Work holders – Relatively movable jaws – Means for direct manual adjustment of jaw
Reexamination Certificate
2003-03-03
2004-07-13
Wilson, Lee D. (Department: 3723)
Work holders
Relatively movable jaws
Means for direct manual adjustment of jaw
C269S085000, C269S097000, C269S172000, C269S196000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06761349
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to quick-set clamping mechanisms, and in particular, to an improved vise assembly which allows a user to initially to preset the jaws by sliding them together in one quick motion to save time, followed by conventional fine-screw-adjustment for clamping.
2. Description of the Background
The bench vice is an age-old tool for clamping and holding a work piece. A conventional bench vise, as shown in
FIG. 1
, includes a sliding jaw
12
mounted on a screw-spindle that is turned by a handle
10
. The other end of the screw-spindle is pivotally anchored in a housing
18
that sits on a base
16
. A stationary jaw
14
is integrally attached to the housing
18
. Manually turning handle
10
moves the sliding jaw
12
toward or away from housing
18
, respectively clamping or unclamping a workpiece. Although the utility and convenience of the traditional bench vise is beyond question, there is ample room for improvement. For example, if a user works on a large workpiece followed by a small one, he or she must adjust the jaws of the vice by screw-action from a wide-open position to a substantially closed one. This requires a great deal of turning effort and time.
It would be far more convenient to provide a quick-set mechanism to allow rapid opening and/or closing of the gap between the jaws. For example, when the gap between the jaws is at its largest and the user wants to clamp a small workpiece, it would be helpful to have the ability to slide the jaws together in one quick motion and thereby eliminate the need for a long hand cranking operation on the screw-spindle. On the other hand, a quick-setting adjustment capability as described would still need to work in conjunction with a conventional screw-clamping mechanism to give the user a reduction drive to exert a sufficient clamping force on the work piece without causing the two clamping mechanisms to bind up.
There have been a few prior efforts to develop clamping mechanisms that slide together. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,361 to Schad shows a clamp system in which a clamp piston
30
engages a rack
36
for reciprocating movement of a platen. Clamp piston
30
has teeth
34
that engage corresponding teeth
36
on column
24
. Rotation of clamp piston serves to engage or disengage clamp piston teeth
34
from column teeth
36
. However, this particular clamp design was intended for an injection molding machine, and the design is specifically adapted for this purpose.
It would be greatly advantageous to provide an improved clamping mechanism in the context of a bench vise which allows a user to rapidly open and/or close the gap between the jaws. This would allow the user to initially preset the jaws by sliding them together in one quick motion to save time, followed by conventional fine-screw-adjustment for reduction clamping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved quick-set clamping mechanism which allows a user to initially to preset the jaws by sliding them together in one quick motion, followed by conventional fine-screw-adjustment for high-force clamping.
It is another object to provide a vise with dual-adjustment mechanism which enables the jaws to be moved rapidly and in a single motion together, and which allows a separate clamping arrangement for moving the vise members relatively together a smaller distance to forcefully clamp the workpiece between the two jaws.
This object is achieved by providing a dual-action quick-set clamping mechanism, herein described in the context of a bench vise. The clamping mechanism includes a stationary jaw portion having a channel there through, and a toothed rack lining the channel. In addition, a slidable jaw portion includes a protruding hollow three-walled (top and two opposing side walls) beam that is inserted into the chamber of the stationary portion. A mandril having a threaded end is rotatably mounted within the hollow beam of the slidable portion. In addition, a toothed pawl having a threaded through-bore is mounted on the threaded end of the mandril. Thus, the mandril and pawl sit in the hollow of the beam of the slideable portion within the channel of said stationary jaw portion. The pawl has a bias spring for biasing the teeth of the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the rack. However, a user may quickly open or close the slidable jaw portion relative to the stationary portion by disengaging the pawl from the rack and sliding the beam of the slidable portion into (or out of) the channel of the stationary portion. Alternatively, the user may engage the pawl with the rack for screw-closing (or like opening) of the slidable portion against the stationary portion in a conventional bench-vise-like manner. This provides a quick-set clamping mechanism which allows a user to initially to preset the jaws by sliding them together in one quick motion, followed by conventional fine-screw-adjustment for high-force clamping.
REFERENCES:
patent: 636661 (1899-11-01), Guest
patent: 1329602 (1920-02-01), Hultberg
patent: 2788688 (1957-04-01), Atkins
patent: 3088729 (1963-05-01), Marcus
patent: 3758308 (1973-09-01), Jesionowski
patent: 5531428 (1996-07-01), Dembicks et al.
Law Offices of Royal W. Craig
Shanley Daniel
Wilson Lee D.
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