Patent ID: 7156216

Claim:
A housing for a ratcheting mechanism comprising: a) a narrow portion adapted to be secured to a driving member; and b) a wide portion connected to the narrow portion at one end, and having an exterior face disposed opposite the narrow portion, wherein the wide portion includes a central opening extending into the wide portion from the exterior face, a pair of pawl recesses disposed on opposite sides of the central opening, at least one stop adapted to engage a cap mountable to the wide portion, and a detent recess adapted to receive a detent engageable with the cap wherein the pawl recesses are completely disposed within the wide portion of the housing, and each pawl recess comprises: a) a first curved end adapted to receive a pawl therein; and b) a second curved end disposed generally opposite the first curved end, wherein the distance between the first curved end and the second curved end is selected to be substantially greater than the length of the pawl to be engaged with the first curved end.