Work holder with self-energizing friction lock

A workpiece holding device comprising

• fixed jaw means,
• a pair of guide rods extending through the fixed jaw means,
• movable jaw means mounted on the guide rods for movement toward and away from the fixed jaw means, and
• a clamping mechanism slidably mounted on the guide rods and connected to the movable jaw means, the clamping mechanism having a cam member rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the guide rods for selectively engaging the guide rods in self-clamping frictional locking relation, the cam member comprising a shaft, the shaft including a pair of recesses formed thereon, the recesses being dimensioned and configured to match the guide rod surfaces, and
• resilient connecting means provided for normally maintaining the cam shaft and guide rods in preselected relative positions providing a clearance therebetween to permit relative sliding movement of the clamping mechanism on the guide rods.

A workpiece holding device comprising

• a support having a flat work surface,
• a fixed jaw secured to the support,
• a pair of parallel guide rods extending through the fixed jaw for sliding movement parallel to the work surface,
• a pair of jaws mounted on the guide rods on the opposite sides of the fixed jaw for movement toward and away from the fixed jaw, and
• a clamping mechanism slidably mounted on the guide rods and connected to one of the movable jaws, the clamping mechanism having a cam shaft rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the guide rods for selective engagement therewith in self-clamping frictional locking relation,
• the cam shaft including a pair of recesses formed thereon, the recesses being dimensioned and configured to match the guide rod surfaces, and
• resilient connecting means provided for normally maintaining the cam shaft and guide rods in preselected relative positions providing a clearance therebetween permitting relative sliding movement of the clamping mechanism on the guide rods.

A workpiece holding device comprising

• a support having a flat work surface,
• a fixed jaw secured to the support,
• a pair of parallel guide rods extending through the fixed jaw for sliding movement parallel to the work surface,
• a pair of movable jaws supported on the guide rods for movement toward and away from the fixed jaw,
• the movable jaws in a clamping condition each being engageable with a workpiece sandwiched between that movable jaw and the fixed jaw,
• a cam lever mounted for sliding movement on the guide rods,
• a cam shaft fixed to the cam lever for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the guide rods for selectively engaging the guide rods in self-clamping frictional locking relation,
• a clamp handle mounted on the cam lever for pivoting movement between a ready position and a clamping position,
• the cam shaft and guide rods being in preselected relative positions providing a clearance therebetween when the clamp handle is in its ready position,
• the cam shaft and the guide rods providing a drive connection upon their being engaged in said self-clamping frictional locking relation upon movement of the clamp handle from its ready position,
• the clamp handle engaging one of the movable jaws upon displacement from said ready position for moving the cam lever and cam shaft to automatically effect said frictional locking action which progressively increases responsive to advancement of the clamp handle toward its clamping position,
• said advancement of the clamp handle toward its clamping position serving to apply force couples through said drive connection provided by the cam shaft and the guide rods to deflect the guide rods to drive the movable jaws downwardly into fixed abutting engagement with the support.

A workpiece holding device comprising a support having a flat work surface of a given size suitable for fixturing a multiplicity of parts,

• a first series of movable jaws being arranged on the support in side-by-side relation,
• a second series of movable jaws being arranged on the support in side-by-side relation,
• the individual jaws of each series being in spaced opposed alignment with the individual jaws of the other series and forming a plurality of pairs of movable jaws,
• a pair of guide rods supporting each pair of movable jaws, and
• a unitary elongated jaw fixed to the support and extending substantially the full length of the support, the fixed jaw having a plurality of apertures therethrough for receiving the guide rods of each of the pairs of movable jaws for sliding movement,
• the number of apertures in the fixed jaw being greater than the number of operating rods, and
• the apertures in the fixed jaw being uniformly spaced apart, whereby the pairs of movable jaws of a given width may be replaced with other pairs of movable jaws of a different width, the distance between centers of the guide rods of the different pairs of movable jaws being uniform and corresponding to the spacing between centers of the apertures in the common fixed jaw shared by the multiple pairs of movable jaws.