NZ604775A

NZ604775A - A Clamp

Info

Publication number: NZ604775A
Application number: NZ604775A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Thomas Kenneth
Original assignee: Graham Campbell; Thomas Kenneth
Filing date: 2012-12-17
Publication date: 2013-02-22

Abstract

Patent 604775 A clamp, comprising: a bar (1) having at least one locking slot (5); a first jaw mounted or mountable on the bar; an adjustable jaw (3) adapted to slide along the bar, such jaw having a channel which receives the bar, the channel having a substantially angled side part (13) and a substantially straight side part (12), these side parts being sufficient to enable the adjustable jaw to tilt into locking engagement with the slot; and a tensioner which can be adjusted to apply pressure between the two jaws. substantially straight side part (12), these side parts being sufficient to enable the adjustable jaw to tilt into locking engagement with the slot; and a tensioner which can be adjusted to apply pressure between the two jaws.

Description

Patents Form No. 5 THE PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A CLAMP We, Kenneth Thomas, a New Zealand citizen, of 5 Grange Park Ave, Raumati South, New Zealand, and Graham Campbell, of 235 Old Hautere Road, Otaki, New Zealand citizen, New Zealand hereby declare this invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement.

TITLE A Clamp.

FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a clamp. A preferred form of the invention relates to a G style clamp, although it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this.

BACKGROUND Clamps can be used as fastening devices to hold objects together. One disadvantage of some clamps is that they can too readily fail when in use, causing the clamp to come apart due to tension from the objects being held and the objects to separate. This problem can arise in particular when clamped objects are subject to hammering or other vibrations. It is accordingly an object of a preferred form of the invention to go at least some way towards addressing this problem, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a clamp, comprising:  a bar having at least one locking slot;  a first jaw mounted or mountable on the bar;  an adjustable jaw adapted to slide along the bar, such jaw having a channel which receives the bar, the channel having a substantially angled side part and a substantially straight side part, these side parts being sufficient to enable the adjustable jaw to tilt into locking engagement with the slot; and  a tensioner which can be adjusted to apply pressure between the two jaws.

Preferably, the tensioner is mounted or mountable on the adjustable jaw.

Preferably, the tensioner is mounted or mountable on the first jaw.

Preferably, the tensioner comprises a threaded shaft which is engageable with a screw thread of the adjustable jaw.

Preferably, the tensioner is substantially parallel to the bar when in a clamping disposition.

Preferably, the first jaw is substantially perpendicular to the bar.

Preferably, the first jaw is mounted or mountable adjacent to one end of the bar.

Preferably, the bar has a plurality of locking slots.

Preferably, the locking slots are notches that are at least 1.5 mm, at least 2 mm, at least 3 mm, at least 4mm or at least 5mm in depth.

Preferably, the bar has a jaw stop to prevent the adjustable jaw from disengaging the bar.

Preferably the channel’s substantially angled and substantially straight side parts are opposite one another, and there is a further angled side part next to the straight part opposite the first mentioned angled part.

Preferably the angled side parts are substantially parallel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a side view illustrating a clamp; Figure 2 is a side cross section view illustrating an adjustable jaw which forms part of the clamp; Figure 3 is a side cross section view illustrating the way the adjustable jaw associates with a bar of the clamp; and Figure 4 is an isometric view illustrating the clamp in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to figure 1, the clamp has a bar 1, a fixed jaw 2, an adjustable jaw 3 and a screw tensioner 4. The tensioner 4 has a threaded shaft which engages a complimentary screw thread in the adjustable jaw. The bar 1 may, for example, comprise a pipe or other solid or hollow cylinder. The bar 1 can be made from metal such as steel or any other suitable material. The bar 1 may also contain a stopper (not shown) at its lower end to prevent the adjustable jaw 3 from coming off the bar. The bar 1 has a number of locking slots 5 which are located on one side of the bar 1. The locking slots 5 are approximately 3mm in depth although in some other embodiments they may be only 1.5 mm or 2 mm deep, or more than 3 mm deep.

As shown in figure 1, the fixed jaw 2 is perpendicular to the bar 1. It has a surface 6 suitable for engaging an object to be clamped. The fixed jaw 2 may be made from metal such as steel or any other suitable material. In the embodiment shown the fixed jaw 2 is located at the top of the bar 1. In other embodiments it may be located in a different position.

As also indicated in figure 1, the adjustable jaw 3 is, when in a clamping disposition, perpendicular to the bar 1 and parallel to the fixed jaw 2. The adjustable jaw 3 can be moved to and held in place by the locking slots 5 which provide a range of clamping positions. The adjustable jaw 3 may be made from metal such as steel or any other suitable material.

As shown in figure 1, the screw tensioner 4 has a contact surface 7 at its upper end and a handle 8 at its lower end. Turning the handle 8 applies a screw force which causes the tensioner to move towards or away from the fixed jaw 2, depending on whether the turning force is clockwise or anticlockwise. This enables the clamp to be adjusted so that larger or smaller objects can be clamped between the fixed jaw 2 and the adjustable jaw 3, or more particularly between the fixed jaw 2 and the tensioner’s contact surface 7. In some embodiments of the invention the tensioner 4 may be mounted on the fixed jaw 2 rather than the adjustable jaw 3.

Figure 2 shows part of the adjustable jaw 3 in more detail, and in particular the shape of an internal channel 10 of the jaw through which the bar 1 passes. The left of the channel has a long running angled side part 11 and the right of the channel has both an upper straight side part 12 and a lower short angled side part 13. When the clamp is in use it is desirable to get the fixed and adjustable jaws as close as possible together, given the item being clamped, so that the tensioner 4 does not have to be moved very far to bring about a clamping action. This is achieved by sliding the adjustable jaw 3 along the bar 1, During this sliding action the side of the bar which does not have the locking slots 5 rides along the short angled side part 13, and as it does so the jaw 3 is angled upwards rather than being perpendicular to the bar 1.

As shown in figure 3, when the jaw 3 is at the desired locking slot 5 it is tilted downwards so that it is perpendicular to the bar 1 and the lower edge 14 of the jaw 3 rests in and is prevented from sliding downwards by the slot 5. When in this position the right of the bar rests against the channel’s straight side part 12, and part of the channel’s long running angled side 13 part butts against the angle of the slot 5. The bar 1 can be released from the slot 5 by tilting it in a reverse manner to that described above.

Figure 4 illustrates the clamp when in use holding two pieces of wood 15, although the clamp can be put to a wide variety of other uses While some preferred embodiments of the invention have been described by way of example it should be appreciated that modifications and improvements can occur without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A clamp, comprising:  a bar having at least one locking slot; 5  a first jaw mounted or mountable on the bar;  an adjustable jaw adapted to slide along the bar, such jaw having a channel which receives the bar, the channel having a substantially angled side part and a substantially straight side part, these side parts being sufficient to enable the adjustable jaw to tilt into locking engagement with the slot; and 10  a tensioner which can be adjusted to apply pressure between the two jaws.

2. A clamp according to anyone of the proceeding claims wherein the tensioner is mounted or mountable on the adjustable jaw. 15

3. A clamp according to claim 1 wherein the tensioner is mounted or mountable on the first jaw.

4. A clamp according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the tensioner comprises a threaded shaft which is engageable with a screw thread of the adjustable jaw.

5. A clamp according to anyone of the proceeding claims wherein the tensioner is substantially parallel to the bar when in a clamping disposition.

6. A clamp according to anyone of the proceeding claims wherein the first jaw is 25 substantially perpendicular to the bar.

7. A clamp according to any one of the proceeding claims wherein the first jaw is mounted or mountable adjacent to one end of the bar. 30

8. A clamp according to any one of the proceeding claims wherein the adjustable jaw can, when engaged with the bar, tilt between a substantially perpendicular disposition and a substantially angled disposition with respect to the bar.