EP3827925B1 - Clamp with interchangeable end pieces - Google Patents

Description

Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to hand tools particularly suitable for working under electrical voltage.

It falls within the field of pliers and relates more particularly to pliers with interchangeable tips.

Prior technique

In the field of work under electrical voltage, in particular under low voltage, hand tools, in particular of the pliers type, must have electrically insulated parts for safety reasons.

Clamps are commonly formed of two branches hinged around a pivot, each of said branches forming on one side of the pivot a jaw and on the other side a handle.

Pliers intended for work under electrical voltage must at least have handles covered with a layer of electrically insulating material, such as plastic, on their surfaces to protect the operator from any electrification.

Alternatively, the handles are made entirely of electrically insulating material.

In order to minimize or eliminate the risks of electrical flashes due to a short circuit, the pliers may also have jaws made of electrically insulating material.

As the jaws of pliers are made of insulating material, they tend to quickly show signs of wear.

Furthermore, once the jaws are worn, the gripper becomes unusable and must be completely replaced.

Furthermore, each gripper is dedicated, depending on the shape of its jaws, to a particular type of operation. It is therefore necessary for an operator to be in possession of a large number of grippers to carry out operations of different types, which is relatively restrictive, in particular in terms of the cumulative costs of purchasing these grippers, transport, storage ...

US2488484A , which is considered to be the closest state of the art, discloses pliers, in particular for working under electrical voltage, comprising two branches hinged to one another around an axis of rotation, each branch comprising on both sides on the other side of the axis of rotation a handle and a jaw, the jaws extending from the axis of rotation to a free end and each having an internal flank respectively facing one of the on the other and opposed to an outer flank, a gripping endpiece removably fixed to each of the jaws, the endpieces comprising a support sole intended to rest against the inner flank of the jaws and extending between distal and proximal ends, each endpiece further comprising at least one stud intended to cooperate with an orifice with which each jaw is provided.

Presentation of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by proposing a clamp whose jaws can be interchangeable so as to replace only the jaws when they are worn.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gripper that can be used for different types of operations.

To this end, the invention relates to pliers, in particular for working under electrical voltage, comprising two branches hinged to one another around an axis of rotation, each branch comprising on either side of the axis of rotation a handle and a jaw. The jaws extend from the axis of rotation to a free end and each have an internal flank respectively facing one another and opposite an external flank.

The forceps comprises a gripping endpiece fixed in a removable manner to each of the jaws, the endpieces comprising a bearing sole intended to rest against the internal flank of the jaws and extending between distal and proximal ends, the said endpieces being configured so to extend beyond the free end of each jaw by a distal end, said distal end comprising an extra thickness forming a shoulder with the support sole and advantageously having a shape such that it covers the free end of each jaw, each endpiece further comprising at least one stud intended to cooperate with an orifice with which each jaw is provided.

Advantageously, thanks to the present invention, it is possible to replace only the wear parts of the clamp individually, that is to say the end pieces.

In addition, by covering the free end of the jaws, the tips protect them from premature wear.

Another advantage of the present invention is to be able to use end pieces made from different materials, for example more or less hard materials, or end pieces with or without metal inserts, with the same pliers.

In particular embodiments, the invention also responds to the following characteristics, implemented separately or in each of their technically effective combinations.

In particular embodiments of the invention, the ferrules are fixed to the jaws in a removable manner by interference fit.

Thanks to this feature, the bits can be quickly and easily attached to the jaws.

In particular embodiments of the invention, each end piece comprises at least one stud intended to cooperate with an orifice with which each jaw is provided.

In particular embodiments of the invention, each end piece comprises a plurality of studs forming a series extending in a direction substantially identical to the direction in which said end piece extends.

This characteristic contributes to ensuring that the tips are held in place on the jaws. In particular embodiments of the invention, said at least one orifice is through so that said at least one stud is flush with an outer surface of the jaws.

It is thus possible by applying a force through the orifices, on the studs, to remove the tips of the jaws.

In particular embodiments of the invention, each end piece comprises a rib from which said at least one stud extends, said rib being intended to cooperate with a groove with which each of the jaws is provided. This characteristic makes it possible to ensure the role of keying during the fixing of an end piece on a jaw while guaranteeing a more reliable holding in position of the end pieces by increasing the friction forces ensuring the fixing of the end pieces on the jaws.

Brief description of figures

• [Fig. 1] une vue de détail en perspective d'une pince selon l'invention comprenant des embouts ;
• [Fig. 2] une vue en perspective de la pince de la figure 1 sans les embouts ;
• [Fig. 3] une vue en perspective d'un embout de la pince de la figure 1.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description, given by way of non-limiting example, and made with reference to the figures which represent:

• [ Fig. 1 ] a perspective detail view of a clamp according to the invention comprising end pieces;
• [ Fig. 2 ] a perspective view of the clamp of the figure 1 without end caps;
• [ Fig. 3 ] a perspective view of a tip of the forceps of the figure 1 .

In these figures, identical reference numerals from one figure to another designate identical or similar elements. Also, for reasons of clarity, the drawings are not to scale, unless otherwise indicated.

Description of embodiments

The invention will be described below in the particular context of one of its preferred, non-limiting fields of application, in which the pliers are an insulating hand tool or a hybrid hand tool within the meaning of the known international standard IEC60900 of the skilled person.

As shown by the figures 1 to 3 , the clamp 10 according to the invention comprises two branches 11 hinged to one another around an axis of rotation, each branch 11 comprising on either side of the axis of rotation a handle 12 and a jaw 13.

The jaws 13 extend from the axis of rotation to a free end and each have an internal flank opposite an external flank, said internal flanks being opposite one another.

Preferably, each branch 11 is made of electrically insulating material, for example plastic material.

The clamp 10 advantageously comprises a gripping end piece 14, elongated, removably fixed to each of the jaws 13, said end pieces 14 being intended to be arranged facing one another.

In the present invention, the end pieces 14 are fixed to the jaws 13 according to a mechanical connection of the recessed type, that is to say without a relative degree of freedom between the said end pieces 14 and the said jaws 13.

Each end piece 14 comprises a working profile intended to form a gripping surface and by which said end pieces 14 are intended to face each other, said working profile being opposite a fixing profile whereby the tips 14 are intended to cooperate with the jaws 13.

In particular, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the end pieces 14 are fixed to the internal side of the jaws 13 in a removable manner by interference fit. Each end piece 14 comprises, for this purpose, on its fixing profile, a male part intended to cooperate by interlocking with a female part with which each jaw 13 is provided.

In particular, in the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the figures 1 to 3 , each end piece 14 comprises at least one stud 140 intended to cooperate with at least one orifice 130 with which each jaw 13 is provided. Each stud 140 extends to a free end called the "head" in the following text. Preferably, each end piece 14 comprises at least two studs 140, for example of polygonal or circular cross section, forming a series of studs 140 extending in a direction substantially identical to that in which the end piece 14 extends.

In the exemplary embodiment of an end piece 14 represented on the picture 3 , each end piece 14 extends between a distal end 143 and a proximal end 145 and comprises a bearing sole 141 extending between these distal 143 and proximal 145 ends and being intended to rest against the jaw 13.

More particularly, the support sole 141 is intended to rest against the internal side of the jaw 13.

The terms "distal" and "proximal" relate to the position of the ends relative to the handles 12 of the forceps 10, the distal end 143 being intended to be furthest from said handles 12 and the proximal end 145 being intended to be closest to said handles 12.

From the bearing sole 141 extends a rib 142, preferably median, in a direction substantially identical to that in which the end piece 14 extends. The bearing sole 141 therefore forms a shoulder around all or part of the periphery of the rib 142. As shown in picture 3 , the bearing plate 141 preferably forms two lateral shoulders, arranged on either side of the rib 142.

Advantageously, studs 140 extend from rib 142.

This feature makes it possible to increase the contact surfaces between the tip 14 and the jaw 13 and thus makes it possible to maximize the friction at the origin of the tightening forces of the tight fit and consequently to maximize the fixing of the tips. 14 on jaws 13.

The support sole 141 is intended to come into contact with lateral lips 131 separated by a median groove 132 extending in a direction parallel to the direction in which each jaw 13 extends.

The grooves 132 preferentially extend until they open onto the free end of each jaw 13.

The groove 132 is intended to receive the rib 142 and comprises a bottom wall 133 from which the orifices 130 extend. These orifices 130 respectively have a cross section that is substantially identical to that of the block that they are intended to receive.

In addition, the orifices 130 pass through in the sense that they open onto the outer side of each jaw 13. Advantageously, thanks to this characteristic, each endpiece 14 can be removed from the jaw 13 with which it is fixed by applying a force on the head of one or more studs 140, tending to dislodge said stud 140 from the orifice 130 in which it is engaged.

To this end, when the end pieces 14 are engaged in the jaws 13, the heads are flush with the outer side of the jaws 13 or protrude beyond said outer side. As shown by the figure 1 and 2 the orifices 130 of each jaw 13 are separated from each other or from each other by one or more material bridges defining the bottom wall 133 of said groove132.

The figure 1 and 3 show that each tip 14 is configured so as to extend beyond the free end of each jaw 13 by a distal end 143. In other words, each tip 14 is configured so as to constitute an end part of the forceps 10 .

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the distal end 143 of each endpiece 14 has an extra thickness 144 forming a shoulder with the support sole 141. This extra thickness 144 advantageously has a shape such that it covers the free end of the jaw 13. In other words, the distal end 143 of each tip 14 is shaped so that the extra thickness 144 is flush with the outer side of the jaw 13.

As illustrated on the figure 1 and 2 , the groove 132 and the lateral lips 131 extend between the free end of each jaw 13 and a protuberance 134 extending from the inner flank of each of said jaws 13, towards the opposite jaw 13.

The protrusions 134 constitute a stop when the clamp 10 is closed, said protrusions 134 then being in abutment against one another.

The end pieces 14 are intended to rest against the protrusion 134 of each jaw 13 by their proximal end 145.

More generally, it should be noted that the modes of implementation and embodiment of the invention considered above have been described by way of non-limiting examples and that other variants are therefore possible.

In particular, the invention has been described mainly considering a fixing of the end pieces 14 on the jaws 13 by interference fit. However, nothing excludes, in other types of embodiment, considering other types of fixing, such as with a tightening screw arranged on the jaw 13 and intended to be screwed into a thread made in the endpiece 14 or by the use of elastic interlocking means.

Claims (5)

1. Pliers (10) especially for live-line work comprising two branches (11) hinged to each other about an axis of rotation, each branch (11) comprising, on either side of the axis of rotation, a handle (12) and a jaw (13), the jaws (13) extending from the axis of rotation to a free end and each having an inner flank respectively facing each other and opposite to an outer flank, said pliers (10) include a gripping tip (14) removably fastened to each of the jaws (13), the tips (14) including a bearing shoe (141) intended to rest against the inner flank of the jaws (13) and extending between distal (143) and proximal (145) ends, said tips (14) being configured so as to extend beyond the free end of each jaw (13) through their distal end (143), said distal end (143) including an extra thickness (144) forming a shoulder with the bearing shoe (141) and advantageously having a shape such that it covers the free end of each jaw (13), each tip (14) further including at least one stud (140) intended to cooperate with a port (130) with which each jaw (13) is provided.
2. The pliers (10) according to claim 1, wherein the tips (14) are removably fastened to the jaws (13) by interference fit.
3. The pliers (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each tip (14) includes a plurality of studs (140) forming a series extending along a direction substantially identical to the direction in which said tip (14) extends.
4. The pliers (10) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the port (130) is a through port so that the stud (140) is flush with an outer surface of the jaws (13).
5. The pliers (10) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each tip (14) comprises a rib (142) from which the stud (140) extends, said rib (142) being intended to cooperate with a groove (132) with which each of the jaws (13) is provided.

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