US2578985A - Screen wire tongs - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1951 J scHMlDT 2,578,985

SCREEN WIRE TONGS Filed July 9, 1948 9 Philip J. Schmidt A INVENTOR.

9 Fig. 3. BY MWawqfi-M Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCREEN WIRE TONGS Philip J. Schmidt, East St. Louis, Ill. Application July 9, 1948, Serial No. 37,917

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved hand tool which may be conveniently and more specifically entitled screen wire tongs, the latter serving as a highly useful and practical instru mentality for grasping an edge portion of a piece of screen wire in a manner to pull and stretch same so that it may be held sufliciently taut for satisfactory tacking to a frame, for instance, the frame of a window screen or a screen door.

Needless to say, I am aware that a number of pliers-like screen Wirestretching tools are already patented. Therefore, in carrying out the principles of the present invention, I contemplate the provision of a more practical and satisfactory structure which, compared to prior patents, is more aptly suited to attain the desiredends.

Briefly, and in carrying out the principles of the invention, I have evolved and produced a structurally distinct hand tool characterized by a novel coordination of levers having satisfactory screen wire gripping jaws and a pair of simple opposed handles which, when grasped and brought together, serve to simultaneously grasp and pull the wire while the tool, in turn, is shifted in relation to the frame to obtain the desired degree of tautness before the wire is fastened.

One phase of the invention has to do with a pair of primary levers, one short and one long, the levers being crossed and pivotally connected together and provided at corresponding ends with gripping jaws, the long lever providing one of the handles and the short lever providing a support for a third or slack takeup lever, the latter including the necessary second. handle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a handle-equipped, L -shaped lever for slack takeup and fulcruming purposes, the same having a novel, laterally offset thrust finger to bear against the margin of the screen frame and said lever providing the shifting support for the aforementioned long and short primary levers.

Novelty is also predicated upon the L-shaped slack takeup lever as a new article of manufacture and upon the pliers-like, screen-gripping tool by itself and in conjunction with said slack takeup lever.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing screen wire tongs constructed in accordance with the final step during which the screen wire is stretched, is made taut and ready for tacking;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the structure seen in Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a view at right angles, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings, the screen frame, which may be that of a window screen or screen door or the like, is denoted by the reference character A and the screen wire or other equivalent fabric is denoted at B.

. The tool may be visualized as constituting two tools in one; namely, a pliers-like, jaw-equipped two-lever tool for gripping the screen wire and pulling it, and a slack takeup or prying tool for rendering the first tool effective and then shifting it bodily to stretch and tauten the wire.

The first-named tool comprises a short lever unit 6 and a complemental long lever unit 1, these being the aforementioned primary levers. The lever portion 8 of the unit 6 is relatively short and longitudinally bowed and provided at one end with longitudinally spaced bolt holes 9 to accommodate an adjustable assembling and pivoting bolt [0. The opposite end portion of said lever is laterally offset, as at H, and provided with a suitably shaped jaw [2 to grip one face of the wire. The lever portion 13 of the long lever unit 1 is superimposed upon and crosses the lever B where it is pivotally attached to the latter, as at M. The left hand end portion of lever l3 i offset, as at l5, and terminates in a jaw l6 which is a duplicate of the jaw I2 and is opposed thereto and adapted to grip the opposite or adjacent face of the wire. The remaining portion of the lever is in the form of an elongated handle ll.

The slack takeup lever means is denoted by the numeral I8 and this is an L-shaped unit and includes an elongated handle portion I9 which corresponds to the handle [1. This is the socalled long limb of the L-shaped lever. The short limb 20 is ofiset, as at 2|, to provide a fulcruming finger 22 which terminates in a tapered rocker or cam 23. The latter is adapted to rest against the marginal outer edge of the screen frame in an obvious manner. The offset fulcruming finger is disposed in crossed relation with the lever l3, and in fact has swingable wiping contact therewith. The degree of offset is such that the finger 22 lies in the same plane as the lever 8. Thus, the handles 11 and [9 are directly one above the other. The angular portion, that is, the junctural portion between the long and short limbs, is apertured and hingedly mounted on the assembling bolt I0. All of the levers are proportioned and shaped as shown to accomplish the desired ends.

In practice, the screen wire is placed between the jaws I2 and I6 and the cam terminal or tip 23 of the finger is brought to bear against the edge of theframe A, as shown in Figure 1. Now, by grasping and squeezing the two handles l9 and I! together, they take the approaching posi-, tions seen in Figure 2 and this closing of the V handles serves to grip the jaws and also shift the pliers-like toolbodily While the slack. takeup tool or lever I8 is rocked in common c'row' bar fashion.

In view of the foregoing description talgen in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A.more detailed description is accordingly deemedunnecessary. Y

It is to be understood, however. that even though there is herein shown and described-a preferred embodiment of the invention, thesarne is susceptible' to. certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claims. a l w i Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. Screen wire tongs for single-handed use comprising a relatively lorfg lever having a handle at one end and a jaw at its opposed end, a relatively short lever crossing and-pivotally connected intermediate its ends with said' first lever and having a jaw. opposed to said firstnamed jaw, and a third L-shaped lever pivotally and adjustably connected with said short lever, having, at one end, a handle opposed to and co r' responding 'with said first mentioned handle,-

and having at its opposite end a, fulcruming' and thrust finger crossing and in wiping contact with said long lever.

2. A hand/tool for grasping, stretching and tautenlng screen'fabric or the like comprising a short longitudinally curved lever having a laterally ofiset jaw at one end and an adjustably mounted assembling and hinging bolt at its opposite end, a complemental and relatively longer lever having a laterally offset jaw at one end and an elongated handle at its opposite end, a portion of said last-named lever, adjacent to said jaw, crossing and being pivotally connected to the jaw end of said short lever, and a third lever, the latter being l -shaped and hingedly connected, at the juncture of its long and short limbs with said bolt, the long limb defining a, handle opposed to said first handle and the short limb functioning as a thrust finger.

'3. Screen wire gripping and stretching tongs having. but two handles for single-handed operation comprising a pair of crossed pivotally connected levers terminating at corresponding ends and to. one side the pivotal connection in opposed wire gripping jaws, and a third lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to one of said first named "levers, said third lever terminating nection with the latter lever, said latter lever having a handle and said third lever also having a corresponding handle and both handles being in opposed alignment for convenient use, said fulcr'urning element being laterally offset, in movable wiping contact with said latter lever and in a plane with said first-named lever.

PHILIP J. SCHMIDT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Number Name Date 179,439 Wilhelm July 4, 18.76 932,650 Totten Aug. 31, 190.9

1,156,597 Hanson Oct. 12, 1915, 1,268,626 Robertson June 4-, 19.18 1,407,898 Stewart Feb. 28,, 1922, 1,929,600 Milton Oct. 10, 1933,

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