Patent Application
20250091109
The present disclosure relates to conduit benders, and in particular, relates to a lift conduit bender handle for use with a conduit bender for bending a workpiece or a conduit.
It is known conduit benders are used to bend conduits or pipes to a desired angle. Typically, a conduit bender includes a handle (or shaft) and a former or bender head connected to the handle. A user pulls the handle to force the conduit around the former such that the conduit gets sandwiched and forced to take the shape of the former.
Several conduit benders for bending conduits have been disclosed in the past. One such conduit bender is disclosed in a United States granted U.S. Pat. No. 11,498,106, entitled “Conduit bender” (“the '106 Patent”). The '106 Patent discloses a tool for bending an elongated workpiece includes a shaft having a first shaft portion and a second shaft portion, and a coupling assembly coupling the first shaft portion and the second shaft portion. The coupling assembly has a locked configuration in which the coupling assembly inhibits movement of the first shaft portion relative to the second shaft portion and an unlocked configuration in which the coupling assembly permits movement of the first shaft portion relative to the second shaft portion. The tool also includes a shoe coupled to the second shaft portion. The shoe has a curved bottom portion and a hook configured to hold the workpiece against the curved bottom portion. The curved bottom portion is engageable with the workpiece to bend the workpiece.
Another conduit bender is disclosed in a United States granted U.S. Pat. No. 11,458,520, entitled “Bender tool measuring system, apparatus, and method” (“the '520 Patent”). The '520 Patent discloses a bender tool measuring system includes a conduit bender, a bent piece of conduit, and a measurement apparatus coupled to the conduit. The conduit bender includes a bender head comprising a hook and a handle coupled to and extending from the bender head. The measurement apparatus is configured to project an optical projection onto the handle of the conduit bender, and the location of the optical projection on the length of the handle indicates the position of the bent piece of conduit in relation to the bender head.
Another conduit bender is disclosed in a United States granted U.S. Pat. No. 10,919,080, entitled “Tubing bender” (“the '080 Patent”). The '080 Patent discloses A compact, lightweight, portable tubing bender configured to enable one-handed operation. The tubing bender includes a portable housing including a handle portion, a bender shoe operably coupled to the portable housing, the bender shoe defining an arcuate channel configured to restrain a length of tubing along a prescribed arc during bending operations, a guide gear fixedly coupled to the bender shoe, and a guide frame pivotably coupled to the bender shoe, the guide frame including a motor, a driven gear and a guide member, the motor configured to drive the driven gear along the guide gear to pivot the guide frame relative to the bender shoe, so as to move the guide member during bending operations to guide the length of tubing along the arcuate channel of the bender shoe.
Yet another conduit bender is disclosed in a United States Publication No. 20220212239, entitled “Geared Conduit Bender” (“the '239 Publication”). The '239 Publication discloses a tool, such as a conduit bender, that includes a gear assembly for providing a mechanical advantage when bending a workpiece conduit. The gear assembly comprises a pinion gear rotatably coupled to a handle, the handle including a pin that can be selectively engaged with the pinion gear. The conduit bender also includes a shoe with teeth that protrude radially inward from a curved outer portion. When the conduit bender is in use, the teeth of the pinion gear engage with the teeth of the shoe.
Although the above discussed disclosures are useful, they have few problems. For instance, typical conduit benders include a long handle to provide sufficient leverage to bend the conduit. Many times, it becomes difficult to use the long handle in confined spaces. Further, the handle connects to the former at a fixed angle.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an improved lift conduit bender handle for use with a conduit bender for bending a workpiece.
It is an object of the present subject matter to provide a lift conduit bender handle and that avoids the drawback of known devices.
It is another object of the present subject matter to provide a lift conduit bender handle for use with a conduit bender for bending a workpiece.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide a lift conduit bender handle that can be adjusted at one or more desired angles with respect to the conduit bender.
In order to achieve one or more objects, the present subject matter provides a lift conduit bender handle. The lift conduit bender handle includes a bracket having two plates in quadrant configuration facing each other. Each plate includes holes. Further, the lift conduit bender handle inserts through the bracket and connects to the holes with the help of handrails while being positioned at a desired angle. The handle further includes a handle bracket. The handle bracket includes a set screw for tightening the handle. The handle connects to a bender head of a conduit bender. The bender head includes a conduit-receiving groove for receiving a workpiece or conduit or pipe. The lift conduit bender handle applies force on the workpiece around the bender head such that the workpiece gets sandwiched and the workpiece is forced to take the shape of the conduit-receiving groove.
In one aspect of the present subject matter, the bracket includes a plurality of holes to help to connect the handle in desired angles. Further, the set screw helps to tighten the handle.
In one advantageous feature of the present subject matter, the lift conduit bender handle helps to connect the handle to the conduit bender at a desired angle (at least two angles) depending on the need. As the handle is not longer, when compared to the known conduit benders, the lift conduit bender handle is used with the conduit bender to bend the workpiece at smaller and confined spaces.
The features and advantages of the subject matter here will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of selected embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying FIGURES. As will be realized, the subject matter disclosed is capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the scope of the subject matter. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature.
The present subject matter will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples of the subject matter so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice the subject matter. Notably, the FIGURES and examples are not meant to limit the scope of the present subject matter to a single embodiment, but other embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements and, further, wherein:
The following detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments in which the presently disclosed subject matter may be practiced. The term “exemplary” used throughout this description means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The detailed description includes specific details for providing a thorough understanding of the presently disclosed lift conduit bender handle. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the presently disclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in functional or conceptual diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the presently disclosed lift conduit bender handle.
In the present specification, an embodiment showing a singular component should not be considered limiting. Rather, the subject matter preferably encompasses other embodiments including a plurality of the same component, and vice-versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. Moreover, the applicant does not intend for any term in the specification to be ascribed an uncommon or special meaning unless explicitly set forth as such. Further, the present subject matter encompasses present and future known equivalents to the known components referred to herein by way of illustration.
Although the present subject matter provides a description of a lift conduit bender handle, it is to be further understood that numerous changes may arise in the details of the embodiments of the lift conduit bender handle. It is contemplated that all such changes and additional embodiments are within the spirit and true scope of this disclosure.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
The present subject matter discloses a lift conduit bender handle for use with a conduit bender for bending a workpiece. The lift conduit bender handle includes a bracket having two plates in quadrant configuration. The plates include holes. Further, the lift conduit bender handle inserts through the bracket and connects to the holes with the help of handrails while being positioned at a desired angle. The handle further includes a handle bracket. The handle bracket includes a set screw for tightening the handle. The handle connects to a bender head of a conduit bender. The bender head includes a conduit-receiving groove for receiving a workpiece. The lift conduit bender handle applies force on the workpiece around the bender head such that the workpiece gets sandwiched and forced to take the shape of the conduit-receiving groove.
Various features and embodiments of a lift conduit bender handle are explained in conjunction with the description of
Now referring to
Lift conduit bender handle 12 is made of metal with suitable strength. Lift conduit bender handle 12 includes a bracket 40. Bracket 40 includes a pair of first plates 41 positioned opposite to each other. Each first plate 41 includes a quadrant-like structure 42 with a cut-section 44 at bottom end 38. Cut-section 44 extends substantially half the length of quadrant-like structure 42 at bottom end 38. In one example, cut-section 44 has a U-shaped-structure. Further, bracket 40 includes a second plate 46. Second plate 46 indicates a base plate that connects the distal ends of plates 41 at bottom end 38. As can be seen from at least
First plates 41 include holes 54. In accordance with the present subject matter, bracket 40 includes a first handrail 58. First handrail 58 draws through holes 54 positioned towards bottom end 38. First handrail 58 is drawn through holes 54 and tightened using a fastener 60. Furthermore, bracket 40 includes a second handrail 60. Second handrail 60 draws through holes 54 positioned towards top end 36. Second handrail 60 is drawn through holes 54 and a safety cable 64 is used to tighten second handrail 60.
Lift conduit bender handle 12 includes a handle or shaft 50. Handle 50 indicates an elongated rod with suitable diameter capable of connecting to neck portion 20 of conduit bender 14. Handle 50 is made of metal or any other material with suitable strength. Handle 50 induces a threaded portion 52 at top end 36. Further, handle 50 includes a handle bracket 66 at bottom end 58. Handle bracket 66 connects to first handrail 58, as shown in at least
In order to connect handle 50 to bracket 40, at first, handle 50 is drawn through opening 49. Handle 50 is aligned with holes 54 and first handrail 58 is drawn through handle 50 and connected to plates 41. A person skilled in the art understands that handle 50 is aligned with holes 54 based on the angle at which handle 50 needs to be positioned with respect to neck portion 20 of bender head 18. Lever 74 is operated to properly tighten handle 50 to bracket 40. Further, second handrail 60 is drawn through handle 50 and connected to plates 41. Subsequently, safety cable 64 is connected to second handrail 60.
In operation, handle 50 is connected to bender head 18 via neck portion 20. Further, handle bracket 66 is connected to first handrail 58, and set screw 68 is tightened until handle 50 is snug on first handrail 58. Further, second handrail 62 is connected to handle 50 and plates 41. Further, handle 50 is pivoted to the desired angle to make the needed bend. After connecting handle 50 to conduit bender 14, workpiece 16 is placed at conduit-receiving groove 20. Further, a user uses lift conduit bender handle 12 to bend workpiece 16 with the help of conduit bender 14. For example, the user pulls or pushes lift conduit bender handle 12 to force workpiece 16 around bender head 18 such that workpiece 16 gets sandwiched and is forced to take the shape of conduit-receiving groove 20 (thereby bending workpiece 16).
After bending workpiece 16, the user removes workpiece 16 from conduit-receiving groove 20. Subsequently, the user uninstalls lift conduit bender handle 12 from conduit bender 14. Further, the user uninstalls handrails 58, 62 to separate bracket 40 and handle 50.
The presently disclosed lift conduit bender handle provides several advantages over the prior art. The lift conduit bender handle helps to connect the handle to the conduit bender at a desired angle (at least two angles). Further, the lift conduit bender handle has a set screw to tighten the handle at the desired angle. Furthermore, the lift conduit bender handle and the conduit bender help to bend the workpiece at smaller and confined spaces.
A person skilled in the art appreciates that the lift conduit bender handle can come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the need and comfort of the user. Further, many changes in the design and placement of components may take place without deviating from the scope of the presently disclosed lift bender handle.
In the above description, numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of some embodiments, specific components, devices, methods, in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present subject matter. It will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that these specific details need not be employed, and should not be construed to limit the scope of the subject matter.
In the development of any actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints. Such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but may nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill. Hence as various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
The foregoing description of embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the novel principles and invention disclosed herein may be applied to other embodiments without the use of the innovative faculty. It is contemplated that additional embodiments are within the spirit and true scope of the disclosed invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63538365 | Sep 2023 | US |
