US3772942A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Adjustable torque wrench
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1972-07-27
•
Granted: 1973-11-20
•
Expires: 1992-07-27
Abstract
Abstract In a click-type torque wrench comprising an elongate tubular lever, a work engaging head pivotally mounted at the front end of the lever and having a lever arm projecting freely and rearwardly in the lever, spring loaded cam and link means within the lever rearward of the lever arm to normally yieldingly hold the lever arm and head against pivotal movement relative to the lever, said spring loaded cam and link means comprising a link with a flat rearward disposed cam seat pivotally connected with and projecting rearwardly from the lever arm, axially adjustable pivotal bearing means between the ends of the lever, a slide block with a flat, forwardly disposed cam seat in the lever, a cam block with flat faces between and normally engaging the cam seats, spring means rearward of the slide block and normally yieldingly urging the slide block forwardly and novel, manually operable means rearward of the spring means to vary the force exerted by the spring means through the cam and link means.
Inventors
- 👤 B Grabovac
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 19:37
CPC Classifications
B; B25; B25B; B25B23/00; B25B23/14; B25B23/142; B25B23/1422; B25B23/1427
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
328 words
A click-type torque wrench comprising an elongate horizontal lever with front and rear ends, a work-engaging head with a vertical axis adjacent the front end of the lever, a lever arm projecting rearwardly from the head, a crank pin on a vertical axis connecting the rear end of the lever arm at the front end of the lever, an elongate crank pivotally supported by and projecting rearwardly from the crank pin, an elongate link with a front end pivotally connected with the rear end of the crank and projecting rearwardly therefrom, bearing means between the ends of the link and pivotally supporting the link on a vertical axis shiftable longitudinally of the lever, a slide block carried by the lever for free longitudinal shifting relative thereto and spaced rearward from the rear end of the link, spring means carried by the lever rearward of the slide block and normally yieldingly urging the slide block forwardly, cam means between the link and the slide block including flat front and rear seats with laterally spaced vertical shoulders at opposite sides thereof and defining laterally spaced vertical corners on the link and the slide block respectively and a cam block with flat front and rear faces between and normally in flat bearing engagement with the front and rear seats and having laterally spaced vertical edges in pivotal engagement in said corners and means on the lever in spaced relationship from the opposite sides of the rear ends of the crank and the link to be engaged by the end of the link upon lateral shifting of the crank and the link and to limit lateral shifting of the rear end of the link and rocking of the cam block between said seats resulting from the application of sufficient torsional force applied to the head on the vertical axis thereof, through the lever arm, crank and link to turn said cam block between said seats against the force of the spring means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
328 words
A click-type torque wrench comprising an elongate horizontal lever with front and rear ends, a work-engaging head with a vertical axis adjacent the front end of the lever, a lever arm projecting rearwardly from the head, a crank pin on a vertical axis connecting the rear end of the lever arm at the front end of the lever, an elongate crank pivotally supported by and projecting rearwardly from the crank pin, an elongate link with a front end pivotally connected with the rear end of the crank and projecting rearwardly therefrom, bearing means between the ends of the link and pivotally supporting the link on a vertical axis shiftable longitudinally of the lever, a slide block carried by the lever for free longitudinal shifting relative thereto and spaced rearward from the rear end of the link, spring means carried by the lever rearward of the slide block and normally yieldingly urging the slide block forwardly, cam means between the link and the slide block including flat front and rear seats with laterally spaced vertical shoulders at opposite sides thereof and defining laterally spaced vertical corners on the link and the slide block respectively and a cam block with flat front and rear faces between and normally in flat bearing engagement with the front and rear seats and having laterally spaced vertical edges in pivotal engagement in said corners and means on the lever in spaced relationship from the opposite sides of the rear ends of the crank and the link to be engaged by the end of the link upon lateral shifting of the crank and the link and to limit lateral shifting of the rear end of the link and rocking of the cam block between said seats resulting from the application of sufficient torsional force applied to the head on the vertical axis thereof, through the lever arm, crank and link to turn said cam block between said seats against the force of the spring means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
56 words
A structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bearing means is selectively shiftable longitudinally of the link Whereby the relative longitudinal extent and mechanical advantage of the portions of the link extending forwardly and rearwardly from the pivotal axis of said bearing means can be selectively varied to adjust the operation of the wrench.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
94 words
A structure as set forth in claim 2 wherein the lever is an elongate tubular member with a central longitudinal bore, said crank and link normally extending longitudinally and freely through and substantially concentric with the bore, said bearing means including a part on the link pivotally and slidably engaged in the bore, said slide block is slidably engaged in the bore for free longitudinal shifting therein, and said means to be engaged by and to stop the link being defined by the portions of the bore at the opposite sides of said link.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
143 words
A structure as set forth in claim 2 wherein the lever is an elongate tubular member with a central longitudinal bore, said crank and link normally extending longitudinally and freely through and substantially concentric with the bore, said bearing means including a part on the link pivotally and slidably engaged in the bore, said slide block is slidably engaged in the bore for free longitudinal shifting therein, and said means to be engaged by and to stop the link being defined by the portions of the bore at the opposite sides of said link and crank, said bearing means is selectively shiftable longitudinally of the link whereby the relative longitudinal extent and mechanical advantage of the portions of the link extending forwardly and rearwardly from the pivotal axis of said bearing means can be selectively varied to adjust the operation of the wrench.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
156 words
A structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein said spring means includes an elongate helical compression spring with a front end engaging the slide block and extending rearwardly therefrom, and adjusting means to vary the compression of and force exerted by the spring onto the slide block and including a carrier block carried by the lever rearward of the spring, an elongate longitudinally extending screw thread in and through the carrier block and having means at its forward end to engage the rear end of the spring, and drive means including a manually engageable driver engaged with and between the rear ends of the screw and the lever and shiftable longitudinally from a normal forward position where it is in rotary locked engagement with the lever and rotary unlocked engagement with the screw to an actuated rear position where it is in rotary unlocked engagement with the lever and rotary locked engagement with the screw.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
86 words
A structure as set forth in claim 5 wherein the lever is an elongate tubular member with a central longitudinal bore, said crank, link and spring normally extend longitudinally and freely through and substantially concentric with the bore, said bearing means includes a part on the link pivotally and slidably engaged in the bore, said slide block is slidably engaged in the bore, said means to be engaged by and to stop the link being defined by the bore at the opposite sides of said link.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
139 words
A structure as set forth in claim 5 wherein the carrier block is fixed in the bore, said screw is concentric in and extending freely longitudinally of the bore, said driver including an outer sleeve portion engaged about the exterior of the rear portion of the lever, a central core portion projecting from the rear end of the sleeve portion into the bore and having a central opening with a cylindrical rear portion and polygonal front portion freely receiving the rear portion of the screw, said operating means further including an elongate polygonal drive part on the rear end of the screw freely engageable in the rear portion of said central opening when the driver is in its forward position and establishing driving engagement in the forward portion of said opening when the driver is in its rear position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
A structure as set forth in claim 7 wherein said bore has splines in its rear portion and said core has splines on its reAr portion, said splines on the core engaging the splines in the bore only when the driver is in its forward position.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
A structure as set forth in claim 8 wherein the forward end of the rear portion of the opening defines a rearwardly disposed shoulder and said polygonal part carries a radially outwardly projecting stop part about its rear portion to engage said shoulder and to limit rearward movement of the driver relative to the said polygonal part and the lever.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
71 words
A structure as set forth in claim 9 which includes circumferentially spaced calibrating marks at the forward end of the sleeve portion of the driver and said lever has axially spaced calibrating marks to occur adjacent the forward end of the sleeve portion when the driver is in its rear position and with which the marks on the sleeve portion are cooperatively related to indicate set operating forces of the wrench.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-11-19 | 1977-05-21 | 1977-11-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-11-19 | 1981-05-21 | 1981-11-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-11-19 | 1985-05-21 | 1985-11-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |