MITER JOINT LOCK AND COMBINATION

• US 3,855,754 A
• Filed: 02/05/1973
• Issued: 12/24/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chauncey J. Scoville, Wright A. Scoville
• Original Assignee: Chauncey J. Scoville, Wright A. Scoville
• Inventors: Scoville, Wright A., Scoville, Chauncey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Murtagh, John E.
• Application Number:
  US05/329,358
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 52/656,758H,753D,753C,753G,127,586,584,582,755,754,756 403/401,402,231
• US Class Current: 403/401
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/9845 Mitre joints
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 2200/65 Miter joints
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 403/13 Furniture type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/555 Angle section

Abstract

A miter lock substantially concealed within the members of a wooden miter joint including a link wholly concealed within said members at the joint and extending across the butting surfaces of the joint at a right angle thereto. An anchor element anchors one end portion of the link in one of said members and a cam pin rotatably supported within the other member of the pair extends through the other end portion of said link in a camming relation thereto for effecting movement of the member anchored to one end of the link toward the other member thereby effecting a tight joint and locking the members together. Only one end of the anchoring element and the cam pin are visible at one of the sides of the joint members, which would be the rear side of the members of a picture frame or either side of other frame members, and which ends may be concealed.

Claims

1. A miter lock device for clamping and locking together the end of one wooden member with the end of another wooden member, which ends have flat, parallel surfaces engageable for forming a miter joint:

a. an elongated strip of rigid material formed with an opening in each end;

b. one opening in one end of said strip having a straight cam engaging edge extending at a right angle to the length of said strip at the side of said opening nearest the end of the strip nearest thereto;

c. an elongated anchoring element adapted to extend through the outer opening in the other end of said strip and to project from opposite sides of said strip into one member of said pair;

d. an elongated cam element of uniform cross-sectional contour from end to end transversely of its length adapted to rotatably extend through said one opening and projecting from opposite sides of said strip for extending into the other member of said pair for supporting said cam element in said other member for rotation relative to said strip;

e. said cam engaging edge of said one opening being straight and said cam element having a flat side adjacent and facing said straight edge and a cylindrical cam surface extending around said cam element from said flat side engageable with said cam engaging edge upon rotation of said cam element when said cam element extends through said one opening with its ends rotatably supported in said other member for applying a force to said strip in a direction away from said anchoring element to clamp and lock such joint together when said surfaces on said members are substantially together and said other end of said strip is anchored in said one member of said pair.

2. In a device as defined in claim 1:

f. a pair of parallel ridges formed on said strip along its opposite longitudinally extending edges projecting to one side of said strip.

3. In a device as defined in claim 1:

f. said anchoring element being of the same structure as the cam element defined in claim 1, also having a cam surface; and

g. said other opening having the same shape as said one opening defined in claim 1 including the straight cam engaging edge adapted to be engaged by said cam surface upon rotating said element relative to said strip.

4. A miter joint comprising:

a. a pair of wooden members having planar meeting surfaces for forming said miter joint;

b. a recess formed in each member opening outwardly of said surfaces with their open outer ends in registration when said surfaces are in engaging relation;

c. a straight, elongated strip of rigid material extending into said recesses and across said surfaces at a right angle to the planes of the latter;

d. anchor means for anchoring one end of said strip within the recess in one of said members;

e. cam means including an element rotatably supported within the other member of said pair having a cam thereon and a cam engaging portion integral with the end of said strip within the recess in said other member of said pair in a position for engagement with said cam upon rotation of said element for moving said meeting surfaces into tight engagement with each other and for locking them together;

f. said strip being wholly enclosed within said members and said element being within said other member and accessible at one side of the latter for so rotating it;

g. said strip being formed with an opening in said one end thereof and in the other end positioned in recesses and spaced a substantial distance from said meeting surfaces;

h. said anchor means comprising an elongated element extending through the opening in said one end of one strip of said pair and projecting into said one member at opposite sides of said strip;

i. the opening in the other end of said strip having a straight cam engaging surface in the plane of said strip, and said element comprising an elongated element extending from one side of said other member through said last mentioned opening having a flattened surface facing and closely adjacent said cam engaging surface and a convex surface extending from one side of said flattened surface to the other providing said cam and the cam surface to effect clamping and locking said members together when said element is rotated to a position with said convex surface in engagement with said cam engaging surface.

5. In a miter joint as defined in claim 4:

j. said anchor means corresponding in structure to said cam means, whereby said clamping and locking said joint may be effected by actuation of cam means at either or both of said members.

6. In a miter joint as defined in claim 4:

j. said anchor means being a screw.

7. A miter joint comprising:

a. a pair of wooden members having planar meeting surfaces for forming said miter joint;

b. a recess formed in each member opening outwardly of said surfaces with their open outer ends in registration when said surfaces are in engaging relation;

c. a straight, elongated strip of rigid material extending into said recesses and across said surfaces at a right angle to the planes of the latter;

d. anchor means for anchoring one end of said strip within the recess in one of said members;

e. cam means including an element rotatably supported within the other member of said pair having a cam thereon and a cam engaging portion integral with the end of said strip within the recess in said other member of said pair in a position for engagement with said cam upon rotation of said element for moving said meeting surfaces into tight engagement with each other and for locking them together;

f. said strip being wholly enclosed within said members and said element being within said other member and accessible at one side of the latter for so rotating it;

g. said strip having two opposite flat sides, and said recesses each having two opposite flat sides in tight engagement with said strip;

h. a pair of parallel ridges on said strip along its longitudinally extending edges projecting into one of said flat sides of said recesses and parallel grooves formed in said one of said flat sides for receiving said ridges and for guiding said strip endwise into said recesses, and for reinforcing said strip against distortion.