Patent Publication Number: US-2020290194-A1

Title: Adjustable work bench device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is U.S. non-provisional application that claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/761,188 filed on Mar. 12, 2018. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to adjustable wood work bench devices. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A workbench of the type including a workpiece clamping device as part of its basic structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,087 to R. P. Hickman. This workbench includes a pair of top members, one of which is fixed to a supporting structure, while the other is adjustable along the support toward and away from the first one of the top members by means of screw-type clamping devices. 
     These clamping devices are independently actuable thereby to allow the movable top member to be angularly adjusted relative to the fixed top member to allow for the clamping of tapered workpieces or the like. The above workbench also includes a permanently attached base assembly which is collapsible for transportation and storage purposes. Another prior art reference is compact, inexpensive workbenches, of which the well-known WORKMATE. The WORKMATE workbench can quickly be manipulated from its collapsed storage position into its operating position for use in a wide variety of situations including support of work pieces for sawing, drilling, hammering, painting, etc. 
     Alluding to the above, when the WORKMATE workbench is used, due to its small and low slung shelf, handymen and tradesmen have had to suffer some inconvenience when the need arose to store various small components, such as loose nuts and bolts, when the need arose to store various small tools and when the need arose to store the clamping pegs associated with the WORKMATE workbench. 
     All prior art references are limited in their applications. For example, the WORKMATE workbench is limited to certain size of elements to be cut. The WORKMATE workbench can only be stationary and can not be placed on the back of the truck and can not be adjustable thereon to accommodate elements or objects to be cut of all length and sizes. 
     While the above described arrangement has proven to be commercially successful, a need has arisen for a somewhat more simple, sturdier, low-cost workpiece supporting and clamping assembly having fewer parts, which is light in weight, and which is compact and easy to operate. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An adjustable wood work bench (the device) includes a top portion presenting a pair of track parts connected by a connecting element. A pair of jaws wherein the jaw is stationary, and the other jaw is movable from the jaw to the connecting element along the tracks defined in the track parts. Each jaw is of a generally rectangular plate like configuration and define a plurality of holes each of which slidingly accepts a swivelable clamping peg (not shown) to increase the versatility of the device. The connecting member includes elements to secure the device to the tailgate of the truck, or to standing benches of multiple kinds. 
     The pair of track parts each houses internal members slidably and rotationally, respectively, movable within and along said track parts. The pair of track parts have a generally tubular, or hollow configuration. Each of the internal members of the pair of track parts include a lead-screw, a nut, and a support-bearing for that end of the lead-screw. A crank-handle is provided to facilitate the rotation of the lead screw. Each threaded rod includes a block movable about the threaded rods. Each block includes an extension portion to engage with respective support blocks connected to and rotatable movable about the bottom portion of the jaw. 
     This pivotable movement allows each crank-handle to rotate independently to each other in order to permit the angular relationship between stationary jaw and the movable jaw to be changed. Thus, when both crank-handles are rotated simultaneously, and the movable jaw is parallel to stationary jaw, the rotation of knobs will cause movable jaw to move towards or away from stationary jaw while still maintaining its parallelism with stationary jaw. 
     When the shape of an object being clamped between the jaws requires movable jaw to be located at an angular or non-parallel position with respect to stationary jaw, each crank-handle can be rotated a different amount and due to the pivotable connection between movable jaw and the nuts. 
     An advantage of the present invention is to provide an adjustable wood work bench device that is not limited to certain size of elements, such as wooden and metal bars, panels, and the like, to be cut or otherwise modified or repaired. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide the adjustable wood work bench that can be securely clamped to any bench of certain dimensions on any surface, such as, for example, a tailgate of a truck, wherein the device can be adjusted thereon to accommodate elements, workpieces or objects to be operated upon with a large range of lengths and sizes. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide the adjustable wood work bench that can be mounted on a tailgate or standing bench, which makes for a large surface on the tailgate or bench to place parts and tools. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide the adjustable wood work bench to be securely clamped to the tailgate or standing bench to allow for securely holding workpieces in positions causing large imbalances of weight causing large torques about the A-axis, such as long pieces of lumber needing or desirably to be clamped near to one end of a long piece of lumber between vise-jaws as compared to prior art devices, which are quite limited as to the length of the piece if the piece should be held near to one end of the piece, as in so doing the prior art devices could unsafely tip over. 
     The objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from inspection of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which an embodiment of the present invention is described and illustrated. 
     The exact manner in which the foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved in practice will become more clearly apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention described in detail in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, where in like reference numbers indicate corresponding parts throughout. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a top view of an adjustable wood work bench device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a front view of the adjustable wood work bench device; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a bottom view of the adjustable wood work bench device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of the adjustable wood work bench device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another view of the adjustable wood work bench device with an extendable shaft extending therefrom; 
         FIGS. 6 through 8  illustrate various operational modes of the adjustable wood work bench device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the  FIGS. 1 through 8 , wherein like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts, an adjustable wood work bench device (the device) of the present invention is disclosed herewith and is generally shown as  10  in  FIGS. 1 through 8 . It will be apparent that multiple embodiments of this disclosure may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known process operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present embodiments. The following description of embodiments includes references to the accompanying drawing. 
     The drawing shows illustrations in accordance with example embodiments. These example embodiments, which are also referred to herein as “examples,” are described in enough detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present subject matter. The embodiments can be combined, other embodiments can be utilized, or structural, logical and operational changes can be made without departing from the scope of what is claimed. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     Alluding to the above, for purposes of this patent document, the terms “or” and “and” shall mean “and/or” unless stated otherwise or clearly intended otherwise by the context of their use. The term “a” shall mean “one or more” unless stated otherwise or where the use of “one or more” is clearly inappropriate. The terms “comprise,” “comprising,” “include,” and “including” are interchangeable and not intended to be limiting. For example, the term “including” shall be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to.” 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 through 8 , the device  10  includes a top portion presenting a pair of vise-jaw parts  12  and  14 . Both vise-jaw parts  12  and  14  have a flat and rectangular configuration and can be made of wood or any other polymeric material or metal without limiting the scope of the present invention. The vise-jaw  12  is stationary and is not movable along axis A and is as such connected to a structure  16  that houses lead screws  18 , also called the carriage lead screws  18 . The vise-jaw  14  is movable relative to the carriage structure  16  by turning the lead screws  18  using crank-handles (handles)  22 . The handles  22  are used to rotate the lead screws  18  independently one from the other. The handles  22  and the other handles  26  form a navigation mechanism. 
     The carriage sliders  20  are used so the carriage system can move the set of vise-jaws  12  and  14  outwardly and beyond a tailgate of a truck bed, or beyond a standing bench (not shown) along an axis A, relative to the clamp structures  24 . For securely clamping device  10  to a tailgate or a standing bench, comprising the clamp mechanism, there is a pair of clamp system structures  24 , to which clamps  28 , clamp jaws  40 , clamp locking rails  36 , and brackets  34  are mounted. The clamp mechanism  28  is used to secure the device to the tailgate or to the standing bench. The clamp locking rails  36  are used by the clamps  28  to securely tighten the device  10  to the tailgate, or to the standing bench. The devises or brackets  34 , are attached to the clamp system structures  24  to hold the clamp locking rails  36  in place securely. 
     A cross member  30  holds the carriage structure  16  of the carriage securely in place in the device  10  at the stationary vie-jaw  12  of the device  10 . Another cross member  32  holds the carriage device  16  in place in the device  10  at the non-stationary vie-jaw  14  of the device  10 . The devises or brackets  34 , attached to the clamp system structure  24  hold the clamp locking rails  36  in place. Another clevis  42  is attached to a support leg  44  connected to the bottom surface of the stationary vise-jaw  12 . The support leg  44  includes a housing that encloses the support leg  44  extendable shaft  46  to support the device  10  when the carriage system  16  is extended beyond the tailgate, and beyond a standing bench and if a sufficiently heavy workpiece is being clamped between the vise-jaws  12  and  14 . The extendable shaft  46  is able to be adjusted along the support leg  44  based on the amount of extensions according to the height of the devise from a floor or terrain surface, by using holes  49  to place a round pin (not shown) through the holes  49  in the carriage structure  16  and matching holes in the extendable shaft  46 . 
     A flexible shoe  48  to better contact the floor or the terrain when the leg system is deployed. A pin shaft  50  is used to secure the support leg system in the stowage position. If the operator wants to remove the leg system, the pin shaft  50  will be pulled outwardly far enough from the clevis  42 . 
     As the handles  22  rotate independently, it will allow to rotate the vise-jaw  14  about axis B by moving the vise-jaw  14  toward and away from the vise-jaw  12  at various distances as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 8  along an axis A to clamp securely any object of various sizes and shapes between the vise-jaws  12  and  14 . As best shown in  FIG. 8 , if one of the handles  22  is rotated as compared to another handle  22  staying in a preset position, it will allow to form an angle between the vise-jaw  12  and the vise-jaw  14  to place clamp therebetween another object that has angular shape or shapes with non-even sides in contact with vise-jaws  12  and  14 . As the handles  22  are rotated, it will allow to extend parts of the carriage structure about sliders  20 . 
     As mentioned before, this pivotable movement of  14  allows each of the handles  22  to rotate independently relative to each other in order to permit the angular relationship between stationary vise-jaw  12  and the movable vise-jaw  14  to be changed. Thus, when both handles are rotated simultaneously and the movable vise-jaw  14  is parallel to the stationary vise-jaw  12 , the rotation of the handles will cause the movable vise-jaw  14  to move towards or away from the stationary vise-jaw  12  while still maintaining its parallelism with the stationary vise-jaw  12 . 
     When the shape of an object being clamped requires the movable vise-jaw  14  to be located at an angular or non-parallel position with respect to the stationary vise-jaw  20 , each handle can be rotated a different amount and due to the pivotable connection between the movable vise-jaw  14  and the nuts. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.