US2926410A

US2926410A - Safety clamp

Info

Publication number: US2926410A
Application number: US607533A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert F Normandin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-08-31
Filing date: 1956-08-31
Publication date: 1960-03-01
Anticipated expiration: 1977-03-01

Description

March 1, 1960 R. F. NORMANDIN 2, 2

SAFETY CLAMP Filed Aug. 51, 1956 IN VENT OR ATTORNEY The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improvement in clamps for releasably joining layers of cloth fabric or the like.

An important object of this invention is to provide a new and improved clamp for joining layers of cloth lying in the same plane but orientated in various directions within the'plane such as occurs with achilds diaper and a tab extending from the lower edge of the childs undershirt.

Another object is to provide a new and improved clamp having a shape which is unlikely to pass through a childs esophagus and therefore unlikely to be swallowed by the child.

A further object 'is to provide a'new"'and improved clamp having a rounded body which allows it to rollwith irritation of the skin. A further object is to provide a new and improved quickly releasable clamp with a minimum of projections nitude of which may be varied or controlled by the user of the clamp.

Other objects, capabilities and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description wherein reference is made to thee-Facin which like numerals are, used to designate like parts. throughout the same and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing layers of cloth being clamped thereby;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the clamp shown in Figure l,

Figure 3 is an end elevation view of the clamp shown in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along line 4-4 of Figure'3, l Figure 5 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1, e I Figure 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention showing layers of clothbeing clamped thereby,

Figure 7 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 6 on an enlarged scale,

Figure 8 is a. plan .view of this embodiment showing nited 311M655 Patfif retained Mar. 1,1960

means for limiting movement in one direction of portions of the movable clamping means,

Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section taken along line 10-10 of Figure 7, and

' plane of a'line corresponding to the line 1111 in Figure 8.

Referring now to the drawing wherein for the purpose of illustration, Figures 1 through 5 show a preferred em; bodiment of the invention, the improved clamp of'the present invention comprises a body portion generally designated by the number 12 which is preferably formed from a unitary section of clear plastic or lightweight metal and a movable clamping member, preferably of the samematerial, designated by the numeral 13., v The clamp body 12 comprises a generally U-sha'ped. portion defining generally parallel opposed legs 14 and 15, of substantially rectangular cross section, joined at. one end by an arcuate portion 16 as shown in Figures 1 and 3 which isalso of rectangular cross section as'shown:

in Figure 4. i The inner surface of this arcuate portion to be clamped. The free ends of said legs 14 and 1 5 have opposed arms or

projections

18 and 19 extending: therefrom in the same direction 'andin parallel planes at: approximately a right angle with said legs as shown im Figures 2 and 4 so as to define fixed jaws disposedina the body movements of the wearer and doesnot cause opposed spaced relation. These arms are preferably of.

equal length and of generally rectangular cross section: gradually decreasing in thickness toward their free ends. It will thusbe seen that the clamp body 12 comprises duplicate body members each conformed to define substantially right angularly disposed portions interconnected at a single region remote from the juncture of the angu larly disposed portions so that the angularly extending

portions

18 and 19 form fixedly spaced jaws.

The opposed inner surfaces of the legs 14 and -15 and fixed

jaws

18 and 19 with the exception of the surfaces forming terminal enlargement 17 are preferably provided with a friction surface such as the serrations 20 shown in Figures 1 and 4 of the drawing to improve the grip-- V ping action of the clamp on the cloth or like material to companyingdrawing, forming a part of this application,

be clamped. I

The movable clamping member 13 may be similar to a flat headed machine screw or the like and it is threaded into an aperture in the fixed jaw 18. At its'inner end,

m the clamping member 13 is preferably slightly upset-as best shown in Figure 5 after being threaded into jaw 18 to prevent its inadvertent disengagement therefrom. and to increasethe surface area thereof bearing against the materialj to be clamped.

In the operation of this embodiment of the present in% a vention, the movable-clamping member 13 is backed off- Ia'yers of cloth being clamped thereby withaportion of i'ng'the movable clamping means in'j noperatl ve position with;-'a portion of the body broken away to show" the which the clamping member is withdrawn prior to the sufficient-1y sothat the layers of material 22 to be clamped= may be'received in the space'between the fixed jaws 1-8 and 19, cajre'jbeing taken to make certain that some po'r tion of each layer of material to be clamped'lies inft'hat portion of the opening between the movable clamping member 13 and the portion of the fixed jaw 19.- opposed thereto; The clamping member 13 is then advanced toward jaw 19 by rotation thereof with respect to the; clamp body a sufiicient number of turns to-firmly en gage thejrnaterials 22 between said clamping member and the opposed surface of fixed jaw 19. It will be noted th at thi s clampin'g action may be achieved by relatively few turns of the clamping member 13 depending upon the thicknessof thematerials to be joined and the. extent to insertion of the materials. It should be further noted that the friction surface 20 affords additional strength to the gripping action of the clamp.

The release of materials being clamped is accomplished by merely withdrawing the movable clamping member 13 by turning same and removing the clamp from. the materials.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 6 through 10 includes aclamp body 23 and movable clamping means designated as an entirety by the number 24. Thetclamp body 23 is generally similar in construction to the clamp body 12 of the first embodiment of the invention and includes elongated arms or

jaws

25 and 26 and a generally U-shaped portion 27 interco'nnecting the

jaws

25 and 26 adjacent one end thereof and fixedly holdjugthe same in opposed spaced relation so that one face of jaw 25 is opposed to the corresponding face of jaw 26.

The movable clamping means 24 comprises a pair of

arms

28 and 29 both pivoted to swing independently of each other on a single pin 3t; anchored in the fixed jaw 25 at the end thereof connected to the U-shaped portion 27 as shown in Figure 7.

Arms

28 and 29 preferably are cast from a lightweight metal or may be formed from sheet metal of channel shape in cross section. Each of these arms has a bifurcated end for embracing the fixed jaw 25 and engaging upon the pin 30 (Figure 10) pivotally to connect these arms to the clamp body 23, the arm 28 being swingable in the space between the opposed faces of

fixed jaws

25 and 26 and the arm 29 being swingable toward and from the side of jaw 25 opposite its opposed face into and out of nested or jack'knifed relation with this opposite side as shown in Figures 8 and 9.

The first arm 28 has a portion 31 on its free. end of substantial extent disposed at an angle to the pivoted end thereof and conformed to be disposed in a plane approaching parallelism with the plane of the opposed face of fixed jaw 26 when this first arm is in operative posi-. tion so as to cooperate therewith in clampingmaterial to beheld by the clamp. This first arm thus constitutes the movable clamping member or jaw of'thisclarnp. Preferably the fixed jaw 25 is recessed to receive thesecond swinging arm 29 in nested or jackknifed relation, and this second arm has a locking lugo'r clip 32 formed thereon which is adapted to snap into and out of a complementary recess 33 in the fixed jaw 25 releasably to hold the swinging arm 29 in nested or jackknifed position.

Reacting between thefirst swinging arm or clamping jawZS and swinging arm 29 is-an expansion spring 34 which biases these two parts in opposite angular directions. This spring is housed in a pair of telescopically interconnected

tubular members

35 and 36, the member 35 being anchored to the swinging arm 29 and the member--36 to the Swinging jaw 28. These telescopic membersare of arcuate shape in an end-to end direction on a radius centered on the pivot pin '30 so that they will telescope without binding when the swinging jaw 28 and swinging arm 29 are rocked on therpin 30, and the fixed jaw 25 has an arcuate bore o'r passage through which the telescopic member 35 freely passes. To limit outward swinging movement of the swinging arm 29, theteleseopic member 35 is-provided with a bead 37 on its free-end for engaging on the bottom of'a counterbore 38 in the fixed jaw 25. Telescopic member 36 is of sufiieient length so that it'will'remain engaged in member 35 when swinging-jaw 28 and arm 29 are at the outer limit'to which they are movable from each other as-shown in 'Figure 9.

The opposed surfaces of fixed jaw 26 and swingable clamping jaw 28 are preferably provided with friction surfaces such as the serrations 39 shown inFigures 7, 8 and g of the drawing to improve the gripping action of the, lamp. on t ma ia s a ped. therein Inthe operation off this embodiment ofthe present invention, the arm 29 is first released from the fixed jaw 25 and; swingable clamping jaw 28 isdepressed in the direction of fixed jaw 25. The clamp is then positioned over the edges of the material 40 to be joined, this material being received in the space between the legs on the U-shaped portion 27 on the clamp body and the fixed jaw 26 and movable clamping jaw 28 in the same manner as in the operation of the first embodiment of the invention and as shown in Figures 6 and 8. Movable clamping jaw 28 is then released and engages the material to be clamped as shown in Figure 8. Swinging arm 29 is then returned to the nested or jackknifed position as shown in Figure 8 and thereby compresses the spring 34 causing the full biasing force of this spring to be exerted on clamping jaw 28 to increase the gripping action of the clamp to a maximum.

The release of materials being clamped is accomplished by merely reversing the steps of the clamping operation set forth above with the exception that it will frequently be found unnecessary to manually depress the movable clamping jaw 28 prior to removing the clamp from the material.

A modification of the embodiment just described, which is shown in Figure 11, includes a clamp body similar to the clamp body 23 and having a fixed jaw 25 corresponding to the jaw 25 on the clamp 23. A clamping jaw 28' is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 41 housed in an opening 42 in the fixed jaw 25' so as to be swingable in the same way as the clamping jaw 28 previously described. This swingable clamping jaw 28 is biased toward clamping position by a torsion spring 43 anchored at one end 44 in the swingable clamping jaw 28' and at the other end 45in the pivot pin 41, the spring being stressed to bias the swingable jaw 23' in the same direction that the jaw 28 of the previous embodiment is biased. The biasing force of the spring 43 is also applied to a swinging arm 29' similar to arm 29 tending to pivot it outwardly of fixed jaw 25' because the ends of pivot pin 41 are swaged or otherwise fixed to the swinging arm 29' as indicated at 46. In other respects this modification of the invention may be the same as that previously described, and it operates in the same manner. It should be noted, however, that the swinging arm 29 may be omitted from this embodiment of the invention by anchoring the pivot pin 41 to fixed jaw 25' by any suitable means whereby the clamping action of the invention will still be effective although the means for varying the biasing force will be limited to depression of swingable clamping jaw 28 by the user.

It is to be understood that the forms of invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A clamp comprising a body having a generally U- shaped portion defining spaced generally parallel legs and an elongated projection on each leg, the longitudinal axes of said projections being substantially normal to said legs and both of said projections extending in like directions from corresponding regions of said legs and in substary tially parallel planes so as to define fixed jaws disposed i-n-opposed spaced relation, and movable clamping means pivotally mounted in the first of said fixed jaws and including means-to move at least a portion of said movable clamping means toward and from clamping engagement with the second of said fixed jaws upon opposite pivotal movement of "said movable clamping means with a variable force controllable by the user of the clamp.

2. A clamp comprising a body including portions dc: fining elongated jaws and structure for fixedly holding said jaws in opposed spaced relation so as to define an unobstructed space between the opposed facesof the said jaws; a. ampi g ja p o y mounted po sa d b d andv includin aporti no s b t n i l extent in thespase between the opposed faces of said fixed jaws conformed to be moved toward and from the inner opposed face of the first of said fixed jaws upon pivotal movement thereof so as to cooperate therewith in clamping and releasing material to be held. by said clamp, an arm pivoted to swing outwardly of and to jackknife with the second of said fixed jaws on the side thereof opposite its opposed face, an expansion spring disposed between the contiguous sides of said pivoted jaw and pivoted armso as to bias the said pivoted jaw in a clamping direction and the said arm away from jackknifed position and means for locking said arm in jackknifed position and thereby increasing to a maximum the compression of said spring and the resultant biasing force exerted by the said spring against said pivoted jaw.

3. A clamp comprising a body including portions de-. fining elongated jaws and structure for fixedly holding said jaws in opposed spaced relation so as to define an unobstructed space between the opposed faces of the said jaws, a clamping jaw pivotally mounted upon said body and including a portion of substantial extent in the space between the opposed faces of said fixed jaws conformed to be moved toward and from the inner opposed face of the first of said fixed jaws upon pivotal movement thereof so as to cooperate therewith in clamping and releasing material to be held by said clamp, an arm pivoted to swing outwardly of and to jackknife with the second of said fixed jaws on the side thereof opposite its op-' posed face, an expansion spring reacting at opposite ends thereof against said pivoted jaw and said pivoted arm to bias the said jaw in a clamping direction and the said arm away from jackknifed position, means for releasably locking said arm in jackknifed position and thereby increasing to a maximum the compression of said spring and the resultant biasing force exerted by said spring against said pivoted jaw and means for limiting outward swinging movement of said pivoted arm.

4. A clamp'comprising a body including opposed structure defining at least one fixed clamping jaw and fixed structure opposed thereto, a pair of elongated arms swingable upon a common axis in the structure opposed to said fixed jaw including a first arm having a portion opposed to said fixed jaw and swingable toward and from the same upon pivotal movement of the first arm and a second arm swingable toward and from the first, the said portion of said first arm being adapted to cooperate with said fixed jaw to clamp or release material to be held by the clamp upon pivotal movement of the said first arm, arcuate telescopically interconnected tubular members centered about said common axis, one of said tubular members being fixed to the first of said arms and the other to the second of said arms, an expansion spring housed in said tubular members for biasing said arms in opposite angular directions, and means for releasably locking the second arm at a position at which the maximum efiective force of said spring is applied to said first arm.

5. A clamp comprising a body having substantially duplicate members having portions conformed to define clamping jaws and joined at one end thereof to define a clamp body having the configuration of an L in side elevation and a U in plan and end elevations, movable clamping means, and means to mount said movable clamping means in one of said clamping jaws to effect movement thereof toward and from the other of said clamping jaws, there being vertical displacement between said clamping means and juncture of said duplicate members to permit vertical adjustment of said clamp when used to clamp material.

6. In a clamp a body comprising a generally U-shaped portion having elongated generally parallel legs and an elongated lateral projection adjacent the free end of each leg respectively, the longitudinal axes of said lateral pro jections being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of said legs and said lateral projections being disposed in substantially parallel spaced relation so as to form opposed fixed jaws extending to one side of said U-shaped portion and free of attachment to each other, movable clamping means and means to mount said movable clamping means in one of said laterally projecting fixed jaws for movement toward and from the other fixed laterally projecting jaws including means controllable by the user of the clamp to vary the clamping force applied by the movable clamping means.

7. In a clamp a body comprising a generally U-shaped portion having elongated generally parallel legs and an elongated lateral projection adjacent the free end of each leg respectively, the longitudinal axes of said lateral projections being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of said legs and said lateral projections being disposed in substantially parallel spaced relation so as to form opposed fixed jaws extending to one side of said U-shaped portion and free of attachment to each other, one of said fixed jaws having a threaded aperture therein on an axis transverse to' the longitudinal axes of both of said fixed jaws and movable clamping means having a shank in threaded engagement with said aperture so as to be movable toward and from the other of said fixed jaws upon rotation of the said clamping means relative to said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 857,105 Patten June 18, 1907 893,517 Keller July 14, 1908 1,399,233 Williams et al. Dec. 6, 1921 1,815,006 Horsting et al July 14, 1931 2,354,610 Plosky July 25, 1944 2,405,525 Sherman et a1 Aug. 6, 1946 2,689,037 Knapp Sept. 14, 1954 2,803,119 Jellinek Aug. 20, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,050

Great Britain Jan. 13, 1912