US2603495A - Device for clamping plumbers' snakes - Google Patents

Description

July l5, 1952 Filed March 25, 1948 lill/11W i J. s. HERMANSON 2,603,495

DEVICE FOR CLAMPING PLMBERS SNAKES 2 SHEETS-SHEET l FIG-l :inventor JAMES s.I HERMANso Fae-5 J. S. HERMANSON DEVICE FOR CLAMPING PLUMBERS SNAKES July l5, 1952 2 vSl-IEIETS--SHEET 2 Filed March 25, 1948 A. m F.

JAMES 4 s. HERMANSON Patented July 15, 1952 UNITED- sTATfE-s PATENT-f OFFICE 2 f 2,503,495 l DEVIQE v1?orwlgla.- ivufING BLUMBERS slxinKEfs *l -V Si. *Hel-manson;Seattle; Wash. n,

1 ApplicationMfarc-hzs,1948 SeriaiNo1e49e `V.` Myupresentdnvention relates to the Ageneral art ofl plumbers'tools andequipment; and'vrne're particularly; to; device for clampingI a plumbers Snake, v v

j Ever sine-ej the introduction ofA modern plumbing,r there( has always been'aeproblemo'f keeping that plrunbing'free of obstructions and the mest corlvenieifitmeans that has been found Ytevdate is tot employ 'what Sj' generally referred to as: a plunb'ers snake. This 'snake is made insueh a manner: that' :itl provides a long run of #ilexibjle vmaterial lthatl functions a'sk'aV hose might, 'lor 'fa' f lexiblewire mig-ht vin geingaround the various bendsoeeurringiin plumbing, anellstillv havev the power-'fte 'revolve cutters; or to employ hooks-or 'other' dervi/cesthat'can be used-for clearingout obstructions; beyond the normally occurring bends: "The, 'most satisfactory -s'nakes' of the 'present' Cla-yV use jare'those-that 'are formed: as continuous coils of= spring Wirel The-outl- 5 meterpf lehe snakes-varies somewhatand l er1 short runs, be as smalllas one-quarter tv ree#eigl-itl'xsy of an inch; however, Aonehal-f "ine-hf or'` slightly larger, usually cc'msidered about' VAthe Inost- "satisfa'etlory for extended use.

rMany@handlesandI otherv operative devices have been provided in theY past to raid-n-.Jthe handling of these plumbers snakles. In yseine instandes,l they; are merelyV ,a` handle that; grips thebody ofthe-snake; aswithv aset-serewtor thumb-screw, ortheymay take' on theormxof ag crank,-or vin af preferred. -forrn they may be Aeiner-the -form of a letterl S; Vor v-be yogee inushape. In-l uSe, ,-it- 1 is fvely desirable thatA lthe snakes yvlfr-ichvwhernselvesbecome soiledk from'ousescin sewers-and lthe likepshouldnotfbel sonused .as 'to dSgu-re -or ys'iIf-the AHooi-jez". `Walls;orffurliisl1-- ings;6f-` a '-home; for instance. Many ingenious arrangements have been provided to 1 in fsemef way 'vvrapup'for proteotthe snake lso thatitearmot f4() ljez'zo'rnev` a means for{soiling materialsl When-in use. Cljoth or canvas shielding' and covers .have *often* been k'employedfin' lthev past. Due -t'orthe stiffL and unwieldly nat-ure of Ithe' snakefit'selfgit hasj a tendency to Whipiorspread-unsanitary sewage* k,o'yer a" large area;4 Ga'reful` plumbers 'have tried to prevent.,thisrcondition' byA laying down' canvasfrcfovers "andi-theal'ike; vbut this! has "very inefl"etual,` partly because the' cover d froinLjLob-tozjob without cleaning and lalso Sarthe! Qvrie usedpnly Y0.11fthe-i151@ 11S nggjthe'Walls'iecpesed i I of ever, itpfmust' be r derstoodf that Yfor 1-'eel liiiiity'",a'iilumuerls spek ,j ien'mus'tjbeiffftyftgo one hundred feet long 'andi especially whensta'rting into y'vork on fan-A obstruction,v @ther exact Condition Aoffwll-ieh vis'Yu-r-ilenown, .theloperator has tocontend-v w-ith1 au large leoil ofthesnakei that isoutsideffe'f the plumbing ttings.v L'Further; it

Yis verydesiiable itl-lati thefsnake can.,belrevolved as? ii; 'isi forced into sr'nalll lpipes and. lthelike, ,as -it-l is lrr'iueheasierl so-"propel thelsame;` through and around the-fittings and the :like-if arrotary 'motion eanbe given to it.t.'This greatly-Veempl-ieatfes y the use lof the very. long,T snake; ,Y :Howe vev r--,i'n1my -p'resentfsnake handling-and housing arrangement; I fbelievefI have.. overcome .manyl of rthe dencienciesiof this .iequipment;l 'as shown byp'ast experience. C.: .4

My deviceconsists` essentiallyy er1- a housing vmember -largecenough so. thatfitifcan house a veoil Y of the plumbers snake; ofzithedesired vlength, andshave Ifchiszlhousing mounted in a revolvable `nflannerso.ftl'iefe as the need'aforprevolving .the

'snake becomes necessar-y, ,the Wholeacoil ,Gambe easily revolved.` as: af` unit; .p In Vvorder to;1;pb tain full useof my arrangement, 1 I find? :itfi desirable Ato.provideaaelainp means .so that'the snake vcan beelampedtto .thel'rousingv generally', `and ftha'tfa cranlnhandle beiprovded forrevolving 4it.v Further, Iilha've provided means, wherebyk myy Whole .devceffisgsntably ,mountedj,-so lthat/it eanbe slid .to land; .fra` around the1axis of; the pipe'gso thatlthepsnake :can be, propelledeinwardly'. or out- 'warcllyv while still-fixedl by4 the clamp mean .to v'the housing. s v *Y u 'fThefprincipal object of `mye,present further object; off invention im .addition tota housing for( ,a ,plumbelrelke means for, clamping..theY Snakein ari/'operative snake; through .a pipe or withdrawingthevesame whereV Aconsiderableiforce. is required in thegoper.- ationrwfl A further--bject-of l my vpresent inventionisato i rivets.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View of Fig. 2 takenalong the line 3-3 of that figure.

Fig. 4 is an end view of myV snake housing and its associated parts with a portion of the housing broken away to illustrate the manner' in which the snake is stored within the housing. t

Fig. 5 is an elevation with certain parts shown in section as would occur if a cutting plane werej passed along the line 5-5' of the Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure Ain the drawings, the numeral I designates the central unit of my device which forms the snake housing. The preferred form of making this unitV is to form it as twoy symmetrical halves as the saucer-like members I2 and I4. These are 4preferably secured together at their maximum periphery by the use of small machine screws or The two housing members I2 and I4 can be made in various ways, as by casting them of lighter weight metals or plastic, or by spinning them orV by pressing them out of sheet metal stock. From the standpoint of utility, the housing should be constructed as lightly .asA possible of two halves of adequate strength to resist distortion, considering the rough use thatequipment of this order must be designed to accept.

The cross-sectional form, as shown in Fig. 5 has been found to have many desirable -characteristics,"namely that a relatively large radius Vis employed Vin striking the curves for the inside of the housing members and, preferably, Vthe curvesas they join at point I6, complete a circle. When so arranged, there is a natural tendency for the snake S, being resilient andspring-like, to seek out the maximum diameter when entering the housing througha centrally disposed opening as I8, when the snake is brought more `and more into the housing. This spring action tends to make-the snake conform to a radius which is much greater than the radius of the housing members. The 'snake therefore tends to lie close to the shell and this makes for the most satisfactory stacking of the snake-'within the housing'. Inother words, it takes on.. the general principle of a coil of wire or ar coil of 'rope,fand as it is well known that a coil of rope pays out best from its center, so thesarne action is experienced with a snake. When the gen- "eral proportions referred to are maintained, the

equipment can be used over long periods without danger of anyV kinking or tangling of4 the coils of the snake within the housing.

Coaxially disposed with the axis of rotation of housing I0 are the strengthening flanges 20 and 2I. These'I prefer to secure by any convenient means to Ymembers I4 and I2, respectively and thus provide adequate support to the thin walls of Amembers I2 and I4 so that trunnions 2 3 and 24 may be xedly secured Vto the housingand revolve therewith. Trunnion 23 may be made of solid shafting or preferably, in the interest of lightness, `itshould-be tubing or pipe, as I' have illustrated. Secured to trunnion23rin1some convenientmanner is a crank,r having the Ycrank handle 26. In Fig. 5, I have illustrated this construction as being made out of pipe nipples and elbows. This is a convenient way, as adequate strength is achieved with the minimum of weight. As the tool must be constantly moved about by hand, weight is a very important facl tor.

Trunnion 24 on the opposite side of housing I0, must of necessity be tubular in form so that the "snake S Ymay pass through it.` Secured xedly The details of the structure embodied in clamp 30 1 to trunnion 24 is a snakeclamp unit 30.

l frame32 from turning on pipe 24, it should be xedly secured theretouas by welding or brazing. Tube 24 is cut away for substantially half its opening are best illustrated in Fig. 2'.

Pivotably secured within the confines of the upwardly extending portions 36 Vand 31 of frame 32 is the pawl lever 40. This lever should form a smooth oscillating t within the upright members SBand 37 and be pivotably secured as by the through rivet or bolt 42. In the head end of lever 40, I provide a guideway as 44 in which is slidably disposed the pawl block 46. This block should be of hardened material and should be knurled'or toothed at 48, so as -to provide a large area of contact for the engagement of snake S.

`This is an important factorin the construction vis so localized in one spot that a serious distortion of the snake occurs which ultimately,fwh"en it is repeated over and over again, soon destroys the, snake itself. I therefore have'found that the pawl block 46 should have considerable extent both'transversely and longitudinally so that en gagement with snake S can be distributed over suflicient area without requiring excessive pressure, but still hold the snake securely enough for all operational needs. The4 exact positioning of pawl block 46 within guideway 44 is adjustably maintained by the set-screw 50. Y

Pivotably secured, as at 52, to the opposite end of pawl lever 4 0 is the toggle lever and handle 54. In Figs. 1 and 5, I have illustrated this handle in its closed position, land in Fig. 2, it is in its open or released position. A In the released position, the hand grip portion 56V is substantially in the vertical position. The lower portion of handle 54, as shown in Fig. 2, is slightly bifurcated at 58, so that it forms a saddle which rides over and vis slidable upon tube 24. When pressure is applied to the hand-grasped portion Y56 of the handle, and it is revolved to the right as shown in Fig. 2, the saddle portion 58 lies upon tube 24, and the pivot point 52 is raised upwardly, which causes the pawl carrying end of lever 40 to move downwardly and securely grip snake S. rPhe exact amount of this gripping will be dependent upon the positioning of pawl 46,V by virtue of adjustment of the screw 50. It should always engage asnake sufficiently to hold it against the longirelationship to the pivo-t point 52, should be such that the actual bearing point of saddle 58 upon tube 24 will move it to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, beyond a vertical line through pivot 52; thus a locking toggle joint is provided and Ano keeper arrangement is then required.

It has been found that a copper or bronze bearing surface disposed directly below pawl 46 adds very materially to the gripping action of my clamp. In Fig. 3 I have shown such a surface at 51 formed preferably as the head of a rivet 59 which serves to secure frame member 32 to pipe 24.

In order to get maximum usefulness from 'my type of equipment, making it expedient to handle at all times, I provide bearings 60 and 6l in which trunnions 24 and 23, respectively, are revolvably mounted. Bearings 6I) and 6I are in turn supported by some suitable framework. Here again, it is desired that reasonable stability be taken as one element of the design as against the actual Weight which should be kept to a minimum. I have employed a double A frame construction, which is probably best illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, in that I have substantially identical end units 64 and 65, which support the frame and which, in turn, are tied together as by transverse cross-members 66and longitudinal cross-members 68. It is apparent that I have taken maximum advantage of the trussing permitted by the A frame design soas to have a light-weight unit, one that does not interfere with the operation of crank 26 or lock unit 30, and which in turn has suiicient spread at door level, to give a large measure of stability to the equipment. I have found it desirable to mount my A frame on runners, as 10 and 1l. The utility of these runners will be best understood in viewing Fig. 1. Here it will be noted that the snake S- is secured by clamp 30, and as the operator turns crank 26, he can at the same time turn, press inwardly, or pull outwardly on the snake, thus making it function in all ways as though he had direct hold on the snake, but with the great convenience and cleanliness which my equipment provides.

In operating my equipment, the plumbing xtures must be partially disassembled, as shown in Fig. 1, and then thel snake S with clamp 30 unlocked, can be pulled out by hand and entered into the plumbing fixture and be propelled by short strokes with the hand until resistance is encountered. At that time, the operator should engage clamp 30, and then by grasping handle 26, he can revolve the snake, and at the same time he can press forward on the entire device and thus feed the snake into the pipe with considerable applied force. This operation is commonly done in successive stages of short strokes, and that is one of the reasons Why it has been found that pipe 24 should be a reasonable length so that it is possible to have it close up against the pipe entrance when the stroke is completed and then, by releasing clamp 30, it can be pulled away from the pipe opening, as for instance at 15, as shown in Fig. 1, an amount which the operator from experience knows he can shove the snake into the pipe without fear of the unsupported portion kinking. The removal of the snake from the pipe is achieved in a reverse maneuver, it being necessary for short runs to unclamp and re-clamp the gripping member 30; however, it has been found that many times where the snake is being removed, the whole A frame and its supported assembly can be moved sometimes several feet, drawing the snake with it, and thus speed up the operation of withdrawing the snake.

As a convenience in carrying my housing Il) and further to provide means for hangingl the Whole unit to an overhead member, I provide a bail member 80. Bail has eyes at 8| and 83 adapted to fit loosely over pipes 23 and 24. In carrying or supporting my device the bail swings to a vertical position.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a device for operating and housing a plumbers snake.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

A clamp, for a flexible cable snake in a sewage pipe cleaning device, comprising: a housing having an opening therethrough to accommodate such snake; on one side of said opening a cuprous bearingmember; on the other side of said opening a pivotally mounted clamp lever; said clamp lever having a guideway aligned with said bearing member; a clamp jaw positioned in said guideway and slidable to move toward and away from said bearing member; screw means for adjustably positioningsaid clamp jaw in said guideway; a toggle locking lever pivotally connected to the other end of said clamp lever to move said clamp jaw toward said bearing member and to lock said clamp jaw in position; and said clamp jaw having a large clamp face with a plurality of tooth ridges spaced apart one from another transversely of such snake, each ridge being substantially straight and being parallel to the axisof such snake.

JAMES S. HERMANSON.

REFERENCES vCITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Aug. 7, 1925

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