Mounting Rail Retaining Nut for Tool-Free Height Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mounting arrangements for cables in trapezoidal configurations are not easily adjustable, reliable, or versatile, often requiring tools and offering limited accessibility and range of use.
Innovation Solution
A mounting arrangement featuring a retaining nut with a circular base plate wider than the mounting rail, protruding on both sides, and a polygonal collar for wrench attachment, allowing for simple, precise, and reliable height adjustment without tools, and providing a wide range of uses with easy accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional mounting arrangements use standard nuts and threaded rods, then the structure is simple, but the adjustment is difficult and requires tools
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining nut is divided into functionally distinct parts: a base plate for bearing and a polygonal collar for engagement. This segmentation allows the bearing surface to be optimized for stability while the collar is optimized for tool-free adjustment, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate extends beyond the mounting rail in lateral dimensions, creating a broader bearing surface. This dimensional extension provides stability and enables the polygonal collar to engage effectively, allowing tool-free adjustment without compromising structural integrity.
2Reliability
If the retaining nut base plate is wider than the mounting rail, then the bearing surface is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining nut combines a widened base plate with a polygonal collar in a single integrated component. The base plate provides extended bearing surface for reliability, while the polygonal collar maintains structural clarity through its geometric engagement feature, avoiding excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate and polygonal collar are merged into a single retaining nut component rather than separate parts. This integration provides a broader bearing surface for improved reliability while maintaining a unified structure that does not excessively increase device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the base plate projects beyond the mounting rail on both sides, then the accessibility is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The projecting base plate is segmented into discrete lateral extensions that align with the mounting rail geometry. This segmentation allows the retaining nut to be manufactured using standard forming processes while providing improved accessibility for tool-free adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate dimensions are optimized to project just sufficiently beyond the mounting rail for accessibility without excessive material. This parameter optimization balances manufacturing efficiency with improved ease of operation, avoiding unnecessary fabrication complexity.
4Measurement precision
If a polygonal collar is added for wrench engagement, then the adjustment precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The polygonal collar is segmented as a distinct geometric feature on the retaining nut, providing precise engagement surfaces for wrench adjustment. This segmentation delivers measurement precision through defined angular positions while keeping the overall device complexity manageable through geometric simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding complex adjustment mechanisms to the mounting rail, the invention inverts the approach by adding the polygonal collar to the retaining nut itself. This inversion simplifies the overall system while providing precise adjustment capability through the collar's geometric engagement.
Data Source
Figure 1a~6
Figure 7~10
Figure 11~14
AI summary
The invention relates to a mounting assembly comprising a mounting rail (10), which comprises a first longitudinal side (11), a second longitudinal side (12) opposite the first longitudinal side, a third longitudinal side (13) connecting the first longitudinal side and the second longitudinal side, and a fourth longitudinal side (14) connecting the first longitudinal side and the second longitudinal side and opposite the third longitudinal side, wherein the mounting rail comprises a first through-opening (21) in the first longitudinal side thereof, comprising a fastening device (31,35) having an external thread, which passes through the first through-opening, and a retaining nut (40) which has an internal thread (48) corresponding to the external thread (38) and is screwed on to the attachment device, and which secures the mounting rail in a form-fitting manner on the first longitudinal side on the fastening device. The retaining nut is wider than the first longitudinal side and projects on opposite sides beyond the first longitudinal side of the mounting rail.