Field of the Invention

This invention relates to, but is not limited to, a quick adjustment mechanism that maybe used as an integral part, or an add-on part to, the handle of a tool or clamp, and in particular, is of particular use with a set of locking pliers (such as Mole Grips (or Mole wrenches), Vice-Grips, and the like) that use toggle locking mechanism and which typically have a slow turning adjustment bolt to vary the spacing and gripping pressure of the locking jaws.

The quick adjustment mechanism of the present invention substantially reduces the time it takes to adjust the clamping position of the adjusting bolt typically mounted in the fixed handle of the locking pliers, in order to quickly vary the toggle locking mechanism jaw width, while still allowing use of the features provided by the traditional threaded adjustment bolt currently found on such pliers.

Background of the Invention

Locking pliers, suchas Mole grips (Mole wrench), Vice-Grips, and the like, are pliers-type hand tools that can be locked into position, using an over-center action mechanism or (toggle locking mechanism) to tightly lock the jaws of the pliers to a work piece for the purpose of holding work parts together, or alternatively, to lock the pliers to an object so that the pliers can be used as a wrench. These devices are widely used for a variety of uses, however, and typically have a fixed handle with a fixed jaw on one end thereof. A movable handle pivots a movable jaw relative to the fixed handle to open and close the jaws. To grip a work-piece the handles are tightly compressed, and the linkage of the toggle-locking mechanism locks the pliers onto the work-piece.

l Adjustments in the force applied by the jaws to the work-piece, and/or the position of the jaws, are generally made by turning a threaded adjusting bolt mounted in the fixed handle that engages the toggle locking mechanism. The adjusting bolt is translated relative to the fixed handle to modify the physical dimensions of the toggle mechanism in order to vary the effective length of the linkage of the toggle-locking mechanism. This adjustment varies the distance between the ends of the locking pliers jaws and varies the force applied by the jaws to the work-piece when the tool is locked. As a result, the locking pliers will remain firmly locked in place without the need for a continuous application of force by the user. Locking pliers are available in many different configurations and sizes, such as needle-nose locking pliers, locking wrenches, locking clamps with various shapes and sizes.

A common problem with locking pliers, though, is that adjustment of the distance between the locking plier jaws can be time consuming or can be difficult in some positions or applications. As such, it would be beneficial to provide a quicker mechanism to adjust this distance. Moreover, it would also be beneficial to maintain the current ability to provide "fine" adjustment of the distance between the jaws, using the tradtional, threaded adjustment bolt.

Summary of the Invention

An exemplary implementation of the locking pliers of the present invention provides a clamp or locking pliers that have a quick adjustment mechanism that permits rapid adjustment of the distance between the jaws of the pliers, while allowing the traditional threaded bolt adjustment of the jaw distance, to be maintained. In this feature, the present invention allows the adjustment bolt to be rapidly slid into position using a ratcheting feature, and then adjusted, by rotation of the threaded adjustment bolt. The locking mechanism per se, of the toggle assembly, also preferably remains unchanged.

The advantages set out hereinabove, as well as other objects and goals inherent thereto, are at least partially or fully provided by the quick adjustment mechanisms of the present invention, as set out herein below. Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a quick adjustment mechanism for use in clamping applications, comprising a housing, a locking part positioned substantially within said housing and having a first threaded section and a locking part shaft, a spring connected to said housing and said locking part, a threaded adjustment bolt extending through said housing and having a second threaded section, and a guide on said housing in which said locking part shaft is movably positioned, and, whereby, said spring holds said locking part in either a locked position or a released position as a result of movement of said locking part shaft within said guide, and wherein, when said locking part is in said locked position, said first threaded section is operatively connected to said second threaded section on said threaded adjustment bolt so as to essentially prevent backward movement of said adjustment bolt within said housing, and when said locking part is in said released position, said first threaded section is partially released from said second threaded section so that said adjustment bolt can be moved backwards,

wherein said adjustment bolt is slidable within said housing from a fully extended position to a fully forward position, when said locking part is in a locked position, by use of a ratcheting mechanism, and

wherein said adjustment bolt head comprises a frontal area which contacts said locking part when said adjustment bolt is moved to said fully forward position, and contact of said frontal area with said locking part moves said locking part from said locked position to said released position, whereby said adjustment bolt can be moved back to said fully extended position, and wherein forward movement of said adjustment bolt moves said locking part from said released position to said locking position, by partially contact of said first threaded section with said second threaded section.

The quick adjustment mechanism of the present invention can be retrofitted to existing clamping devices, including locking pliers, or can be made integral with the clamp or locking pliers. As such, in a second aspect, the present invention provides a clamp, or locking pliers, which comprises the quick adjustment mechanism of the present invention.

The quick adjustment mechanism was designed to economically follow the smooth characteristics of the tools operation by pushing the adjustment bolt axially forward (rather than turning) to reduce the jaw spacing width in substantially less time than it typically would take to turn the bolt. This can be done in small or larger increments to reach the desired width of the intended work piece, or to the maximum jaw width whereby further pushing the adjusting bolt all the way forward to the end where the adjustment bolt front angle is tangent to the locking part rear angle thus raising the back section of the locking part to an angle where the locking part teeth are no longer in contact with the adjustment bolt teeth, and thus release the adjustment bolt from the locking part, where the existing biasing spring pushes the jaws away from one another thus pushing the adjustment bolt to the original start point where the jaws are again at its widest pivot point.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In the present application, the term "locking pliers" refers to a set of pliers which are locked into position using an arrangement such as that found in prior art devices such as Vice-Grips, Mole Grips, or the like. However, the skilled artisan will be aware that these types of quick adjustment mechanisms can be used in a wide variety of applications, including, for example, other types of clamps, vises, or clamping systems. Accordingly, while the present application is described with particular reference to the locking plier industry, the skilled artisan would be aware that the present application is equally applicable in other non-locking plier applications.

The locking pliers which are of most interest in the present invention, are usually made in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and the present invention is application to all of these shapes and sizes.

Also, the components of prior art locking pliers are typically made of steel, or the like, and the components of the quick adjustment mechanism of the present invention, are also made of materials such as steel, consistent with the construction and manufacture of the locking pliers themselves.

The quick adjustment mechanism of the present invention significantly decreases the time needed to quickly move the adjustment bolt of the locking jaws without losing the feature of fine tuning using the threaded pressure adjustment bolt, that makes the use of locking pliers so universal. Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of example only in association with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG 1 is an isometric cutaway view of a complete quick adjustment mechanism assembly ;

FIG 2 is a side view of a quick adjustment mechanism assembly;

FIG 3 is a cutaway side view of a mechanism of Fig. 2 in a locking position;

FIG 4 is a cutaway side view of a mechanism of Fig. 2 in a released position;

FIG 5 is a view of a set of locking plies the quick adjustment mechanism of Figure 1 , retrofitted to them;

FIG 6 is an isometric view of a set of locking pliers where the quick adjustment mechanism has been integrated into the locking pliers;

FIG 7 is a side view of quick adjustment mechanism integrated onto locking pliers with the jaws fully opened; and

FIG 8 is a side view of quick adjustment mechanism integrated onto locking pliers with the jaws fully closed.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present invention, as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example only. In the drawings, like reference numerals depict like elements.

It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Also, unless otherwise specifically noted, all of the features described herein may be combined with any of the above aspects, in any combination. Referring to Figures 1 to 4, a first embodiment of a quick adjustment mechanism 20 of the present invention is shown and which preferably includes an adjustment bolt 3, a locking part 2, a locking part shaft 4, a return spring 5, and a housing 1.

The housing 1 may be made of various materials, including plastics and the like, but typically and preferably is made of the same material as that of the locking plier. As such, typically, the housing is made of metal, and typically steel.

A threaded extrusion 6 along a longitudinal axis (a), is also provided in mechanism 20 which is used in retrofitted application, and which can be easily fastened or inserted into or onto the fixed handle 10 (Figure 5) of a set of locking pliers.

The housing 1 has a threaded extrusion 6 along the adjustment bolt 3 along axis (a) that is fastened onto the locking plier handle 10 and serves as a sliding guide for the adjustment bolt 3. The threaded extrusion 6 may be comprised of various diameters to allow for various size locking pliers and thread diameters. The housing 1 preferably includes at least two vertical sides on opposite sides of the housing, wherein housing shaft guides 7 are positioned and profiled so as to reversibly guide the locking part shaft 4 between a position where locking part 2 is in a locked position 8 (in Figure 3) and a released position 9 (in Figure 4).

As seen in Figure 2, the housing shaft guides 7 are preferably arcurate in shape, and are provided so as to allow locking part shaft 4 to move within guide 7. Guides 7 are placed so as to hold the locking part shaft 4 down when the locking part 2 is in a locked position 8 and to hold the locking part 2 at a preferred, raised angle when the locking part 2 is in the released position 9.

The locked 8 and released 9 positions of the locking part 2 dynamics are preferably assisted by the action of at least one spring 5 that is fastened to the housing 1 by various methods preferably a rivet or other such fastener 18. The spring 5 is profiled to assist the locking part 2 to move, and be held, in either the released 9 or locked 8 positions.

The adjustment bolt 3 may be made of any suitable metal or plastic material, but is preferably made of a metal such as steel. The bolt 3 slides inside the housing of threaded extrusion 6 along the bolt axis (a). Bolt 3 includes at one end, adjustment bolt head 14 with a frontal area 13 that has an angle which is preferably tangent to the angle of the rear profile of the locking part 2 such that one end of locking part 2 can wedge underneath the locking part 2 and thus preferably lift the locking part 2 to the released mode 9 when the frontal area 13 contacts the locking part 2. The frontal area 13 of the adjustment bolt 3 may be also used such as a stopper for the adjustment bolt's 3 forward movement.

Furthermore the adjustment bolt 3 preferably includes a threaded shaft 17 that is slightly smaller in diameter than the inner section of housing thread extrusion 6 so as to allow bolt 3 to slide within housing thread extrusion 6. However, threaded shaft 17 teeth are coherent to and releasably engage with, the threaded locking part teeth 15 on locking part 2, when locking part 2 is in its locked position 9. When locking part 2 is moved to its released position 8 by the action of frontal area 13 acting on locking part 2, threaded shaft 17 teeth, are disengaged from locking part teeth 15.

Teeth 15 are preferably off center to the locking part shaft 4 thus allowing the locking part 2 to automatically float in a ratcheting action 12 when the adjustment bolt 3 is pushed inwards, in a forward motion. However, even when ratcheting forward, the locking part 2 maintains at least some contact with the adjustment bolt 3 by spring 5 as seen in Figure 4. Moreover, spring 5 is preferably attached to the housing 1 at a preferred angle and position so that spring 5 provides tension on the locking part 2 and thus allows the locking part 2 to float up and down on the off centered locking part shaft 4 on the forward motion of the adjustment bolt 3.

The forward motion of adjustment bolt 3 is preferably limited so as to be related to the minimum jaw clearance of the locking pliers 22 (Figure 7), where the frontal angle 13 of the adjustment bolt head 14 comes in contact to the rear section angle of the locking part 2. At this point, adjustment bolt front angle 13 wedges under the locking part 2, and locking part shaft 4 is lifted (in a manner that is guided by the housing profiled shaft guides 7) to the top of the housing shaft guides 7. This function is also assisted by spring 5's position, angle and profile such that in either of the two modes, locking part shaft 4 is held in place in guides 7 by spring 5. At this point, locking part 2 is in its released position 9, and bolt 3 can be pulled back to its fully extended position (Fig 7), or an adjustment spring 22 (Fig 9) commonly found on locking pliers can be used to push bolt 3 outwards.

It should be noted, however, that spring 5 essentially and preferably pushes downwardly on the locking part 2 at the locked position 8 and essentially and preferably pushes backward at the released position 9, as seen in Figures 3 and 4. In Figure 3, locking part 2 is in locked position 8, and spring 5 holds the locking part 2 at a higher contact point relative to the release position 9 as seen in Figure 4.

Fig 5 shows a representation of the quick adjustment mechanism 20 of Figures 1 to 4 which has been retro-fitted to a set of locking pliers 10. In this option, the usual adjustment bolt (not shown) from the pliers is removed, and the treaded extrusion 6, as part of mechanism 20, is threaded into the pliers, in place of the traditional adjustment bolt. However, it will be understood that a quick adjustment mechanism 21 of the present invention can also be included as part of, and integral with, a new set of locking pliers, as seen in Fig 6. In this embodiment, threaded extrusion 6 is optional, since this function can be made integral with the pliers themselves.

Fig 7 shows the adjustment bolt at full reverse position thus the movable handle pivots a movable jaw relative to the fixed handle to fully open the jaws of the locking pliers to their maximum distance 23 and where adjustment bolt 3 is fully extended. Fig 8 shows the adjustment bolt 3 at full forward position wherein the movable handle is positioned so that the jaws of the locking pliers are set to their minimum distance 22.

It will also be clear to the skilled artisan that the quick adjustment mechanism of the present invention may be profiled to economically allow the user to have a better grip or to provide an anchor points for the operators hand, or provide other finders to further increase ease of use.

Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the present invention, a quick adjustment mechanism for a set of locking pliers, which fully satisfies the goals, objects, and advantages set forth hereinbefore. Therefore, having described specific embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that alternatives, modifications and variations thereof may be suggested to those skilled in the art, and that it is intended that the present specification embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Additionally, for clarity and unless otherwise stated, the word "comprise" and variations of the word such as "comprising" and "comprises", when used in the description and claims of the present specification, is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. Further, the invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.

Moreover, the words "substantially" or "essentially", when used with an adjective or adverb is intended to enhance the scope of the particular characteristic; e.g., substantially planar is intended to mean planar, nearly planar and/or exhibiting characteristics associated with a planar element.