Tweezers with gripping elements mounted swivelling on branches

• US 20100096871A1
• Filed: 10/06/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Inventors: Ait-Mani, Abdenacer
• Granted Patent: US 7,938,469 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 294/99.2
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 9/02 without sliding or pivotal connections, e.g. tweezers, onepiece tongs
• CPC Class Codes: G04D 1/021 Tweezers tweezers for medical purposes A61B; setting tools B41B1/00

Abstract

The tweezers comprises two branches joined at a first end, a second end of each branch comprising a gripping element. The gripping element of each branch is mounted rotating freely around a swivel axis at the second end of said branch. The gripping element of each branch comprises a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the corresponding swivel axis, and a pad is fixed to a free end of said gripping element perpendicularly to said longitudinal axis of the gripping element.

Claims

1. A pair of tweezers comprising two branches joined at a first end, a second end of each branch comprising a gripping element, said gripping element of each branch being mounted rotating freely around a swivel axis at the second end of said branch, tweezers wherein the gripping element of each branch comprises a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the corresponding swivel axis, and a pad is fixed to a free end of said gripping element perpendicularly to said longitudinal axis of the gripping element.

2. The tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the gripping element or the pad is removable.

3. The tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the pads are made from materials chosen from Delrin®

, ABS, Polystyrene, or Polypropylene charged with carbon.

4. The tweezers according to claim 1, comprising locking means for locking the distance separating the gripping elements.

5. The tweezers according to claim 4, wherein the locking means consist of a ring in which the branches of the tweezers are inserted.

6. The tweezers according to claim 4, wherein the locking means comprise a cap coaxial to a main body and free in translation in the main body, said main body comprising a locking mechanism to block the cap in the retracted position in the main body when the travel of the cap reaches a predefined threshold, the end of the main body opposite the cap being securedly attached to one of branches of the tweezers and the free end of the cap being securedly attached to the other branch.

7. The tweezers according to claim 1, wherein each pad is mobile in rotation along the longitudinal axis of the gripping element.

8. The tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the pad comprises a rod parallel to the longitudinal axis of the gripping element, sunk into a corresponding cavity of the gripping element, said gripping element being provided with a hole opening out into said cavity, said hole being threaded and having an axis perpendicular to said rod enabling the pad to be fixed by means of a screw screwed into said hole, exerting a pressure on the rod.