US1219979A - Battery-tongs. - Google Patents

Description

M. MELIA.

BATTERY TON GS. A PLICATION FILED MAR. 191 1915.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN MRLIA, or rfiILADELPfilA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'ro COMMERCIAL .TBUCK CoMP'ANY or AMERICA, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A son,-

PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

BATTERY-TONGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 20, 191 '7.

Application filed March 19, 1915. Serial No. 15,555.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN MELIA, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented Bat tery-Tongs, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention 1s to provide a device particularly designed for conveniently gripping and transporting the assembled elements of secondary battery cells; the invention contemplating means whereby the mass of plates and separators belonging to a single cell may be laterally compressed to any desired extent to permit of its easy and quick introduction into the jar or container to which it belongs.

I also desire to provide a simple, light and inexpensive tongs which in addition to the above noted features, shall include means whereby it may be quickly adjusted to vary the working distance between the faces of its jaws.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a battery tongs constructed according to my invention, the movable handle and its associated parts being in the positions occupied when the tongs is gripping a set of battery plates;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the movable handle and its associated parts showing these in the positions occupied when the object engaged by the jaws is released; and

Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in section, illustrating the parts shown in Fig. 2.

In the above drawings, 1 represents a U- or-C-shaped frame which may be either a casting, a forging or a body of plate material and which may be in a single piece or built up as desired. At the end of one of its arms this frame is provided with a perforated enlargement or boss 2 through which loosely passes a threaded bar 3 having attached to one end a flat metallic plate 4 which in the case illustrated is shown as rectangular in outline. This bar has on either side of the boss jam nuts 5 which maybe backed off or set up in order to rigidly hold it to the frame 1 with its plate or jaw carrying end in any desired position relatively thereto. It is noted that this bar extends in a line substantially at right angles to the line.

of the arm or portion of the frame in which it is mounted and its plate 4 has fixed to it in any suitable manner a block 6 usually of hard wood, which with it constitutes the fixed jaw of the tongs. This same arm of the frame 1 has fixed to its upper portion a handle 7 in the form of a bar whose extremity is bent away from the frame and is given the form of a flattened ellipse 'in order that it may constitute a convenient hand-hold.

The extremity of the second arm of the frame 1 is inclined outwardly as indicated at 8 and terminates in an extension 9 preferably projecting in the general line of the bar 3 with its inner and outer ends bent at right angles to form lugs 10 and 11 for the reception of a second jaw-bar 12 which is free to slide in suitable openings therein. That end of said bar adjacent the jaw 46 has fixed to it a plate 13 which in turn carries a wooden block 14 lying substantially parallel with the block 6. The outer end of the bar 12 beyond the lug 11 of the frame is threaded for the reception of a nut 15, while at a suitable point of its length it has projecting from it a bolt or pin 16 which extends through an elongated slot 9 in the part 9 of the frame. This bolt is shown in the present instance as headed and serving as a pivot for the reception of one end of a link 17 whose opposite end is pivoted by a bolt 18 to the short arm 19 of a lever 20 constituting the actuating or movable handle of the device. This lever is fulcrumed or pivoted to the part 9 of the frame by a bolt 21. and its long arm extends upwardly so that its upper end is approximately at the same distance above the jaws as is the end of the handle 7. The upper extremity of this long arm 22 of the movable handle is likewise given the form of a flattened ellipse so that it constitutees a secable jaw 1314, which When first gripped the plates are engaged fat I connected by the bolts 25.

when said toggle is broken, occupies the position shown in Fig. 2 in which itis separated from the jaw 4-6 a maximum distance.

In placing the'sets of secondary battery plates and separators in their cells it is usually the case that the combined thickness of themass is greater than the width of the jar or container into which they have to be placed, and heretofore much difficulty has been experienced in assembling them owing to the difficulty and inconvenience of com pressing them sufficiently to allow of their introduction.

With my invention however, the set of plates and separators belonging to'a given cell is gripped by the jaws and forced together or compressed to any desired extent -depending upon the distance between said jaws and the proportions of the toggle.

as indicated in Fig. 1, some distance above their lower ends so that when they are coinpressed by the drawing of the lever 20 toward the handle 7, it is possible to easily introduce the said lower ends into the battery jar. The lever 20 may now be moved to a position to break the toggle 1719 and release the plates when the device may again be caused to clamp the set of plates higher up. The latter may now be still further forced into the battery cell and this oper-' ation is repeated as many times as necessary in order to force the elements and separators fully into the jar.

The jaw bar 3 may obviously be adjusted by means of its jam nuts 5 to cause the jaw 4-6 to properly cooperate with the jaw 13-14 to suit the tongs for handling masses of battery elements of widely varying thicknesses, it being noted that the lever arm 20 may be so mounted as to engage the frame 1 in order'that it may not move too far after the toggle members 17 and 19 have been brought to an alined position necessary to cause the jaws to grip or clamp an object, although other means such as the nut 15 may be employed for this purpose without departin from my invention.

Whi e the above described device is particularly adapted for use in introducing sets of battery elements into their jars and for transporting masses of elements from place to place, it is to be understood that it is likewise adapted for use as a clamp for holding together or gripping objects for other purposes than those noted, the jaws being shaped and the frame being proportionedto suit it to the work for which it is employed.

If it is desired to obtain greater adjustment of the frame than can be secured by means of the nuts 5 on the bar 3, said frame may be made in two overlapping sections These portions of the frame are provided with any desired number of bolt holes 26 and as they are parmay be rigidly confor forcibly moving said jaw toward t e second jaw, said arm having a portion formed as a carrying handle. 7

2. A battery tongs consisting of a U- shaped frame of which the end of one of the arms is laterally extended; a bar. slidably guided in said end extension; a jaw carried by said bar; a second jaw carried by the other arm of the frame; with means for forcibly moving said bar with its jaw toward the other jaw and thereafter holding it in a. .clamping position.

3. A battery tongs consisting of a U- shaped frame of which the end of one of the arms is laterally extended; a bar slidably guided in said end extension; a jaw carried by said bar; asecondjaw carried by the other arm of the frame; members constitut- ,ing a toggle mounted on the frame and opany .of a number'of frame; a second bar slidably mounted in the end of' the second arm of the frame; jaws respectively mounted on said bars; and means for forcibly moving the second bar into and locking it in a given position.

5. A battery tongs consisting of a substantially U-shaped frame having the end of one of its arms laterally extended and provided with projecting lugs; a bar slidable in' openings in said lugs; a second bar mounted at the end of the other arm of the frame; two blocks forming clamping jaws and res ectively mounted on said bars; with means ibr forcibly moving the first of said bars with its jaw toward the other jaw.

6. A battery tongs consisting of a substantially U-shaped frame; 9. ar slidably mounted adjacent the end of one of the arms of said frame; a jaw carried by said bar; a second jaw carried by the second arm of the frame; alink pivoted to said bar; anda lever pivoted to the first arm of the frame and also pivoted to said link, for forcibly moving the first jaw toward the second jaw.

7. A battery tongs consisting of a substantially U-shaped frame; a carrying handle fixed thereto; a pair of jaws respectively mounted on the ends of the arms of said frame; and means including a second carrying handle pivoted to the frame for actuatingone of said jaws to move it toward shaped frame; jaws mounted respectively adjacent the ends of the arms of said frame, one of said jaws being slidable toward and from the other; with means including a pivotally mounted handle for forcibly actuating and locking said first jaw in a gripping 10 position.

In testimony whereof, I haye signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARTIN MELIA.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. BRADLEY, Jos. H. KLEIN.

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