Captive Nut Housing With Anti-Rotation Clearance for Alignment Tolerance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing nut retaining devices in aeronautical applications face challenges such as difficulty in accessing nuts, non-standard nut designs complicating approval and certification, and issues with dimensional tolerances and inadvertent disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A nut retaining device featuring a housing with an interior receptacle, anti-rotation structure, and retaining structure, allowing for limited clearance movements in rotational, axial, and radial directions, while preventing nut rotation and ensuring secure retention within the receptacle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a nut is rigidly secured to a component, then the nut is firmly retained, but very precise alignment of the corresponding threaded fastener is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transitioning from a rigidly fixed nut to a nut that can undergo controlled movement within the housing. The anti-rotation structure allows the nut to rotate and move axially/radially to accommodate dimensional tolerances while maintaining secure retention, thus reducing the precision requirements for fastener alignment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a captive nut assembly is designed to allow movement, then dimensional tolerance variations are accommodated, but the nut may be subject to inadvertent disassembly and loss of component parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs the intermediary principle by introducing a housing as a mediating structure between the nut and the external environment. The housing contains the nut and provides retention structure that prevents inadvertent disassembly and loss of component parts while still allowing the nut to move freely within the housing to accommodate dimensional tolerances.
3Ease of operation
If a non-standard nut is used in a captive nut assembly, then the nut can be retained in inaccessible locations, but approval and certification by civil aviation authorities becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the universality principle by designing the nut retaining device as a complete assembly that can accommodate standard nuts. The housing and anti-rotation structure provide universal functionality for retaining nuts in inaccessible locations while using standardized components, thereby simplifying approval and certification processes.
Data Source
AI summary
Nut retaining devices and related methods are disclosed. An exemplary nut retaining device may include a housing defining an interior receptacle, the housing including attachment structure configured for fixing the housing to a base structure; a nut received within the receptacle and having screw threads for engaging a threaded fastener; retaining structure engageable with the nut and retaining the nut within the receptacle; anti-rotation structure between the housing and the nut constraining the nut against rotation relative to the housing; the anti-rotation structure configured to provide a clearance movement between the nut and the housing in at least one of a rotation direction rotationally about the screwing axis of the nut, or an axial direction parallel to the screwing axis of the nut, or a radial direction relative to the axial direction that is parallel to the screwing axis of the nut.