CANTILEVER TENSION CLAMP AND BRACKET
A clamp in which two clamping arms are disposed on a extending member to hold the arms apart from each other, with a tension element that draws the clamping arms against the objects to be held by the clamp. The tension element and the extending member may then operate as a bracket for attaching or mounting other objects to or on that which is held by the clamp.
The present application claims the benefit of and priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. US61/036,473 entitled CANTILEVER TENSION CLAMP AND BRACKET filed on Mar. 14, 2008.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSNone.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIXNot Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a clamp in which two clamping arms are disposed on an extending member that positions the arms apart from each other to fit the object or objects to be held, with a tension element that draws the clamping arms against the objects to be held by the clamp. The tension element and the extending member may then operate as a bracket for attaching or mounting other objects to or on that which is held by the clamp.
As tools clamps are well known and generally operate to force a pair of jaws against a workpiece. Typical of such clamps is the C-clamp, which utilizes a pad attached to a screw which engages threads in one of the jaws to force the object to be clamped with the pad against the other jaw. Such devices are generally covered by United States Class 269, “work holders”, and United States Class 248, “supports”. Almost all of such devices employ a screw mechanism to compressively drive at least one of the jaws against the object to be clamped, such as the Clamp Tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,891, the J-Clamp For Woodwork And Method Of Use disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,651, the Clamp Jaw disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,628, the Clamp Fixtures disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,478, and the Clamp Mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,345. Although some other devices employ tension in one or more of their elements to make the clamp operable, the present invention appears to be unique in the employment of a tension element in the form of a rod or cable which draws cantilevered clamping arms (analogous to jaws in the above-mentioned patents) against the object or objects to be held.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is contrived in view of the above-mentioned points. One object of the invention is to provide a clamp tool for the usual purposes of holding a workpiece in a particular position, or of holding objects together. However, the principal object of the invention is to serve as a bracket for attaching other objects to the object or objects held in the clamping arms, such as attaching reflective panels against the screen of a television set where the television set is held in the clamping arms. The present invention achieves these objectives as a clamp in which two clamping arms are disposed on an extending member that positions the arms apart from each other to fit the object or objects to be held, with a tension element and tensioner that draws the cantilever clamping arms against the objects to be held by the clamp. The tension element and the extending member may then serve as a foundation for attaching or mounting other objects to or on that which is held by the clamp.
The present invention is a cantilever clamp and bracket (hereinafter referred to simply as “clamp” and/or “bracket”) in which two clamping arms are disposed on an extending member that positions the arms apart from each other to fit the object or objects to be held, with at least one tension element that draws at least one cantilever clamping arm (hereinafter referred to simply as “arm”) against the object or objects to be held by the clamp. A tension element may be a rod, a cable, or two connected rods or cables. The tension element is caused to draw an arm against the object to be held by a tensioner operating on the tension element that pulls one clamping arm toward the other. A tensioner may be a threaded nut screwed onto a tension element that is a threaded rod, or another well known device for creating tension along cables or rods, such as a racheting tensioner. Drawing one of the arms against the object to be held causes the other arm to be drawn against the object to be held from the opposite direction, thus clamping the object. The clamp may have a single tension element with a tensioner connected to one or both of the arms, or may have two tension elements, each connected to one arm with a tensioner. Where only one arm of the clamp is connected to a tension element, the other end of the tension element must be connected to the extending member either directly (not shown in the drawings) or to a tension stop attached to the extending member or integral with the arm via a cantilever brace.
The aspect of the invention which provides a bracket for attachment of objects to the object held by the clamp may be carried out with supports held in position on either the tension elements or the extending member. Such objects maybe attached to such supports with any means of attachment, such as clips, bolts, adhesive, etc.
The present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The same operation is also obtained from the embodiment shown in
Service of the invention as a bracket for attaching other objects to the object held in the clamping arms is accomplished with the means of a support attached to either the tension element 3 or the extending member 2. One such support is shown in
While the invention has been disclosed in connection with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular embodiment shown, but it is intended to cover the various alternative and equivalent constructions included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A clamp and bracket comprising: so that the clamping arms are drawn against one or more of the objects to be held by the clamping arms.
- (a) two clamping arms disposed on at least one extending member apart from each other;
- (b) at least one tension element connected to at least one of said clamping arms; and
- (c) at least one tensioner disposed to induce tension in that tension element,
2. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the tension element is connected to both clamping arms.
3. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the clamping arms are integrated with the extending member.
4. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein said at least one tension element is a rod or a cable.
5. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein said at least one tension element is at least partially threaded.
6. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the tensioner is a threaded nut.
7. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the tensioner is a racheting tensioner.
8. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein said at least one tension element is connected to only one of said clamping arms.
9. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the tension element connected to one of said clamping arms is also connected to a tension stop operably associated with the clamping arm.
10. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the tension element connected to one of said clamping arms is also connected to a tension stop located in the direction from which tension draws the clamping arm against said one or more of the objects to be held by the clamping arms.
11. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein cushion pads are attached to one or more of the clamping arms where it is in contact with said one or more of the objects to be held in the clamping arms.
12. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein one or more supports for one or more objects to be attached to the object to be held by the clamp and bracket are disposed in position on either the tension elements or the extending member.
13. A clamp and bracket comprising:
- (a) two clamping arms disposed on at least one extending member apart from each other;
- (b) a tension element connected to at least one of said clamping arms;
- (c) a tensioner disposed to induce tension in the tension element so that one or more of said clamping arms are drawn against one or more of the objects to be held by the clamping arms; and
- (d) one or more supports disposed in position on either the tension elements or the extending member for attaching one or more objects to said one or more objects to be held by the clamping arms.
14. The clamp and bracket of claim 13, wherein the tension element is connected to both clamping arms.
15. The clamp and bracket of claim 13, wherein the clamping arms are integrated with the extending member.
16. The clamp and bracket of claim 13, wherein said at least one tension element is connected to only one of said clamping arms.
17. The clamp and bracket of claim 13, wherein the tension element connected to one of said clamping arms is also connected to a tension stop operably associated with the clamping arm.
18. A clamp and bracket comprising:
- (a) two clamping arms disposed on at least one extending member apart from each other;
- (b) at least one tension element connected to at least one of said clamping arms;
- (c) a tensioner disposed on at least one of said tension elements to draw one or more of said clamping arms against one or more of the objects to be held by the clamping arms;
19. The clamp and bracket of claim 18, wherein at least one tension element connected to one of said clamping arms is also connected to a tension stop operably associated with the clamping arm.
20. The clamp and bracket of claim 18, wherein at least one tension element connected to one of said clamping arms is also connected to a tension stop in the direction of which tension draws the clamping arm against said one or more of the objects to be held by the clamping arms.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 12, 2009
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2009
Inventor: Anthony Italo Provitola (DeLand, FL)
Application Number: 12/403,367
International Classification: A47B 96/06 (20060101);