Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanical processing device, in particular to a bench vice.
2. Description of Related Art
Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
A bench vice is a clamping tool used by a bench worker, and is designed to clamp and hold a work piece. A conventional bench vices usually comprises five major parts: a movable vice body, a fixed vice body, a screw rod, a screw nut, and a base, in the following structure: the fixed vice body is mounted on the base, and is assembled with the screw nut into an assembly, i.e., the two components can't move in relation to each other. The movable vice body is assembled with the screw rod into an assembly, and a handle is mounted on the outer end of the screw rod that is in thread engagement with the screw nut; the movable vice body runs across the cavity in the upper part of the fixed vice body and can move in the cavity. If the fixed vice body is capable of revolving on the base to change its working position, a screw designed to lock the fixed vice body in position must be arranged on the base. In use, the screw rod that is engaged with the screw nut is turned so that the movable vice body and the fixed vice body displace in relation to each other, to attain the purpose of clamping up or releasing the work piece.
A drawback of such a bench vice is: the rotating screw rod can only drive the movable vice body to move slowly, and thereby can only achieve slow clamping and releasing of the work piece. Especially, for a bench vice that has a wide adjustment range of the vice jaw and involves frequent work piece change, to create a large relative displacement between the movable vice body and the fixed vice body, the screw rod has to be turned frequently and for a long time; consequently, the heavy bench work will be more awkward, the labor intensity is increased, and the working efficiency is decreased.
The structural principle of existing quick-action bench vices usually utilizes disengagement of the screw nut from the screw rod to attain the purpose of quick action. However, the existing operating handle (i.e., a handle designed to manipulate the screw rod and the screw nut to engage or disengage) is usually mounted on the base or middle or rear part of the fixed vice body; thus, when the bench worker operates the bench vice, his arms have to move in a long range, which is very inconvenient.
The technical problem to be solved in the present invention is to provide a bench vice, with which the bench worker can operate more conveniently.
The present invention employs the following technical scheme to solve the technical problem: a bench vice, comprising a fixed vice body, a movable vice body, a screw rod, a screw nut, a quick-action mechanism designed to control the screw rod and screw nut to engage or disengage so as to move slowly or quickly, and an operating handle designed to operate the quick-action mechanism, wherein, the movable vice body is assembled with the screw rod into an assembly, and both the quick-action mechanism and the operating handle are arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body.
The beneficial effects of the present invention include: since the operating handle and the quick-action mechanism are arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body, the mechanical processing worker doesn't have to move his/her arms in a long range, and thereby the operation is more convenient; in addition, the bench vice can be manufactured more conveniently since the quick-action mechanism is arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body.
On the basis of the technical scheme described above, the present invention can be further improved as follows:
Moreover, the quick-action mechanism is implemented as follows: a screw nut slot is arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body below the screw rod, the screw nut is accommodated in the screw nut slot, and comprises a screw nut body at the upper end and a screw nut holder at the lower end, the upper end of the screw nut body has an arc groove in the extension direction of the screw rod, and the arc groove has threads on its bottom to engage with the screw rod, a first spring is fitted over the outer wall of the screw nut holder, the screw nut slot communicates with a first thread hole below it, a thread bushing is screwed in the first thread hole, the lower end of the first spring is fixed to the thread bushing, the screw nut holder runs through a central hole of the thread bushing, and has an open slot on its bottom surface, the open slot has a pin hole, the upper end of a connecting plate is inserted in the open slot and is fixed by a pin that runs through the pin hole, the lower end of the connecting plate has a slot, an eccentric shaft is mounted in the slot, and is connected with the operating handle; an annular V-groove is arranged in the circumferential direction on the lateral surface of the eccentric shaft, a pair of blind holes are arranged in a splayed shape in the V-groove, a stop pin is fixed in each of the blind holes, a steel ball butts against the opening of the V-groove, and the steel ball is fixed via a second spring to the front end of the fixed vice body. The beneficial effects of the above scheme include: with the eccentric shaft structure, the operating handle can drive the screw nut holder to act, and thereby the screw rod and the screw nut can engage/disengage; in addition, the eccentric shaft has a positioning means; thus, the overall connection and driving of the system is very stably and reliable, and the system has a long service life.
Furthermore, the quick-action mechanism is implemented as follows: a screw nut slot is arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body at the side of the screw rod, the screw nut is accommodated in the screw nut slot, and comprises a screw nut body near the screw rod and a screw nut holder away from the screw rod, the screw nut body has an arc groove in the extension direction of the screw rod on its end near the screw rod, and the arc groove has threads on its bottom to engage with the screw rod, a first spring is fitted over the outer wall of the screw nut holder, the screw nut slot communicates with a first thread hole at its end away from the screw rod, a thread bushing is screwed in the first thread hole, the end of the first spring away from the screw rod is fixed in position by the thread bushing, the screw nut holder runs through a central hole of the thread bushing, the end of the screw nut holder away from the screw rod is hinged via a pin shaft to the operating handle, and the distance from the hinge point to the edge of the operating handle at the end near the screw nut holder is not equal to the distance from the hinge point to the edge at one side of the operating handle. The beneficial effects of the above scheme include: with the structure in which the distances from the operating handle to the hinge point in two directions are not equal to each other, the operating handle can drive the screw nut holder to act, and thereby the screw rod and the screw nut can engage/disengage; an advantage of the scheme is that the structure of the quick-action mechanism is very simple, but the connection and action are not as stable as those in the first embodiment.
Furthermore, the quick-action mechanism is implemented as follows: a screw nut slot is arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body below the screw rod, the screw nut is accommodated in the screw nut slot, and comprises a screw nut body at the upper end and a screw nut holder at the lower end, the upper end of the screw nut body has an arc groove in the extension direction of the screw rod, and the arc groove has threads on its bottom to engage with the screw rod, a first spring is fitted over the outer wall of the screw nut holder, the screw nut slot communicates with a first thread hole below it, a thread bushing is screwed in the first thread hole, the lower end of the first spring is fixed to the thread bushing, the screw nut holder runs through a central hole of the thread bushing, and has a second thread hole extending upwards on its bottom surface, a screw is arranged in the second thread hole and is engaged with the inside threads of the second thread hole, the nut of the screw is connected with the operating handle, the operating handle is arranged on a horizontal rail and can rotate on the rail, and at least a part of the rail surface of the rail have a convex part. The beneficial effects of the above scheme include: since the operating handle is on the rail, the operating handle will be at a higher position or lower position as the rail surface fluctuates; thus, the operating handle can drive the screw nut holder to act, and thereby the screw rod and the screw nut can engage/disengage; such a structure is simpler than the structure in the first embodiment, and the fixing and connection are better than those in the second embodiment.
Furthermore, the quick-action mechanism is implemented as follows: a screw nut slot is arranged on the front end of the fixed vice body below the screw rod, the screw nut is accommodated in the screw nut slot, and comprises a screw nut body at the upper end and a screw nut holder at the lower end, the upper end of the screw nut body has an arc groove in the extension direction of the screw rod, and the arc groove has threads on its bottom to engage with the screw rod, a first spring is fitted over the outer wall of the screw nut holder, the screw nut slot communicates with a first thread hole below it, a thread bushing is screwed in the first thread hole, the lower end of the first spring is fixed to the thread bushing, the screw nut holder runs through a central hole of the thread bushing, and has a second thread hole extending upwards on its bottom surface, a screw is arranged in the second thread hole and is engaged with the inside threads of the second thread hole, the nut of the screw is connected with the operating handle via a lever, and each end of the lever acts in the vertical direction. The beneficial effects of the above scheme include: with lever principle, the operating handle drives the screw nut holder to act, and thereby the screw rod and the screw nut can engage/disengage; the advantages of this scheme include: this embodiment is simpler than embodiment 3, the structure is simpler, and the operation is more labor-saving.
Among the figures, the components denoted by the symbols are listed as follows:
Hereunder the principle and characteristics of the present invention will be detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the embodiments are provided only to interpret the present invention, and don't constitute any limitation to the scope of the present invention.
As shown in
Bench vices usually employ a working principle of engagement/disengagement between screw rod and screw nut to implement switchover between slow action and quick action, with the only difference in the structure of the quick-action mechanism 5. For the present invention, since the quick-action mechanism 5 and operating handle 6 in existing bench vices are usually arranged on the base or middle or rear part of the bench vice but the clamped work piece is at the movable vice body at the front end of the bench vice, the bench worker has to move his/her arms in a long range during switchover of slow action/quick action; therefore, the operation is very inconvenient.
The first inventive step of the present invention is to arrange both the quick-action mechanism 5 and the operating handle 6 on the front end 101 of the fixed vice body, so that the operator can operate more conveniently and the working efficiency can be improved; in other words, an inventive aspect to be protected is that the quick-action mechanism 5 and the operating handle 6 are arranged in the area of the described position. In addition, it should be noted that the terms “front end” and “rear end” mentioned here are described in relation to the movable vice body of the bench vice. Those skilled in the art usually refer one end of the movable vice body that faces outwards and is used to hold the work piece as “front end”, and refer the other end as “tail end” or “rear end”. Moreover, though the “front end of fixed vice body” may not be clear to non-specialized persons, it is a conventional term in the art to bench vice manufacturers, i.e., it is the part that protrudes from the front end below the fixed vice body.
As shown in
In addition, on that basis, another inventive step of the present invention is: several embodiments are provided hereunder, and these embodiments have different manipulating structures, wherein, some are more reasonable in design, and others are more labor-saving, but all of them can be used to attain the object of the present invention. These embodiments are detailed as follows:
As shown in
an annular V-groove 204 is arranged in the circumferential direction on the lateral surface of the eccentric shaft 203, a pair of blind holes are arranged in a splayed shape in the V-groove 204, a stop pin 205 is fixed in each of the blind holes, a steel ball 206 butts against the opening of the V-groove 204, and the steel ball 206 is fixed via a second spring 207 to the front end of the fixed vice body.
Here, it should be noted: first, the arc groove 8 is named as “arc groove” only to differentiate from the names of other grooves, but actually is not limited to arc groove, which is to say, the arc groove 8 can be in any other shape, as long as the screw rod 3 can be accommodated in the arc groove 8 on the upper end of the screw nut body 401 and the screw rod 3 can be engaged with the threads on the lower part of the arc groove 8. Of course, alternatively, threads that are designed to engage with the screw rod 3 can be arranged on the perimeter of the screw nut body 401, and the screw rod 3 and the screw nut 4 can be controlled to engage or disengage by changing the position of the screw nut with the structure described below.
Second, a first spring 9 is fitted over the outer wall of the screw nut holder 402, the lower end of the first spring 9 is fixed to the thread bushing 11, and the upper end of the first spring 9 preferably butts against the bottom surface of the screw nut body 401, mainly for the following purposes: 1) ensure the threads of the screw nut can be engaged with the threads of the screw rods reliably and the structure can withstand high clamping force; 2) when the bench vice is opened by slow action, the supporting screw nut will not slide down and disengage from the screw rod; and, 3) ensure the pushing force is moderate when quick advance function is used in thread engagement state.
Third, the slot 202 is designed to ensure an effective travel distance required for the screw nut to disengage from the threads of the screw rod when the screw nut and the screw rod are in thread engagement state and advance quickly.
Fourth, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the eccentric shaft turning structure can be implemented in a variety of ways; usually, that structure is implemented by a turning means, for example, the sectional structure shown in
When the operating handle 6 is pulled, the position of the eccentric shaft 203 in the slot will be changed under the driving action of the operating handle 6; the eccentric shaft 203 doesn't drive the screw nut holder 402 to move upwards directly when the eccentric shaft 203 moves upwards; instead, the screw nut holder 402 moves upwards together with the connecting plate 201 because they are driven by the screw nut body 401 under the spring force of the first spring 9; the only purpose of the position change of the eccentric shaft in the slot is to make room for the screw nut holder 402 to move upwards, and, as the screw nut holder 402 moves upwards, the screw nut 4 and the screw rod 3 will engage with each other, and thus slow action will be realized; on the other hand, when the screw nut holder 402 moves downwards under the driving action of the eccentric shaft 203, the screw rod 3 and the screw nut 4 will disengage from each other, and thus quick action will be realized.
As shown in
Compared with embodiment 1, the differences lie in: first, the quick-action mechanism 5 is not arranged below the screw rod 3, but is arranged at a side of the screw rod 3; second, the screw nut holder 402 is directly hinged to the operating handle 6 via the pin shaft 209, and the position of the hinge point is arranged in a way that the distance from the pin shaft 209 to a side is not equal to the distance from the pin shaft 209 to an end, i.e., ‘m’ is not equal to ‘n’ in
As shown in
Compared with embodiment 1, the similarity is that the quick-action mechanism 5 is also arranged below the screw rod 3, and the difference lies in the final part that is connected with the operating handle, i.e., a screw is arranged on the bottom of the screw nut holder 402 and is screwed into the screw nut holder 402 in bottom-top direction; for accurate positioning, a step screw 210 can be used, and the nut of the step screw 210 is fixed in the middle part of the operating handle; the operating lever at the ends of the operating handle is laid on a rail, which has an undulate surface and is preferably an annular rail. The arrangement on the rail is shown in detail in
Of course, alternatively, the lower end of the screw nut holder 402 can be directly fixed to the operating handle 6; in that case, a step screw 210 is required, and the screw nut holder 402 is driven by the nut of the step screw 210. With such an arrangement, the fixing effect is better.
As shown in
Compared with embodiment 3, the difference lies in: the nut of the step screw 210 is fixed to one end of the lever, and the other end of the lever is connected with the operating handle 6. The lever can enclose the operating handle 6 into an operating handle that rotates around a shaft 212; thus, when the operating handle 6 is pushed, the nut of the screw will move up and down accordingly via the lever, and thereby the screw nut holder 402 will move up and down and the screw rod 3 and the screw nut 4 will engage with each other.
In the embodiments described above, the exact positions of the screw nut holder 402 in the higher position and lower position shall be determined reasonably according to the relative travel length between the screw rod and the screw nut. Of course, those skilled in the art can take that into account naturally in advance when they design such a bench vice.
While the present invention is described above in some preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to those preferred embodiments. Any modification, equivalent replacement, and improvement made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be deemed as falling into the protected domain of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201210401379.8 | Oct 2012 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CN13/70648 | 1/18/2013 | WO | 00 | 7/17/2014 |