ATTACHMENT CLAMP FOR A PAIR OF ELONGATE MEMBERS

This invention relates to a clamp which may be used for attachment of a pair of elongate members including rods or tubes to each other. Thus for example one elongate member may be part of existing support structure on a transportation medium such as a boat and thus may be releasably or fixedly attached to an internal surface of a gunnel of a motorboat for example. The other elongate member may be an accessory such as a tarpaulin holder, bait board, beverage holder and the like.

Reference may be made to conventional clamps for connection of elongate members such as pipes as described for example in US Patent 6,308,921. This clamp refers to a two pipe clamp having two clamping bodies or components which each include a respective cheek when brought into contact or abutment to form a pair of passages for retention of two parallel pipes. The two clamping bodies are pressed against each other by a tightening screw extending between the passages from a top cover plate to a base plate. Each clamping cheek is retained between the cover plate and the base plate. Each clamping body is framed by an exterior security strip forming a reinforcement. The use of each security strip was necessary to limit the clamping force obtained during use of the clamp so as to provide for the clamp to be used for pipes formed from flexible material or having low inherent stability.

Reference also may be made to clamps for clamping together of tubular members such as hoses as described in US Patent 4,595,162, 6,902,138, 2,288,158 and WO 97/37164. Each of these conventional clamps

also included the use of abutting clamp bodies or components as described in US Patent 6,308,921. However each of these conventional clamps was intended for use in a particular limited environment wherein one of the clamping bodies was attached to a fixed support such as a frame, angle bracket, engine block and the like. This conclusion also applied to US Patent 6,308,921 when the base plate was different to the cover plate and thus the base plate could be used as a welding plate or be formed by a longitudinal rail having a hollow profile with a longitudinal slot.

Reference may also be made to US Patent 3,682,422 which describes a pair of clamping members of identical construction secured by nuts and bolts. Each clamping body has one or more tubular conduits mounted in sleeve members or grommets of rubber or other elastomeric material. Each of the grommets is provided with an end flange. Each clamping body is formed of a plastics body having a pair of side walls as well as a pair of end walls. Each of the side walls had semi circular recess. There was also provided tubular fastener guides, longitudinal ribs and transverse guide ribs.

Thus it will be appreciated that being formed of plastics material each clamping body was of a complicated construction and that this reference had only limited application, i.e. being restricted to hydraulic hoses or conduits because of the necessity of each of the abovementioned conduits being formed from grommets formed of elastomeric material.

Reference also maybe made to US Patent 5,076,518 which describes structure for securing pipes together using a bracket body formed of intergral passages for retention of the pipes. The pipes can only be secured in the

bracket body when the bracket body is formed being made from thermoplastic resin and this can only occur during moulding of the bracket body. It therefore will be appreciated that the application of this clamping structure was extremely limited. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a clamp that may alleviate one or more of the abovementioned disadvantages of the prior art.

The clamp of the invention has a pair of opposed clamping bodies having a plurality of passages and more preferably a pair of passages for insertion therethrough in use of elongate members inclusive of pipes, rods, conduits and the like wherein each passage is formed by recesses which are preferably arcuate in each clamping body when in abutment with each other.

There is also provided a plurality of fasteners which extend through aligned openings in each clamping body to maintain each clamping body in abutment. This invention is characterised by the following features, i.e.

(i) a longest dimension of each clamping body is parallel to each passage;

(ii) the fasteners are oriented in a direction that is normal to each passage; and (iii) each clamping body does not incorporate any support structure such as a bracket, frame, block and the like.

Each clamping body is preferably substantially plate like incorporating a wall which has a continuous external surface which is curved at each side in cross section to form said arcuate recesses. There also may be provided

an internal rib which also forms part of each passage so that when each clamping body is in substantial abutment an internal rib of one clamping body has an elongate planar surface which is in contact with or closely spaced from a corresponding elongate planar surface of another internal rib of the other clamping body.

Preferably in this particular embodiment each of the openings for the fasteners extend through an associated internal rib of each clamping body. Most preferably there are a pair of fasteners and thus there are provided a pair of openings. Preferably in another embodiment the clamp may also include a rod holder or support tube which is attached to an adjacent clamping body by an elongate fastener extending through opposed openings in the rod holder and which also extends through opposed openings in each internal rib of each clamping body. Reference may be made to a preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in the attached drawings wherein:

FIG 1 is an exploded perspective view of a clamp constructed in accordance with the invention which incorporates a rod holder;

FIGS 2-5 show perspective views from varying angles of the clamp and rod holder assembly shown in FIG 1 ;

FIG 6 is a plan view of the clamp and rod holder assembly shown in FIGS 2-5;

FIG 7 is a side view of the clamp and rod holder assembly shown in FIGS 2-5;

FIG 8 is an end view of the rod holder and clamp assembly shown in FIGS 2-5;

FIG 9 is a view of a motorboat which incorporates elongate supports for the rod holder and clamp assembly of the invention; FIG 10 is a perspective view of the rod holder and clamp assembly of the invention when used as a bait tray;

FIG 11 is a perspective view of the rod holder and clamp assembly of the invention when used to support a beverage container; and

FIG 12 is a perspective view of the rod holder and clamp assembly of the invention when used to support a bucket.

In the drawings there is shown rod holder and clamp assembly 10 having clamp 11 and rod holder 12. Clamp 11 has opposed clamping bodies or components 13 and 14 adapted to be connected to each other whereby edges 15 and 16 abut corresponding edges 17 and 18 and there is also incorporated intermediate ribs 19 and 20 which abut at mating surfaces 21 and 22. Each clamping body has a wall 9 having a continuous external surface 8. Each wall 9 is curved at 9A on each side to partly form arcuate recesses 7. Each rib 19 and 20 includes reinforcement cavities 23 and 24. There is also included opposed passages 25 and 27 and 26 and 28 for insertion of fasteners 29 each having a head 30. Each of passages 27 and 28 are countersunk at 27A and 28A to receive nuts 32. The shank 31 of each fastener 29 is attached to nut 32 to attach each component 13 and 14 to each other. There is also provided a fastener 33 also having a head 34 which extends through aperture 35 of rod holder 12, hollow interior 36 of rod holder

12, hollow interior 37 of projection 38 having a serrated edge 39 and hollow interior 40 of mating projection 41 having a serrated edge 42, passage 43 of rib 20 and passage 44 of rib 19 before being engaged by wingnut 45. In this situation the threaded part 46 of fastener 33 engages with aperture 47 of wingnut 45. It will be appreciated that head 34 which is usually of hexagonal shape is easily accessible to a suitable tool such as a spanner or Allen key for disassembly of rod holder 12 from clamp 10 when required.

From a review of FIGS 2-5 it will be appreciated that both serrated edges 39 and 42 engage with each other along contact line 47 when rod holder 12 is attached to clamp 10. Each head 30 of fasteners 29 also has a screw driver slot or Phillips Head grooves 49 for engagement by a screw driver when required. Rod holder 12 is also provided with a peripheral flange 51 and bottom frame 52 for retaining a rod (not shown) in rod holder 12. Each of edges 15, 16, 17 and 18 engage along contact lines 53. In FIG 6 there is also shown contact lines 53A and 53B formed by abutting components 13 and 14. In FIG 7 there is also shown components 13 and 14 engaging along contact line 53. In FIG 8 there is shown hexagonal head 34 which is of smaller width or transverse dimension than passages 43 and 44. Clamp 10 is also provided with a pair of sockets or internal passages 54 and 55 as shown in FIGS 2 and 3.

It will be appreciated that rod holder 12 is easily disconnected from clamp 10 and this means that rod holder may be rotated through 360° to disconnect rod holder and clamp assembly 10 from a left hand side of a boat and reattach assembly 10 to a right hand side of the boat when required. It

will also be appreciated that rod holder and clamp assembly 10 may be attached to a left or right hand side of a boat as may be required. For example in FIG 9 there are shown support elongate members in the form of canopy poles 56A and 56B which may be attached to an internal surface of side wall 59 of motorboat 59A having motor 60 and drive propeller 61. One elongate member 56A or 56B may be passed through passage 54 or 55. Hand rails 61 A and 61 B may also be used as elongate support members. There is also shown canopy 57 and window 58.

In FIGS 10-12 there is shown three different applications of the rod holder and clamp assembly 10 of the invention whereby in FIG 10 the rod holder and clamp assembly 10 is being used as a bait tray whereby socket

54 is being used to retain bait tray holder 62 which is attached to bait tray 64 by uprights 63. The other socket 55 is used to retain elongate member 56A.

In FIG 11 the rod holder and clamp assembly 10 is being used to hold a beverage container 65 which is provided with retaining members 66 which engage with each end of holder 62. The beverage container 65 may be used as a container or soft drink cans or beer cans as appropriate.

In FIG 12 bucket 67 is shown attached to holder 62 wherein handle 68 engages with holder 62 at each end thereof. In FIG 13 reference is made to clamp 11 A falling within the scope of the invention whereby rod holder 12 is omitted. Each of components 13 and 14 have abutting edges 15, 16, 17 and 18 as described in FIG 1 and abutting internal ribs 19 and 20. There is also provided fasteners 29 and nuts 32 as described above in FIG 1. Each of internal passages 43 is countersunk at

27A and 28A to receive nuts 32 as shown in FIG 1.

In FIG 14 there is shown the clamp 11 A used for connection of two elongate members 68 and 69 to each other which each extend through sockets 54 and 55. Thus for example elongate member 68 may correspond to an existing member 56A or 56B and elongate member 69 may correspond to another elongate member which has another attachment to it as shown in

FIGS 10-12 or which forms part of a tarpaulin, telephone holder or even constitute a fishing rod holder. Either support elongate members may constitute tent poles or form part of a deck chair. From the embodiment of FIGS 13-14 it will be appreciated that the clamp 11A may be used in each of the applications shown in FIGS 10, 11 or

12 with omission of rod holder 12.

The clamp of the invention has the following advantages over the prior art, i.e. (i) each clamping body 13 and 14 does not incorporate any extraneous support structure. This means that clamp 11 can be dismantled from one gunnel of a boat and attached to the other gunnel as described herein. This also makes each clamping body 13 and 14 of a single structural shape and thereby reducing manufacturing costs; (ii) the longest dimension of clamp 11 is normal to the orientation of each fastener 30 and this provides a greatly reinforced or strengthened structure compared to the prior art; and

(iii) the inclusion of rod holder 12 as an optional extra makes the clamp extremely useful in a marine environment such as boats.