Metal Attachment Element With Prestressed Projections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastening elements made of plastic struggle with high stress and temperature-related issues, requiring additional anchoring elements for secure fixation, which complicates installation and maintenance, especially under adverse conditions like high temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A plate-shaped shaft with oppositely oriented projections or protrusions that exceed the hole's width, prestressed for reliable clamping within the hole, eliminating the need for supplementary fixing elements and ensuring secure attachment of objects like tubes or cables without additional tools or anchoring elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If plastic fastening elements are used, then the installation is simple, but the strength and reliability under high stress and temperature are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is made of metal (steel or stainless steel) instead of plastic, combining the simplicity of installation with high strength and temperature resistance. The metal material provides both mechanical strength for high loads and thermal stability for fire safety applications.
2Reliability
If additional anchoring elements like bolts or screws are added, then the retention force and reliability are increased, but the installation complexity and costs are elevated
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring function is integrated into the shaft itself through projections that extend beyond the shaft's longitudinal axis. These projections engage with the hole's interior surface to provide anchoring without requiring separate bolts or screws, thus maintaining high reliability while keeping installation simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft's own projections serve as the anchoring mechanism, eliminating the need for additional anchoring elements. The projections automatically engage with the hole's interior surface upon insertion, providing self-anchoring functionality.
3Temperature
If the shaft is made of metal to improve temperature resistance, then the strength under temperature stress is enhanced, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies using metal materials (steel or stainless steel) for the shaft to achieve high temperature resistance and strength. While metal is more expensive than plastic, the design minimizes material usage through the plate-shaped cross-section and projection geometry, balancing cost with performance requirements for fire safety applications.
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 solution provides a simple, reliable, and cost-effective method for securing objects within holes, maintaining stability and safety under various temperature stresses without additional installation complexities, enhancing anchoring effects and resistance to extraction.
Implementation Method 1
projections or protrusions which project from the shaft oppositely to the direction of insertion of the shaft into the hole, are prestressed in the direction to the interior surface of the hole
Implementation Method 2
the projections or protrusions will be fixed to the interior surface of the particularly circular hole in any inserted position of the shaft of the attachment element. Such fixing or clamping of, in particular, the free ends of these projecting projections or protrusions
Implementation Method 3
the projecting lengths of the projections or protrusions exceed the clear width of the hole and the projections or protrusions are prestressed in the direction to the inner surface of the hole. Such clamping or wedging will, moreover, ensure that the safe and reliable fixation
Data Source
AI summary
In an attachment element for fixing an object to a wall, wherein a shaft of the attachment element can be introduced into a hole in the wall and can be fixed to the inner surface of the hole, it is provided that the shaft has a substantially plate-like design and is formed, towards the interior of the hole, with two projections oriented oppositely to one another which project from the shaft counter to the direction of insertion of the shaft into the hole, are prestressed in the direction of the inner surface of the hole and of which the projecting lengths, prior to insertion into the hole, exceed a clear width of the inner surface of the hole, allowing a simple and secure fixing, in particular, by wedging the projections in the hole.