Abstract:
A lock for an augur through which a cable passes has a body having a bore passing therethrough and a lever. The lever has a lever body mounted for rotation in the bore, the lever body having a portion for engaging the cable, and an arm attaching to the lever body for rotating the body and the flat portion into and out of engagement with the cable. The lock also has a contact point disposed in the bore for cooperating with the lever portion to trap the cable therebetween, and a support for guiding the cable therethrough. The support has a portion extending into the bore of the body, the portion having a first slot therein, the lever extending into the slot to contact the cable.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This application relates to auger and more particularly for an auger including a cam lock. 
         [0002]    Augers are used for plumbing drains and the like. The augur may have a drum for holding a coiled snake, which usually is a cable or a flat wire. The snake has a snare at its leading end to grab clogs in the drain so that the clogs may be pulled out of the drain when the snake is withdrawn therefrom. 
         [0003]    In operation, the snake is pulled out of the drum and pushed into the drain typically through and around curved or angled corners (like a trap) of a pipe until it reaches a clog. Upon reaching the clog, the snake must be anchored so that rotation of the auger also rotates the snake. As the snake rotates, it burrows its snare into the clog to hold onto it. The snake is then unsecured from the auger and is loaded back into the drum thereby pulling the clog and the snake out of the drain. The clog is then removed from the snare. 
         [0004]    Typically the snake is anchored for rotation by means of a thumb screw. Thumb screws may be difficult to tighten and may damage the snake. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    According to an embodiment, a lock for an augur through which a cable passes has a body having a bore passing therethrough and a lever. The lever has a lever body mounted for rotation in the bore, the lever body having a portion for engaging the cable, and an arm attaching to the lever body for rotating the body and the flat portion into and out of engagement with the cable. The lock also has a contact point disposed in the bore for cooperating with the lever portion to trap the cable therebetween, and a support for guiding the cable therethrough. The support has a portion extending into the bore of the body, the portion having a first slot therein, the lever extending through the slot to contact the cable. 
         [0006]    According to a further embodiment, a lock for a drum augur through which a cable passes has a body having a bore passing therethrough, and a lever. The lever has a lever body mounted for rotation in the bore, the lever body having a flat portion for engaging the cable, and an arm attaching to the lever body for rotating the body and the flat portion thereof into and out of engagement with the cable. The lock also has a contact point disposed in the bore for cooperating with the lever flat portion to trap the cable therebetween, and a support for guiding the cable therethrough. 
         [0007]    These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  a perspective view of a drum auger; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a cutaway perspective view of proportion of the drum auger and a cam lock; and 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the portion of the drum auger and the cam lock of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0011]    Referring to  FIG. 1  a drum auger  10  that incorporates the cam lock  15  described herein is shown. The drum auger includes a handle  20 , a bracket  25  attached to the handle  20 , a support  30 , a drum  35  rotatably attached to the support  30  as is known in the art (as by a bearing  33  or the like), a drum grip  40 , a guard  45 , and a nozzle  50 . 
         [0012]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , the support  30  has an exterior portion  55  attaching to the bracket  25  and an interior portion  60 . The exterior portion  55  is cylindrical, though other shapes are contemplated herein, and has an interior shelf  65  at an outer end  70  thereof for holding the guard as will be discussed herein. 
         [0013]    The interior portion  60  is shaped to closely fit (e.g., slightly less than interference fit so the parts may be assembled) within the exterior portion  55 . The interior portion  60  has a circular body having a diameter D and a second interior portion  72  having a diameter D′ that is smaller than the diameter D. A curved transition section  75  joins the interior portion  60  and the second interior portion  72 . A plurality of curved fingers  80 , having spaces  85  therebetween, extends axially towards the drum  35  from the second interior portion  72 . The curved fingers  80  create an opening  90  that is slightly larger than a diameter D″ of a cable  95 . The interior portion  60  has two longitudinal grooves  100 ,  105  in the second interior portion  72  thereof for cooperating with the cam lock  15  as will be discussed herein. The curved fingers  80  cooperate with a retaining ring  82  that cannot fit through the fingers and is attached to the cable to retain the cable from being completely pulled out of the drum  35  and inadvertently be sent down the drain (not shown). 
         [0014]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the guard  45 , which keeps a users hand on the exterior portion  55 , has a disk-like body  110  having a left portion  115  that is flat, an outer rounded edge  120 , a relatively flat right portion  125  extending at an angle relative to the left portion  115 , and a contoured inner edge  130  that cooperates with the curved transition section  75  of the interior portion  60 . A circular flange  135  extends axially towards the drum  35  from the right side of the body  125 . The flange fits in the shelf  65  of the exterior portion  55 . 
         [0015]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , the cam lock  15  has a body  140 , which has a roughly cylindrical longitudinal bore  145  for receiving the second interior portion  72  therethrough, and a lever  150  for locking the cable  95  for rotation with the drum  35 . An exterior surface  155  of the body  140  has a first pair of aligned bosses  160 , a second pair of aligned bosses  165  and a third pair of aligned bosses  170  that extend into the bore  145 . A first pin  175  and a second pin  180  extend through the first and second pair of bosses  160 ,  170  respectively. A third pin  185 , which is held by the third pair of bosses  170 , passes through lever  150  for rotation as will be discussed herein. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the lever  150  has a roughly rectangular body  190  having a right side wall  195 , a left side wall  200 , a bottom wall  205  and a top portion  210 . The left side wall  200  and the bottom wall  205  are joined by a first rounded portion  215  and the right side wall  195  and the bottom wall  205  are joined by a second rounded portion  220 . The rectangular body  190  has an eccentrically placed hole  222  therein contiguous to the left side wall  200  and the top portion  210  within the rectangular body  19   o . An arm  225  has a vertical portion  230  extending upwardly from the top portion  210  and an angular portion  235  extending from the vertical portion  230 . In  FIG. 2  the cam lock  15  is shown in an unlock portion with the left side wall  200  and the bottom wall  205  out of contact with the cable  95 . In  FIG. 3  the cam lock  15  is shown in a lock position wherein the right side wall  195 , the first rounded portion  215 , the second rounded portion  220  and the bottom wall  205  are in engagement with the cable  95 . 
         [0017]    The arm  225  and the pins  175 ,  180  are oriented to extend through the first and second bosses  160 ,  165  and fit within the longitudinal groove  100  in the interior portion  60  and the third pin  185  passes through eccentrically placed hole  222 . The nozzle  50  is an annulus having a rounded outer surface  240  and a flat inner portion  245 . 
         [0018]    To construct the drum augur  10 , the interior portion  60  is inserted into the exterior portion  55 , the contoured inner edge  130  of the guard  45  cooperates with the curved transition section  75  of the interior portion  60  and circular flange  135  is received in the shelf  65  of the exterior portion  55 . The parts may be glued together or sonically welded or the like. The body  140  is oriented on the interior portion  60  such that the pins  175 ,  180 ,  185  may be inserted through the bosses  160 ,  165 .  180  to locate the pins  175 ,  180 ,  185  and the lever  150  in the longitudinal grooves of the interior portion  60  of the support. The flat inner portion  245  is attached to the body  140  to guide the cable  95  into and out of the support  30 . 
         [0019]    In operation, the cable  95  is fed through the support  30 , the cam lock  15  and the nozzle  50 . Once a snag (not shown) or a trap or a bend in the pipe (not shown) is reached, the arm  225  is rotated into the closed position (see  FIG. 3 ) in which the left side wall  200  curved portion engages the cable  95  and drives it against the pin  180 . As the lever continues to rotate, the bottom wall  205  drives the cable  95  downwardly and then the second rounded portion  220 , between the right side wall  195  and the bottom wall  205  portion, drive the cable  95  against the pin  180 , while the left rounded portion and the bottom wall  205  drive the cable against the pin  175  thereby locking the cable  95  against movement within the cam lock  15 . The left side wall  200 , the first rounded portion  215 , the bottom wall  205  and the second rounded portion  220  drive the cable  95  against the pins (which act as contact points)  175 ,  180  at an angle that the cable  95  is not damaged but is securely locked for rotation with the drum  35 . A user will appreciate that the angle may change for each cable  95  depending on cable dimensions, materials and other characteristics. A user can then rotate the cable  95  by means of the drum grip  40  on the drum  35  (see  FIG. 1 ) to engage the snag (not shown) or navigate through the trap or bend (not shown). The guard  45  minimizes a chance that the arm  225  over-rotates. The eccentrically placed hole  222  of the rectangular body  190  allows the rectangular body to lock the cable in an over-center manner. 
         [0020]    Once the snag is engaged, the arm is rotated in the counter clockwise direction to free the cable  95  (see the position of the lever in  FIG. 2 ) for extraction from the drain (not shown) into the drum  35 . 
         [0021]    Because the cam lock  15  uses the principles of levers, the drum auger  10  or similar device, is relatively simple to use compared to a screw (not shown) and more particularly for those who have difficulty manipulating a screw or tightening a screw (not shown) in a significant manner. Because the first rounded portion  215  and the second rounded portion  220  of the rectangular body  190  are rounded, the probability that sharp edges, like the edges of a screw (not shown), would dig into and damage a cable  95  is minimized. The pins  175 ,  180  offer greater clamping force over a greater cable tolerance range over a cam lock that does not have this feature. 
         [0022]    Although a combination of features is shown in the illustrated examples, not all of them need to be combined to realize the benefits of various embodiments of this disclosure. In other words, a system designed according to an embodiment of this disclosure will not necessarily include all of the features shown in any one of the Figures or all of the portions schematically shown in the Figures. Moreover, selected features of one example embodiment may be combined with selected features of other example embodiments. 
         [0023]    The preceding description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed examples may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not necessarily depart from the essence of this disclosure. The scope of legal protection given to this disclosure can only be determined by studying the following claims.