Rod gripping jaw
AssigneeEarth Tool Company, L.L.C.
InventorsSteven W. Wentworth, Robert F. Crane
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved jaw for a rod gripping device is provided including a front, rod engaging face with a plurality of teeth or studs made of a material harder than the jaw body, such as tungsten carbide, with the studs positioned to engage an outer rounded rod surface. In one embodiment, the studs are oriented radially inward toward a longitudinal axis defined by the rod engaging surface. The rod engaging face of the jaw may have a concave shape in its lengthwise direction, thus being adapted to grasp a cylindrical member such as a rod or pipe section. A tool for gripping a rod including a pair of jaws is also provided.
Claims14
A jaw for a device for gripping a cylindrical object comprising:
- a jaw body having a recessed front face, the front face comprising a plurality of spaced apart cylindrical apertures, the cylindrical apertures comprising blind holes configured for receiving a plurality of studs;
- a plurality of studs, each of which being positioned in one of the apertures, each of the studs having a cylindrical bottom portion and a conical upper portion formed at an included angle of from about 30° about 120° centered on the stud axis to form a tip for engaging a cylindrical object, each of the tips being formed from a material having a hardness greater than the jaw body and sufficiently hard to penetrate and grip the outer surface of a cylindrical steel pipe.
An apparatus for gripping a cylindrical steel object, comprising:
- a pair of opposing jaw bodies each having a front face with a recess extending in its lengthwise direction spanning opposite edges of the front face, the recess having a uniform concave shape along its length, each of the opposed front faces comprising a plurality of spaced apart cylindrical apertures, each of the cylindrical apertures comprising a blind holes for receiving a stud;
- a plurality of studs, each of which being positioned in one of the apertures, each of the studs having a cylindrical bottom portion and a conical upper portion formed at an included angle of from about 30° about 60° centered on the stud axis to form a tip for engaging a cylindrical object, each of the tips being formed from a material having a hardness greater than the jaw body and sufficiently hard to penetrate and grip the outer surface of a cylindrical steel pipe.
A clamp assembly configured for use in a directional boring machine, comprising:
- a U-shaped clamp having a pair of first and second arms;
- a movable stem jaw mountable against an inside wall of the first arm;
- a vise jaw mountable against an inside wall of the second arm in a position opposed to the first moveable jaw;
- the stem jaw and the vise jaw each comprising a jaw body having a concave front face, the front face comprising a plurality of spaced apart cylindrical apertures, the cylindrical apertures comprising blind holes for receiving a plurality of studs;
- a plurality of studs, each of which being positioned in one of the apertures, each of the studs having a cylindrical bottom portion and a conical upper portion formed at an included angle of from about 30° about 60° centered on the stud axis to form a tip for engaging a cylindrical object, each of the tips being formed from a material having a hardness greater than the jaw body and sufficiently hard to penetrate and grip the outer surface of a cylindrical steel pipe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.