Quick-Lock Installation Nut for Tight-Space Faucet Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing kitchen faucet installation nuts face challenges due to limited space under countertops, leading to time-consuming and laborious assembly and unreliable locking mechanisms, as current designs are prone to bending deformation and loss of clamping force.
Innovation Solution
An installation nut with a body, upper cover, threaded blocks, and a transmission member that moves vertically, featuring inclined and straight surfaces, a C-ring, and an elastic reset member, ensuring secure locking and quick disassembly by guiding the threaded blocks to align with the threaded rod and utilizing the C-ring and elastic reset member for efficient disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional threaded nut is used for faucet installation, then the locking mechanism is simple, but the assembly operation is time-consuming and laborious due to limited space under the countertop
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the traditional static threaded nut into a dynamic quick-release mechanism. The threaded block can move between locked and unlocked positions, and the transmission member enables dynamic control of the clamping force. This dynamic design allows rapid assembly and disassembly without manual threading operations, directly resolving the contradiction between operational simplicity and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission member acts as an intermediary between the user's rotational input and the threaded block's clamping action. By converting rotational motion into linear motion that drives the threaded block, the transmission member enables quick assembly without requiring direct manual threading in the constrained space under the countertop, thus reducing assembly time while maintaining ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If the upper casing is slightly retracted during assembly, then the threaded block moves outward, but the clamping force is lost and the assembly becomes unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The first straight surface is designed to preliminarily counteract any outward movement of the threaded block. When the upper casing retracts slightly during assembly, the first straight surface prevents the threaded block from moving outward by providing a counteracting geometric constraint, thereby maintaining clamping force and ensuring reliable assembly even during minor operational variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined surface configuration provides beforehand cushioning against potential assembly errors. The geometry of the inclined surfaces is designed to accommodate slight retraction of the upper casing while maintaining engagement, cushioning against the harmful effect of position variations and preventing complete loss of clamping force, thus ensuring reliable assembly.
3Device complexity
If a second inclined surface extending outward from a side of a through hole is provided, then the structure is simplified, but bending deformation is easily caused and the installation is unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric geometry in the inclined surfaces to resolve the contradiction between structural simplicity and reliability. The first inclined surface and second inclined surface have different orientations and functions: the first inclined surface provides radial constraint, while the second inclined surface provides axial constraint. This asymmetric design prevents bending deformation by distributing forces appropriately, ensuring reliable installation without excessive structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from a two-dimensional inclined surface to a three-dimensional configuration with both first and second inclined surfaces at different orientations. This dimensional enhancement allows the structure to resist forces in multiple directions simultaneously, preventing bending deformation while maintaining reasonable structural complexity. The first straight surface further reinforces this three-dimensional constraint system.
Data Source
AI summary
An installation nut includes a body, an upper cover, at least two threaded blocks, and a transmission member. The upper cover is fixedly connected to the body. An inner wall of each of the at least two threaded blocks includes an internal thread, and an outer wall of each of the at least two threaded blocks includes a first inclined surface and a first straight surface. The transmission member is movably disposed between the body and the upper cover. A top surface of the transmission member includes one or more transmission blocks configured to extend out of the upper cover. A lower end of the transmission member includes at least one second straight surface configured to couple with the first straight surfaces and at least one second inclined surface configured to couple with the first inclined surfaces.