Cam Lock Frame Connection for Ladder-Free Structure Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Erecting and disassembling temporary mobile event frame structures, such as awning canopy shelter frames, is difficult and unsafe due to the need for ladders and unstable positions, requiring multiple individuals and consuming significant time and resources.
Innovation Solution
A cam lock assembly with a mating bracket and cam shaft, featuring a spiral axial slot and central cam groove, allows for quick and secure attachment to vertical or other surfaces without tools, enabling easy assembly and disassembly by rotating the cam lock relative to the cam shaft, which engages a locking groove for secure positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional pin-and-bracket connection methods are used, then the structure can be assembled, but the assembly process is time-consuming and requires multiple individuals working in unsafe positions
Solution Approach 1:
The connection device is segmented into distinct functional components: a bracket with cam shaft mounted on the vertical surface, and a separate cam lock assembly with cam follower that engages with the cam shaft. This segmentation allows the bracket to remain fixed while the cam lock provides quick engagement and disengagement, enabling single-person operation without ladders or unstable positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket with cam shaft is pre-mounted on the vertical surface at the desired elevated location before the frame member is brought into position. This preliminary action eliminates the need for workers to climb ladders or reach into unstable positions during assembly, as the connection point is already prepared and accessible from ground level.
2Ease of operation
If ladders and step stools are used to reach elevated bracket locations, then connection can be made, but safety risks increase and assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket with cam shaft is pre-mounted on the vertical surface at the desired elevated location before the frame member is brought into position. This preliminary action eliminates the need for workers to climb ladders or reach into unstable positions during assembly, as the connection point is already prepared and accessible from ground level.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam lock assembly is designed to be self-contained and self-operating. The cam follower automatically engages with the cam shaft when the frame member is brought into position, and can be easily disengaged by rotating the cam lock mechanism. This self-service design eliminates the need for additional tools, ladders, or complex alignment procedures, reducing both safety risks and assembly time.
3Reliability
If multiple individuals are required for erection and disassembly, then safety may be improved through assistance, but time consumption and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cam lock assembly is designed to be self-contained and self-operating. The cam follower automatically engages with the cam shaft when the frame member is brought into position, and can be easily disengaged by rotating the cam lock mechanism. This self-service design eliminates the need for additional tools, ladders, or complex alignment procedures, reducing both safety risks and assembly time.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection device uses uniform, simple geometric shapes and mechanisms throughout - cylindrical cam shaft, cam follower with curved surface, and rotatable cam lock. This homogeneity in design simplifies manufacturing, assembly, and operation, allowing a single worker to efficiently erect and disassemble the structure without requiring specialized skills or multiple personnel.
4Strength
If traditional fastening methods are used, then secure connection is achieved, but the process requires clumsy and space-consuming equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential locking function from complex traditional fastening systems (ladders, step stools, multiple fasteners) and concentrates it into a single cam lock mechanism. The cam shaft and cam follower provide the necessary locking action through their geometric interaction, eliminating the need for clumsy external support structures and multiple fastening components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam lock assembly is designed to be self-contained and self-operating. The cam follower automatically engages with the cam shaft when the frame member is brought into position, and can be easily disengaged by rotating the cam lock mechanism. This self-service design eliminates the need for additional tools, ladders, or complex alignment procedures, reducing both safety risks and assembly time.
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 cam lock assembly simplifies and accelerates the process of erecting and disassembling temporary structures, eliminating the need for ladders and reducing safety risks by allowing single-person operation with compact, self-contained components, significantly reducing assembly time and enhancing safety.
Implementation Method 1
a spring positioned in the central cam groove adjacent to the cam follower
Implementation Method 2
a spring positioned in the central cam groove adjacent to the cam follower and a force stop positioned in the cam groove adjacent to the spring opposite to the cam follower
Implementation Method 3
a mating bracket which is mounted in an elevated location on a vertical surface. However, the bracket is not restricted to use on a vertical surface and may be mounted on any surface. The mating bracket includes a horizontally extending cam shaft
Data Source
AI summary
A connection device for mobile frame structures includes a bracket on a surface having a cam shaft and a cam lock has a spiral axial slot having a locking groove and a central cam groove. A cam follower, a spring and a force stop are positioned in the central cam groove. A retention device holds the components in the cam groove. A structural support is engaged to the cam lock. An intersection between the spiral axial slot and the central cam groove has one or more detents which engage the cam follower prior to engagement of the cam lock to the bracket. The cam shaft is positioned in the spiral axial slot and the cam lock is rotated moving the cam shaft into the locking groove and depressing the cam follower relative to the spring to lock the cam shaft into the locking groove.