Pick up device

A pick up device having an elongated tubular member whose opposite ends are attached respectively to a handgrip assembly and a dual jaw member gripping assembly. The handgrip assembly has a trigger which is attached to a rod member that passes through the interior of the elongated tubular member and which has its opposite ends attached to the dual jaw member gripping assembly. The dual jaw member gripping assembly has a pair of elongated jaw members each having a front leg portion, a rear leg portion, and a pivot pin aperture intermediate the front and rear leg portions. It also has a top plate and a bottom plate. The bottom plate has an upstanding hub formed at the opposite corners of its front portion. The jaw members fit over the hubs and are held in place by self-tapping screws which thread into the hubs extending upwardly from the bottom plate. Shoulders on the hubs position the top plate at the correct spacing from the bottom plate. The dual jaw member gripping assembly further has a clevis with vertically spaced top and bottom walls interconnected at their forward end by a pressure wall. The rear leg portions of the respective jaw members are captured within the clevis and as the clevis is drawn rearwardly by the rod member connected to the trigger, the pressure wall draws against the tips of the jaw members causing them to pivot toward each other as the clevis travels rearwardly. As the trigger is released, a spring located in back of the clevis pushes it forwardly causing the jaw members to pivot away from each other at the point of contact with the axial travel stop member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention generally relates to hand operated devices for retreiving 
articles out of normal reach, and more specifically to a portable pick up 
device. 
The device is especially designed for the convenience of householders and 
others who may have occasion to retreive articles from the floor or ground 
or from high places normally out of reach. The device is especially useful 
for picking up trash or other litter on the ground or inaccesible 
locations. 
A number of pick up devices have been suggested in the prior art. See, for 
example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,194,597, 3,785,689, 4,037,868, 4,398,759, and 
4,441,746. The structure of these devices have not been entirely 
satisfactory. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel pick up device having a 
streamlined outer appearance. 
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel pick up device 
that has a convenient handgrip portion with a trigger actuating mechanism. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel pick up device 
having a unique structure for its jaw member gripping assembly. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel pick up device 
that is economical to manufacture and market. 
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel pick up 
device that can be easily and quickly disassembled for repairs and 
reassembled as quickly. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Applicant's novel pick up device has an elongated tubular member whose 
opposite ends are respectively connected to a handgrip assembly and a dual 
jaw member gripping assembly. 
The handgrip is formed from a left hand and a right hand grip portion 
preferably formed of plastic material and secured together by self-tapping 
screws. A trigger is pivotally attached within the hand assembly and it is 
secured to the rear end of a rod member passing through the elongated 
tubular member. 
The front end of the rod member has its tip captured in a clevis that sets 
in a compartment that is part of the extended portion of the bottom plate. 
The extended portions of the top and bottom plates are inserted into the 
front end of the tubular member. The clevis has a top wall and a bottom 
wall that are vertically separated and which have a pressure wall 
connecting their front ends. The clevis sets between the top plate and the 
bottom plate of the dual jaw member gripping assembly. 
The triangularly shaped portion of the bottom plate has hubs extending 
upwardly from each of its front corners that align with apertures in the 
top plate. The apertures of the jaw members fit over the hubs of the 
bottom plate. The apertures are located intermediate the front leg portion 
and the rear leg portion of the jaw members. The rear leg portions of the 
two jaw members extend inwardly into the open space between the top wall 
and the bottom wall of the clevis immediately to the rear of the pressure 
wall and in front of the axial travel stop. When the trigger is pulled it, 
it draws the rod member rearwardly and since it is attached to the clevis, 
the pressure wall of the clevis will draw against the rear leg portions of 
the respective jaw members. Continued travel of the clevis rearwardly 
causes the jaw members to pivot about their respective pivot points and 
causes the tip portions of the jaw members to be brought together. When 
the trigger is released, the spring, which has been compressed by the 
rearward pull of the trigger, expands and pushes the clevis forward which 
opens the jaw members at the point of contact with the axial travel stop. 
The jaw members are so constructed that their horizontal portions are one 
above the other, which allows their rearward portions to overlap when they 
meet in the clevis.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The novel pick up device is generally designated numeral 10 and will now be 
described by referring to FIGS. 1-6 of the drawings. 
Pick up 10 has a handgrip assembly 12, an elongated tubular member 14, and 
a dual jaw member gripping assembly 16. 
The handgrip assembly 12 has a left hand grip portion 18 and a right hand 
grip portion 20 and they are secured together by self-tapping screws 22 at 
hubs 21 and 23. It has a trigger 24 whose top end is captured in the 
housing and which pivots around hub 23 built into the left half of the 
handgrip assembly. The front end of the handgrip assembly has a reduced 
diameter neck portion 26 that telescopically mates with the rear end of 
elongated tubular member 14 and is held in place by friction or by glue. 
An elongated rod member 28 extends throughout the length of the interior of 
tubular member 14. It has its rear end secured to trigger 24. Its front 
end has a tip portion 29 that is captured within the receptacle 30 of the 
clevis 32 which in turn sits in the compartment 31 formed in the extended 
portion of bottom plate 54. The top and bottom plates are inserted into 
the front end of tubular member 14. 
Clevis 32 has a top wall 33 and a bottom wall 34 that are vertically spaced 
from each other and which are connected at their front ends by a pressure 
wall 36. A compression spring 25 sits between the rear wall of the clevis 
receptacle 30 and the rear wall of the bottom plate compartment 31. An 
axial travel stop member 38 also connects the top wall 33 and the bottom 
wall 34 and forms an opening with pressure wall 36 for receiving the rear 
leg portions 40 of the jaw members 42. 
Each jaw member is contructed so as to have a boss 60, a horizontal outside 
edge 61 and a vertical inside edge 62, and a pivot point aperture 45. The 
jaw members, respectively fit over the hubs 48 of the bottom plate 54 and 
are held in place by the top plate 52 and the self-tapping screws which 
thread into the hubs. Jaw members 42 also have tip portions 64. Top plate 
52 has a front trianular portion 66 and a tail portion 67. Bottom plate 54 
has a front triagular portion 68 and a tail portion 69. Side walls 70 and 
71 along with rear wall 72 form the bottom plate compartment 31.