US2753746A - Fastener-holding socket wrench - Google Patents

Description

July 10, 1956 R. J. CUMMINGS 2,753,746

FASTENER-HOLDING SOCKET WRENCH Filed Feb. 19, 1954 HVVENTUR.

dAi W United States Patent FASTENER-HOLDING SOCKET WRENCH Ralph J. Cummings, Berwyn, Ill.

Application February 19, 1954, Serial No. 411,363

2 Claims. (Cl. 81112) This invention relates to an improved fastener-holding socket wrench, and in particular it relates to an endopening wrench with which to grip a fastener such as a hex nut or bolt in a restricted space.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a socket wrench with which to manipulate fasteners which can not be gripped with conventional tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wrench having end-opening jaws of very thin metal which can be clamped onto a nut where the clearance is only slightly larger than the diameter of the nut, and which are firmly held against relative lateral displacement under torsional strain.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nut wrench in which the shaft portions of the jaw are noncircular their full length and the clamping member has a complementary bore so that the jaws are held against twisting with respect to one another when torque is applied.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a wrench in which the jaws are provided with interlocking portions to positively prevent lateral shifting movement of the jaws when they are clamped on a nut.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the socket wrench of this invention, with a hex nut clamped in the jaws;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the wrench;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevation of the jaws and shows how they fit the angles of a hex nut;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal central sectional view on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a section taken as indicated along the line 5- 5 of Fig. 4 with the jaws open;

Fig. 6 is a section taken as indicated along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 but with the jaws fully closed; and

Fig. 7 is a section taken as indicated along the line 7-7 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the fastener-holding socket wrench has a handle 10 provided at its forward end with a central noncircular aperture in which are fixedly secured shaft portions 11 and 12 of a pair of mating jaw members 13 and 14, respectively. The shaft portions are complementary in cross section to the noncircular aperture so that they do not tend to turn in the handie or twist on each other; and the shaft member 11 has a central longitudinal rib 15 which engages a complementary channel 16 in the shaft member 12, so that the two shaft members are locked against lateral twisting or shifting with respect to one another.

The jaw portions 13 and 14 of the shafts 11 and 12 'ice are extremely thin and short, as best seen in Fig. 1, and flare outwardly toward their ends so that their resilience normally holds them open. Each jaw portion is longitudinally bent, as seen at 17 and 18, respectively, the angle at the bends 17 and 18 being so that each jaw fits two adjacent sides of a hex nut as seen in Fig. 3. Since any regular hexagon has angles of 120 between its sides, the jaws 13 and 14 fits perfectly any hex nut H within the limits of movement of the jaws.

A slidable clamping member, indicated generally at 19, includes a large finger piece 20 and a thin forwardly extending sleeve portion 21 which projects an inch or more outwardly from the finger piece 20. The noncircular shape of the shaft members 11 and 12, as seen in Figs. 5 to 7, and the complementary shape of the opening in the slidable clamping member 19, also tend to prevent the shaft members from twisting with respect to one another. The sleeve portion 21 is made sufliciently thin so that its outside circumference is less than the distance around the jaws when they are closed on a nut, so that the sleeve portion does not interfere with use of the wrench where there is only small clearance as the wrench is moved into engagement with the nut. The elongated thin sleeve, combined with the fact that the jaws 13 and 14 are quite thin, permits the wrench to be used in locations where there is very little clearance around the margin of the nut. The rib 15 and channel 16 provide a very rigid shaft and jaw construction in which the jaws do not shift laterally with respect to each other when the wrench is turned to tighten the nut.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A fastener-holding socket wrench comprising: a handle; a pair of jaw members. having shaft portions secured to one end of said handle, said jaw members terminating at their outer ends in thin, mating jaws adapted to be clamped on a fastener, each of said jaws having two segments which form an angle of 120, the outer face of each segment forming a generally planar extension of the outer face of the shaft portion of the jaw member; a longitudinal internal rib on the shaft portion of one of said jaw members which engages a complementary recess in the shaft portion of the other of said jaw members to prevent relative lateral shifting of said members; and a clamping block slidably mounted on said jaw members, said clamping block having an enlarged finger piece and a thin sleeve portion extending toward the outer end of said jaw members, the outer circumference of the sleeve portion being less than the distance around the jaws when they are clamped on a fastener.

2. A fastener-holding socket wrench comprising: a handle; a pair of jaw members having cooperating shaft portions the combined perimeter of which is noncircular, said shaft portions being seated in a complementary recess at one end of said handle, said jaw members terminating at their outer ends in thin, mating jaws adapted to be clamped on a fastener, each of said jaws having two segments which form an angle of 120, the outer face of each segment forming a generally planar extension of an outer face of the shaft portion of a jaw member; a longitudinal internal rib on the shaft portion of one of said jaw members which engages a complementary recess in the shaft portion of the other of said jaw members to prevent relative lateral shifting of said members; and a clamping block having an enlarged finger piece and a thin sleeve portion extending toward the outer end of said 5 jaw members, said clamping block having a longitudinal bore complementary to and closely embracing the noncircular shaft portions, the outer circumference of the sleeve portion being less than the distance around the jaws when they are clamped on a fastener.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Pugh May 13,

McKeever Oct. 3,

Nagel Oct. 13,

Vertin Dec. 5,

Elliott Feb. 12,

FOREIGN PATENTS France June 20,

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