1. Field of the Invention
A strap wrench for turning of an object which has a general overall cylindrical shape. The typical strap wrench is formed of a handle which has mounted therein the strap. The strap encloses a confined space, and this confining space can be made smaller by turning of the handle thereby tightening of the strap onto the cylindrical object.
2. Description of the Related Art
The subject matter of the present invention is directed to an improvement of the subject matter described within U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,450 which was issued on Sep. 14, 2004 by the present inventor. Many containers that commonly contain food, such as bottles and jars, utilize a cap which is threaded thereon. Sometimes removing of a threaded cap can be difficult for even strong individuals let alone individuals that have handicaps, such as arthritis. In the past, there have been designed strap wrenches to facilitate the removal of such caps. However, the strap wrenches of the prior art have certain deficiencies. One of the deficiencies is that at times the strap will slip on the cylindrical object regardless of how tight the strap is secured thereon. If the strap slips, the ratchet is completely ineffective. Additionally, strap wrenches of the prior art, when fixed in position on the cylindrical object, are required to apply a manual torque maintaining the strap wrench in tight contact with the cylindrical object otherwise the strap wrench would tend to “back off” and become loose and, of course, inoperative. It would be desirable to use some kind of a brake that would be capable of fixing the strap when in the tightened position to prevent the strap from loosening.
The subject matter of this invention is discussed primarily in conjunction with cylindrical objects, such as threaded caps for bottles and jars. However, the subject matter of this invention could be used in conjunction with any such other generally cylindrical objects, such as pipes, fastening nuts, water valve handles, pulleys or any other such device. As far as this invention goes, the generally cylindrical object is meant to include hexagonal shaped threaded nuts, elliptically shaped water valve handles, pipes, as well as container lids.