US2533801A - Tweezers - Google Patents

Description

?atented Een. l2, 195@ anali UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE TWEEZERS William R. Heilig, Chcago,.il.

Application May 5, 1947, SerialNo. 745,925

4 Claims- (Cl. 12S-354) My invention relates to an improvement in tweezers andv has for one purpose the provision of tweezers for; picking up small articles, removing hair, or the like.

One object is the provision of such tweezers in which,` in response to the normal closing operation, a pair of opposedgripping membershave imparted to them a unitary sharp outward jerkingV movement.

Another purpose is the provision of improved trip` means for such. tweezers whereby, when a predetermined pressure is applied to the opposed tweezers members, they are jerked sharply backward in relation tothe tweezers handle as a whole.

Another purpose is the provision of improved means for guiding the movable tweezers members of a tweezers assembly.

Another purpose is to provide an improved housing; for such tweezers which protects the operating structure` without impeding its operation.

Another purpose is to provide a structure in which an outer housing cooperates with the tweezers mechanism during the normal operation of the device.

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specication and claims.

I illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention with the top plate removed;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2--2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a plan View illustrating the parts in different position; and

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 1 4 of Figure l.

Referring to the drawings, I illustrate a tweezers structure housed in a casing. The casing may be of a wide variety of shapes, but I illustrate a casing having opposite walls I and 2 lying in generally parallel planes, but preferably being youtwardly somewhat convex as at 3. One of the plates may include edge ilanges 4 and an end thickened portion 5. The two plates may be held together by any suitable means, such as screws 6 and l. The plates are also connected by pivot pins 8, 9, to which are pivoted lever members Iii, Il having exterior linger portions I2 and an inner cam I3. The parts are so proportioned that the finger portions I2 are exterior to the plates I and 2, which may be cut away or reduced, as at I4, the cut-away portions being separated by a forward extension I5 of insufficient length or width to interfere with manual manipulation of the levers Ill, il by manual engagement of the nger-pieces I2.

The tweezers structure is as follows: A guiding pin 20, headed as at 2l, is received in an aperture 22 in the base or end portion 5 of the plate 2. It may be adjusted by screw-threaded engagement with a nut 23, its end being channeled as at 2li to receiveA` a screwdriver or equivalent tool. The-tweezers structure smounted for longitudinal movement' in the pin 2li. It includes a frame element 25 apertured to ride on theV pin 2li and normally forwardly thrust therealong by thel coil spring 2li. The head 2i constitutes a forward limit for theA movement of the frame member 25.

Spot-welded or otherwise secured to the :arms 2'! of the frame 25 are tweezers elements 28; 29, of suitable spring stock, which terminate in the opposed grippingsurfaces St. At all positions of the-parts the ends of the tweezers members and 29 are exterior to the above described housing or container.

When the spring 2li is permitted its full expansion, as in Figure l, it urges the frame member 25 into position against the head il l. The enlarged, outwardly bowed portions of the tweezers jaws 26 and 29 then move the levers it, l l into the position in which they are shown in Figure l. The linger-engaging portions l 2 are fully exposed and available to the fingers of the user. The rod 26 may be suitably adjusted in the nut 23 to insure that the parts are in the proper position in which they are shown in Figure 1.

When the user wishes to use the device he merely draws the outer ends of the levers Ill, l I together by gripping with the fingers the nnger portions l2 of the two levers. The result is a camming action of the cam portions i3 of the levers along the opposed converging portions Ia of the tweezers jaws. The initial result is to force the opposed surfaces Si) together. Thereafter, a continued grip on the nger-pieces i2 of the levers I@ and iI results in a sudden snap action against the spring 2t. If the user positions the opposed gripping surfaces 3i) about a hair before or at the time he begins to squeeze in on the finger portions of the levers It, the result will be an initial gripping of the hair, followed by a sharpl jerk of the tweezers. The result is a quick and relatively painless removal of a hair.

It will be realized that whereas I have de scribed and shown a practical and operative device, nevertheless many changes may be made in size, shape, numberv and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit of my inventi'cn. I therefore wish my description and drawings to be taken as, in a broad sense, illustrative or diagrammatic rather than as limiting me to the specific structure or structures herein described and shown.

I claim:

1. In a tweezers device, a housing formed and adaptedrto serve as a handle, a gripping assembly slidably mounted within said handle, for movement along a generally rectilinear path, said gripping assembly including opposed gripping members which are movable in unison, yielding meansV adapted normally to hold said gripping assembly in extended position, an actuating assembly for initially moving the gripping members together into gripping contact and for thereafter sharply retracting the gripping assembly after the gripping members have reached gripping position, said actuating assenibiy including a pair of actuating members pivoted to and within the housing and extending outwardly oi the housing, and having exterior nngerV-receiving portions, each said actuating member being opposed to and being formed and adapted to contact one of the gripping members in camming relationship, said yielding means being adapted to permit such sharp retraction in response to the movement toward each other of the actuating members kabout and against theV gripping members.

Y 2. In a tweezers device, a housing formed and adapted to serve as a handle, a gripping assembly slidably mounted within said handle for movement along a generally rectilinear path, said gripping assembly Vincluding opposed gripping members which are movable in unison and a base, to which said gripping members are secured,

said base being located within said handle, means for guiding said base for movement along a pre- 4. determined limited path in said handle, means for normally urging said base toward one end of its possible movement along said guiding means, with the gripping members extending a maximum distanceoutwardly from said housing, and actuating members, movably mounted on said housing and adapted, whenV moved a predetermined distance toward each other, to cause a sharp retraction of the gripping members toward the interior of the housing. I

3.' The structure of claim 1, characterized by and including means for adjusting the initialV a sharp inward movement of said gripping members toward the interior of said handle, and means for normally holding said gripping members in outer and non-gripping position including a spring compressed between an inner sur face of said housing and said gripping assembly.

WILLIAM R. HEILIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:Y Y Y yUNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Number Heilig July 11, 1939

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