Fastening Device Eliminates Longitudinal Play via Lateral Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastening devices for securing objects in vehicles are complex to manufacture and assemble, require functional longitudinal play for unlocking, which can lead to insecurity and incomplete separation during impacts, and fail to indicate attempts to tear them off without mechanical failure.
Innovation Solution
A fastening device with a hollow body and slider featuring a flexible lug and cam system that eliminates longitudinal play, providing a double locking mechanism to secure the object firmly and signal impacts, allowing partial withdrawal to maintain attachment and facilitate secure removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional locking mechanism with cam finger and recess is used, then the device can be unlocked by a longitudinal thrust, but a longitudinal functional clearance must persist which allows inadvertent unlocking and creates user insecurity
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking lug transitions from a static blocking position to a dynamic extracted position through a controlled extraction mechanism. The lug can be deliberately extracted by pushing the hollow body laterally, transforming the system from a static locked state to a dynamic extractable state, eliminating the need for functional clearance while maintaining reliable locking.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: the blocking lug that provides primary locking, the extraction mechanism that enables controlled release, and the cam system that guides the blocking finger. This segmentation allows the blocking lug to be deliberately extracted without requiring longitudinal play, resolving the contradiction between secure locking and controlled unlocking.
2Reliability
If the object is pressed against the support plate, then secure fixation is achieved, but the cam finger cannot be extracted to allow unlocking
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction mechanism operates in a lateral dimension rather than the longitudinal dimension. By pushing the hollow body laterally, the blocking lug is extracted from its blocking position without requiring longitudinal movement of the object relative to the support plate. This dimensional change resolves the contradiction between maintaining secure fixation and enabling unlocking capability.
3Strength
If a flexible tab with cam finger is used for locking, then the device can withstand impact forces, but the device is complex to manufacture and assemble with delicate spring assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking lug and the extraction mechanism are merged into an integrated system where the same lateral push that extracts the blocking lug also engages the cam system. This merging eliminates the need for separate spring assembly steps and simplifies manufacturing while maintaining impact resistance through the robust blocking-lug-based locking mechanism.
4Ease of operation
If longitudinal functional clearance is maintained, then unlocking is possible, but the object can move during vibrations and create user insecurity
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static locked state with functional clearance to a dynamic extractable state. The blocking lug provides rigid positional stability during normal operation, while the lateral extraction mechanism enables controlled dynamic release. This eliminates object movement during vibrations while maintaining unlocking capability through deliberate lateral action.
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 device ensures reliable and secure fixation without residual play, maintains attachment during impacts, and indicates shock attempts, enhancing user safety and device reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible lug and cam system that eliminates longitudinal play, providing a double locking mechanism
Implementation Method 2
The fixing device comprises a spring provided between the hollow body and the slider and urging the slider longitudinally towards the outside of the hollow body
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device (1) for fastening an object (100) on a support plate (200) and the obtained assembly, and comprises a hollow body (2) rigidly connected to the support plate (200), a slider (3) rigidly connected to the object (100) and able to be engaged in the hollow body (2), and locking means (15, 33; 37, 38). The locking means (15, 33) comprise at least one side opening (15) passing through the hollow body (2) and an elastically deformable locking tab (33) supported by the slider (3) and designed, during engagement of the slider (3) in the hollow body (2), to deploy laterally in the side opening (15) and designed to come to rest simultaneously below the support plate (200) to oppose any longitudinal removal of the slider (3), and on the slider (3) to oppose any longitudinal thrust of the slider (3), and thus to define a first locking position.