Quick-action bar clamp
OwnerTsung-Hsiang Liinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A quick-action bar clamp comprises a body, a slide bar, clamp mechanism, a drive assembly and a pawl assembly. The slide bar has a series of teeth along one edge and is movably mounted in the body. The clamp mechanism includes a stationary jaw mounted on the body and a movable jaw opposing the stationary jaw connected to one end of the slide bar. The drive assembly includes a trigger, a drive lever and a spring. A push pin mounted in the trigger presses the drive lever and moves the slide bar when the trigger is squeezed. The pawl assembly includes a pawl, a release tab, a biasing element and a plastic tag. The pawl engages the teeth on the slide bar to positively hold the slide bar in position when the trigger is released.
Claims8
A quick-action bar clamp comprising:
- a body with a top, a bottom, a front edge and a rear edge, a central transverse opening with a rear edge and two sides defined through the body and a handle formed at the bottom of the body;
- a non-round slide bar corresponding to the central transverse opening, having a series of teeth and slidably mounted in the body, the slide bar having a top edge, a bottom edge, a front end extending out of the front edge of the body and a rear end extending out of the rear edge of the body;
- clamp device including a stationary jaw formed on the top of the body and a movable jaw opposing the stationary jaw connected to one end of the slide bar;
- a drive assembly comprising:
- a drive lever with a central hole mounted around the slide bar in the central transverse opening;
- a trigger corresponding to the handle and pivotally attached to the body;
- a push pin mounted in the trigger and adapted to push against the drive lever;
- and
- a spring mounted around the slide bar in the central transverse opening between the drive lever and the rear edge of the central transverse opening;
- and
- a pawl assembly pivotally mounted in the body with a pivot to engage the teeth on the slide bar and the pawl assembly comprising:
- a pawl pivotally attached to the body and adapted to engage with one of the teeth on the slide bar in a standby position to keep the slide bar from moving while the trigger is released;
- a release tab formed on the pawl to disengage the pawl from the teeth on the slide bar while the release tab is pushed;
- and
- a biasing element mounted in the body and adapted to hold the pawl in contact with the teeth in the standby position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.