Patent Application
20140017029
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to locking assemblies, particularly to a locking assembly for locking two or more than two workpieces together.
2. Description of Related Art
Workpieces are usually locked together via screws after many processes. For example, a housing of an electronic device may be punched, annealed, cleaned, anodized, and then may be locked with a circuit board after such processes. However, each process for the housing may affect a profile of the housing, which results in non-perpendicularity when the screws are tightened with the workpieces. In addition, during the locking of the workpieces, an operation error may be happened, and a deviation or canting of the circuit board or the housing may occur. Thus, when the screws are tightened into the workpieces, the workpieces may be deformed and the circuit board may be strained or even damaged by the screws due to the deviations or canting.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.
The engaging member 30 includes a fixing portion 31 and a fastening portion 33 formed on an end of the fixing portion 31. The fixing portion 31 is configured to be fixed to the first workpiece 200. The fixing portion 31 is substantially a disc, and includes a positioning surface 311 at an end away from the fastening portion 33. The positioning surface 311 is fixed to the first workpiece 200 in a substantially perpendicular manner. The fastening portion 33 is substantially columnar, and includes an engaging surface 333 at an end away from the fixing portion 31. The engaging surface 333 of the fastening portion 33 defines a central engaging hole 331. The engaging hole 331 is threaded for engaging with the locking portion 13. The engaging surface 333 is substantially a rounded and raised surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the engaging surface 333 is substantially a convex surface matching the shape of the resisting surface 113. A diameter of the engaging surface 333 is substantially equal to that of the resisting surface 113.
The second workpiece 300 includes a mounting portion 301. The mounting portion 301 includes a first securing surface 303 and a second securing surface 305. The first securing surface 303 and the second securing surface 305 are located at opposite sides of the second workpiece 300. The first securing surface 303 is rounded and curved, and a shape of the first securing surface 303 matches with a shape of the resisting surface 113. The second securing surface 305 is also rounded and curved, and a shape of the second securing surface 305 matches with a shape of the engaging surface 333. The mounting portion 301 defines a through hole 307 in the first securing surface 303 toward the second securing surface 305, for allowing generous clearance for the locking portion 13 to pass through. A diameter of the through hole 307 is larger than a diameter of the engaging hole 331. In the illustrated embodiment, the first securing surface 303 is convex and substantially rounded and curved, to match with the resisting surface 113. The second securing surface 305 has a concave shape suitable for receiving and locating the engaging surface 333. A diameter of the first securing surface 303 is equal to a diameter of the second securing surface 305, and the diameter is equal to the diameter of the resisting surface 113.
In use, the fixing portion 31 of the engaging member 30 is fixed to the first workpiece 200. In the illustrated embodiment, the positioning surface 311 of the engaging member 30 is positioned on the first workpiece 200 via a double sided adhesive tape for example. The second workpiece 300 is put on the fastening portion 33 of the engaging member 30, and the second securing surface 305 resists on the engaging surface 333. The through hole 307 is aligned with the engaging hole 331. Then, the locking portion 13 of the locking member 10 is inserted into the through hole 307 and the engaging hole 331, and the locking portion 13 is locked with the fastening portion 33. The first securing surface 303 resists the resisting surface 113. Therefore, the first workpiece 200 and the second workpiece 300 are locked together via the locking assembly 100. A first locking state is shown in
When a deviation or canting of the second workpiece 300 and the fastening portion 33 exists, and the axis of the through hole 307 is not coaxial with the axis of the engaging hole 331, because the second securing surface 305 is an rounded surface matching with the engaging surface 333, the second securing surface 305 can still make solid and supported contact with the engaging surface 333 without any gaps, and because the first securing surface 303 is an rounded surface matching with the resisting surface 113, the first securing surface 303 can still provide a firm base for the resisting surface 113 without any gaps. A second state is shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the engaging member 30 may be fixed to the first workpiece 200 in other ways, such as the engaging member 30 being fixed to the first workpiece 200 via screws (not shown) for example. The resisting surface 113 may be a convex surface, and the first securing surface 303 may be correspondingly concave. The engaging surface 333 may be curved and concave, and the second securing surface 305 may be a curved and convex surface correspondingly.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments or sacrificing all of its material advantages.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012102449586 | Jul 2012 | CN | national |
