US2805593A - Ratchet-type pipe wrench having crank-type handles - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 10, 1957 B. A. DARROW 2,805,593

RATCHET-TYPE PIPE WRENCH HAVING CRANK-TYPE HANDLES Filed March 11, 1955 mi ma 5M FIG. 2

B. A. DARRCW ATTORINEY gangsta Fatented i9, 195? fifiee assasas RATCHET-TWE PIPE WRENCH HAVING RANK-TYPE HANDLES Easil A. Darrow, Kermit, Tex.

Application March 11, 1955, Serial No. 493,743

1 Claim. (ill. till-97) This invention relates to a wrench and more particularly to the type of Wrench used to join together sections of pipe in the laying of petroleum pipe lines although the use of this invention is not necessarily limited to that use.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved means for gripping and turning pipe sections with a Wrench so constructed as to be self-adjusting to the diameter of the pipe and one which does not, therefore, require tedious or time-consuming manual adjustments.

A further object of this invention is to provide a selfadjusting wrench for the gripping and turning of sections of pipe, said wrench being so constructed as to provide means for gripping the pipe securely at three separate points about its diameter to prevent initial rotation of the wrench relative to the pipe as encountered in wrenches of the tong and strap types in their various modifications.

A further object of this invention is to provide by a wrench of the type herein described a means of releasing and removing the wrench from a section of pipe without finger manipulations subject to hindrances by heavy gloves or adverse working conditions.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a wrench embodying the features of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is a broken elevation of the wrench with the top frame plate removed to show the arrangement of the component parts and to illustrate the operation of the traveling dog, the release lever, and the engagement spring.

Referring to the drawings it will be noted that the wrench, as here illustrated in its preferred form for purposes of explanation, is constructed of two frame plates Jill and 1.0 of similar shape and function between and through which the other components are mounted. Each plate it and It) has an aperture 1.1 through which the pipe 12 to be turned is admitted. Near the center of the wrench is a bolt 13 which fastens the two frame plates and 19' by means of an opposed nut 13 and secures a swingable dog 14 which is pivotally mounted to the bolt. Attached to the swingable dog 14 near its free end is the release lever 15 suspended between the frame plates 1t and it) but extending well beyond their limits to provide accessible means for manually altering the position of the dog 14. Attached to the opposite side of the dog 14 near its free end, is a coil spring 16 which is also secured to a coil-spring-mounting screw 17 between the frame plates, the coil spring biasing the free end of the dog 14 toward the pipe 12. The work-engaging face on the free end of the dog 14 is serrated as at 13 and is shaped as an arc eccentric to the pivot axis of the dog 1'4. This eccentric arc permits the dog 14 to accommodate itself to pipes of varying diameter and to accentuate its grip on the pipe 12 as the wrench is rotated in a clockwise direction as shown in Figure 1.

Mounted between the frame plates 10 and 10' and about the aperture 11, approximately degrees from the dog 14 and approximately 120 degrees from each other, are two stationary dogs 19 fastened in a fixed position to the frame plates 10 and it) by two bolts and nuts. The inner work-engaging surfaces of the stationary dogs 18 project into the aperture 11 and, like the dog 14, are serrated for the purpose of gripping a pipe.

At the end of the wrench opposite the aperture Elli is a handle 2d, the hand grips 21 of which are freely rotatable by reason of their being threaded onto opposite ends of a stud 22 which extends rotatably through the frame plates iii and 1t), and through a tubular spacer 23 located between said plates.

In operation, the release lever 15 is manuaiiy depressed and the aperture 11 of the wrench is placed about the pipe 12 to be turned. When the release lever 15 is set free, the coil spring 16 swings the dog 14 against the pipe 12 so that, upon clockwise rotation of the wrench, as seen in Figures 1 and 3, the dog 14 will cam the pipe against the two serrated gripping surfaces 18. Making use of the rotatable hand grips, the operator of the wrench may then turn the pipe 12 and wrench together with a circular motion while never losing hand contact with the handle; or he may turn the pipe 12 by moving the wrench back and forth in an approximate straight line motion as is often necessary when the pipe is situated near the bottom of a ditch. It will be noted that the wrench accomplishes more effective turning when operated in a restricted straight line motion than do wrenches of the strap or tong variety because the three serrated surfaces incorporated herein greatly retard the initial rotation of the wrench relative to the pipe as occurs in the strap or tong types before the wrench takes hold. When the desired turning is accomplished the release lever 15 is depressed and the wrench is removed'from the pipe.

The invention isnot limited to the exemplary construction herein shown and described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A pipe wrench comprising a pair of elongated flat frame members in spaced parallel relation and having congruent pipe-receiving apertures in corresponding ends thereof, a swingable dog pivoted between said frames intermediate the ends thereof, the free end of said dog being adapted to extend into the area defined by said apertures, fixed dogs secured between said frame in the end thereof adjacent said apertures and having pipe-engaging walls which project inwardly of the periphery of said apertures, a release lever secured to said swingable dog and extending outwardly between said frames at corresponding sides thereof, a spring mounted between said frames and attached to said swingable dog, said spring being arranged to normally move the free end of said swingable dog inwardly of the aperture, and a rotatable handle on each said frame at the end thereof opposite its aperture and perpendicular to a fiat surface of each said frame.

iteterences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 30,997 Wenzel Dec. 18, 1860 816,434 Claflin Mar. 27, 1906 1,322,643 Steen Nov. 25, 1919 1,424,045 Sprague July 25, 1922 2,418,864 Barggren Apr. 15, 1947 2,463,525 Deming Mar. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 552 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1895

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