This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 102215549, filed on Aug. 19, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fine adjustment mechanism, more particularly to a fine adjustment mechanism that is used for fine-tuning the angle of a satellite antenna and an angle adjusting device having the fine adjustment mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
Referring to
To assemble the locking bolt 12, the fine-tuning bolt 13 and the cap 15 to the retaining body 11, the locking bolt 12 is first disposed in the receiving space 114 such that the threaded rod 121 extends through the through hole 113 and the limiting piece 122 abuts against the base wall 111. Next, the graduated disc 14 is sleeved on the bolt shaft 131 between the annular protrusion 133 and the bolt head 132. Afterwards, the bolt shaft 131 of the fine-tuning bolt 13 is extended through the receiving space 114 and two notches 117 of the surrounding wall 112 such that a portion of the annular protrusion 133 is retained in a limiting recess 123 of the limiting piece 122. Finally, the two flexible snaps 152 of the cap 15 are inserted into the respective retaining grooves 115 of the retaining body 11, and the engaging surface 155 of each flexible snap 152 is engaged with the wall 116 that defines the respective retaining groove 115, thereby positioning the cap body 151 on a portion of the fine-tuning bolt 13 that is proximate to the bolt head 132. At this time, another opposite portion of the annular protrusion 133 is retained in the limiting groove 153, and portions of the bolt shaft 131 that are at two opposite sides of the annular protrusion 133 are retained in the shaft grooves 154.
Because the aforesaid fine adjustment mechanism 1 has numerous components, many steps are involved and many working hours are consumed during assembly thereof. This leads to high manufacturing costs of the fine adjustment mechanism 1. Further, because an assembly tolerance exists between the locking bolt 12 and the retaining body 11, between the fine-tuning bolt 13 and the retaining body 11, between the fine-tuning bolt 13 and the locking bolt 12, between the cap 15 and the fine-tuning bolt 13, and between the cap 15 and the retaining body 11, the assembly tolerance must be considered during design and manufacture of the aforesaid components, so that the design and the manufacture of the aforesaid components are complicated. Moreover, because of the presence of the aforesaid assembly tolerances among the components, each flexible snap 152 of the cap 15 cannot be smoothly inserted into the respective retaining groove 115 so that the cap 15 cannot be mounted and positioned on the retaining body 11; or, although the flexible snaps 152 are inserted into the respective retaining grooves 115, the engaging surface 155 of each flexible snap 152 cannot tightly engage with the wall 116 that defines the respective retaining groove 115. As such, the locking bolt 12, the fine-tuning bolt 13 and the cap 15 may loosely move inside the retaining body 11. Due to the effect of the aforesaid factors, the defective rate of assembly among the retaining body 11, the locking bolt 12, the fine-tuning bolt 13 and the cap 15 is high.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fine adjustment mechanism that has a minimum number of components so as to reduce assembly time and manufacturing costs.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fine adjustment mechanism that has components which are simple in design, which are easy to manufacture, and which can be manufactured with a high yield rate.
According to one aspect of this invention, a fine adjustment mechanism comprises a connecting unit, a fine-tuning bolt, a graduated disc and a retaining unit. The fine-tuning bolt includes a bolt shaft, and a bolt head formed at one end of the bolt shaft. The bolt shaft has a threaded section rotatably engaged with the connecting unit, a non-threaded section between the threaded section and the bolt head, and an annular protrusion projecting outwardly and radially from an outer surface of the non-threaded section and spaced apart from the bolt head. The graduated disc is sleeved on the non-threaded section and is disposed between the bolt head and the annular protrusion. The retaining unit is molded over the fine-tuning bolt and covers the annular protrusion and portions of the non-threaded section which are proximate to two opposite annular end surfaces of the annular protrusion. The fine-tuning bolt is rotatable relative to the retaining unit. The connecting unit is movable along the threaded section when the fine-tuning bolt is rotated.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an angle adjusting device that has a fine adjustment mechanism. The fine adjustment mechanism has a minimum number of components so as to reduce assembly time and manufacturing costs.
Still yet another object of this invention is to provide an angle adjusting device that has a fine adjustment mechanism. Components of the fine adjustment mechanism are simple in design, are easy to manufacture, and can be manufactured with a high yield rate.
According to another aspect of this invention, an angle adjusting device comprises a support frame and a fine adjustment mechanism. The support frame includes two frame members connected pivotably to each other. The fine adjustment mechanism includes a connecting unit connected to one of the frame members, a fine-tuning bolt, a graduated disc and a retaining unit. The fine-tuning bolt includes a bolt shaft, and a bolt head formed at one end of the bolt shaft. The bolt shaft has a threaded section rotatably engaged with the connecting unit, a non-threaded section between the threaded section and the bolt head, and an annular protrusion projecting outwardly and radially from an outer surface of the non-threaded section and spaced apart from the bolt head. The graduated disc is sleeved on the non-threaded section and is disposed between the bolt head and the annular protrusion. The retaining unit is connected to the other one of the frame members and is molded over the fine-tuning bolt. The retaining unit covers the annular protrusion and portions of the non-threaded section which are proximate to two opposite annular end surfaces of the annular protrusion. The fine-tuning bolt is rotatable relative to the retaining unit. The connecting unit is movable along the threaded section when the fine-tuning bolt is rotated.
The advantage of this invention resides in that with the retaining body being molded over the fine-tuning bolt and the locking bolt, and with the retaining body covering the annular protrusion, the portions of the non-threaded section which are proximate to the respective annular end surfaces of the annular protrusion and a portion of the locking bolt, the retaining body can connect together the fine-tuning bolt and the locking bolt. As such, components of the retaining unit for retaining the fine-tuning bolt on the first frame member can be minimized, and the assembly time and the manufacturing costs associated therewith can be reduced. Moreover, because the retaining body is not affected by the assembly tolerance between the annular protrusion and the limiting recess during forming thereof, the cumulative tolerance existing among the components described in the prior art can be avoided. Hence, the design and manufacture of the retaining body, the fine-tuning bolt and the locking bolt are simpler and easier as compared to that of the aforesaid prior art. Further, the retaining body, the fine-tuning bolt and the locking bolt can be manufactured with a high yield rate.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The above-mentioned and other technical contents, features, and effects of this invention will be clearly presented from the following detailed description of one embodiment in coordination with the reference drawings.
Referring to
The support frame 20 includes a base frame member 21, a first frame member 22 adjustably and pivotably connected to the base frame member 21, and a second frame member 23 adjustably and pivotably connected to the first frame member 22 and adapted to support the satellite antenna. One of the fine adjustment mechanisms 30 (see
Referring to
The fine-tuning bolt 4 includes a bolt shaft 41, and a bolt head 42 formed at one end of the bolt shaft 41. The bolt shaft 41 has a threaded section 411 rotatably connected with the connecting unit 3, a non-threaded section 412 between the threaded section 411 and the bolt head 42, and an annular protrusion 413 projecting outwardly and radially from an outer surface of the non-threaded section 412 and spaced apart from the bolt head 42. The threaded section 411 is inserted into one of the through holes 314, rotatably engages the threaded hole 341, and extends out of the other through hole 314. The graduated disc 5 is sleeved on the non-threaded section 412, and is located at a position spaced apart from and disposed between the bolt head 42 and the annular protrusion 413.
The retaining unit 6 is connected to and positioned on a side plate 221 of the first frame member 22. The retaining unit 6 is molded over the fine-tuning bolt 4, and covers the annular protrusion 413 and portions of the non-threaded section 412 which are respectively proximate to two opposite annular end surfaces 414 of the annular protrusion 413. Through this, components of the retaining unit 6 for retaining the fine-tuning bolt 4 on the first frame member 22 can be minimized, and the assembly time and the manufacturing costs associated therewith can be effectively reduced. Further, the fine-tuning bolt 4 is rotatable relative to the retaining unit 6, and can drive the connecting unit 3 to move axially along the threaded section 411 of the bolt shaft 41 when rotated so as to fine-tune the angle of the second frame member 23 relative to the first frame member 22.
A concrete structure and an assembly method of the retaining unit 6 will be described in detail below.
As shown in
Concretely speaking, the locking bolt 61 has a threaded rod 611, and a limiting piece 612 formed at one end of the threaded rod 611. The limiting piece 612 includes an end surface 613 opposite to the threaded rod 611, and two spaced-apart protruding portions 614 protruding from two opposite ends of the end surface 613. The protruding portions 614 and the end surface 613 cooperatively define a limiting recess 615 for receiving the annular protrusion 413.
Referring to
Referring to
When the molten plastic fills up the mold cavity and is solidified, a retaining body 62 that is molded over the bolt shaft 41 of the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61 is formed. At this time, the retaining body 62 covers the annular protrusion 413, the portions of the non-threaded section 412 which are respectively proximate to the two annular end surfaces 414 of the annular protrusion 413, the limiting piece 612 and a portion of the threaded rod 611. Thus, the retaining body 62 connects together the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61.
The retaining body 62 is formed with a bolt hole 621 for rotatable connection of the fine-tuning bolt 4. The bolt hole 621 has a large diameter hole portion 622 for receiving the annular protrusion 413, two small diameter hole portions 623 communicating with and disposed at two opposite sides of the large diameter hole portion 622, and two stop shoulder portions 624 each formed between the large diameter hole portion 622 and a corresponding one of the small diameter hole portions 623. The large diameter hole portion 622 and the annular protrusion 413 are received in the limiting recess 615 of the limiting piece 614. The small diameter hole portions 623 respectively receive the portions of the non-threaded section 412 of the fine-tuning bolt 4 which are proximate to the annular end surfaces 414 of the annular protrusion 413. The stop shoulder portions 624 respectively abut against the annular end surfaces 414 of the annular protrusion 413. Each of the small diameter hole portions 623 has a diameter smaller than that of the large diameter hole portion 622. Because the two stop shoulder portions 624 tightly abut against the respective annular end surfaces 414 of the annular protrusion 413 so that no gap is formed between each stop shoulder portion 624 and the respective annular end surface 414 of the annular protrusion 413, the fine-tuning bolt 4 is prevented from rocking axially relative to the retaining body 62 during rotation of the fine-tuning bolt 4 relative to the connector 34 (see
Because of the flow characteristics of the molten plastic, whether the space between the end surface 613 and the annular protrusion 413 and the space between each protruding portion 614 and the annular protrusion 413 are large or small, the molten plastic can flow into the limiting recess 615 so as to fill the aforesaid spaces, and tightly covers the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61, so that after the retaining body 62 is formed, the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61 are stably connected and positioned on the retaining body 62. Since the retaining body 62 is not affected by an assembly tolerance between the annular protrusion 413 and the limiting recess 615 during forming thereof, design and manufacture of the retaining body 62, the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61 are simple and easy. Further, the retaining body 62, the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61 can be manufactured with a high yield rate.
It should be noted that the locking bolt 61 and the retaining body 62 of the retaining unit 6 of this embodiment are exemplified as two different materials, in actual application, molten plastic or molten metal may be used according to the requirement to form the retaining unit 6 having the retaining body 62 and the locking bolt 61 simultaneously, so that the single retaining unit 6 not only has the function of retaining the fine-tuning bolt 4 on the first frame member 22, but also simultaneously has the function of threaded connection with the nut 63.
In summary, with the retaining body 62 being molded over the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61, and with the retaining body 62 covering the annular protrusion 413, the portions of the non-threaded section 412 which are proximate to the respective annular end surfaces 414 of the annular protrusion 413 and a portion of the locking bolt 61, the retaining body 62 can connect together the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61. As such, components of the retaining unit 6 for retaining the fine-tuning bolt 4 on the first frame member 22 can be minimized, and the assembly time and the manufacturing costs associated therewith can be reduced. Moreover, because the retaining body 62 is not affected by the assembly tolerance between the annular protrusion 413 and the limiting recess 615 during forming thereof, the cumulative tolerance existing among the components described in the prior art can be avoided. Hence, the design and manufacture of the retaining body 62, the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61 are simpler and easier as compared to that of the aforesaid prior art. Further, the retaining body 62, the fine-tuning bolt 4 and the locking bolt 61 can be manufactured with a high yield rate. Therefore, the objects of the present invention can be realized.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102215549 | Aug 2013 | TW | national |