Improvements in and connected with Vices.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 5th July, 1893-Accepted, 5th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Vices.
I HENRY THOMAS of British Mills, Redditch, Worcestershire, Needle and
Fish-hook Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The primary object of this invention is to so construct a vice that a rod or other
shaped piece of material can be passed through and held central in the vice. With
this object the shanks of the jaws instead of being connected together at bottom
and operated by a central screw as is now usual, are held between a frame in the
outer end of which the compressing screw passes and acts upon the first jaw. The
lower ends of the shanks are connected by double levers pivotted at each end to
the shanks and in the middle together. The lower bolts or pivots pass through
slots in bottom of shanks. The spring employed to open the jaws is let vertically
into the back shank and acts upon the lower end of the levers connected to this
shank. To assist in keeping the two jaws parallel when a thick article is held the
back jaw can be arranged to be put back in the frame and secured by cross piu.
Vices so constructed are particularly applicable for hand vices.
Dated this 29th day of March 1893.
FREDERIC PRINCE,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Vices.
I, HENRY THOMAS, of British Mills Redditch Worcestershire, Needle and
Fish-hook Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Before my invention bench-vices had been made with vertical jaw-stocks con-
nected together by cross bars and opened and closed by a screw. In this character
of vice the jaws opened and closed with a parallel movement: but the screw being
central, and also the cross bars there was no opportunity for passing a rod centrally
through between the jaws and their stocks.
My present invention is especially intended for hand-vices, and it is also applicable
to bench-vices and it is made to render the action of the vice uniform and to allow
a free open space centrally through the vice so that such vice can be applied to a
rod, wire or other article of any length and when in the form of a hand-vice this
invention becomes a handle around the article for holding and manipulating the
same and the clamping action can be either by the hand alone or by the action of a
screw at the end of a sling, by which a powerful pressure is applied to move the
parallel jaws toward each other.
In the drawings:-
Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section.
Figure 2 is a plan view: 'and'
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line x, x.
The jaws A. B. are provided with stocks or shanks A, B1, which are parallel to
each other, or nearly so and the jaw portions are curved inwardly toward each
other, and I make use of two pairs of cross-levers C. D. which are pivoted centrally
at 3 and at 4, 5, to the respective shanks A, B, and there are cross-bolts or

page_text: rivets 6 and 7, passing through longitudinal slot in the jaw-shanks and connecting
the lower ends of the pairs of cross-levers. Hence these pairs of cross levers allow
the jaws and their shanks to be opened or closed and they, form a reliable con-
nection between the shanks of the jaws, and at the same time there is an open
space through between the two pairs of cross-levers so that a rod or wire can be
easily passed centrally through between the jaws of the vice and in hand-vices
the outer edges of the shanks A' B', are curved or rounding, so as to be easily
grasped in the hand, and in cases where the article acted upon does not require to
be grasped with considerable force the grasping action of the hand may be sufficient
for holding the article between the jaws of the vice: but usually a sling J is made
use of in the form of two straps passing one at each side of the jaw-shanks and
having a nut at one end which joins the two parts of the sling, and through which
nut is a screw L which may be either a thumb-screw or a lever screw, according to
the size of the vice and the back end of the sling J is connected with the shank A¹
by a cross-screw pin or rivet 9. By this means the force of the screw can be used
to advantage in clamping an article placed between the jaws of the vice. By
providing more than one hole in the sling J for the cross pin or screw 9 a com-
paratively short screw L may be made use of and by moving the pin or screw 9
the vice may be opened more or less and adapted to different sizes of articles and
when the sling J is prolonged it may be attached to the surface of a bench so as
to adapt the present improvement to a bench-vice. In this case it is advantageous
to spread the back end of the sling J in the form of a disc or plate J' with a
central hole for the clamping bolt and nut H for firmly connecting the vice to the
bench, and also for allowing the vice to be swung around diagonally to the bench
or at right angles to the same for the convenience of the article grasped by the vice
or the workman..
One of the jaw-shanks is bored endwise to form a cavity for the reception of a
contractile helical spring P, and one end of this spring is connected with the
cross-pin 6 and the other end is connected by a cross-pin 12 and the contraction of
this spring tends to draw the pin 6 toward the pin 4 and in so doing opens the vice,
and this spring is stretched or distended as the vice is closed, and the force exerted
on the vice-jaws is nearly uniform, because as the strength of the spring lessens
the leverage of the cross-levers becomes greater in moving the jaws and the
reverse.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:―
1-The combination, with the vice-jaws A and B and shanks A', B' of double
cross-levers C, D, pivotted at 4 and 5 upon the jaw-shanks, respectively, one pair of
levers being at one side of the shanks, such shanks being slotted and receiving the
cross pins or rivets 6 and 7, that connect the respective pairs of cross levers
substantially as set forth.
2-The combination, with the vice-jaws A. B. the shanks A¹ B₁ of two pairs of
cross-levers one pair at each side of the jaw-shanks and united thereto by pivots
and cross-pins passing through slots in the jaw-shanks and a sling connected with
one of the jaw-shanks and having a screw acting upon the other jaw-shank
substantially as set forth.
3-The combination, with the vice-jaws and shanks, of the cross-levers, one pair
at each side of the jaw-shanks pivotted to such shanks and provided with cross-pins
and slots in such shanks, and a contractile spring acting upon the cross-levers to
open the jaws of the vice substantially as set forth.
4-The combination, with the vice-jaws and shanks, of two pair of cross-levers
pivotted together and to the jaw-shanks, and a spring within a cavity in one of the
shanks acting upon the levers to open the vice substantially as set forth.
5-The combination, with the vice-jaws and shanks, of cross-levers pivotted

page_text: together and to the jaw-shanks a sling at each side of the shanks and provided with
a nut and a screw to act upon one of the jaws and a connection at the end of the
sling for supporting the vice upon a bench substantially as set forth.
Dated this 5th day of July 1893.
FREDERIC PRINCE,
1, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agent for Applicant.