Patent Application
20130142587
The present invention relates to couplings which are used for mechanical joining or fixing of two or more objects together and disassembly of the joined objects. In particular the present invention relates to a releasable coupling device for releasably joining or fixing two or more elements or objects together substantially without the need for tools.
Fasteners such as nuts, bolts, screws and rivets are known for fastening objects together. These types of fasteners usually require tools such as hammers, screw drivers, pliers or spanners, and special applicators for fastening objects together.
While above conventional fasteners are often satisfactory in fastening objects together, a practical drawback is that once objects are fastened together, it is problematic to reverse the fastening, and particularly without a great deal of labor and tools. In the case of modular structures requiring assembly of multiple components such as furniture for example, the use of conventional fasteners for joining individual components often proves to be counterproductive because there is frequently cause to disassemble and reassembling of components during assembly of such furniture, and in some instances a wide degree of design freedom exists to create different furniture designs.
Fasteners which result in components being permanently or fixedly joined together restrict the ability to easily alter or assemble a structure such as built furniture for example without substantially damaging the strength or appearance of the structure. Often, the same tools used to fasten objects together using conventional fasteners will be required to ply apart fastened objects or components. This can cause considerable problems for customers and installers working in a constantly changing environment such as is often experienced for example at work stations and other office layout conditions.
In furniture production, for example, in particular office furniture production, individual components are generally combined in a multitude of arrangements to give a corresponding multitude of different overall shapes and appearances. Because of the vast multitude of different designs available for structural assemblies such as furniture for example, it is desirable to provide customers with an easy means of assembling or disassembling components to enable efficient and practical redesign of a structure such as, for example, furniture or office work station.
Current methods of joining components or panels of assemblies generally include preformed openings in panels and a plurality of dowel plugs which are insertable within the openings and protrude to an extent to allow mounting of a second panel opening. One particular drawback with such system however is that the plugs of dowel can be difficult to remove from an opening once inserted, and therefore if at least partial disassembly is required this can be time consuming and labor intensive to extract.
Hence there is a need for a coupling means to allow for the ready assembly and disassembly of components of an assembly to enable variation in the appearance and structure of the furniture without damaging the integrity, structure, secure formation or overall appearance of the assembly such as, for example, furniture. In addition, there is a need for the coupling to have an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
The present invention is directed to a releasable coupling device for releasably fastening two or more objects or elements having openings therein, the coupling device comprising:
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a system for releasably coupling two or more objects or elements with each object or element having assembly openings, the system comprising:
In accordance with a further related aspect of the invention there is provided a releasable coupling device for releasably coupling two or more objects or elements with each object or element having assembly openings, the device comprising:
The present invention provides an advance in assembly efficiency over the prior art devices because it provides a practical means of coupling at least two objects or elements together substantially without the need for conventional fastening tool, while also allowing ready release of the objects or elements from a coupling condition by sliding movement. Hence an assembly may be easily disassembled and reconfigured.
In one embodiment, the complementary mating structures can include a pair of first clamp members and a pair of second clamp members, whereby the first and second pairs of clamp members are mounted alternately on orprotruding from the second face.
Each of the pair of first clamp members can comprise:
Each of the pair of second clamp members can comprise:
The complementary mating interlocking structures can include at least one stop surface for limiting sliding movement of one body relative to a second body.
In a related aspect, the present invention provides a fastener element comprising:
In a further embodiment, the pair of first clamp members can be female clamp members, and the second pair of clamp members can be male clamp members whereby the male clamp members of the body are adapted for releasable sliding engagement with a pair of female clamp members on a second body, and whereby the pair of female clamp members of the body are adapted for releasable sliding engagement with a pair of male clamp members on the second body.
In yet a further related aspect, the present invention provides a fastener element comprising:
It is preferred that the female clamp and the male clamp are integrally formed with the body.
It is preferred that the base of the female clamp extends in the direction from the longitudinal axis of the fastener element towards the transverse portion of the female clamp. Alternatively, it is preferred that the base of the female clamp extends in the direction from the transverse portion of the female clamp towards the longitudinal axis of the fastener element.
It is preferred that the base of each female clamp is a portion of the second face.
It is preferred that the fastener element further comprises a male clamp landing area between each female clamp and each male clamp.
It is preferred that each sequential male clamp, male clamp landing area, and female clamp are relatively placed in the clockwise direction when the fastener element is viewed in the direction of the longitudinal axis, looking towards the second face.
It is preferred that each male clamp landing area further comprises a face which is adapted to limit rotational movement of a female clamp about the longitudinal axis.
It is preferred that there are at least two male clamps and the same number of female clamps. It is particularly preferred that there are two male clamps and two female clamps.
It is preferred that the body of the fastener element, when viewed in plan view, extends in the transverse direction beyond the male clamps, male clamp landing areas, and female clamps. It is particularly preferred that the periphery of the body of the fastener element is circular in plan view.
It is preferred that the first face comprises means for rotationally driving the fastener element.
It is preferred that the means for rotationally driving the fastener element comprises a coupling for receipt of a driving tool. It is particularly preferred that the coupling is one of:
Alternatively it is preferred that the means for rotationally driving the fastener element is a manually-engageable profile. It is particularly preferred that manually-engageable profile is a thumb wheel or other non-tool driven element.
For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how it may be carried into effect, embodiments of it are shown, by way of non-limiting example only, in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
Referring to the figures there is shown a coupling device for releasably fastening at least two objects or elements such as panels of an assembly for example, a furniture assembly. The device comprises at least in part of a first body having a first surface and a second surface separated by a edge, and a clamping lip extending about the edge and protruding from the second surface so as to engage with the object or element. The first body further includes a releaseable locking structure mounted to a portion of the second surface, the locking structure being adapted for releasable sliding engagement with a complementary locking structure of a second body.
As best seen in
As shown in the drawings, the fastener element 1 is symmetrical about a longitudinal axis and has a first face 2 and a second opposite face 4.
The second face 4 of the body has a releaseable locking structure, engagable with complementary locking structure of a second body, the locking structure being integrally formed with the second face. The locking structure comprises projections extending from the second face 4, extending in a longitudinal direction. Those projections include two diametrically-opposite female clamps 6, two diametrically-opposite male clamp landing areas 8, and two diametrically-opposite male clamps 7. Although the figures show two of each of the female clamps 6, the male clamps 7, and the male clamp landing areas 8, it will be appreciated from the following description that the fastener element is not limited to having two of each of these projections. It is however necessary that the number of each of these projections be the same. Considering the orientation of the fastener element as is shown in
Each female clamp 6 is substantially “U-shaped” in side profile, having a radially-inwardly extending base 13 which is contiguous with the inner face 4, a longitudinally extending portion 14 which extends away from the face 4 and a radially-inwardly extending portion 16 which is contiguous with, and which extends away from, the longitudinally-extending portion 14. Both the inner and outer faces of the longitudinally extending portion 14 substantially conform to arcs of circles.
Each male clamp 7 is substantially “L-shaped” in side profile, having a longitudinally-extending portion 12 which extends away from the inner face 4 of the element 1 and a radially-outwardly extending portion 11 which is contiguous with, and which extends away from, the longitudinally extending portion 11. The periphery of the radially-outwardly extending portion 11 substantially conforms to an arc of a circle.
The radially-outwardly extending portion 11 of each male clamp 7 has a profile which allows it to be received within the inner part of the U-shaped profile of a female clamp 6.
The periphery 5 of the fastener element 1 extends radially beyond the outer faces of the longitudinally extending portions 14.
A male clamp landing area 8 is contiguous with, and extends anti-clockwise away from, the radially-inwardly extending base 13 of each female clamp 6. Each male clamp landing area 8 extends anti-clockwise to the closest male clamp 6, where it terminates with a substantially planar female clamp twist limiting face 9.
The first face 2 has a slot 3 extending along a portion of a diameter of the fastener element for receipt of a driving tool such as a screwdriver. Operation of a fastener element 1 is illustrated in
The two objects 17 and 18 each have apertures 19 and 21 extending through them. The objects 17 and 18 are placed together with the apertures 19 and 21 in alignment. A fastener element 1A is placed through the aligned apertures 19 and 21 and a fastener element 1B is pushed into contact with the fastener element 1A so that the male clamps 7 on each fastener element are in alignment with the male clamp landing areas 8 of the other fastener element. The fastener elements 1A and 1B are then rotated relatively clockwise, forcing the radially extending part 11 of each male clamp 6 into the void which is defined by the radially-inwardly extending base 13, the longitudinally-extending part 14 and the radially-inwardly extending upper part 16 of a female clamp 6. Resilience of the female clamp 6 and of the male clamp 7 operates to keep the objects 17 and 18 firmly in contact.
It will be appreciated that the lengths of the longitudinally extending parts 12 and 14 of the male clamp 7 and of the female clamp 6 must be chosen so that there is clearance between the fastener elements 1A and 1B which is sufficient to receive the two objects 17 and 18 between them, but which is not so large as to prevent the resilient clamping together of the two objects.
The device of the present invention can be manufactured from plastic material using known methods including casting, moulding and machining. Preferred materials for the fastener element 1 include plastics, aluminium, brass and other materials which can be cast, moulded or machined.
A clear advantage of the instant invention is that only one mold is required to make a pair of bodies. The pair of bodies in a coupling assembly are substantially identical and are capable of releasable interlocking to clamp two panels together while allowing easy removal from a clamping condition by slidable movement of one body relative to the second.
While the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
A reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that the referenced prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.
Throughout this specification, the words “comprise”, “comprised”, “comprising” and “comprises” are to be taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
In the claims, each dependent claim is to be read as being within the scope of its parent claim or claims, in the sense that a dependent claim is not to be interpreted as infringed unless its parent claims are also infringed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011905022 | Dec 2011 | AU | national |
