GB2455155A

GB2455155A - Ratchet screwdriver

Info

Publication number: GB2455155A
Application number: GB0804778A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chia-Yin Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-11-28
Filing date: 2008-03-14
Publication date: 2009-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 2028-03-14
Also published as: GB2455155B8; TWM332007U; FR2924042B3; GB0804778D0; GB2455155B; FR2924042A3

Abstract

The screwdriver includes a handle 10, a ratchet 20, a shaft 30, a finger ring 40 and a tool 50. The handle has a body 11 having a receiving chamber 111 and a front through hole 112. The receiving chamber is formed in the body and communicates with the front through hole. The ratchet is mounted securely in the receiving chamber and has a driving protrusion 222 and a drive selector 25. The shaft is mounted rotatably in the body and has a proximal end 31 mounted securely on the driving protrusion 222. The finger ring 40 is mounted securely around the shaft 30 outside the body 11 and is smaller than the handle 10 to allow quick and easy rotation of the shaft. The tool 50 is selectively mounted securely in the shaft with a polygonal end 51 mounted in and corresponding to a keyed socket of the shaft.

Description

RATCHET SCREWDRIVER

I. Field of invention

The present invention relates to a hand tool, and more particularly to a ratchet screwdriver that can be rotated quickly and easily.

2 Description of the Related Art

When a conventional ratchet screwdriver is turned to tighten or loosen a fastener, a handle of the conventional ratchet screwdriver is rotated in multiple positive turns with a ratchet disengaging during a negative turn and re-engaging for another positive turn.

Because during starting off tightening and finishing off loosening requires little torque, rotating the handle of the conventional ratchet screwdriver is laborious, time wasting, troublesome and causes discomfort to a user.

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a ratchet screwdriver that can be turned quickly and easily.

The ratchet screwdriver in accordance with the present invention comprises a handle, a ratchet, a shaft, a finger ring and a tool.

The handle comprises a body having a front end, a rear end, an inncr surface, a receiving chamber and a front through hole. The receiving chamber is defined in the body at the rear end. The front through hole is defined through the body and communicates with the receiving chamber.

The ratchet is mounted securely in the receiving chamber.

The shaft is mounted rotatably in the front through hole of the body and securely on the ratchet and has a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end is connected to the ratchet. The distal end protrudes out from the front end of the body and has a keyed socket formed axially in the distal end and polygonal.

The finger ring is mounted securely around the distal end of the shaft and is smaller than the body to allow quick and easy rotation of the shafi without rotating the handle.

The tool is selectively mounted securely in the shaft and has a proximal end mounted in and corresponding to the keyed socket of the shaft and polygonal.

In the drayiings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ratchet screwdriver in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ratchet screwdriver in Fig. 1; Fig. 3A is a side view in partial cross section of the ratchet screwdriver in Fig. 1; Fig. 3B is an enlarged side view in partial section of the ratchet screwdriver in Fig. 3A; Fig. 4A is another side view in partial cross section of the ruLciiet screwdriver in Fig. 1; Fig. 4B is an enlargcd side view in partial section of the ratchet screwdriver in Fig. 4A; Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a ratchet of the ratchet screwdriver in Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 is an operational rear view in partial cross section of the ratchet screwdriver in Fig. 1.

With reference to Figs. I to 3B, a ratchet screwdriver m accordance with the present invention comprises a handle (10), a ratchet (20), a shaft (30), a finger ring (40) and a tool (50).

The handle (10) comprises a body (11) and a Cal) (12). The body (11) has a front end, a rear end, an inner surface, a receiving chamber (111), a front through hole (112) and a mounting lip (114). The receiving chamber (111) is defined in the body (11) at the rear end and may be hexagonal or polygonal. The front through hole (112) is defined through the front end of the body (11) and communicates with the receiving chamber (111). The mounting lip (114) is smaller than, is formed on and protrudes axially from the rear end of the body (11) around the receiving chamber (ill). The cap (12) is mounted on the mounting lip (114) of the body (11) and has a rear through hole (121) defined through the cap (12) and communicating with the receiving chamber (111).

With further reference to Figs. 4A and 4B and 5, the ratchet (20) is mounted in the receiving chamber (11 1), may engage with the mountmg lip (111) of the body (11) and may comprise a driving sleeve (21), a rotating member (22), a teeth block (23), a heart-shaped spring (24), a drive selector (25) and a connector (26).

The driving sleeve (21) is mounted securely in the receiving chamber (Ill) and has an inner surface, an outer surface and inner teeth (211). The inner surface is circular. The outer surface corresponds to the receiving chamber (111) and may be hexagonal or hexagonal. The inner teeth (211) are formed on the inner surface of the driving sleeve (21).

The rotating member (22) is mounted in the driving sleeve (21) and has a S 4 disc (221), a driving protrusion (222) and a rotating block (223). The disc (221) is mounted in the driving sleeve (21) and has an inner surface and an outer surface. The driving protrusion (222) is formed on and protrudes from the inner surface of the disc (221) and may be quadrangular or have a keyed surface. The rotating block (223) is formed on the outer surface of the disc (221) and has two longitudinal sides, an outer surface, a pivoting surface (223 1) and an inserting recess (2232). The pivotin.g surface (2231) is formed on one longitudmal side of the rotating block (223) and faces the inner teeth (221) of the driving sleeve (21).

The inserting recess (2232) is formed on the other longitudinal side of the rotating block (223).

The teeth block (23) is mounted pivotally between the inner teeth (211) of the dnving sleeve (21) and the pivoting surface (2231) of the rotating block (223) and has a curved surface, a rotating surface (232), an outer surface, multiple outer teeth (231) and an inserting hole (233). The curved surface corresponds to and engages the inner surface of the driving sleeve (21). The rotating surface (232) is opposite the curved surface and selectively abuts against the pivoting surface (2231) of the rotating block (223). The outer teeth (231) are formed on the curved surface of the teeth block (23), correspond to and selectively engage the inner teeth (211) of the driving sleeve (21). The inserting hole (233) is formed on the outer surface of the teeth block (23).

The heart-shaped spring (24) is mounted on the teeth block (23) and abuts the outer surface of the rotating block (223) and has an inflection and two pivoting protrusions (241). The pivoting protrusions (241) are formed at the inflection and are mounted in the inserting hole (233) of the teeth block (23) to drive the teeth block (23). When the heart-shaped spring (24) is rotated, the teeth block (23) is also turned to engage the driving sleeve (21).

The drive selector (25) is mounted rotatably on the rotating member (22), is connected to the heart shaped spring (24), protrudes out from the receiving chamber (111) and the rear through hole (12 1) of the cap (1 2) and has an inner surface and a sliding protrusion (252). The sliding prousion (252) is formed on the inner surface of the drive selector (25), engages and drives the heart-shaped spring (24) and extends into the inserting recess (2232).

The connector (26) is mounted through the drive selector (25) and is mounted in the rotating block (223) to hold the drive selector (25) rotatably on the rotating member (22).

The shaft (30) is mounted rotatably in the front through hole (112) of the body (11) and securely on the ratchet (20) and has a proximal end (3 1), a distal end (33) and an outer surface. The proximal end (31) of the shaft (30) is connected to the ratchet (20), maybe to the driving protrusion (222) of the ratchet (20) and may have a keyed recess (311) or correspond to the keyed surface of the driving pron-usion (222). The keyed recess (311) is formed in the proximal end of the shaft (30) and corresponds to and engages the ratchet (20), maybe the driving protrusion (222) of the ratchet (20) and may be quadrangular or polygonal. The distal end (33) protrudes out from the front end of the body (11) and has a keyed socket (332), an annular groove (331) and a conical hole (333).

The keyed socket (332) is formed axially in the distal end (33) and is polygonal.

The annular groove (331) is defined around the distal end (33) and has a bottom.

The conical hole (333) is defined through the bottom of the annular groove (33 1) * 6 and communicates with the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30).

The finger rIng (40) is mounted securely around the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30). is smaller than and mounted outside the body (11) and may have an inner surface, a ring groove (41), a threaded hole (42), a bolt (43), a positioning ball (44) and a spring (45). The ring groove (41) is defined in the inner surface of the finger ring (40) and corresponds to the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30). The threaded hole (42) is defined through the finger ring (40).

The bolt (43) is mounted through the thread hole (42) and abuts against the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30) so the finger ring (40) is mounted securely around the distal end (33) of the shaft (30). The positioning ball (44) is mounted in the conical hole (333) and protrudes from the keyed socket (332). The spring (45) is mounted between the positioning ball (44) and the ring groove (41) of the finger ring (40) so as to provide a force to the positioning ball (44) to protrude from the keyed socket (332).

The tool (50) is selectively mounted securely in the shaft (30) and has a proximal end (51) and a distal end. The proximal end (51) is mounted in and corresponds to the keyed socket (3.32) ot the siiatt (3u). .i ne proximal end ç51) may be polygonal and may have a mounting groove (52). The mounting groove (52) is defined around the proximal end (51) of the tool (50), corresponds to and selectively engages the positioning ball (44) so the tool (50) can be positioned in the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30). The distal end may be slotted head, Philips head, a keyed socket head or the like. When the ratchet screwdriver is used to screw different fasteners, the tool (50) can be detached form the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30) and switched to a corresponding tool (50). S 7

With reference to Figs. 4A to 6, when the ratchet screwdriver is in use, the distal end of the tool (50) is connected to and rotates a corresponding fastener such as a screw, nut, bolt or the like and the drive selector (25) is rotated to determine a drive direction. Then a user can rotate the body (ii) of the handle (10) to tighten or loosen the fastener. When starting off tightemng or fmishing off loosening, very little torque is required to rotate the fastener, so the user can turn the shaft (30) by rotating the finger ring (40) with their fingers. Because the finger ring (40) is smaller and lighter than the body (11), the finger ring (40) can be spun quickly and efficiently, much faster and easier than rotating the handle (10). Therefore, the handle (10) needs only to be rotated to fmish off tightening or start off loosening so saving time, energy and improving comfort of the user.

Claims

Claim(s) 1. A ratchet screwdriver comprising a handle (10) comprising a body (11) having a front end; a rear end; an inner surface; a receiving chamber (111) being defined in the body (11) at the rear end, and a front through hole (112) being defined through the body (11) and communicating with the receiving chamber (111); a ratchet (20) being mounted securely in the receiving chamber (11 1); a shaft (30) being mounted rotatably in the front through hole (112) of the body (11) and securely on the ratchet (20) and having a proximal end (31) being connected to the ratchet (20); and a distal end (33) protruding out from the front end of the body (11) and having a polygonal keyed socket (332) formed axially in the distal end (33); a finger ring (40) being mounted securely around the distal end (33) of the shaft (30) and being smaller than the body (11); and a tool (50) being selectively mounted securely in the shaft (30) and having a polygonal proximal end (51) mounted in and corresponding to the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30).
2. The ratchet screwdriver as claimed in claim 2 wherein the distal end (33) of the shaft (30) further has an annular groove (331) having a bottom; and a conical hole (333) being defined through the bottom of the annular groove (331) and communicating with the keyed socket (332); and the finger ring (40) is mounted securely around the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30) and further has an inner surface; a ring groove (41) being defined in the inner surface of the finger ring (40) and corresponding to the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30); a threaded hole (42) being defined through the finger ring (40); a bolt (43) being mounted through the threaded hole (42) and abutting against the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30); a positioning ball (44) being mounted in the conical hole (333) and protruding from the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30); and a spring (45) being mounted between the positioning ball (44) and the ring groove (41) of the finger ring (40). * ** * * * * **

*::i)
3. A ratchet screwdriver substantially as hereinbefore described with *:*. reference to the figures.

*1**** * * ** ** * * * * * S. * * S S S.

2. The ratchet screwdriver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the proximal end (3!) of the shaft (30) has a quadrangular keyed recess (311) formed in the proximal end (31), corresponding to and engaging the ratchet (20).

3. The ratchet screwdriver as claimed in claim 2, wherein the body (11) further has a mounting lip (114) being smaller than and formed on the rear end of the body (11) around the receiving chamber (111); the handle (10) further comprises a cap (12) being mounted on the mounting lip (114) and having a rear through hole (121) defined through the cap (12) and communicating with the receiving chamber (111); and the ratchet (20) engages the mounting lip (114).

4. The ratchet screwdriver as claimed in claim 3, wherein the distal end (33) of the shaft (30) further has an annular groove (331) having a bottom; and a conical hole (333) being defined through the bottom of the annular groove (331) and communicating with the keyed socket (332), and the finger ring (40) is mounted securely around the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30) and further has an inner surface; a ring groove (41) being defined in the inner surface of the finger ring (40) and corresponding to the annular gooVe (331) of the ghaft (30); a threaded hole (42) being defined through the finger ring (40); a bolt (43) being mounted through the threaded hole (42) and abutting against the annular groove (331) of the shaft (30); a positioning ball (44) being mounted in the conical hole (333) and protruding from the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30); and a spring (45) being mounted between the positioning bal.l (44) and the ring groove (41) of the finger ring (40). 1)0

AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN FILED AS FOLLOWS:-Claim(s) 1. A ratchet screwdriver comprising a handle (10) comprising a body (11) having a front end; a rear end; an inner surface; a receiving chamber (111) being defined in the body (11) at the rear end; and a front through hole (112) being defined through the body (11) and communicating with the receiving chamber (111); and a mounting lip (114) being smaller than and formed on the rear end of the body (11) around the receiving chamber (111); and a cap (12) being mounted on the mounting lip (114) and having a rear through hole (121) defined through the cap (12) and communicating with the receiving chamber (111); and a ratchet (20) being mounted securely in the receiving chamber (111) and *:*:> engaging the mounting lip (114); a shaft (30) being mounted rotatably in the front through the hole (112) of . : the body (11) and securely on the ratchet (20) and having * a proximal end (31) the proximal end (31) of the shaft (30) having a * quadrangular keyed recess (311) formed in the proximal end (31), corresponding : . to and engaging the ratchet (20); and a distal end (33) protruding out from the front end of the body (11) and having a polygonal keyed socket (332) formed axially in the distal end (33); a finger ring (40) being mounted securely around the distal end (33) of the shaft (30) and being smaller than the body (11); and a tool (50) being selectively mounted securely in the shaft (30) and having a polygonal proximal end (51) mounted in and corresponding to the keyed socket (332) of the shaft (30). Il