US3213509A

US3213509A - Clamp

Info

Publication number: US3213509A
Application number: US318952A
Authority: US
Inventors: Reiner Kenneth
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-10-25
Filing date: 1963-10-25
Publication date: 1965-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 1982-10-26

Description

Oct. 26, 1965 K. REINER 3,213,509

CLAMP (HOOK FLANGE CONNECTION) Filed Oct. 25, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E E/WVEW/ 85/4/59,

I N VB NTOR.

United States Patent 3,213,509 CLAMP (HOOK FLANGE CONNECTION) Kenneth Reiner, 7875 Telegraph Road, Pico Rivera, Calif. Filed Oct. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 318,952 12 Claims. (Cl. 24252) This invention relates to clamps and more particularly to two-piece metal clamps of the type wherein a spring tongue, which is integral with one of the pieces, engages the other piece in such a manner as to urge the clamping portions of the two pieces towards a normally closed position as well as to hold the clamp pieces in assembled relationship with one another.

Clamps of the type under discussion are obviously of general utility. However, for purposes of example and illustration, a clamp of style and design particularly adapted for use as a pin curl clip is described herein and shown in the accompanying drawing. Such clamps are extremely popular for use in the setting of womens hair, and a leading example thereof is disclosed in U.S. Reissue Patent No. 23,163, issued to Kenneth Reiner and Armand Braga on November 1, 1949.

It is characteristic of clamps of the type disclosed in the aforementioned patent and of other contemporary two-piece clamp designs that the spring member is a tongue which is integral with one of the members and extends across the pivot area of the clamp into engagement with a portion of the other member to bias the clamping portions of the two members towards closed position. It is also characteristic of some of such designs that the integral spring tongue is provided with a flange in the form of an end portion which is sharply bent along a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the spring tongue to provide a hook or ledge which is adapted to engage a surface on the other piece to hold the pieces together as well as to perform the spring biasing function. Structures involving flanges bent substantially perpendicularly to the main thin longitudinal dimensions of the spring tongues as described, are disadvantageous in that they are difficult to manufacture since the formation of such sharp angles at the very end edges of narrow, thin, fragile and highly resilient metal parts is a difiicult operation, requiring costly tooling and tooling maintenance, and may result in a good deal of breakage and waste.

' The present invention provides improved clamp structures wherein the hooking or connecting function of the end portions of the spring tongues is performed without resorting to the disadvantageous end hook or ledge arrangements described in the preceding paragraph and such improved structures are further advantageous in that they provide an improved and simplified interlocking of the two pieces of which the clamps are made.

The advantageous results of the present invention are achieved by forming the spring tongues with end portions which are formed from enlargement outwardly from the longitudinal centers of the tongues, as distinguished from the sharply bent end flanges of the prior art and by providing surfaces on the other of the clamp pieces adapted to be engaged by said enlarged end portions to hold the clamp pieces together and to bias them to closed position.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide improved clamp constructions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide improved multi-piece clamp constructions wherein integral spring tongue means on one of the clamp pieces is engaged, as by hooking, with surfaces on another of the pieces to hold the pieces together and to bias the clamp jaws thereof towards a normally closed position.

Yet another object of the present invention is. to provide clamps of the class described wherein the said hooking function is accomplished without the requirement that the spring tongue be sharply bent.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide clamps of the class described wherein the said hooking function is accomplished without the requirement that the spring tongue be sharply bent at its end along a line perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.

These and other objects and the advantages attendant thereto will be apparent from the following detailed specification, taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, wherein like reference numerals have been applied to like parts throughout, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a clamp according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the clamp of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the bottom member of the clamp of FIGURES 1 to 3;

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view of the clamp of FIGURES 1-3, in reduced scale, showing the two members which comprise the clamp disengaged from one another;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a modified version of clamp according to the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the clamp of FIGURE 6, in an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation of the clamp of FIG-

URES

6 and 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the bottom member of the clamp of FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, showing the details of the pivot and hook engaging areas thereof; and

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to the exploded perspective view of FIGURE 5, illustrating a third modification under the present invention.

Reference is now made to the drawings wherein are shown three examples of clamps according to the present invention. In the examples shown the parts are of resilient metal material but any other resilient material capable of being so formed may be used. FIGURESl to 5 show one example and the clamp therein is a twopiece clamp comprising a bottom member and a top member 22. The top member 22 comprises a handle portion 24 and a clamping portion 26 angularly related to the handle portion to provide a pivot line or area 28 therebetween. The clamping portion may be of any desirable configuration but is shown (in FIGURES 1 to 5) as comprising a pair of spaced parallel longitudinally extending legs.

Top member 22 is also provided with sockets 30in the form of holes therethrough, the said sockets being laterally aligned with one another in the general vicinity of the pivot area 28.

A spring tongue 32 is preferably stuck from the material of the member 22, of an extent to reach across and beyond the pivot area 28 and is of generally bowed configuration, as shown. It is an important feature of the present invention that the free end of spring tongue 32 is laterally enlarged into a generally T shape to provide ears 32 which extend outwardly from the longitudinal center of the spring tongue in the plane of the material thereof. The said ears 32 serve (in a manner to be later described) to cooperate in holding the

members

20 and 22 together and this advantageously is accomplished without the prior necessity for sharply bending the material of the slender, resilient tongue, as discussed in the introductory portion of this specification.

The bottom member 20 of FIGURES 1 to 5 comprises a unitary member having a handle portion 36, a down-' wardly angular intermediate portion 38, and an outwardly extending clamping portion 40 which may be substantially parallel to the handle portion 36. On the handle portion 36 in the vicinity of the line of juncture with the intermediate portion 38, a pair of spurs 42 are struck upwardly from the material of the handle, as shown. In the intermediate section 38, there are provided a pair of spaced upwardly struck triangular tabs 44, the said tabs being arranged to provide openings 45 between themselves and the material of the portion 38 which face toward the clamping portion 40 of the member 20.

The

members

20 and 22 of FIGURES 1 to 5, as described above, are assembled by insertion of the ears 34 on spring tongue 32 into the openings 45 provided by the tabs 44 and by insertion of the spurs 34 of member 20 into the openings 30 of member 22. The shape and length of the spring tongue 32 is such that such assembly provides a prestressing of the spring in a direction tending to pull upwardly and backwardly (towards the handle portions 24 and 36) on the tabs 44. The forces exerted by such prestressing tend to hold the pieces together in the vicinity of the pivot area 38, the spurs 42 and the sockets 30. Also, since the spring tongue 32 has its root in the handle portion 24 and extends across the pivot area the clamping

portions

26 and 40 are constantly biased toward closed position. It should be noted that the spurs 42 and sockets 30 tend to fix the longitudinal relationship of

members

20 and 22 to one another as well as to inhibit relative lateral linear or angular shifting of said members and that the tabs 44 and the ears 34 of spring tongue 32 prevent the members from separating and prevent forward motion (toward the clamping portion) of the bottom member 20 relative to top member 22.

In operation, the clamp is opened by pressing

handle portions

24 and 36 together to cause the

members

20 and 22 to pivot relative to one another in the pivot area 28, since the top member is adapted to rock upon the surface of the bottom member along the bend line defining said pivot area. Such motion further stresses the resilient prestressed spring tongue 32 so that release of the handle portions results in said spring tongue pulling the clamping

portions

26 and 40 back to the normally closed position best shown in FIGURE 2.

It should be noted that the above described construction completely avoids the necessity for providing sharp bends in critical areas of the sensitive spring tongue element thereby eliminating manufacturing difficulties attendant when such sharp bends are required. It is note- 4 Worthy in this regard that elimination of such practices also makes possible the use of cheaper materials and the use of simpler techniques because it is unnecessary to adapt tooling to accommodate the grain of sheet metal used in the manufacture of devices of the class involved to the extent previously required.

FIGURES 6 to 9 relate to a modification of the present invention wherein the means for engaging the ears 34 on spring tongue 32 are of a. different type, although the arrangement is within the same general principle. The modified version is shown as applied to a pin curl clip of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,090,389, issued May 21, 1963, to Eckman. Pin curl clips of the type shown in the aforementioned Eckman patent are characterized in that the bottom member thereof is longer than the top member but is bent back upon itself to form a short arm 50 and a long arm which provides the clamping portion 40 and a handle portion 36a, the said long and short arms being joined by a bight area 52. The short arm 50 provides a platform upon which a top member 22 is pivotally mounted. As best seen in FIGURE 9, the short arm 50 comprises edge portions having spurs 42a (similar to the spurs 42 of FIGURES l to turned upwardly therefrom and adapted to cooperate with the bend line 28 and the sockets 30 of the top member to define the rocking or pivot line of the clamp. The short arm 50 also includes an elongated spring arm 54 struck 4 slightly downwardly from the material thereof between the spurs 42a and of greater length than the length of material from the bight 52 to the spurs 4261 O t the free end of the spring arm 54 is on the side of the pivot area opposite from the handle portion 36a.

The free end of spring arm 54 has outwardly extending tabs 44a having cutout portions 45a, so that, when the tabs 4411 are bent upwardly from the plane of the spring arm the cut-out portions 45a provide overhanging ledges or flanges adapted to receive and hold the ears 34 on spring tongue 32. Thus, the tabs 44a, and the cutout portions 45a, while of different configurations than the tabs 44 and the openings 45 of the FIGURES l to 5 modification perform precisely the same functions as said elements.

The clamp of FIGURES 6 to 9 is assembled by insertion of the spurs 42a of bottom member 20 into the sockets 30 of top member 22 and by engagement of the ears 34 of spring tongue 32 under the overlying flanges formed by the cut-out portions 45a of the tabs 44a. The operation of the assembled clamp is obviously similar to that of the FIGURES 1 to 5 modification.

The essential structural difference between the FIG- URES '6 to 9' modification and that of FIGUR'ES 1 to 5 is that the former requires bending of the metal in a sharp angle in an area where the spring tongue makes its connection of the two members which comprise the clamp. It is pointed out, however, that such bending -is not perpendicular to the narrow dimension of the spring arm but rather along the length. Moreover, the basic advantage of both modifications is that the main spring element (spring tongue 32) is not required to be sharply bent so that separation of the parts by mutilation of the hooking portion of the spring tongue can be effected only by shearing off the cars 34 which would require much greater forces than necessary to simply bend back a turned over lioo-k edge.

FIGURE 10 shows a third modification and is in all respects similar to the FIGURE 1 to 5 species except that it is shown :as applied to a bottom member in which the spurs 4215 are formed on raised pivot platform arms 56 of the type which are disclosed in iappli'ca'nts prior U.S. Patent -No. 3,101,725 issued August 27, 1963. The assembly and operation of the FIGURE 10 species and the advantages thereof are precisely the same as have been thoroughly discussed in connection with FIGURES l to 5 above.

From the above it may be seen that the present invention provides improved spring-biased two-piece clamp constructions of the type in which the spring end is interengaged with other structure to perform the dual functrons of hold-ing the two pieces together and of biasing the clamping jaws constantly towards the closed position. The improvements are characterized in that it is not necessary under the present invention to sharply bend the thin spring tongue adjacent its end in a direction perpendicular to its length so that the inherent structural and manufacturing difficulties of such arrangements are obviated.

Obviously, many variations in shape, size, and specific relationship of parts are possible within the spirit of the foregoing specification. Similarly, While the single material mentioned herein is resilient metal it should be obvious that any resilient material can .be used if it is capable of being properly formed by any method to configurations of the general nature illustrated and described 111 this specification. Accordingly, it is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited by the specific illustratrve examples described herein but rather by the scope and language of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, each plate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integral therewith, the handle portion of at least one of said plates being angu'la-rly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to provide rocking movement of the superposed plates relative to one another about the line of juncture of said angularly related portions when the handle portions of the plates are moved togther and apart, correlated .pivot means integral respectively with said plates in the general area of said line of juncture to prevent relative longitudinal and transverse movement between said plates, a spring tongue struck from one of said plates, said tongue being attached to said plate at one side of said pivot means and extending longitudinally of said plate across said pivot means, the said tongue having an enlarged end portion which extends laterally outwardly from the longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent than the adjoining portion of the tongue, the said other of said plates including cut-out portions and abutments adjacent the openings formed by said cut-out portions, said albutments being above the plane of said openings, the enlarged end portion of said tongue being inserted into said cut-out portions and engaging said a-butments whereby to hold the plates in assembled relation and to constantly urge the clamping portions toward their closed position.

2. A clamp according to claim 1, wherein said enlarged end portion comprises laterally extending ears in the plane of the material of the tongue to provide a generally T shaped configuration.

3. A clamp according to claim '2, wherein said cut-out portions and abutments are provided by triangular tabs struck up from the material of the said other of said plates on the side of the pivot means to which the enlarged end portion of the tongue extends, the said tabs having raised portions to admit said ears, and the material adjacent said tabs serving :as the abutrnents.

4. A clamp according ot claim 2, wherein the said other of said plates has a spring arm struck down therel'rom, the said arm having a free end located to be engaged :by the enlarged end portion of said spring tongue, said free end having a pair of upwardly extending lugs, said lugs having the said cutout portions therein to prorvide notches and overhanging ledges, the laterally extending ears of said spring tongue being engaged in said notches.

5. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, each plate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integral therewith, the handle portion of at least one of said plates being angularly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to provide rocking movement of the superposed plates relative to one another about the line of juncture of said angularly related portions when the handle portions of the plates are moved together and apart, cooperating pivot means on said top and [bottom plates in the general area of said line of juncture to prevent relative longitudinal and transverse movement between said plates, a spring tongue struck from one of said plates, said tongue being attached to said plate at one side or said pivot means and extending longitudinally of said plate across said pivot means, the said tongue having an enlarged end portion which extends laterally outwardly from the longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent than the adjoining portion of the tongue, the said other of said plates including out out portions and abutments adjacent the openings formed by said cutout portions, said abutments being above the plane of said openings, the enlarged end portion of said tongue being inserted into said cut-out portions and engaging said abutments whereby to hold the plates in assembled relation and to constantly urge the clamping portions toward their closed position.

\6. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, each plate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integral therewith, the handle portion of at least one of said plates being angularly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to provide pivotal movement of the superposed plates relative to one another about an axis located substantially at the line of 6 juncture of said angularly related portions when the handle portions of the plates are moved together and apart, one of said plates having laterally aligned spaced spurs struck there-from in the area of said axis and extending toward the adjacent surface of the other plate, said other plate having similarly positioned and spaced openings providing sockets into which said spurs extend to provide correlated pivot means which prevent relative longitudinal and transverse movement between said plates, a spring tongue struck from one of said plates, said tongue being attached to said plate at one side of said pivot means and extending longitudinally of said plate across said pivot means, the said tongue having an enlarged end portion which extends laterally outwardly from the longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent than the adjoining portion of the tongue, the said other of said plates including cutaout portions and albutments adjacent the openings formed by said cutaout portions, said abut ments being [above the plane of said openings, the en larged end portion of said tongue being inserted into said cut-out portions and engaging said abutments whereby to hold the plates in assembled relation and to constantly urge the clamping portions toward their closed position.

7. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, each plate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integral therewith, the handle portion of at least the top .plate being angularly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to provide pivotal movement of the superposed plates relative to one another about an [axis located substantially at the line of juncture of said angularly related portions when the handle portions of the plates are moved together and apart, one of said plates having laterally aligned spaced spurs struck therefrom in the area of said axis and extending toward the adjacent surtace of the other plate, said other plate having similarly positioned and spaced openings providing sockets into which said spurs extend to provide correlated pivot means which prevent relative longitudinal and transverse movement between said plates, a spring tongue struck from the material of said top plate, said spring tongue being attached at its root to the handle portion of the top plate and having a free end extending across said axis toward the clamping portion, the said tongue having an enlarged end portion which extends laterally outwardly from the longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent than the adjoining portion of the tongue, said bottom plate including cut-out portions and abutments adjacent the openings stormed by said cut out portions, said abutments being above the plane of said openings, the enlarged end portion of said tongue being inserted into said cut-out portions and engaging said abutments whereby to hold the plates in assembled relation and to constantly urge the clamping portions toward their closed position.

8. A clamp according to claim 7, wherein said enlarged end portion comprises laterally extending ears in the plane of the material of the tongue to provide a generally T- shaped configuration.

9. A clamp according to claim 8, wherein said cutaout portions and abutments are provided by triangular tabs struck up from the material of the said bottom plate on the side of the pivot means to which the enlarged end portion of the tongue extends, the said tabs having raised portions to admit said ears, and the material adjacent said tabs serving as the abutments.

10. A clamp according to claim '8, wherein said bottom plate has a spring arm struck down therefrom, the said arm having a free end located to be engaged by the enlarged end portion of said spring tongue, said free end having a pair of upwardly extending lugs, said lugs having the said cut-out portions therein to provide notches and overhanging ledges, the laterally extending ears of said spring tongue being engaged in said notches and retained therein by said overhanging ledges.

11. A clamp according to claim 7, wherein said spurs are on said bottom plate and said sockets on said top plate, the material of said bottom plate being struck up to form spring arms, the said spurs being at the ends of said sprin g arms.

12. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and [bottom plates, said bottom plate comprising a short end wall having a pair of integral legs extending outwardly in the same direction from opposite edges thereof to form a bight area between said legs and adjacent said end wall, One of said legs being relatively short, the other of the legs being of relatively greater length and providing a handle :portion and a clamping portion adjacent said end wall, the top plate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integral with and angularly related thereto to provide a pivot line, the short leg of said 'bottom plate having spurs bent upwardly therefrom, said spurs being laterally aligned and spaced from one another, there being holes forming sockets in said top member, said holes being in the area of juncture of the handle and clamping portions of said top member and spaced similarily to the spacing of said spurs, said spurs being engaged in said holes, a spring tongue struck from the material of said top plate, said spring tongue being attached at its root to the handle portion of the top plate and having a free end extending across said axis toward the clamping porrtion, the tree end portion of said spring tongue having laterally extending ears in the plane of the material of the tongue to provide a generally T shaped configuration, the said short leg of said bottom member having a spring arm of greater length than the portion thereof from which said spurs extend, said spring arm being struck down from the material of said short arm and having a free end located to be engaged by the enlarged end portion of said spring tongue, said free end having a pair of upwardly extending lugs, said lugs having cut-out port-ions therein to provide notches and overhanging ledges, the lateraly extending ears of said spring tongue being engaged in said notches.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,163 1 1/49 Reiner et a1 13-2-t46..1 97 1519 10/ 10 'Brannen 1 3'246 X '2,1 23,79'6 7/38 Peters 2425 9 X 2,872,718 2/59 Jackson et al. 24.-25 Z 2,947,055 8/ 60 MioHenry 24-259 X 3,072,127 1/63 Caldera. 13248 3,090,389 5/6 3 Eek-man 1532-41 3,101,725 8/63 R'einer 132-46 X DON IJEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A CLAMP COMPRISING SUPERPOSED ELONGATED TOP AND BOTTOM PLATES, EACH PLATE COMPRISING A HANDLE PORTION AND A CLAMPING PORTION INTEGRAL THEREWITH, THE HANDLE PORTION OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PLATES BEING ANGULARLY RELATED TO THE CLAMPING PORTION THEREOF WHEREBY TO PROVIDE ROCKING MOVEMENT OF THE SUPERPOSED PLATES RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER ABOUT THE LINE OF JUNCTURE OF SAID ANGULARLY RELATED PORTIONS WHEN THE HANDLE PORTIONS OF THE PLATES ARE MOVED TOGETHER AND APART, CORRELATED PIVOT MEANS INTEGRAL RESPECTIVELY WITH SAID PLATES IN THE GENERAL AREA OF SAID LINE OF JUNCTURE TO PREVENT RELATIVE LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID PLATES, A SPRING TONGUE STRUCK FROM ONE OF SAID PLATES, SAID TONGUE BEING ATTACHED TO SAID PLATE AT ONE SIDE OF SAID PIVOT MEANS AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID PLATE ACROSS SAID PIVOT MEANS, THE SAID TONGUE HAVING AN ENLARGED END PORTION WHICH EXTENDS LATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER THEREOF TO A GREATER EXTENT THAN THE ADJOINING PORTION OF THE TONGUE, THE SAID OTHER OF SAID PLATES INCLUDING CUT-OUT PORTIONS AND ABUTMENTS ADJACENT THE OPENINGS FORMED BY SAID CUT-OUT PORTIONS, SAID ABUTMENTS BEING ABOVE THE PLANE OF SAID OPENINGS, THE ENLARGED END PORTION OF SAID TONGUE BEING INSERTED INTO SAID CUT-OUT PORTIONS AND ENGAGING SAID ABUTMENTS WHEREBY TO HOLD THE PLATES IN ASSEMBLED RELATION AND TO CONSTANTLY URGE THE CLAMPING PORTIONS TOWARD THEIR CLOSED POSITION.