Forceps, pliers or the like and method of producing the same

Claim 2

A tool comprising a pair of arms, and a box lock having a male lock member and a female lock member each integral with one of said arms and intermediate its opposite ends for pivotably connecting said arms to each other, said female member comprising a part of the first of said arms having a pair of seamless walls extending in the longitudinal direction of said arm and spaced from each other so as to define a slot, and a projection on at least one of said walls and integral therewith, said male member comprising a part of the second arm having a round cutout and disposed within said slot, said projection extending into and being coaxial with said cutout and together with said cutout forming a pivot bearing between said two arms.

Claim 3

A tool as defined in claim 1, in which saiD cutout forms a bore extending transversely through said male member, said projection extending at least to a certain depth into said bore and being rotatable relative to and guided by the wall of said bore.

Claim 4

A tool as defined in claim 2, in which each of said walls of said slot has a projection integral thereon, said projection being coaxial to each other and to said bore and extending into the opposite ends of said bore toward each other.

Claim 5

A tool as defined in claim 1, in which said cutout forms a recess in at least one wall surface of said male member, said projection extending into said recess and being rotatable relative to and guided by the wall of said recess.

Claim 6

A tool as defined in claim 4, in which each of two opposite wall surfaces of said male member has one of said recesses therein, said recesses being coaxial to each other and each having a bottom surface separated by a solid part of said male member from the bottom surface of the other recess, each of said walls of said slot having one of said projections integral thereon, said projections being coaxial to each other and to said recesses and each extending into one of said recesses.

Claim 7

A tool as defined in claim 4, in which said recess has an annular shape with radially inner and outer wall surfaces coaxial to each other and said projection has a corresponding annular shape extending into said annular recess.

Claim 8

A tool as defined in claim 5, in which each of said recess has an annular shape with radially inner and outer wall surfaces coaxially to each other, each of said projections having an annular shape corresponding to the shape of said annular recesses and extending into one of said recesses.

Claim 9

A tool as defined in claim 1, in which the outer edge of said round cutout is beveled so as to diverge outwardly.

Claim 10

In a method of producing a tool having a pair of arms and a box lock having a male lock member and a female lock member each integral with one of said arms and forming a part intermediate its opposite ends for connecting said arms so as to be pivotable about a common axis relative to each other, the steps comprising the first step of producing a pair of blanks for said arms, and further steps of machining said intermediate part of a first of said blanks so as to form a slot therein extending in the longitudinal direction of said blank and defined by walls connected without seams to each other and forming said female member, widening said slot, machining said intermediate part of the second blank so as to form said male member, forming a round cutout in said male member extending at least to a certain depth into said male member from one side thereof and having an axis coinciding with said common axis, passing said second blank so far through said widened slot in said first blank that said male member is disposed within said slot and then pressing the walls of said widened slot toward each other and against the opposite surfaces of said male member with such a force that the material of at least one of said walls of said slot starts to flow and a part of said material passes into said cutout in the form of a stud having an outer peripheral surface rotatably engaging with at least a part of the axial length of said cutout and together with said cutout forming a pivot bearing between said arms.

Claim 11

In a method of producing a tool having a pair of arms and a box lock having a male lock member and a female lock member each integral with one of said arms and forming a part intermediate its opposite ends for connecting said arms so as to be pivotable about a common axis relative to each other, the steps comprising the first step of producing a pair of blanks for said arms, and further steps of machining said intermediate part of a first of said blanks so as to form a slot therein extending in the longitudinal direction of said blank and defined by walls connected without seams to each other and forming said female member, widening said slot, machining said intermediate part of the second blank so as to form said male member, forming a round cutout in said male member extending at least to a certain depth into said male member from one side thereof and having an axis coinciding with said common axis, passing said second blank so far through said widened slot in said first blank that said male member is disposed within said slot and then pressing the walls of said widened slot toward each other and against the opposite surfaces of said male member with such a force that the material of at least one of said walls of said slot starts to flow and a part of said material passes into said cutout in the form of a stud having an outer peripheral surface rotatably engaging with at least a part of the axial length of said cutout and together with said cutout forming a pivot bearing between said arms.

Claim 12

A method as defined in claim 9, in which in said first step of producing said blanks said intermediate part of each of said blanks is provided with a small projection on and integral with at least one outer side thereof, and further comprising the steps preceding the machining of said intermediate parts of clamping said part of each blank between opposite clamping surfaces of a pair of clamping jaws, said clamping surface of at least one of said jaws having a recess for receiving said projection and for thus accurately positioning said blank relative to said jaws, and then machining the parts of said blank at both sides of said intermediate part.

Claim 13

A method as defined in claIm 10, in which said intermediate part of each of said blanks in provided with said projection on each of its opposite sides, said projections on each blank having a common axis extending substantially at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of said blank, each of said clamping surfaces having one of said recesses adapted to receive one of said projections when said intermediate part is clamped between said jaws.

Claim 14

A method as defined in claim 11, in which after said intermediate part of said second blank has been clamped in said position in which said projections engage into said recesses in said clamping surfaces and after said parts of said second blank at both sides of said intermediate part have been machined, said last parts are clamped, whereupon said clamping surfaces are withdrawn from said intermediate part and said projections, and said projections and said parts of said intermediate part adjacent to said projections are then milled off so as to form said male member, whereupon by means of at least one tool said cutout is drilled into at least one side of said male member in a position coaxial to said position in which said projections were located before being milled off.

Claim 15

A method as defined in claim 9, in which in said first step of producing said blanks, said intermediate part of said first blank which subsequently provided with said slot is also provided with a small projection on and integral with at least one outer side thereof, said projection projecting outwardly from one longitudinal wall of said slot when said slot has been formed in said first blank and has been widened, said projection being fully compressed into the material of said longitudinal wall when both of said walls of said widened slot are pressed against said surfaces of said male member and said stud is thereby formed which engages into said cutout, said stud having a volume substantially corresponding to the volume of said projection before being compressed.