AU705140B2 - Improved clamp - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2 -1-

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 C!C3x1 Mrr r3JE S E F AW 9 9 4; 9 4 e 9 99 9*

APPLICANT:

NUMBER:

FILING DATE: SAMMY JOE VELLA PN 5031/95 28/ 8/1995 Invention Title: IMPROVED CLAMP The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:

A

2 IMPROVED CLAMP BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved means of clamping objects to which traction is to be applied or which are required to be lifted.

One particular area of application of the invention is in the area of panel beating. When a strong traction force is to be .applied to a panel or other object to straighten it or otherwise manipulate it a suitable clamp is required between the object "under traction and the device supplying the force to produce the result required.

In the building industry also, with the increased use of modular construction in recent years, there is often a requirement that walls or other objects be lifted in to position which, of course, necessitates the use of a very strong clamp attached to any lifting device. Previous clamps used have been of a type which consist of two jaw components with a device to which traction can be applied located in a groove or other such recess in the inner faces of these jaw components. Such clamps suffer from the problem the most of the load applied is concentrated in the weakest, thinnest parts of SP51\SPEC\VELLA.CAP\BV\26 August, 1996 3 the clamp's jaw components. Obviously the strength of such clamps will be directly dependant on their size and the thickness of the walls of the jaw components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object ot this invention to provide an improved clamping means which provides a high ratio of clamp strength to the weight of the clamp itself.

In particular this invention discloses a clamp which increases its grip on the object being lifted or pulled as the force on the clamp is increased and which distributes the load over the jaw component faces rather than at specific points.

0 4 The invention, in its broadest sense, is a clamp with side' components provided with abutting jaw components, each of which side components is provided with a recess on its inner face S behind said jaw components in which part of a load bearing member can be held and behind which at least one of said inner faces is inwardly ramped towards the rear of the clamp, said side components being interconnected behind the jaw components and in front of the load bearing member such that limited relative movement of the side components is permitted.

-f2 P51\SPEC\VELLA.CAP\BV\26 August, 1996 1 0 7 4 In order that the invention may be more readily understood the concept of the invention will be described in terms of two embodiments with reference to the following drawings: Fig. 1 shows a side view of the two side portions of a first embodiment of the clamp of the invention bolted together Fiq. 2 shows a side view of a clamp of Fig. 1 with a lifting device in the form of a pull ring enclosed Fig. 3 is a perspective view of this pull ring Fig. 4 shows a side view of a second embodiment of the clamp of the invention Fig. 5 shows a rear view of the clamp of Fig. 4 Fig. 6 is a plan view of the lifting device of this second embodiment of the clamp of the invention i** Figure 1 shows the general structure of a preferred embodiment 10 of the clamp of the invention.

Figure 1 shows the general structure of a preferred embodiment of the invention the clamp. It comprises two identical side components 11 with jaw components 17 meeting at toothed or geooved edges 12. Each side component 11 is basically parallel sided along most of the longitudinal portion of its body and at the front end slopes inwards to a jaw surface 12 which is grooved in some manner to provide "teeth" such that good grip is achieved when the two jaw components are adjacent one another.

WS S C 1 UP1\SPEC\VEIA.CAaP\BV6 August, 1996F i "i ii I Each face of each side 11 is then partially excised to form a recess with parallel sides 13 through which a wire or other rope or equivalent may pass which is attached to the load to be lifted. Alternately the load may be directly gripped by the teeth 12 of jaws 17.

The inner faces of sides 11 are further excised rearwards of portions 13, as shown in Figure 1, initially in an arcuate shape 14 and tapering inwards towards the rear end of each side 11.

The two side components 11 are held apart adjacent their rear Sends by pin 15, constructed of some appropriately strong metal, in this case stainless steel, located in recesses 16.

^IgU The side components 11 are then held together by the provision t of a bolt 20 passing therethrough with a nut 22 screwed onto 1 threaded portion 22. It is preferred that an appropriate washer 24 be provided between the nut and the adjacent clamp side.

In this preferred embodiment of the invention a rectangular metal stop 30 is welded to one side of the clamp so that it is adjacent the head of the bolt 21, and aligned with one face thereof, in order to prevent the bolt 20 turning when the nut 22 is J tightened. The provision of this stop is not however an essential if feature of the invention.

i i UP51\SPEC\VELLACAP\BV\26 August, 1996

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3 ii #4 #444 #4 4 4., *l 4* 4 r 4* *r 44 #4 6 There is also provided (Figure and shown in situ in Figure 2, a pull ring 50 or other such device having a transverse section 52 which can be located inside the recess formed by side faces 14 interior to pin The preferred pull ring 50 is constructed of metal portion 51 around aperture 54 through which a rope or equivalent can pass to a lifting device, portion 51 being in turn either welded to or integrally moulded with cylindrical portion 52, either end of which terminates in a disc shaped member 53, these members acting to locate the pull ring device within the sides 11 and to prevent it from moving laterally.

When a force is applied to member 51 portion 52 of the pull ring is drawn towards the rear of the clamp the sides of which are constrained by bolt 20. As member 52 pushes on ramped edges 14 the effect is to force the teethed 12 jaws 17 more tightly together. It is this effect which is the substance of the invention.

When the clamp is in use the bolt 20 connecting its jaw components needs only to be sufficiently tight to cause the jaws to be drawn close together. The force on the load bearing member 51 acts to pull its cylindrical portion 52 along the ramped portions, of the side members thus forcing the jaws tighter together.

WP51\S'EC\VELLA.CAP\BV\26 August. 1996 ri 4

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:1 7 The use of such a load bearing member 50 with its cylindrical portion 52 acting across the interior of side components 11 causes the load carried by the load bearing member 50 to be distributed evenly laterally across each side component and as a result this clamp is much stronger for a given clamp size than any previous clamps of this type. It also has the advantage that as the load increases so does the force applied by the jaws of the clamp to the load.

Clearly the clamp could be used to either grasp an object or, if s: the object was connected, to a cable or similar this could pass between the parallel recessed portions of the jaw components.

S4.

The material used to construct the clamp is not germane to this invention although from a strength point of view an appropriate metal is preferred. The means of coupling the jaw components together is also not germane to the invention.

i.4.

The essence of this invention is that it should consist of two side components with abutting jaw members coupled together, at least one of which is recessed such that a load bearing member can be placed internally to the clamp and extend across its horizontal width and which recess must be ramped towards the rear of the jaw member such that when a load is applied both jaw members tend to close together.

WP51\SPEC\VELLACAP\BV\26 August, 1996 8 A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6.

Although operating on the same principle as the clamp of the first embodiment this is a lighter weight clamp for carrying smaller loads.

In contrast with the interior of clamp side components 11 of the S. first embodiment, which show a recessed area 13 further arcuately or otherwise recessed at area 14, the interior of the side components 40 of this embodiment are recessed along their goe*. interior faces 41 and ramp inwards towards the rear of the clamp.

:A pulling device 60 has a portion 62 thereof positioned within the recess formed by adjacent sides 41 behind bolt 11 and in e1e. front of locating pins 45 which ensure that member 60 remains located within the side components 4C of the clamp device.

The number of pins 45 located in recesses 46 of each side 40 are not germane to this invention nor is the material of which they are made, although in this case stainless steel is used. Neither is the precise shape of pulling member 60 relevant however in this embodiment it is shaped as shown in Figure 5 such that i portion 62 will act evenly on the ramped portions 42 of sides and be retained between them if necessary by pins 45. The general principle being that the bolt 20 will hold the sides 40 together SP51\SPEC\VELLA.CAP\BV\26 August, 1996 .*a i f 9 and a force on portion 42 thereof will push jaws 17 and toothed areas 12 further together.

The concept of this clamp is not restricted to applications in the panel beating trade and it is envisaged that it could have many industrial and other applications especially when any object is to be winched, whether in an industrial, domestic or other situation.

o Although the clamp of this invention is particularly well adapted to gripping panels and other similar objects it is equally 49 capable of lifting objects particularly if some cable attached to the object were passed through the open recessed area between the jaw components.

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Whilst we have described herein two specific embodiments of the o invention it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the 9* 4 *spirit and scope thereof.

M 1 r r W \SPEC\VELLA cA P\8\6 August. 1996

Claims (4)

1. A clamp for holding a load bearing member including: side components provided with abutting jaw components each side component being provided with a recess on its inner face behind said jaw components in which part of the load bearing member can be held and behind which at least one of said inner faces is inwardly ramped towards the rear of the clamp, and connection means behind the jaw components and in 1 front of the load bearing member for interconnecting .i 4 the side components such that limited relative movement of the side components is permitted The arrangement being such that application of force to the load bearing member causes the jaw components to press together. 4( 2. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 in which the abutting jaw components abut with toothed or grooved faces. b* tu

3. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 in which the connection means is a bolt member passing through the side components.

4. A clamp as claimed in claim 3 in which a stop device is provided on the outside face of one of the side components kl\,P iv I- C t i i' t i' -~jb ii such that the head of the bolt member contacts it and is prevented from turning when a nut is screwc- on to the bolt. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 in which at least one retaining pin is located between the side components, in adjacent recesses in the inner faces thereof, behind the part of the load bearing member which is positioned between the side components. *a 0~ a *0r 00*0 0r Owe *h 00 0 A clamp as claimed in any preceding claim in which the load bearing member comprises a ring shaped device wi ded to a barrel shaped device which barrel shaped device lies transversely within the recesses of the side components and is retained therein by the provision of end plates of a larger diameter. I's(

9. C 'r t LS A clamp as claimed in claim 6 in which the load bearing member comprises a portion thereof which lies transversely within the recesses provided between the side components and which transverse portion is connected to side portions abutting in an end portion of the load bearing member. I i i i j: r: i ji, f ji ii I ,t I'~acb~ I99 -dN 8. A clamp as claimed in claim 7 in which the transverse portion of the load bearing member is retained within the side components of the clamp by the provision of at least one retaining pin device located within adjacent recesses in the inner faces of the sides. 9. A clamp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. i i i 1 i 1 I_' I i: i ji !.1 I B i I ;I a S1 S 4? S. Sra ap* Sa,4 DATED THIS 27th DAY OF AUGUST 1996 I i SAMMY JOE VELLA By his Patent Attorneys A. TATLOCK ASSOCIATES ar r S i I i 0' 0 0r: 04 0i 4 I I*- i 13 ABSTRACT .e 4 S. 'il Sr 0r Oh 00 oh *c 0e The invention comprises a clamp with side components provided with abutting jaw components. The side components are each provided with adjacent recesses on their inner faces, behind said jaw components, in which part of a load bearing member can be held and behind which at least one of said inner faces is inwardly ramped towards the rear of the clamp. The sides of the clamp are held together behind their jaw components and in front of the load bearing member such that a force on the load bearing 0 member acts to further tighten the jaw components. 0 a S WP5\SPEC\VELLA. CP\BV\26 August, 1996 «C lrl i C** C. 4 C C C 4 4 Ct.. 4** C C 0* C S. 5 4 Ct St S C **b SC. tee S <.4 I K 09 a S. *a a a.. a a a a a a a a* a '1~ O0i 947 t I 09 S S o 0 5 S S* S S S S St S* S S 555 55~ S C 5 9 S S S 0 S. S it