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US 5,305,978 AGranted
Arcuate compression clamp
AssigneeInternational Visual Corporation
InventorWayne Current
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A clamp useful as part of a sign holder which displays identifying characteristics of merchandize on a display rack support rod of circular cross-section. The clamp has an upper housing and a lower housing hingably connected together. The free ends of the housings engage each other as they are overlapped one over the other. When the upper and lower housings overlap, teeth on each are resiliently urged toward each other to engage each other to releasably lock the housings into any desired one of a plurality of relative rod encircling positions. Friction pads are urged by the upper and lower housings against the rod. The pads compress in response to increasing the amount of overlap by relative movement of the upper and lower housings. The clamp completely encircles the rod.
Claims11
An arcuate compression clamp useful for holding a sign on a support rod whose periphery is of generally circular cross-section, the clamp comprising:
- (a) an upper housing and a lower housing, said upper and lower housings each having a curved portion between which is defined a space to accommodate the support rod extending therethrough;
- (b) means associated with said upper housing for holding a vertical post of the sign;
- (c) means for hingably connecting each of said upper and lower housings at a corresponding end thereof which permits opposite free ends of said upper and lower housings to move relative to each other in a direction to selectively clamp or release the support rod extending through the space formed between said upper and lower housings;
- (d) releasable engaging means for selectively locking together said free ends of said upper and lower housings at any one of a plurality of relative positions thereof and for releasing the free ends from being locked at any of the plurality of relative positions thereof, said releasable engaging means including engaging elements which engage each other when said free ends of the upper and lower housings overlap each other the upper and lower housings being configured so that in response to a manual movement of the outer one of the overlapping free ends in a radially outward direction relative to the inner one of the free ends, the engaging elements separate from each other to release the upper and lower housings from being locked together;
- (e) at least one of said upper and lower housings comprising friction pad means for contacting the rod when the engaging elements are in engagement with each other in at least one of said relative positions thereof, said friction pad means being compressible from a relaxed state to a compressed state against the rod in response to increasing the amount of the overlap of said free ends of said upper and lower housing, the friction pad means being responsive to the engaging elements separating form each other, for resiliently returning to the relaxed state by expanding in the radially outward direction from the compressed state;
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- (f) handle means extending outwardly from each of said upper and lower housings and being arranged to allow said free ends of said upper and lower housing to be forced manually with one hand into any one of said relative positions and thereby lock together said free ends with said engaging means and to allow said free ends of said upper and lower housing to be forced manually with one hand to separate and thereby release said engaging means from locking said free ends of said upper and lower housing at any one of said relative positions, said handle means including a first handle element extending outwardly from said upper housing and a second handle element extending outwardly from said lower housing, said first and second handle elements being arranged relative to each other to be simultaneously grasped by one hand and then pushed in a circumferential direction toward each other with the one hand for locking together said free ends of said engaging means, said handle means including a third handle element extending outwardly from said upper housing and adapted to be pushed in a radial outward direction with the one hand for releasing said free ends from being locked together, said third handle element being closer to said free end of said upper housing than is said first handle element.
4 more elements
An arcuate compression clamp useful for holding a sign on a support rod whose periphery is of generally circular cross-section, the clamp comprising
- (a) an upper housing and a lower housing, said upper and lower housings each having a curved portion between which is defined a space to accommodate the support rod extending therethrough;
- (b) means associated with said upper housing for holding a vertical post of the sign;
- (c) means for hingably connecting each of said upper and lower housings at a corresponding end thereof which permits opposite free ends of said upper and lower housings to move relative to each other in a direction to selectively clamp or release the support rod extending through the space formed between said upper and lower housings;
- (d) releasable engaging means for selectively locking together said free ends of said upper and lower housings at any one of a plurality of relative positions thereof and for releasing the free ends from being locked at any of the plurality of relative positions thereof, said releasable engaging means including engaging elements which engage each other when said free ends of the upper and lower housings overlap each other, the upper and lower housings being configured so that in response to a manual movement of the outer one of the overlapping free ends in a radially outward direction relative to the inner one of the free ends, the engaging elements separate from each other to release the upper and lower housings from being locked together;
- (e) at least one of said upper and lower housings comprising friction pad means for contacting the rod when the engaging elements are in engagement with each other in at least one of said relative positions thereof, said friction pad means being compressible from a relaxed state to a compressed state against the rod in response to increasing the amount of the overlap of said free ends of said upper and lower housings, the friction pad means being responsive to the engaging elements separating from each other, for resiliently returning to the relaxed state by expanding in the radially outward direction from the compressed state;
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- (f) handle means extending outwardly from each of said upper and lower housings and being arranged to allow said free ends of said upper and lower housing to be forced manually with one hand into any one of said relative positions and thereby lock together said free ends with said engaging means and to allow said free ends of said upper and lower housing to be forced manually with one hand to separate and thereby release said engaging means from locking said free ends of said upper and lower housing at any one of said relative positions, said handle means including a first handle element extending outwardly from said upper housing and a second handle element extending outwardly from said lower housing, said first and second handle elements being arranged relative to each other to be simultaneously grasped by one hand and then pushed in a circumferential direction toward each other with the one hand for locking together said free ends of said engaging means said handle means including a third handle element extending outwardly from said upper housing and adapted to be pushed in a radial outward direction with the one hand for releasing said free ends from being locked together.
4 more elements
An arcuate compression clamp useful for clamping onto a rod shaped support, the clamp comprising:
- (a) an upper housing and a lower housing, said upper and lower housings each having a curved portion between which is defined a space to accommodate the support extending therethrough;
- (b) means for hingably connecting each of said upper and lower housings at a corresponding end thereof which permits opposite free ends of said upper and lower housing to move relative to each other in a direction to selectively clamp or release the support extending through the space formed between said upper and lower housings;
- (c) releasable engaging means for selectively locking together said free ends of said upper and lower housings at nay one of a plurality of relative positions thereof and for releasing the free ends from being locked at any of the plurality of relative positions thereof, said releasable engaging means including engaging elements which engage each other when said free ends of the upper and lower housings overlap each other, the upper and lower housings being configured so that in response to a manual movement of the outer one of the overlapping free ends in a radially outward direction relative to the inner one of the free ends, the engaging elements separate from each other to release the upper and lower housings from being locked together, said engaging means of said upper housing being arranged relative to said engaging means of said lower housing to keep said free ends locked together until manually released, said upper housing exhibiting a springy force which normally urges said upper free end radially inwardly to normally maintain said engaging elements locked together and said free end of said upper portion being adapted to be flexed outwardly, in opposition to said springy force, to release said engaging elements from being locked together;
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- (d) handle means including a first handle element extending outwardly from said upper housing and a second handle element extending outwardly from said lower housing, said first and second handle elements being arranged relative to each other to be simultaneously grasped by one hand and then pushed in a circumferential direction toward each other with the one hand for locking together said free ends of said engaging means, said handle means including a third handle element extending outwardly from said upper housing and adapted to be pushed in a radial outward direction with the one hand for releasing said free ends from being locked together, said third handle element being closer to said free end of said upper housing than is said first handle element.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.