Quick Release Mounting Bayonet Connector Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current quick release mounting platforms are cumbersome due to the complexity of connection and retaining technologies, making them difficult to use for blind assembly and disassembly, and they fail to provide a truly 'quick' release mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A quick release mounting apparatus featuring a male bayonet and female receiver with inverse conical bodies, a rotational alignment mechanism, and a releasable locking mechanism, including a pin and clearance apertures, which allows for easy alignment and secure connection/disconnection without requiring precise threading or over-center clamps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional quick release mounting platforms use threading rings onto collars or manipulating over-center clamps, then the connection is secure, but the operation becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is segmented into discrete components: a locking element with a head portion and a body portion, and a separate cam surface. This segmentation allows the locking element to engage with the cam surface in a simple rotational motion rather than requiring complex threading or clamping operations, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining secure connection through the cam-locked engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the traditional locking approach by using a cam surface that converts a simple rotational motion into a locking action, rather than requiring the user to perform the complex motions of threading rings or manipulating over-center clamps. The cam surface geometry does the work of securing the connection through the relative rotation of the locking element, reversing the complexity from user operation to passive mechanical action.
2Reliability
If traditional quick release mounting platforms require precisely locating the fitting on the base with twisting and turning motions, then the connection is secure, but the assembly becomes impossible to accomplish blind
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element and cam surface are designed with asymmetric geometries that provide natural alignment during insertion. The cam surface is positioned and shaped such that the locking element can only engage in one specific orientation, eliminating the need for precise alignment or multiple twisting motions. This asymmetric design guides the user into the correct position automatically, making blind assembly possible while maintaining secure connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam surface is pre-positioned and pre-shaped on the base structure before the locking element is inserted. This preliminary configuration of the cam surface creates a predetermined engagement path that automatically aligns the locking element during insertion, eliminating the need for the user to perform precise alignment operations or multiple twisting motions to achieve proper positioning.
3Reliability
If traditional mounting platforms use complex retaining technologies, then the connection is secure, but the release mechanism is not truly 'quick' as it requires multiple steps
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the complex multi-step retaining operations from the release mechanism and replaces them with a single rotational action. The cam surface and locking element design allows the retention and release functions to be achieved through one continuous rotational motion, eliminating the need for separate steps to disengage locking features or manipulate multiple components, thus enabling truly quick release while maintaining secure retention during the locked state.
Data Source
AI summary
A quick release mounting apparatus for quick assembly and subsequent disassembly a base having a mounting plate formed with means for securing it to a first external surface, and a fitting having a mounting plate formed with means for securing it to a second external surface spaced away from the first external surface. A connector is coupled between the base and the fitting, the connector being formed of a male bayonet and a mating female receiver, each of the male bayonet and female receiver having substantially inverse truncated conical bodies structured for nesting along a common longitudinal axis. A rotational alignment mechanism is formed between the male bayonet and female receiver and is operable along the common longitudinal axis. A releasable locking mechanism is operable between the male bayonet and female receiver.