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US 9,205,534 B2Granted
Clamp
AssigneeKey Technology, Inc.
InventorChristopher A. Woiler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A clamp is described and which includes a moveable object engagement member having a distal end which is movable along a predetermined path of travel between an open and closed position; and a moveable force application assembly pivotally cooperating with the moveable object engagement member, and which is used to move the object engagement member along the predetermined path of travel between the opened and closed positions.
Claims18
A clamp, comprising:
- a main body defined in part by spaced, opposite side plates, and wherein the main body is secured to an adjacent supporting surface, and wherein a shoulder fastener is secured to each of the spaced, opposite side plates;
- a moveable object engagement member having a longitudinal axis, and which is further borne by, and partially rotatable, and longitudinally moveable relative to the opposite side plates, and along a predetermined path of movement between an opened and closed position, and wherein the path of movement between the opened and closed positions has a first movement component that reciprocally carries the moveable object engagement member along a given, generally linearly disposed path of travel, and a second movement component which reciprocally carries the moveable object engagement member, at least in part, perpendicularly, relative to the generally linearly disposed path of travel of the first movement component, and wherein the moveable object engagement member has opposite first and second ends;
- top and bottom peripheral edges;
- and an intermediate region located between the first and second ends, and wherein the top peripheral edge of the moveable object engagement member, in the area which is adjacent to the first end, further defines a clevis engaging region which matingly cooperates with, and is disposed in force receiving relation relative to a handle, and wherein a work object engagement member in the form of a claw, is made integral with the second end of the moveable object engagement member, and which is further located on the bottom peripheral edge thereof, and wherein first and second movement defining passageways are individually formed in the intermediate region of the moveable object engagement member, and further each of the first and second movement defining passageways define, in part, the first and second movement components of the path of movement of the moveable object engagement member;
- and
- a moveable force application assembly which comprises, at least in part, the handle and which further pivotally cooperates with the opposite side plates, and is further disposed in force transmitting relation relative to the moveable object engagement member, and which further, when moved along a given course of travel, applies force to the moveable object engagement member to urge the moveable member along the predetermined path of travel between the opened and closed position, and wherein the handle is pivotally mounted on, and moveable relative to the shoulder fastener, and wherein the pivotal movement of the handle effects the movement of the moveable object engagement member between the opened and closed positions.
3 more elements
A clamp, comprising:
- a main body having spaced, substantially parallel, side plates which have a lowermost peripheral edge which is secured to an underlying supporting surface, and an uppermost peripheral edge which defines, at least in part, a curved camming surface, and wherein the respective side plates each have a first, and an opposite, second end;
- a shoulder fastener coupling the first end of each of the side plates together;
- a first and a second fixed pin which individually extend between, and couple together the first and second side plates, and wherein the respective fixed pins are each located in a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to each of the side plates, and are further disposed in a predetermined, parallel, spaced orientation, one relative to the other;
- a handle having a proximal end which is pivotally affixed to the first end of each of the side plates by the shoulder fastener, and which further has an opposite second end, and wherein the handle is reciprocally moveable along a given course of travel between a first and a second position;
- a moveable object engagement member having a first and a second end, and top and bottom peripheral edges, and wherein a first and a second movement defining passageway are formed in, and extend through, the main body of the moveable object engagement member, and the first fixed pin is received through the first movement defining passageway, and the second fixed pin is received through the second movement defining passageway, and wherein a clevis engaging region is defined by the top peripheral edge, and is located near the first end of the moveable object engagement member;
- an elongated moveable clevis assembly having a first end which is pivotally mounted on the first end of the moveable object engagement member, and which further matingly cooperates with the clevis engaging region thereof, and further has a distal second end which matingly and moveably cooperates with the second end of the handle, and wherein the first end of the moveable clevis assembly cammingly engages the curved camming surface which is defined by the uppermost peripheral edge of each of the respective side plates;
- and
- a biasing member positioned between the first end of the elongated moveable clevis assembly and the handle, and which biasingly retains the handle in either the first or second position, and wherein movement of the handle between the first and second positions is effective in urging the moveable object engagement member along a predetermined path of travel from an open position, to a closed position, and wherein in the closed position the second end of the moveable object engagement member forcibly engages an object of interest.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.