US1221601A - Clamp for mirror and picture frames. - Google Patents

Description

e. M. ROWLAND.

CLAMP FOR MIRROR AND PICTURE FRAMES.

APPLICATION FILED nc. 2|, 19:5.

LQQLBUL Patented Apr. 3,1917.

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Attorney e. M. ROWLAND.

CLAMP FOR MIRROR AND PICTURE FRAMES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 21, HHS.-

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

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GLEN MELFORD ROWLAND, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

CLAMP FOR MIRROR AND PICTURE FRAMES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

Application filed December 21, 1915. Serial No. 68,065.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GLEN M. ROWLAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Clamp for Mirror and Picture Frames, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved clamp adapted for holding the frames of mirrors, pictures, and the like, while making the frames or working upon the same, and has for an object to provide an improved mechanism for binding clamps simultaneously against the opposite corners of the frame, and for exerting pressure of these clamps on the frame uniformly at all corners thereof, and simultaneously, so as to prevent the bulging or springing of the frame sidewise under the clamping. action.

Another object of the present invention is to'provide a device which may be very quickly and easily adjusted to frames of various widths and various lengths, and wherein the operating mechanism is controlled by a single handle, which may be adjusted to accommodate the various widths and lengths of frames. v

Briefly, the invention contemplates the provision of a pair of crossed members which are adjustably held at the desired angle across each other, a lever for turning these cross members about a common pivot, and clamps adjustably connected eccentrically upon the cross members, so that as the latter are turned the clamping members or elements are contracted toward each other, so as to bind against a frame which may be placed between them.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be brought out in the following detail description of the present preferred embodiment of the invention, the same being disclosed in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved clamp, having a frame applied thereto, and being closed against the corners of the frame.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, showing the clamp open to free the frame.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken centrally through the clamp on the line of the adjustable guides, and showing a frame in place between the clamping elements.

I overhanging plates 1%,

Fig. 4 is a transverse section, enlarged, through one of the clamping elements, taken on the line el--1 of Fig.

1 Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, enlarged, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view, enlarged, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary edge view, enlarged, of the table, showing the rack applied thereto and the operating handle and pawl carried thereby.

Referring to these drawings, wherein like parts are designated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views, 10 designates a table or base, which forms the body of the clamp, and which, in the present instance, is shown as being supported upon legs 11. The base is provided with a pair of fixed radial guides 12, and a pair of adjustable radial guides 13. The fixed and adjustable guides are arranged diametrically opposite to each other respectively for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. Each guide, as may be best seen from Figs. 41, 5 and 6, comprises an elongated channel member open at its top, and provided upon its opposite flanges with the inner edges of which extend beyond the inner walls of the flanges, and thus provide a partially closed channel in each guide. The guides 12 and 13 extend considerably beyond the outer peripheraledge of the table 10, which latter is preferably circular. In each of the guides 12and 13 is mounted a clamping element. The clamping element is made up of an inner connecting block 15 bored at its outer end to receive the inner end of an adjusting rod 16, which is threaded, but which is free to rotate in the bore of the connecting block 15. A transverse pin or key 17 is secured through the block 15 and enters a groove 18 in the side of the rod 16 for'anohoring the inner end of the rod in the block. Thus, any longitudinal movement of the rod 16 moves the block 15 therewith. A supporting block 19 of substantially inverted T-shape is fitted in the channel of each guide, and is provided with a threaded longitudinal bore, for the reception of the outer end of the rod 16 therethrough, to support the rod, and cause the same to feed longitudinally through the block 19.

The clamping element also includes, as may be best seen from Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, a shiftable plate 20 provided upon its under side with a depending T-shape tongue 21, fitting in the channel of the guide, and held therein by the strips or plates 14:. The threaded rod 16 passes longitudinally through the tongue 21, and engages in threaded relation therewith, so as to move the tongue longitudinally in the guide and thus shift the plate 20 radially with respect to the table or base 10. The plate 20 is provided, at an intermediate point therein, with a threaded socket or bore into which is detachably threaded a pin 22, upon which is rotatably'mounted a'clamping plate 23. The clamping plate 23 is adapted to rest upon the upper face of the plate 20, and to be turned thereupon into any desired angle in the adjustment and application of the device. The clamping plate 23 may be quickly lifted upwardly from the plate 20, and from engagementwith the pin 22, for the purposes of removing, turning over or replacing the clamping plate. From Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that this clamping plate 23 is provided at one end with a concave edge formed on the arc of a relatively large circle, and which is adapted for engagement with the outer rounded corner of a frame. The opposite end of this clampingplate 23 is provided with a notched portion or a rectangular recess, the walls of which are convex and extend-in the general direction of the outer corners of the plate. This formation adapts this end of the plate 23 to angular corners of frames, as is clearly shown in the accompanying drawings.

The adjustable guides 13 are mounted upon the opposite ends of a diametrically extendingbar 24:, which is pivotally mounted at its intermediate portion upon a pivot pin 25, which is located centrally of the base or table 10, and which projects upwardly therefrom. The bar 24 is adapted to rest flat upon the upper surface of the table 10, and

is adapted to turn about the pivot pin 25, so as to adjust the opposite movable guides 13 toward and from the guides 12, which are preferably stationarily mounted upon the I base or table 10. The outer end of each of the adjusting rods 16 is provided with a crank'handle 26 fixed to the rod and adapted to turn the same,'so that the operator, by rotating the crank handle 26 may turn the rod and move the supporting block 19, and the tongue 21 longitudinally in the guide. Ar-

ranged centrally upon the table 10 is a pair of crossed arms 27 and 28, the same being pivotally mounted upon the pivot 25, and arranged above the adjustable bar 24. One of the crossed arms, the arm 27, is fixed to an operating handle or lever 29, and is preferably integral therewith, as shown to ad vantage in Figs. 1 and 2, and as comprising an offset extension or portion thereof at the inner end of the lever 29. The crossed arms 27 and 28 are hingedly connected, by means of bolts 30 or the like, with the inner ends of radiating links 31, the latter being hinged upon the arms at the opposite sides of the pivot 25, so as to impart an eccentric action or movement to the inner ends of the links 31, when the crossed arms 27 and 28 are rotated about the central pivot 25. The outer ends of these links 31 have hinged connection with the connecting blocks 15, which are carried in the inner ends of the guides 12 and 13. With this construction, it is readily seen that any rotation of the crossed arms 27 and 28 operates the links 31 to draw the connecting blocks 15 inwardly toward the central pivot 25. Normally, the blocks 15 and the links 31 are adapted to extend in the longitudinal plane of the respective pair of guides 12, or 13, so that the blocks are in their outermost positions in the guides. lVhen the fiXGd arm 27 is in this position, as shown in Fig. 2, the lever 29 lies close to and in parallelism with the adj aeent adjustable guide 13. The adjustable guide 13 may be swung into any desired angle about the pivot point 25, and the lever 29 always assumes this same parallel position with respect thereto. However, as the angular relation between the fixed guides 12 and the movable guides 13 is changed for difierent widths and lengths of frames, it is necessary to turn the movable arm 28 into various angles across the fixed arm 27. so as to dispose the movable arm 28 in longitudinal alinement with its fixed guides 12. To admit of this adjustment of the crossed arms 27 and 2S, and to then secure both of these arms rigidly to the operating handle 29, an adjusting link 32 is pivotally mounted upon one end of the movable arm 28, while the opposite end of the link is adjustably fixed to the hand lever 29, by means of a pin 33 adapted to engage in any one of a series of openings 34:, which are formed in the link, and which are adapted to register with the pin opening in the lever. It will be noted, from Figs. 1 and 2, that the adjusting link 32 preferably extends in a longitudinal line with the lever 29, and that the end of the adjustable arm 28, which carries the link 32, extends beyond the inner side of the fixed arm 27, so as to admit of the swinging of the lever 29 close to the adjacent guide 13.

The edge of the table 10 beneath the lever 29 is provided with an upstanding rack bar 35, the same being secured against the edge of the table and having the teeth thereof lying below the plane of the top surface of the table to admit of the free adjustment of the guides 13 about the pivot pin 25. The lever 29 is provided with a depending pawl or so directed as to hold the lever 29 in its outermost position, or in clamping position,

iii

as shown in Fig. 1. To release the lever, it is only necessary to raise the same upwardly to spring the pawl 36 out of engagement with the rack 35 and to then hold the lever in such upward position while allowing it to move back toward the adjacent guide 13. In the drawings a frame 37 is disclosed as being secured in the improved clamp, the frame having the rectangular corners 38 at one end and the rounded corners 39 at its opposite end.

It will be noted from Figs. 1 and 2 that the upper faces of the overhanging plates or strips 14 are provided with graduations 40, adapted to indicate the relative longitudinal positions of the plates 20 upon the guides, which position determines the size of the frame supported upon the clamp.

In. the use of this improved clamp, it is only necessary to measure the frame diagonally, or from one angular corner 38 to the opposite curved corner 39, and to measure off one half of this length upon each of the scales or graduations 40., by moving the plates 2O inwardly from the outer ends of their respective guides. The clamping plates 23 are now turned so as to dispose their curved or angularly notched edges to the respective corners 39 and 38 of the frame 37, so as to accommodate and fit close against these corners. The lever 29 is now swung inwardly against the adjacent guide 13, as shown in Fig. 2. The adjustable arm 28 is now swung into longitudinal alinement with the fixed guides 12. The link 32, which must necessarily be released during the adjustment of the movable arm 28, is then secured to the lever 29 by the pin 33, to thus secure the crossed arms in fixed relation to each other and to the lever 29. Prior to the adjustment of these crossed arms, the adjustable guides 13 are swung about the pivot point 25 in opposite directions to accommodate the width of the frame 37. The adjustable guides 13 are held from spreading from the fixed guides 12, when tension is placed upon the frame, by a peg 41, which is inserted in any one of a plurality of rows of staggered sockets or openings 42 formed in the upper face of the table 10, adjacent the edge thereof, and adapted to be traversed by the adjacent adjustable guide 13. Thus, any spreading of the guides 13 from the guides 12 results in the adjacent guide 13 engaging the peg 41, so that further movement of the guides 13 is prevented. The adjustable guides 13 are further held in place, and steadied, by means of depending studs 43, which project downwardly into arcuate recesses or slots 44 formed in the upper face of the table 10, concentric to the pivot pin 25.

After these adjustments have been made, the frame 37 is seated down in between the clamping plates 23, and upon the supporting plates 20. The handle 29 is now grasped and drawn away from the adjacent guide 13.

This movement swings the crossed arms 27and 28 simultaneously about the pivot pin 25, so as to produce an eccentric action or pull upon the links 31 and consequently draw the same inwardly and simultaneously to contract the clamping elements mounted in the respective guides, and to bind the clamping plates thereof against the four corners of the frame. When the desired tension is placed upon the frame 37, the handle 29 is released and the pawl 36 drops into engagement with the rack bar 35 to lock the lever or handle 29 in position.

From the above it is observed that the present invention provides a clamp which may be quickly adjusted by the peg 41 and crank handle 26 to frames of different widths and heights, and provides a clamp wherein the four, or more, clamping elements employed are actuated simultaneously to bind evenly and from opposite directions toward each other by a single operating handle or lever. It will be noted, that the device is one comprising relatively few parts, which are peculiarly arranged for this operation and coaction, and which may be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

It is, of course, understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the detail construction of the present described device, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is I 1. A clamp comprising relatively movable guides, a clamping element in each guide, a pair of crossed arms movable relatively to each other whereby they can be adjusted according to the movement of the guides, conncctions between said crossed arms and said clamping elements, and means connected to said arms to turn the same simultaneously to contact the clamping elements.

2. A clamp comprising a table, radial guides arranged upon the table for arcuate adjustment toward and from each other, a rotary member pivotally mounted centrally upon the table, an operating handle con nected to the member for turning the same, a clamping element in each of said guides, links connecting the opposing clamping elements to said member in pairs to draw the elements inwardly upon the turning of the member, and means providing for simulta neous adjustment of a pair of the link connections with said member into line with said guides when adjusted.

3. A clamp comprising a table, a pair of opposed fixed radial guides on the table, a pair of opposed adjustable radial guides connected together and pivoted centrally upon the table, an adjustable peg carried by the table for engagement with one of the adjustable guides to hold the same from movement when adjusted, a pair of crossed arms pivoted centrally upon the table, one arm being adapted to normallv lie in longitudinal alinement with the fixed guides, and the opposite arm being adapted to normally lie in line with the adjustable guides, clamping elements in the guides, links connecting the clamping elements to the opposite ends of said arms, means for adjustably connecting said arms together, and a lever connected to said arms to turn the same simultaneously about said central pivot, whereby to move said clamping elements simultaneously inward.

A. A clamp comprising a body, guides radiating from the central portion of the body, rotatable means pivoted centrally upon the body, clamping elements connected to said rotatable means adapted to be simultaneously drawn toward the center of the bodyupon the rotation of said means, and clamping plates mounted to freely turn on said clamping elements for automatic adjustment against the corners of the frame and having angular and curved notches in their opposite ends for engagement respectively with the angular and rounded corners of the frame.

5. A clamp comprising a body, opposed pairs of guides relatively adjustable and radiating on the body, clamping elements slidable in the guides and being arranged in pairs for movement toward and from each other,-an arm arranged in longitudinal alinement between each pair of guides and having connection at its opposite ends with said clamping elements, a pivot pin connecting the intermediate crossed portions of said arms whereby they can be adjusted relatively to each other, and a lever connected to said arms to rotate the same simultaneously about said pivot pin, and to contract all of said clamping elements simultaneously.

' 6. A clamp comprising a body, radiating guides mounted on the'body, clamping elements movable radially in the guides, an

' arm arranged in longitudinal alinement between each pair of opposed guides, a pivot pm connectmg the crossed lntermediate por- Copies of this patent may be obtained for tions of the arms a lever connected to one of said arms, said guides being adjustable angularly upon the body with respect to said pivot pin, whereby to'adjust the guides toward and from each other, a connection between the clamping elements and the adjacent ends of said arms, and a link adjustably connecting said arms together to hold the same for simultaneous turning movement and admit of the adjustment of the arms according to the positions of the radial guides.

7. A clamp comprising a body, radial guides mounted on the body in opposed pairs, a pair of crossed arms pivoted centrally upon the body and adapted to extend in longitudinal alinement with each pair of radial guides, slidable blocks mounted in the inner ends of said guides, links hinged to the blocks at one end and hinged at their inner ends to the opposite ends of said arms, means for adjusting the guides angular-1y about the pivot, means permitting adjustment of said crossed arms angularly to aline with the adjusted guides, and clamping elements mounted in the outer ends of the guides and having adjustable connection with said connecting blocks to accommodate articles of various sizes.

8. A clamp comprising a body, radial guides, on the body adjustable angularly about the central portion of the body, clamping elements slidable longitudinally in the guides, and a pair of crossed arms pivoted centrally upon the body between the guides and having connection at their opposite ends with the adjacent clamping elements, means for turning said arms simultaneously about the pivot to contract the clamping elements, and means for adjusting said arms into different angular relations to correspond to the adjustment of said guides.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GLEN MELFORD ROWLAND.

Vitnesses 'MroHAnL Fnnrennenn,

ALLEN A. BUCK.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C.

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