Clamping device

Details Clamping device Clamping device

1999-12-22

2001-03-27

King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)

Supports

Brackets

Article holding means

C248S313000, C211S089010

Reexamination Certificate

active

06206332

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a clamping device for clamping somewhat flexible products, such as towels, comprising: a wall-mounted holder part with an insertion opening, an operating holder part with an insertion opening, which holder parts fit at least partially displaceably inside one another, and a spring member which preloads the holder parts in a clamping position, it being possible to displace the holder parts with respect to one another counter to the action of the spring member, in such a manner that the insertion openings in the holder parts in one position at least partially correspond to one another and form a continuous insertion opening into which part of the flexible product can be inserted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A clamping device of this kind is known from DE-U-81 14 063. The known clamping device comprises a hollow cylindrical wall-mounted holder part, in which a solid cylindrical operating holder part can slide to and fro. A spring is accommodated between the two holder parts. The spring is supported on one side on the bottom of the hollow cylindrical wall-mounted holder part and on the other side in a recess which is formed in the solid cylindrical operating holder part. Furthermore, the operating holder part is provided with a locking finger which extends downwards and is intended to engage in locking projections arranged on the bottom of the wall-mounted holder part. The connection between the locking finger and the locking projections is such that limited movement between the two holder parts is possible. The hollow cylindrical wall-mounted holder part is provided with a slot-shaped insertion opening, while the solid cylindrical operating holder part is provided with a slot-shaped recess. By pressing the operating holder part inwards into the wall-mounted holder part, counter to the spring force, the insertion opening and the recess will move into line with one another. At that moment, part of a somewhat flexible product can be inserted. If the operating holder part is then pressed outwards again by the spring loading, that part of the product which has been inserted will be clamped between the edges of the insertion opening in the wall-mounted holder part and the edges of the recess in the operating holder part.
A drawback of this known clamping device is that the operating holder part is of substantially solid design and therefore does not have a uniform wall thickness corresponding to the wall thickness of the wall-mounted holder part. This entails high production costs and often the need to use different materials for the holder parts. Furthermore, the solid operating holder part lies inside the hollow wall-mounted holder part. Each time it is used, dirt from the hand of a user can as a result pass between the two holder parts. The accumulated dirt source produced in this way causes unhygienic conditions, which is undesirable when the clamping device is used for towels and the like. Furthermore, the dirt which penetrates between the two holder parts may have the result that the clamping device can no longer operate effectively, for example because the holder parts can only be moved with great difficulty with respect to one another.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a clamping device which eliminates these drawbacks.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a clamping device according to claim
1
. By making the two holder parts of hollow design, they together delimit an internal space. According to the invention, an auxiliary part is placed in the internal space formed in this way, which auxiliary part is joined to one of the two holder parts. The auxiliary part has a dual function and serves to support one end of the spring member and, in addition, to shield the spring member from the internal space which is accessible via the insertion openings. As a result, both holder parts can be produced with a substantially uniform wall thickness and from the same material. This saves considerably on production costs. Due to the fact that the auxiliary part shields the spring member, it is no longer possible for part of a flexible product which has been inserted via the insertion openings to become clamped in the spring member. According to the invention, the operating holder part is of larger design, so that it slides over the wall-mounted holder part. Any dirt which passes onto the operating surface of the operating holder part can easily be removed with a cloth without the risk of the dirt passing between the two holder parts.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in claims
2
-
18
.


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patent: 808 628 (1951-07-01), None
patent: 81 14 063 (1985-09-01), None
patent: 1276059 (1961-10-01), None

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