US2731288A - Toggle clamp - Google Patents

Description

17, 1956 G. B. LANGFORD 2,731,288

TOGGLE CLAMP Filed May 7, 1955 1' l0 l 15 T 1 Z INVENTOR.

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United States areas iiice 2,731,288 Patented Jan. 17, 1956 TOGGLE CLAMP Gilbert B. Langford, Iintlianapolis, hath, assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Application May 7, 1953, Serial No. 353,703 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-258) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to a toggle clamp which is adapted to secure the closure of a case to the case.

In general such closures have been secured by bolts and nuts which have the disadvantages that, with use, the threads become damaged thereby making it diflicult to put on or take-off the nut, and the disadvantage that the nut or bolt or both may easily become lost.

The objects of this invention are:

To provide a fastening means which is secure and which may be easily and rapidly actuated.

To provide a fastening means easily secured to a case no parts of which have to be separated in operation, with the attendant chance for loss.

To provide a clamp device which avoids the chance of damage to threads by avoiding threaded adjustment in normal operation.

To provide a fastening clamp which is rapid in opera tion.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention,

Fig. 2 shows the clamp applied as a fastener to the casing, and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the locking link.

The toggle clamp of the present invention comprises a bar member 9 which consists of two portions. The first portion 10 is a threaded portion, the other portion 11 is a rectangular portion. Slidably carried upon the threaded portion is a pivot member 12 which has extensions 27 and 28. The pivot member is adjustably held in position by a nut 13. Attached to the rectangular portion 11 of the bar is a locking member 15 which is pivoted to the end of the bar 9 by a pivot pin 14. As seen in Fig. 3, the locking member 15 comprises a web member 18 with two upstanding side portions 16 and 17 which lie, in closed position, on either side of the rectangular portion of bar 11. Carried by the sides 16 and 17 are extensions 19. In use, bar 9 and the two side members 16 and 17 and locking member 15 are bored to receive a safety wire 20 which may take the form of a safety pin. The above described toggle clamp is designed to be used with a flanged case which has been adapted to receive the clamp members. This adaptation consists of slots 21 and 22 cut into the flanges of the case and the cover respectively as shown in Fig. 2 and of recesses 24 and 25 which are cut into the remote faces of the cover and case flanges.

in operation, the bar 9 passes through the slots in the flanges of the case and cover with the extensions 27 and 28 engaging in the recess 25 in the face of the case flange while the extensions 19 are engaged in the recesses 24 in the face of the cover that can be readily seen in Fig. 2. When the lock member 15 is moved to its locked position the center of pressure against extension 19 lies above a line joining the center of pressure of the pivot member and the center of the locking member pivot 14, thus forming a toggle lock.

It will be noted that, while the nut 13 forms a means of adjusting the clamp for a particular dimension of the case and cover, once this adjustment is made for the particular usage, the clamp may be operated without effecting the position of the nut. As a further modification, the clamp may have the extensions 27 and 28 flattened on one side as at 29 and 31 and which may be provided on the case a flat spring 32 to bear against these surfaces to hold the clamp removably attached to the case.

As can readily be seen such a clamp provides a means for securing a closure to a case which is readily and easily released but it provides a secure fastening.

What is claimed is:

l. A quick release clamp for use with a container and closure having slotted flanges respectively comprising a straight bar member of suitable size to fit the slots of said container and closure, a toggle member having sides pivoted to one end of said bar and constructed to receive said bar between said sides, said sides carrying laterally extending cylindrical bearing portions on. the ends thereof which engage the face of one of said flanges, a bearing member having lateral cylindrical extensions thereon carried by the other end of said bar for engaging a face, said other of flanges, said bar and toggle member forming a toggle joint when in closed position.

2. A quick release clamp as claimed in claim 1 in which said bar member has one end threaded, a nut engaging said threads for selectively adjusting the position of the bearing member carried by said bar member.

3. A quick release clamp as claimed in claim 1 in which the container case and closure have recesses in the flange for cooperation with said bearing members of the clamp, and a spring member attached at one end to the container and crossing the recess in the flange of the container, said bearing member carried by said bar member having a flattened side which bears against said spring to releasably retain said bearing member when said bearing member is engaged in said recess.

4-. removable toggle clamp for holding a pair of siotted flanged elements together comprising a straight bar member having a longitudinally adjustable crossmember on one end thereof, a U-shaped toggle member having laterally aligned extensions on the closed end thereof and being pivotally joined to the other end of said bar member near the ends of the U-shaped toggle member legs, said closed end of said U-shaped toggle member adapted to engage said bar member in an overcenter relation of said lateral extensions with respect to said cross-member and said pivot, and means for looking the toggle member to said bar member in the overcenter position whereby a pair of slotted flanges can be compressed together by the toggle clamp with said straight bar passable through the slot and the crossmember and lateral extensions resting against the flanges.

5. A removable toggle clamp as set forth in claim 4 wire passed through aligned openings in the toggle and 10 bar members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Burns Mar. 8, 1892 Babb Nov. 24, 1914 Cunningham Oct. 6, 1925 Yingling Apr. 8, 1930 Kestner Jan. 22, 1952 Gifiord Oct. 14, 1952 "a; K... i

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