US2464630A - Screw-operated vise having a rackengaging nut-actuated rocking pawl for quick adjustment - Google Patents

Description

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2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B. R. ZITNER ROCKING-PAWL. FOR. QUICK ADJUSTMENT March 15, 1949. I

SCREW-OPERATED VISE HAVING AIRACK-ENGAQING NUT-ACTUATED Filed April 18, 1946 March 15, 1949.

B. R. ZITNER SCREW-OPERATED VISE HAVING A RACK-ENGAGING NUT-ACTUATED ROCKING-PAWL EOR QUICK ADJUSTMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1a, 1946 'Wae BY INVENTOR.

W701e+777ma22 ATTOENEVS.

Patented Mar. 15, 1949 SCREW-OPERATED VISE 'HAVING-A RACK- ENGAGING NUT-ACTUATED ROCKING PAWL FOR QUICK ADJUSTMENT Berthold R. Zitner, Burlington, Iowa Application April 18, 1946, .Serial No. 663,140

'7 Claims.

1 "This invention relates to improvements in quickly adjustable vices.

The conventional vise is adjusted by means of a .screw'which is turned to position the movable jaw of the vise, engaged thereby, relative to the stationaryvjaw oflthe vise, to effect the clamping or releasing of the work in the vise. Continuous movement of the adjustable jaw through the turning of the operating screw is both slow and tedious.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present inventionto provide an improved vise mechanism wherein the movable jaw of the vise may. be quickly slid into and out of rough positions of adjustment, together with a screw operated mechanism for'effecting final clamping adjustments of the vise orrelease of the vise jaws relativejto the work, said mechanism rendering operation of the vise extremely easy and expeditious.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide a quickly adjustable vise which includes aisturdy pawlmember engageable and disengageable with a ratchet plate and so associated with its operatingmechanism that arelatively limited movementiis required to rock the pawl relative to its ratchetplate.

Aiurther object of the invention is to provide a vise of thecharacter described having simple and efiective and easily operated mechanism, which is strong and durable, which is inexpensive to manu'factureand which is well adapted for the purposes described.

With .theiabove and other objects in view, the invention'consists of the improved vise, and its parts. and. combinations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

"In the accompanying drawings in which the sam'ereference characters indicate the same parts in all of .the views.

.Fig. 1' is a view of the improved vise indicated on line I--.l of Fig. 2 showing the mechanism arranged .for the screw feed control of the movable jawof the vise;

vFlgizis a view partly in transverse vertical sec tiontaken online 2--2 of Fig. 1;

vFig. 3. is a view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l; 'Fig. J4.is a transverse vertical sectional view taken. on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and on a larger scale;

and

'T-Eig. 5 is fragmentary detail sectional view showing the vise pawl disengaged from its ratchet,

platewhereby quick manual movement of the movable 'jaw of'the vise is permitted.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will appear that the stationary unit of the vise is indicated generally by the numeral Ill, and themovable jaw section is indicated generally by thenumeral II. The former includes a box section I2 having a rectangularly shaped opening therethrough. Below the box section there is a flat. flanged base portion it formed with apertures it to permit the securement'of the vise to a bench,

table, orother support. The forward upper end of the unit It is curved and shaped to form a jaw l5. Suitably anchored on a top horizontal surface of the base portion I3 is an elongated ratchet tooth plate i8 whose teeth project upwardly relative to the opening I! within the box section I2. Said ratchet teeth are angled rearwardly. The plane of .the top surface of the teeth It is slightly below the bottom of the opening I! whereby, under certain conditions, a member extended into said opening, and to be described hereinafter, is free to slide longitudinally.

The movable section ii of the vise includes an elongated, rearwardly projecting, rectangularly shaped sleeve IS, a major portion of which is hollow, and which extends into and through the openings I? of the box section I2, closely fitting the'same. A majorpo-rtion of the bottom of the sleeve is, over the ratchet plate I6, is open. The forward end of the section I I has a bore I9 therethrough communicating with the hollow interior of the sleeve. Above said end portion of the unit I I there is an integral curved jaw forming portion 29 directed and arranged so as to be complementary to the jaw [5.

An elongated revoluble rod is indicated gen erally by the numeral 2|. Said rod extends longitudinally through the hollow sleeve I8 and at its forward end, exteriorly of the movable section I.I,.it is enlarged, as at 2|, forming a shoulder in abutment with the outervfront face of the section I I. Within the sleeve i8 and. adjacent the inner end of the bore I9 there is affixed to the rod 2| a collar 22 which, in cooperation with the rod enlargement 2!, serves to hold the rod against longitudinal displacement. A transverse bore 3 through the rod enlargement 2|, receives an operating handle 24. The extreme outer end of the rod 2| is journalled within an aperture 25 therefor in the closed rear end of the sleeve I8. An intermediate portion of the rod 2| is formed with screw threads, as at 26, for a purpose hereinafter to appear.

A pawl, operatively disposed within the hollow sleeve I8, is indicated generally by the numeral 21. Said pawl is relatively large and massive and is saddle shaped, as best shown in Fig. 4, to permit the free longitudinal extension through its upper portion of the screw threaded portion 26 of the rod 2 I. Said pawl is furthermore formed with an upper U -shaped recess 28. The pawl 21 is pivotally and longitudinally shiftably movably mounted on a transverse pin 29 extended through an elongated slot 38 transversely through the base portion of the pawl 27 and having its ends anchored in the side walls of the sleeve 8. The arrangement of the slot 30 and the pin 29 is such as to permit considerable back and forth play or movement during operation of the pawl 21. The lower forward end of the solid base portion of the pawl is formed as a transverse pawl tooth 3| cooperative with selected teeth in the ratchet plate i8.

Within the cavity of the sleeve 18, adjacent the top of the sleeve, are longitudinally extending transversely spaced apart machined surfaces 32 to slidably engage opposite upper side portions of a travelling nut 33. This nut has an internally threaded bore through which the screw threaded portion 26 of the rod 2| extends. The travelling nut 33 is also of a size to be accommodated Within the U-shaped recess 28 in the upper portion of the pawl 21. It will be observed from Figs. 1 and 5 that the greatest longitudinal dimension of the travelling nut 33 is somewhat less than the length of the pawl recess 23 and the play thereby permitted is ordinarily taken up by a dished spring disc (is yieldingly interposed between the rear end of the nut 33 and the inner surfaces of the legs of the pawl 2'! thereadjacent. Normally, the expansive force of the spring 34 is such as to maintain the forward end of the nut 33 in engagement with portions of the pawl thereadjacent. It is also to be observed that the front of the travelling nut 33 is curved on a slight radius, as indicated at 33, whereby the pawl may pivot or tilt relative to the nut 33 without binding.

In the operation of the improved quickly adjustable vise, when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 5, or any other osition wherein the pawl is tilted upwardly to free its tooth 3| from the ratchet plate Hi, the movable vise section 5 is free for quick sliding movement relative to the stationary unit IQ of the vise. Consequently, by manually grasping the section and by pushing it toward the first vise section H] a desired distance and into proximity to the work to be clamped between the jaws I5 and 2|], a

rough adjustment may be quickly accomplished solely by the sliding movement of the sleeve l8 within the opening ll of the box section l2 of the stationary unit of the vise. Upon quickly attaining the sliding rough adjustment of the movable section of the vise, the work may be clamped between the vise jaws l5 and 20 through a few quick turns imparted to the rod 2| through the operating handle Si l. The initial turn of the rod 2| will, because of engagement of the rod with the travelling nut 33, cause said nut to move forwardly relative to the U-shaped opening 28 in the pawl 22 to contact the pawl and cause it to pivot or tilt downwardly to. a ratchet tooth engaging position, as in Fig. 1. Through engagement of the pawl with the ratchet plate I6 as described, further turning of the rod 2| in the same direction will cause, because of the anchorage of the rod 2| in the sleeve I8, a movement of the sleeve in a direction to cause the movable section to be drawn toward the stationary unit H] to thereby tightly clamp the work between the vise jaws l5 and 20. During such clamping movements wherein the screw threaded portion 26 of the rod 2| is transversing the anchored nut 33, the necessary relative movement between the longitudinally moving sleeve 8 and the anchored pawl 21 is permitted by the pawl slot 30. Upon the attainment of the clamping of the work, the rear end of the pawl slot 30 may be in engagement with the pawl mounting pin 29.

When it is desired to release or unclamp the work, it is merely necessary to turn the rod 2| one turn in the opposite direction through manipulation of the handle 24. Such movement of the rod 2| will result in a condition depicted in Fig. 5 wherein the travelling nut 33 exerts a pressure against the spring 34 and against the adjacent portion of the pawl to tilt the forward end of the pawl upwardly and to free its tooth 3| from the ratchet bar l6. Thereupon, through manual engagement of the movable section II of the vise and quickly sliding the sleeve I8 within the box section I2, the movable section of the vise may be slid rapidly to any location or distance relative to the stationary vise unit |0, within the range of the vise and to suit the convenience of the operator and work requirements.

The improved quickly adjustable vise is simple' and expeditious in operation and the changeover from manual sliding movement of the movable section of the vise to screw control thereof is accomplished by a single quick turn imparted to the control rod 2| in the proper direction. The vise is furthermore strong, durable and effective, minimizes the time required in making vise adjustments and in clamping and releasing work relative thereto, embodies simple, easily assembled mechanism, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

What is claimed as the invention is: l. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with" a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screw turnably anchored within the sleeve, a travellin nut within the sleeve and arranged for relative sliding movement, the travelling nut being in threaded engagement with the screw,'a

pawl pivotally associated with the sleeve and engageable and disengageable with the toothed portion of the box-like section, said pawl having a recess therein into which said nut extends for limited longitudinal movement to rock the pawl, and yielding means surrounding a portion of the screw and interposed between adjacent portions of the nut and pawl.

2. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screw turnably associated with the movable jaw unit and extending through said sleeve, a pawl formed with a recess, means operatively mounting the pawl within said sleeve for engagement and disengagement with said toothed portion ineluding a longitudinal slot in said pawl and a pivot pin fixedly carried by said sleeve and extending through said slot, and a travelling nut in threaded engagement with said screw and slid ably engaging said sleeve and extending into said pawl recess, the nut, upon certain turning movements of the screw, being shiftable slightly within said pawl recess to engage the pawl on either side of its axis of pivotal mountin to rock the pawl like section.

3. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having'a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screw turnably associated with the movable jaw unit and extending through said sleeve, a pawl formed with a recess, means operatively mounting the pawl within said sleeve for engagement and disengagement with said toothed portion including a longitudinal slot in said pawl and a pivot pin fixedly carried by saidsleeve and extendin through said slot, a travelling nut in threaded engagement with said screw and slidably engaging said sleeve and extending into said pawl recess, the nut, upon certain turning movements of the screw, being shiftable slightly within said pawl recess to engage the pawl on either side of its axis of pivotal mounting to rock the pawl in either direction for engagement and disengagement withthe toothed portion of the boxlike section, and yielding means interposed between the rear end of the nut and the adjacent portion of the pawl to urge the nut into contact with a portion of the pawl forwardly of its axis of pivotal mounting to normally effect a downwardly rocked position of the forward end of the pawl.

4. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screw turnably associated with the movable jaw unit and extending through said sleeve, a pawl formed with a socket, means operatively mounting the pawl within said sleeve for rocking engagement and disengagement with said toothed portion including a longitudinal slot in said pawl and a transverse pivot pin fixedly carried by said sleeve and extending through said slot, and a travelling nut in threaded engagement with said screw and slidably engaging said sleeve and extending into said pawl socket, said socket being of slightly greater length than said nut to permit limited lost motion of the nut relative to the pawl.

5. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screw turnably associated with the movable jaw unit and extending through said sleeve, a pawl formed with a socket, means operatively mounting the pawl within said sleeve for rocking engagement and disengagement with said toothed portion including a longitudinal slot in said pawl and a transverse pivot pin fixedly carried by said sleeve and extending through said slot, a travelling nut in threaded engagement with said screw and slidably engaging said sleeve and extending into said pawl socket, said socket being of slightly greater length than said nut to permit limited lost motion of the nut relative to the pawl, and yielding means in said socket between portions of the nut and pawl to take up said lost motion.

6. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screwturnably associated with the movable jaw unit and extending through said sleeve, a pawl formed with a socket, means operatively mounting the pawl within said sleeve for rocking engagement and disengagement with said toothed portion including a longitudinal slot in said pawl and a transverse pivot pin fixedly carried by said sleeve and extending through said slot, and a travelling nut in threaded engagement with said screw and slidably engaging said sleeve and extending into said pawl socket, said socket being of slightly greater length than said not to furnish limited lost motion of the nut relative to the pawl, the forward end of the nut being curved on a radius to permit the pawl to rock on its pivot pin without binding against the nut.

7. A vise, comprising a stationary jaw unit formed with an open box-like section having a toothed portion, a movable jaw unit formed with a sleeve slidably engaging said box-like section, a screw turnably associated with the movable jaw unit and extending through said sleeve, a pawl formed with a socket, means operatively mounting the pawl within said sleeve for rocking engagement and disengagement with said toothed portion including a longitudinal slot in said pawl and a transverse pivot pin fixedly carried by said sleeve and extending through said slot, a travelling nut in threaded engagement with said screw and slidably engaging said sleeve and extending into said pawl socket, said socket being of slightly greater length than said nut to furnish limited lost motion of the nut relative to the pawl, one end of the nut being curved on a radius to permit the pawl to rock on its pivot pin without binding against the nut, and yielding means in said socket between portions of the nut and pawl to take up said lost motion, shifting of the nut within the pawl recess occasioned by certain turning movements of the screw being efiective to engage the pawl on either side of its axis of pivotal mounting to rock the pawl in either direction for engagement and disengagement with the toothed portion of the box-like section.

BERTHOLD R. ZITNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 102,919 Crawley et al. May 10, 1870 380,734 Tobey Apr. 10, 1888 745,001 Coflleld Nov. 24, 1903 805,013 Hanlman Nov. 21, 1905 1,323,647 Peters Dec. 2, 1919 2,094,198 Warman Sept. 28, 1937 2,359,951 Warman Oct. 10, 1944

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