Patent ID: 6997084

Claim:
A ratcheting driver for rotationally driving a piece, comprising: a handle having a longitudinal axis and a hollow interior, a gear shaft with gear teeth thereon and being rotatably supported along said axis in said handle hollow interior for rotational drive of the piece, two pawls pivotally supported by said handle adjacent said shaft and being orbital about said axis upon and with rotation of said handle and with each of said pawls having teeth engageable with said gear teeth at a respective location on said gear teeth for transmitting rotation from said handle to the piece, a spring operative on said pawls for pivoting said pawls and thereby yieldingly urge said pawls into rotational driving tooth engagement with said gear teeth, means effective on said pawls for selectively pivoting said pawls out of rotational driving tooth engagement with said gear teeth, and said handle having two surfaces spaced apart from each other and disposed adjacent to each of said pawls and with each of said pawls having two spaced-apart surfaces in respective sliding contact with said handle surfaces in the pivoting of said pawls and with all said handle surfaces being disposed to face said location for supporting said pawls in the teeth engagement of said pawls with said gear teeth at said location and for urging said pawls to orbit about said axis, and to thereby present forces on said pawls and said shaft to secure said pawls in tooth engaged position and to thereby urge rotation of said shaft about said axis.