Abstract:
A clamp for flexible tubing such as medical tubing or micro-tubing. The clamp comprises a clam-shell design having lateral non-opposing sidewalls that prevent the micro-tubing from bending out from under the mating clamping anvils when closed. The lateral non-opposing sidewalls of the clamp are non-opposing in order to facilitate injection molded in two halves of an injection mold without the use of additional slides.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This invention claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 62/189,559, filed Jul. 7, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to a clamp for hoses or flexible tubing. More particularly, this invention relates to tubing clamps commonly used in the medical industry. 
         [0004]    Description of the Background Art 
         [0005]    Presently, there exist many types of clamps for clamping onto a tubing or other flexible member to at least partially obstruct fluid flow through the tubing or to completely close-off fluid flow through the tubing. One particular industry that requires the use of tubing clamps is the medical industry wherein clamps are used widely as tubing clamps in intravenous administration sets, catheterization kits, and many other medical assemblies. 
         [0006]    One of the most common types of tubing clamp in the medical industry comprises a clam-shell design having upper and lower arms joined together by a living hinge. The medical tubing is positioned between the upper and lower arms which are allowed to clamp onto the tubing by means of the living hinge. Typically, the upper arm includes a pointed end that engages into teeth formed in the end of the lower arm to achieve a complementary ratchet mechanism such that the anvils of upper and lower body portions may be clamped onto the medical tubing to reduce fluid flow or to entirely close off all fluid flow. Further, the most widely used tubing clamp comprises a longitudinal hole formed through the living hinge and the ratcheting portions of the lower arm such that the tubing is threaded therethrough in alignment with mating clamping anvils to squeeze closed the tubing therebetween. 
         [0007]    Importantly, surgical micro-tubing had led to the development of lateral opposing sidewalls that confine the micro tubing to rest between the unclamped anvils thereby precluding the micro tubing from otherwise creeping out between the anvils before they are clamped together. 
         [0008]    The entirety of the tubing clamp is typically manufactured as a one-piece injection-molded assembly. Accordingly, conventional molding techniques are preferably employed with minimal slides. As shown in  FIG. 1 , known tubing clamps with opposing sidewalls require too many slides and other complex molding techniques. 
         [0009]    Therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the tubing clamp art. 
         [0010]    Another object of this invention is to provide a tubing clamp having non-opposing sidewalls that may be injection molded without slides. 
         [0011]    Another object of this invention is to provide a tubing clamp having non-opposing sidewalls emanating from one clamp arm that engage into slots form in the other clamp arm to minimize twisting of the clamp arms relative to one another during squeezing of the clamp closed. 
         [0012]    The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    For the purpose of summarizing the invention, this invention comprises a clamp for flexible tubing such as medical tubing or micro-tubing. The clamp comprises a clam-shell design having lateral non-opposing sidewalls that prevent the micro-tubing from bending out from under the mating clamping anvils when closed. Unlike the lateral opposing sidewalls of prior art clamps such as is shown in  FIG. 1 , the lateral non-opposing sidewalls of the clamp of the present invention are non-opposing lateral sidewalls that may be injection molded without the use of additional slides that are otherwise needed to injection mold the prior art opposing sidewalls shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0014]    The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a prior art tubing clamp having lateral sidewalls that are directly opposing one another; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2A  is a right perspective view of a first embodiment of the tubing clamp of the invention having two lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2B  is a right perspective view of a second embodiment the tubing clamp of the invention having three lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 3A  is a left perspective view of a first embodiment of the tubing clamp of the invention having two lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3B  is a left perspective view of a second embodiment the tubing clamp of the invention having three lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4A  is a right side view of a first embodiment of the tubing clamp of the invention having two lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4B  is a right side view of a second embodiment the tubing clamp of the invention having three lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5A  is a left side view of a first embodiment of the tubing clamp of the invention having two lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
           [0024]      FIG. 5B  is a left side view of a second embodiment the tubing clamp of the invention having three lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  is a right perspective view of a third embodiment of the tubing clamp of the invention having two lateral sidewalls that are not directly opposing one another; 
       
    
    
       [0026]    Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 2-5 , the tubing clamp  10  of the invention comprises an upper arm  12  and a lower arm  14  flexibly hinged together by a living hinge  16  to define a clam-shell design. 
         [0028]    The upper arm  12  comprises a generally flat top configuration  18  with a terminal portion  20 . Extending downwardly underneath the flat upper configuration  18  is a generally triangular-in-cross-section upper portion  22  defining a transverse upper anvil  24 , preferably with a cross-sectional rounded edge in the form of a circular segment CS. Similarly, the lower arm  14  comprises a generally flat bottom configuration  26  with a terminal portion  28  extending upwardly for removable engagement with the terminal portion  20  of the upper arm  12 . Extending upwardly from the flat lower configuration  26  is a generally triangular-in-cross-section lower portion  30  defining a transverse lower anvil  32 , preferably with a cross-sectional rounded edge in the form of a circular segment CS. 
         [0029]    The living hinge  16  comprises an aperture  34  and the terminal portion  28  of the lower arm  14  comprises another aperture  36  in alignment with one another allowing the tubing (shown in phantom as reference numeral  38 ) to be clamped threaded therethrough and positioned between the anvils  24  and  32 . 
         [0030]    The anvils  24  and  32  move generally parallel to one another when the upper arm  12  and lower arm  14  are squeezed together against the inherent resilient memory of the living hinge  16  whereupon the tubing  38  is squeezed between the anvils  24  and  32  to obstruct, or completely close-off, fluid flow through the tubing  38 . It is noted that the circular segments CS of the anvils  24  and  32  are preferably aligned parallel with one another such that the tubing  38  is squeezed precisely closed between the anvils  24  and  32 . 
         [0031]    Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the terminal portions  20  and  28  may comprise a variety of configurations to completely or partially obstruct fluid flow through the tubing  38 . As shown, for complete obstruction, the lower terminal portion  28  may comprise a single toothed rack  40  formed on the inward portion of the lower terminal portion  28  of the lower arm  14 . The upper terminal portion  22  comprises a pawl  42 . The leading edge of the pawl  42  is aligned for engagement with the tooth of the rack  40 . When the upper and lower arms  12  and  14  are grasped by a person&#39;s hand and squeezed together such that the anvils  24  and  32  tightly squeeze the tubing  38  to close-off fluid flow, the leading edge of the pawl  42  removeably snaps under the tooth of the rack  40  to secure the anvils  24  and  32  is their closed position. 
         [0032]    Alternatively, for partial to complete obstruction of fluid flow, the inward portion of the lower terminal portion  28  may comprise a plurality of teeth (not shown) along the rack  40  for sequential engagement by the leading edge of the pawl  42  such that the anvils  24  and  32  gradually squeeze the tubing  38  to initially partially then completely obstruct fluid flow as the anvils  24  and  32  are ratcheted toward one another upon sequential engagement of the leading edge of the pawl  42  along the teeth of the rack  40 . 
         [0033]    It is noted that the upper configuration  18  may comprise a series of parallel transverse ridges  44  on the upper surface thereof to facilitate better gripping by the person&#39;s thumb during such squeezing of the arms  12  and  14  together. 
         [0034]    To open the clamp  10 , the terminal portion  28  is pushed forwardly by a person&#39;s thumb to disengage the leading edge of the pawl  42  from the tooth of the rack  40  whereupon the inherent resilient memory of the living hinge  16  causes the upper and lower arms  12  and  14  (and their respective anvils  24  and  32 ) to move apart and no longer squeeze the tubing  38 . 
         [0035]    The clamp  10  of the present invention may be used with different-sized tubings  38  so long as the diameter of the tubing  38  is smaller than the diameter of the apertures  34  and  36  and is therefore capable of being threaded therethrough. Moreover, micro-tubings  38  (i.e., tubing of a very small diameter) may likewise be used. However, it is known that micro-tubing  38  has the tendency to easily flex and bend and may inadvertently easily bend outside of clamp  10  and away from in between the anvils  24  and  32 . 
         [0036]    In order to better constrain the micro-tubing  38  between the anvils  24  and  32 , the clamp  10  of the invention comprise at least one first sidewall  46  on one side (e.g., right) of the clamp  10  and at least one second sidewall  48  on the other side (e.g., left) of the clamp  10 .  FIGS. 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A  illustrate one embodiment of the clamp  10  wherein only one first sidewall  46  and only one second sidewall  48  are employed whereas  FIGS. 2B, 3B, 4B and 5B  illustrate another embodiment of the clamp  10  wherein only one first sidewall  46  but two second sidewalls  48  are employed. 
         [0037]    The sidewalls  46  and  48  in one embodiment emanate from the lower triangular portion  30 . Alternatively, in another embodiment (not shown) the sidewalls  46  and  48  may emanate from the upper triangular portion  22 . Still alternatively, in other embodiments (not shown), the first sidewall(s)  46  (e.g., the right sidewall) may emanate from the lower triangular portion  30  and the second sidewall(s)  48  (e.g., the left sidewall) may emanate from the upper triangular portion  22 , or vice versa. 
         [0038]    The sidewalls  46  and  48  in one embodiment each comprise a generally flat rectangular configuration to define a tubing path between the apertures  34  and  36  such that when clamping micro-tubing  38 , the micro-tubing  38  is constrained to be in proper transverse alignment between the anvils  24  and  32  and is prevented from inadvertently bending out from between the anvils  24  and  32  where they would not be properly squeezed closed between the anvils  24  and  32 . 
         [0039]    In the first embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A , the single first sidewall  46  emanates upwardly from the side end of the anvil  32  of the triangular portion  30  whereas the single second sidewall  48  emanates upwardly from the side end of the forward sloped surface  30 FS of the triangular portion  30 . Alternatively, in the third embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the single first sidewall  46  emanates upwardly from the anvil  32  of the triangular portion  30  and the single second sidewall  48  emanates upwardly from the rearward sloped surface  30 RS of the triangular portion  30 . 
         [0040]    Unlike the prior art clamps employing opposing sidewalls (see for example  FIG. 1 ), the first and second sidewall(s)  46  and  48  of the clamp  10  of the present invention are not directly aligned opposite one another (i.e., the left first sidewall(s)  46  is not aligned directly across from the right second sidewall(s)). Rather, as best shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first and second sidewalls  46  and  48  are non-opposing from one another such that no portion of the first sidewall(s)  46  is directly opposite to any portion of the second sidewall(s)  48  to form a gap G when the clamp  10  is viewed from the side. Importantly, the gap G formed between the non-opposed first and second sidewalls  46  and  48  facilitate injection molding of the clamp  10  by the two halves of a conventional injection mold without the use of slides that would otherwise be necessary were the sidewalls were opposing one another as taught by the prior art (see  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0041]    The upper arm  12  may comprise first and second side slots  50  and  52  into which the respective first and second sidewalls  46  and  48  may move into as the clamp  10  is squeezed closed by moving the arms  12  and  14  together. Advantageously, the slots  50  and  52  function to better align the upper triangular portion  22  relative to the lower triangular portion  30  upon movement of the arms  12  and  14  together such that the arms  12  and  14  do not otherwise twist during closing and otherwise misalign the anvils  24  and  32  as they are clamped together. A more complete closure of the micro-tubing  38  may therefore be achieved since the anvils  24  and  32  will be more accurately aligned parallel during clamping to more completely obstruct fluid flow through the micro-tubing. 
         [0042]    In another embodiment of the invention (not shown), the first and second sidewalls  46  and  48  may emanate from the upper triangular portion  22  whereupon the lower triangular portion  30  may comprise first and second side slots into which the respective first and second sidewalls  46  and  48  may move into as the clamp  10  is squeezed closed. 
         [0043]    The present invention includes that contained in the appended claims as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this description has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction, combination, or arrangement of parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.