Pivotable Wall Fastener With Living Hinge For Hammer-Driven Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fasteners for hollow walls and ceilings require pre-drilled holes, often causing damage and are difficult to install and remove, with limitations in load-bearing capacity and compatibility with various pin types.
Innovation Solution
A fastener system featuring a wall anchor section and a pivotable section joined by a living hinge or pivoting gears, allowing for hammer-driven insertion without a pre-drilled hole, and accommodating various pin designs with a locking mechanism for secure anchoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a pre-drilled hole is made in the wall for fastener installation, then the fastener can be securely installed, but the wall material is damaged and weakened
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener is designed with a pre-formed hole configuration that allows the hollow anchor to be inserted into the wall cavity without requiring pre-drilling. The hollow body is manufactured with an internal cavity structure that can receive the pin, eliminating the need for separate hole-making operations and preventing wall material damage from drilling
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the hole-making function from the installation process by incorporating a pre-formed hollow cavity in the anchor body. This allows the fastener to be installed by simply inserting the hollow anchor into the wall and securing it with a pin, completely eliminating the harmful pre-drilling operation
2Strength
If toggle fasteners with spreading arms are used, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener is divided into two functional components: a hollow anchor body that provides structural support and load-bearing capacity, and a separate pin that secures the anchor to the wall. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the hollow body for strength and the pin for simple installation and removal
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow anchor body serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, defines the installation location, receives the pin for securing, and enables easy removal by simply extracting the pin. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for complex spreading arms while maintaining load-bearing capacity
3Ease of operation
If expansion fasteners are used, then installation ease is improved, but the wall material may blowout under load
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow anchor body is designed with thin wall construction that allows it to be easily inserted into the wall cavity without excessive force. The hollow structure flexes slightly during insertion but maintains its shape to prevent wall material blowout, while still providing sufficient structural support for the intended load
4Ease of operation
If a living hinge is used to join sections, then the fastener can be inserted without pre-drilling, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The living hinge is integrated directly into the hollow anchor body as a continuous flexible section rather than being a separate component. This merging of the hinge function into the main body structure simplifies assembly and reduces the number of precision-critical joints, as the hinge simply needs to provide enough flexibility for insertion while maintaining structural integrity
Data Source
AI summary
A system (100, 600, 700) for fastening objects to a wall or ceiling (120) comprises a rear, wall-anchor section (105, 607, 705) with a bore, and a front, pivotable section (110, 602, 604, 720), rigidly abutted together with no gap, aligned by a projection (135), and connected by a “living” hinge, strap, flap, lanyard or other type of connector (115). The pivotable section has a sharpened tip (112, 630, 635, 725) for penetrating the wall while the fastener is forced into the wall by a hammer or other driving tool or device, or manually by hand. The two sections of the fastener have a tapered, elliptical cross-section (111) which both prevents rotation of the fastener and locally reduces load-responsive pressure in the wallboard. To install, the axes of the wall-anchor and pivotable sections of the fastener are first aligned. The fastener is forced into the wall one of the above means. Then a pin (140) is manually inserted into the bore of the wall-anchor section. When the pin meets the projection the pivotable section is forced to rotate about the hinge. A locking tooth (139) secures the pin by interfering with either threads or notches in the pin. Alternatively, the pin forces past the projection and wedges between the projection and the bore of the wall-anchor section.