WO1986004291A1

WO1986004291A1 - Support for tools and instruments

Info

Publication number: WO1986004291A1
Application number: PCT/CH1986/000010
Authority: WO
Inventors: Milenko JANUS^¿IC^´
Original assignee: Janusic Milenko
Priority date: 1985-01-25
Filing date: 1986-01-23
Publication date: 1986-07-31
Also published as: EP0211018A1; CH675980A5; EP0211018B1; ATE43275T1; DE3663469D1

Abstract

The new support comprises a bar (1), jaws (2) and an extremity part (3) at each end of the bar. The extremity parts hold together the jaws which are arranged between them. Said jaws are each formed by a band of elastic material curved with a U configuration. The ends of said bands form feet which are engaged in the bar (1). The feet are displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the bar so that the introduction of a tool or instrument between the two jaws causes their spacing and the uniform distribution of the pressure on all the jaws. The support is thus capable of receiving tools and instruments of different thicknesses and shapes and to safely hold them due to the pretensioning of the jaws and to the progressive elasticity of the flanks from the feet up to the curved medial portion.

Description

Holders for tools and devices

Technical field

The invention relates to a holder for tools and devices of various types and shapes, e.g. Household appliances, garden tools, writing and drawing tools.

Such a holder is usually attached to a wall or to a stand, and it has the task of keeping the tools or devices readily accessible and, on the other hand, of keeping them in a simple manner by using a tool or which is no longer required at the moment Can push the device back into it immediately.

State of the art

Holders of this type have been known for a long time. So far, it has been built up from a number of resilient gripping jaws, each of which is fixed, mostly made of spring steel, which can each accommodate and clamp a tool or device in or between each other. Common to these holders is the major disadvantage that they cannot be used universally, since a holder only fits for tools or devices of certain dimensions and thickness, allowing only slight deviations. Spring steel as the material of the gripping jaws also has the disadvantage that it damages, for example, scratches objects that are softer than itself, and that it often breaks once it is used frequently. The latter occurred all the more in executions, in which attempts had been made to replace spring steel with plastic, which is not surprising given its different elastic properties; The faster a plastic gripper jaw lost its elasticity and finally broke, the thicker the object inserted into or next to it, even if it had not been pulled out and inserted again by then. A proposal to slidably anchor the flank ends of plastic gripping jaws was not implemented because it had been shown that such gripping jaws tend to jump out when a tool or device is inserted or removed and have insufficient clamping force. After such experiences, further developments of this type would appear to be hopeless to the person skilled in the art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a holder mentioned at the outset which does not have the disadvantages mentioned above. This is achieved according to the invention in that it mainly consists of at least one rail, which has a constant cross section in its longitudinal direction, and a plurality of gripping jaws, between which the tools or devices can be inserted, in that the gripping jaws are each formed from a strip of elastic material, the foot adjusts at both ends into a rail that engages in it and can be displaced in its longitudinal direction and is bent into a U-shape and inserted into the rail with both feet, so that the gripping jaws on its flanks and towards the feet are elastically more flexible are as in its curved middle part, and that the rail and the gripping jaws are designed so that the latter can not jump out of the rail under the normal use.

If you insert an object, be it a tool or a device, between two gripping jaws of the new holder, all gripping jaws give way by moving apart in the longitudinal direction of the rail thanks to their movability. So it happens that thin and thick, wide and narrow, straight and curved objects can be inserted, all of which are held without any part of the gripping jaws being pressed together more than others. The

The change in shape and stress is consequently divided evenly between the gripping jaws and therefore remains within moderate limits, so that the gripping jaws can be formed from relatively strong strips without the risk of breakage and with feet attached to them, which are solidly designed and integrated into the strips , so that they can never be torn out of the rail during use. In use, they cannot be swiveled out of the engagement in the rail, because the feet located on both ends of the U-shaped gripping jaws are not approached to one another to a mutual distance of zero, because, owing to the solid design of the gripping jaws, they are not or not substantially individually swiveling, ie are not rotatable against each other, and because all gripping jaws of a holder are always directly or indirectly under tension against each other and hold each other in their intended position, making twisting of individual gripping jaws impossible. A secure guidance and holding of the gripping jaws or the feet at their ends in the rail is thus guaranteed in any case. Thanks to the increasing elasticity of the gripping jaws on the flanks towards the ends, an object inserted between them snaps into place, so that it is held securely between the gripping jaws without great compressive forces.

Under these circumstances, the gripping jaws can be made not only of spring steel, but also advantageously of plastic instead; the latter treats inserted objects more gently and has a longer lifespan, thanks to the properties of the new Haltar mentioned earlier, which protect the material and if you know how to use the possibilities of plastic technology. For the rail, however, is some metal, e.g. Light metal, the most practical material, since it is unyielding even with a small wall thickness under the loads given here.

The means of manufacturing the new holder would have been available many years ago, there is no doubt that the need for it was there, and it is surprising that the professional community did not focus much earlier on the distributed and simple solution has come according to the invention.

Basically, there is the possibility that the gripping jaws - then e.g. T-shaped - grip the rail with your feet, and the further possibility that the rail grips the feet. Assuming gripping jaws made of plastic and the rail made of metal, the latter option is more expedient because it leads to a secure fit of the gripping jaws without any special effort. An advantageous embodiment of the rail for this is that it encloses a rectangular cross-section, and that it has on one side of the rectangle for receiving the gripping jaws an opening which runs along the rail and is uniformly wide in this direction and which is narrower than the relevant side of the rectangle. You could call this a box profile with a longitudinal slot on one side, similar to what you would find on some curtain rods, or a U-profile with legs bent inwards.

The rail can be straight or curved in its longitudinal direction, so that it only rests against a flat wall at its ends. Appropriately, at each end of the rail, an end piece which snaps and / or is screwed into place is provided, which holds the gripping jaws together in the rail. Furthermore, it may It is useful if the rail is provided with a flange on at least one side or with corresponding eyes for attachment to a wall.

When using plastic for the gripping jaws, their clamping force has certain limits, because the thickness of the strips which form the gripping jaws cannot be increased arbitrarily without the risk of breakage. Nevertheless, plastic gripping jaws can be made suitable for heavy and heaviest tools and equipment by placing a compression spring between the feet of each gripping jaw to increase their clamping force. This can be guided by the rail and / or by pins protruding from the gripping jaws in the area of their feet. On top of that, the strips from which the gripping jaws are formed can be made thicker in the area of the feet, so that they are securely anchored in the rail is secured even under the heaviest loads.

Another form of training of the new holder is particularly advantageous for small tools and devices, also for writing utensils. With it, the rail has a self-contained, for example circular or elliptical shape - of course, the aforementioned end pieces are then omitted -; this embodiment is intended for attachment to a stand, as is known or obvious in many variants. The stand with the holder can then be placed on a desk, a kitchen table or a workbench, for example, and the stand can be designed in a known manner so that the holder can be rotated thereon. If you do not clamp or screw the stand onto its base, it is by no means inevitable that it will be shifted or knocked over too easily when inserting or removing an object. which allows you to hold back when inserting and pulling out a tool or device with the same hand. When inserting, you reach with one finger behind the edge of the handle, and when pulling it out, you hold against it by pressing with one finger from the outside against the edge of the handle while the other fingers of the same hand grip and pull out the object. Even when the cross-section of the strips forming them remains the same, the gripping jaws on their flanks and feet are increasingly elastically more flexible than in their curved middle part. This effect can be intensified by providing a greater section modulus in the middle part of the strips of elastic material forming the gripping jaws than at both of their end sections forming the legs of the U-shape. Then it can be advantageous to achieve the greater section modulus in the middle by making the strips wider there; the gripping jaws then form a trough on the holder, into which narrow objects can be placed briefly without them rolling and falling down.

If the strips forming the gripping jaws are made of plastic, it should be noted that they have to withstand constant bending and frequent changes in shape without losing their tension or breaking over time. According to the current state of plastics technology, polybutylene, a vinyl-ethylene copolymer or thermoplastic polyurethane are particularly suitable for this, and preferably using injection molding technology and are produced in such a way that the material flow during spraying takes place transversely to the later bend, that is to say in the longitudinal direction of the strips. These can be prefabricated in a flat shape, or already partially curved into the final U-shape, to which they are bent in the holder. The latter enables the use of other plastics, in which the full bending from the flat into the U-shape would lead to breakage sooner or later, or the use of particularly large wall thicknesses of the strips if one wants to achieve a correspondingly high clamping force of the gripping jaws.

In principle, the gripping jaws could also be produced in the finished U-shape, which they have inserted in the holder, in the opinion that the material and spraying technique can then simply be selected from the point of view of "as cheaply as possible". Apart from special applications for particularly light Tools or devices, but it would be a less good realization of the inventive concept, because the gripping jaws in the empty holder then have no prestress against one another, so that thin objects of some weight would not be held securely. In any case, it would then also have to be examined whether the material meets the requirements for the resistance and durability of the gripper jaw feet.

In general, for the reasons set out, no special training of the new holder for tools and devices of very different thicknesses and shapes is required, but this does not exclude that the person skilled in the art would be able to develop modifications of the new holder based on the teaching given here that are useful in special applications, or those that correspond to aesthetic considerations. This can involve the choice of shape and colors, or, for example, the additional equipment with a wanner-like covering, which covers and can be removed from the holder together with the tools and equipment held therein, separately or on an extension of the holder or by being inserted between to attach the left and right outermost gripping jaws.

Brief description of the drawings

The new holder is illustrated on the attached drawing sheet using some exemplary embodiments. Show there

1 a holder with a straight rail,

2 the same in side view,

3 the same in plan view;

4 and 5 a strip of straight shape, from which the gripping jaws are formed, in two views;

6 shows a strip for the same purpose, which is partially pre-bent;

7 a holder with a closed rail in a top view,

8 same in section A-A.

Ways of Carrying Out the Invention

1-3 shows a straight rail 1 with a flange 1 ', which forms a one-sided extension of the rail profile and has holes 1 "for fastening a wall or the like. The rail 1 is tightly sealed , held together by end pieces 3, gripping jaws 2 are used, which are formed by bending strips 2 'into a U-shape. The rail 1 encloses a rectangular cross-section, on one side of the rectangle for receiving the gripping jaw 2 a running in This direction has a uniformly wide opening, which is narrower than the rectangle side in question. The end pieces can be snapped in and / or screwed firmly at the end of the rail 1. The flange 1 'serves to fasten the rail 1 to a wall. The shape of the strips 2 ', as they arise from production, can be seen on a larger scale in Figures 4 and 5. There you can recognize feet 2a by which they form the U-shape of the gripping ba bent together, engage in the rail 1, as shown in Fig.1-3. Instead of the straight stretched strips 2 'of Fig.4 and 5 can also partially Pre-curved strips 2 "according to FIG. S form the gripping jaws 2, for which they also have feet 2a. If the clamping force of the gripping jaws is to be increased by a compression spring each, protruding pins 2b can be provided on the feet 2a of the strips 2" as Figure 6 shows; such pins can also be provided in the form shown in Figures 4 and 5, where they are not shown.

7 shows a top view, FIG. 8 in section, an embodiment of the new holder with a self-contained, here circular rail 4, in which the same gripping jaws 2 are inserted; however, they can also be kept smaller if this holder is used exclusively for holding e.g. of writing instruments. The rail 4 has an upwardly projecting grip edge 4 'for the purpose described above, while one on the rail 4 e.g. glued plate 5 is used for attachment to a stand, which is known in numerous designs and is therefore not shown, and which can be designed to be rotatable or to receive the plate 5 in a rotatable manner. In the holder with the rail closed in itself, the gripping jaws are pressed together in the longitudinal position and then rotated until they have the intended position transverse to the rail. This is also easily possible if almost all or all of the other gripping jaws have already been inserted; to do this, push them aside in the rail. This can also be done for straight rails after having already used their end pieces.

The strips 2 ', 2 "which form the gripping jaws 2 and are made of elastic material have a greater section modulus in their central part than at their two end sections which form the legs of the U-shape.

The strip 2 ′, 2 ″ forming the gripping jaws 2 is preferably made from polybutylene or from a vinyl-ethylene copolymer or from thermoplastic polyurethane.

Claims

Patent claims

1. Holder for tools and devices of various types and shapes, characterized in that it consists mainly of at least one rail in its longitudinal direction having a constant cross section [1, 4] and a plurality of gripping jaws [2], between which the tools or devices can be inserted that the gripping jaws [2] are each formed from a strip [2 ', 2 "] made of elastic material, which at both ends fits into the rail [1, 4], engages in it and is displaceable in its longitudinal direction [2a] passes over and bent into a U-shape and inserted with both feet into the rail [1, 4], that the gripping jaws [2] on their flanks and towards the feet [2a] are increasingly elastically more flexible than in hers arched middle part, and that the rail [1, 4] and the gripping jaws [2] are designed so that the latter cannot jump out of the rail under normal use.

2. Holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail [1, 4] encloses a rectangular cross-section, and that it has on one side of the rectangle for receiving the gripping jaws [2] a along the rail, uniformly wide opening in this direction , which is narrower than the relevant rectangle side.

3. Holder according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rail [1] is curved straight or arcuate in its longitudinal direction, and that at each end of the rail [1] a snap-in and / or screwable end piece [3] there is provided which holds the gripping jaws [2] together in the rail [1].

4. Holder according to claim 3, characterized in that the rail [1] is provided at least on one side with a flange [1 '] or with corresponding eyes for attachment to a wall.

5. Holder according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that to increase the clamping force of the gripping jaws [2] for heavy tools or devices between the feet [2a] of each gripping jaw, a compression spring is arranged, and that these guide them through the rail [1 , 4] and / or by pins [2b] protruding from the feet [2a].

6. Holder according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rail [4] has a self-contained, for example circular or elliptical farm and for Attachment to a stand is provided.

7. Holder according to claim S, characterized in that an upwardly projecting grip edge [4 '] is provided on the self-contained rail [4], which holds up when inserting and removing a tool or device with the same hand enables.

8. Holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripping jaws [2] forming strips [2 ', 2 "] made of elastic material in their central part have a greater section modulus than at their two end portions forming the legs of the U-shape.

9. Holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripping jaws [2] forming strips [2 ', 2 "] are made of polybutylene or from a vinyl-ethylene copolymer or from thermoplastic polyurethane.

10. Holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripping jaws [2] forming strips in flat shape [2 '] or already partially curved to the final U-shape are prefabricated [2 "] to which they are bent together in the holder.