Ball Joint Work Holder With Quick-Lock 360° Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clamping devices, including ball and seat configurations, limit the user's ability to optimally position objects for work due to cumbersome operation and potential damage, as they require complex screw jack arrangements and repositioning for adjustments, restricting rotational and tilting movements.
Innovation Solution
A ball joint assembly with a stem that allows 360-degree rotation and 180-degree tilting, featuring a quick release handle and a mechanism with a lever-operated screw jack for easy locking and unlocking, enabling fine position adjustments and secure object holding without slippage, using a cylindrical housing with a round nut and snap ring for precise ball seating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a screw jack arrangement is used to clamp objects between plates, then the object can be securely held, but the user must apply multiple turns of the screw to move the plates together, limiting the ability to optimally position the object and potentially damaging it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional screw jack mechanical system with a ball and seat configuration combined with a lever arm. The ball rotates within the seat to allow positioning, and the lever arm with threaded shaft provides mechanical advantage for secure locking without requiring multiple manual turns. This substitution maintains secure holding while dramatically improving ease of operation and positioning flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The ball joint assembly allows dynamic movement during positioning - the ball can rotate freely within the seat to achieve optimal positioning, then the lever arm locks it in place. This dynamic approach contrasts with static screw clamping, enabling the object to be positioned at various angles and orientations before securing.
2Ease of operation
If a ball and seat configuration is used with a single lever arm, then quick locking and unlocking is achieved, but the fit between ball and seat may loosen over time requiring adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The round nut is designed to be adjustable by the user without requiring disassembly or special tools. The user can periodically check and tighten the round nut to maintain optimal fit between the ball and seat, making the system self-maintaining. This addresses the loosening issue while preserving the quick operation benefit.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the ball is allowed to rotate 360 degrees and tilt 180 degrees, then versatile positioning is achieved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The movement capabilities are segmented into two independent degrees of freedom: 360-degree rotation of the ball within the seat, and 180-degree tilting of the stem relative to the ball. This segmentation allows each movement type to be achieved through simple, dedicated mechanical features rather than a complex unified mechanism, reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining versatility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easy and precise positioning of objects, allowing for versatile use with various work holding devices, such as rifle cradles and archery bows, by enabling quick adjustments and secure locking, reducing the risk of damage and improving operational convenience.
Implementation Method 1
The lever arm is pivotally mounted in the housing and includes a threaded shaft that is arranged to turn into the round nut when the lever arm is rotated, to elevate the ball and urge the ball into engagement with the housing
Implementation Method 2
a screw jack arrangement where the screw is turned to move the plates, with the user applying a number of turns of the screw to cause the plates to move together
Implementation Method 3
the ball shaft or stem is not only allowed to rotate within the seat through three hundred sixty (360) degrees, it can also tilt across housing top through an arc of up to and greater than one hundred eighty (180) degrees
Implementation Method 4
opposing plates or pads that are pushed together or pulled apart with an object clamped between the plates or pads. Such vices, of course, require that the plates push against the object with such force as to prevent the object from moving
Data Source
AI summary
A ball joint assembly and work holding device where the ball joint assembly provides a movable mount for different work holding devices that each provide for holding an item, such as a fire arm, archery bow and/or the like, where the ball joint assembly is for seating on, or mounting onto, a table top, bench, or like surface. The ball joint assembly includes a cylindrical housing slotted on opposite sides thereof from a center opening in the housing top and contains a ball that rests on a plunger top end of a jacking screw that is turned in a round nut by a lever arm, and the ball joint assembly is fitted into the housing. Turning of the lever arm that is fitted through a housing lateral slot extends the plunger top into the ball, lifting the ball to lock it against a housing top concave surface, and which ball includes a stem extending through the housing top to tilt between the slots and pivot when the ball in unlocked, and the ball stem end includes a tool mounting for connection to a work holding devices, and two of which work holding devices: a shooting rest and an archery bow mount are unique to the invention.