Screwless Hinge Assembly for Secure Articulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current articulation systems in fields like horology, jewelry, and spectacle-making are unsatisfactory due to loose screws and complex manufacturing processes, complicating after-sales service and requiring special tools.
Innovation Solution
A screwless hinge assembly with a cylindrical axial recess and a radial hub, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly without tools, using fixing elements and coupling elements that clip into place, ensuring secure attachment and rotational functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional screw-based articulation systems are used, then the connection is secure, but the screws become loose and require special tools for assembly and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the screw element from the articulation system, replacing it with a screwless hinge mechanism where the pin is directly received in a recess with retaining means, thereby removing the need for separate fastening elements and special tools while maintaining secure connection
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge design allows for self-contained assembly and disassembly through the interaction of the pin, recess, and retaining means, enabling the components to secure themselves without external tools or additional fastening elements
2Ease of manufacture
If complex shaped parts are used in screwless hinges, then screws are eliminated, but the parts become difficult to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge is segmented into distinct functional components: a pin element, a body with recess, and retaining means. This segmentation allows each part to have a simple, manufacturable geometry while collectively achieving the screwless articulation function
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a pin with complex retaining features, the invention inverts the approach by providing a recess in the body that receives the simple pin, with the retaining means formed as integral features of the body rather than separate complex components
3Ease of repair
If screws are used in articulation systems, then assembly is secure, but after-sales service becomes more complicated requiring special tools
Solution Approach 1:
The screw fastening element is extracted from the system, eliminating the need for special tools and simplifying after-sales service while reducing the total number of discrete components that require management during repair
Data Source
AI summary
An articulated assembly includes a first piece connected to a second piece by a screwless hinge having a body with a cylindrical axial recess of revolution which opens onto at least one of the axial faces of the body and a cylindrical hub of revolution, with a diameter corresponding to that of the axial recess, fully housed in the axial recess; this hub including a radial cavity opening onto its periphery, and the lateral wall of the body having an opening of predetermined angular extent. The first piece includes an end provided with fixing elements arranged to be fixedly attached to the hinge body, the second piece includes an end provided with coupling elements suitable for being introduced into the radial cavity through the body opening and with retaining elements cooperating, in the in-use position introduced into the axial cavity of the hub, with the cylindrical wall of revolution.