Bolt-Nut Locking Assembly With Ratchet Caps for Pipe Flange Loosening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bolts and nuts used to couple pipes in industrial settings tend to loosen over time due to fluid flow or external forces, leading to a weakened coupling and potential fluid leaks.
Innovation Solution
The use of bolt and nut loosening prevention assemblies, which include loosening prevention members with a bolt coupling hole, dual washers, and caps to prevent rotation, enhancing the frictional contact area and preventing loosening by engaging ratchets and hook projections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bolts and nuts are used to couple pipes, then the pipes can be connected firmly, but the bolts and nuts become loose over time due to fluid flow or external forces
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is designed to rotate along with the bolt during installation but is then locked in position using ratchet teeth and hook locking projections. This dynamic-to-static transformation allows the cap to accommodate bolt insertion while preventing subsequent loosening, resolving the contradiction between initial assembly ease and long-term fastening durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The loosening prevention member acts as an intermediary component between the bolt and the pipe flange. It includes a washer portion that contacts the pipe surface and a cap portion that receives the bolt, creating an intermediate structure that distributes stress and prevents direct loosening forces from acting on the bolt-nut connection.
2Reliability
If the cap structure is added to prevent rotation, then the loosening prevention is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The loosening prevention member combines multiple functions into a single integrated component: the washer portion provides bearing surface and stress distribution, the cap portion receives and secures the bolt, and the ratchet-teeth-with-protrusion mechanism provides automatic locking. This merging reduces the need for separate components while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The ratchet teeth and hook locking projections form a self-locking mechanism that automatically prevents cap rotation once the bolt is inserted and tightened. The hook protrusions engage with the ratchet teeth to create a one-way locking action that maintains fastening without requiring additional active components or continuous adjustment, simplifying the overall device while improving reliability.
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 assemblies effectively prevent bolt and nut loosening, maintaining a secure coupling between pipes for extended periods, thereby reducing fluid leaks and ensuring a stable connection.
Implementation Method 1
an external ratchet formed on an inner peripheral wall of the cap fitting ring; an internal ratchet formed along an outer peripheral wall of the internal insertion pipe in such a manner as to engage with the external ratchet
Implementation Method 2
hook locking projections formed steppedly concave inward by a given depth from a bottom of the hook insertion long holes; one pair of fixing hooks elastically protruding radially outward from the outer periphery thereof in a facing direction in such a manner as to be inserted into the hook insertion long holes to allow lower end portions thereof to be lockedly coupled to the hook locking projections
Implementation Method 3
dual washers fixedly coupled to the insides of the loosening prevention members, respectively, to prevent the bolt and the nut from loosening
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to bolt and nut loosening prevention assemblies for preventing a bolt and a nut adapted to fix a first member and a second member to each other from loosening, including: loosening prevention members fitted to the bolt and the nut coupled to the first member and the second member, respectively; caps detachably coupled to the loosening prevention members, respectively, to prevent the loosening prevention members from rotating; and dual washers fixedly coupled to the insides of the loosening prevention members, respectively, to prevent the bolt and the nut from loosening.