Description
Following is a sample of the information contained on this CD: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates broadly to power tools and, more particularly, to a powered adjustable wrench having a sliding side jaw. 2. Description of the Prior Art A powered adjustable jaw wrench having a sliding side jaw and a stationery jaw is known in the prior art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a fixed jaw 2 is integral with the wrench head 3 and a movable jaw 4 is adjustable relative to the fixed jaw. A worm gear 5 having a pulley 6 is rotated by a belt 7 and a motor pulley 8. The adjustable jaw 4 is provided with an integral gear rack for engagement with the worm gear 5. The worm gear 5 is positioned between the fixed jaw 2 and the pulley 6. A double pole double throw (DPDT) switch 9 is used to control the opening and closing of the movable jaw 4. With an upper handle housing removed, a bottom handle housing 10 houses an electric motor 12 connected to the motor pulley 8 by a shaft 13. Wires 14 and 15 connect the electric motor 12 with the DPDT switch 9 and batteries 16 supply power for the switch and motor. A sub mini jack 18 is used for recharging the batteries 16. The bottom handle housing 10 defines a battery recess 19 and a motor recess 20 containing the motor 12. However, wrenches of this type suffered certain drawbacks owing to a tendency of the adjustable jaw to jam when binding occurs between the adjustable jaw gear rack and the worm gear. One of the reasons of the binding to occur is the positioning of the pulley 6 relative to the fixed jaw 2. When utilizing an adjustable wrench for either tightening or loosening, there are forces applied between the worm gear 5 and the moveable jaw 4. The pressure that is applied from the moveable jaw rack, pushes the worm gear 5 away from the stationary jaw creating a binding condition between the worm gear 5 and the moveable jaw rack. Furthermore, when the moveable jaw 4
