An Adjustable Ratchet Spanner.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Sept., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 30th June, 1890-Accepted, 2nd Aug., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Adjustable Ratchet Spanner.
I, GEORGE WILLIAM BIRD of 1 Ivy Cottage, Park End, Bromley, Kent, Iron-
monger, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The ordinary ratchet spanner has no arrangement for adjusting its jaw to suit
different sizes of nuts.
My improved spanner is designed to obviate this difficulty, and permit one side of
the jaw being adjusted to suit several sizes of the nuts or bolts to be turned.
It consists of a handle terminating in a flat-shaped ring or frame, inside which is
the ratchet disc, having the ratchet on its periphery, which disc is caused to rotate by
the usual pawl placed in a recess in the handle. This disc contains a rectangular
opening to receive the nut to be turned.
Inside this opening is a moveable jaw which is moved to and fro by a screw fastened
thereto working through a fixed nut on one side of the opening.
Motion is communicated to this screw by a small milled disc attached to one end
thereof, and working in a slot formed for the purpose.
The ratchet disc is placed in a suitable recess in the frame, and is held therein by
a coverplate screwed over one side thereof.
To afford space for the play of the small milled disc the opening is placed eccentri-
cally in the ratchet disc.
The result of this arrangement is a ratchet wrench or spanner with an adjustable
jaw so as to fit various sizes of nuts as before stated.
Dated this 30th day of September 1889.
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Adjustable Ratchet Spanner.
I, GEORGE WILLIAM BIRD of 1 Ivy Cottage, Park End, Bromley, Kent, Iron-
monger, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The ordinary ratchet spanner has no arrangement for adjusting its jaw to suit
different sizes of nuts.
My improved spanner is designed to obviate this difficulty, and permit one side of
the jaw being adjusted to suit several sizes of the nuts or bolts to be turned.
It consists of a handle terminating in a flat shaped ring or frame, inside which is
the ratchet disk having the ratchet on its periphery which disk is caused to rotate by
the usual pawl placed in a recess in the handle. This disk contains a rectangular
opening to receive the nut to be turned.
Inside this opening is a moveable jaw which is moved to and fro by a screw fastened
thereto, working through a milled-edge nut or disk held in a suitable slot on one side
of the opening.
Motion is communicated to this screw by operating the milled disk above
described.
The ratchet disk is placed in a suitable recess in the frame, and is held therein by a
cover-plate screwed over one side thereof.
To afford space for the play of the regulating screw the opening is placed eccentri-
cally in the ratchet disk.

page_text: I will now describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which
Fig. 1 shews a plan view of my spanner operating a hexagon nut, the cover plate e,
being removed to shew the ratchet and pawl c, d.
Fig. 2 shews a vertical section of the same on the line a―y.
Fig. 3 shews a key for stopping the return of the disk.
a, is the handle with the loop a', which encloses the disk b. b, is the disk containing
the adjusting screw g. c, is the ratchet on the periphery of b. d, is the pawl working
in the ratchet c. e is the cover-plate., is the key for stopping the disk. f, is
the hole to receive the key. y, is the adjusting screw. h, is the nut being operated.
i, is the bolt on which the nut screws.
In order to prevent any backward movement of the disk b, as might happen in
the case of screwing up a very slack nut, I use a small stop handle having a round
cylindrical end which falls into a hole f¹, formed to receive it in, the disk . By this
means the back motion of the pawl d, and handle a, without the return of the disk b,
is ensured. This stop key is not required in ordinary cases when there is sufficient
friction to avoid the return of the disk by overcoming the friction of the pawl.
The result of this arrangement is a ratchet wrench or spanner with an adjustable
jaw, so as to fit various sizes of nuts as before stated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In an adjustable spanner for screwing up nuts, bolts, coach-screws, and the like, the
combination of ratchet and pawl e, d; the loop and handle a', a; the revolving disk b;
the cover plate e; and the adjusting screw g, with or without the key as herein
described and set forth.
Dated this 30th day of June 1800
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, E.C., Patent Agent.