Patent Publication Number: US-7721630-B2

Title: Automatic sizing one-handed locking pliers

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/052,509, filed Feb. 7, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,146,887. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to the field of tools for mechanical work. More particularly, an automatically sized one-handed locking plier is presented. 
   Locking pliers have been sold in their standard form for decades with little significant improvements. While the pliers perform wonderfully and are a staple in every toolbox around the world, certain improvements would make the locking pliers even more useful. Locking pliers differ from ordinary pliers in that they contain a mechanism to lock the jaws of the pliers onto the work piece. Many different types of locking pliers have been produced, and they are commonly known in the trade as Vise-Grips.RTM. or simply “locking pliers”. 
   Some of the problems with locking pliers include the fact that they are tedious in use, since iterative screw adjustments must be made to size the jaws to the part. 
   Pliers that can be easily operated with one hand and that automatically size the jaws to the part, but still provide the quality and clamping force of the standard locking pliers, would provide an advancement in the ease of use and utility of the pliers. 
   Examples of useful locking plier tools are found in various United States patents of general interest in the field. 
   One good example of a locking plier tool is found in the 2000 United States patent issued to Warheit, U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,019. Warheit discloses the typical locking plier tool used to clamp onto a work piece. The Warheit device has a thumb actuated control member which facilities work piece pressure adjustment and tool release by one hand. The typical locking pliers, as shown in the patent issued to Warheit and other U.S. patents, include an upper jaw that is permanently attached to an elongated body. A lower jaw is pivotably attached to the locking pliers as well as a lower handle tightening mechanism. A pivoting lever normally connects the upper body and lower tightening mechanism. The pliers are usually tightened for work piece sizing and for grip strength by a thumbscrew mechanism, generally found at the end of the upper body handle. 
   Several problems have been encountered in the use of previous tools and improvements could prove beneficial. One such problem is that while the tools must be sized to fit the work piece, the sizing is usually done by a thumbscrew mechanism that requires both hands to operate the mechanism. One hand is needed to hold the locking pliers onto the work piece while the other hand is needed to turn the thumbscrew adjustment. It is a primary object of this invention to provide a locking plier type of hand tool that automatically sizes the jaws of the locking pliers onto the work piece. 
   Another problem with the locking pliers heretofore known in the art is that the sizing of the pliers onto the work piece has a direct correlation to the hand pressure or gripping pressure used to lock the pliers onto the piece. Once the pliers have been sized approximately, a further manipulation of the adjusting thumbscrew would be necessary to adjust the handle grip strength. It is another object of this invention to provide a locking plier that not only automatically sizes the jaws to the workpiece, but also has an adjustment screw, operable by the same hand that holds the pliers, for adjusting the handgrip strength to a set handgrip for each workpiece. 
   Another major drawback in the use of ordinary locking pliers is that the handgrip strength tensioning mechanism and the sizing mechanism require both hands of the mechanic. Since both hands are needed to attach and tighten the pliers to the workpiece, the task of adjusting the locking pliers is both cumbersome and time consuming. It is a still further object of this invention to provide a locking pliers wherein the use of the pliers is conveniently and quickly accomplished so that the workman uses little or no time when changing from one work piece to another. 
   A final aspect of this invention allows the locking plier to remain loosely gripped around the work piece when the pliers have been released into their open position. This is a particularly useful feature of the locking plier mechanism of the instant invention since it allows the workman to remove the wrench, with one hand, at the workman&#39;s convenience. This feature eliminates the wrench falling on the workman if he is an awkward position. Further in connection with this capability, another advantage of the invention is that releasing the pliers can be accomplished with exertion of a relatively light force, even when the pliers are set to a high gripping or clamping force, as the required release force is not a function of the gripping force. Thus, a further object of the invention is the capability to more easily release the pliers, yet still provide a loose gripping force for holding the pliers on a work piece. 
   Other and further objects of this invention will become obvious upon reading the below described specification. 
   BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVICE 
   The locking pliers device described has the basic structure of a locking pliers, including an upper fixed jaw connected to an upper body handle and a lower pivoting jaw connected to the upper handle by a middle lever. A lower pivoting handle is connected to the middle lever and the lower jaw. An improvement to existing locking pliers includes an adjusting screw-type mechanism that is placed near the pivot point between the lower handle and middle lever to adjust the grip strength (or clamping force) of the locking pliers. Within the upper body handle is another improvement, a workpiece automatic sizing and locking mechanism. The unique locking mechanism includes a tapered metal housing containing ball bearings that surround a locking rod (or plunger). The locking rod is spring biased towards the jaws and may be locked in place when the ball bearings are forced against the outer surface of the rod. The locking rod abuts the middle lever and pushes against it. A palm handle, located at the end of the body of the locking pliers, allows to the workman to release the locking rod by pushing the palm handle downwards. A thumb operated sizing lever is also located within the upper body and is connected by a linkage to the lower jaw. The pliers are sized and locked to a workpiece by opening the spring-loaded jaws with the thumb lever, releasing the thumb lever, and squeezing the lower handle towards the upper body. The thumb lever and locking rod automatically adjust the jaw size and lock the pliers to the workpiece. The lower paddle releases the jaws, and is configured so as to be operable with a relatively light force, but they remain lightly closed on the workpiece until the workman opens them by pushing on the thumb lever. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of the locking pliers shown with the jaws in the open position; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the locking pliers showing the pliers in the closed position; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the adjusting rod and biasing spring linkage; 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the locking pliers showing it in its closed and locked position around a work piece; 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of the locking pliers in an alternate embodiment showing slightly different palm handle and thumb lever mechanisms; 
       FIG. 6  is an expanded cross sectional view of the workpiece locking mechanism shown in its locked position; 
       FIG. 7  is an expanded cut-away view of the workpiece locking mechanism shown in its unlocked position; 
       FIG. 8  is a fragmentary sectional view of an alternative locking mechanism; 
       FIG. 9  is another fragmentary sectional view of the alternative locking mechanism; 
       FIG. 10  is a side view of the locking pliers in another alternative embodiment showing a thumb lever and a release paddle pivotable about different pivot points; 
       FIG. 11  is a side view of the locking pliers of  FIG. 10  with the jaws opened; 
       FIG. 12  is another side view of the locking pliers of  FIG. 10  held in a person&#39;s hand; 
       FIG. 13  is another side view of the locking pliers with the heel of the palm of the person&#39;s hand depressing the palm lever and the thumb of the person&#39;s hand operating the thumb lever for sizing the jaws of the pliers to a workpiece; and 
       FIG. 14  is still another side view of the locking pliers in the person&#39;s hand, showing the pliers locked onto the workpiece. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention has, generally, the outward appearance and general structure of an ordinary type of locking pliers. The basic structure of the invention includes a fixed permanent jaw  1  permanently attached to an elongated upper body handle  3 , as best shown in  FIG. 1 . Pivotably connected to the fixed upper jaw and body handle is a rotating lower jaw  2 . Attached to the lower pivoting jaw  2  is a lower pivoting handle  4 . The lower pivoting handle  4  is connected to the upper body handle  3  by a middle lever  5 . The middle lever  5  is irregularly shaped as shown in the drawing figures. 
   In order for this locking plier to function in a unique fashion, a number of pivot points are required. The lower jaw is connected to the upper jaw at pivot point  6 . The lower jaw and the lower handle are connected at pivot point  7 . The lower handle and middle lever are connected at pivot point  8 . The lower handle also has a lower release paddle  10 . This lower release paddle  10  is connected to the lower handle at lower paddle pivot point  9 . In common use, one places the jaws  1  and  2  around the workpiece and pulls upwardly on the lower pivoting handle  4 . This presses the middle lever  5  upward into the upper body handle  3  and locks the jaws onto the workpiece. While this structure is common in the art, the basic structure of the locking pliers has been improved with the addition of the below described components. 
   A grip strength, or clamping force, adjusting screw  11  is located at the bottom portion of the middle lever  5  as best shown in drawing  FIGS. 1 and 4 . This grip-tension adjusting screw  11  is threaded into the lower part of the middle lever  5  and extends downwardly from the middle lever to the lower inner surface of the lower pivoting handle  4  at a tightness that is predetermined by the workman. The tightness between the lower handle  4  and the adjusting screw  11  determines the grip strength, or clamping force, required to lock the jaws on the workpiece. The tighter the screw is adjusted against the lower surface of the lower handle  4 , the easier it is to tighten the pliers, that is, the lighter the gripping force. The looser the screw is adjusted, the heavier the gripping force. 
   The locking and sizing mechanisms of the adjustable pliers described herein allow the jaws of the pliers to automatically size themselves to the workpiece. This is a key and most unique feature of this invention. 
   The locking mechanism is located at the end of the upper body handle away from the jaws. This free end of the upper body handle contains a palm lever  13  as shown in  FIG. 2 . This palm lever  13  is pivotably connected to the free end of the upper body handle at pivot point  14 , as shown on  FIG. 6 . The palm lever releases the jaws from the workpiece as will be described later. 
   Turning to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the locking mechanism is shown. The locking mechanism has a horizontal locking rod  15 . This adjusting rod slides within a sleeve  16 . The locking rod  15  slides through the tapered tightening walls  17 . The tapered tightening walls consist of a solid structure containing a tightening chamber  18 . It is essential to this invention that the tightening chamber  18  have the trapezoidal inner configuration as shown in  FIG. 6 and 7 . The inner tightening chamber  18  slopes downwardly towards the free end and away from the jaw end of the locking pliers. Located within the tightening chamber  18  are a number of bearings  20 . The bearings  20  are biased towards the free end of the upper body handle  3  and away from the jaw end by tension spring  19 . The tensioning spring  19  may also have tensioning spring washers  19 A that would be in direct contact with the ball bearings  20 . 
   The locking rod  15  has an upper rod surface  21 . This upper rod surface  21  has an end that protrudes out of the locking mechanism and towards the jaws, and an end that protrudes out of the locking mechanism and towards the free end of the locking pliers. The locking rod  15  moves towards the jaws or away from the jaws as shown in the arrow on  FIG. 7 . 
   In order to lock the rod  15  in a position such that the jaws may lock around a workpiece, the bearings  20  must be in contact with the rod surface  21  and the walls of the tightening chamber  18 , as shown in the locked position in  FIG. 6 . As can be seen from  FIG. 6 , when the bearings  20  are locked between the surface  21  of the rod and the walls of the tightening chamber  18 , due in part to the force of the tension spring  19 , the rod will not move. 
   In order to release the jaws, one releases the bearings from the surface of the rod. To accomplish this release, one simply depresses the palm lever  13 . Depressing the palm lever  13  moves the adjusting sleeve  16  from right to left on the drawing figures. This action depresses the spring  19  and moves the ball bearings  20  from right to left on the drawing figures. The locking chamber tapers downwardly towards the free end of the handle. Since the locking chamber  18  has a trapezoidal shape as shown, the balls release from the rod when the palm handle  13  is depressed. The locking rod  15  is then allowed to move freely within the sleeve  16  and locking walls  17 . 
   When the jaws are unlocked they can be released from the workpiece. As best shown in  FIG. 7 , when ball bearings  20 A are separated from the surface  21  of rod  15 , the separation  22  allows the rod to move from left to right as shown in  FIG. 7 . While the jaws remain lightly gripped around the workpiece, they can be easily removed from the workpiece by the thumb lever  25  once the locking mechanism has been released as described above. 
   The workpiece locking rod  15  has one end free, located away from the jaws as shown in  FIG. 4 . A locking rod biasing spring  23  has one end connected inside the upper body handle  3  and another end connected to the jaw end of the locking rod  15  by a linkage mechanism. This linkage mechanism is best shown in  FIG. 3 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , the jaw end of the locking rod  15  is connected to the linkage  24 . The linkage  24  is also connected to the tightening biasing spring  23 . The tensioning rod  15  is in contact with and abuts the upper end of the middle lever  5 . While the locking rod  15  and lever  5  are in contact, they are not pivotably connected but are rather slidably and rotatably in contact with each other as shown in  FIG. 3 . The biasing spring  23  biases the locking rod towards the jaw end of the pliers as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
   Another important aspect of this device is the automatic adjustment of the jaws to the outside dimension of the workpiece. The design of the pliers as described herein allows the user to automatically size the jaws to the workpiece with one hand. The locking mechanism and the sizing mechanism cooperate together to accomplish this. 
   A sizing thumb lever  25  operates to open the spring-loaded jaws for placement around the workpiece. Releasing the thumb lever then allows the jaws to clamp to the part. The jaws are automatically sized. This automatic sizing mechanism is best shown in  FIG. 4 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 4 , a thumb jaw sizing and release lever  25  has the shape of a boot. This thumb jaw lever  25  is pivotably connected to the upper body handle at the boot heel at pivot point  26 . The thumb jaw lever  25  is also connected to a thumb jaw release and lower jaw linkage  27 . This lower linkage  27  is pivotably connected to the toe end of the boot  25  at pivot point  28 . The lower end of the jaw linkage  27  is pivotably connected to the lower jaw at pivot point  29 . Once the pliers are unlocked, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the thumb jaw release lever  25  is pushed forward (in the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 4 ). The linkage  27  then pulls the lower jaw  2  open to release the workpiece  30  completely. 
   As shown in  FIG. 4  the work piece  30  can be a circular steel rod. Alternatively, the work piece could be a hex nut, a screw, a pipe, or any other type of work piece commonly encountered in the field. When the user pushes the thumb jaw sizing and release lever  25  towards the jaw end of the locking pliers, the spring-loaded jaws open. When the thumb lever is released, the jaws clamp lightly onto the part until the pliers are locked. 
   Once the locking pliers have been locked onto a workpiece  30 , they may be released by depressing the lower release paddle  10  downwardly towards the lower pivoting handle  4 . The release paddle  10  pivots about pivot point  9 . The jaw end of the release paddle  10  comes into contact with the irregularly shaped humped portion of the middle lever  5 , as shown on  FIG. 4 . This middle lever  5  is then forced upwardly and toward the jaw end of the pliers. This motion releases the upper and lower jaws. An advantage of the present construction is that the releasing action can be accomplished with exertion of a relatively light force, even when the pliers are set to a high gripping or clamping force, as the required effort to release lever  5  is not a tied or otherwise a function of the gripping force. However, unlike the standard type of locking pliers currently in use the spring-loaded jaws remain lightly closed on the part until the user opens them by pulling back the thumb jaw release  25  as described above. It is believed that this combination of requirement of a relatively light releasing force, with the jaws remaining lightly closed around a workpiece is anther important advantage of the pliers of the present invention. 
   Once the jaws have been automatically sized and clamped to the part, the pliers act similarly to other locking pliers in that squeezing the lower handle towards the upper main body creates the clamping force and locking of the pliers. However, the clamping force required to lock the pliers may be preset by the user and can be adjusted through turning the adjusting screw  11 , as previously described. This adjustment of the clamping force by the adjustment of one dedicated screw is unique to the locking pliers art. In normal locking pliers, one screw adjusts both the clamping force and also sizes the jaws. 
   An alternate embodiment of the device in shown in  FIG. 5 . In this alternate embodiment, the L shaped palm lever  13  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  is replaced with a palm button  13 A. The main difference between the two pieces  13  and  13 A is that the palm piece  13 A, shown in  FIG. 5 , is flat and is more ergonomically designed. 
   Another difference in the second embodiment is the use of an alternate thumb jaw piece  25 A. In place of the pivoting boot  25 , shown in the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , a sliding thumb jaw piece  25 A is provided. The alternate thumb jaw piece  13 A moves upwardly when the user slides the thumb jaw piece  25 A upwardly. This action moves the linkage  27  upward, which opens the lower jaw  2 . The thumb jaw piece  25 A is designed to be pulled upward on a slant as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
   Alternatively, a second thumb jaw piece pivot could be provided such that the thumb jaw piece pivots when the piece  25 A is depressed by the user&#39;s thumb. Depressing the piece  25 A would pull the linkage  27  upwards, releasing the lower jaw. 
   In the embodiment in  FIG. 5 , a more ergonomically designed lower release paddle  10 A also replaces the standard release paddle  10 . While the second, alternate embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  has the above slight modifications, the main and essential parts of the device remain the same in both embodiments. 
   In  FIGS. 8 and 9 , an alternative locking mechanism  31  according to the invention is shown, including a locking rod  15 A including longitudinally extending grooves  32  disposed at angular locations around surface  21  thereof, each of grooves  32  being configured for receiving a bearing  20  (or  20 A) for longitudinal movement relative thereto (sleeve  16 , spring  19  and spring washer  19 A being deleted for clarity). Tapered tightening walls  17 A includes matching longitudinal grooves  34  located at angular locations corresponding with those of grooves  32  in the surface of locking rod  15 A, so as to also receive bearings  20 . Grooves  32  and  34  preferably have a curved profile shape when viewed longitudinally which is sized so as to correspond at least largely to the curved profile and size of individual bearings  20 . Locking mechanism  31  illustrated here operates in essentially the same manner as the locking mechanism described above. Grooves  32  and  34  can be uses together or singly, and are advantageous as they more positively position and hold bearings  20  at the desired angular positions around rod  15 A, increase the area of surface contact between the bearings and rod  15 A and tightening walls  17 A to provide increased holding capability, and reduce stress concentrations, particularly in the bearings. 
   In  FIGS. 10 and 11 , another alternate embodiment  36  of the device is shown. Embodiment  36  is shown including L shaped palm lever  13  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , although alternatively, palm piece  13 A shown in  FIG. 5 , could be used. A difference in embodiment  36  is the use of an alternate thumb jaw sizing and release piece  25 B. In place of the pivoting boot shaped lever  25  shown in the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , and sliding thumb jaw piece  25 A of  FIG. 7 , thumb jaw piece  25 B is moved rearwardly as denoted by arrow A, away from jaws  1  and  2 , to move linkage  27  upward, to open lower jaw  2 , as denoted by arrow B. Movement down, as denoted by arrow C, of palm lever  13  about pivot point  14  will release locking rod  15 , to allow sizing of jaws  1  and  2 , as explained above. Thumb jaw piece  25 B is pivotally mounted in body handle  3  at a pivot joint  38 , and it is pivotally connected to linkage  27  at a pivot joint  40 . The clamping force required to lock the pliers may be preset by the user and can be adjusted through turning the adjusting screw  11 , as previously described. 
   Also in embodiment  36  in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , another alternative release paddle  10 B replaces release paddle  10  and  10 A shown above. Again, jaw  2  is pivotally connected to handle  3  at pivot point  6 . Handle  4  is pivotally connected to jaw  2  at pivot point  7 . Middle lever  5  is pivotally connected to handle  4  at pivot point  8 . However, release paddle  10 B is now pivotally connected to handle  4  at a pivot joint  42 , closer to jaws  1  and  2  than the irregularly shaped humped portion of middle lever  5 . Once the locking pliers have been locked onto a workpiece, they may be released by moving release paddle  10 B upwardly, as denoted by arrow D, toward handle  3 . The release paddle  10 B pivots about pivot point  42 . The surface of release paddle  10 B comes into contact with the irregularly shaped humped portion of middle lever  5 , which is forced thereby upwardly and toward the jaw end of the pliers. This motion releases the upper and lower jaws. As stated above, an advantage of this construction is that the releasing force or effort required is relatively light, and is not a function of the gripping force. However, again, as above, unlike the standard type of locking pliers currently in use, the spring-loaded jaws remain lightly closed on the part until the user opens them by moving thumb jaw release  25 B, here, in direction A. 
   Turning to  FIGS. 12 ,  13  and  14 , one-handed operation of embodiment  36  of the locking pliers of the invention, is illustrated. In  FIG. 12 , a user&#39;s hand  50  is shown grasping the locking pliers  36 . Heel  52  of the palm of hand  50  is in contact with handle  3 , with thumb  54  on thumb jaw piece  25 B. Forefinger  56  contacts pivoting handle  4 , as does middle finger  58  and ring finger  60 . Pinky finger  62  is positioned for pushing release paddle  10 B. In  FIG. 13 , heel  52  of the palm of hand  50  pushes palm lever  13  down, to release locking mechanism  30 . Handle  4  is lowered. Thumb  54  pushes thumb piece  25 B in direction A, as required to size jaws  1  and  2  about a workpiece  30 . In  FIG. 14 , jaws  1  and  2  are sized to workpiece  30 , and heel  52  of hand  50  allows palm lever  13  to raise, thereby allowing locking mechanism  31  to lock rod  15 A in position. Handle  4  is squeezed toward handle  3  by fingers  56 ,  58  and/or  60 , to apply the clamping force to jaws  1  and  2  in the above-described manner for tightly clamping workpiece  30  to the desired or set extent. The clamping force can now be released by movement of release paddle upwardly toward handle  3 , for instance, using fingers  60  and/or  62 . Again, the required release force, is independent of the set gripping force, and is relatively light. Jaws  1  and  2  can then be released and removed from workpiece  30 , or resized thereto, by depressing palm lever  13  and moving thumb piece  25 B. 
   It should be understood that directional references herein, such as, but not limited to, front, forward, rear, up, down, lower, upper, and the like, are used for reference purposes only, and are not to be considered as limiting. Similarly, anatomical prefixes such as “thumb”, “palm” and the like are used for reference purposes only, and also are not to be interpreted as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that “thumb” pieces  25 ,  25 A and/or could be moved or manipulated using other parts of the hand, such as the forefinger or another finger. Similarly, “palm” lever  13  is contemplated to be movable using a finger or other portion of the hand. It should also be understood that the teachings of the present invention can be embodied in a variety of locking pliers constructions in addition to those described above and shown in the drawings. For instance, the shape of jaws  1  and/or  2  can be widely varied for use in a variety of applications, for instance, but not limited to, so as to have a needle nose shape, and the jaws can be attached connected or formed in connection with the tool in any suitable manner, including, for instance, with fasteners, die casting, forging, welding and the like. The invention is also not limited to locking pliers of a particular size. 
   Further, the locking mechanism described in this application is not unique only to locking pliers, but could also be integrated into other tools such as crescent wrenches, channel locks, pipe wrenches, or other types of wrenches that may be locked. The mechanism disclosed herein can be applied to the entire pliers line with the various jaws fit to a standard body. This high quality and innovative tool could render the existing locking pliers obsolete and become the new standard locking device in every tool box for years to come. 
   It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps, and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiments of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are intended to protect the invention broadly as well as in the specific form shown.