Clamp assemblies and methods of use
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorAlvin J. Boeglin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A clamping assembly sized to clamp adjacent body panels of a vehicle together for an assembly operation includes a handle assembly including a handle that rotates in a first plane about a pivot location. A jaw assembly includes a first jaw structure that moves relative to a second jaw structure in a second plane parallel to the first plane. A linkage assembly operably connects the handle assembly and the jaw assembly using an actuation pin such that rotating the handle assembly in the first plane moves first jaw structure toward and away from the second jaw structure in the second plane between open and closed configurations by extending and retracting the actuation pin relative to the second jaw structure.
Claims20
A clamping assembly sized to clamp adjacent body panels of a vehicle together for an assembly operation, the clamping assembly comprising:
- a handle assembly comprising a handle that rotates in a first plane about a pivot location;
- a jaw assembly comprising a first jaw structure that moves in a line toward and away from a second jaw structure in a second plane parallel to the first plane by rotation of the handle;
- and
- a linkage assembly that operably connects the handle assembly and the jaw assembly using an actuation pin such that rotating the handle assembly in the first plane moves first jaw structure toward and away from the second jaw structure in the second plane between open and closed configurations by extending and retracting the actuation pin relative to the second jaw structure.
A method of holding a first body panel and a second body panel of a vehicle using a clamping assembly, the method comprising:
- placing the clamping assembly in an open configuration, the clamping assembly comprising:
- a handle assembly comprising a handle that rotates in a first plane about a pivot location;
- a jaw assembly comprising a first jaw structure that moves relative to a second jaw structure in a second plane parallel to the first plane;
- and
- a linkage assembly that operably connects the handle assembly and the jaw assembly using an actuation pin such that rotating the handle assembly in the first plane moves the first jaw structure in a line toward and away from the second jaw structure in the second plane between open and closed configurations by extending and retracting the actuation pin relative to the second jaw structure;
- placing the second jaw structure on the first body panel and the second body panel;
- and
- rotating the handle assembly to move the jaw assembly from the open configuration to the closed configuration.
A clamping assembly sized to clamp adjacent body panels of a vehicle together for an assembly operation, the clamping assembly comprising:
- a handle assembly comprising a handle that rotates about a pivot location;
- a jaw assembly comprising a first jaw structure that moves relative to a second jaw structure;
- and
- a linkage assembly that operably connects the handle assembly and the jaw assembly using an actuation pin, the linkage assembly comprising an arm actuation member that is pivotally connected to the actuation pin, the arm actuation member being slidably connected to the handle assembly within a gap between spaced-apart bushings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.