Patent Application
20140126958
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to locking mechanisms, and particularly to a locking mechanism that can be locked and unlocked with a high efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of screws is used for locking two workpieces together. However, when locking or unlocking the two workpieces, it is time-consuming and inefficient to screw or unscrew the screws.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within 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 locking member 10 is substantially a hollow conical frustum. A through hole 11 is axially defined in a center of the locking member 10. The through hole 11 includes a guiding hole 112 defined in a first end 101 of the locking member 10 and a mounting hole 113 defined in a second end 102 of the locking member 10. The guiding hole 112 communicates with the mounting hole 113. An outer diameter of the locking member 10 gradually decreases from the first end 101 to the second end 102. In the illustrated embodiment, a diameter of the guiding hole 112 is smaller than that of the mounting hole 113. A stop portion 1121 protrudes into an end of the guiding hole 112 away from the mounting hole 113. Three receiving holes 13 are defined around a circumference of an outer side surface 103 of the locking member 10 communicating to the mounting hole 113, and are spaced from each other. A distance between each receiving hole 13 and the second end 102 of the locking member 10 is substantially the same. Each receiving hole 13 has a positioning portion 131 formed therein. The positioning portion 131 includes a first resisting surface 1312 adjacent to the outer side surface 103. The first resisting surface 1312 is inclined, such that a size of the receiving hole 13 decreases along a direction away from the axis of the locking member 10.
The guiding member 30 is slidably mounted in the locking member 10 and is substantially a stepped cylinder. The guiding member 30 includes a guiding portion 31, a latching portion 33, and a connection portion 35. The latching portion 33 and the connection portion 35 extend from opposite ends of the guiding portion 31, respectively. The guiding portion 31 is slidably received in the guiding hole 112, such that one end of the guiding portion 31 adjacent to the connection portion 35 resists against the stop portion 1121. The latching portion 33 is substantially a conical frustum, and is slidably and partly received in the receiving holes 13. An outer diameter of the latching portion 33 increases along an axial direction away from the guiding portion 31. The latching portion 33 includes a second resisting surface 331. The engaging members 50 are latched between the second resisting surface 331 and the first resisting surfaces 1312 of the receiving holes 13. The latching portion 33 defines a positioning hole 332 in a center thereof. The connection portion 35 is substantially cylindrical and has a smaller diameter than that of the guiding portion 31, such that the connection portion 35 extends beyond the stop portion 1121 and protrudes out from the guiding hole 112.
Each engaging member 50 is substantially spherical and is received in one corresponding receiving hole 13. Each engaging member 50 is latched between the second resisting surface 331 and the first resisting surfaces 1312 of the receiving holes 13 and partly protrudes out from the receiving hole 13.
The cover 60 is securely received in a distal end of the mounting hole 113. That is to say, the cover 60 is securely positioned on the second end 102 of the locking member 10. The cover 60 defines a through hole 61 communicating with the mounting hole 113.
The elastic member 70 is received in the mounting hole 113 and the positioning hole 332, such that opposite ends of the elastic member 70 resist against the cover 60 and a bottom surface of the positioning hole 332, respectively. One end of the elastic member 70 is fixed to the cover 60. In the illustrated embodiment, the elastic member 70 is a compression spring.
The pressing member 80 is substantially cylindrical. A fixing hole 81 is defined in a center of a bottom surface of the pressing member 80, such that the connection portion 35 is securely received in the fixing hole 81 and fixed to the pressing member 80.
In use, before the locking member 10 is received in the first locking holes 203 and the second locking hole 301, the pressing member 80 is pressed downward, the elastic member 70 is compressed, and the latching portion 33 is moved toward the cover 60, such that the engaging members 50 can be fully received in the receiving holes 13. Next, the locking member 10 is received in the first locking holes 203 and the second locking hole 301. Then, the pressing member 80 is released (from being pressed downward), and the elastic member 70 is elastically restored to push the latching portion 33 away from the cover 60, such that the engaging members 50 are latched between the latching portion 33 and the positioning portion 131. The engaging members 50 partly protrude out from the receiving holes 13 and resist against the first workpiece 200. Thus, the first workpiece 200 and the second workpiece 300 are locked together.
When unlocking the first workpiece 200 from the second workpiece 300, the pressing member 80 is pressed downward (again), the elastic member 70 is compressed, and the latching portion 33 is moved toward the cover 60, such that the engaging members 50 are released from resisting against the workpiece 200, and can be fully received in the receiving holes 13. Next, the locking member 10 is pulled out from the first locking holes 203 and the second locking hole 301, such that the first workpiece 200 and the second workpiece 300 are unlocked from each other. Thus, when locking or unlocking the first workpiece 200 and the second workpiece 300, the use of screws is omitted, and a work efficiency is improved.
In other embodiments, a number of the engaging members 50 and a number of the receiving holes 13 can be correspondingly changed according to need. The stop portion 1121 can be omitted according to need, and the guiding hole 112 and the mounting hole 113 can have a substantially same diameter. The pressing member 80 can be omitted, such that the connection portion 35 is directly being pressed. The cover 60 can be omitted, such that the elastic member 70 is mounted between the stop portion 1121 and an end of the guiding portion 31 adjacent to the connection portion 35, as shown in
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in the matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the embodiments to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012104398894 | Nov 2012 | CN | national |
