Clamp Arrangement, Setting Tool System and Use of a Setting Tool System

Abstract

A clamp arrangement for tree trunks with a main body on which at least three retaining tongues are formed, arranged at a distance from one another, wherein the main body and the retaining tongues are oriented, as blades, in a common cutting direction, and wherein at least two snap lugs are formed on the main body and/or on at least one retaining tongue to allow a detachable connection with a setting tool.

Claims

1. A clamp arrangement for tree trunks, with a main body on which at least three retaining tongues are formed, arranged at a distance from one another, wherein the main body and the retaining tongues are oriented, as blades, in a common cutting direction, and wherein at least two snap lugs are formed on the main body and/or on at least one retaining tongue to allow a detachable connection with a setting tool.

2. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the retaining tongues project from a largest surface of the main body.

3. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the main body and/or the retaining tongue have a prismatic carrier section and a blade section adjoining the carrier section.

4. The clamp arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the carrier section of the main body and/or the retaining tongue has a narrow side opposite the blade section which is designed for a transmission of cutting forces into the main body and/or the retaining tongue.

5. The clamp arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the blade section has a wave-formed cutting edge and/or a wave-formed profile.

6. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the snap lug has an L-formed profile, wherein a first L-arm is oriented parallel to a narrow side of the main body and/or the retaining tongue and wherein a second L-arm is provided with a projecting, snap-locking geometry.

7. The clamp arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the second L-arm has a wedge-formed profile.

8. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a retaining tongue attached at the end of the main body forms an at least substantially T-formed profile with the main body and/or wherein a retaining tongue attached to the main body between further retaining tongues forms a T-formed or cross-formed profile.

9. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the snap lugs are formed on retaining tongues attached at opposite ends of the main body, arranged at a maximum distance from one another.

10. The clamp arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the snap lugs are formed in pairs on the retaining tongues.

11. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the carrier section is designed, at least in sections, with a rectangular or wedge-formed cross-section and that the blade section extends along a longest edge of the carrier section.

12. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein retaining tongues attached at opposite ends of the main body in each case have a profile in the form of a section of a circular ring.

13. The clamp arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the retaining tongues have a coaxial profile.

14. The clamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein retaining tongues attached at opposite ends of the main body are in each case formed with an undercut adjacent to their respective cutting edge.

15. The clamp arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the retaining tongues are formed with a barb.

16. A setting tool for manipulating a clamp arrangement according to claim 1, with a striking plate which is designed to allow temporary fixing of the clamp arrangement through form-locking engagement of the snap lugs on an outer circumference of the striking plate and which is connected with a grip handle, wherein the grip handle and the striking plate are designed such that a centre of gravity of the setting tool is arranged in the centre of the grip handle.

17. The setting tool according to claim 16, wherein a joint arrangement is formed between the grip handle and the striking plate.

18. A setting tool system with a setting tool according to claim 16, with a clamp arrangement and with a clamp magazine which has a magazine shaft designed to hold several clamp arrangements in a stack arrangement as well as a spring-loading device designed to deliver a first clamp arrangement from the stack arrangement at a shaft opening, wherein the clamp arrangement comprises a main body on which at least three retaining tongues are formed, arranged at a distance from one another, wherein the main body and the retaining tongues are oriented, as blades, in a common cutting direction, and wherein at least two snap lugs are formed on the main body and/or on at least one retaining tongue to allow a detachable connection with a setting tool.

19. A method of using a setting tool system according to claim 18 to secure a cut surface of a tree trunk comprising the steps: picking up a clamp arrangement from the clamp magazine with the setting tool through form-locking engagement of the snap lugs of the clamp arrangement with the outer circumference of the striking plate; removing the clamp arrangement from the clamp magazine; and driving the clamp arrangement into a cut surface of a tree trunk.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the clamp arrangement is driven in such a way that retaining tongues attached to the main body at a distance from one another come to lie on either side of a crack in the cut surface of the tree trunk, wherein the main body spans the crack.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] An advantageous embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing, wherein:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a perspective top view of a clamp arrangement,

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a front view of the clamp arrangement as shown in FIG. 1,

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the clamp arrangement as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a view from above of the clamp arrangement as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3,

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a view from below of the clamp arrangement as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and

[0028] FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of a setting tool system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] A clamp arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 is designed to be driven into a cut surface, not shown, of a tree trunk, also not shown, in order to prevent or at least minimise a propagation along the tree trunk of cracks which may be present in the cut surface. Preferably, the clamp arrangement is manufactured in a single piece, in particular as an injection-moulded plastic part, in order on the one hand to guarantee an advantageous flow of forces within the clamp arrangement and on the other hand to ensure economical manufacture. Furthermore, the clamp arrangement is manipulated with the aid of a setting tool, not shown in detail, which can in particular be a special form of hammer in order that, here too, an economical and practical solution can be offered.

[0030] High-strength, in particular reinforcedalso fibre-reinforcedplastics can preferably be considered for use as a starting material for the clamp arrangement. On the one hand, such plastics make possible a slim design of the clamp arrangement 1 and on the other hand do not cause damage to the tools during further processing of the tree trunks.

[0031] The clamp arrangement 1 comprises, purely by way of example, a main body 2, which is slat-like in form and, purely by way of example, a carrier section 4, of prismatic design and with rectangular cross-section, extending along an extension axis 3 as well as a blade section 5 adjoining the carrier section 4 on its end face. Retaining tongues 6, 7 oriented transversely to the extension axis 3 are arranged on the main body 2 at each end, in each case forming an at least substantially T-formed profile 30 with a directly adjacent section of the main body 2 which is not identified more specifically. By way of example, the two retaining tongues 6, 7 are in each case designed in the form of circular ring sections which have central axes oriented parallel to one another, which are not however shown in the Figures. Wedge-formed end regions 8 are in each case formed on circumferential end faces of the retaining tongues 6, 7, wherein outer edges 9 of the end regions 8 are in each case oriented parallel to one another. The retaining tongues 6, 7 are, in the same manner as the main body 2, provided with blade sections 10 which are formed in the same manner as the blade section 5 and will not be described in greater detail in the following. Outwardly projecting, L-formed profiled snap lugs 12 are in each case provided on the retaining tongues 6 and 7 adjacent to apurely by way of exampleflat narrow side or end face 11 opposite the blade section 10, wherein the snap lugs 12 comprise inwardly projecting, wedge-formed profiled snap-locking geometries 15. By way of example, a first, in particular shorter, L-arm 16 of the snap lug 12 is oriented parallel to the end face 11 of the respective retaining tongue 6 or 7, whereas a second, in particular longer L-arm 17 is oriented at least substantially perpendicular to the end face 11 of the respective snap lug 6, 7 and carries the inwardly projecting snap-locking geometry 15.

[0032] The main function of the retaining tongues 6, 7 at the ends and of the main body 2 is to guarantee a local stabilisation of the cut surface after the clamp arrangement 1 has been driven into a cut surface of a tree trunk, not shown. In particular, their purpose is to absorb forces occurring during a drying process of the tree trunk, which can be caused through internal stresses within the tree trunk, counteracting a propagation of cracks starting out from the cut surface of the tree trunk into the interior of the tree trunk. Fundamentally, it is to be assumed that, during the drying-out of the tree trunk, tensile forces in particular occur as a result of material shrinkage which are transferred from the tree trunk into the retaining tongues 6, 7 and lead to tensile stresses in the main body 2.

[0033] In order to support an advantageous driving of the clamp arrangement into the tree trunk, not represented in detail, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 two additional retaining tongues 18, 19 are provided which in each case, purely by way of example, have their largest extension oriented transversely to the extension axis 3 of the main body 2 and as a result in each case form a cross-formed profile 31 with adjacent regions of the main body. The function of the retaining tongues 18, 19 is to support the slat-formed main body 2 during the driving operation into the cut surface of the tree trunk and thus prevent a torsion of the main body 2. In the extreme case, such torsion would lead to an orientation of the blade-formed main body 2 no longer coinciding with the orientation of the also blade-formed retaining tongues 6, 7. As a result, these would no longer be oriented in a common cutting direction symbolised by the arrow 20 in FIG. 1 and the case could arise in which the clamp arrangement might possibly be driven obliquely into the cut surface of the tree trunk or so badly damaged during the driving operation that it cannot actually be driven completely into the cut surface of the tree trunk. Purely by way of example, the retaining tongues 18, 19, like the retaining tongues 6, 7, are in each case provided on their end faces with wedge-formed end regions 21 and also in each case have on a first narrow side 22 a blade section 23 which is preferably formed exactly like the blade sections 10 and 5.

[0034] Together with the narrow side of the retaining tongues 6, 7, also referred to as the end face 11, as well as a narrow side 25 of the main body 2, a second narrow side 24 opposite the first narrow side 22 forms a striking surface which is designed for the transmission of pressure forces onto the clamp arrangement 1. If the blade sections 5, 10 as well as 23 are placed against a cut surface of a tree trunk, not shown, the clamp arrangement 1 can be driven into the tree trunk with the aid of pressure forces acting on the narrow sides 11, 24, 25.

[0035] As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3 as well as 5, the blade sections 5, 10, 23 are, purely by way of example, in two respects wave-formed in design. On the one hand, a sharply tapering cutting edge 26 is wave-formed in design, as can be seen in particular from the front view as shown in FIG. 2 as well as the side view as shown in FIG. 3. The blade sections 5, 10, 23 are also wave-formed in profile in cross-sectional planes which are oriented parallel to the narrow side 25 of the main body, as can be seen in particular from the view from below as shown in FIG. 5. By way of example, the blade sections 5, 10, 23 are in each case designed as a sequence of convex and concave surface sections 27, 28, wherein the convex surface sections 27 project at least slightly at the transition to the carrier section 4, as can be seen in particular from the perspective representation in FIG. 1. As a result, small barbs 29, so to speak, are formed which are intended to prevent the clamp arrangement 1 from slipping out of the tree trunk in an undesirable manner following the driving operation. In the same way, this also applies to the blade sections 10 which are formed on the retaining tongues 6, 7.

[0036] In order to realise an advantageous method of manufacturing the clamp arrangement by means of a plastic injection-moulding process, both the carrier section 4 and also the retaining tongues 18, 19 are provided with a demoulding draft angle, so that both the retaining tongues 18, 19 and also the carrier section 4 narrow slightly in the direction of the narrow sides 24, 25. Furthermore, this slight wedge geometry, which can be clearly seen in FIG. 2, in particular for the retaining tongues 18, 19, also leads to a particularly reliable anchoring of the clamp arrangement 1 in the wood of the tree trunk. Furthermore, purely by way of example, the blade sections 23 of the retaining tongues 18, 19 also form barbs 29 with their convex surface sections 27.

[0037] A setting tool system 40, represented schematically in FIG. 6, comprises a hammer-like setting tool 41, a clamp magazine 42 as well as several clamp arrangements 1.

[0038] The clamp magazine 42 has a magazine shaft 43 designed to hold several clamp arrangements 1 in a stack arrangement as well as a spring-loading device 44 with associated pressure plate 45 designed to deliver a first clamp arrangement from the stack arrangement at a recess 46 of the clamp magazine 42, also referred to as a shaft opening. Stacking up several clamp arrangements 1 into a stack arrangement within the magazine shaft 43 of the clamp magazine 42 makes possible a particularly compact storage of the clamp arrangements 1. The first clamp arrangement 1 in the stack arrangement is pressed up against projections 47 on the recess 46 of the clamp magazine 42 by the spring-loading device 44 arranged in the magazine shaft 43 and can be removed from the magazine shaft 43 with the aid of the setting tool 41. During this removal operation, the setting tool 41 is preferably pushed into the recess 46 from the side and thus brought into contact with the clamp arrangement 1 in such a way that the snap lugs 12 on the clamp arrangement 1 engage in a form-locking manner with a, by way of example, cylindrical striking plate 48 of the setting tool 41.

[0039] On removal of the first clamp arrangement 1 from the magazine shaft 43, due to the spring action of the spring-loading device 44 the next clamp arrangement 1 is pressed against the projections 47 and now represents the first clamp arrangement 1.

[0040] In addition to the striking plate 48 which, in order to temporarily hold in place the clamp arrangement 1 through form-locking engagement of the snap lugs 12, has a circular, by way of example groove-formed peripheral undercut 49, the setting tool 41 comprises a ball-joint 50, a hammer head 51 as well as a grip handle 52. The ball-joint 50 arranged between the striking plate 48 and the hammer head 51 makes possible a swivelling movement of the striking plate 48 relative to the hammer head 51 and thus makes possible an advantageous orientation of the striking plate 48 with the clamp arrangement 1 attached thereto in relation to a cut surface of a tree trunk, not shown.

[0041] The grip handle 52, the hammer head 51 and the striking plate 48 are designed such that a centre of gravity 53 of the setting tool 41 lies in the centre of the grip handle 52.

[0042] A surface 54 of the striking plate 48 serving to transmit force to the clamp arrangement 1 has a surface normal 55 which is oriented at least virtually perpendicular to a longitudinal extension 56 of the grip handle 52 and thus following attachment of a clamp arrangement 1 and execution of a swinging movement by an operator, strikes the cut surface, not shown, of the tree trunk into which the clamp arrangement 1 is to be driven in an orientation which is as far as possible parallel to said cut surface in order to drive the clamp arrangement 1 into the cut surface.