Gripping pliers
Gripping pliers consisting of a jointed clamp and handle. The clamp contains a longitudinal slot with longitudinal apertures defining first and second detent positions. In the first position, the joint is movable whereas in the second position, the joint is locked. The handle is rotatably mounted on a bearing ring which permits fine adjustment of the opening width of the pliers.
1. Gripping pliers, comprising: a pliers clamp and a pliers handle, said pliers clamp having a handle portion at one end and a pliers yaw at the opposite end, and said pliers handle having a handle portion at one end and a pliers yaw at the opposite end, said clamp having a longitudinal slot between said handle portion and said pliers yaw thereof, said longitudinal slot defining a pair of parallel inner surfaces, said pliers handle extending through said longitudinal slot, said clamp having aligned longitudinal apertures on both sides of said longitudinal slot, said longitudinal apertures defining detent positions, and further comprising a joint for articulated interconnection of said clamp and said handle. said joint including a detent body movable between a first axial position and a second axial position, said detent body, in its first axial position, permitting movement of said joint in said longitudinal slot and, in its second axial position, is adapted to lock in anyone of said detent positions, wherein
said detent positions are defined by toothed edges along at least one of said aligned longitudinal apertures,
said detent body has at least two axially spaced detent lugs for engagement with said toothed edges,
said joint comprise a bearing ring with end faces, said bearing ring surrounding said detent body and having axial dimensions substantially equal to those of said handle, said bearing ring being guided with its end faces between said inner surfaces of said slot,
said pliers handle is rotatably mounted on said bearing ring, and
said bearing ring is a profiled ring having a central aperture and radial recesses extending from said central aperture, said radial recesses being substantially complementary to said detent lugs, a pair of said detent lugs of said detent body engaging said radial recesses in said second axial position of said detent body.
2. The gripping pliers as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of said longitudinal apertures has a pair of opposite toothed edges.
3. The gripping pliers as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said detent body has two axially spaced pairs of diametrically opposite detent lugs.
4. The gripping pliers as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said toothed edges comprise teeth and tooth gaps of substantially triangular shape, and said detent lugs are substantially triangular projections of said detent body.
5. The gripping pliers as claimed in claim 1 , wherein detent lugs of said detent body also partly engage said radial recesses of said profiled bearing ring in said second axial position of said detent body.
6. The gripping pliers as claimed in claim 1 , and further comprising resilient means for biasing said detent body towards said second axial position, said resilient means being supported by said profiled bearing ring.
7. The pliers as claimed in claim 6 , wherein said profiled bearing ring has a stepped peripheral surface and is mounted in a correspondingly stepped bore of said handle such as to maintaining an end face of said profiled bearing ring remote from said resilient means spaced from the neighboring one of said inner surfaces of said longitudinal slot.