Improvements in Shifting Spanners.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Shifting Spanners.
I, JOHN SWITZER OWENS, of East Peckham, Tonbridge, Kent, Doctor of Medicine,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The shifting jaw slides on the spanner stem or handle and is fixed in any required
position thereon by means of a cam lever pivotted to the said jaw. The cam part
of the lever is adapted to press upon the back of a block in the shifting jaw, the
front side of the block bearing upon the back edge of the stem. By this arrange-
ment the shifting jaw can be fixed in the required position to grip the nut or other
object instantaneously and with a good fit, and firmly without shake and without the
nut being damaged.
The shifting jaw may be provided with a piece of spring steel to form the bearing
surface, or the jaw and the spanner stem or both may be roughened in any desired
manner. The block may be provided with a bearing or facing piece made to be set
up for wear, or the aforesaid piece of spring steel may form the adjustable bearing
piece, to be set up with a screw or wedge.
The cam lever may be made so long that it can be gripped in the hand when using
the spanner.
I prefer to proportion the parts so that the outer ends of the jaws tend to close
upon the nut when pressure is applied to the cam lever.
Dated this Fifteenth day of April 1897.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents!
Improvements in Shifting Spanners.
I, JOHN SWITZER OWENS, formerly of East Peckham, Tonbridge, in the County of
Kent, but now of No. 66, Elswick Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne, in the County of
Northumberland, Doctor of Medicine, 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 :-
My invention relates to shifting spanners or wrenches.
The shifting jaw slides on the spanner stem or handle and is fixed in any required
position thereon by means of a cam lever pivotted to the said jaw. The cam part of
the lever is adapted to press upon the back of a block in the shifting jaw, the front
side of the block bearing upon the back edge of the stem. By this arrangement the

page_text: shifting jaw can be fixed in the required position to grip the nut or other object
instantaneously and with a good fit, and firmly without shake and without the nut
being damaged.
The shifting jaw may be provided with a piece of spring to form the bearing
surface, or a part of the jaw or of the spanner stem or of both may be roughened in
any desired manner. The block may be provided with a bearing or facing piece made
to be set up with a screw or wedge. The cam lever is preferably made so long that
it can be gripped in the hand when using the spanner.
I so construct the spanner that the outer end or acting parts of one of the jaws
tends to close upon the nut when pressure is applied to the cam lever.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in part sectional elevation a
spanner or wrench constructed according to my invention about to be used.
Figure 2 is a similar view shewing the spanner applied to grip the nut and
Figure 3 is a similar view and shews the spanner when released.
Figure 4 shews a slightly modified form of spanner in part sectional elevation in
use and
Figure 5 represents the same spanner when released from the nut and
Figure 6 is a similar view of a modification.
Referring to Figure 1 which shews the spanner put on to a nut it will be seen that
the shifting jaw A slides on the spanner shank or handle B and is fixed in any
required position thereon by means of a cam lever C pivotted at C¹ to the said jaw A.
The jaw A conveniently consists of a piece of sheet metal bent round the handle and
provided with a piece A2 of about the same thickness as the handle rivetted between.
The cam part C2 of the lever is adapted to press upon one side of a block D the other
side of the said block bearing upon one edge of the shank or handle B. The bearing
surface of the block D is preferably roughened or serrated and the spanner shank or
handle B is similarly roughened or serrated to correspond as shown. The handle B
is provided with a pin or rivet to prevent the movable jaw A and the parts connected
thereto from slipping off, or as in the example shown the movable jaw is provided
with a pin A¹ and the handle has a slot B. The block D is preferably made some-
what curved or wedge shaped as shown and if necessary it may have a bearing or
facing piece adapted to be set up with a screw or wedge as its surface and that of the
cam become worn by the friction set up between them but under ordinary
circumstances this is not essential. The cam lever C is made of such a length that
it can be gripped in the hand when using the spanner. I so proportion or shape the
cam part 2 and the block D that when the lever C is pushed closer to the handle as
shown in Figure 2 the movable jaw A tends to close upon the nut or the like when
pressure is applied to the cam lever and consequently the nut is held securly between
the fixed jaw B¹ and the movable jaw A and cannot slip as is often the case with
screw wrenches or spanners.
In order to ensure that the block D shall be disengaged from the serrations or teeth
in the handle when these parts are so provided I form the lever C with two hooks C³
and C. The hook C³ operates a small double armed lever E when the lever C is
pulled away from the handle and the said lever E comes into contact with a projection
on the block D and causes the same to come away from the handle. The hook C' is
a hook pure and simple and catches on a projection D¹ on the block D thus both ends
of the block will be held away from the handle. Or as shown in Figure 4 there is a
spring D² one end of which springs round a curved part of the part A2 of the movable
jaw A or is otherwise attached to the latter while the other end of the said spring is
fixed to the block D, Figure 5 shows how the spring D² takes the block D out of the
serrations in the handle B when the cam C2 releases the said block. I would however
have it understood that I do not limit myself to the hook connections described with
reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 for keeping the block and the cam lever connected or
in place with regard to each other as I may use other means such as a link or links
for effecting the same purpose. Instead of using a lever C with a cam C2 as has been
described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 I may as shown in Figure 6 have
a plain lever C pivotted at C¹ to the movable jaw A and connect the said lever and

page_text: the block D by one or more toggle lever or levers C5, the block and lever C being
kept in their proper relative positions by means of a spring D².
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. A shifting spanner or wrench consisting of a handle or shank part having a fixed
jaw thereon a movable jaw provided with a block a lever pivotted to the movable
jaw and means for jambing the block on to the shank and for slightly moving the
movable jaw when such jambing has taken place substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
2. A shifting spanner or wrench consisting of a handle or shank part having a fixed
jaw thereon a movable jaw provided with a block, a cam lever pivotted to the movable
jaw and having a cam part substantially as described and shown.
3. A shifting spanner or wrench consisting of a handle or shank part B having a
fixed jaw B¹ thereon, a movable jaw A provided with a block D, a cam lever C
pivotted to the movable jaw and having a cam C2 and hooks or projections C³ and C+
for engaging with the block D substantially as described and shown with reference to
Figures 1, 2 and 3.
4. A shifting spanner or wrench consisting of a handle or shank part B having a
fixed jaw B¹ thereon, a movable jaw A provided with a block D and spring D² and a
cam lever C pivotted to the movable jaw and having a cam C2 substantially as
described and shown with reference to Figures 4 and 5.
5. A shifting spanner or wrench consisting of a handle or shank part B having a
fixed jaw B thereon, a movable jaw A provided with a block D a lever C pivotted to
the inovable jaw and connected to the block D by a toggle lever C and a spring D² for
normally keeping the block and lever in their proper relative positions substantially
as described with reference to Figure 6.