SPRING CLAMP FOR A SUPPORT LEG
A detachable support for a workpiece, and in particular a bending brake, includes a workpiece support and a clamp pivotally attached to the workpiece support. The clamp further comprises a lever that pivots about a pivot axis relative to the workpiece support between an unclamped position and a clamped position, the clamp being biased toward the clamped position. In operation, a user pivots the clamp into an unclamped position, places the detachable support structure into positional engagement with the workpiece, and then releases the clamp into clamping engagement with the workpiece.
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The present invention relates to clamps in general, and more specifically to a spring clamp for a support leg for attachment to, for example, a sheet bending brake.
BACKGROUNDBending brakes are utilized in numerous industries, especially in the aluminum siding industry, to bend workpieces of substantially flat sheet material (e.g. aluminum), in situ, through a wide range of angles. A bending brake is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,176, incorporated by reference herein, by the present inventor. Such bending brake is now also being used to bend vinyl material that, like aluminum, is formed into coils to promote transportability.
Typical bending brakes also have pairs of support legs that are bolted or otherwise fixed thereon and usually foldable thereunder. Such fixed leg pairs tend to seriously impede the process of loading/unloading the brakes onto/from the roof racks of pickup trucks used to transport the brakes from job site to job site. Moreover, fixed leg pairs prevent the brakes from being used directly on scaffolds, forcing workers to pass aluminum or vinyl material down from the scaffolds every time they need to cut, bend, or otherwise manipulate such material.
Detachable brake support legs were developed to overcome the problems associated with fixed leg supports. Various types of detachable brake supports are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,312, incorporated by reference herein, also to the present inventor. One example is shown herein in
Other prior art solutions, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,789 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,314, utilize bulky stands that are not easily portable or transportable, or are otherwise suited for working environments designed for fixed leg support models. Accordingly, there is a need for a detachable support structure, particularly for a bending brake, that is easy to attach, easy to remove, easy to transport, and that does not detract from the portability of the device as a whole. In addition, there is a need for a detachable support structure that can be manipulated, positioned and preferably attached with minimal effort, and more preferably with one hand.
SUMMARYA detachable support structure for a workpiece, and in particular a bending brake, comprises a workpiece support and a clamp pivotally attached to the workpiece support. The clamp further comprises a lever that pivots about a pivot axis relative to the workpiece support between an unclamped position and a clamped position, the clamp being biased toward the clamped position. In operation, a user pivots the clamp into an unclamped position, places the detachable support structure into positional engagement with the workpiece, and then releases the clamp into clamping engagement with the workpiece.
The following detailed description is of the best mode or modes of the invention presently contemplated. Such description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense, but to be an example of the invention presented solely for illustration thereof, and by reference to which in connection with the following description and the accompanying drawings one skilled in the art may be advised of the advantages and construction of the invention. In the various views of the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similar parts.
The following detailed description also references one embodiment of a detachable support for a workpiece, where the workpiece is illustrated as a sheet bending brake. Other embodiments are contemplated where the workpiece is not a sheet bending brake, it being understood that the detachable support could be constructed to engage any type of workpiece desired by the user. However, for purposes of convenience and illustration herein, the workpiece will be described as a bending brake.
A clamp 200 (
The workpiece support 110 further comprises a first guide recess 120 (
The above embodiment describes a detachable support structure, particularly for a bending brake, that is easy to attach, easy to remove, easy to transport, and that does not detract from the portability of the device as a whole. It will be appreciated the detachable support structure of the described embodiment can be used with workpieces other than bending brakes, such as, for example, table saws, saw horses, etc. In addition, it will be appreciated the detachable support structure of the described embodiment can be used with other items such as ping pong tables, card tables, or any items that could benefit from detachable legs.
While the present invention has been described at some length and with some particularity with respect to the described embodiment, it is not intended that it should be limited to any such particulars or embodiment, but it is to be construed with references to the appended claims so as to provide the broadest possible interpretation of such claims in view of the prior art and, therefore, to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing describes the invention in terms of embodiments foreseen by the inventor for which an enabling description was available, notwithstanding that insubstantial modifications of the invention, not presently foreseen, may nonetheless represent equivalents thereto.
Claims
1. A detachable support leg for a workpiece comprising:
- a) a workpiece support having a longitudinal axis;
- b) a clamp pivotally attached to the workpiece support and further comprising a lever that pivots about a pivot axis relative to the workpiece support between an unclamped position and a clamped position; and
- c) a biasing member for biasing the lever toward the clamped position.
2. The detachable support leg of claim 1, wherein the pivot axis is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece support.
3. The detachable support leg of claim 2, wherein the workpiece support further comprises a first guide recess for receiving a portion of a workpiece.
4. The detachable support leg of claim 4, the lever further comprising a first end for engagement by a user and a second end for engagement with a workpiece, the second end of the lever further defining a second guide recess with the workpiece support when the lever is in the clamped position.
5. The detachable support leg of claim 4, wherein the first guide recess extends longitudinally along a length of the workpiece support.
6. The detachable support leg of claim 5, wherein the second guide recess extends along a width of the clamp.
7. The detachable support leg of claim 1, wherein the clamp is attached to the workpiece support by a pivot pin, the biasing member being secured around the pivot pin.
8. The detachable support leg of claim 7, wherein the pivot pin is secured to a bifurcated channel in an interior of the workpiece support.
9. The detachable support leg of claim 1, wherein the clamp is positioned relative to the detachable support leg such that it can be biased into the unclamped position simultaneously with a positioning of the workpiece support into an engagement with the workpiece.
10. The detachable support leg of claim 1, wherein the workpiece is a bending brake.
11. A bending brake comprising at least one removable support leg, the at least one removable support leg further comprising a clamp having a lever that pivots about a pivot axis between an unclamped position and a clamped position, the lever biased toward the clamped position for biased engagement with the bending brake.
12. The bending brake of claim 11, wherein the bending brake further comprises a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, and the pivot axis is parallel to the transverse axis of the bending brake.
13. The bending brake of claim 11, wherein the at least one removable support leg further comprises a first guide recess for receiving a portion of the bending brake.
14. The bending brake of claim 13, the lever further comprising a first end for engagement by a user and a second end for engagement with the portion of the bending brake, the second end of the lever further defining a second guide recess with the at least one removable support leg when the lever is in the clamped position.
15. A method of attaching a support leg to a bending brake, comprising:
- a) providing a support leg with a clamp that moves between an open position and a clamped position;
- b) simultaneously gripping the support leg and the clamp such that the clamp moves into the open position;
- c) positioning the support leg into engagement with the bending brake; and
- d) releasing the support leg with the clamp in the clamped position thereby attaching the support leg to the bending brake.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the clamp is pivotally attached to the support leg such that the clamp pivots about a pivot axis between the open and clamped positions.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the clamp is biased toward the clamped position.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the clamp is centrally positioned on the support leg.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the bending brake further comprises a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, and the pivot axis is parallel to the transverse axis of the bending brake.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising attaching another support leg to the bending brake.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 16, 2007
Publication Date: Sep 18, 2008
Applicant: ALUM-A-POLE CORPORATION (Scranton, PA)
Inventors: Carl E. Anderson (Scranton, PA), Kevin Jablonski (Scranton, PA)
Application Number: 11/687,249
International Classification: B21D 11/00 (20060101);