Abstract:
Vise jaw plates and matching work piece holders cooperate to reliably secure an odd-shaped object in a preferred orientation between the plates. At least one of a plurality of work piece holders are disposed throughout the jaw in an orthogonal pattern with the plate holes precisely aligned in rows and columns and spaced apart a same distance such that a selected work piece holder with one or more mount posts matching the jaw holes is mountable equally well throughout the plate.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation of this inventor&#39;s prior application filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 8, 1999 and assigned Ser. No. 08/245,640, which was a continuation of this inventor&#39;s prior application filed Jul. 3, 1996 and assigned Ser. No. 08/674,800. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates to vises and particularly to vise jaws and accessories thereto, specifically jaw plates and work piece holders used in combination with the plates.  
           [0004]    2. Prior Art  
           [0005]    It is known in the art to have general purpose vises with vise jaws appurtenant thereto with opposing flat surfaces for generally securing flat objects therebetween. Such vises are routinely used with mills, grinders, lathes, and machining centers.  
           [0006]    Machining often requires accuracy to within 0.001″ or less, requiring the vise to secure an object reliably to an accuracy of less than that tolerance. However, it is often difficulty to reliably secure an object that does not have at least one flat surface that can be secured against a vise while the object is oriented as necessary for the machine work. Heretofore, the capability to support a work piece in a preferred orientation in a vise remained unavailable, especially for irregularly-shaped objects.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0007]    The primary object of the present invention is to provide a versatile vise jaw reconfigurable to secure a variety of shapes and sizes of work pieces in an advantageous orientation.  
           [0008]    This object is achieved in a pair of opposing jaw plates each with front and back flat sides typical of vise jaws, the improvement in each comprising a precise uniform orthogonal pattern of holes in their front (opposing) sides. The holes are dual-purpose in receiving an unthreaded dowel or a threaded shoulder bolt, including a first unthreaded portion suitable for securely receiving a dowel closely therein. For securing the dowel in the unthreaded portion without wobble, the hole depth is twice its diameter. The hole terminates in a threaded portion immediately following the unthreaded portion and having a diameter less than that of the unthreaded portion diameter allowing bolt threads to pass through the unthreaded portion and engage the threads of the hole threaded portion. Thus, a bolt, such as a shoulder bolt, can be threaded into the hole threaded portion therein providing a positive attachment of the work piece holder to the plate. Typically, the unthreaded portion is sized to closely receive standard 1/4-inch dowel pins to a hole depth of ⅝-inch.  
           [0009]    Another object is to provide that work piece holders with at least two dowels or bolts employed to secure the holder to a plate may be positioned on the plate at any advantageous position. This object is achieved in centers of the at two dowels or bolts being spaced apart a set distance, d, and with respective plate holes spaced apart from centers of vertical and horizontal neighboring plate holes said distance, d.  
           [0010]    A further object is to provide a number of versatile jaw work piece holders as accessories to the versatile vise jaw plates, each with at least one dowel pin or shoulder bolt for insertion in the plate holes. Typically, two or more work piece holders advantageously selected from a collection of work piece holders are employed in concert with each other and in combination with the jaw plates to secure a work piece between the vise jaws. The work piece holders can be employed on one or both plates as may be dictated by the shape of the work piece.  
           [0011]    Work piece holders include a plurality of dowels extendable in the holes beyond the jaw front side. Thus, for example, dowels placed in a first line of holes in the jaw together with dowels placed in a second line of holes orthogonal to the first line present a rectangular support for an object to be supported at 45-degrees in the jaw. Similarly, a dowel placed in the jaw may cooperate with another dowel or another different work piece holder, such as a sine bar, for example, elsewhere in the jaw to define a line for supporting an object at an angle. Likewise, two or more pins may serve to support curvilinear surfaces, such as a round, between the pins.  
           [0012]    For other unusual shapes, such as an object with acute-angled surfaces to be secured, an different selective member from the collection of work piece holders can be employed, such as a pivot bar which comprises an elongated member with a flat longitudinal side with a dowel in its back side for engaging the jaw. The pivot bar then pivots on the dowel to match the angle of the object being secured in the vise. A pair of pivot bars or a pivot bar in concert with another work piece holder, such as a dowel, may be advantageously employed together to secure the object.  
           [0013]    A sine bar is also provided in an elongated member having a hole on a pivot end through which a shoulder bolt passes into a jaw hole and on which the bar pivots. It can be tightened into a positive secured position on the plate by threading the shoulder bolt tightly into the jaw hole threads. Typically, the hole includes a concentric countersunk hole for receiving the bolt head within the work piece. The other end, or free end, of the elongated member is supported at a bar support pin by one from a set of blocks of calculated height intended to rest on the vise or by a selected work piece, such as an angle block or a cam block, described below. The support block or other work piece holder is then chosen that supports the free end at the desired height equal to the bar length.  
           [0014]    A “V” block is useful for holding curvilinear objects vertically or horizontally, depending on its orientation. With a hole centered on the “V” and another on each side spaced apart to match those of the vise jaw, a dowel between the “V” block and jaw mounts the “V” block to the jaw. A single dowel mounted in the center hole allows the block to pivot to accommodate nonstandard shapes at any desired angle. A dowel in each of the outside block holes allows a vertical or horizontal orientation.  
           [0015]    Yet another work piece holder is a spring-loaded parallel keeper, designed to hold parallels in place during machining operations, mounted to the versatile jaw with bolts passing through a mounting hole in a keeper mounting bar and entering jaw threaded holes from the jaw back. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vise with vise jaw plates of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is front and side views of the vise jaw plates.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 shows a plurality of dowels sized to fit in holes of the versatile vise jaw.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is side and end views of a V-block.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is top, side, and end views of an arc block.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is front and top views of an arc block. The top view shows the arc block securing an odd-shaped part between the pair of plates in cooperation with a dowel.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is an end view of arc blocks mounted on a plate and a V-block mounted on an opposing plate shown cooperating to support a round part.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the clamp used in concert with the vise plates to secure a work piece in a vise.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is front, side and top views of the clamp of FIG. 8. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]    Referring to the drawings, the present invention comprises a versatile vise jaw  10  for use with a vise  5  and at least one work piece holder and typically two or more holders selected from a collection of work piece holders for use therewith as my be required in securing an object of arbitrary shape between vise plates.  
         [0026]    The vise jaw comprises first and second opposing jaw plates  11  each with parallel, flat front and back sides  12  and  13 . Each plate comprises a plurality of same-sized plate holes  15  aligned vertically and horizontally in an orthogonal pattern with centers of holes  15  spaced apart from neighboring hole centers a same distance, d. Each hole  15  has an unthreaded portion  16  for receiving a dowel with its depth greater than its diameter, typically at least double its diameter, for securing the dowel in the hole unthreaded portion. Each hole  15  further has a threaded portion  17  immediately following the unthreaded portion having diameter less than that of the unthreaded portion and suitable for receiving a bolt from a work piece holder.  
         [0027]    The jaw plates may also have one or more vise mounting holes  14  for mounting the plates to typical vise jaws, superimposed over the array of same-sized plate holes.  
         [0028]    At least one work piece holder, and typically two or more holders, are employed in concert with each other and the plates to secure a work piece between the plates. The work piece holder may employ at least one of a threaded bolt matching the plate hole threaded portion or a cylindrical post  18  matching the plate hole unthreaded portion. When employing at least two of either a threaded bolt or a cylindrical post, they are spaced apart a same distance, d, to match positions of the plate holes for positioning the work piece holder at any preferred position on the plates.  
         [0029]    A first work piece holder used in concert with the plates comprises one or more dowels  22  sized to fit closely in plate hole  15  of appropriate length sufficient to extend from the plate hole unthreaded portion to support a work piece on the plate. FIG. 6 shows the dowel employed in concert with an arc block (described below), both mounted on the plates to secure a work piece between the plates.  
         [0030]    A second work piece holder used in concert with the plates is a V-block  37  comprising a parallelepipedonal base  38  with a top  39  having a triangular transverse cross-sectional recess  40  and a bolt hole  6  through its top  39  with a concentric countersunk hole  7  through which a bolt  8  may pass. With a hole  6  centered on the “V” and another hole  36  on each side each spaced apart from the center hole said same distance, d, a dowel in the side holes  36  mounts the V-block to the jaw in either a vertical or horizontal orientation, or alternatively, a single dowel mounted in the center hole  6  allows the block to pivot to accommodate nonstandard shapes at any desired angle. As a further alternative for obtaining a positive attachment of the V-block to one of the plates, a bolt  8  is threaded into the plate hole threaded portion with a bolt head  9  enclosed in the countersunk hole  7 .  
         [0031]    A third work piece holder used in concert with the plates is an arc block  41  having a continuous curvilinear top  42 , such as a semicircle. When the arc block is mounted on a plate spaced apart from other work piece holders, the top is directed toward the opposing plate. To secure the arc block  41  to the vise jaw plates  11 , a post  18  sized to match the plate holes is directed away from the top.  
         [0032]    A fourth work piece holder used in concert with the plates includes a body  50  with a threaded body hole  51  in its top  52 . Mounting bolt holes  53  extend through the body spaced apart a multiple of the common distance, d, so that a bolt can pass through the holes and into the vise plate to mount the work piece holder to the vise plates. A pair of posts  54  spaced apart a multiple of the common distance, d, extend in parallel from the body  50  and removably engages one of the plates  11  in two plate holes  14 . A support  55  extends from the body  50  from a side  56  opposite the posts  54 . A cap  57  with a post-side leg  58  and a support-side leg  59  defines a cap recessed channel  60  therebetween with a cap bolt hole  61  opening into the channel  60 . The cap  57  is bolted to the body top  52  with a bolt  62  passing loosely through the cap bolt hole  61  and engaging the threaded body hole  51  with the post-side leg  58  supporting the cap  57  on the body  50  and the support-side leg  59  extending over the body  50  opposite the support  55 . A compressed spring  63  within the channel  60  biases the cap  57  away from the body  50  with the cap  57  pivotable on the post-side leg  58  such that the support-side leg  59  adjusts to grasp a work piece between it and the support as the bolt is tightened into the body threaded hole.  
         [0033]    One skilled in the art will recognize the advantages taught by this invention and illustrated by the preferred embodiment presented. The specification and drawings are not intended to represent an exhaustive description of the invention. Clearly, for example, additional and different support accessories may be combined for use with the versatile vise jaw. These and other obvious applications and extensions of the invention are intended to be within the spirit and scope of this invention.