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Abstract

A ratchet wrench including a handle-carried drive ring and driven core in which the core can be simply and readily removed, intact, for cleaning, repair and replacement without the use of tools. Additionally, the wrench includes a low-friction ratchet drive-reversing mechanism for simple, one-finger operation. The disassembly-facilitating structure includes a resilient ring-like band seated in a channel defined by radially communicating annular grooves in the drive ring and in the wrench core. A band displacing element serves to shift the band to effect a bridging of the band across the grooves defining the channel to effect a mechanical intercoupling between the core and the drive ring of the ratchet wrench. For disassembly, the band is repositioned to assume a configuration in which the band occupies a single one only of the communicating grooves in the drive ring and in the opposed core, thereby uncoupling the core and the drive ring, to permit withdrawal of the core, as an intact unit, axially from the wrench. The drive direction of the wrench is controlled by an arcuate, wire spring which intercouples a finger-manipulable pivotal drive-reversing control plate of the tool with a shiftable pawl housed in the core of the wrench to provide a low-friction mechanism by which the pawl is positioned to establish a selectable drive direction of the wrench through simple, one-finger displacement of the reversing plate of the tool.

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First Claim