US2249661A - Holding attachment for pliers - Google Patents

Description

July 15, 1941.

s. E; LITTLEFIELD HOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR PLIERS Filed March 28, 1940 Patented July 15, 1941 UNITE o STATES PA'I? ENT F-Fl CE HOLDING-ATTACHMENT FOR PLI ERS 1 Stanley E. Littlefield, Rockport, Mass.

ApplicationMarch 28, 1940;. Serial: N o; 326,48L

4 Claims.

This invention relatestoa holding orsettingattachment for pliers and' aims to provide a" device of simple construction adapted'to be made apart of a pair of pliers for holding the plier members in a plurality of adjustedpositions'relatively to each other for setting the jaws of the pliers in aplurality of positions.

More particularly, it is an aim of this invention. to provide a pair of pliers including a row of notchesLfor-med on one of the plier membersdisposed' concentric with their pivot, and a detent carried by theother plier member for releasably and selectively engaging said notches for holding the plier members in a plurality of adjust'ed' positions;-

Still another aim of the invention is to provide improved means for yieldably urging the detent into position between ribs on one of the plier members for thereby keying the detent to said plier member, and a button attached to the detent for moving it out of engagement with the notches, and against the action of said spring.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a pair of pliers, constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same,

Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views taken substantially along the planes of the lines 3-3 and 44, respectively, of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the detent detached.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the diiferent views, III designates generally a pair of pliers including the plier members II and I2 having the handle portions I3 and I4, respectively, and the corresponding jaws I5. The jaws I5 are of conventional construction and are provided with the adjacent, serrated engaging faces I6. Plier members II and I2 are pivotally connected by means of the headed bolt H or may be connected in any other conventional manner as by means of a pin or rivet, not shown.

The plier member II is provided with an arcuately shaped edge portion I8 disposed concentric to the pivot bolt I1 and which is provided with a series of notches I9 forming a series of teeth 20. An arcuately shaped guard strip 2| projects outwardly from the plier member II, at

the base of the-notches. t9; and is disposed concentric. with theedge portion I8 'I-h'e :shank: of: the handle: portion I 4 is provided with a'lp'air ofspaced, substantially parallel ribs 22;. on itsinner sidawhich combine toform the opening 24. The shank or stem 28 isprovided with. a: threaded recess. 2 9 which: opens outwardly of its free end and which is adapted to receive the threaded end of the shank of a pin 30 provided with a head 3| at its opposite end. An expansion coil spring 32 is carried by the shank of the pin 30 and has one of its ends abutting against the outer side of the shank portion of the handle I4 and its opposite end abutting against the inner side of the head 3| to draw the shank or stem 28 inwardly of the opening 24 so that when the arm 26 is disposed parallel to the ribs 22 it will be drawn into the groove 23 to be held by the ribs 22 from turning relatively to the plier member I2.

When the detent 25 is thus positioned with the arm 26 disposed between the ribs 22 and with its tapered end 21 projecting toward the jaws I5, said tapered end 21 will be disposed in one of the notches I9, as seen in Figure 1, to hold the plier members II and I2 and their jaws I5 in a set position relatively to each other. To change the setting of the jaws I5, the head 3I is pressed inwardly or toward the plier member I2 to move the arm 26 out of engagement with the groove 23 and the ribs 22 to thereby move its end 21 out of engagement with the notches I9 so that the plier members I I and I2 may be swung relatively to each other to vary the size of the opening between the faces IIi of the jaws I5. The guide strip 2I forms a guide for the end 21 of the detent 25 while the pliers I!) are being adjusted so that when the adjustment has been made pressure on the head 3I can be released to allow the spring 30 to draw the detent 25 toward the plier member I2 so that the arm 26 will be drawn back into the groove 23 to again key it to the member I2 and to move its end 21 into engagement with one of the notches I9. It will thus be seen that the pliers I0 may be set at a plurality of adjusted positions and so held by engagement of the detent 25 with one of the notches I9 until the detent 25 is released by pressure on the head 3| of the pin 30. The setting attachment can be made inoperative by moving the detent 25, as heretofore explained, until the arm 26 is out of engagement with the ribs 22 after which the detent can be turned through an arc of substantially 180 to position the arm 26, as seen in dotted lines in Figure 1, in which position it will be held by the spring 32 drawing it back to engagement with the ribs 22.

When the detent 25 is thus positioned the pliers It] may be used in the conventional manner.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as" only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a pair of pliers, including a pair of plier members each comprising a jaw and a handle portion, said plier'members being pivotally connected intermediate of their ends, the outer edge of one of said plier members having an arcuately shaped portion concentric with said pivot and provided with a series of notches, the handle, portion of the other plier member being provided with an opening, an arm having a shank projecting laterally therefrom for slidably and swivelly engaging said opening, spring means for yieldably retaining the shank in the opening for yieldably mounting the arm relatively to said handle portion, and said arm' having a tapered end for selectively engaging said notches for setting the plier members relatively to each other.

2. A device as in claim 1, comprising a pair of 35? spaced ribs formed on said first mentioned handle portion and between which said arm is removably disposed to prevent the arm from turning relatively to said handle portion.

3. A device as in claim 1, comprising an arcuately shaped guide plate projecting outwardly from the first mentioned plier member and disposed beneath and concentric with said notches to provide a guide for the forward end of the arm, when out of engagement with the notches.

4. An attachment for pliers comprising in combination with a pair of plier members pivotally connected to each other between their jaws and handle portions, a detent comprising an arm having a laterally projecting shank portion adjacent one end thereof, one of said plier members being provided with an opening in which said shank portion is loosely and rotatably mounted, a headed pin having its shank portion secured in the free end of said first mentioned shank, an expansionjcoil spring carried by said pin and disposed between its head and said plier member for urging the shank of said detent inwardly of said opening, ribs projecting outwardly from one side of said plier member and between which said arm is removably held by said spring, and said other plier member being provided with an arcuately shaped portion disposed concentric to the pivot of said plier members and provided with a series of notches disposed to be selectively engaged by one end of said arm for holding the plier members in a plurality of adjusted positions relatively to each other.

STANLEY E. LIT'I'LEFIELD.

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