jaw d against the nut to be operated upon, is equal
to that given by toggle-jointed levers, as used in old printing presses. The
pressure exerted upon small nuts is very considerable, and makes a slip of the
wrench almost impossible, which if the pressure of the jaws be constant, as is
the case in other wrenches, will easily occur in screwing or unscrewing nuts
of smaller size by reason of the shorter sides of the same. And as the fault
just mentioned occurs in the mechanical wrenches hitherto known, in which
the moveable jaw is furnished at its lower part with a rack geared with a
toothed segment on the end of the main lever, the new wrench, constructed
according to this Invention, is an improved substitute for it. While the jaw's
are firmly gripping the nut, if the nut be forcibly turned, the edges or sides of
the nut cannot be injured, which is unavoidable if the moveable jaw gives
way, or a wrench of the old construction be not exactly fitted for the nut to be
screwed or unscrewed. The simple construction of this wrench, its security,
and manageable application makes it superior to all wrenches constructed for
the same purpose.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected
by Letters Patent is, the construction of the improved wrenches herein
described and represented in the Drawings annexed for screwing and unscrew-

page_text: ing pipes, nuts, or other analogous articles of any shape or dimensions, whether
hexagonal, square, round, or other form, in the manner as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery, Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.s.)