Patent ID: 8056192
Filing Date: 2011-11-15
Classification: F16L,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An improved clamp apparatus for alternatively tightening and clamping, or loosening and releasing an object or objects to be confined, the apparatus comprising: a support base formed of plastic material; an elongated flexible band strap formed of the plastic material with grooves or teeth on an outer surface thereof attached at one end to said support base and having a tail portion insertible into and through said support base at another end, said support base engaging and retaining said flexible band strap when said tail portion of said flexible band strap is inserted through said support base, wherein said flexible band strap is guided through said support base, formed into a loop and secured in a finger tight constricted position within said support base; a grooved or toothed cylinder pinion gear positioned within said support base with grooves or teeth around a circumference matching grooves or teeth on the outer surface of said flexible band strap engaging and meshing with said flexible band strap; said grooved cylinder pinion gear being formed with a structure enabling a tool head to engage in a form-fitting manner, to allow the tool to rotate said pinion gear about an axis substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the object or objects to be clamped and to index said flexible band forward in a loop-constricting direction, and a paw disposed to lock said pinion gear against a rotation allowing said flexible band to index backwards in a loop-releasing direction while allowing said pinion gear to be rotated for indexing said flexible band forward in the loop-constricting direction, and wherein said flexible band strap is advanced through said, support base reducing the diameter of said flexible band strap and resulting loop confining such as a hose from about an internally positioned collar or encircling a bundle of wires or tubes to be clamped or any other objects to be held in a confined position, said flexible band strap is held in a confined loop by means of a flexibly mounted levered paw acting as a ratchet upon said rotating grooved cylinder pinion gear rotation of said grooved cylinder pinion gear is accomplished by inserting an angled or straight flat sided lever or tool driven wrench into a matching flat sided cavity centered within the grooved cylinder pinion gear, manually swinging or rotating lever wrench into an operative position secure within the grooved cylinder pinion gear cavity; a locked down support base top spring loads a flexibly mounted levered paw with a paw tongue positioned at the extreme end of said flexibly mounted levered paw forcibly inserts tongue between each groove or tooth of said grooved cylinder pinion gear ramped side of paw tongue allows flexible levered paw to flex upward sliding over each tooth of said grooved cylinder pinion gear disengaging paw tongue from between the teeth of said grooved cylinder pinion gear allowing rotation of said grooved cylinder pinion gear, sliding said flexible band strap in a ever increasing constricting direction; preventing counter rotation of said rotating grooved cylinder pinion gear by means of said engaged paw tongue between each tooth having a flat side opposite ramped side of said paw tongue in parallel with the flat side of each grooved cylinder pinion gear groove or tooth, locking each groove or tooth against the flat side of paw tongue.