Nut

Abstract

To provide a nut that is capable of preventing loosening simply by a single nut being tightened onto a bolt.SOLUTION: A nut comprises a nut main body, a plurality of nut segments each having a female screw portion formed on an inner side thereof, and holding means for holding the nut segments so as not to fall from nut segment housing portions, wherein the nut segment housing portion comprises an inner wall portion, a sloped portion, and a supporting portion, the nut segment has the female screw portion formed on the inner side thereof and has the outer side including an outer circumferential portion, a sliding portion, and a bottom portion, the nut segment is capable of moving in a direction in which the inner diameter increases when a bolt is inserted, the female screw portion is formed to be in close contact with a male screw portion of the bolt in a state in which the bottom portion is supported by the supporting portion, movement restricting means is provided for making the inner diameter of the female screw portion smaller than the outer diameter of the male screw portion of the bolt even when the nut segment moves in a radial direction, and the angle of the sloped portion and the sliding portion is formed to be an angle substantially orthogonal to a surface on an upper portion side of a screw thread of the female screw portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a nut having a plurality of nut segments. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when a nut is threaded onto a bolt, it is necessary to provide a minute clearance between the threads of the bolt and the nut in order to screw the bolt in, and this clearance can cause the bolt and nut to become loose.To eliminate this minute clearance and prevent loosening, a commonly known method is to tighten the bolt and nut, and then tighten another nut so that it fits tightly against the first nut, creating a so-called double nut.

[0003] Specifically, it is a double nut consisting of two identically shaped nuts stacked on top of each other, each having a female screw hole at its central axis that screws onto the male screw portion of a bolt, and configured to prevent the nuts from falling off the bolt by stacking two nuts and screwing each female screw hole onto the male screw portion of the bolt and tightening one of the nuts so that one approaches the other, wherein an annular ridge portion is provided on the opening periphery on one side of the female screw hole, protruding in a direction along the central axis and extending circumferentially around the central axis, and an annular stepped portion is provided on the opening periphery on the other side of the female screw hole, recessed in a stepped shape in a direction along the central axis and extending circumferentially around the central axis, the center line of the annular ridge portion is eccentric from the central axis of the female screw hole by a distance D, "(Patent Document 1) is known, which is a double nut characterized in that the annular step portion has a shape corresponding to the shape of the annular ridge portion so that the annular ridge portion can be fitted in a direction along the central axis of the female screw hole, and the center line of the annular step portion is eccentric from the central axis of the female screw hole by the distance D."

[0004] However, this method requires the use of multiple nuts, and each of these nuts must be tightened, which is time-consuming and requires a lot of space. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6805466 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional art, the present invention has an object to provide a nut that can prevent loosening by simply fastening one nut to a bolt.

[0007] The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0008] However, the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the nut of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a nut body having a plurality of nut segment storage sections, a plurality of nut segments each having a female thread formed on the inside and stored in the plurality of nut segment storage sections, and a holding means for holding the plurality of nut segments so that they do not fall out of the nut segment storage sections, wherein the nut segment storage section comprises an inner wall section that is approximately vertical from above in cross section, an inclined section that inclines in a direction in which the diameter decreases, and an approximately horizontal support section that supports the bottom of the nut segment, and the female thread section is formed on the inside of the nut segment, and the outside has an outer periphery that is approximately vertical from above in cross section and an outer periphery that is continuous with the lower end of the outer periphery and is formed at approximately the same angle as the inclined section, and a bolt is inserted and a bottom portion that is continuous with the lower end of the sliding portion and is supported by the support portion. When the bolt is inserted, the nut segment can move along the inclined portion in a direction in which the inner diameters of the plurality of nut segments expand. When the bottom of the nut segment is supported by the support portion, the female thread portion is formed to be in close contact with the male thread portion of the bolt. Even when the nut segment moves in the radial direction, a movement limiting means is provided so that the inner diameter of the female thread portion becomes smaller than the outer diameter of the male thread portion of the bolt. The angle between the inclined portion and the sliding portion is formed at an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the upper surface of the thread of the female thread portion.

[0010] 2. The nut according to claim 1, wherein the gap of the nut has a length equivalent to 10% to 20% of the height of the threads of the female screw portion.

[0011] The support portion of the nut segment storage portion of the nut according to claim 3 is characterized in that a step is formed so that the thread of the nut segment continuously screws into the male thread of the bolt. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides the following effects. (1) In the invention described in claim 1, a plurality of nut segments are provided, and when a bolt is inserted, the nut segments can move along the inclined portion in a direction in which the inner diameter expands. Therefore, even if the threaded portion is formed to a size in which the threads of the threaded portion and the male threaded portion of the bolt are tightly fitted together (no clearance occurs) when the nut segment is seated on the support portion, the inner diameter of the nut segment expands, allowing the bolt to be screwed into the threaded portion. (2) The angles of the inclined portion and the sliding portion are formed at an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the upper surfaces of the female thread portion and the bolt thread. Therefore, when the inner diameters of the multiple nut segments move in the direction of expanding and then return to the direction of reducing the radius, the upper surfaces of the female thread portion and the male thread portion can slide while maintaining surface contact. Therefore, when the nut segment is seated, the male and female threads come into tight contact with each other, leaving almost no clearance, making them one unit and acting as a locking mechanism. (3) The invention described in claim 2 also provides the same effects as those described in (1) and (2) above, and a movement limiting means is provided to allow movement of a length equivalent to 10% to 20% of the height of the threads of the female thread portion, so that the nut segments do not move unnecessarily and tightening, etc. can be performed more efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] 1 to 8 are explanatory diagrams showing a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the nut according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Cross-sectional view of line 2-2 in Figure 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the nut according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the nut segments are stored in the nut segment storage section. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the nut segments when inserting a bolt. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the nut segments when tightening a bolt. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the state after the bolts have been tightened. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0015] In a first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a nut having a plurality of nut segments 2 that slide in a direction in which the inner diameter increases.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the nut 1 is composed of a nut body 4 having a plurality of nut segment storage sections 3, a plurality of nut segments 2 each having a female thread section 5 formed on the inside and stored in each of the plurality of nut segment storage sections 3, and a holding means 6 that holds the plurality of nut segments 2 so that they do not fall out of the nut segment storage sections 3.

[0017] In this embodiment, the nut body 4 is made of metal and formed to allow a bolt to pass through, and as shown in Fig. 4, is hexagonal in plan view, and has two nut segment storage sections 3 formed therein at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction and separated by a total of two partition walls 7. The nut body 4 may be formed of a material such as resin, and three or more nut segment storage sections 3 may be formed, and the shape of the nut body 4 may be a substantially polygonal shape, a circle, or the like in plan view.

[0018] This nut segment storage section 3 is composed of an inner wall section 8 that is approximately vertical from above when viewed in cross section, an inclined section 9 that inclines in the direction in which the diameter decreases, and an approximately horizontal support section 10 that supports the bottom 13 of the nut segment 2, and a nut segment 2 is stored in each of the two nut segment storage sections 3.

[0019] The nut segment 2 is formed in a substantially semicircular shape in a plan view, and has a female thread portion 5 formed on its inside (inner periphery) that screws into the threads of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14. The female thread portion 5 is formed with threads such that it fits snugly (with almost no clearance) with the male thread portion 14a of the inserted bolt 14 when seated on the support portion 10. The outside of the nut segment 2 is composed of an outer periphery 11 that is substantially vertical from above in a cross-sectional view, a sliding portion 12 that continues from the lower end of the outer periphery 11 and is formed at substantially the same angle as the inclined portion 9 and slides along the inclined portion 9 when the bolt 14 is inserted, and a substantially horizontal bottom portion 13 that continues from the lower end of the sliding portion 12 and is supported by the support portion 10. By configuring the nut segment 2 and the nut segment storage portion 3 in this manner, when the bolt 14 is inserted, the nut segment 2 can move along the inclined portion 9 in a direction that expands the inner diameter of the female thread portion 5 of the multiple nut segments 2.

[0020] When the bottom 13 of the nut segment 2 is supported by the support portion 10, the female thread portion 5 is formed to fit closely with the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14. Movement limiting means 15 is provided so that even when the nut segment 2 moves radially and the inner diameter of the female thread portion 5 expands to its maximum, the inner diameter remains smaller than the outer diameter of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14. In this embodiment, the movement limiting means 15 is a gap 15 formed so that when the nut segment 2 slides along the slide portion 12 and moves diagonally upward, the upper surface of the nut segment 2 comes into contact with the holding means 6 before the inner diameter of the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 exceeds the outer diameter of the male thread portion, preventing further upward movement. This configuration prevents the threads of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14 from moving beyond the female thread portion 5 when the bolt 14 is inserted, and ensures a clearance between the threads of the female thread portion 5 and the threads of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14 that allows tightening.

[0021] Note that a gap may be formed between the inner wall portion 8 and the outer peripheral portion 11 so that even when the nut segment 2 moves radially and the inner diameter of the female thread portion 5 expands to its maximum, the gap remains smaller than the outer diameter of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14, and this may serve as the movement limiting means 15. In this case, the inner wall portion 8 and the outer peripheral portion 11 come into contact with each other to limit the radial movement of the nut segment 2. Furthermore, the movement limiting means 15 may be configured so that the upper surface of the nut segment 2 comes into contact with the holding means 6 and the inner wall portion 8 and the outer peripheral portion 11 come into contact with each other to limit the radial movement of the nut segment 2.

[0022] In this embodiment, a movement limiting means 15 is used that allows the nut segment 2 to move radially only a distance equivalent to 10% to 20% of the height of the threads of the female thread portion 5 or the threads of the bolt 14. For example, if the height of the threads of the male thread portion 14a is 1.25 mm, the movement limiting means 15 limits the radial movement distance to approximately 0.125 mm to 0.25 mm. By providing such a movement limiting means 15, the nut segment can be more easily threaded, and the female thread portion 5 and male thread portion 14a can be efficiently integrated when tightening.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5 , the angle of the inclined portion 9 formed in the nut segment storage portion 3 and the sliding portion 11 of the nut segment 2 is approximately perpendicular to the female thread portion 5 and the upper surface of the thread of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14. Here, the upper surface of the thread refers to the angle between the upper surface and the horizontal line when the thread is divided horizontally from the apex. For example, when using a bolt 14 with a metric thread and a nut segment 2 having a female thread portion 5 that screws into this bolt 14, the angle of the thread is 60 degrees, and the angle between the upper surface of the thread and the horizontal line is 30 degrees. Because they are formed at an angle approximately perpendicular to this upper surface, the angle of the inclined portion 9 and the sliding portion 11 is 120 degrees (60 degrees when reading the acute angle). By setting the angle of the inclined portion 9 and the sliding portion 11 at such an angle, the nut segment 2 and the bolt 14 are integrated, thereby preventing loosening. Specifically, when the bolt 14 is inserted from below the nut body 4, the nut segment 2 is pressed by the bolt 14, moving outward along the inclined portion 9, and the inner diameter of the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 becomes slightly wider. By tightening the bolt 14 in this state, the bolt 14 or the nut body 4 can be rotated and tightened while maintaining a clearance that allows the bolt 14 and the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 to threadably engage. When the bolt 14 is tightened to a certain extent, the fastened object comes into tight contact, and then the lower surface of the thread of the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 is pressed against the lower surface of the thread of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14, causing it to slide downward along the inclined portion 9. When the bottom 12 of the nut segment 2 descends until it abuts against the support portion 10, not only the lower surface of the thread of the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 but also the upper surface and the thread of the male thread portion 14a come into tight contact with each other, leaving almost no clearance, and the nut segment 2 and the bolt 14 become one unit, preventing loosening.

[0024] It is also possible to form a guide portion on the partition wall 7 that divides the nut segment storage portion 3, and to provide guided portions that are inserted into the guide portion on both side surfaces of the nut segment 2. When forming such a guide portion and guided portion, it is advisable to form them at approximately the same angle as the inclined portion 9 and the slide portion 12. It is also possible to form a linear or band-shaped guide portion on the partition wall 7 and form a recessed guided portion on the nut segment, rather than just forming a groove-shaped guide portion on the partition wall.

[0025] A bolt-through hole 16 into which a bolt 14 is inserted is formed at the lower end side of the nut body 4, and a retaining means 6 is provided at the upper end side of the nut body 4 to prevent the nut segment 2 from falling out of the nut segment storage section 3.

[0026] In this embodiment, the support portion 10 is flat. However, a step may be formed on the support portion 10 of the nut segment storage portion 3, allowing the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 to continuously thread onto the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14. In such a case, a step may be provided on the cover body to correspond to the step, or a gap between the inner wall portion 8 and the outer circumferential portion 11 may be set to a predetermined length to serve as the movement limiting means 15. By forming such a step, even if the same nut segments 2 are used, the female thread portions 5 of adjacent nut segments 2 are connected so as to continuously thread onto the male thread portion of the bolt 14. Therefore, any nut segment 2 stored in any nut segment storage portion 3 can function as a nut. In other words, since the same nut segment 2 can be used, it is possible to prevent the female thread portions 5 from being discontinuous due to assembly errors, which would cause the nut to not function. Furthermore, it is only necessary to manufacture one type of nut segment 2, thereby reducing costs.

[0027] In this embodiment, the holding means 6 is configured as a plate-shaped lid 17 fixed near the upper end of the nut body 4 by caulking, welding, adhesive, etc. A bolt-through hole 16 is formed in the center of the lid 17. A predetermined gap is provided between the bottom of the lid 17 and the upper surface of the nut segment 2, thereby forming the movement limiting means 15.

[0028] In this embodiment, the lid 17 is provided by caulking on the upper end of the nut body 4, but the holding means 6 may also be a cover member with a hexagonal outer diameter that can be fixed to the nut body while covering the outer periphery and upper part of the nut body 4. Such a cover member is fixed to the nut body by welding, locking, adhesive, etc. Note that other known holding means 6 can be used as the holding means 6.

[0029] 3, the partition wall 7 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and is provided so as to face the inside of the nut body 4. The partition wall 7 may have any shape, such as a substantially fan-shaped, trapezoidal, or triangular shape, as long as both sides of the nut segment 2 and the partition wall 7 are always in substantially contact with each other.

[0030] The nut 1 of the present invention can be used for, for example, wooden houses, steel structures, concrete structures, etc. In addition, it can be used for various other devices such as space, aviation, and navigation devices.

[0031] When using this nut 1, the bolt 14 is inserted into the bolt-through hole 16 from below the nut body 4 and brought into contact with the bottom of the nut segment 2. Then, as shown in Figure 6, the tip of the bolt 14 presses the nut segment 2 stored in the nut segment storage section 3 from below, and the nut segment 2 moves radially along the inclined section 9 of the nut body 4 until the bottom of the lid body 17 and the top surface of the nut segment 2 come into contact.

[0032] By moving the nut segment 2 in this manner, sufficient clearance is secured between the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14 and the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment to allow them to thread together, as shown in Figure 7, and the bolt 14 can be screwed into the female thread portion 5.

[0033] When the bolt 14 is tightened to bring the objects to be fastened into contact with each other, and the bolt 14 is further tightened, the lower surface of the threads of the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 is pressed against the lower surface of the threads of the male thread portion 14a of the bolt 14, causing it to slide downward along the inclined portion 9. If the nut is further tightened in this state, tightening ends just before the bottom 12 of the nut segment 2 abuts against the support portion 10, specifically when there is a gap of about 0.1 mm between the bottom 12 of the nut segment 2 and the support portion 10.

[0034] Next, when the bolt is not turned, the nut segment 2 slides downward along the inclined portion 9 and is crimped and fixed.

[0035] In other words, when the bottom 12 of the nut segment 2 descends until it abuts against the support portion 10, as shown in Figure 8, not only the lower surface of the thread of the female thread portion 5 of the nut segment 2 but also the upper surface and the thread of the male thread portion 14a come into tight contact with each other, leaving almost no clearance, preventing the bolt 14 from rotating, and the nut segment 2 and bolt 14 become one unit, preventing loosening. Although the nut has been described as not having a washer, a washer having a screw hole or a claw may be provided, or other known washers may be used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0036] The present invention is applicable to the nut manufacturing industry. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1: Nut, 2: Nut segment, 3: Nut segment storage section, 4: Nut body, 5: Female thread part, 6: Holding means, 7: Partition wall, 8: Inner wall part, 9: Inclined part, 10: Support part, 11: outer periphery, 12: slide portion, 13: bottom, 14: bolt, 15: Movement limiting means; 16: Bolt through hole; 17: Lid body.

Claims

1. The nut body has a plurality of nut segment storage sections, a plurality of nut segments each having a female thread formed on the inside and stored in the plurality of nut segment storage sections, and a holding means for holding the plurality of nut segments so that they do not fall out of the nut segment storage sections. The nut segment storage portion comprises an inner wall portion that is substantially vertical from above in a cross-sectional view, an inclined portion that inclines in a direction in which the diameter decreases, and a substantially horizontal support portion that supports the bottom of the nut segment, The nut segment has the female thread portion formed on the inside, and the outside includes an outer circumferential portion that is substantially vertical from above in a cross-sectional view, a slide portion that is continuous with the lower end of the outer circumferential portion and is formed at substantially the same angle as the inclined portion and slides on the inclined portion when the bolt is inserted, and a bottom portion that is continuous with the lower end of the slide portion and is supported by the support portion, When the bolt is inserted, the nut segments are movable along the inclined portions in a direction in which the inner diameters of the plurality of nut segments increase, The female thread portion is formed to be in close contact with the male thread portion of the bolt when the bottom portion of the nut segment is supported by the support portion, A movement limiting means is provided so that the inner diameter of the female thread portion is smaller than the outer diameter of the male thread portion of the bolt even when the nut segment moves in the radial direction, A nut in which the inclined portion and the sliding portion are formed at an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the upper surface of the thread of the female thread portion.

2. 2. The nut according to claim 1, wherein the movement limiting means limits the movement of the nut segments in the direction in which the inner diameter of the plurality of nut segments increases by a length equivalent to 10% to 20% of the height of the threads of the female thread portion.

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