US3724367A — Print drum clamp

Claim 1

Independent Claim 414 words

An adjustable print drum assembly for use in printers and printing devices, said print drum assembly comprising: a rotatably mountable shaft, a print drum having printing type disposed in columns and rows on the periphery thereof, said rows being parallel to the axis of the drum, and said print drum also having an axially disposed central bore providing a slidable and rotatable mounting on said shaft, a clamping device of one-piece construction comprising a central, split collar slidably fitting said shaft and laterally abutting one end of said print drum in coaxial relationship therewith and with said shaft, sAid clamping device further including a mounting plate connected to said collar and extending radially outwardly therefrom and further including means for releasably securing the plate to said abutting end of said print drum, said clamping device additionally including a U-shaped flexible crimping portion composed of a pair of legs individually connected at their inner ends to the split ends of said central collar and extending radially outwardly away therefrom in a direction generally diametrically opposite to that of said mounting plate, the outer ends of the legs of said U-shaped crimping portion being joined together to form the closed end of the U, said legs having coaxially aligned apertures in which a common bolt is received having an associated nut threaded thereon and enabling the bolt to be tightened to compress the legs together and thereby constrict the collar into frictional engagement with the shaft for securely attaching the clamping device to the shaft, said pair of legs of said crimping portion each having inwardly disposed confronting surfaces which are slightly spaced apart when said common bolt is loosened relative to its associated nut but are capable of being brought into abutting relationship when said common bolt is tightened relative to its associated nut to thereby effectuate a limitation on the extent of the compression of said legs, and one of said legs of said clamping device having a locking recess for receiving said nut associated with said common bolt to prevent said nut from rotating, and the other of said legs being dimensionally thinner in the plane thereof transverse to the axis of said shaft and said collar than the leg having said locking recess and being flexibly displaceable upon the tightening of said bolt relative to its said associated nut thereby compressing said pair of legs to securely attach said clamping device and said drum to said shaft by means of said collar.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 414 words

An adjustable print drum assembly for use in printers and printing devices, said print drum assembly comprising: a rotatably mountable shaft, a print drum having printing type disposed in columns and rows on the periphery thereof, said rows being parallel to the axis of the drum, and said print drum also having an axially disposed central bore providing a slidable and rotatable mounting on said shaft, a clamping device of one-piece construction comprising a central, split collar slidably fitting said shaft and laterally abutting one end of said print drum in coaxial relationship therewith and with said shaft, sAid clamping device further including a mounting plate connected to said collar and extending radially outwardly therefrom and further including means for releasably securing the plate to said abutting end of said print drum, said clamping device additionally including a U-shaped flexible crimping portion composed of a pair of legs individually connected at their inner ends to the split ends of said central collar and extending radially outwardly away therefrom in a direction generally diametrically opposite to that of said mounting plate, the outer ends of the legs of said U-shaped crimping portion being joined together to form the closed end of the U, said legs having coaxially aligned apertures in which a common bolt is received having an associated nut threaded thereon and enabling the bolt to be tightened to compress the legs together and thereby constrict the collar into frictional engagement with the shaft for securely attaching the clamping device to the shaft, said pair of legs of said crimping portion each having inwardly disposed confronting surfaces which are slightly spaced apart when said common bolt is loosened relative to its associated nut but are capable of being brought into abutting relationship when said common bolt is tightened relative to its associated nut to thereby effectuate a limitation on the extent of the compression of said legs, and one of said legs of said clamping device having a locking recess for receiving said nut associated with said common bolt to prevent said nut from rotating, and the other of said legs being dimensionally thinner in the plane thereof transverse to the axis of said shaft and said collar than the leg having said locking recess and being flexibly displaceable upon the tightening of said bolt relative to its said associated nut thereby compressing said pair of legs to securely attach said clamping device and said drum to said shaft by means of said collar.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 233 words

In an adjustable print drum assembly for use in printing devices, a clamp of one piece construction for attachably securing a print drum coaxially to a shaft, said clamp comprising: a compressible collar wherein said collar''s internal circumference exceeds the outer circumference of said shaft when in an uncompressed state and is clampably equal to the circumference of said shaft when in a fully compressed state thereby to effectuate the lateral and angular securement of said clamp on said shaft; a mounting plate integrally connected to said collar and abuttable with and releasably securable to one end of said print drum thereby affording securement of the clamp to said print drum; and a U-shaped crimping portion comprising a pair of legs so as to provide a suitable provision for compressing the collar into clamping engagement with the shaft, said legs extending outwardly from said collar and integrally connected at their inner ends to the collar and integrally joined together at their outer ends to form a U in the plane transverse to the axis of said shaft, said legs having inwardly disposed confronting surfaces abuttable with one another to act as a limitation on the compression of said collar, one leg being dimensionally thinner in the plane transverse to the axis of said shaft so as to be flexibly displaceable with respect to the other leg thereby facilitating the compression of said collar.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 233 words

In an adjustable print drum assembly for use in printing devices, a clamp of one piece construction for attachably securing a print drum coaxially to a shaft, said clamp comprising: a compressible collar wherein said collar''s internal circumference exceeds the outer circumference of said shaft when in an uncompressed state and is clampably equal to the circumference of said shaft when in a fully compressed state thereby to effectuate the lateral and angular securement of said clamp on said shaft; a mounting plate integrally connected to said collar and abuttable with and releasably securable to one end of said print drum thereby affording securement of the clamp to said print drum; and a U-shaped crimping portion comprising a pair of legs so as to provide a suitable provision for compressing the collar into clamping engagement with the shaft, said legs extending outwardly from said collar and integrally connected at their inner ends to the collar and integrally joined together at their outer ends to form a U in the plane transverse to the axis of said shaft, said legs having inwardly disposed confronting surfaces abuttable with one another to act as a limitation on the compression of said collar, one leg being dimensionally thinner in the plane transverse to the axis of said shaft so as to be flexibly displaceable with respect to the other leg thereby facilitating the compression of said collar.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 66 words

The clamp as defined in claim 2 wherein said mounting plate is releasably secured to said end of said print drum by a screw-type device inserted into said end of said print drum and through an arcuate slot in the mounting plate having its axis coincident with that of said shaft, thereby permitting limited adjustment of the angular displacement of said print drum on said shaft.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 33 words

The clamp as defined in claim 2 wherein said one piece clamp is molded out of plastic material having sufficient flexibility to allow said thinner leg to be drawn to the other leg.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 35 words

The clamp as defined in claim 2 wherein the thicker of said legs is further shaped to receive a fastening means for drawing said legs together and additionally providing said thicker leg with added rigidity.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 39 words

The clamp as defined in claim 2 wherein said mounting plate and said U-shaped crimping portion extend radially outwardly from said collar in directions diametrically opposite to one another so as to provide for balanced rotation of the clamp.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 376 words

A clamping device for use in a print drum assembly for fixedly securing a print drum in coaxial relation on a shaft, said clamping device comprising: a contractible split collar slidably positionable on a shaft and having an internal circumference exceeding the outer circumference of the shaft when said collar is in an uncontracted state and having an internal circumference embraceably equal to the circumference of said shaft when said collar is in a contracted state in order to effectuate the securement of the device to the shaft; a mounting plate formed of a material homogeneous with that of the collar and integrally joined thereto, said mounting plate extending radially outwardly in one direction from the collar and being abuttable with one end of the print drum on the shaft; means for releasably securing the mounting plate to the abuttable end of the print drum including an arcuate slot in the plate having the axis of its curvature substantially coincident with that of the collar and further including a threaded fastening instrumentality extending through the arcuate slot for releasably fixedly securing the clamping device to the abuttable end of the print drum but effective when released to permit a limited angular adjustment of the print drum and the clamping device relative to one another; a pair of generally parallelly extending legs formed of material homogeneous with that of the collar and extending radially outwardly from the collar in the form of a U and in the direction diametrically opposite to that of the mounting plate, said legs having their respective inner ends integrally joined individually to the open ends of the collar and further having their outer ends integrally joined to one another to form the closed end of the U, the legs having inwardly disposed confronting surfaces abuttable with one another to act as a limitation on the contraction of the collar on the shaft; and means engaging the mid-sections of said pair of legs and operable to draw the same relatively toward one another to bring their respective confronting surfaces into abutment, with the result that the collar is contracted to an internal circumference tightly embracing the shaft and being effective to releasably lock the clamping device to the shaft for joint movement therewith.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 376 words

A clamping device for use in a print drum assembly for fixedly securing a print drum in coaxial relation on a shaft, said clamping device comprising: a contractible split collar slidably positionable on a shaft and having an internal circumference exceeding the outer circumference of the shaft when said collar is in an uncontracted state and having an internal circumference embraceably equal to the circumference of said shaft when said collar is in a contracted state in order to effectuate the securement of the device to the shaft; a mounting plate formed of a material homogeneous with that of the collar and integrally joined thereto, said mounting plate extending radially outwardly in one direction from the collar and being abuttable with one end of the print drum on the shaft; means for releasably securing the mounting plate to the abuttable end of the print drum including an arcuate slot in the plate having the axis of its curvature substantially coincident with that of the collar and further including a threaded fastening instrumentality extending through the arcuate slot for releasably fixedly securing the clamping device to the abuttable end of the print drum but effective when released to permit a limited angular adjustment of the print drum and the clamping device relative to one another; a pair of generally parallelly extending legs formed of material homogeneous with that of the collar and extending radially outwardly from the collar in the form of a U and in the direction diametrically opposite to that of the mounting plate, said legs having their respective inner ends integrally joined individually to the open ends of the collar and further having their outer ends integrally joined to one another to form the closed end of the U, the legs having inwardly disposed confronting surfaces abuttable with one another to act as a limitation on the contraction of the collar on the shaft; and means engaging the mid-sections of said pair of legs and operable to draw the same relatively toward one another to bring their respective confronting surfaces into abutment, with the result that the collar is contracted to an internal circumference tightly embracing the shaft and being effective to releasably lock the clamping device to the shaft for joint movement therewith.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-04-02	1976-10-02	1977-04-03	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-04-02	1980-10-02	1981-04-03	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-04-02	1984-10-02	1985-04-03	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Print drum clamp

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