Box Nut Retainer Geometry for Secure Panel Attachment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional box nuts often fail to remain securely attached to panels, necessitating a solution that ensures a fixed position and secure connection between components.
Innovation Solution
A box nut retainer system featuring retainer legs with planar bends and straight beams that adjust engagement angles to determine insertion force, including a fastener tube with a threaded circumference to guide and secure fasteners, allowing for ergonomic adjustment of torque requirements for hand or machine insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional box nuts are used to secure panels, then the fastening function is provided, but the box nuts cannot remain securely attached to the panel
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is divided into multiple functional segments: retainer legs that engage with the panel, planar bends that provide structural transition, and straight beams that make contact with the box nut. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, ensuring reliable attachment while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer legs are positioned at a distance from the fastener tube and extend outward, utilizing spatial dimension to create engagement geometry. The planar bends and straight beams extend in multiple directions to establish engagement angles in three-dimensional space, enabling secure attachment without interfering with the fastener insertion path.
2Device complexity
If the retainer legs are positioned close to the fastener tube, then the structure is compact, but the engagement angles cannot be properly established
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer legs are configured to be flexible enough to allow engagement angle adjustment while maintaining structural integrity. The planar bends provide a flexible transition zone that enables the straight beams to orient at appropriate angles relative to the box nut, facilitating easy engagement without requiring excessive space.
3Ease of manufacture
If the straight beams are positioned at fixed angles, then the manufacturing is simple, but the insertion force cannot be optimized for ergonomic use
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement angles of the straight beams are carefully selected and optimized to balance manufacturing simplicity with ergonomic performance. The planar bends are formed at specific angles that allow the straight beams to engage the box nut at optimal forces for both hand insertion and machine insertion, accommodating different application requirements without complicating the manufacturing process.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A box nut retainer system includes a panel configured to receive a fastener. The box nut retainer system includes a plurality of retainer legs extending from the panel. The box nut retainer system includes planar bends positioned at distal ends of the plurality of retainer legs. Straight beams extend from the planar bends. The straight beams have engagement angles relative to the plurality of retainer legs.