Pipes cannot be satisfactorily clamped in a normal bench vice because the jaws thereof provide only a two-point contact with the pipe. It is therefore known to provide one or two pipe jaw adaptors which are suitably profiled to enable a pipe to be clamped therein with at least three points of contact.

A pipe jaw adaptor can be snap-fitted over the normal jaw when required, but this has the disadvantage that the snap-on pipe jaw needs to be stored carefully otherwise it may be lost when not in use.

To avoid this problem, the pipe jaw adaptor can be pivotally attached to the jaw, with a pivot running parallel with the normal jaw so that the adaptor is readily movable between an"in-use"position in which the pipe jaw adaptor is snap fitted to the face of the jaw and a"storage"position in which the pipe jaw adaptor is pivoted downwardly away from the jaw so that it can be stored within the throat of the vice.

However, this pivoted pipe jaw adaptor has the disadvantage that, when it is desired to clamp a particularly large or bulky object, when the pipe jaw adaptor is not required, the stored adaptor in the throat of the vice can interfere with the object or even prevent it from being clamped at all.

The bench vice or clamp of the present invention seeks to alleviate the above-described problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bench vice or clamp having a moveable jaw, a fixed jaw and a throat therebetween, the bench vice or clamp further comprising a jaw adaptor pivotably attachable thereto such that the jaw adaptor is moveable between a first, in use, position wherein the jaw adaptor is mountable on one of said jaws and a second, storage, position wherein the jaw adaptor is situated substantially wholly outside the throat of the bench vice or clamp.

In this way, when the jaw adaptor is not required, it can be straightforwardly pivoted away from the in use position to a storage position where it does not encroach into the space within the throat of the vice. Therefore the stored jaw adaptor will not interfere with an object which is being held in the jaws. of the bench vice or clamp. However, the jaw adaptor is not physically separated from the bench vice or clamp and therefore is readily available for use when required, eliminating the risk of it becoming lost.

Preferably, the jaw adaptor comprises a rear face having a recess therein which, in use, receives one of said jaws. This assists in positioning the jaw adaptor correctly and quickly with respect to the jaw of the bench vice when required.

Preferably, the jaw adaptor comprises a front face which has a textured or other friction-improving surface thereon which can improve the grip on an object held by the jaw adaptor, in use.

Preferably, with the jaw adaptor in the in use position, a rear face of the jaw adaptor is biassed against one of said jaws. Preferably, with the jaw adaptor in the in use position, a rear face of the jaw adaptor is a snap- fit on one of said jaws. These features reduce the risk of the jaw adaptor becoming dislodged.

Preferably, the jaw adaptor is pivotably mounted on a pin projecting from said fixed jaw in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vice or clamp.

In a preferred form, the bench vice or clamp includes two of said jaw adaptors which, in the in use position, are located one at each end region of one of said jaws.

Preferably, the bench vice or clamp includes at least one of said jaw adaptors associated with each of said fixed and moveable jaws.

Preferably, the or each jaw adaptor is pivotable through substantially 180° between the in use and the storage position. Ideally, in the storage position, the or each jaw adaptor hangs adjacent the throat of the bench vice or clamp.

Preferably, the or each jaw adaptor has a vertical dimension greater than the vertical dimension of the throat.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a jaw adaptor for use in a bench vice or clamp as described in any of the preceding paragraphs.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bench vice including pipe jaw adaptors embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the bench vice illustrated in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is an end view of the bench vice illustrated in Figure 1 ; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a bench vice including pipe jaw adaptors embodying the invention, in which the pipe jaw adaptors have been pivoted into the storage position; Figure 5 is a side view of the bench vice illustrated in Figure 4; and Figure 6 is an end view of the bench vice illustrated in Figure 4.

With reference to Figures 1-3, there is shown a bench vice 1 of conventional type i. e. having a fixed jaw 2 and a moveable jaw 3, the moveable jaw being moveable towards and away from the fixed jaw by rotating a tommy bar 4.

The region between the jaws where an object can be clamped, is known as the throat 5. The throat includes not only the region between the gripping faces of the jaws, but also the region below the gripping faces but between the bodies of the jaws (see reference numeral 5 in Figures 2 and 4).

The bench vice 1 shown in Figures 1-3 has been adapted by the provision thereon of jaw adaptors 10 according to the present invention. In Figures 1-3, the jaw adaptors 10 are shown in the"in use"position. Each jaw adaptor 10 comprises a textured front face 11 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is suitably profiled to enable a pipe or tube to be clamped by the bench vice. The selected shape of front faces 11 means that a three-point contact can be provided between the bench vice and the pipe it is desired to hold therein. In addition to the selected profile of front face 11, texturing or other friction-improving means can be provided to further improve the grip of the jaw adaptor on the pipe or other object held therein.

The rear face of each jaw adaptor 10 is provided with a recess 12 which is suitably sized and shaped to receive the gripping face of the fixed jaw 2. This helps locate the jaw adaptors 10 into the correct position when they are required to be used and also helps prevent the jaw adaptors becoming dislodged whilst in use. The jaw adaptors may optionally be biassed against the fixed jaw, for example by using a spring.

Each of the jaw adaptors 10 is pivotally mounted on a pin 13 which is fixed with respect to the fixed jaw 2 and projects therefrom as illustrated in the Figures in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bench vice. In this context,"longitudinal axis of the bench vice"means the axis along which the movable jaw is moved in order to bring it closer to or away from the fixed jaw.

The jaw adaptor 10 is mounted on the pin 13 by means of a sleeve 14 which substantially surrounds the pin but

allows the jaw adaptor to pivot freely about the longitudinal axis of the pin 13. The pin 13 may have an enlarged head 15 to prevent the jaw adaptor 10 from sliding off the end of the pin. If the jaw adaptor 10 is to be biassed against the fixed jaw, in use, this may be achieved by provision of a spring between the sleeve 14 and the enlarged head 15.

Referring now to Figures 4-6, when it is no longer desired to use the jaw adaptors 10, for example when it is desired to clamp a planar object, the jaw adaptors need to be moved away from the fixed jaw 2 so that it (the fixed jaw) may be used conventionally. As discussed previously, prior art bench vices can have jaw adaptors which pivot about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vice so that the unused jaw adaptors hang below the gripping faces of the jaws 2 and 3 i. e. within the throat 5.

Figures 4-6 show the jaw adaptors 10 of the present invention in the"storage"position, from which it can be seen that they do not encroach into the throat 5 at all.

The pipe jaw adaptor is pivoted from the in use position shown in Figures 1-3 to the storage position by rotation about the pin 13. The leftmost jaw adaptor illustrated in Figure 1 is pivoted in a anti-clockwise direction and the rightmost jaw adaptor illustrated in Figure 1 is pivoted in a clockwise direction to reach the position illustrated in Figure 4. It can be seen from Figure 4 that the jaw adaptor 10 has pivoted through approximately 180° and can now hang freely from the pin 13 until it is needed again.

Since the jaw adaptors are stored outside the throat when not in use, the dimensions of the jaw adaptors need not

be limited by the dimensions of the throat, unlike in the prior art wherein jaw adaptors are stored within the throat. In particular, the vertical dimension of the jaw adaptor, i. e. the height from top to bottom of the adaptor illustrated in Figure 1, can be greater than the vertical dimension of the throat 5, i. e. the distance from the top of the fixed and moveable jaws to the base 5a of the throat. This advantage means that the bench vice or clamp can clamp larger objects than would be possible with the prior art, in particular pipes of larger diameter.

The illustrated embodiment shows the use of two pipe jaw adaptors 10, one at each end region of the fixed jaw 2.

In an alternative embodiment (not illustrated), the two pipe jaw adaptors 10 could be replaced by a single pipe jaw adaptor of sufficient width to extend substantially across the entire jaw 2 and which, again, could pivot about its mounting pin out of the throat area when not required.

The illustrated embodiment shows the front faces 11 of the pipe jaw adaptors being of a suitable profile to grip a pipe or tube. It is envisaged that jaw adaptors having different profiles may be employed when it is desired to grip other irregularly-shaped objects. The enlarged head 15 on the mounting pin 13 may be removable to facilitate removing and replacing a jaw adaptor with another of a different profile.

The bench vice including a jaw adaptor according to the present invention therefore provides a convenient means of gripping irregularly shaped objects when required but with the advantage of being able to store the jaw adaptor when not in use without risk of interfering with objects clamped in the throat of the vice.