US2955820A

US2955820A - Article aligning fixture with quickacting clamping devices

Info

Publication number: US2955820A
Application number: US714413A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard D Berg
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1958-02-10
Filing date: 1958-02-10
Publication date: 1960-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1977-10-11

Description

R. D. BERG 2,955,820 ARTICLE ALIGNING FIXTURE wrm QUICK-ACTING CLAMPING DEVICES Oct. 11, 1960 Filed Feb. 10. 1958 ARTICLE ALIGNING FIXTURE QUICK ACTING CLAMPING DEVICES Richard D. Berg, Westchester, Ill., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 714,413

3 Claims. Cl. 269-155) This invention relates to an article-aligning fixture and more particularly to a fixture having quick-acting devices for latching and clamping articles thereto.

An object of the present invention is to. provide a holding device for'eifecting a quick latching and clamping engagement between itself and an article.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an aligning fixture having quick-acting devices thereon for latching and clamping an article thereto.

With these and other objects in view, the invention contemplates a member for supporting a first component of a composite article and having means for aligning the first component and a second component applied to the first. Latching and clamping .devices are provided on opposite ends of the member for holding the first component and the member together and each device includes a hooked latch engageable with the first component and pivotally mounted on one end of a lever which is pivotally secured intermediate its ends on the member and has a thumb screw threadedly mounted in theother end thereof for actuating the lever, whereby after the fixture and the first component are brought into engagement with each other and the latches are hooked over the first component, the thumb screws may be turned to actuate the levers and move the latches toward the member to clamp the first component thereto.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description thereof and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the aligning fixture with clamping devices embodying the invention and showing in dotted lines components of an article to be assembled thereon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the aligning fixture and clamping devices and showing the components of the article in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the fixture taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and showing in dotted lines the components of the article to be assembled thereon;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view of the aligning fixture and clamping device taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the fixture taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a fixture selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention has articlealigm'ng elements thereon and is used for aligning a plate component 12 and a hollow rectangular component 14 in a predetermined position relative to each other preparatory to securing the components to each other. The fixture 10 comprises a base member 16 in the form of a bar having a fiat upper surface in engagement with the plate 12 and having a pair of upwardly directed aligning pins 17 engageable in apertures in the plate 12 for 10- cating the plate in a predetermined position on the member 16. A gage 18 on the member 16 extends upwardly through a central aperture in the plate 12 and United States Patent F 2,955,820 Pareated Oct. 11, 1966 has end elements 19 andra side surface 20 engageable with the end walls and a rod 21, respectively, of the component 14 to locate the component in a predetermined position on the plate 12. During the assembly of the

components

12 and 14, the plate component 12 is supported along opposite longitudinal edges thereof on a pair of standards 22 (Figs. 1 and 3) and the fixture is applied to the underside of the plate 12. V

A latching and clamping device 24 is provided at each end of the base member 16 for effecting the ready attachment of the fixture to the plate 12, or vice versa, and the quick clamping of the plate 12 to the base member '16 of the fixture. Each of the devices 24 is disposed in an aperture 25 in the end portions of the member 16 and comprises an upstanding latch 26 pivotally connected at its lower end by a pin 28 to one end of a lever 30.

This lever is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a pin 32 secured tothe member 16. A thumb screw 34, threadedly mounted in a threaded aperture 35 in the other end of the lever, has an end engageable with an abutment portion 36 of the member 16 and has an enlarged head 38 by means of which it may be turned to actuate the lever. The upper end of the latch is hook shaped and has a sloping cam surface 40 by means of which the latch is oscillated outwardly by the plate 12 as the plate and the fixture 10 are brought together, and the latch 26 has a shoulder 41 engageable with the upper surface of the plate 12 for holding the plate 12 against movement away from the base member 16. The lever 30 is Z-shaped as viewed from the side (Fig. 4) and has a recess for supporting a spring 44 which urges the latch 26 into a normal position'in the-path of movement of the plate component 12 and for yieldably maintaining the latch in locking engagement therewith. A spring 46, supported in a recess in the abutment portion 36 of the base member 16, stresses the lever 30 for rotation tending to raise the latch to a normal operative position.

In the operation of aligning the

components

12 and 14, the plate component 12 is positioned horizontally on the upper end of the supporting standards 22 and the aligning fixture 10 is positioned beneath the plate component 12 and raised into engagement therewith to cause the gage 18 of the fixture to project through the central aperture of the plate 12, the pins 17 to engage the aligning perforations in the plate 12, and the latches 26 to be cammed outwardly and snapped into latching engagement with opposite edge portions of the plate 12. With the latches 26 latched onto the ends of the plate component 12, the fixture is loosely interconnected therewith. The operator may then turn the thumb screws 34 to rock the levers 30 which move the latches 26 downwardly and cause them to pull the plate 12 and the memher 16 into firm clamping engagement with each other. The arrangement of the parts issuch that the thumb screws 34 need be turned through only a relatively small movement, less than one revolution, to eifect the clamping of the plate 12 to the base member 16.

Although the quick-acting latching and clamping device 24 is disclosed herein as being applied to an aligning fixture, it is manifest it may be applied to or form a part of various fixtures for latching and clamping parts thereto. It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of this invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and'fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for clam-ping an article, a member to which the article is to be clamped, a lever pivotally supported intermediate its ends on said member, a latch pivotally mounted at one end to one end of the lever and