Statement as to rights to inventions made under Federally sponsored research and development: Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle collision repair, in particular to the straightening of a damaged post or panel of the vehicle's body or frame. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a clamp accessory that can be used with existing prior art clamps to pull on a damaged vehicle's post or panel that has an edge, or lip disposed on the rear of the post or panel. Once the prior art clamp, and clamp accessory of the present invention is attached, straightening is accomplished by pulling on the clamp accessory with an external force to return the post or panel back to its original shape.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
Automotive accidents produce damage of varying severity to the involved vehicles. In a relatively minor automobile accident of the “fenderbender” type, only the bodywork of the automobile is damaged. The automobile can then be generally repaired by replacing the damaged bodywork panel. In more severe accidents, all or part of the frame of the automobile can be bent, in addition to the bodywork panels.
The prior art method to repair a damaged vehicle's bent frame is to generally grab hold of the damaged portion with a prior art pull clamp or sling, attach an external frame straightening puller to the frame, and apply a sufficiently large pulling force by the external puller to the pull clamp or sling and thence to the frame, so that the frame is straightened back to its original form.
A problem with the prior art method discussed above is that it is often required to remove bolted-on vehicle parts such as headlights, fenders, etc., or attached glass such as windshields, windows etc., in order for the pull clamp or sling to properly access or grab the frame. Removing vehicle parts in order to ultimately access the damaged frame of the vehicle results in increased labor cost, as well as additional risk of windshield or window breakage and bodywork damage.
The present invention concerns an automotive clamp accessory that allows a prior art pull clamp to grip the rear edge or lip of a damaged post or panel without first being required to remove bolted-on vehicle parts or attached glass in order for the pull clamp to properly access or grab the frame. As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome the above problems and difficulties of the prior art.
The present invention is directed to an automotive clamp accessory that can be used with existing prior art clamps to pull on the rear edge or lip of the post of panel of a damaged vehicle's frame. Once a prior art pull clamp, and automotive clamp accessory of the present invention is attached, straightening is accomplished by pulling on the automotive clamp accessory with an external force to return the post or panel back to its original shape. The automotive clamp accessory allows a prior art pull clamp to grip the rear edge or lip of a damaged post or panel without first being required to remove bolted-on vehicle parts or attached glass in order for the pull clamp to properly access or grab the frame. The automotive clamp accessory includes a base member formed of a first end portion, a second end portion, and a wall disposed between the first and second ends. The second end portion includes a body bore for attaching the clamp accessory to a chain and external force applying device. The first end portion having a pair of opposing pivot bores for mounting the prior art pull clamp thereto. The clamp accessory further includes side walls that extend the length of the base member.
In application, prior art pulling clamp is positioned to grip onto the damaged portion of the vehicle frame. The clamp accessory is slid over the sliding bars of the pull clamp and tightened with nuts. The pulling clamp may be tightened in selected positions for various straightening applications. In position, the clamp accessory passes over the damaged frame so that the body bore of the clamp accessory is aligned and on an axis with the clamp jaws of the pull clamp. A pulling chain is attached to the body bore to exert the forward pulling force on the axis.
In accordance with the present invention, an automobile clamp accessory used when straightening a damaged vehicle's body or frame is disclosed. The automotive clamp accessory is directed to an automotive clamp accessory that can be used with existing prior art clamps to pull on the rear edge or lip of the post of panel of a damaged vehicle's frame. Once the prior art clamp is attached to the damaged portion of the vehicle frame and to the clamp accessory of the present invention, straightening is accomplished by pulling on the automotive clamp accessory with an external force to return the post or panel back to its original shape.
Specifically, it will be noted in the drawings that the automotive clamp accessory relates to an apparatus that allows a prior art pull clamp to grip the rear edge or lip of a damaged post or panel without first being required to remove bolted-on vehicle parts or attached glass in order for the pull clamp to properly access or grab the frame. In the broadest context, the automotive clamp accessory of the present invention consists of components configured and correlated with respect to each other so as to attain the desired objective.
Referring to
The second end portion 7 of the base member 3 including a body bore 10 for attaching the clamp accessory 1 to a chain 110 (shown in
The clamp accessory 1 further includes side walls 12 that extend the length of the base member 3. The base member 3 and side walls 12 can be manufactured as separate pieces and then assembled together in the form shown in the drawings or in the alternative, can be manufactured as a single piece.
The clamp 100 is mounted to the first end portion 5 of the clamp accessory 1 as shown in
As best shown in
In the preferred embodiment the clamp accessory 1 includes the spacer plate 70 disposed between the clamp 100 and the clamp accessory 1 as described above however, the spacer plate 70 is optional to the operation of the present invention. The reinforcement plate 20 positioned on the upper surface of the first end portion 5 of the clamp accessory 1 provides reinforcement or added strength to the base 3 of the clamp accessory 1 during application.
The present invention allows a forward pull on the vehicle's damaged frame without first removing obstructing vehicle parts. To use the clamp accessory 1 in frame straightening, the jaws 103A, 103B of the prior art clamp 100 is positioned to grip onto the rear edge of the vehicle frame's post or panel. The clamp accessory 1 is then slid over the sliding bars 50 of the pull clamp 100 and tightened with nuts 40, thereby fixing the pull clamp 100 to the frame and to the clamp accessory 1. In application, the clamp accessory 1 passes over the damaged post or panel, and the stair-step configuration of the clamp accessory 1 as described fits over the damaged portion of the frame at an inward direction. As shown in
Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. As such, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the claims.
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
U.S. Provisional Application for Patent 60/532,744, filed Dec. 29, 2003, with title “Adjustable Automotive Clamp Accessory that Allows a Forward or Angled Pull on a Post or Panel that has a Lip on the Rear of the Post or Panel” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Par. 119(e)(i).
Number | Date | Country | |
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60532744 | Dec 2003 | US |