Improvements in Ratchet-braces for Hand Drilling Purposes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1892-Accepted, 15th Oct., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ratchet-braces for Hand Drilling Purposes.
I, WILLIAM HENRY HEESON, residing at 70 River Street, in the City of
Toronto, County of York, and Province of Ontario, Canada, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :--
Heretofore ratchet-braces consisted of a body having a recess formed in one end
to receive the shank of the drill or other tool employed, and had formed at the
other end a means for securing thereto the pointed end serving as a pivot and
around which the said body revolved, this pointed end was always of a fixed
length and when the brace was placed to bring the point of the drill or other
tool employed into engagement with the work it was found necessary in innumer-
able instances to build up a firm abutting surface for the said pointed end to
enable the brace to obtain the required pressure and force; and this invention
relates to a means by which the pointed end may be extended or contracted to any
desired length and thus entirely dispense with the necessity of building up the
aforesaid abutting surface and the object of the invention is to so construct the
pointed end that it can be readily extended or contracted to bring it into engage-
ment with the aforesaid surface to give to the brace the required pressure and force
to enable the tool to successfully perform its work during its forward rotation;
and the invention consists essentially of a ratchet-brace comprised of a body in
one end of which is formed a recess to receive the shank of the drill or tool
employed, a lever pivoted upon the said body and adapted to rotate there around,
one or more pawls connected to the said lever and adapted to engage with the
toothed portions of the said body so that the forward movement of the said lever
will rotate the said body, a means formed at the other end of the said body for
securing thereto the pointed end, the pointed end in this instance comprising a
sleeve of any suitable length and a metallic bar to slide within the said sleeve, said
metallic bar having one or both its ends pointed and means for adjustably locking
together said sleeve and bar, the whole device being constructed and arranged as
hereinafter more fully set forth in the Specification and more particularly pointed
out in the claims.
In the drawings:-
Figure 1 is a plan view of a ratchet-brace for hand drilling purposes showing my
device attached thereto.
Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view on the lines a―a Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an end elevation.
"Like numerals of reference refer to like parts throughout the Specification and
drawings.
The brace consists of a body 1, having formed at one end a recess 2, to receive
the shank of the drill or other tool employed in the work, and having connected
to its other end a sleeve 3 screw threaded on its inner face to receive a screw 4
located centrally in an outer sleere 5. The outer end of the outer sleeve 5 is
extended to form a shank 6 and sleeve 7.
Formed in the sleeve 7 are a series of holes 8 passing diametrically through the
said sleeve. Sliding within the sleeve 7 is the metallic bar 9 having one or both
its ends pointed. This bar 9 is provided with a series of holes 10 passing
diametrically through it and corresponding in diameter to the holes 8 in the
sleeve 7. The sleeve 7 and metallic bar 9 are each of a suitable and predetermined
length and the holes 8 and 10 respectively in the sleeve 7 and metallic bar 9 are
preferably arranged at points equi-distant from each other.

page_text: By sliding the metallic bar 9 into the sleeve 7 until the pointed end 11 of the
said metallic bar projects but slightly beyond the end of the said sleeve the device
is contracted to its utmost extent and a pin 12 is passed through the holes 8 and 10
to lock rigidly together the said metallic bar and sleeve. By sliding the metallic
bar 9 out of the sleeve until the last hole 10 in the said metallic bar comes opposite
the last hole 8 in the sleeve 7 the said device is extended to its fullest extent, and
a pin 12 is passed through the holes 8 and 10 as in the former instance to lock
rigidly together the said sleeve and metallic bar. By the arrangement of inter-
mediate holes formed through the said metallic bar 9 it is possible to adjust the
said metallic bar to any desired length between its fullest extended and contracted
length.
By a device of this kind it is possible to entirely dispense with the necessity of
building up the abutting surface which has hitherto been required to be done
when the pointed end of the brace would not extend nor could not be extended to a
firm abutting surface.
Pivotted to each side of the lever 16 is a pawl 14 which is adapted to mesh
with the ratchet teeth 15 formed on the body I to rotate the said body during the
rotation of the lever 16.
Secured to the lever 16 is a spring 13 to bear upon the back of each of the
pawls 14 to hold the said pawls in mesh with the ratchet teeth 15 formed on the
body 1. These springs 13 as shewn in Figure 3 of the drawings are pivotted to a
lug 13ª forming part of the lever 16 in such a manner that they can be turned
upon the said pivot and their pressure removed from the back of the pawls 14.
When the pressure of the springs 13 is removed from the pawls 14 the pawls 14
can be raised out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 15 and the body 1 will
be permitted to be rotated in either direction. A spring of less pressure if
desired may be connected to the lever 16 below the pawis 14 in such a manner
as to hold the said pawls out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 15 until the
pressure of the spring is again placed upon them but in the device constructed
according to this description this supplemental spring is not required. The
lever 16 is pivotted to the body 1 in such a manner as to rotate there around
in either direction when the pawls 14 are out of mesh with the ratchet teeth 15.
It is also possible instead of using a drill to use
a tap or die in a brace of
this description and by using a tap or die the screw thread can be cut in or on
the work and after the screw thread has been cut it is possible to throw the
pawl 14 out of mesh with the ratchet teeth 15 and employ any suitable mechanism
to rotate the body 1 and tool in the opposite direction to withdraw the tool from
the work.
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 :-
1. The improved ratchet-brace herein described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
2. The combination with a ratchet-brace of a pointed end comprising a sleeve
sliding on the body of the brace and a metallic bar adapted to slide within
the said sleeve, said sleeve and bar adapted to be adjustably locked together.
3. The combination with a ratchet-brace with a pointed end comprising a sleeve
sliding on the body of the brace and a metallic bar adapted to slide within the
said sleeve, a series of holes formed diametrically through respectively the said
sleeve and the said metallic bar, a pin to lock together said sleeve and metallic
bar in their adjusted position, said metallic bar having one or both its ends
pointed.
4. A ratchet-brace comprising a body having formed in one end a recess to
receive the shank of the tool, a lever pivoted to the body and adapted to rotate
therearound, pawls forming part of the said lever adapted to mesh with the
ratchet teeth forming part of the said body, a spring to press the said pawls into

page_text: engagement with the said ratchet teeth, said springs adapted to be freed from
pressing upon the said pawls and means for holding the said pawls out of engage-
ment with the ratchet teeth forming part of the said body to prevent the said lever
interfering with the movement of the said body during the rotation.
Dated this 31st day of May 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.