Abstract:
A versatile user-adjustable clamp for clamping accessories to the panels of ready-to-assemble furniture articles, and other surfaces such as countertops, has a main body member, a jaw member, and a knob. The main body member has a substantially spool-shaped section with accessory interface means at opposing ends thereof, and a rectangular section that projects tangentially from the spool-shaped section. The spool-shaped section of the main body member telescopingly receives the jaw member, and has a knob-receiving aperture. The knob is rotatably secured within the knob aperture and provides a means for actuating the telescopic movement of the jaw member relative to the main clamp body. The jaw member includes a flat surface interface that is oriented parallel to the rectangular section of the main clamp body, and has a separate accessory interface means therein. This separate accessory interface means can include a snap-lock feature, allowing users to confirm that the clamp is securely fastened to an associated accessory. The clamp can be used as a hinge when rotatably mounted to a pair of hinge-halves that comprise a further accessory interface means, using the first two accessory interface means.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to clamping devices and, more specifically, to a versatile clamp for mounting of a variety of storage accessories to furniture articles. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     The advent of ready-to-assemble (“RTA”) furniture revolutionized the furniture industry in the last decade. Kits including wood or fiber board panels and fasteners provide easy to assemble furniture articles, such as desks, shelving units, and cabinets. These RTA furniture articles are used increasingly in home offices or in cubicle-type office settings due to their ease of installation, aesthetics, and comparatively low cost. Many such RTA furniture items are used for housing home or office computers or stereo equipment, or organizing papers and files. 
     Computers present unique organizational challenges to their users, due to the large number of accessories and peripherals used with a computer, such as a mouse, computer floppy disks, CD-ROM disks, and associated cables. It would be desirable for furniture articles to be easily adapted to include convenient means for storing these and other objects within easy reach of a user, but also in a neat, organized, aesthetic manner. 
     While there have been attempts to provide clamps for mounting organizational and storage accessories (for convenience, the terms organizational and storage are used interchangeably herein) to furniture articles, none of these attempts provide adequate versatility to accommodate a wide variety of storage accessories. Prior art clamps also have at most only one interface means to accommodate accessories. The versatility of a clamp can be greatly increased by providing multiple accessory interface means. 
     Many prior art clamps, such as that shown in Hopwood, U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,268, utilize coiled springs to bias the jaws of the clamp toward a closed position. Because such clamps are self-closing, they present a problem of premature closing. It is not uncommon for users to get their fingers caught in the clamp jaws while attempting to secure the clamp onto a surface. It is therefore desirable for a clamp to be equipped with means for the user to more easily control the opening and closing of the clamp jaws. 
     Another drawback of prior art clamps is that the coiled springs typically have one or more sharp ends that are exposed. A user could scratch his or her skin, or clothing could get caught on these exposed sharp ends. Yet another drawback of these prior art spring clamps is that the user has no control over the clamping force. Instead, the stiffness of the spring causes a restoring force to bias the jaws of the spring toward a closed position. If the restoring force is too strong, there is a possibility of degradation of the surfaces to which the clamp is secured. 
     A corollary problem associated with such prior art spring clamps is that the more stiff the spring, the more force that is required for the user to open the jaws of the clam in order to release it. These clamps are particularly problematic for persons of modest strength, who may have difficulty overcoming the restoring force to open the clamp jaws. It would therefore be desirable to have a clamp that has jaws which a user could easily open and close, and that the clamp have an internal, unexposed mechanism. It would further be desirable for such a clamp to have a tightness that is user-adjustable, so that the user could set the amount of force with which to close the jaws onto surfaces such as panels of furniture articles, and thereby avoid degradation of the panel surfaces. 
     It would also be desirable for a clamp to be easily coupled with a variety of different types of interchangeable accessories, so that a single clamp could be used to secure an entire product line of accessories to RTA furniture or elsewhere. Likewise, it would be desirable for the clamp to have accessory interface means wherein uncoupling or disengaging storage accessories from the clamp is easy and does not require excessive force. Another beneficial feature would be for the clamp to provide the user with both a tactile and audible means for determining when the clamp is adequately secured to a given accessory, such that the given accessory will not become prematurely disengaged from the clamp when the clamp is mounted to a panel of RTA furniture, for example. 
     The manner in which the present invention overcomes these and other shortcomings of the prior art will become clear in the following Summary of the Invention, the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, and the drawings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention achieves a versatile clamp for mounting a wide range of storage accessories to furniture articles. The basic clamp consists of essentially three interdependent parts that cooperate to perform a means for securing the clamp to a section of paneling, such as the sidewall of a shelving unit, a desk, or a table-top. Accessory interface means are provided at different locations of the clamp to accommodate different types of storage accessories and increase the versatility of the clamp. Most accessories to be secured to the clamp are adapted to couple with at least one of these accessory interface means. 
     For clarity in the description, the features of the clamp are described herein with respect to their relative spatial relationship. Thus, although terms such as “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear”, and the like are used herein for convenience, it will be understood that the clamp of the present invention can be mounted in any orientation. The main body of the clamp includes a generally spool-shaped section having recessed apertures at the upper and lower opposing ends thereof to provide first and second storage accessory interface means, and a rectangular section that projects tangentially form the spool-shaped section. The rectangular section has a rectangular recess in a first (rear) side thereof, in which a pliant, flat, non-abrasive, anti-skid pad serving as a first panel interface surface is received. In a preferred embodiment, the rectangular section extends the full height of the spool-shaped section, and the anti-skid first panel interface surface extends over most of the surface area of the rear side of the rectangular section. 
     The spool-shaped section of the clamp includes a generally circular aperture therein to receive a hand adjustable knob. This circular aperture extends only partially into the spool-shaped section, for reasons that will be appreciated by reference to the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment. A preferred embodiment of the clamp further includes crescent-shaped depressions laterally adjoining the circular knob-receiving aperture in the spool-shaped section, which advantageously provide increased accessibility to a knob received in the aperture. 
     Opposite to the knob-receiving aperture, the spool-shaped section of the clamp has an elongated opening that is contiguous with the knob-receiving aperture. Preferably sideways T-shaped in cross-section, the elongated opening provides a slot to receive a first section of a jaw member. The first section of the jaw member includes an elongated wall having a relatively short body portion. A laterally oriented fastener-receiving slot is present in the short body portion of the first section of the jaw member near a front end thereof. The first section of the wall member includes a bore therein for receiving a threaded rod. The bore extends through the short body portion of the first section and terminates at the rear end of the jaw member. 
     A second section of the jaw member is maintained parallel to and spaced apart from the first panel interface of the rectangular section of the main clamp body throughout the travel of the jaw member relative to the spool-shaped section of the clamp. The second section of the jaw member has a rear-facing side and a front-facing side. The front-facing side includes a jaw recess for receiving a pliant flat, non-abrasive anti-skid pad used as a second panel interface surface. 
     The second section of the jaw member is preferably shorter than the first panel interface, and is provided with an accessory interface means in the form of a coupling means used to secure a given accessory to the clamp. In one less-preferred embodiment, this accessory interface means is in the form of a continuous groove or recess in three sides of the perimeter of the second panel interface, which cooperates with a corresponding aperture or flange provided in or on the given accessory for a bayonet-type fitting. It is recognized that instead of a continuous groove or recess in the perimeter, a system of interrupted grooves or recesses can be provided in the three sides of the perimeter of the second section of the jaw member. The system of grooves or recesses would cooperate with a set of corresponding flanges and recesses in a flat surface or projection of a storage accessory to secure the given accessory to the clamp. 
     Alternatively, in a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the accessory interface means in the jaw member takes the form of a buckle-type interlocking mechanism. In this embodiment, the rear-facing side of the second section of the jaw member includes a pair of parallel, spaced-apart grooves or locking channels that are laterally open on at least one side of the jaw member, i.e. the locking channels extend all the way to at least one lateral side edge of the second section of the jaw member. Each of the parallel locking channels is provided with a locking bump or ridge portion therein. A clamp-to-product interface, that can be permanently secured to a given accessory by solvent-welding, for example, includes a jaw-receiving channel to lockingly couple with the second section of the jaw member. 
     The jaw-receiving channel of the clamp-to-product interface includes a pair of ramp members, each having a ridge-receiving depression. When the second section of the jaw member is fully inserted in the jaw-receiving channel of the clamp-to-product interface, the ridges within the parallel locking channels of the jaw member lockingly engage the corresponding depressions in the ramp members. Some force is required to push the ridges up the ramps, and when the ridges lockingly fall in place within the depressions, the user feels and hears an audible “snap,” indicating the accessory is securely fastened to the jaw member of the clamp. To disengage the clamp from the given accessory, some force is required to pull the ridges back out of the recesses, but once the ridges are pulled passed the recesses, the jaw member is simply removed from the channel. 
     The jaw member is telescopingly mounted to the spool-shaped section of the main clamp body, preferably by a thread-engaging fastener means seated in the fastener-receiving slot, which rides along a threaded rod or screw post fixed at, e.g. insert-molded to, the inside of the knob seated in the knob-receiving aperture. By turning the knob clockwise or counterclockwise, the jaw member telescopes into or out of the spool-shaped section, thus increasing or decreasing the distance between the first and second panel interface surfaces. 
     Preferably, the knob is provided with means to attach to the spool-shaped section to maintain constant positioning of the knob relative to the spool-shaped section. This is accomplished using a one-way fastener or so-called tinnerman, such as a metal push-on retaining fastener. Throughout the travel of the telescopingly mounted jaw member within the spool-shaped section, the second anti-skid panel interface surface of the jaw member maintains a parallel orientation with respect to the first anti-skid panel interface surface of the main clamp body. 
     A particularly advantageous application of the clamp of the present invention is its use with a pair of C-shaped mounting members or hinge-halves rotatably mounted in the first and second storage accessory interface means to form a hinge for hingedly mounting accessories, such as door panels. As is explained in greater detail below, the various storage accessory interface means provide many other uses and advantages of the clamp. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of the clamp of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the embodiment of the clamp shown in FIG. 1, from a lower elevation than FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the first embodiment of the clamp shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the main clamp body of a second embodiment of the clamp; 
     FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the main clamp body shown in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 5B is a rear perspective view of an anti-skid pad for use as a front panel interface surface received in a recess of the rectangular section of the main clamp body of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the second embodiment of the clamp of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the jaw member of the clamp shown in FIG. 6, and an anti-skid pad for use as a rear panel interface surface received in a recess of the second section of the jaw member; 
     FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the jaw member shown in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the knob in combination with a threaded rod; 
     FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the threaded rod of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a rear perspective view of a one-way fastener; 
     FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the one-way fastener of FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of the clamp-to-product interface; 
     FIG. 14 is a front exploded view of the clamp shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 15 is a rear exploded view of the clamp shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 16 is a front perspective view of the clamp of the present invention in combination with a pair of hinge-halves or mounting members, with which the clamp cooperates to form a hinge; 
     FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the clamp of FIG. 16 in combination with the pair of hinge-halves, taken along lines  17 — 17  of FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 18 is an exploded view of the two hinge-halves in combination with a pair of hinge pins and an accessory panel, with the clamp removed for clarity; 
     FIG. 19 is a rear perspective view of an accessory panel of the present invention, rotated 90°; 
     FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of the clamp of FIG. 16 in combination with the pair of hinge-halves to form a hinge used to hingedly mount an accessory panel to a vertical furniture panel; 
     FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the clamp of FIG. 16 in combination with a pair of hinge-halves to form a hinge used to hingedly mount a tie rack hook accessory to a vertical furniture panel; 
     FIG. 22 is a front perspective view of the clamp shown in a horizontal orientation to secure a storage box to a shelf; 
     FIG. 23 is a front perspective view of the clamp-to-accessory interface; 
     FIG. 24 is a front perspective view of a storage box adapted to accommodate the clamp-to-accessory interface; 
     FIG. 25 is a front perspective view of the clamp shown in a horizontal orientation to secure a document box to a shelf; 
     FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the clamp shown in a vertical orientation to secure a document box to a vertical furniture panel; 
     FIG. 27 is a front perspective view of a document box adapted to accommodate the clamp-to-accessory interface; 
     FIG. 28 is a front perspective view of the clamp shown in a vertical orientation to secure a circular shelf to a vertical furniture panel; 
     FIG. 29 is a bottom perspective view of the circular shelf of FIG. 28; and 
     FIG. 30 is a top perspective view of the circular shelf of FIGS.  28  and  29 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-6, the clamp  10  of the present invention includes a main clamp body  12 , a jaw member  14 , and a knob  16  that provides a way for a user to actuate a means for telescopingly adjusting the jaw member  14  with respect to the main clamp body  12 . The main clamp body  12  includes a torso section, or generally spool-shaped section  18  integral with a rectangular section  20  having a front surface  22  that extends tangentially from the spool-shaped section  18 . The term torso section is used to generally describe the spool-shaped section  18  of the main clamp body  12 , because although that section is preferably spool-shaped, it will be understood that other shapes, such as barrel or elongated box-shapes may be used for the torso section. The rectangular section  20  preferably extends the entire height of the spool-shaped section  18 . The rectangular section  20  has a rear side  24  opposite the front surface  22 . The rear side  24  preferably includes a shallow recess  26  over the greater area thereof, delimited by the edge wall  28  extending around at least three sides of the perimeter of the rectangular section  20 . The recess  26  securely receives a flat, pliant, non-abrasive, anti-skid pad  29 , which serves as a front panel interface surface  30  (see FIG.  5 B). An adhesive may be used to permanently secure the anti-skid pad  29  within the recess  26 . 
     The rectangular section  20  further includes a pair of sidewalls  32 ,  34  that preferably taper from a relatively thick portion adjacent the spool-shaped section  18  down to a relatively narrow portion toward an outer edge  36  of the main clamp body  12  opposite the spool-shaped section  18 . 
     The spool-shaped section  18  of the clamp  10  has a top end that includes a first accessory interface means  38 , consisting of a concave area  40  having a central bore  42  therein. The opposing bottom end of the spool-shaped section  18  includes a second accessory interface means  44 , similarly consisting of a concave area  46  having a central bore  48  therein. The central bore  48  of the second accessory interface means  44  is located coaxially with the central bore  42  of the first accessory interface means  38  along the central axis of the spool-shaped section  18 . 
     Although the main clamp body  12  is shown as a solid part in FIGS. 1 and 3, the main clamp body  12  in a preferred embodiment of the present invention has waffle-like openings, such as openings  50  in the rear side of the spool-shaped portion  18  and openings  52  in the rear side of the rectangular section  20 . These waffle-like openings  50 ,  52  are a result of the preferred method of manufacturing the main clamp body  12  using a durable, plastic, consisting of injection molding the main clamp body  12  as a single part. Advantageously, in most accessory mounting situations, virtually all the waffle-like openings  50  in the rear side of the spool-shaped section  18  are obscured from view by furniture panels or my a given associated accessory, and the openings  52  in the rectangular section  20 , which are likewise obscured from view in most mounting situations, are obscured from view even when the clamp is not mounted to a furniture panel, because of the anti-skid pad  29  securely received in the recess  24 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the spool-shaped section  18  also includes an elongated slot  54  that is open at the rear side of the clamp  10 , and generally sideways T-shaped in cross-section. The elongated slot  54  has a shorter slot portion  56 , i.e. the body of the T-shape of the elongated slot  54 , at the center of the spool-shaped section  18 . The shorter slot portion  56  terminates forwardly of the central axis of the spool-shaped section  18  on the rear side of a knob stage  58 . The elongated slot  54  receives a first section  60  of the jaw member  14 . 
     The first section  60  of the jaw member  14  is also sideways T-shaped in cross-section, and is telescopingly received in the elongated slot  54 . The first section  60  is also referred to herein as a main clamp body interface member. The shorter slot portion  56  of the elongated slot  54  preferably has rounded sidewalls  62 ,  64 , as shown in FIG. 5, to receive a complementary rounded front-most end portion  66  of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14  (see FIGS. 7,  8 ,  14  and  15 ). It is recognized, however, that the shorter slot portion  56  could have flat sidewalls, as opposed to rounded sidewalls  62 ,  64 , in order to receive a jaw member having a flat-sided front-most end of the first section, provided that the shorter slot portion  56  terminated rearwardly of, or was narrower than, the knob stage  58 . 
     In addition to the front portion  66  that forms the body of its T-shape, the first section  60  of the jaw member includes a pair of flat ledges  68 ,  70 , and terminates at a nose end  72  of the front-most end portion  66 . Advantageously, the nose end  72  has a shallow U-shaped recess  74  therein to receive a metal push-on retaining fastener, also called a tinnerman, or a one-way fastener  76 , as best shown in FIG.  14 . Preferably, the one-way fastener  76  is press-fit into the U-shaped recess  74  and thereby securably retained therein. 
     As seen in FIG. 12, the one-way fastener  76  includes a plurality of integral metal wings  78  that define a circular tinnerman aperture  80 . A forwardly-tapered portion  75  is provided in the front-most end portion  66  just forwardly of the U-shaped recess  74  (see FIGS. 7,  14 ) to provide clearance for the metal wings  78  of the one-way fastener  76 . The integral metal wings  78  allow the threads of a threaded rod  82  connected to the knob  16  to be pushed through the aperture  80  during initial assembly of the clamp  10 , but these integral metal wings  78  prevent the threaded rod  82  from being pulled out of the spool-shaped section  18  of the clamp  10 . Thus, once assembled with the main clamp body  12  and the jaw member  14 , the knob  16  and threaded rod  82  maintain a consistent position relative to the main clamp body  12 , regardless of any rotation of the knob  16 . Thus, any rotation of the knob  16  results solely in advancement of the jaw member  14  (i.e., tightening of the clamp) or retraction of the jaw member  14  (i.e., loosening of the clamp) relative to the main clamp body  12 , without concomitant unwanted displacement of the knob  16  and threaded rod  82  relative to the main clamp body  12 . 
     At the beginning of the travel of the jaw member  14 , i.e. when the jaw member  14  is completely retracted within the main clamp body  12 , the flat ledges  68 ,  70  of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14  contact corresponding interior ledges  84 ,  86  respectively, which form intermediate walls of the elongated slot  54  within the main clamp body  12 . Similarly, at the beginning of the travel of the jaw member  14 , the nose end  72  of the front-most portion  66  of the jaw member  14  also contacts the rear side of the knob stage  58  at the termination, i.e. the front end of, the shorter slot portion  56 . 
     It will be understood that if the shorter slot portion  56  is longer than the front-most portion  66  of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14 , the ledges  68 ,  70  will contact the corresponding interior ledges  84 ,  86  at the beginning of the travel of the jaw member  14 , but the nose end  72  will not contact the rear side of the knob stage  58 . Alternatively, if the front-most portion  66  is longer than the shorter slot portion  54 , the nose end  72  will contact the rear side of the knob stage  58  at the beginning of the travel of the jaw member  14 , but the ledges  68 ,  70  will not contact the corresponding interior ledges  84 ,  86 . Regardless of whether the nose end  72  contacts the rear side of the knob stage  58 , or the ledges  68 ,  70  contact the corresponding interior ledges  84 ,  86 , what is important is that the jaw member  14  is prevented from being retracted any further into the spool-shaped section  18  of the main clamp body  12 , and this point of contact defines the beginning of the travel of the jaw member  14 . 
     The front-most portion  66  of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14  includes a fastener-receiving slot  88  spaced rearwardly from the nose end  72  and U-shaped recess  74 . As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the fastener-receiving slot  88  extends all the way through the front-most portion  66 . The first section  66  of the jaw member  14  further includes an elongated bore  90  that is open at the U-shaped recess  74  and nose end  72  of the jaw member. 
     The elongated bore  90  extends rearwardly through the front portion  66 , and terminates forwardly of the rear face  92  of the jaw member  14 . A thread-engaging fastener  76 , such as a nut, is inserted in the fastener-receiving slot  88 . Preferably, the knob  16  is permanently mounted to the threaded rod  82 , e.g. by conventional insert-molding techniques during manufacture of the knob  16 . During initial assembly of the clamp  10 , after the threaded rod  82  is inserted in the spool-shaped section, the threaded rod  82  is pushed into locking engagement with the one-way fastener  76 , which is inserted into the U-shaped recess  74 , then the knob is rotated to advance the threaded rod  82  through the thread-engaging fastener  76  and into the elongated bore  90 . 
     The thread-engaging fastener  76  and the rotating knob  16  provide a means for telescoping movement of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14  into and out of the main clamp body  12 . As is explained in greater detail below, perpendicularity of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14  relative to the spool-shaped section  18  is achieved by this telescoping relationship of the main clamp body  12  and the jaw member  14  along the axis of the threaded rod  82  and the elongated bore  90 . 
     A second section  94  of the jaw member  14  extends at an angle a of about 120° from the first section  60 , and has a front side  96  opposite the rear face  92  of the jaw member  14 . Similar to the rectangular section  20  of the main clamp body  12 , the front side  96  of the second section  92  of the jaw member  14  has a shallow recess  98  therein to receive a pliant, non-abrasive flat anti-skid jaw pad  100  that serves as a rear panel interface surface  102 . An adhesive may be used to permanently secure the anti-skid jaw pad  100  within the shallow recess  98 . The anti-skid front and rear panel interface surfaces  30 ,  102  significantly reduce the likelihood of degradation of any panel surface to which the clamp  10  is secured, which is particularly important when the clamp  10  is secured to furniture items having stained wood or glass panels. 
     The grated appearance of both the front side  96  of the second section  94  and an inwardly-directed side  103  of the first section  60  of the jaw member  14  is due to the injection molding process by which the jaw member  14  is manufactured. Advantageously, the anti-skid rear panel interface surface  102  hides the grated appearance of the front side  96 , and both the spool-shaped portion  18  of the clamp  10  and an accessory with which the clamp is mounted generally obscure the grated appearance of the inwardly-directed side  103  of the first section of the jaw member. 
     The rear panel interface surface  102  extends parallel to the front panel interface surface  30  of the rectangular section  20  of the main clamp body  12  at all times throughout the travel of the jaw member  14  relative to the main clamp body  12 . The jaw member  12  is preferably shorter in height than the main clamp body  12 . 
     The jaw member  14  of the clamp  10  includes a third accessory interface means that can take one of several forms. In the embodiment of the clamp  10  of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the third accessory interface means takes the form of a continuous lateral groove  104  in three side walls of the second section  94  of the jaw member  14 . The lateral groove  104  couples with corresponding apertures (not shown) in accessories to be secured to the clamp  10  by means of upper and lower edges  106 ,  108  of the groove  104  that sandwich the outer edges of such corresponding apertures therebetween. Alternatively, it will be understood that the second section  64  of the jaw member  14  could include a system of interrupted lateral grooves or recesses (not shown) in three of its outer edges to form the third storage accessory interface means. This system of interrupted lateral grooves cooperates with corresponding flanges and apertures (not shown) formed in the associated storage accessories to provide an interlocking mounting of the clamp to the given storage accessory. 
     More preferably, the third accessory interface means is in a form shown with reference to the embodiment of the clamp  10  and its components shown in FIGS. 6,  7 ,  8 ,  13 ,  23 ,  24 , and  27 . In this embodiment, the third accessory interface means takes the form of an interlocking mechanism for selectively coupling the jaw member  14  with a clamp-to-accessory interface  110  (see FIG.  13 ). The clamp-to-accessory interface  110  is permanently attached to a given accessory at the time of manufacture, for example by solvent-welding. During manufacture, accessories are provided with a receptacle  112  sized to receive the clamp-to-accessory interface. Rigidity members  114 ,  116  are also provided in the vicinity of the receptacle  112  to reinforce the securement of the clamp-to-accessory interface  110  and the accessory. Rigidity members  114 ,  116  also assist in distributing loads applied to the accessory by various objects that may be placed in the accessory, because such loads could otherwise concentrate at the point of connection between the jaw member  14  and the clamp-to-accessory interface  110 , which could, over time, compromise the integrity of their locking engagement. 
     In order to lockingly engage the jaw member  14  with the clamp-to-accessory interface  110 , the rear face  92  of the second section  94  of the jaw member  14  is provided with a pair of parallel locking channels  118 ,  120 . Each of the locking channels  118 ,  120  is provided with a raised locking bump or ridge  122 ,  124 . The clamp-to-accessory interface  110  is provided with a top ledge  126  having integral inwardly-directed flanges  128 ,  130 . The shallow recess  98  of the jaw member  14  has two side-walls  132 ,  134  (see FIGS. 14,  15 ) that are spaced inwardly from the outer side walls  133 ,  135  of the second section  94 . Preferably, the integral flanges  128 ,  130  engage the side-walls  132 ,  134  to help secure the jaw member  14  within the clamp-to-accessory interface  110 . 
     The integral flanges  128 ,  130 , the floor  136 , and side walls  138 ,  140  of the clamp-to-accessory interface  110  thus define a jaw-receiving channel  142 . The side walls  138 ,  140  of the clamp-to-accessory interface  110  can have a tapered profile to complement a tapered profile of the outer side walls  133 ,  135  of the second section  94 . The parallel locking channels  118 ,  120  gradually increase in depth across the length of the second section  94 . The entrance of the jaw receiving channel is preferably curved and rounded to facilitate insertion of the narrowest or distal end  137  of the second section  94  of the jaw member  14 . 
     Complementing the locking channels  118 ,  120  of the jaw member  14 , the floor  136  of the clamp-to-accessory interface includes a pair of raised ramp members  144 ,  146 . Each of the ramp members  144 ,  146  is provided with a ridge-receiving depression  148 ,  150 . As the jaw member  14  of the assembled ramp  10  is pushed into the jaw-receiving channel  142 , the ramp members  144 ,  146  enter the locking channels  118 ,  12 , forcing the ridges  122 ,  124  to ride up the ramps. This motion continues until the ridges  118 ,  120  fall into the ridge-receiving depressions  148 ,  150 , resulting in a “snap” that the user can feel and hear. This snap-lock feature confirms to the user that the jaw member is securely locked within the clamp-to-accessory interface. To remove a given accessory from the clamp  10 , sufficient force is applied to pull the ridges  118 ,  120  out of the ridge-receiving depressions  148 ,  150 , then the jaw member  14  is simply pulled out of the jaw-receiving channel  142 . 
     The spool-shaped section  18  of the main clamp body  12  has a knob-receiving aperture  152  centrally located toward the front side of the spool-shaped section  18 . Crescent-shaped depressions  154 ,  156  in the spool-shaped section  18  preferably bound the knob-receiving aperture  152 , and provide increased accessibility to the knob  16  when the knob  16  is secured in the knob-receiving aperture  152 . The cylindrical sidewall  158  (see FIG. 9) of the knob  16  is seated in a gap  160  between the outer wall of the knob-receiving aperture  152  and the knob stage  58 . The knob  16  is preferably provided with a plurality of depressions  162  in its outer surface to provide a textured surface to facilitate gripping of the knob  16 . Like the main clamp body  12  and the jaw member  14 , the knob  16  is preferably manufactured using injection molding of plastic. As discussed above, conventional insert-molding techniques are preferably utilized to permanently mount the threaded rod  82  within the knob  16 . 
     As will be understood, the direction of the threads of the threaded rod  82  will determine in which direction, i.e. clockwise or counter-clockwise, the knob  16  is rotated to result in loosening or tightening the clamp, respectively. The distance between the front panel interface surface  24  and rear panel interface surface  66  is thus advantageously controlled by turning the knob  16 , allowing the user to control the clamping force, i.e. the amount of force exerted by the clamp  10  onto an associated furniture panel. 
     Turning to FIGS. 16-20, one of the advantages of the clamp  10  of the present invention is its ability to be used as a hinge  200 . To form the hinge  200 , the clamp  10  is combined with a pair of C-shaped mounting members or hinge-halves  202 ,  204 . The hinge-halves  202 ,  204  are rotatably coupled to the first accessory interface means  38  by an upper hinge pin  206 , and are rotatably received in the second accessory interface means  44  by a lower hinge pin  208 . The upper hinge pin  206  is inserted through an upper pintle bore  207  in the first hinge-half  202 , and into the bore  42  in the top of the spool-shaped section  18  of the clamp body  12 . The lower hinge pin  208  is inserted through a lower pintle bore  209  in the second hinge-half  204 , and into the bore  48 , directly opposite the upper hinge pin  206 . 
     A convex cover  210  may, but need not, be used to protect the connection of the upper hinge pin  206  to the first accessory interface means  38 . Another convex cover (not shown, but similar to convex cover  210 ) may likewise, but need not, be used to protect the connection of the lower hinge pin  208  with the second accessory interface means  44 . 
     The hinge  200  can advantageously be used to hingedly mount an accessory  212 , such as a door panel, a dry erase board, a cork board, etc., to a vertical furniture panel  214  or the like, as shown in FIG.  20 . The accessory  212  is preferably secured between the hinge-halves  202 ,  204 , as shown in FIG. 18, by hinge-to-accessory mounting means in the form of a plurality of integral interlocking pins  215  and pin receivers  216  at alternating positions along each of the hinge-halves  202 ,  204 , which pass through corresponding holes  217  provided in the accessory  212 . As seen in FIG. 19, the door panel accessory  212  is further provided with an indented portion  218  at the edge of the accessory  212  to provide clearance for the clamp  10  and knob  16  during relative rotation of the clamp  10  and the accessory  212  so as to maximize the freedom of rotation of the door panel accessory  212  about the vertical furniture panel  214 . 
     The clamp  10  can then be secured (by tightening the clamp  10  using knob  16 ) to the vertical furniture panel  214 . Various alternate uses for the hinge  200  are also possible with the present invention, such as shown in FIG. 21, wherein the hinge  200  is used to pivotally mount a tie rack hook accessory  220  to a vertical furniture panel  214 . 
     It will be understood that the door panel accessory  212  can alternatively be secured to the hinge-halves  202 ,  204  by means of a plurality of pins in the form of push-pins (not shown) that pass through aligned apertures in the accessory  212  and at least one of the hinge-halves  202 ,  204 . 
     FIGS. 22,  25 , and  26  demonstrate the use of the clamp  10  to hold other storage accessories to a vertical furniture panel  214  or shelf  222 , such as a document holder  224  mounted horizontally in FIG.  25  and mounted vertically in FIG. 26, or a storage box  226 . These storage accessories are also the subject of Kenlin Enterprises, Inc.&#39;s co-owned design patent application Ser. No. 29/107,526. The accessories shown in the drawings are only by way of example to demonstrate the versatility of the clamp  10 . 
     As explained above, the third storage accessory interface means is used for mounting either the document holder  224  or the storage box  226  to the clamp  10 . Thus, the document holder  224  and the storage box  226  each preferably include the receptacle  112  for receiving the clamp-to-accessory interface  110 , and have the clamp-to-accessory interface  110  permanently mounted therein. 
     Advantageously, as shown in FIGS. 20,  22 ,  25 , and  26 , the main clamp body  12 , the knob  16 , and the given storage accessory tend to obscure the third storage accessory interface means from view in either horizontal or vertical orientations of the clamp  10  when clamped to a vertical furniture panel  214  or to a shelf  222 . This feature creates a desired optical effect that the given storage accessory is permanently connected to the clamp  10 . In reality, the storage accessory can be easily removed from the clamp  10  and replaced with a different storage accessory, in most cases by unlocking the jaw member  14  from the clamp-to-accessory interface  110 , and inserting the jaw member  14  in the jaw member recess  142  of another clamp-to-accessory interface attached to the new accessory. 
     Yet another example of the versatility of the clamp  10  is shown in FIG. 28, wherein the first accessory interface means  38  is used to mount a generally round shelf  228  having a U-shaped groove  230  therein to a vertical furniture panel  214 . Such a round shelf  228  is convenient for holding small items, such as paper clips, reading glasses, rubber bands, a coffee cup, a computer mouse or another computer input device. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 29, the round shelf  228  is provided with an integral mounting pin  232  that is received in the central bore  42  of the first accessory interface means  38  of the clamp  10 . 
     While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood that many variations of the present invention are possible and still fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, while the clamp  10  of the present invention has been shown in combination with certain exemplary storage accessories, its use is not intended to be limited thereto, and it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the clamp of the present invention can be used with a large variety of accessories and for a wide array of uses too numerous to list.