GB2367871A

GB2367871A - Clamp

Info

Publication number: GB2367871A
Application number: GB0122224A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andre Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-09-15
Filing date: 2001-09-14
Publication date: 2002-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 2021-09-14
Also published as: GB2367871B; GB0122224D0

Abstract

A clamp 20 comprises two sections 21, 22 each for extending around at least a part of the periphery of one of two members to be connected by the clamp. Each section includes a connection end 24, 25 adapted to interlock with one another, and also a closure end 23, 29 which, in use, extend outwards from the encircled member. Clamping means, such as bolt 27, act between the two closure ends to secure the two sections relative to the encircled member. The clamp may be placed in position without having to slide it lengthwise along the member to be encircled.

Description

CLAMP The present invention relates to a method of and a clamp for use In forming a connection between two members.

The invention relates in particular, though not exclusively, to a clamp of the add-on type which can be arranged to encircle an elongate member without needing to be slid lengthwise along that member and without necessarily requiring dismantling of any part of an existing assembly of which said member forms a part.

The invention relates also to a method of forming a clamped assembly in which two members are clamped one relative to the other without the need for a clamp to be slid lengthwise along one of the members and without necessarily requiring dismantling of any part of an existing assembly of which one of said members forms a part.

It relates also to provision of a damp which may be free of sharp edges and thus be suitable for use with rehabilitation equipment.

In accordance with one of its aspects the present invention provides a clamp comprising two sections each for extending around at least a part of the periphery of one of two members to be connected by the clamp, at least one section comprising a connection end in use to extend outwards from said encircled member and said two connection ends being adapted for interlocking one relative to the other, each section comprising also a closure end which, in use, extends outwards from said encircled member, and clamp means to act between said closure ends whereby said two sections may be secured one relative to the other and to the encircled member.

The invention provides also a method of forming a connection between two members, said method comprising providing a clamp as recited in the preceding paragraph, arranging the two sections with the connection ends thereof interlocked relative to one another and with the sections arranged to extend around at least a part of the periphery of one of said members, and operating clamping means between the closure ends to draw said closure ends one towards the other to secure the two sections to said one member.

The clamp means may comprise a bolt which extends through one of the closure ends. The bolt may extend also through the second closure end to engage a nut whereby the two closure ends are held captive between the bolt head and nut. Alternatively one of the closure ends may be formed with a

screw threaded aperture adapted to receive the bolt thread. t., One or each of the closure ends may be formed with a location zone-to,,' receive a location formation associated with the head of a bolt (such as that of a nib bolt) or like clamp means whereby the bolt or part of the clamp means is restrained from rotating relative to the clamp by virtue of interengagement of the location formation and the location zone.

One or each closure end may be of a 3-dimensional shape which has a boundary portion substantially perpendicular to a central, eg apertured, region to provide reinforcing strength. A closure may be of a cup type shape. The two closure ends may each be of a cup type shape and arranged with their recess regions facing one another when in use. The two cup type shapes may be of equal size at their boundaries such that said boundaries directly face one another in an assembled condition.

The two sections of the clamp may be formed from cast metal or moulded plastics, but it is envisaged that usually they will each be formed from stamped sheet metal, such as mild steel sheet. Especially if the sections are formed from a ferrous material they may be provided with a galvanised or other protective coating. Another suitable material is stainless steel.

The invention teaches that the two connection ends may be of a kind which can be positioned to interlock with one another without the need for additional structure, and without any need to deform either of the two clamp sections.

Each of the two sections may comprise a body portion between the connection and closure ends thereof, and said body portions may each be substantially of a part cylindrical shape especially if to be used to encircle a member of a circular cross-sectional form, eg. of a radius of curvature corresponding substantially to that of an inner face of each section. Thus each body portion may be in the form of a simple band of material which is of substantially rectangular, flat, cross-sectional shape but curved along its length between the connection end and the closure end. In consequence a high contact area may be achieved between the body portion and the encircled member, eg at least 80% and more preferably at least 90% of the area of the inwardly facing surface of the band. Other body portion shapes may also be employed eg. a V-shape as viewed in plan so that two arms of each V-shape may abut two neighbouring faces of a square or rectangular member.

A body portion or other part of at least one of the clamp sections of a pair may be provided with a radially inwardly extending formation. That formation may be arranged to co-operate in use with a depression in the surface of an encircled member thereby to restrain relative rotational and/or axial movement between the clamp and encircled member.

One connection end may comprises a first portion which, in use, extends outward from an encircled member and a second, distal portion which extends from the outer region of the first portion, typically at right angles to the first portion and in a direction towards the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections. Said second, distal portion preferably is formed with an aperture adapted to receive an end portion of the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections, said end portion of the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections typically extending radially outwards from the outer region of the encircled member.

In an alternative version one connection end may comprise a first portion which, in use, extends outwards from an encircled member and a second, distal, portion which also extends outwards from an encircled member but at a position circumferentially displaced from the first portion, and an intermediate portion which integrally interconnects said first and second portions, and the end portion of the other of the two clamp sections in use extending outwards from the encircled member and having an aperture to receive the second and intermediate portions of said one connection end.

In a further alternative a connection end may comprise an aperture which lies substantially co-planar with a body portion or displaced therefrom by a distance corresponding substantially with the thickness of the material of the connection end of the other clamp section. The other connection end may be in the form of a tongue which extends radially for less than four, preferably less than three times the thickness of said material.

An end portion of one of the two clamp sections may be substantially in the shape of a tongue and of a width corresponding to or, for example, less than that of the body portion of that clamp section. In a preferred embodiment each of the two sections has the same width, as considered in a length direction of a member about which the clamp sections are arranged to extend, and an end portion of one connection end of the two sections has a smaller width whereby it may extend through and thereby interlock with the aperture in the second, distal portion of the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections.

When one of the connection ends comprises a tongue of a width less than that of the body portion of the associated clamp section, material at either side of the base of the tongue may be employed to act as a support shoulder which, in use in an assembled condition, contacts and provides support to the apertured zone of the other connection end. Thereby the shoulders may serve to resist deformation of the apertured zone under the action of applied loads. The shoulders thus may be provided by an end edge of the clamp section material, or outer surface of a first body section in the case of a connection end which comprises an aperture defined by material that bears against the outer surface of said first body section.

Prior to clamping of the closure ends, it is preferred that the sections in effect may be free to hinge relative to one another about the respective connection ends whereby they may be moved apart through an angle of at least 600 from a position at which the closure ends are in contact.

Preferably said aperture has a width, as considered in a width direction of each body portion, which is less than that of the thickness of the body portions of the two clamp sections whereby when in an interlocked configuration the two sections may be in effect hinged to an open position in which the closure ends of the two sections lie spaced apart by a distance greater than the diameter or a cross-sectional dimension of the member about which the two clamp sections are to be positioned. Thus the connection ends may be interlocked before the clamp sections are arranged to encircle a member to which the clamp is to be secured.

A clamp in accordance with the present invention may be employed to encircle one of two members which is of a substantially tubular form and cause it to bear firmly against a second member extending within that tubular section of the first member. Alternatively, the clamp means may be arranged to connect two members which do not necessarily lie in contact with one another, for example to encircle a first member and have another member secured to a part of the clamp member, eg. secured to or by a clamp bolt.

The body portion of the clamp sections optionally may be formed with reinforcing ribs, eg. during pressing of sheet material.

One or both of the two clamp sections may be substantially permanently secured, eg. by brazing or welding, to at least one of the two members to be interconnected by the clamp. Thus one clamp section may be permanently secured to an encircled member either before or after assembly of the two sections, and a second of the two sections optionally may be welded to an encircled member after assembly of the two sections.

A known type of pressed metal clamp and embodiments of an add-on type clamp in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings In which : - Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art single section clamp, Figure 2 shows in plan a clamp in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 shows a development of part of the clamp of figure 2 as viewed from a side position; Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the clamp of figures 2 and 3, Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a clamp in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of a clamp in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention; Figure 7 is an end view of the clamp of Figure 6 with the connection ends thereof interconnected; Figures 8 & 9 show respectively a clamp section and rod adapted to resist rotation of the clamp ; Figures 10 & 11 show respectively a clamp section and rod adapted to resist axial movement of the clamp, and Figure 12 shows a clamp section adapted for use with a contoured rod to resist either rotational or axial movement.

A conventional known pressed metal clamp 10 comprises a single body section 11 and two closure ends 12, 13 each provided with an aperture 14 whereby a nut and bolt assembly (not shown) can be positioned to extend through the apertures 14 and be tightened to close the gap between the closure ends 12,13. In use the clamp may be arranged to bear firmly about a member which extends through the substantially circular opening defined by the body section 11 when the ends 12,13 are moved one towards the other either to a fully closed position in which they are in contact with one another, or to lie slightly spaced apart. In the embodiment illustrated the closure ends 12,13 are stamped to a 3 dimensional profile whereby each closure end has an edge portion 15 lying substantially at right angles to the adjacent material of the closure end thereby to provide a stiffening effect and resist bending of the closure end region under action of the nut and bolt or other clamping means In the embodiment of the invention shown in figures 2 to 4 the clamp 20 comprises two sections 21,22 each adapted to extend around part of the periphery of a circular section tube (not shown).

Each section 21,22 has a closure end zone 23,29 and a connection end 24, 25.

Each section is formed from stamped mild steel sheet, and is deformed to a generally 3 dimensional cup type shape at each of the clamp ends 23,29 in a manner similar to that of the shaping of the ends 12,13 of the prior art clamp shown in Figure 1. The clamp ends are disposed with their recess regions facing one another such that boundary edges (23', 29') thereof directly confront one another. One of the ends 23 is formed with a screw threaded aperture 26 to receive an end of a bolt 27 that extends through a clearance aperture 28 in the closure end 29 of the section 21.

Each of the sections 21,22 is of substantially uniform width, as viewed in Figure 3 which is a side view of the clamp shown in Figure 2. However, an end zone 25 of the section 22 is of a reduced width for a purpose described below. The section 21 is of the same general width as the section 22.

Referring to Figure 2, the connection end 24 of the section 21 comprises a first zone 30 that extends substantially radially outwards, and a second, distal end zone 31 that extends at right angles from the zone 30, in a direction towards the other section 22. The end zone 31 is formed with a substantially rectangular shaped opening 32 the width of which is slightly greater than the thickness of the material forming the end zone 25 of the other clamp section 22. The height of the zone 25 as viewed in Figure 3 is slightly less than the height (length) of the slot 32. The zone 25 extends in a direction substantially radially outwards relative to the region encircled by the two clamp sections and, as seen from Figure 2, the end zone 25 extends through the slot 32.

For ease of assembly the width of the slot 32 is selected to be greater than the thickness of the material forming the end zone 25. In consequence the two closure ends 23,29, are in effect able to hinge relative to one another about a pivot zone defined by contacting surfaces of the end zone 25 and slot 32. The thickness of the zone 25 relative to the width of slot 32 is selected such that the closure ends 23,29, prior to insertion of the retention bolt 27, can be moved apart to be spaced by a distance corresponding to twice the radius of curvature of the inner faces of the sections 21,22. Thus the clamp can be arranged with the connection ends interlocked and then moved into position about a tube or other member without the need for the clamp to be slid along the length of that member, or for structure associated with that member to be dismantled. Subsequent to positioning of the sections 21,22 about a member to which the clamp is to secured, the bolt 27 is inserted through the opening 28 to engage with the screw threaded opening 26 of the clamp section 22. The bolt 27 is then tightened as required to cause the surfaces of the clamp sections 21,22 to bear against an encircled member.

Shoulder zones 33 at each side of the base of tongue 25 in the assembled condition abut end regions 34 of the aperture 32 and thereby provide support to end zone 31 to assist in resisting deformation thereof when the end zones 23,29 are drawn together.

In the embodiment of Figure 5 the clamp section 41 has a connection end 43 that extends radially outwards and comprises an aperture 44. The other clamp section 42 has a connection end 45 of the same width as the curved body section 48 except for two end zones, a distal zone 47 that extends radially outwardly at a position circumferentially spaced from the inner part 49 of end 45, and an intermediate zone 46 that extends generally circumferentially and integrally connects the part 49 and end zone 47. The zones 46,47 have a width also less than the length of aperture 44 through which they may therefore extend.

A further feature of the embodiment of Figure 5 is that the closure end apertures are each provided with a cut-out 50 which is shaped to accommodate a small lug provided at the underside of the head of a nib bolt for use in clamping the closure ends to one another. Inter-engagement of the lug (not shown) with the cut-out 50 prevents the bolt rotating when a nut is tightened on the bolt thread. In the embodiment of Figures 6 & 7 a clamp 60 comprises two sections 61,62 respectively substantially similar to the sections 21,22 shown in Figure 4 except in respect of the connection ends 63,64.

The connection end 63 comprises a section 65 which extends radially outwards for a distance less than that of zone 30 of Figure 4. Section 65 extends outwards for a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the material of the other connection end 64. A distal zone 66 is provided with an aperture similar to the aforedescribed aperture 33.

The connection end 64 comprises a radially outwardly extending tongue 67 substantially similar to the aforedescribed tongue 25 except that it extends directly from the part cylindrical body section 68. Tongue (67) extends radially from the outer surface of the body section (61,62) for less than three times and preferably less than twice, the thickness of the material of the connection end (64). In contrast to the embodiment of Figure 4 in which shoulder zones 33 are provided by an end edge of the material, in the embodiment of Figures 6 & 7 the outer surface 69 of the part cylindrical body section provides support zones 70.

Figures 8 to 12 show features which may be incorporated in a clamp section of any of the embodiments of the present invention.

The clamp section 80 of Figure 8 comprises a pressed groove 81 that extends longitudinally parallel with the axis of rotation of the part cylindrical surface 82 of the clamp section. The groove 81 extends in a radially inwards direction and in use with the rod 90 shown in Figure 9 and which comprises a longitudinal recess 91 inter-engagement of the groove 81 and recess 91 inhibits relative rotation of the rod and clamp.

Figures 10 & 11 show similarly to Figures 8 & 9 a clamp section 100 and rod 110 formed respectively with a circumferentially extending groove 101 and circumferential recess 111. In use the groove 101 can locate in recess 111 to inhibit relative longitudinal, axial movement of the rod and clamp.

Figure 12 shows a clamp section 120 formed with a dimple like pressed recess 121 which protrudes inwards and can locate with either a longitudinal recess such as recess 91 of Figure 9 or a circumferential recess such as recess 111 of Figure 11.

AS-GB-2

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A clamp comprising two sections each for extending around at least a part of the periphery of one of two members to be connected by the clamp, at least one section comprising a connection end in use to extend outwards from said encircled member and said two connection ends being adapted for interlocking one relative to the other, each section comprising also a closure end which, in use, extends outwards from said encircled member, and clamp means to act between said closure ends whereby said two sections may be secured one relative to the other and to the encircled member.
2. A clamp according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the closure ends is formed with a location zone to receive a location formation associated with clamp means whereby the clamp means is restrained from rotating relative to the clamp by virtue of interengagement of the location formation and the location zone.
3. A clamp according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least one of the closure ends is of a three dimensional shape comprising a boundary portion substantially perpendicular to a central region of the closure end.
4. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the two sections of the clamp are formed from stamped sheet metal.
5. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the two connection ends can be positioned to interlock with one another without the need for additional structure and without deformation of either of the two clamp sections.
6. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the clamp means comprises a bolt which extends through one of the closure ends.
7. A clamp according to claim 6 wherein one of the closure ends comprises a screw threaded aperture adapted to receive the bolt thread.
8. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a connection end comprises a first portion which, in use, extends outward from an encircled member and a second, distal portion which extends from the outer region of the first portion.
9. A clamp according to claim 8 wherein the second, distal portion extends from the outer region of the first portion at right angles to the first portion and in a direction towards the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections.
10. A clamp according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein said second, distal portion is formed with an aperture adapted to receive an end portion of the connection end of the other of the two sections.
11. A clamp according to claim 10 wherein said end portion of the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections extends radially outwards from the outer region of the encircled member.
12. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a connection end comprises an interlock aperture that lies substantially co planar with a body portion or is displaced therefrom by substantially the thickness of the material of the connection end of the other clamp section.
13. A clamp according to claim 8 wherein the second, distal portion extends outwards from an encircled member at a position circumferentially displaced from the first portion.
14. A clamp according to claim 13 wherein said one connection end comprises an intermediate portion which integrally interconnects said first and second portions.
15. A clamp according to claim 14 wherein the end portion of the other of the two clamp sections in use extends outwards from the encircled member and has an aperture to receive the second and intermediate portions of said one connection end.
16. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an end portion of one of the two clamp sections is substantially in the shape of a tongue and of a width corresponding to or less than that of the body portion of that clamp section.
17. A clamp according to claim 16 wherein each of the two sections has the same width as considered in a length direction of a member about which the clamp sections are arranged to extend.
18. A clamp according to claim 16 or claim 17 wherein an end portion of one connection end of the two sections has a smaller width whereby it may extend through and interlock with the aperture in the second, distal portion of the connection end of the other of the two clamp sections.
19. A clamp according to claim 18 wherein one of the connection ends comprises a tongue of a width less than that of the body portion of the associated clamp section and material at either side of the base of the tongue acts as a support shoulder which, in use in an assembled condition, contacts and provides support to the apertured zone of the other connection end.
20. A clamp according to claim 12 or claim 15 wherein said aperture has a width as considered in width direction of each body portion, which is less than that of the thickness of the body portions of the two clamp sections whereby in an interlocked configuration the two sections may be hinged to an open position in which the closure ends of the two sections lie spaced apart by a distance greater than the cross-sectional dimension of the member about which the two clamp sections are to be positioned.
21. A clamp according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the clamp sections comprise a body portion formed with reinforcing ribs.
22. A claim according to any one of the preceding claims wherein at least one clamp section comprises a radially inwardly extending formation adapted in use to co-operate with a depression in the surface of an encircled member.
23. A clamp according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.
24. A method of forming a connection between two members, said method comprising providing a clamp in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, arranging the two sections with the connection ends thereof interlocked relative to one another and with the sections arranged to extend around at least a part of the periphery of one of said members, and operating clamping means between the closure ends to draw said closure ends one towards the other to secure the two sections to said one member.
25. Method according to claim 24 and comprising substantially permanently securing at least one of the two clamp sections to at least one of the two members to be interconnected by the clamp.
26. A method according to claim 24 and substantially as hereinbefore described.
27. A clamped assembly formed by the method of claim 24, claim 25 or claim 26.