Toggle Anchor Assembly With Pivoting Nut and Wallboard Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wall anchors, particularly toggle anchors, face challenges in manufacturability and performance, such as difficulty in securely engaging with drywall and other friable wallboards without causing damage or failure during installation and anchoring.
Innovation Solution
The anchor assembly features a toggle body with opposed arms and a slot, a toggle nut that pivots between install and anchoring orientations, and a connecting leg with a latch finger for retention, along with blade projections for clean hole cutting in the wallboard, enhancing engagement and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a toggle nut is designed to pivot in the slot of the toggle body, then the anchor assembly can be installed through wallboard, but the toggle nut may become disengaged or fail to retain properly during installation and anchoring
Solution Approach 1:
A latch finger is introduced as an intermediary component that mediates between the toggle nut and the connecting leg. The latch finger protrudes from the toggle nut and engages with the connecting leg, providing positive retention and preventing disengagement while allowing the toggle nut to pivot for installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The toggle nut is designed with dynamic capability to pivot between different orientations during installation, while the latch finger provides static retention engagement with the connecting leg. This dynamic design allows the assembly to transition from installation mode to anchored mode reliably.
2Reliability
If existing toggle anchors are used, then wallboard anchoring is achieved, but damage to the wallboard or failure during installation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The latch finger is preliminarily positioned on the connecting leg before the toggle nut is fully installed. This preliminary engagement ensures that the toggle nut remains securely retained during the installation process, preventing failure or damage to the wallboard from improper installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The retention mechanism is segmented into distinct components: the latch finger on the toggle nut and the corresponding engagement feature on the connecting leg. This segmentation allows for independent optimization of each component's function and reduces stress concentration that could cause wallboard damage.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the toggle nut is retained in the slot, then anchoring stability is improved, but the pivot mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The latch finger and connecting leg engagement features are designed to work together in a self-service manner, where the geometry of the components themselves provides the retention function. This eliminates the need for additional separate retention mechanisms, maintaining simplicity while achieving stability.
Data Source
AI summary
An anchor assembly for wallboard installation includes a toggle body that is elongated along a toggle body axis, the toggle body including opposed first and second arms and a slot between the first and second arms. A toggle nut is elongated along a toggle nut axis, the toggle nut mounted in the slot of the toggle body for pivot between an install orientation seated in the slot and an anchoring orientation protruding from the slot.