Box joint for a plier-type tool with removable securing plate

Claim 1

A box joint for a plier-type tool in which the movable member portions are pivotally retained and manipulated, this tool having handle and jaw portions integrally connected, said improved box joint enabling assembly and disassembly without distorting the box joint portion and requiring reshaping of the distorted portion by and with heat and pressure, the box joint including: (a) first member portion extending between a handle and jaw portion and providing a midportion of the box joint, this midportion having a length greater than its width and finished on its extending and transverse surfaces with said midportion providing substantially one-half the thickness of the box joint and with the finished surfaces substantially parallel to each other; (b) a second member portion extending between a handle and jaw portion and providing two outer wall retentions of the box joint, the interior surfaces finished to snugly mate with and retain the midportion of the other member portion; (c) a transverse opening formed in one of the outer wall portions of said second member forming the box joint, this opening having stepped shoulder end configurations, this opening having the narrower portion at the inner edges thereof and with this inner narrower portion opening greater than the width of the midportion of the first member, said narrower portion providing retention portions for the midportion of the first member after insertion and rotation of the first and second members toward and to an in-use and closed condition; (d) a retaining plate sized so as to enter and be seated in said transverse opening of the second member and with ends formed on said plate providing stepped shoulders sized to be a sliding fit in said opening, the inner surface of said plate finished so as to provide a contiguous mating surface with the facing misportion of the first member when said plate is mounted in said opening, and (e) a retaining cap screw having a head portion that engages the retaining plate to prevent unwanted outward movement, a shank of the screw passing through a hole in the plate and midportion and a threaded end of said screw entering into a threaded aperture in the outer wall of the second member, the screw adjusted to provide the desired tightening of the box joint.