Biased Blind-Side Fastener With Collet Clamping for Precise Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing biased blind side temporary fasteners, such as CLECO fasteners, fail to effectively address issues of lateral play between work pieces due to partially hemispherical legs and lack of mechanical linkage, leading to instability during material processing and work piece rotation.
Innovation Solution
The development of biased blind side fasteners with a cylindrical collet body and bias means, featuring a plunger that translatably passes through a web element, allowing for precise alignment and clamping of work pieces, and a radially converging collet body design that reduces the external diameter to facilitate insertion and secure the work pieces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If partially hemispherical legs are used in traditional CLECO fasteners, then the fastener structure is simpler, but lateral play between work pieces increases and stability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener is divided into multiple functional segments: a cylindrical collet body with radially converging fingers, a plunger mechanism, and a bias means. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the collet body provides precise alignment and radial convergence for clamping, the plunger enables controlled insertion, and the bias means maintains clamping force, collectively eliminating lateral play while maintaining structural efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a cylindrical collet body with radially converging fingers that create a curved, conforming contact surface with the work piece hole. This cylindrical curvature allows the fastener to adapt to the work piece geometry while maintaining precise alignment and eliminating lateral play through radial convergence of the clamping surfaces
2Adaptability or versatility
If three or more unlinked elements are used in traditional fasteners, then the fastener can accommodate work piece variations, but work piece rotation is not restrained and mechanical linkage is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the alignment and clamping functions into a single integrated cylindrical collet body structure. The collet body simultaneously provides precise radial alignment through its cylindrical geometry and restrains work piece rotation through its radially converging fingers that create mechanical interlocking with the work piece hole, eliminating the need for separate unlinked elements
3Manufacturing precision
If a cylindrical collet body with radially converging fingers is used, then work piece alignment precision increases, but the external diameter must be reduced to facilitate insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener employs a dynamic plunger mechanism that allows the cylindrical collet body to transition between different radial states. During insertion, the plunger is depressed to overcome the bias means, causing the radially converging fingers to retract and reduce the external diameter for easy insertion. Once inserted, the plunger is released and the bias means extends, causing the fingers to converge radially for precise clamping and alignment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves high work piece alignment with minimal radial clearance, ensuring secure and stable temporary association of work pieces, even with thin materials, by utilizing a bias element to create a clamping force and radially converging fingers for effective engagement.
Implementation Method 1
a bias means, held within the confines of the case, for reacting against the reduced diameter portion of the case at a first end and the collet body at a second end to create a clamping force in a nominal state
Implementation Method 2
a radially converging collet body design that reduces the external diameter to facilitate insertion and secure the work pieces
Data Source
AI summary
A temporary fastener a plunger having a distal portion including a plurality of plunger fingers, where depressing the plunger causes axial translation of a collet body to place the temporary fastener in an activated state where a plurality of flexible fingers in the collet body radially converge and where releasing the plunger places the temporary fastener in a clamped state in which the plurality of flexible fingers in the collet body are outwardly displaced. The temporary fastener further includes a web element positioned at a proximal end of a rod and including a plurality of opening permitting the plurality of plunger fingers to axially translate there through during depression and release of the plunger. The temporary fastener further includes a spring positioned within a case and exerting a restorative force on the collet body and the plunger in response to depression of the plunger.