US1998597A - Clamping device - Google Patents

Description

CLAMPING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 c. P, STUART CLAMPING DEVICE A riL 23, 1935.

Filed Bag. 28, 1932 9 z Sheets Shet 2 w Hm Patented Apr. 23, 1935 ,UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE.

5 Claims.

. nary pipe, a plank-edge, or any other handy elongated member to constitute therewith an adjustable-jaw beam-clamp, such as. is employed in carpentry and cabinet-work to draw together and hold framing andother members for mortising, tongue and. groove work, glueing or like operations. My invention, insofar as -it relates to the novel securement of the clamp-unit to the carrier member, contemplates an improved combination therebetween; and, insofar as it relates to the improved clamp-unit, per se, contemplates animproved structure not limited in utility tothe formation. of a beam clamp with anelongated, member, but of general utilityfor numerouspurposes, as shown by examples set forth hereinafter. More particular objects and advantages of my invention are. set forth or will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments; thereof.

In the accompanying. drawings showing such.

Fig. 3. is a plan view of a unit in inverted position;

Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical sectional views of a unit provided with a clamp screw, taken respectively on the. line 4-4 of Fig. 5, andrthe line 5-5 of Fig- 4, looking in. the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a unit-mounti ngIgripper-jaw removed from the unit; W

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clamping head of the clamp-screw shown in Fig. '1;

Figs. 8, and 9 are perspective and plan views, respectively of a modified form of unit-body; and

Fig. 10 is, a longitudinal sectional view thereof, taken on theline lil -Ii! of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows.

. By reference tQ'the forms, of my invention selectedto illustrate the same and shown in the drawings. (see Figs. 1 to 5 and 8 to 10) it will be seen that my invention is primarily concerned' with the provision of a basic clamp-unit comprising a, clamp-body provided with improved means for securing it to any desired rod, pipe, board-edge, cable,v wire or like member; and that in Fig. 1 I have shown two such units mounted upon a rigid member, shown in broken lines, to constitute therewith an improved cabinetclamp or the like, suitable clamp-tightening means, such as the clamp-screw shown, being provided for one; or both units in this connection.

Referring to Figs. 1 through 5, the form shown therein comprises a clamp-body proper which consists of the clamping-face H. and the back-. ing member 12,, and suitable self-tightening se-' curing means adaptedto. straddle and laterally grip any sort of member upon which the unit maybe mountedirrespective of the depth of said member or itsv Width within the range of the securing means, and this latter means, as. is clearly shown, preferably comprises a pair of laterally. positioned. grippin jaws l3 arranged to take tight hold against thev sides of themember upon whichv the unit is to be mounted and to more and, more tightly grip. the member as more and more force is, exerted by or against the unit in the'applioation thereof to the work in hand.

I In the form shown the. gripping-jaws l3, are mounted in theclamp body to slide therein in agenerally longitudinal direction, provision being made for the forcing of one, and in the form shown each one, of the gripping, jaws toward the other by movement of the body of the unit relative to the gripping jaws under the influence of clamping force applied to. or by the clamping face It as by forming the gripper generally wedge-shaped and correspondingly inclining or flaring the portion of the unit-body which guides the. same. In the form of Figs. 1 through 5 this gripper mounting and guiding portion of the unit body comprises a saddle portion, shown as cast integral with the clamp-body proper, which consist of a saddle-bridge l4 adapted to seat against the memberto which the unit is to be secured, and saddle-skirts l5 depending therefrom and flared longitudinally of the unit and away from the clamping-face thereof to constitute guideways for the wedge-shaped gripper-jaws l3, which may be slidably held in place therein by any suitable device. v

Apreferred form of such retaining device, and one which is simple and may be employed without reducing the minimum strengthof the unitbody, is provided by employing a bent arm l6, which may be formed of rigid or resilient metal and secured to the gripper-jaw in any desired way, extending from each gripper-jaw and outwardly and upwardly about the lower portion of the cooperating saddle-skirt 15, the entire gripper-retainer assembly l3, l6, being held in place by any suitable means such as a flange H extending inwardly from the lower portion of the skirt l5 into interlocking engagement with said assembly to prevent dropping thereof from within the saddle portion or upturning of the saddleportion therefrom in use of the device. In the form shown, for simplicity these arms l6 are both formed alike to be interchangeable.

In addition suitable means may be provided to prevent sliding of the gripping-jaws l3 out of the butt-end of the saddle-portion, which in the form shown is accomplished by securing stop members l8 over the rear edges of the skirt portions l5 and so positioning the retainers l6 that these retainers will engage against the stopmembers 18 when the gripping-jaws l3 are in full open position.

In the form shown the parts are so proportioned that the gripping-jaws will not slide entirely out through the front end of the saddleportion, but obviously with differently proportioned parts any suitable stop means such as pins or the like may be employed to limit forward movement of the gripping-jaws if this is desired.

An important feature of my invention, which renders it practical to employ the straddle mounting of clamp-units provided by my invention even where heavy clamping stresses are to be applied, consists in so shaping the engaging portions of the gripper-jaws 13 as to guard against upturning of the unit on the member to which it may be attached, and as best shown in Figs. 2 and 6 I preferably embody this feature, in constructing a clamp-unit universally applicable for mounting on metallic or wooden members, by providing the engaging faces of one or both of the gripper-members I 3 with several widely spaced gripping teeth 20 arranged to incline upwardly and forwardly, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. This upward and forward inclination of the teeth 20, it will be observed, will urge the member to which the unit may be secured toward the saddle-bridge M of the clamp-jaw unit in the tightening thereof, and thus insure a proper initial grip thereon, and in addition the position and wide spaoiru of the teeth will insure biting thereof into the carrier-member in such a way that the unit cannot tilt upwardly about its rear end 2! (Fig. 5) unless so much tilting force be applied as to cause shearing-away or planingaway to a considerable depth of the lateral surfaces of the carrier member by the edges of the inclined teeth 20, which, because, of their relatively small number or wide spacing (for example the teeth may, in a unit having a body two and one-half inches long, be spaced as much as three-fourths inch apart, in the form shown) each carry a heavy gripping load and accordingly bite deepy into the carrier member.

The widely-spaced, inclined, continuous teeth or cutting edges 20 are believed to constitute the best way of embodying this feature of my invention in a clamp adapted to be used with carrier-members of various materials, and to insure suffieient biting-in of the grippers when hard metal carrier members are employed, but it Will be apparent that for particular types of Work where only light clamping pressures are to be employed, or where carrier-members of wood or other soft material only will be used, other specific modes of preventing upturning of a straddling unit may be employed within the purview of my invention.

As above mentioned, it is desirable to provide, at least in the case of certain of the units provided by my invention, for example such units as are employed in tightening mortises or the like, suitable clamp tightening means of any desired or preferred form, and in the form shown such means is indicated as a clamp-screw 30, threaded through the orifice 3! in the clampbody proper, and provided with a rear-end 32 shaped to facilitate turning-up thereof, and as best shown in Figs. 1 and 8, this clamp-screw advantageously may be provided with a rotatable clamping foot 33 provided with a socket 34 adapted to extend over the forward-end of the clamp-screw 38 and to be rotatably secured thereto by any suitable means such as a pin 35 extending through the socket 34 and a groove 36 out into the clamp-screw 30, for example. To facilitate rotation of the clamping foot 33 even while subject to great clamping stress, it is desirable to provide suitable bearing means for the same, shown in Fig. 7 as comprised of one or more bronze bearing discs 38 positioned between the end of the clamp-screw 30 and the bottom of the socket 34.

It is of course obvious that my invention can be embodied in many specific forms, and to illustrate one modification thereof which is particularly desirable because of strength and cheapness of manufacture I have shown in Figs. 8 through 10 a form in which the body proper Ila, 12a, is made separate from the saddle-portion Ma, [5a, Ila, and secured thereto by any suitable means such as a heavy anchoring screw 40 and a smaller rotation preventing screw 4|, best shown in Fig. 10. This construction is particularly desirable, as it enables the saddle-portion to be pressed up or otherwise formed with little or no machining; and, if removable uniting means such as the machine screws 40, 4|, be employed, various bodies-proper may be sub stituted for the body Ha, l2a, for special purposes. As in the case of the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 through 5, the body proper Ila, l2a, may be provided with a threaded orifice 3la to provide for the association therewith of a clamp-screw such as the clamp-screw 30, Figs. 1 and 7. 7

To preserve the adjustment, and to make it unnecessary to readjust the clamp after it has once been adjusted for a particular piece of work, and the user wishes to maintain the adjustment for other work of the same kind, I have provided the clamp, in each of its forms, with a set-screw 42 threaded into the side of the saddle skirt to engage the adjacent gripping jaw. This prevents the clamp from slipping off the bar, and saves the time which would otherwise be consumed in readjusting the clamp.

In the foregoing description, I have set forth in detail preferred forms in which clamp-units of my invention may be embodied, and have mentioned the general utility of these units as well as their peculiar utility in the formation of a cabinet-clamp or the like, and. it will be clear to those skilled in the art that my units need not necessarily be employed in pairs, but that one adjustably mounted unit may be employed in conjunction with another ordinary fixed clamp-jaw unit in the construction of a cabinetclamp or the like. It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that my units may be employed to advantage in cable or wire tightening operations, as in tightening cables around.

silos, for example, by positioning two units (of which at least one should be provided with a clamp-screw for convenience) in face to face position, each mounted upon the end of the strapping-cable extending past the other, and tightening the cable by forcing the units apart by means of the clamp-screw, for example, when the overlapping ends of the cable between the two units may be readily secured by any suitable cable-tie.

My invention obviously is not restricted to the particular embodiments thereof herein illustrated and described, and having disclosed such embodiments to illustrate the practice of the same, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cabinet-clamp or the like, comprising, in combination, an elongated member serving as a clamp-beam, a pair of clamp-jaw units secured thereto to clamp work therebetween in a position,

offset from said member, at least one of said units embodying clamp tightening means such as a clamp-screw or the like and at least one of said units comprising a saddle portion straddling said member and having a pair of lateral gripping jaws mounted therein and laterally gripping said member to effect its securement thereto, said gripping jaws being self-tightening under clamping stress by movement of said saddle portion relatively to such jaws and from the other unit and embodying gripping teeth arranged at an incline thereon to prevent upturning of said unit on said member when said clamp tightening means is manipulated to apply stress to the work in said position offset from said member.

2. A cabinet-clamp or the like, comprising, in combination, an elongated member serving as a clamp-beam, and a clamp-jaw unit secured thereto and provided with clamp tightening means such as a clamp-screw or the like positioned to clamp work laterally of said member, said unit comprising a saddle portion straddling said member and having a pair of lateral gripping jaws mounted therein and laterally gripping said member to effect its securement thereto, said gripping jaws being self-tightening under stress resulting from the clamping of work by said cabinet-clamp by movement of said saddle portion relatively to said jaws and from the work and embodying gripping teeth arranged at an incline thereon to prevent upturning of said unit on said member by the stress resulting from clamping of work by said cabinet-clamp.

3. A cabinet-clamp or the like, comprising, in

combination, an elongated member serving as a clamp-beam and a clamp-jaw unit comprising a saddle portion straddling said member and secured thereto by a pair of lateral gripping jaws within said saddle portion laterally gripping saidelongated member, said gripping jaws being selftightening under stress resulting from the clamping of work by said cabinet-clamp by movement of said saddle portion relatively to said jaws and from the work and embodying gripping teeth arranged at an incline thereon to prevent upturning of said unit on said member under such stress.

4. A clamp-body comprising a body provided with a saddle portion adapted to straddle an elongated member to which the unit is to be secured, said body being provided with a clamping face and a threaded opening perpendicular to said face to receive a clamping screw, and a pair of laterally positioned, wedging jaws slidable lengthwise in said body and adapted to Wedge against the elongated member under the influence of clamping stress applied through said unit by movement of said saddle portion relatively to said jaws and from the work to be clamped by said clamping face, said jaws being provided with upwardly and forwardly inclined relatively widely spaced continuous teeth adapted to bite into the member to which the unit is to be secured, and by their inclination to resist upturning of said unit under clamping stress to the point of shearing or planing 01f the gripped surfaces of said member.

5. In a clamp unit, the combination of a body and a pair of jaws connected by said body and together presenting a channel having two opposed, clamping faces, an open side into which a member to. be clamped may be introduced by movement in a direction transverse to said channel, said channel having a face opposite said open side, said body being movable longitudinally of said channel with relation to said pair of jaws, said jaws and said body being cooperatively formed to cause both of said jaws to be urged inwardly to narrow said channel and to grip said member when said body is moved longitudinally in one direction, and to relax their grip when said body is moved in the opposite direction, and an actuating screw supported by and having screwthreaded connection with said body and extending lengthwise of said channel, and having at one end an abutment to engage an object against which a thrust is to be developed, to enable said thrust to react upon said body and to move said body rearwardly from said object, thereby to cause said jaws to move relatively to said body and to approach each other and to tighten their grip on said member.

CARL PHILIP STUART.

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