US2202240A - Wrench socket - Google Patents

Description

May 28,1940'. w. ETROTTER 2,202,240

WRENCH SO CKET Filed Dec. 20, 1915"?v L, q" /f/f, v

ATTORNEYS.,

Patented May 28, 1940 WRENCH SOCKET y Walter F. Trotter, Amelia, Ohio Application December 20, 1937, serial No. 180,774

6 claims.

My invention relates to wrench sockets for either driving or loosening nuts, bolts, or studs, having a head comprising a series of fiat faces in the form of a regular polygon of the usual type well known in the art. My wrench socket is primarily for use in either driving these nuts or loosening the same by means of a power wrench, but is not necessarily limited to this use since my socket may be employed with a manual wrench, or any kind of a Wrench used for driving a nut. In using the term nu throughout the specifications and claims, I include as the equivalent a bolt head and analogous terminals to be driven by a socket.

The usual power wrench is so constructed that the nut gripping socket is stationary until the socket is pressed against or over the nut to be driven, at which time the wrench immediately starts to revolve at a relatively high speed. Due to this construction, the ordinary wrench socket has a tendency when placed against a nut to contact the nut'so that the nut faceswill not at once register against the periphery of the socket faces, but will be disposed therebetween, so that the nut will not immediately enter into the socket. Inasmuch as this position of the socket in relation to the nut stops the forward movement of the socket over the nut and hence presses the socket against the body of the wrench, the Wrench is immediately started and thefsocket commences to revolve at full speed and it has a tendency to jump one or more corners between the faces of the nut before the nut is seated in the socket. This jumping under high speed, quickly wears downk the entering face of the socket and strips the edges or the crown of the nut.

It is an object of my invention to provide a wrench socket the leading face of which is so configured as to insure an even positioning and an immediate entrance of the nut into the socket by longitudinal movement alone. By this construction any jumping of the corners of the nut faces is eliminated since the nut seats in the socket usually before the socket commences to rotate.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a wrench socket so constructed that 'it may be slipped over the nut while the socket is being driven and which is so designed as to prevent the nut corners from jumping and wearing the entering face of the socket.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a wrench socket having all ofthe above desirable `now describe a preferred embodiment.

advantages and which will greatly outlast any of l the sockets used at the present time.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent toone skilled in the art upon reading these specications, I accomplishv by that certainconstruction and arrangement of parts of which I shall Reference is now made to the drawing'which forms a part hereof and in which- Figure l is a perspective View of my novel socket.

- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of my novel socket and a front elevation of the nut to be driven. i

Fig. 3 is a cross section of my novel socketent from the above that my sockets are designed y for `right andv left turns only and a single socket cannotbe used with the leads functioning for both driving and loosening a nut, although` When once over the nut it may be turned either way.

Referring tothe drawing, I provide a wrench socket similar to the usual type with the usual cut out square hole 2 for mounting on the square end 3 of the shank of a wrench. I have notV shown the wrench since any wrench may be used.-

The nut gripping laperture 4 is of the usual type and has flat nut gripping faces 5 for gripping and holding the nut 6 when it lhas entered the aperture 4. The leading face 'l of my socket is cut out as at 8 to form helical acting bevels inthe entering edge of each face 5.

These helical acting bevels commence at the leading edge 8a of a face 5 from a zero bevel and increase to the maximum bevel at substantially the trailing edge 8by of the face 5. This type of beveling forms a helical acting lead Von each face. I do not intend to limit myself to the exact configuration of my lead since any cut out or beveling on the entering edge of the faces 5 which will tend to turn and lead the nut into my socket upon a longitudinal pressure of my socket is within the contemplation of my invention.

I have found that it is preferable to curve my bevel or lead 8 with a curvature at least as great as the radius of an external circle embracing the nut to be driven.

Figure 1 of the drawing illustrates my novel socket for a right hand turn for driving the nut onto the stud I3. The construction of my socket is such that if in placing it against the nut, the head or crown 9 of the nut is so positioned with relation to the socket that the edges l0, defined by the faces 6 of the nut, contact my bevel leads 8 at a point between the two terminals 8a and 8b; the slanting construction of the lead 8 will tend to either rotate the nut upon a longitudinal motion of the socket in a reverse direction to thed drive of the socket, until it is aligned in such a manner that the socket will slide over the nut in perfect alignment and registry. This motion will also take place, normally, prior to the driving of the socket. However, when using a wrench socket which is driven at all times, or which is so sensitive as to commence revolving upon contact with the crown of the nut, my novel beveling is so configured as to form a lead which guides the socket over the nut in the direction of turn of the socket until the edges lll of the nut come in line with the edges between the faces 5 of the socket, and hence when the nut is aligned for complete registry. By this construction the terminal 8b of the lead is such that any jumping of the corners Il] of the nut onto the next lead will be prevented.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated my novel socket which is identical with that described above and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but wherein an annular shoulder I l projects beyond the nut gripping aperture and its leads, in order to embrace the lock washer l2, and prevent it from. spreading when the nut is being driven tightly home.

While the wrench socket I have shown is for driving the nut, I contemplate the use of my invention in also loosening the nut. In this case the configuration of the leads or the bevels will `be reversed but the bevels will always be such that the leading end of the bevel will be the zero point 8a.

`It is to be understood that different forms of my preferred form may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces, in the form of intersecting planes adapted to conform completely to the faces of a nut, and having beveled leads cut into said faces for guiding said socket over a nut, said leads being confined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

2. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces in theform of intersecting planes adapted to conform vcompletely to the faces of a nut with the front or entering edges of said faces beveled away from zero to maximum in the direction of rotation of the socket, said beveled edges being confined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

3. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces in the form of intersecting planes adapted to conform completely to the faces of a nut"withthe1front or entering edges of said faces vbeveled away from Zero to maximum in the direction of rotation of the socket, said beveling being curved, and confined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

4. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces in the form of intersecting planes adapted to conform completely to the faces of a nut with the front or entering edges of said faces beveled away from zero to maximum in the direction of rotation of the socket, said beveling being curved with a radius at least as great as the overall radius of the nut, and confined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

5. A wrench socket for the power driving of nuts having regular polygonal faces, said socket comprising a body having a hollow therein for accepting a nut, said hollow being divided in the direction of its length into two portions, an innermost portion having polygonal faces adapted to register completely with the faces of the nut, and an entrance portion comprising a prolongation of the said faces, and provided with a helical lead for cach face thereof, said helical lead reaching its greatest depth at the conjunction of thesaid polygonal faces in the direction of rotation of said socket, said last mentioned portion being less in lengthv than said first mentioned portion.

6. A wrench socket for the power driving of nuts having regular polygonal faces, said socket comprising a body having a. hollow therein for accepting a nut, said hollow being divided in the direction of its length into two portions, an innermost portion having polygonal faces adapted to register completely with the faces of the nut, and an entrance portion comprising a prolongation of the said faces, and provided with a helical lead for each face thereof, said helical lead reaching its greatest depth at the conjunction of the said polygonal faces in the direction of rotation of said socket, said last mentioned portion being less in length than said first mentioned portion, and said first mentioned portion having a length substantially equivalent to the length of nuts with which it is to be used.

WALTER F. TROTTER.

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