Angled Fastener Alignment Guide for Slip-Resistant Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastener installation tools are costly, time-consuming, and fail to ensure accurate alignment and even load distribution, leading to potential damage and differential displacement in connections.
Innovation Solution
A fastener alignment guide comprising a planar body with angled elements and aligned apertures, allowing for quick and simple installation, and a slip-resisting design with dual bearing edges to distribute loads evenly and prevent differential displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional installation tools (pocket screw jig, secondary machined parts) are used to align fasteners, then accurate fastener alignment is achieved, but production costs increase and installation time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the alignment guide function directly into the connector body by forming an angled element with a first aperture that guides the fastener at the required angle. This integration eliminates the need for separate alignment tools like pocket screw jigs or secondary machined parts, reducing device complexity while maintaining alignment accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment guide is pre-formed as part of the connector during manufacturing, with the angled element and apertures already in place. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for installers to bring and set up separate alignment tools on-site, reducing both device complexity and installation time while ensuring accurate fastener alignment.
2Strength
If fasteners are installed at non-perpendicular angles to improve connection strength, then connection strength under shear loading is improved, but installation complexity increases requiring additional alignment aids
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment guide functionality is merged into the connector itself through the angled element formed as part of the connector body. This integration allows fasteners to be installed at the required non-perpendicular angles for improved shear strength without requiring separate alignment aids, maintaining installation ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector's own structure (the angled element with aligned apertures) provides the alignment function needed for non-perpendicular fastener installation. This self-service approach eliminates the need for external alignment tools, making the installation process as easy as perpendicular installation while achieving the strength benefits of angled fasteners.
3Measurement precision
If templates are used to check fastener angle during installation, then fastener alignment accuracy is maintained, but installation time increases and damage risk remains if correction is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment guide is pre-formed as part of the connector during manufacturing, with the angled element and apertures already in place to define the correct fastener angle. This eliminates the need for installers to use templates to check angles during installation, increasing installation speed while maintaining accuracy through the pre-defined guide geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The angled element with its aperture serves as an intermediary guide that physically directs the fastener at the correct angle. This intermediary structure replaces the need for template checking, allowing installers to simply follow the guide without measurement steps, thereby increasing productivity while maintaining alignment accuracy.
4Reliability
If connection components are designed to resist differential displacement, then connection reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The load distribution features are merged into the basic connector structure through the angled element design. The geometry of the angled element and its relationship to the connector body inherently provides even load distribution and resistance to differential displacement, achieving improved reliability without adding separate components or complex manufacturing steps.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The present invention provides a fastener alignment guide comprising a generally planar body and an angled element arranged at an acute angle Θ to the body, a first aperture arranged through the angled element and a second aperture arranged through the body, wherein the first aperture and the second apertures are aligned such that a fastener may be inserted progressively through the first and second apertures in use. The present invention also provides a slip-resisting fastener alignment guide comprising a body at least partially arranged in a first plane, the body comprising a first aperture for receiving, in use, at least a portion of a shank of a fastener; and a guidewall extending out of the first plane for guiding the fastener, in use, into the first aperture at an acute angle a to the first plane, wherein the guidewall comprises a first bearing edge or surface upon which an underside of a head of the fastener can bear in use, the body further comprises a second bearing edge or surface upon which the underside of the head of the fastener can bear in use, and the first bearing edge or surface and the second bearing edge or surface are each configured/arranged to resist movement, in use, of the fastener alignment guide relative to the fastener in a first direction parallel to the first plane. The present invention also provides a method of forming the fastener alignment guide and slip-resisting fastener alignment guide.