They Invented What? (No. 133)

U.S. Pat. No. 7,488,244: Apparatus for skinning squirrels.

JW Note: We noticed this at the new 12:01 Tuesday patent law blog. Looks like a great new patent blog.  Check it out!

 

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus that aids in the skinning and cleaning of a squirrel comprising: (A) a base plate comprising a solid metal form with a bend at an angle to form a bent end and a non-bent end; (B) a toggle clamp comprising a base, a stationary arm, a pivoting arm, a metal plate and a handle wherein said stationary arm and pivoting arm are connected to said base using screws so as to form a 90 degree angle; and wherein said pivoting arm is connected to said metal plate using screws on one end and said handle is molded to said pivoting arm on the other end; (C) a first metal tube; (D) a second metal tube; (E) a first fastening device; (F) a second fastening device; wherein said base plate is connected at said bent end to a stationary object using said first fastening device; and wherein said toggle clamp is connected to said base using said second fastening device; and wherein said first metal tube is connected to the end of said pivoting arm that is not already connected to said base of said toggle clamp using a bolt and said second metal tube is welded to said base plate at said non-bent end in order to form a gap between said first metal tube and said second metal tube; and wherein said toggle clamp is engaged by moving said handle in a downward motion until said handle is parallel to said base plate thereby pressing said metal plate against said stationary arm to move said stationary arm towards said base plate; and wherein upon engaging said toggle clamp the said first metal tube and said second metal tube are pressed tightly together.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said angle of said base plate is between 80 and 110 degrees.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said angle is formed at distance between 1/16 and 1/2 the length of said solid metal form.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said toggle clamp is connected to said base plate between 1/16 and 1/2 the distance to said bent end of said base plate.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first metal tube is between 1/16 and 1/2 inch in diameter.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second metal tube is between 1/16 and 1/2 inch in diameter.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first fastening device is selected from the group comprising screws, bolts, or nails.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second fastening device is selected from the group comprising screws, bolts, or nails.