Ratchet screwdriver

Abstract

A ratchet screwdriver includes a ratchet wheel; a pawl base assembly, for inserting into the ratchet wheel, and a plurality of pawl pieces for engaging with teeth, the rear end of the pawl base assembly connecting to a handle of a screwdriver while the front end connecting to a head of the screwdriver; a rings assembly adjustably mounted on the ratchet wheel; the pawl base assembly includes a center rod and a pedestal, the rear part of the center rod is provided with a first positioning slot, the center rod passes through the center hole of the pedestal, the center rod is clamped at the first positioning slot by a first clamping member. Compared with the prior art, the overall structure is more rational and practical, and is safer and more reliable in use, and is capable of loosening or tighten a screw quickly.

Claims

1. A ratchet screwdriver, comprising: a ratchet wheel having an inner surface with a tooth ring; a pawl base assembly for inserting into the ratchet wheel, having a front end, a rear end, and a plurality of pawl pieces for engaging with teeth on the tooth ring, the rear end of the pawl base assembly connecting to a handle of a screwdriver while the front end connecting to a head of the screwdriver; and a rings assembly adjustably mounted on the ratchet wheel, the rings assembly includes a ring and a release ring with an inner surface and an outer surface, the release ring is disposed inside the ring, the ring drives the release ring to rotate, the ratchet wheel is located within the ring, four push portions are provided on the inner surface of the release ring; wherein the pawl base assembly includes a center rod with a front end, a middle section, and a rear part and a pedestal with a center hole and a rear end, the rear part of the center rod passes through the center hole of the pedestal, the middle section has a circular periphery, the pedestal has a circular periphery, the circular periphery of the middle section of the center rod is provided with a plurality of protrusions, and the inner surface at a front end of the ratchet wheel is provided with a plurality of limiting recesses for receiving the plurality of protrusions, the rear end of the pedestal connects to the handle of the screwdriver, and the head of the screwdriver inserts into the front end of the center rod, a first groove, a second groove, a third groove and a fourth groove are provided on the circular periphery of the pedestal, and a first pawl piece, a second pawl piece, a third pawl piece and a fourth pawl piece are respectively rotatably inserted into each of the four grooves, each pawl piece has a tooth-shape outer end for engaging with the teeth of the tooth ring, two elastic elements are respectively resisted between the first pawl piece and the fourth pawl piece, and between the second pawl piece and the third pawl piece, for pushing the first pawl piece away from the fourth pawl piece, and pushing the second pawl piece away from the third pawl piece, and the rings assembly is provided therein with a plurality of push portions for engaging the pawl pieces and selectively spacing the pawl pieces from the teeth of the tooth ring to rotate the pawl base assembly, and recesses for receiving the push portions are provided on an outer surface of the pedestal at corresponding positions to the grooves.

2. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein the rear part of the center rod is provided with a first positioning slot, the center rod is clamped at the first positioning slot by a first clamping member to limit displacement of the pedestal.

3. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein said plurality of protrusions comprises four protrusions distributed on the circular periphery of the center rod, correspondingly, and said plurality of limiting recesses comprises four limiting recesses on the front end of the ratchet wheel.

4. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein the end of each of said groove is an arc groove with a C-shape, inner ends of the pawl pieces have arc surfaces, and the inner ends of the pawl pieces are rotatably disposed in the arc grooves.

5. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein a side, in contact with the pawl pieces, of each push portion has a beveled edge with a gradient matched with a gradient of the side walls of the respective pawl pieces.

6. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein the front part of the center rod is reduced to form an insertion portion, with a front circumference, on which a first spring is sheathed, the first spring pushing against a connecting portion, the front circumference of the insertion portion is provided with a second positioning slot in which a second clamping member is clamped to limit displacement of the connecting portion along the center rod, a first hole is provided behind and adjacent to the second positioning slot, a first steel ball, embedded in the center rod, protrudes from the first hole and presses against an inward-convex conical surface of a front segment of the connecting portion.

7. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the release ring is provided with a clamping bulge, and correspondingly, an inner surface of the ring is provided with a clamping slot.

8. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein any two adjacent grooves among the four grooves are symmetrical relative to a center line of the pedestal, and any two spaced-apart grooves are symmetrical relative to a center axis of the pedestal.

9. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein a bulge ring for engaging the ring is disposed adjacent to said pawl pieces on the pedestal, a side of the bulge ring is provided with a second blind hole with a second spring and a second steel ball placed on top of the second spring, the second spring pushes the second steel ball, the second steel ball, embedded in the pedestal, protrudes from the second blind hole and pushes against the inner surface of the release ring, a left positioning hole, a middle positioning hole and a right positioning hole matching the second steel ball are provided on the inner surface of the release ring, when the second steel ball is located in the middle positioning hole, the pawl pieces are just all meshed, and the pawl base assembly does not rotate, when the ring drives the release ring to rotate and the second steel ball is located in the left or right positioning hole, the pawl base assembly performs one-way rotation.

10. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein the elastic elements are double-ring torsion springs.

11. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 6, wherein the connecting portion is a sleeve made of iron, an outer surface of the connecting portion has crisscrossing v-shaped grooves.

12. The ratchet screwdriver of claim 1, wherein the center rod is a hollow rod made of zinc alloy.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a ratchet screwdriver in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a partial view of the ratchet screwdriver in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view of line A-A of FIG. 2;

(4) FIG. 4 is a sectional view of line B-B of FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the crisscross protrusions disposed on the front end face of the ratchet wheel in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(6) To enable a further understanding of the innovative and technological content of the invention herein, refer to the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings below:

(7) As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, in this embodiment, a ratchet screwdriver, comprises: a ratchet wheel 100 having an inner surface with a tooth ring 5; a pawl base assembly 200, for inserting into the ratchet wheel 100, having a front end, a rear end, and a plurality of pawl pieces for engaging with teeth on the tooth ring 5, the rear end of the pawl base assembly 200 connecting to a handle of a screwdriver while the front end connecting to a head of the screwdriver; and a rings assembly 300 adjustably mounted on the ratchet wheel 100.

(8) In this embodiment, the pawl base assembly 200 includes a center rod 8 with a front end, a middle section, and a rear part and a pedestal 13 with a center hole and a rear end, the rear end of the pedestal 13 connects to the handle of the screwdriver, and the head of the screwdriver inserts into the front end of the center rod 8; the center rod 8 is a hollow rod made of zinc alloy, so that, under the premise of ensuring the intensity, one-step molding reduces the machining procedures, improves the precision of a single product and the production efficiency of the whole product, and thus reduces the cost. The rear part of the center rod 8 is provided with a first positioning slot 83, the center rod 8 passes through the center hole of the pedestal 13, and the center rod 8 is clamped at the first positioning slot 83 by a first clamping member 14 to limit displacement of the pedestal 13. There are four protrusions 81 distributed on the circular periphery of the center rod 8, correspondingly, and there are also four limiting recesses 51 on the front end of the ratchet wheel 100, as shown in FIG. 5, so that the center rod 8 can be rotated together with the ratchet wheel 100.

(9) The front part of the center rod 8 is reduced to form an insertion portion 84, with a front circumference, on which a first spring 3 is sheathed, the inner end of the first spring 3 presses against the inner annular surface of the insertion portion 84 and annular surface of the insertion portion 84 is pressed against the inward-convex ring of the connecting portion 1, for pushing the connecting portion 1 away from the insertion portion 84, the front circumference of the insertion portion 84 is provided with a second positioning slot 82 in which a second clamping member 2 is clamped to limit displacement of the connecting portion 1 matching with the inner annular surface of the insertion portion 84, in a position where the center rod 8 gets close to the second positioning slot 82, a first hole 85 is provided behind the second positioning slot 82, a first steel ball 7, embedded in the center rod, protrudes from the first hole 85 and presses against an inward-convex conical surface 1a of a front segment of the connecting portion 1. The connecting portion 1 is a sleeve made of iron, an outer surface of the connecting portion 1 is distributed with concave and convex grid texture, in this embodiment, taking iron instead of conventional aluminum that the cost is reduced and the intensity and service life of the connecting portion are enhanced under the premise of rust resistance. The connecting portion 1, the first spring 3 and the first steel ball 7 and etc form a quick locking mechanism for quickly locking the head of the screwdriver inserted into the front end of the center rod 8. When the connecting portion 1 is pushed backward, the first steel ball 7 may protrude to be movable. In this way, the head of the screwdriver may be conveniently inserted into the front end of the center rod 8. Then, the connecting portion 1 moves forward under the push of the first spring 3, and the first steel ball 7 is pressed by the inward-convex conical surface 1a of the front segment of the connecting portion 1, so that the head of the screwdriver is locked again.

(10) The rear end of the pedestal 13 of the pawl base assembly 200 connects to the handle of the screwdriver. a first groove 95, a second groove 96, a third groove 97 and a fourth groove 98 are provided on the circular periphery of the pedestal 13, four grooves each along the axis of the center rod 8, any two adjacent grooves among the four grooves are symmetrical relative to a center line of the pedestal 13, and any two spaced-apart grooves are symmetrical relative to a center axis of the pedestal 13; and a first pawl piece 91, a second pawl piece 92, a third pawl piece 93 and a fourth pawl piece 94 are respectively rotatably inserted into each of the four grooves, each pawl piece has a tooth-shape outer end for engaging with the teeth of the tooth ring 5, two elastic elements 10 are respectively resisted between the first pawl piece 91 and the fourth pawl piece 94, and between the second pawl piece 92 and the third pawl piece 93, in the embodiment, the elastic elements 10 are double-ring torsion springs, which push the first pawl piece 91 away from the fourth pawl piece 94, and push the second pawl piece 92 away from the third pawl piece 93. To prevent the pawl pieces from slipping off from the grooves, the degree of opening of the four grooves increases gradually, the end of each groove is an arc groove with a C-shape, inner ends of the pawl pieces have arc surfaces, and the inner ends of the pawl pieces are rotatably disposed in the arc grooves. Outside of a middle part of the pedestal 13 is provided with a bulge ring 15 for engaging the ring 4, a side of the bulge ring 15 is provided with a second blind hole 16 with a second spring 11 and a second steel ball 12 placed on top of the second spring 11, the second spring 11 pushes the second steel ball, the second steel ball 12, embedded in the pedestal, protrudes from the second blind hole 16 and pushes against the inner surface of the release ring 6, a plurality of positioning holes 63 matching the second steel ball 12 are provided on the inner surface of the release ring 6.

(11) In this embodiment, there are left, middle and right positioning holes 63. when the second steel ball 12 is located in the middle positioning hole 63, the pawl pieces are just all meshed, and the pawl base assembly 200 does not rotate, when the ring 4 drives the release ring 6 to rotate and the second steel ball 12 is located in the left or right positioning hole 63, the pawl base assembly 200 performs one-way rotation.

(12) In this embodiment, the rings assembly 300 includes a ring 4 and a release ring 6 with an inner surface and an outer surface, the release ring 6 is disposed inside the ring 4, the outer surface of the release ring 6 is provided with a clamping bulge 61, and correspondingly, an inner surface of the ring 4 is provided with a clamping slot 41, matching of the clamping bulge 61 and the clamping slot 41 enables the ring 4 to drive the release ring 6 to rotate, the ratchet wheel 100 is located between the release ring 6 and the ring 4, the inner surface of the release ring 6 is provided with a plurality of push portions 62 for engaging the pawl pieces and selectively disconnecting the pawl pieces from the teeth of the tooth ring 5 to rotate the pawl base assembly 200, there are four push portions 62, each engages a pawl piece, arc recesses 131 for receiving the push portions 62 are provided on an outer surface of the pedestal 13 at corresponding positions to the grooves, and inner ends of the push portions 62 also have arc surfaces relative to arc recesses 131. The release ring 6 passes through the rear end of the pedestal 13 to be sheathed on the pedestal 13, the push portions 62 of the inner surface of the release ring 6 respectively inserts into the corresponding recesses for engaging the outer ends of the pawl pieces, when the ring 4 drives the release ring 6 to rotate, the pawl pieces is driven to engage and disconnect the teeth of the tooth ring 5, then the pawl base assembly 200 performs one-way rotation relative to the ring 4.

(13) This embodiment employs a universal external member, i.e., the ring 4, which is a ratchet structure rotating while the pawl pieces are inserted into or pushed away from the tooth grooves by a predetermined rotation. Referring to FIG. 4, when the second steel ball 12 is located in the middle positioning hole 63, the four pawl pieces are just all meshed under the action of the elastic members 10, and the pawl base assembly 200 does not rotate. In this case, when the handle of the screwdriver is rotated clockwise, the handle drives the pedestal 13 to rotate clockwise. The pedestal 13 drives the ratchet 100 to rotate clockwise as the pawl pieces are engaged with the teeth of the tooth ring 5, and the ratchet 100 drives the center rod 8 to rotate clockwise under the action of the limiting recesses 51. Finally, the center rod 8 drives the head of the screwdriver to rotate clockwise. At this time, the head of the screwdriver is in a clockwise operating state. If the handle of the screwdriver is rotated anticlockwise, the head of the screwdriver is in an anticlockwise operating state. When the ring 4 is rotated anticlockwise under the action of an external force and the second steel ball 12 is located in the right positioning hole 63, the push portions 62 push the fourth pawl piece 94 and the second pawl piece 92 to generate deflection against the elasticity of the elastic elements 10, so that the fourth pawl piece 94 and the second pawl piece 92 are disconnected from the teeth while the first pawl piece 91 and the third pawl piece 93 are engaged with the teeth of the tooth ring 5. Therefore, the pawl base assembly 200 can perform one-way anticlockwise rotation to rotate by a certain angle, while the ratchet 100 may rotate clockwise relative to the ring 4. Meanwhile, the ratchet 100 may drive the center rod 8 to rotate clockwise, and the center rod 8 drives the head of the screwdriver to rotate clockwise. At this time, if the handle of the screwdriver is rotated clockwise, the handle drives the pedestal 13 to rotate clockwise. As the pawl pieces are engaged with the teeth, the ratchet 100 drives the center rod 8 to rotate clockwise simultaneously; as a result, the clockwise working force of the head of the screwdriver is further strengthened. When the ring 4 is rotated clockwise and the second steel ball 12 is located in the left positioning hole 63, the push portions 62 push the first pawl piece 91 and the third pawl piece 93 to generate deflection against the elasticity of the elastic elements 10, so that the first pawl piece 91 and the third pawl piece 93 are disconnected from the teeth while the fourth pawl piece 94 and the second pawl piece 92 are engaged with the teeth. Therefore, the pawl base assembly 200 can perform one-way clockwise rotation to rotate by a certain angle, while the ratchet 100 may rotate anticlockwise relative to the ring 4. Meanwhile, the ratchet 100 may drive the center rod 8 to rotate anticlockwise, and the center rod 8 drives the head of the screwdriver to rotate anticlockwise. At this time, if the handle of the screwdriver is rotated anticlockwise, the handle drives the pedestal 13 to rotate anticlockwise. As the pawl pieces are engaged with the teeth, the ratchet 100 drives the center rod 8 to rotate anticlockwise simultaneously; as a result, the anticlockwise working force of the screwdriver bit is further strengthened.

(14) The working principle of the ratchet screwdriver in this embodiment is as follows: when the ring 4 rotates in a certain direction, the pawl pieces are engaged with or disconnected from the teeth under the external force of the push portions 62, and the pawl base assembly 200 rotates towards the same direction; and when the ring 4 does not rotate, the pawl pieces are all engaged with the teeth, and the pawl base assembly 200 cannot rotate and stays in an idle state.