Patent Grant
10189147
This invention relates to mechanical clamping devices. More particularly, the invention relates to clamps which may be used in the process of laminating or adhering materials together in the solid surface industry.
The demand for solid surface countertops such as granite, marble, engineered stone, and Corian® have steadily risen over the past decade. As the demand for solid surface countertops, vanities, tub-decks, fire place mantles and hearths continue to grow, the more imperative it is for solid surface fabrication companies to do the work faster, without sacrificing quality, in order to meet demand. In working with solid surfaces, it is often desirable to laminate two or more pieces of material together, especially at the visible edges of countertops. By laminating pieces together, it is possible to make the finished countertop appear thicker, and to provide a more substantial edge for the application of more elegant edge treatments. For example, much of the granite comes in slabs that are only about 20 mm thick. In order to make the countertop appear thicker, a narrow strip of the slab (also known as a skirt) is laminated to all visible edges, making the slab appear to be twice as thick. Also, the edge is now more substantial, allowing more complex and interesting edge treatments to be ground or cut into the edge. For example, when a 20 mm strip is laminated to a 20 mm thick countertop, an elegant full bullnose may be ground onto the edge. The process of laminating material is a regular and necessary task for most solid surface fabrication companies. Unfortunately, because this industry is still relatively young, the technology and tools used to laminate these materials are quite crude.
Solid surface material is often sold in slabs, which, in the case of granite, may be up to 9 feet by 6 feet in size, and in some cases, even larger. Solid surfaces may also be sold in tile form. These tiles are often available in standard sizes, such as 12″×12″, 16″×16″, or 18″×18″. It will be appreciated that solid material may be available in a variety of sizes, and may represent either a natural or man-made material.
Standard c-clamps are the most common tool employed by solid surface fabricators for joining two materials. There are many problems associated with using c-clamps, including the time it takes to use them, recurring replacement costs, poor lamination quality, and increased risk of repetitive motion injuries. When laminating using conventional tools, an adhering agent is applied between two pieces of material, the pieces are manually aligned, and then c-clamps are used to press the pieces together while the adhering agent cures. To achieve an even clamping pressure, the c-clamps must be spaced evenly and close together (as little as 3″), depending on the size of the c-clamp. Each c-clamp must be tightened to approximately the same torque as all the others. Even small differences in compression may result in a poor adhesion, or in one or both material pieces breaking. Additional fabricating operations are performed on the solid surfaces after they are joined and the adhering agent has cured such as machining, cutting, grinding, sanding, and polishing. Noticeable gaps between the two materials will appear after these other fabricating operations if even clamping pressure was not achieved during the joining process. Noticeable gaps are unacceptable and the completed work may be rejected, resulting in expensive material and labor loss due to rework and replacement efforts.
The use of conventional c-clamps for laminating has several undesirable effects. For example, it takes a long time to apply all the c-clamps and often requires more than one employee to tighten all the c-clamps before the adhering agent begins to cure. Also, as the c-clamps are tightened, the glue, epoxy, or other adhering agent may be squeezed from between the pieces. This adhering agent is, by nature, sticky and difficult to work with, and permanently hardens during the curing process. In this way, the screw threads on the c-clamps get contaminated with the adhering agent, rendering them inoperable and thus requiring recurring replacement costs. In addition, due to the highly concentrated pressure point of c-clamps, one or both pieces of material are often broken. Rejections due to uneven clamping pressure are also common and are often caused by user fatigue (c-clamps not tight enough or not evenly tightened) or the c-clamps being spaced too far apart. Finally, there is also an increased risk of repetitive motion injuries due to the high number of c-clamps and the force required to tighten each c-clamp manually by hand.
The inventors of the present invention introduced the solid surface clamp in U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,379 that addressed some of these problems. This patent is incorporated herein by reference. But the '379 patent disclosed a complicated alignment system to maintain the top jaw alignment to the bottom jaw. Specifically, the alignment pin 23 (
What is therefore needed is a more robust solid surface clamp with an alignment system that is simpler to manufacture, and protected from the damaging effects of the adhesive squeeze out.
The present invention provides an elegant solution to the needs described above and offers numerous additional benefits and advantages, as will be apparent to persons of skill in the art. In one aspect, a solid surface clamp that has a top jaw and bottom jaw, along with alignment structures is disclosed. The clamp includes a top jaw, a bottom jaw, a bolt attached to the bottom jaw and slideably received through the top jaw, and a nut. The bolt has an alignment cutout, a threaded portion extending from the top jaw and defines a bolt longitudinal axis. The nut is threaded onto the threaded portion of the bolt and transitions the clamp from an open position to a clamping position. The top jaw further includes an alignment shaft that contacts the alignment cutout and maintains the top jaw and bottom jaw substantially fixed relative to each other about the bolt longitudinal axis. The alignment cutout moves relative to the alignment shaft in the direction of the bolt longitudinal axis when the clamp transitions from an open position to a clamping position.
The clamp may further have a shroud shielding the nut and the entire threaded portion. The shroud constructed to continuously shield the nut and the entire threaded portion that extends from the top jaw (1) when the solid surface clamp is the fully open position; (2) when the solid surface clamp transitions from the fully open position to the clamping position; and (3) when the solid surface clamp is in the clamping position. The nut may be integrally formed in the shroud. A shroud may shield the bolt and alignment structures, thereby protecting them from contamination by the laminating adhesives.
The clamp may further include an elongated stiffening member, which may form the top clamping surface. In such a case, the top clamping surface may be longer than the bottom clamping surface, but both surfaces can be substantially parallel to each other. The elongated stiffening member may be adjustably attached to the top jaw, allowing the elongated stiffening member to slide with respect to the top jaw. One such non-limiting way to allow this sliding is as follows: the elongated stiffening member may include a channel that defines a channel longitudinal axis, and the top jaw has a channel retention clip that is disposed of in the channel and constructed to allow the top jaw to slide along the channel in the direction of the channel longitudinal axis.
The alignment cutout may be formed into the threaded portion, and may comprise an elongated slot that runs along the bolt longitudinal axis. The alignment cutout may be configured such that the cross-sectional shape of the bolt perpendicular to the bolt longitudinal axis has at least one flat side.
The alignment shaft may include, but is not limited to a pin or a screw.
The bolt may have a spring position around it, the spring extending between the top jaw and the bottom jaw. The spring assists with the opening of the clamp and maintaining the top jaw against the threaded nut.
Additional aspects, alternatives and variations as would be apparent to persons of skill in the art are also disclosed herein and are specifically contemplated as included as part of the invention. The invention is set forth only in the claims as allowed by the patent office in this or related applications, and the following summary descriptions of certain examples are not in any way to limit, define or otherwise establish the scope of legal protection.
The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components within the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed on clearly illustrating example aspects of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views and/or embodiments. Furthermore, various features of different disclosed embodiments can be combined to form additional embodiments, which are part of this disclosure. It will be understood that certain components and details may not appear in the figures to assist in more clearly describing the invention.
Reference is made herein to some specific examples of the present invention, including any best modes contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the invention. Examples of these specific embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying figures. While the invention is described in conjunction with these specific embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the described or illustrated embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Particular example embodiments of the present invention may be implemented without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, process operations well known to persons of skill in the art have not been described in detail in order not to obscure unnecessarily the present invention. Various techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it should be noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple mechanisms unless noted otherwise. Similarly, various steps of the methods shown and described herein are not necessarily performed in the order indicated, or performed at all in certain embodiments. Accordingly, some implementations of the methods discussed herein may include more or fewer steps than those shown or described. Further, the techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes describe a connection, relationship or communication between two or more entities. It should be noted that a connection or relationship between entities does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety of other entities or processes may reside or occur between any two entities. Consequently, an indicated connection does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection unless otherwise noted.
The following list of example features corresponds with
Clamp (1st Embodiment) 10A
Clamp (2nd Embodiment) 10B
Clamp (3rd Embodiment) 10C
Elongated Stiffening Member 15
Top Clamping Surface 18
Channel 20
Channel Retention Clip 25
Channel Longitudinal Axis 27
Threaded Nut/Shroud 30
Spacer/Washer 35
Top Jaw (1st Embodiment) 40A
Top Jaw (2nd Embodiment) 40B
Top Jaw (3rd Embodiment) 40C
Top Jaw Alignment Hole 41
Top Jaw Face 42
Screw Fasteners 45
Top Jaw Alignment Shaft (screw) (1st Embodiment) 50A
Top Jaw Alignment Shaft (pin) (2nd Embodiment) 50B
Top Jaw Alignment Shaft with Cutout 50D
Alignment Shaft Spring 51
Sliding Movement of Alignment Shaft 52
Alignment Shaft Cutout 54
Spring 55
Sleeve 60
Bottom Jaw 65
Bottom Clamping Surface 67
Bolt (1st Embodiment) 70A
Bolt (2nd Embodiment) 70B
Bolt (3rd Embodiment) 70C
Preferred Position of alignment shaft 71
Threaded Portion of Bolt 72
Bolt Longitudinal Axis 74
Alignment Cutout (Flat Side) (1st Embodiment) 75A
Alignment Cutout (Slot/Channel) (2nd Embodiment) 75B
Alignment Cutout (Extended Flat Side) (3rd Embodiment) 75C
Fixed Rotational Position Between Top and Bottom Jaws 78
Bolt Anti-rotation Shaft 80
Bolt Anti-rotation Slot 85
Offset Elongated Bump 90
Clamping/De-clamping Nut Rotation 95
Clamping/De-clamping Bolt Movement 100
Plurality of Clamps 105
Solid Surface Slab 110
Referring now to
The solid surface clamp 10A is advantageously used to assist in laminating solid surface materials together. For example, solid surface clamp 10A may be used to laminate granite, marble, Corian®, engineered stone, and other solid surfaces. When laminating, typically two pieces of material are adhered together. Often, the bottom piece will be a larger slab of material, with its finished surface resting on a work bench. The top piece often is a relatively narrow strip of material. For example, when edging a granite slab, the granite slab is used as the bottom piece, while a 1½ inch wide strip of granite is used as the top piece. When the laminating adhesive agent has cured, the slab is turned over so that the strip becomes a lower edge to a countertop. The solid surface may be in the form of slabs, sheets, or tiles. It will be appreciated that other solid surface materials may be used with solid surface clamp 10A. Solid surface clamp 10A may be manufactured or milled from aluminum stock, or may be formed using other rigid materials.
Solid surface clamp 10A has a bottom jaw 65 and a top jaw 40A.
A spring 55 surrounds the bolt 70A and is positioned between the top jaw 40A and the bottom jaw 67. The spring 55 thereby causes the jaws to separate and press the top jaw 40A against the threaded nut/shroud 30.
There may also be a fastener 45 that holds the channel retention clip 25 to the top jaw 40A. The clip 25 travels in the channel 20 of the elongated stiffening member 15 (see
Returning to
When using a clamp, it is advantageous to keep the alignment between the top and bottom jaws. In other words, when a user engages the nut and rotates it to either open or close the clamp, the bottom and top jaws should stay in the same rotational position. This alignment allows a user to engage the clamp with a single hand, and need not use the other hand to physically prevent the rotation to maintain alignment. To achieve this feature, the present clamp has some alignment structures—an alignment shaft 50A and an alignment cutout 75A. The top jaw 40A contains the shaft 50A, shown as a screw in the first embodiment, and the bolt 70A contains the alignment cutout 75A.
The alignment cutout 75A has a cross sectional shape with a flat side (i.e., a circle with a flat side) as shown in
It should be noted that the alignment shaft 50A is completely protected from any adhesive that contacts the clamp 10A during use. Also, the alignment cutout 75A is also largely protected from adhesives. In fact, the alignment shaft 50A may be placed in the position shown by arrow 71 (
Advantageously, the solid surface clamp 10A protects the threads and bolt from contamination. Further, the solid surface clamp 10A distributes the clamping force over a longer edge through the elongated stiffening member 15, thereby more evenly distributing the force and permitting the use of fewer clamps as compared to conventional clamping tools. In this way, a set of solid surface clamps may be spaced apart and still provide sufficient and even clamping force. Also, the alignment structures enable the efficient alignment of the material to be clamped. By assisting the alignment, and by enabling the use of fewer clamps, the laminating process is made more efficient using the solid surface clamp 10A.
These alignment structures maintain alignment between the top and bottom jaws, easing the use of the solid surface clamp. Now a user need only place the top jaw on the solid surface and turn the threaded nut, without having to physically restriction the rotational movement of the bottom jaw to maintain proper alignment.
When a plurality of these clamps 105 are connected to an elongated stiffening member 15, the user can easily tighten more than one clamp at the same time without having to worry about the bottom jaw rotating out of alignment. Not only is this easier, it saves time and results in a better work product. Specifically, the user can operate faster by engaging multiple clamps simultaneously, but also when two clamps are engaged simultaneously the position of the material being clamp can be more easily controlled. For example, if the elongated stiffening member is four feet long and has four clamps, a single user can place adhesive on a skirt piece, line up the skirt on top of the solid slab, place the top clamping surface of the elongated stiffening member on the skirt and the bottoms jaws of the clamps on the slab, and simultaneously engage the outermost clamps bringing in the far edges of the skirt into contact with the slab at about the same time. The two innermost clamps could then be engaged.
This is simply not possible with previous clamps. The same scenarios would require either two workers each operating a single clamp at a time, or much more time. A single worker could not simply engage the outermost clamp to its final position, because this would then leave the other end of the skirt unsupported, making accurate final positioning of all the clamps impossible. Rather, a single worker would engage the outermost clamps independently (being careful the bottom jaw does not rotate) and only for a small portion of the entire translational movement necessary for the skirt to be properly positioned. The single user would then continue engaging the several clamps independently, with each engagement nudging each clamp closer to its final position. This is very time consuming.
It should also be noted, that the alignment shaft 50A, shown as a screw can be removed. When this is done, the bottom jaw 65 is not locked into alignment with the top jaw. This can be useful when the material being clamped requires the bottom clamp to contact a surface that is not immediately below the top jaw. Thus, the clamp 10A can be shifted into two operational states: aligned and freely rotating.
Referring to
The second embodiment (
The third embodiment (
The advantage of the present design over the prior art are multi-fold. First, the amount of material used is less because, as compared to the '379 patent, a large second alignment pin has been eliminated. Less material means lower manufacturing and shipping costs. Second, the alignment cutout and alignment pins are shielding from adhesives, rendering the clamps more operationally robust. Third, the previous '379 patent design had two shafts running parallel to each other such that the alignment pin 23 would exit the top jaw when the clamp was fully closed, potentially interfering with the operation of the clamp. This becomes much more pronounced with the opening distance of the clamp becomes larger, requiring a longer and larger alignment pin. In the present design, the threaded bolt is only shaft that moves longitudinally when the clamp is opened or closed, eliminating the extra obtrusive and heavy shaft of the prior art.
The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently-preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
This application claims priority as a non-provisional of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/437,496, entitled SOLID SURFACE CLAMP, filed on Dec. 21, 2016, the contents of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180169839 A1 | Jun 2018 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62437496 | Dec 2016 | US |
