Screw and nut driver

Claim 2

A screw and nut drivEr comprising a generally cylindrical housing, a pair of axially aligned separately rotatable gears mounted in said housing parallel to and offset in one direction form the housing axis, a rotary countershaft mounted in said housing parallel to and offset in the other direction form the housing axis, intermediate gearing means on said countershaft and meshing with said gears, a handle extending from one end of said housing and connected in axially aligned driving relation with one of said gears for rotation relative to said housing, and a tool shank extending from the other end of said housing and connected in axially aligned driven relation with the other of said gears for rotation relative to said housing, said shank being adapted to carry a driver tool.

Claim 3

A screw and nut driver according to claim 1, said handle and shank extending in alignment with each other from said housing ends adjacent to one side of said housing, to facilitate tool engagement in restricted spaces.

Claim 4

A screw and nut driver according to claim 1, in combination with a locking dog mounted on said housing for selective movement into and out of locking engagement with said gear train, whereby said housing, handle and shank are selectively rotatable as a unit.

Claim 5

A screw and nut driver comprising a housing, a gear train mounted in said housing, a handle extending from one end of said housing and connected in driving relation with said gear train for rotation relative to said housing, a tool shank extending from the other end of said housing and connected in driven relation with said gear train for rotation relative to said housing, said shank being adapted to carry a driver tool, and a locking dog mounted on said housing for selective movement into and out of locking engagement with said gear train for selective rotation of said housing, handle and shank as a unit, said locking dog comprising a slide member mounted in a wall of said housing, actuating means on said slide member exteriorly of said housing for manually effecting sliding movement of said slide member, and a tooth on said slide member interiorly of said housing and movable with said slide member into and out of engagement between an adjacent pair of teeth of a gear of said train.

Claim 6

A screw and nut driver comprising a housing, a gear train mounted in said housing, a handle extending from one end of said housing and connected in driving relation with said gear train for rotation relative to said housing, a tool shank extending from the other end of said housing and connected in driven relation with said gear train for rotation relative to said housing, said shank being adapted to carry a driver tool, and a locking dog mounted on said housing for selective movement into and out of locking engagement with said gear train for selective rotation of said housing, handle and shank as a unit, said locking dog comprising a slide member mounted in a wall of said housing, actuating means on said slide member exteriorly of said housing for manually effecting sliding movement of said slide member, and a tooth on said slide member interiorly of said housing and movable with said slide member into and out of engagement between an adjacent pair of teeth of a gear of said train.

Claim 7

A screw and nut driver according to claim 4, said slide member being slidable along the axis of said gear, and said tooth being beveled to facilitate engagement between the gear teeth.

Claim 8

A screw and nut driver according to claim 4, said gear train comprising at least a pair of meshing gear sets, and said handle and shank being coaxially rotatable relative to said housing, whereby said housing is rotatable about the aligned axes of said shank and handle with the latter held fixed to effect axial rotation of said shank.

Claim 9

A screw and nut driver according to claim 6, said meshing gear sets each having an increasing speed ratio, so that a maximum shank speed increase results from holding said housing fixed and rotating said handle, and an intermediate shank speed increase results from holding said handle fixed and rotating said housing.

Claim 10

A screw and nut driver according to claim 4, said gear train comprising an input shaft journaled in said one housing end and fixed to said handle, an output shaft journaled in said other housing end in alignment with said input shaft and fixed to said shank, a countershaft journaled in said housing generally parallel to said input and output shafts, a meshing pair of input gears on said input and counter shafts, and a meshing pair of output gears on said counter and output shafts.

Claim 11

A screw and nut driver according to claim 8, in combination with a sleeve slidably circumposed about the inner ends of said input and output shafts to maintain alignment thereof.