US 12,403,569 B2
Wrench with work piece locking mechanism
Tsunghsien Shen, Situn District (TW)
Assigned to APEX BRANDS, INC., Apex, NC (US)
Appl. No. 17/918,368
Filed by Apex Brands, Inc., Apex, NC (US)
PCT Filed Apr. 20, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/028146
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 12, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/221954, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 4, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/017,936, filed on Apr. 30, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0139183 A1, May 4, 2023
Int. Cl. B25B 13/46 (2006.01); B25B 13/06 (2006.01); B25B 23/00 (2006.01)
CPC B25B 13/468 (2013.01) [B25B 13/06 (2013.01); B25B 23/0035 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A ratchet wrench comprising:
a head comprising a top face and a bottom face;
a drive tang that extends from the bottom face of the head, the drive tang being shaped to engage a work piece;
a ratcheting mechanism disposed within a head cavity of the head and operably coupled to the drive tang, the ratcheting mechanism being configured to permit the drive tang to rotate relative to the head in a ratcheting rotational direction and prevent the drive tang from rotating relative to the head in a drive rotational direction;
a locking detent operably coupled to the drive tang;
a release button disposed on a top face of the head and configured to control operation of the locking detent, the release button being movable along a first direction between a locked position where the locking detent locks the work piece to the drive tang and an unlocked position where the detent permits removal of the work piece from the drive tang; and
a slide lock member configured to slide along a second direction between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction;
wherein, in the engaged position, the slide lock member engages with the release button to prevent movement of the release button in the first direction from the locked position to the unlocked position; and
wherein, in the disengaged position, the slide lock member is disengaged from the release button to permit movement of the release button in the first direction to move from the locked position to the unlocked position;
wherein the slide lock member comprises a securing pin opening and a guide slot; and
wherein the ratchet wrench further comprises:
a securing pin that passes through the securing pin opening in the slide lock member and couples to the top face of the head, the securing pin opening being sized to permit the slide lock member to slide relative to the securing pin;
a guide protrusion extending from the top face of the head, the guide protrusion being configured to extend into the guide slot of the slide lock member to guide movement of the slide lock member along the second direction.