Improvements in Adjustable Spanners or Wrenches.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 8th July, 1898 - Accepted, 13th Aug.,
1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Adjustable Spanners or Wrenches.
I, WILLIAM GEORGE HARRIS, of Summerdale, Ipplepen, in the County of Devon,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to what are known as socket spanners or wrenches, that is
to say, spanners or wrenches which are adapted to fit over the nuts or the like and
to embrace them on all sides, the object of my invention being to provide a spanner
of this class which can be adjusted to fit several sizes of nuts or the like.
A spanner or wrench constructed according to my invention has a series of
sections pivoted in a suitable frame in such relation to each other that an aperture
is formed between them which may be increased or diminished in size according
as the said sections are moved away from or towards each other as in the well
known iris diaphragm.
In practice I use six pivoted sections having those surfaces which form the sides
of the hole or aperture flat and the end of one section in contact with the flat sur-
face of an adjacent section.
The sections may be adjusted to vary the size of the aperture by a screw in the
handle of the wrench, or by a ring or rings having pins or projections engaging
with the several sections.
Although I have described my invention as applied to socket spanners it is to
be understood that it is also applicable to box and other spanners.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Adjustable Spanners or Wrenches.
I, WILLIAM GEORGE HARRIS, of Summerdale, Ipplepen, in the County of Devon,
Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to what are known as socket spanners or wrenches, that
is to say, spanners or wrenches which are adapted to fit over the nuts or the like
and to embrace them on all sides, the main object of the said invention being to
provide an adjustable spanner of this class which can be used for several sizes of
nuts.
A spanner or wrench constructed according to this invention has a series of
jaw sections pivoted or centred in a suitable frame in such relation to each other
that an aperture is formed between them which may be increased or diminished
in size according as the jaws are moved away from or towards a common centre.
Price Rd.

page_text: In practice a spanner made according to my invention has as many pivoted sec-
tions or jaws as the nuts, which the spanner is to fit has sides the said sections
or jaws having those surfaces which form the sides of the hole or aperture flat and
the end of one jaw in contact with the flat surface of an adjacent jaw.
The jaws may be adjusted to vary the size of the aperture by a screw in the 5
handle of the wrench, or by a ring or rings having pins or projections engaging
with the several sections.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe it as applied to a
spanner adapted to fit hexagonal nuts reference being made to the accompanying
drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is an elevation of a spanner or wrench constructed according to the
said invention:
Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but shewing the sections adjusted for a
nut of small size:
Figure 3 is an edge view of the spanner as shewn in Figure 2:
Figure is a section on the line 44 Figure 1; and
Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 Figure 2:
Figures 6 and 7 are respectively an edge view and a face view of one of the
lever jaws; and,
Figures 8 and 9 are respectively an elevation and an end view of the screw rod
for operating the said jaws:
Figure 10 is a section through the said rod on the line 10-10 Figure 8.
Figures 11 and 12 are sectional elevations in positions at right angles to one
another of a modified form of spanner.
Figure 13 is a section on the line 13-13 of Figure 11, and
Figure 14 is a view of a detail.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the body of the spanner which has the handle portion b and the frame
portion c, and d, d', d², d³, d, d, are the lever jaws pivoted in the said frame
portion, the pivots do of the said jaws being arranged equidistant on the circum-
ference of a circle the centre of which is at the centre of the frame portion c.
Each of the jaws, one of which is shewn detached in Figures 6 and 7, has one
of its surfaces e (which is designed to come into contact with the nut) flat, and the
end surface e¹, also flat and formed at an angle of 60° to the surface e, the sur-
face el of each jaw being adapted to make contact with the surface e of an adjacent
jaw in a manner which will be readily understood by reference to Figures 1 and 2
whereby the surfaces e, e of adjacent jaws will be at an angle of 120°. When the
jaws are arranged in the manner hereinbefore described it will be obvious that so
long as the surface e¹ of one jaw is in flat contact with the surface e of an adjacent
jaw the angle contained by the surfaces c, e of these two jaws will be practically
invariable whether the contact of the end of one jaw is near the pivot, as shewn
in Figure 1, or near the free end, as shewn in Figure 2, of such adjacent jaw.
With the jaws thus arranged any movement imparted to one jaw causes the corre-
sponding movement of all the other jaws, for instance, any movement of the
jaw d from the position shewn in Figure 1 towards that shewn in Figure 2 causes
the movement of the jaw d¹ which in its turn operates the jaw and so on to the
jaw In the movement of the jaw d from the position shewn in Figure 2 to
that shewn in Figure 1 the jaw d first operates the jaw which operates in its
turn the jaw d and so on to the jaw d¹.
.
Any suitable means may be employed for operating the jaw d; the drawing
represents the latter as being provided with a lug f to which a rod g extending
through the handle portion of the spanner, which is made hollow, is jointed at
one end, the other end of the said rod being screw-threaded and carrying a nut h
which is fitted in a suitable aperture in the said handle portion b and held against
longitudinal movement. With this arrangement it will be readily understood
that the rotation of the nut h causes the longitudinal displacement of the rod d g
move the jaw d in the required manner.
to

page_text: As shewn in Figures 1 to 5 the body of the spanner is composed of two plates
which are connected together at one end by rivets i, i and at the other end by the
pivot pin of the jaws the said rivets and pivot pins having enlarged central
portions or shoulders which form distance pieces between the two plates as will
be clearly understood by reference to Figures 3 and 5. As shewn also, the rod
is flattened on opposite sides so that it does not necessitate the placing of the said
two plates at too great a distance apart. Figure 9 shews the sectional shape of the
rod.
As when the rod g is moved longitudinally it also has a slight lateral movement,
the recess in the side plates, in which the nut h is located, are made with the sur-
faces against which the said nut bears of a spherical shape, and the ends of the
said nut are correspondingly shaped as indicated by the dotted lines in Figures 1 to 3
thereby preventing any undue friction owing to the lateral movement of the said
rod.
In Figures 11 to 14 the jaws d, to 5 are pivoted in recesses j, j in a ring k
which is fixed between the plates a, a by rivets 1, 1. Pins m, m are passed through
the jaws and the plates a, a for retaining the said jaws in their proper positions
relatively with the recesses, the said pins however do not take any of the strain
which is placed upon the jaws when operating upon a nut this strain being borne
entirely by the ring k.
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. An adjustable spanner wherein is a series of lever-jaws, each pivoted at its
outer end in a frame provided with an adjusting spindle, the pivots of the said jaws
being upon a circle having its centre at the centre of said frame, substantially as
described.
2. In an adjustable spanner the combination of a series of lever-jaws, each
pivoted at its outer extremity in a circle and applied as shewn so that the free
inner end of each jaw bears against the side of the next adjacent one, and whereby
when one of these lever-jaws is moved, all the other levers will partake of a
corresponding movement, substantially as described.
3. In an adjustable spanner wherein a series of pivoted jaws is arranged in a
frame provided with a handle in such a manner that movement imparted to any
one of the jaws causes all the other jaws to move correspondingly, a rod connected
to one of the said jaws and at the other end carrying a nut held against longitudinal
movement in the handle of the spanner, substantially as described.
4. In an adjustable spanner having a series of lever-jaws two plates rivetted or
otherwise, together and forming a frame and a handle for the spanner the lever-
jaws being pivotted in the said frame or in a ring carried thereby, substantially
as described.
5. In combination with the lever-jaws pivoted at their outer ends, and with
the rod and its nut for adjusting these jaws, the body of the spanner serving to
hold all the parts together by means of rivets, and pivot pins having enlarged
central portions or shoulders serving as distance-pieces between the plates, all
substantially as described.
6. The manufacture and use of the improved adjustable spanner hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 10 and Figures 11 to 14 of the accom-
panying drawings.
But the on day of July 1995.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.