IMPROVED MEANS OF RENDERING SPANNERS, WRENCHES, AND BUCH LIKE TOOLS ADJUSTABLE
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Hosking, of Stratford, in the County of
Middlesex, Oil Refiner, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF
RENDERING SPANNERS, WRENCHES, AND BUCH LIKE TOOLS ADJUSTABLE."
Sealed the 16th February 1872, and dated the 19th August 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Hosking at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th August 1871.
I, JAMES HOSKING, of Stratford, in the County of Middlesex, Oil
Refiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “I■-
PROVED MEANS OF RENDERING SPANNERS, WRENCHES, AND SUCH LIKE TOOLS
ADJUSTABLE," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to render spanners, wrenches, and
such like tools easily and readily adjustable, and the following describes
a simple form of spanner constructed according to my Invention :-
A fixed head, check, or boss is formed on one end of a lever or shank,
such as is used for an ordinary spanner. In this head is formed a
rectangular aperture of a size sufficiently large to take in the largest

page_text: nut or other rectilineal body the spanner is intended to operate upon, and
between the opposite sides or jaws of this aperture or mouth I place a
succession of plates or tongues of any required thickness. These plates
are supported on a pin near the bottom of the said aperture and parallel
therewith, and are so arranged that when all are down they fill up the !
said aperture, but that any number of them may be turned up or out
of the same, thus leaving an opening equal to their combined thick-.
nesses. For example, suppose the said aperture or mouth to be one
inch across from jaw to jaw, and to be filled up with eight of the said
plates or tongues of one-eighth of an inch cach in thickness, then if two
of them be turned up or out of the said mouth, an aperture of one-fourth
of an inch will be formed; if four be turned up, then the aperture will
be half an inch, and thus the size of the aperturo or mouth intended
to take in the nut or other rectilineal body may be varied from the
thickness of one of the said plates or tongues to the full space between
the jaws.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Hosking in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 19th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HOSKING, of Stratford, in the County of Middlesex, Oil Refiner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Hosking, Her special licence that
I, the said James Hosking, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Hosking, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF
RENDERING SPANNERS, WRENCHES, AND SUCH LIKE TOOLS ADJUSTABLE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Hosking, my
"

page_text: executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 immo-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Hosking, do hereby declaro
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tho
following statement thereof (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to render spanners, wrenches, and such
like tools easily and readily adjustable to different sized bodies to bo
operated upon by them.
And in order that the said Invention may be clearly understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same with the
aid of the accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the letters
and figures marked thereon. In cach case the same letter wherever it
occurs indicates like parts.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, & 4 illustrate one method of applying my Invention to
a spanner. A fixed head A on one end of a lever or shank B has formed
in it a rectangular aperture or mouth C, much after the style of an
ordinary spanner, but deeper in proportion to its width between tho
jaws. This aperture is made sufficiently wide to take in the largest
sized nut or other rectilincal body the spanner is intended to operate
3 upon, and is filled up with a number of plates or tongues D of any
required thickness, such thickness being regulated so as to agree with
the different sizes of nuts for which the spanner is to be used. These
tongues are contred on a pin E, so that they may all be turned back or
out of that part of the said aperture O which operates on the nut into
the recess Fat the back of the pin, so as to rest on the web F', which
prevents them falling through, as shown in Fig. 2, which is a section
through the line a, a, (Fig. 1). Thus if all the said tongues be turned
back into the said recess the mouth of the spanner will be at its largest,
and may be reduced as required to take in the smaller sized nuts by
3 turning one or more of the said tongues into the said aperture. Fig. 3
is a section through the line b, b, (Fig. 1), shewing one of the said
tongues turned into the mouth O to reduce its width, where it will be
seen that it is prevented from falling through by its corner at D' coming

page_text: in contact with the edge of the said web F. Fig. 4 is a view of one of
the tongues detached.
Figs. 5 to 13 illustrate another design of spanner with my Invention
applied. Fig. 5 shows the body of the spanner without the tongues, but
with the pin upon which they turn; Fig. 6 is a section of the same
taken on line c, c; Fig. 7 shews the tongues in position, one being
turned into the mouth of the spanner, and the remaining two being in
reserve in a convenient recess behind; Fig. 8 is a section taken through
the line d, d, (Fig. 7), shewing the position of the tongues when turned
into the mouth of the spanner; Fig. 9 is a section taken through the
line e, e, (Fig. 7), shewing their position when in reserve in the recess
behind, and Fig. 10 is a detached view of one of the tongues.
In this design it will be observed that the mouth of the spanner is not
wholly filled up with the said tongues, it being so arranged or contrived
that when the whole of the said tongues are turned into the said mouth
it will be of a size to take in and act upon the smallest sized nut it is
intended to be used for, the other sized nuts to be operated upon by the
spanner being arranged for in a manner similar to that already described,
namely, by turning one or more of the said tongues back or out of the
said mouth. It will also be observed that in this design the pin E on
which the said tongues turn terminates in a screw which takes into a
nut G let into a recess in one of the sides of the reserve recess F. Thus,
by turning the said pin by means of the thumb stud E¹ in the direction
for inserting a right-handed screw, the said nut G will be drawn against
the tongues, thus tightening them together, and against the side of the
said reservo recess, and preventing them falling out, even if the spanner
be turned over, thus enabling it to be used either side uppermost. The
washer H is inserted to reduce friction. The nut and washer are shown
in plan at Figs. 11.& 12, and in position on the pin E at Fig. 13.
Fig. 14 illustrates a design for applying my Invention as a wrench,
specially designed for grasping round surfaces, such as those of pipes,
bars, or studs; but it will also grasp oval, rectangular, or other surfaces:
'The action of this wrench is as follows:-Let I be a pipe that it is
required to turn in the direction indicated by the arrow marked therein.
After the tongues have been turned back into the reserve recess placo
the mouth C of the wrench upon or over the said pipe in the position
shewn, allowing the smooth inclined surface at A' to rest upon it, and
then after turning as many of the said tongues into the mouth as there

page_text: js room for draw the wrench back so as to jam the said pipe between the
converging jaws, then if power be applied to the wrench in the direction
it is required to turn the pipe that one of the teeth J immediately in
contact with the said pipe will form a fulcrum on which the wrench
will have a tendency to move round it, which will cause the said inclined
plane to be drawn over the pipe, thus jamming it harder on to the
teeth and causing it to be carried round with the wrench. A plan
and edge view of one of the tongues with the teeth are shewn at
Figs. 15 and 16.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to or may be
performed, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine myself
to the details herein described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings for carrying out my Invention, as the same may be modified
without departing from the principle of the Invention, as for example,
the tongues D may be made to slide into the said mouth from any
convenient recess instead of being centred on a pin and turned in and
out; but what I claim as my Invention and desire to secure by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the employment of
moveable tongues for rendering spanners, wrenches, and such like tools
adjustable, substantially as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Hosking, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of February, in tho
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
In the presence of
JOHN W*. GRAY,
Patent Agent,
23, Billiter Street, E.O.
JAMES HOSKING. (L.S.)