NUT WITH A MEANT FOR HOLDING A SCREWED CONNECTOR

Description

Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of screws and bolted assemblies. More particularly, the invention relates to a sleeve comprising a mechanical retention means for a bolted assembly element, such as a nut, within said sleeve. Technological background

[0002] In bolted assembly lines, operators handle numerous screws and / or bolts. These components form the basis of known mechanical fasteners, and despite the automation and robotization of assembly lines, this work still requires manual intervention from operators.

[0003] The assemblies involved in these manual operations are thus highly dependent on the operator's agility and dexterity. Among the tools commonly used are socket wrenches, whose interchangeable sockets have bores shaped to fit various bolted assembly components such as nuts, washers, etc.

[0004] These elements should then be placed in the socket and the socket positioned in front of the part to be assembled before tightening.

[0005] However, the risk of dropping a nut and / or its washer can be increased depending on the user's approach position. This can result in additional execution time and uncertainty in the assembly process.

[0006] Commonly used holding devices include, for example, magnets, whose attraction is highly dependent on the positioning of the operator and the material of the bolted assembly element in the tool itself.

[0007] The US2611289 document describes a mechanical retaining sleeve that requires manually rotating a ring to lock or unlock a nut.

[0008] The GB217581 document describes a socket with an opening ring configured to slide manually, rather than automatically under pressure, requiring the user to use two hands to install the socket. This document does not mention an opening ring with an overhang that protrudes above the socket opening in the locked position.

[0009] In addition, the socket described in document US4869136 requires the use of complex equipment with a locking pin for positioning the socket and securing / releasing a bolted assembly element.

[0010] The invention therefore offers a solution to overcome these drawbacks. Objectives of the invention

[0011] The invention aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, a socket comprising a mechanical retaining device for a bolted assembly element.

[0012] The invention also aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, a socket which is, in general, simple in design and manufacture and easy to use.

[0013] The invention also aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, a socket enabling the installation time of bolted assembly elements to be reduced.

[0014] The invention also aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, a socket allowing the assembly of a part to be assembled independently of the positioning of the operator.

[0015] The invention also aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, a socket comprising an activatable means, allowing the insertion or extraction of an assembly element bolted into the body of said socket.

[0016] The invention also aims to provide a socket comprising a means enabling the spontaneous locking / unlocking of the mechanical retention of a bolted assembly element as a function of the pressure exerted on said means in order to be able to use the socket with one hand. Description of the invention

[0017] To this end, the invention relates to a retaining sleeve for a bolted assembly element, said sleeve comprising a substantially tubular body extending in a longitudinal direction, said body having an upper opening and a lower bottom, said body further having an external surface and at least one internal bore extending longitudinally in said body and opening into said upper opening, said bore being configured to receive at least one bolted assembly element formed therewith, said sleeve being characterized in that it further comprises a mechanical retaining means for said assembly element in the internal bore of the body of said sleeve, said mechanical retaining means comprising at least two elastic retaining claws extending longitudinally on the external surface of said tubular body, said claws comprising a substantially transverse portion, referred to as the stop portion,and being movable between a first position, called the unlocking position, in which said bolted assembly element can be housed or extracted from said internal bore through said opening and by spreading said portion of the stop, and a second position, called the locking position, in which said portion of the stop extends above said bore so as to block the spontaneous movement of said assembly element out of said bore.

[0018] For the purposes of this invention, it is understood that the spontaneous movement of the assembly element out of the bore occurs for the upper opening of the body of said socket.

[0019] A bolted assembly element is defined as the screws, nuts, and washers used by an operator to assemble a part. According to the invention, the sleeve can hold one or more of these bolted assembly elements.

[0020] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sleeve may comprise one or more internal bores in which one or more bolted assembly elements may be arranged, each of the assembly elements being conformed to at least one internal bore of said sleeve.

[0021] According to the invention, the elastic retaining claws are configured to move from the locked position to the unlocked position and vice versa. These claws are arranged longitudinally along the outer surface of the tubular body of the socket. These claws possess an elastic property that allows for reversible separation after the application of a force capable of causing said separation.

[0022] The retaining claws according to the invention comprise a stop portion extending substantially transversely or perpendicularly to the direction of the sleeve body. Furthermore, the stop portion of the retaining claws is configured to prevent the spontaneous displacement of a bolted fastener from the bore of the sleeve body. For the purposes of this invention, it is understood that said stop portion extends substantially perpendicularly above an internal bore and is of sufficient and suitable length to retain a bolted fastener within the sleeve. The invention may further provide any other configuration of this portion enabling the locking of a bolted fastener.

[0023] The invention may include one or more retaining claws, preferably two retaining claws arranged opposite each other on either side of the longitudinal axis of the socket.

[0024] The stop portion of the retaining claws extends transversely above a bore in the bushing body. In one embodiment, this portion is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the bushing body. When the operator handles the bushing, after arranging the formed assembly elements in the bore provided for this purpose, they can thus position it on a workpiece in such a way that the spontaneous movement of an assembly element during any tilting of the bushing is prevented by said stop portion.

[0025] Thus, according to the invention, the sleeve allows the operator to hold an assembly element within the body of said sleeve, so that said assembly elements can be presented onto a part to be assembled, regardless of the position of said sleeve and / or the operator. The invention therefore saves time in assembly stations requiring manual intervention.

[0026] According to the invention, the socket further comprises a peripheral opening ring mounted to slide longitudinally along the body of said socket. This ring further comprises at least one portion gripped by retaining claws and configured to move said mechanical retaining means from said locking position to said unlocking position by sliding longitudinally along said body. In the locking position, the opening ring has a protrusion, which is lowered by sliding action by longitudinal pressure exerted on said opening ring to bring it to the unlocking position. The lowering of said protrusion at the opening of said socket body thus results from longitudinal pressure exerted on said opening ring towards the bottom of the socket body.

[0027] Thus, according to this variant, the socket benefits from a means of controlling the locking or unlocking of the assembly elements bolted into said socket.

[0028] The opening ring thus constitutes a means of controlling the locking or unlocking of the retaining claws of the invention through mechanical linkage. This ring is a gripping element that the operator can manipulate and slide longitudinally along the body of the socket. Furthermore, this ring allows the stop portion of the retaining claws to be moved apart, thereby enabling the release of the retaining claws from the socket. This facilitates the insertion and removal of a bolting element.

[0029] An operator can thus hold the retaining sleeve in position with one hand and release a nut held by the sleeve by applying pressure to the sleeve. This leaves the operator's other hand free to screw in a component, for example.

[0030] The retaining claws have an upper portion adjacent to the upper opening of the socket body. This upper portion is shaped to grip at least part of the opening ring. This upper portion also includes the stop portion of the claws.

[0031] According to this variant, the force applied by the opening ring on the socket body is less than that applied by the retaining claws. Consequently, when the operator ceases to exert pressure on the ring, it naturally returns to its initial position, corresponding to the locking position of the retaining claws' stop portion.

[0032] Advantageously and according to the invention, the longitudinal sliding of said opening ring results from a longitudinal pressure exerted on said ring towards said bottom of said body.

[0033] Thus, according to the invention, the retaining claws can be locked or unlocked by a simple pressure from the operator.

[0034] Advantageously and according to the invention, the tubular body comprises at least two coaxial internal bores having different diameters, with a first bore having a diameter D1, and a second bore having a diameter D2, said diameter D1 being greater than said diameter D2, said first bore overhanging said second bore, the stop portion of the retaining claws extending over said first bore.

[0035] Thus, according to the invention, when the sleeve comprises two different assembly elements, the sleeve prevents the spontaneous movement of the larger diameter assembly element towards the upper opening without obstructing the movement of said elements within the bores of said sleeve. Furthermore, the smaller diameter assembly element is retained inside the sleeve by the larger diameter bolted assembly element, the latter being positioned above the smaller diameter bore.

[0036] According to one embodiment of the invention, the external surface of the tubular body includes at least one shoulder on which the retaining claws rest.

[0037] The function of these shoulders is to minimize the bulk of the socket to allow use in tight or cluttered environments.

[0038] According to one embodiment of the invention, the lower bottom of the tubular body of said socket further has an opening or bore longitudinally opposite to the upper opening and allowing a connection with any means of manipulation known to a person skilled in the art.

[0039] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a bolted assembly element and a sleeve comprising one or all of the features mentioned above, according to which the bolted assembly element comprises a nut formed to a first internal bore of the tubular body of said sleeve and a nut washer formed to a second internal bore arranged coaxially with said first internal bore.

[0040] In addition, the described assembly may include a plurality of washers conformed to at least one second bore or more if necessary.

[0041] It is understood that the invention can be adapted and designed for all shapes of screw and / or nut heads as well as for all screw configurations and all shapes of washers known to a person skilled in the art and to all combinations of elements mentioned above. List of the figures

[0042] Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of non-limiting example only, and which refers to the accompanying figures in which: [ Fig. 1 [ ] represents a schematic view of the socket according to one embodiment of the invention. ] Fig. 2 [ ] represents a cross-section of a socket whose configuration allows the insertion or extraction of bolted assembly elements. ] Fig. 3] represents a socket configuration in which the retaining means prevent the spontaneous movement of bolted assembly elements within said socket. Fig. 4 ] schematically represents the clamping of a part to be assembled with a socket according to an embodiment of the invention. Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

[0043] The socket 1 comprises a socket body 10 extending in a longitudinal direction. The body 10 is substantially tubular in shape and has an opening 10A and a lower base 10B having a bore or any other shape enabling connection with any means of manipulation known to a person skilled in the art. The body 10 further includes an internal bore 12 extending longitudinally and configured to receive a formed nut 22. The internal bore 12 is further surmounted by a notch that can be considered a second bore 13. The bore 13 corresponds to an internal bore arranged above the internal bore 12; said upper bore 13 opens into the upper opening 10A of the sleeve 1. Furthermore, the upper end of the bore 13 corresponds substantially to the opening 10A of the body 10 of the sleeve 1. The bore 13 is circular in shape and has a diameter greater than the diameter of the bore 12, the latter surmounting said bore 12.The bore 13 is configured to receive one or more washers 21 shaped to it. The bolted assembly element 20 thus comprises, in this embodiment, a nut 22 shaped to the bore 12 and a nut washer 21 shaped to the bore 13.

[0044] The socket 1 further includes a peripheral opening ring 40 arranged along the circular opening 10A. The ring 40 is mounted to slide longitudinally so as to be able to slide along the body 10 towards the lower bottom 10B of the body 10.

[0045] The sleeve 1 further includes a mechanical retention means for the nut 22 and the washer 21 in a bore of the body 10 of said sleeve 11. The mechanical retention means comprises two diametrically opposed elastic claws 30 extending longitudinally over a portion of the external surface of said tubular body 10. Each of the claws 30 comprises, respectively, an upper portion 30A arranged at the level of the opening 10A of the body 10, and a lower portion 30B bearing against a shoulder 14 of the body 10 of the sleeve 1. In the described embodiment, the claws 30 include a portion 31, referred to as the stop portion, which extends perpendicularly above the bore 13. The claws 30 are movable and configured to spread apart to allow the insertion or extraction of an element 20 into the body 10 of the sleeve 1.The elastic claws 30 are thus mobile between a first position, called the unlocking position, in which the washer 21 can be housed or extracted from the bore 13 by spreading the claws 30 apart from the external surface of the tubular body 10, and a second position, called the locking position, in which the stop portion 31 of said claws 30 extends above said bore 13 so as to block the spontaneous movement of the washer 21 outside the sleeve 1 so as to prevent the accidental exit of the washer 21 during the handling of the sleeve 1 by an operator.

[0046] Furthermore, according to the described embodiment, the claws 30 are in contact with at least a portion of the opening ring 40. Indeed, said ring 40 is clamped at a curve 32 of the upper portion 30A of the claws 30. When the claws 30 are in the locking position, the opening ring 40 has a longitudinal overhang projecting above the opening 10A of the body 10. This overhang is, however, not present at the portions clamped by the curves 32 of the claws 30.

[0047] According to an advantageous embodiment, to supply the sleeve 1 with the nut 22 and washer 21 into the respective bores 12 and 13, the operator applies pressure to the opening ring 40 by sliding it along the body 10 towards the lower bottom 10B of the sleeve body 1. The applied pressure allows the ring to slide and the claws 30 to spread apart. The spreading of the claws 30 results in the upper portion 30A being moved away from the external surface of the tubular body 10. This spreading allows the stop portion 31 of the claws 30 to be moved away from the longitudinal axis of the sleeve 1. In this way, the stop portion 31 no longer obstructs the insertion of the nut 22 and washer 21 into the body 10 of the sleeve 1.

[0048] The operator can thus easily supply the sleeve 1 with a bolted assembly element conforming to a bore present in the body 10 of said sleeve 1.

[0049] Advantageously, by releasing the pressure exerted on the ring 40, it slides upwards longitudinally towards the opening 10A of the body 10 thanks to the elastic force of the claws 30, which then return to the locking position. The locking position corresponds to the position in which the claws 30 extend longitudinally on the external surface of the socket body, in a direction substantially parallel to it, and in which the upper portion 30A is brought closer to the longitudinal axis of the socket 1 so that the portion 31 of the claws 30 extends transversely above the bore 13. The stop portion 31 of the claws thus makes it possible to retain the washer 21 inside the socket 1.Since the diameter of bore 13 is greater than the circumference of bore 12, and bore 13 is located above bore 12, washer 21 advantageously prevents spontaneous movement of nut 22 when claws 30 are in the locking position. Furthermore, the return of claws 30 to the locking position is facilitated by the bearing of the lower portion 30B of said claws against a shoulder 14 formed on the external surface of the body 10 of the sleeve 1.

[0050] There [ Fig. 1[ ] represents an embodiment of the invention where the socket 1 is without an assembly element 20. The two retaining claws 30 are diametrically opposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the socket 1. In this figure, the claws 30 are in the locking position. The stop portion 31 extends substantially perpendicularly to the body 10 above the opening 10A of said body 10. The opening ring 40 has an overhang projecting above said opening 10A; this overhang has a flat portion at the level of the upper portion 30A of the elastic claws 30 that extend over the external surface of the body 10 of the socket.

[0051] There [ Fig. 2Figure 1 details the mechanism of the sleeve 1 according to an embodiment of the invention for supplying the sleeve with a bolted assembly element 20 or during the extraction of said elements 20 from said sleeve. In this figure, the elastic retaining claws 30 are in the unlocked position and two bolted assembly elements 20 must be arranged and then held in the sleeve 1 by an operator.

[0052] In the embodiment shown, the socket is configured to be supplied by two assembly elements 20 comprising a hexagonal nut 22 and a conical washer 21. The nut 22 is formed to the internal bore 12 and the washer 21 is formed to the bore 13.

[0053] The ring 40 includes a lower portion 41 located at the curves 32, which allows the upper portion 30A to be moved away from the claws 30 during the sliding of said ring 30, leading to the unlocking position of said claws 30. Indeed, applying pressure to the ring 40 will allow said ring 40 to slide so as to lower its protrusion to the opening 10A of the body of the socket 1. The lower portion 41 of the ring 40 will therefore move each of the claws 30 away from the external surface of the body of the socket, thus moving the stop portion 31 of said claws 30 away from the bore 13.

[0054] The operator can thus first position the nut 22 in the bore 12, and then secondly the washer 21 in the bore 13.

[0055] A third bore 11 is also provided to allow the passage of a screw or threaded rod for assembling a part. The bore 11 is sized to accommodate the protrusion length of the nut, screw, or threaded rod.

[0056] There [ Fig. 3 ] represents the same embodiment of socket 1 of the [ Fig. 2 ], the claws 30 being this time in a locking position.

[0057] In this figure, the nut 22 and the washer 21 have been placed in the respective bores 12 and 13. After the sleeve is supplied with material, releasing the ring 40, and more specifically, stopping the pressure exerted on said ring 40, allows the claws 30 to return to the locking position. The locking position corresponds to the position in which the opening ring has an overhang above the opening 10A of the body 10 of the sleeve 1. The stop portion 31 then extends substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the sleeve above the bore 13 and the washer 21, and allows the nut 22 and said washer 21 to be held in the sleeve.

[0058] There [ Fig. 4 ] represents an assembly comprising a socket 1 according to an embodiment of the invention and two bolted assembly elements 20 comprising a washer 21 and a nut 22. Said assembly having been used for tightening a part 50 to be assembled.

[0059] During tightening, the part 50 on which the assembly is carried out exerts longitudinal pressure on the opening ring 40, thereby spreading the retaining claws 30 apart. The operator thus presents the sleeve 1 at the level of the part 50 to be assembled without risking losing the nut 22 or the washer 21.

[0060] The tightening of the bolted assembly elements 20 around the screw 60 is facilitated and allows the operator not to block the socket on the assembly.

[0061] Removing the socket 1 allows the retaining claws 30 to return to a locking position.

Claims

1. Sleeve (1) for retaining a bolted assembly element (20), said sleeve comprising a substantially tubular body (10) extending along a longitudinal direction, said body having an upper opening (10A) and a lower base (10B), said body (10) further having an outer surface and at least one internal bore extending longitudinally in said body (10) and opening into said upper opening (10A), said bore being configured to receive at least one bolted assembly element (20) shaped to fit therein, said sleeve (1) further comprising : - a mechanical retaining means for said assembly element in the internal bore of the body (10) of said sleeve, said mechanical retaining means comprising at least two elastic retaining claws (30) extending longitudinally on the outer surface of said tubular body, said claws (30) comprising a substantially transverse portion, referred to as abutment portion (31), and being movable between a first position, referred to as release position, in which said bolted assembly element (20) can be received in or extracted from said internal bore through said opening and by spreading apart of said abutment portion (31), and a second position, referred to as locking position, in which said abutment portion (31) extends above said bore so as to block the spontaneous displacement of said assembly element out of said bore - a peripheral opening ring (40) mounted so as to be movable in longitudinal sliding along the body (10) of said sleeve (1), said ring (40) further having at least one portion gripped by said retaining claws (30), said ring (40) being configured to move said mechanical retaining means from said locking position to said release position by longitudinal sliding along said body (10), said sleeve being characterized in that said ring has, in said locking position, an overhang protruding above said upper opening (10A) of said body (10) and said release position then corresponding to the lowering of said overhang to the level of the opening (10A) of said sleeve body resulting from a longitudinal pressure exerted on said ring (40) towards said base (10B) of said body.

2. Sleeve according to claim 1, characterized in that the tubular body (10) comprises at least two coaxial internal bores having different diameters, with a first bore having a diameter D1, and a second bore having a diameter D2, said diameter D1 being greater than said diameter D2, said first bore overlying said second bore, the abutment portion (31) of the retaining claws extending above said first bore.

3. Sleeve according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer surface of the tubular body (10) comprises at least one shoulder (14) against which the retaining claws (30) bear.

4. Assembly comprising a bolted assembly element (20) and a sleeve (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that the bolted assembly element (20) comprises a nut (22) shaped to fit a first internal bore of the tubular body of said sleeve and a nut washer (21) shaped to fit a second internal bore arranged coaxially with said first internal bore.