Metering hose clamp

Claim 2

A flow-metering hose clamp, comprising a channel frame member comprising a bottom wall and two upstanding side walls, corresponding downwardly sloping ramps on said side walls and providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall as a function of longitudinal displacement along said bottom wall, and a compression drum member having an arcuate compression surface, said drum member extending between said walls and including projecting cylindrical pivot elements at each end, said compression surface including a portion that is generally cylindrical about the axis of said pivot elements and said drum member including an actuating arm extending in essentially a single direction and generally radially of the axis of the compression surface, said arm providing at least a limited range of rotary actuation of said drum member with respect to said frame member while said pivot elements ride said ramps and while said arcuate compression surface faces said bottom wall, whereby with a resilient hose interposed between said compression surface and said bottom wall an operation of said actuating means may cause small controlled incremental compressional displacement of said surface toward said bottom wall through rolling-contact engagement of said pivot elements with said ramps, and whereby with said arm extending in the general direction away from the downward slope of said ramps, such rolling-contact engagement inherently aids bodily displacement of said compression surface in the downward-slope direction as said arm is actuated toward the bottom wall.

Claim 3

A clamp according to claim 1, in which said compression surface extends generally arcuately about its axis at least for a range of substantially 45*, from a point of substantial tangency to a line parallel to the extending direction of said arm, and in the direction away from the extending direction of said arm.

Claim 4

A clamp according to claim 2, in which said arcuate extent is substantially one radian.

Claim 5

A clamp according to claim 1, in which said compression surface is one of two compression surfaces on said drum, the other compression surface being arcuate about an axis offset from the pivot-element axis.

Claim 6

A clamp according to claim 4, in which said side walls include pivot-element support means offset from said ramps and from said bottom wall to an extent exceeding the diameter of the generally circular contour which characterizes said other compression surface.

Claim 7

A clamp according to claim 5, in which said pivot-element support means is adjacent the ramp end of greatest offset from said bottom wall.

Claim 8

A clamp according to claim 6, in which each side wall has a single opening defining a ramp edge ending at a notch, wherein the notch provides said pivot-element support means and is of greater offset from said bottom wall than any part of the ramp edge.

Claim 9

A clamp according to claim 4, in which the radius of said pivot elements is about a half of the radius of said other compression surface.

Claim 10

A clamp according to claim 4, in which the radius of said one compression surface is about one half the radius of the other compression surface.

Claim 11

A clamp according to claim 9, in which the radius of said pivot elements is less than that of said one compression surface.

Claim 12

A clamp according to claim 1, in which the ramp slope with respect to the bottom wall is at least no greater than substantially 15* .

Claim 13

A clamp according to claim 11, in which the ramp slope is about 7* .

Claim 14

As an article of manufacture, a hose clamp having selective on-off and metering capability in application to a flexible tubing, comprising a single-piece molded-plastic channel-frame member and a single-piece molded-plastic compression drum member; said frame member comprising integral bottom and side walls, said side walls having corresponding integral pivot-engaging means providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall as a function of longitudinal displacement along said bottom wall; said compression drum member including two generally cylindrical arcuate surfaces on spaced parallel axes such that said arcuate surfaces are in angularly offset relation with respect to each other, an integral actuating arm extending generally transverse to a plane through the axes of said cylindrical surfaces, and integral cylindrical pivot projections at the ends of said drum member and engaged to said respective pivot-engaging means, said arcuate surfaces being at different effective radial offsets with respect to the axis of the pivot projections; one of said surfaces being of larger radius than the other, and the axis of said pivot projections being closer to the axis of said smaller radius than to the axis of said larger radius.

Claim 15

As an article of manufacture, a hose clamp having selective on-off and metering capability in application to a flexible tubing, comprising a single-piece molded-plastic channel-frame member and a single-piece molded-plastic compression drum member; said frame member comprising integral bottom and side walls, said side walls having corresponding integral pivot-engaging means providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall as a function of longitudinal displacement along said bottom wall; said compression drum member including two generally cylindrical arcuate surfaces on spaced parallel axes such that said arcuate surfaces are in angularly offset relation with respect to each other, an integral actuating arm extending generally transverse to a plane through the axes of said cylindrical surfaces, and integral cylindrical pivot projections at the ends of said drum member and engaged to said respective pivot-engaging means, said arcuate surfaces being at different effective radial offsets with respect to the axis of the pivot projections; one of said surfaces being of larger radius than the other, and the axis of said pivot projections being closer to the axis of said smaller radius than to the axis of said larger radius.

Claim 16

An article according to claim 13, in which the pivot projection radius is about one half the larger of the arcuate-surface radii.

Claim 17

An article according to claim 14, in which the axis of the smaller arcuate-surface radius is located close to the projected sectional area of said pivot projections.

Claim 18

An article according to claim 15, in which the axes of the smaller arcuate-surface radius and of said pivot projections are substantially coincident.

Claim 19

As an article of manufacture, a two-piece hose clamp having selective on-off and assembly-disassembly capability in application to flexible tubing, comprising a single-piece molded-plastic channel-frame member and a single-piece molded-plastic compression-drum member; said frame member comprising integral bottom and side walls defining an elongate channel, said side walls having corresponding integral pivot-engaging means providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall, said pivot-engaging means having opposed slot formations in each side wall and extending at least in part transverse to the elongation direction of said channel, the upper edge of each slot formation being continuous and elongate; and compression-drum member including a generally cylindrical arcuate compression surface, integral cylindrical pivot projections of radius less than the effective radius of said compression surface and at the ends of said drum member on a pivot axis parallel to and offset from the axis of the arcuate compression surface, said drum surface being of axial length substantially equal to the spacing of said side walls, and said pivot projections extending into said pivot-engaging means, said side walls being of such thickness for the material of said frame member as to be compliantly laterally yieldable to the extent of permitting transient deformation for ready assembly of said drum member to and disassembly thereof from said frame member after inserted application of flexible tubing into the channel of said frame member, and an integral actuating arm extending generally transverse to a plane through the axes of said cylindrical compression surface and of said pivot projections, whereby said arm provides the dual functions of (a) controlling the degree of clamp action on an inserted flexible tubing and (b) forcing the transient compliant outward deflection of said side walls to dislodge pivot projections from said pivot-engaging means.

Claim 20

As an article of manufacture, a two-piece hose clamp having selective on-off and assembly-disassembly capability in application to flexible tubing, comprising a single-piece molded-plastic channel-frame member and a single-piece molded-plastic compression-drum member; said frame member comprising integral bottom and side walls defining an elongate channel, said side walls having corresponding integral pivot-engaging means providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall, said pivot-engaging means having opposed slot formations in each side wall and extending at least in part transverse to the elongation direction of said channel, the upper edge of each slot formation being continuous and elongate; and compression-drum member including a generally cylindrical arcuate compression surface, integral cylindrical pivot projections of radius less than the effective radius of said compression surface and at the ends of said drum member on a pivot axis parallel to and offset from the axis of the arcuate compression surface, said drum surface being of axial length substantially equal to the spacing of said side walls, and said pivot projections extending into said pivot-engaging means, said side walls being of such thickness for the material of said frame member as to be compliantly laterally yieldable to the extent of permitting transient deformation for ready assembly of said drum member to and disassembly thereof from said frame member after inserted application of flexible tubing into the channel of said frame member, and an integral actuating arm extending generally transverse to a plane through the axes of said cylindrical compression surface and of said pivot projections, whereby said arm provides the dual functions of (a) controlling the degree of clamp action on an inserted flexible tubing and (b) forcing the transient compliant outward deflection of said side walls to dislodge pivot projections from said pivot-engaging means.

Claim 21

An article according to claim 17, in which the channel bottom has a transverse groove facing in the direction of said pivot-engaging means and defining two pinching edges for flexible tubing compressed by actuation of said drum member.

Claim 22

A flow-metering hose clamp, comprising a channel frame member comprising a bottom wall and two upstanding side walls, corresponding downwardly sloping ramps on said side walls and providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall as a function of longitudinal displacement along said bottom wall, and a compression drum member having two arcuate compression surfaces, said drum member extending between said walls and including projecting cylindrical pivot elements at each end, one of said compression surfaces including a portion that is generally cylindrical about the axis of said pivot elements, the other compression surface being arcuate about an axis offset from the pivot-element axis, and said drum member including actuating means providing at least a limited range of rotary actuation of said drum member with respect to said frame member while said pivot elements ride said ramps and while said one arcuate compression surface faces said bottom wall, whereby with a resilient hose interposed between said one compression surface and said bottom wall an operation of said actuating means may cause small controlled incremental compressional displacement of said surface toward said bottom wall through rolling-contact engagement of said pivot elements with said ramps; said side walls including pivot-element support means offset from said ramps and from said bottom wall to an extent exceeding the diameter of the generally circular contour which characterizes said other compression surface, the inner surface of said bottom wall having a transversely extending recess extending between said side walls and local to the region of drum support when located in said pivot-element support means, said recess defining two transversely extending hose-pinching edges on opposite longitudinal sides of the plane normal to the channel bottom and through the pivot axis when located by said pivot-element support means.

Claim 23

A flow-metering hose clamp, comprising a channel frame member comprising a bottom wall and two upstanding side walls, corresponding downwardly sloping ramps on said side walls and providing a range of offsets from said bottom wall as a function of longitudinal displacement along said bottom wall, and a compression drum member having two arcuate compression surfaces, said drum member extending between said walls and including projecting cylindrical pivot elements at each end, one of said compression surfaces including a portion that is generally cylindrical about the axis of said pivot elements, the other compression surface being arcuate about an axis offset from the pivot-element axis, and said drum member including actuating means providing at least a limited range of rotary actuation of said drum member with respect to said frame member while said pivot elements ride said ramps and while said one arcuate compression surface faces said bottom wall, whereby with a resilient hose interposed between said one compression surface and said bottom wall an operation of said actuating means may cause small controlled incremental compressional displacement of said surface toward said bottom wall through rolling-contact engagement of said pivot elements with said ramps; said side walls including pivot-element support means offset from said ramps and from said bottom wall to an extent exceeding the diameter of the generally circular contour which characterizes said other compression surface, the inner surface of said bottom wall having a transversely extending recess extending between said side walls and local to the region of drum support when located in said pivot-element support means, said recess defining two transversely extending hose-pinching edges on opposite longitudinal sides of the plane normal to the channel bottom and through the pivot axis when located by said pivot-element support means.