Elastic Quick Nut for Variable Panel Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clip nuts used in the automobile industry are limited to a narrow range of panel thicknesses and have low maneuverability during installation, making them difficult to use effectively and install without tools.
Innovation Solution
A removable and reusable quick nut design featuring vertically extending tabs that bend inward and then outward, forming a planar surface, with anti-collapse lugs and a threaded cylinder for screw passage, allowing easy installation and extraction without tools, and accommodating various panel thicknesses through elastic flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional clip nuts are used with a narrow range of panel thicknesses, then the nut structure remains simple, but the adaptability to different panel thicknesses is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The nut incorporates elastic tabs that can dynamically adjust their position and the engagement depth of the lugs, allowing the same nut structure to adapt to different panel thicknesses. The tabs flex to accommodate varying thicknesses while maintaining secure engagement, eliminating the need for multiple nut designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the tabs and lugs to create an adjustable engagement mechanism. By varying the elasticity and dimensions of the tabs, the nut can accommodate a wide range of panel thicknesses while maintaining structural integrity and fastening strength.
2Ease of operation
If conventional clip nuts are used, then manufacturing costs are reduced, but the ease of installation and maneuverability during installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The nut is designed to be manually insertable without tools, using the elastic deformation of the tabs to snap into place. The structure allows the installer to simply push the nut onto the panel, and the elastic tabs automatically engage, eliminating the need for specialized installation tools while maintaining manufacturability.
3Ease of operation
If the nut is designed for easy insertion and extraction, then the ease of operation improves, but the fastening strength may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic tabs provide dynamic engagement where the lugs can be easily inserted by simple pushing, but once engaged, the elastic deformation creates a strong locking effect. For extraction, the tabs can be compressed to release the lugs, providing easy removal while maintaining strong fastening during use.
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 nut facilitates easy insertion and extraction without tools, ensures secure fastening, and is reusable without damage, adapting to a wide range of panel thicknesses, enhancing installation ease and reducing manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
allowing easy installation and extraction without tools, and accommodating various panel thicknesses through elastic flexibility
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A removable and reusable quick nut, of the type used to fasten panels and/or accessories thereto, principally in the automobile industry, wherein on said nut (1), originating from a planar base (2), emerge individual opposite compression tabs (3) that rise and fold (4) toward an inner zone of the nut and that, by means of another fold (5), invert their direction in order on the outside to return to the height of the base (2), forming joining surfaces (8); from said surfaces (8) there originate individual lugs or fins (11) that, by means of successive folds, converge toward the inner zone of the nut in a position designed to engage with the screw thread of the screw for fastening the nut (1).