Patent ID: 8499666

Claim:
A reversible ratchet device comprising: a ratchet body having a cavity therein, the ratchet body having a first side with a first body opening communicating with the cavity; a reversing lever rotatably disposed within the cavity of the ratchet body; a pawl mechanism having at least one pawl selectively coupled with the reversing lever within the ratchet body; a ratchet gear having a drive portion and a toothed portion, the toothed portion rotatably disposed within the cavity of the ratchet body and engageable with the at least one pawl, the drive portion projecting out of the cavity of the ratchet body and engageable for transmitting torque from operation of the device; a cover plate attachable to the first side of the ratchet body for closing the cavity, the cover plate having an aperture configured to receive the drive portion of the ratchet gear projecting out of the cavity; a spacer disposed within the cavity of the ratchet body between the reversing lever and the cover plate; a bore formed in the spacer; a spring disposed in the bore; a ball disposed in the bore, the ball being biased by the spring toward the reversing lever; and the reversing lever being operably coupled with the pawl mechanism for selecting the drive direction, the reversing lever being rotatable with respect to the bore and having an axis of rotation generally parallel to the bore, the reversing lever having an axially-oriented surface with a first recess for receiving the spring-biased ball in a first lever position corresponding to a first drive direction and with a second recess for receiving the spring-biased ball in a second lever position corresponding to a second drive direction, and the reversing lever having a raised portion between the first and second recesses, the raised portion including a peak and first and second ramps leading from the peak to the first and second recesses respectively.