Patent ID: 8347471

Claim:
Snap ring pliers comprising: first and second levers pivotably secured together wherein the first lever comprises a first jaw and a first handle, and the second lever comprises a second jaw and a second handle; a biasing member interconnecting the first and second handles; and a ratchet mechanism comprising: a curved ratchet rack having one end fixedly secured to an open end of the second handle and the other end disposed proximate to an open end of the first handle, the ratchet rack comprising a series of teeth; a sliding member fixedly secured to the open end of the first handle and comprising a projection at one end, and a channel with the other end of the ratchet rack moveably disposed therein; a lock member having one end pivotably secured to the projection and comprising a protrusion at the other end; and a pawl member disposed on the lock member and having one end secured onto the projection, the pawl member comprising an elastic finger at the other end, and an intermediate lock hole with the protrusion partially disposed therein to be locked; whereby pivoting the lock member in a first direction will disengage the protrusion from the lock hole to be unlocked, and cause the finger fall into a depression between two adjacent ones of the teeth to be positioned; whereby moving the channel of the sliding member along the ratchet rack until being stopped will cause the finger fall into the depression between two adjacent ones of the teeth to be positioned; and whereby pivoting the lock member in a second direction opposing the first direction will cause the protrusion to enter the lock hole to be locked and disengage the finger from the teeth.