A lock washer assembly for a vibrating environment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of anti-loose gasket assemblies for vibration environment, belong to mechanical fastener technical field.The component mainly includes upper wedge-shaped gear ring, lower wedge-shaped gear ring and elastic pre-tightening element.The upper wedge-shaped gear ring lower surface is equipped with the one-way wedge-shaped tooth with guide slope and non-return part, and the upper surface of lower wedge-shaped gear ring is equipped with wedge-shaped groove that is matched with it.The innovation point is that alignment mechanism is equipped between upper and lower wedge-shaped gear ring, and the mechanism is made of cylindrical locating pin arranged offset center and arc-shaped guide groove matched with it.The utility model is matched with arc-shaped groove by locating pin, ensure that tooth surface is quickly, accurately engaged when installing, prevent reverse installation;Wherein arc-shaped groove allows and guides the relative rotation of the necessary micro amount of anti-loose between gear ring.The component can effectively consume vibration energy, realize mechanical self-locking, improve the anti-loose reliability, durability and assembly convenience of bolt connection in long-term severe vibration environment in combination with the continuous axial force provided by elastic pre-tightening element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of mechanical fastener technology, and in particular to an anti-loosening gasket assembly for use in vibrating environments. Background Technology

[0002] In the vibration environments of rail transportation, construction machinery, aerospace, and wind power equipment, traditional spring washers and flat washers have limited anti-loosening effects. Existing technologies such as nylon self-locking nuts and thread-locking adhesives have problems such as limited operating temperature, poor disassembly, or high cost. Although various anti-loosening washers (such as serrated washers and conical washers) are available on the market, their anti-loosening mechanisms are simple and may still fail under long-term complex vibration. Utility Model Content

[0003] To overcome the technical defects of the existing technology, this utility model provides an anti-loosening gasket assembly for use in vibration environments.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by this utility model is: an anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments, comprising an upper wedge-shaped toothed ring, a lower wedge-shaped toothed ring, and an elastic preload element; The upper wedge-shaped toothed ring is an annular component, with unidirectionally inclined and annularly distributed wedge-shaped teeth on its lower surface. The wedge-shaped teeth have a guide slope in the direction of the bolt's clockwise rotation, and a check valve in the direction of the bolt's counterclockwise rotation. The upper surface of the upper wedge-shaped toothed ring has circularly distributed anti-slip teeth. The lower wedge-shaped toothed ring is also an annular component, and its upper surface is provided with a wedge-shaped groove that matches the wedge-shaped teeth; The elastic preload element is placed below the lower wedge-shaped gear ring, providing a continuous axial preload force to keep the sawtooth surfaces of the upper and lower wedge-shaped gear rings in initial contact.

[0005] Preferably, the upper wedge-shaped gear ring and the lower wedge-shaped gear ring are made of carbon spring steel.

[0006] Preferably, the slope angle of the guide slope is 20° to 40°.

[0007] Preferably, the elastic preload element is one of a wave spring, a disc spring, or an annular elastic washer.

[0008] Preferably, the tip of the wedge-shaped tooth is a rounded portion.

[0009] Preferably, an alignment mechanism is provided between the upper wedge-shaped gear ring and the lower wedge-shaped gear ring.

[0010] Preferably, the alignment mechanism includes a cylindrical positioning pin on the upper surface of the lower wedge-shaped gear ring and at a position off-center of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring, and an arc-shaped guide groove for inserting the end of the positioning pin at corresponding positions on the upper and lower wedge-shaped gear rings.

[0011] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: 1. When the bolt has a tendency to rotate in the opposite direction (loosen), the upper wedge-shaped toothed ring moves accordingly. Because the lower wedge-shaped toothed ring is compressed, under the axial preload of the elastic element, the check part of the upper toothed ring's wedge-shaped teeth tightly engages with the corresponding inclined surface of the lower toothed ring's wedge-shaped groove, forming a self-locking mechanism that effectively prevents loosening. When vibration causes slight axial expansion and contraction of the bolt connection, under the preload, the wedge-shaped teeth of the upper wedge-shaped toothed ring will smoothly and slightly "climb" along the guide on the surface of the lower wedge-shaped toothed ring. This process requires overcoming friction and inclined surface resistance, consuming vibration energy, thus playing a role in damping vibration reduction and dynamic anti-loosening.

[0012] 2. The fit between the positioning pin and the arc groove in this utility model ensures that the upper and lower wedge-shaped toothed rings can only fit in the single correct circumferential position during installation, completely avoiding the problem of anti-loosening function failure caused by reverse installation, and improving assembly efficiency and reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0013] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example with reference numerals in the accompanying drawings. These illustrations do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are denoted as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings are not to be limited by scale.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of this utility model; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring of this utility model.

[0015] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Upper wedge gear ring; 2. Lower wedge gear ring; 3. Elastic preload element; 4. Wedge tooth; 5. Guide slope; 6. Check valve; 7. Wedge groove; 8. Anti-slip tooth; 9. Locating pin; 10. Guide groove. Detailed Implementation

[0016] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the various embodiments of this utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art will understand that many technical details have been provided in the various embodiments of this utility model to facilitate a better understanding of this application. However, the technical solutions claimed in the claims of this application can be implemented even without these technical details and with various variations and modifications based on the following embodiments.

[0017] like Figures 1-2As shown, this embodiment provides an anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments, which mainly consists of three core components: an upper wedge-shaped toothed ring 1, a lower wedge-shaped toothed ring 2, and an elastic preload element 3. The three are coaxially arranged from bottom to top and work together to achieve dynamic self-locking.

[0018] The upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1 is made of annular steel, preferably 65Mn or 60Si2MnA carbon spring steel, and is quenched and tempered to achieve moderate hardness and good toughness. This gear ring has two functional surfaces: the lower surface is machined with multiple wedge-shaped teeth 4 that are unidirectionally inclined and evenly distributed around the circumference. Each wedge-shaped tooth 4 has two key inclined surfaces. One is a guide slope 5, whose slope angle (relative to the horizontal plane) is designed to be approximately 30° (within the preferred range of 20° to 40° as described in the claims). This slope is relatively gentle and faces the bolt's forward rotation (tightening) direction. The second is a stop section 6, which is steeper and faces the bolt's reverse rotation (loosening) direction, forming the main mechanical locking surface. To optimize stress distribution and facilitate engagement, the tooth tips (tops) of the wedge-shaped teeth 4 are machined into rounded sections to reduce stress concentration and prevent sharp corner breakage. The upper surface is machined with circularly distributed anti-slip teeth 8, such as fine radial serrations or concentric knurling. This design significantly increases the coefficient of friction with the bearing surface of the bolt head or nut, preventing the gasket assembly from rotating relative to the bolt.

[0019] The lower wedge-shaped gear ring 2 is also made of annular steel, with the same or similar material as the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1. Its upper surface is precisely machined with wedge-shaped grooves 7 that correspond one-to-one with the wedge-shaped teeth 4 of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1 and fit perfectly in shape. The contour of the wedge-shaped grooves 7 is complementary to that of the wedge-shaped teeth 4, ensuring that the two can mesh tightly.

[0020] To prevent incorrect installation, a cylindrical locating pin 9 is provided on the upper surface of the lower wedge-shaped gear ring 2 and at an off-center position of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1. An arc-shaped guide groove 10 is provided at corresponding positions on the upper and lower wedge-shaped gear rings 1 and 2, allowing the end of the locating pin 9 to be inserted. This design ensures that the arc-shaped guide groove 10 has a single entry point. The locating pin 9 can only be aligned with the entry point of the guide slope 5 of the wedge-shaped teeth 4 of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1 when it is aligned with the bolt tightening direction. At this point, the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1 can be pressed down, allowing the locating pin 9 to enter the guide groove 10. Any other relative orientation will prevent installation due to shape interference, thus fundamentally preventing reverse installation.

[0021] The elastic preload element 3 is positioned below the lower wedge-shaped gear ring 2. Assembly and installation: First, place the elastic preload element 3 on a flat workpiece surface or the lower connector. Then, place the lower wedge-shaped gear ring 2 on top of the elastic preload element 3. Next, determine the correct orientation of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1 according to the bolt tightening direction (usually clockwise).

[0022] Insert the assembled gasket assembly onto the bolt shank that has already passed through the workpiece. The anti-slip teeth 8 of the upper wedge gear 1 face the bolt head or nut. Tighten the nut or bolt head to the normal torque. The axial clamping force of the bolt is transmitted through the upper wedge gear 1 and the lower wedge gear 2, and compresses the elastic preload element 3.

[0023] When the bolt is tightened, the rotation of the bolt will cause the upper wedge-shaped toothed ring 1, which is pressed against it (generating a large frictional force through the anti-slip teeth 8), to... Figure 1 Simultaneous rotation. At this time, the wedge teeth 4 of the upper wedge gear ring 1 slide along the inclined surface of the guide slope 5 of the wedge groove 7 of the lower wedge gear ring 2. Since the angle of the guide slope 5 is small (e.g., 30°), the sliding resistance is small, and the bolt can be smoothly tightened to the predetermined torque, while the elastic preload element 3 is compressed and stores energy.

[0024] When external vibration attempts to loosen the bolt (reverse rotation), the bolt's reverse rotation tendency is transmitted to the upper wedge-shaped gear ring 1. At this time, the inclined surface of the check portion 6 of the wedge-shaped tooth 4 will contact the steep surface corresponding to the wedge-shaped groove 7. Due to the large angle of the check portion 6, even approaching vertical, a strong "inclined surface self-locking" effect is generated. The force attempting to loosen is converted into a radial component force that makes the upper and lower gear rings press more tightly together, which is blocked by the huge friction between the meshing surfaces, thereby achieving mechanical interlocking and effectively preventing reverse rotation.

[0025] The elastic preload element 3 plays a crucial role throughout the process: Compensation: When vibration causes a slight decrease in the axial force of the bolt, the restoring force of the elastic preload element 3 automatically pushes the lower wedge-shaped gear ring 2 upwards, maintaining close contact between the upper and lower gear ring meshing surfaces and preventing "tooth skipping" failure due to minute gaps. Maintaining locking force: Its continuous preload ensures that the wedge-shaped gear meshing surface always has sufficient positive pressure, allowing the inclined plane self-locking effect to remain effective.

[0026] Furthermore, any content not described in detail in this specification is existing technology known to those skilled in the art.

[0027] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above embodiments are specific examples of implementing the present invention, and in practical applications, various changes can be made to them in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An anti-loosening gasket assembly for use in vibration environments, characterized in that: It includes an upper wedge-shaped gear ring (1), a lower wedge-shaped gear ring (2), and an elastic preload element (3); The upper wedge-shaped toothed ring (1) is an annular part, and its lower surface is provided with wedge-shaped teeth (4) that are unidirectionally inclined and distributed in an annular pattern. The wedge-shaped teeth (4) are provided with a guide slope (5) in the direction of the bolt's clockwise rotation, and the wedge-shaped teeth (4) are provided with a check valve (6) in the direction of the counterclockwise rotation. The upper surface of the upper wedge-shaped toothed ring (1) is provided with circularly distributed anti-slip teeth (8). The lower wedge-shaped tooth ring (2) is also an annular part, and its upper surface is provided with a wedge-shaped groove (7) that matches the wedge-shaped tooth (4). The elastic preload element (3) is placed below the lower wedge-shaped gear ring to provide a continuous axial preload force, so that the sawtooth surfaces of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring (1) and the lower wedge-shaped gear ring (2) maintain initial contact.

2. The anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper wedge-shaped gear ring (1) and the lower wedge-shaped gear ring (2) are made of carbon spring steel.

3. The anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slope angle of the guide slope is 20° to 40°.

4. The anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic preload element is one of a wave spring, a disc spring, or an annular elastic washer.

5. The anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tip of the wedge-shaped tooth (4) is a rounded part.

6. The anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: An alignment mechanism is provided between the upper wedge-shaped gear ring (1) and the lower wedge-shaped gear ring (2).

7. The anti-loosening gasket assembly for vibration environments according to claim 6, characterized in that: The alignment mechanism includes a cylindrical positioning pin (9) set on the upper surface of the lower wedge-shaped gear ring (2) and at a position off-center of the upper wedge-shaped gear ring (1), and an arc-shaped guide groove (10) is opened at the corresponding position on the upper wedge-shaped gear ring (1) and the lower wedge-shaped gear ring (2) for the end of the positioning pin (9) to be inserted.

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