Two-Part Nut Assembly for High-Force Radial Thread Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional nuts require significant rotational movement to achieve a secure locking mechanism, which can be cumbersome and inefficient, especially when applied to external threads without a free end or on materials with no threads, such as plastic rods or cables.
Innovation Solution
A two-part nut design featuring radially slidable internal threads with inclined guide surfaces and pressure screws arranged around the internal thread, allowing for easy assembly and high contact pressure force generation, enabling secure locking without extensive rotational movement and accommodating various thread configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional nuts are used with significant rotational movement to achieve locking, then secure locking mechanism is achieved, but operation becomes cumbersome and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The nut is divided into two separable parts (first nut part and second nut part) that can be independently positioned and then locked together. This segmentation allows the nut to be applied to the external thread without requiring extensive rotational movement, as the parts can be radially displaced and pivoted into position, then secured through the locking mechanism involving locking arms and guide surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism incorporates dynamic elements including locking arms that can pivot and rotate, and guide surfaces that enable radial displacement. These dynamic components allow the nut parts to be easily positioned and locked without significant rotational movement, transforming the static locking requirement into a dynamic assembly process that is more efficient.
2Ease of operation
If two-part nut design with radially slidable internal threads is used, then ease of assembly is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nut is segmented into two parts with distinct functions: the first nut part contains the internal thread and locking arm, while the second nut part contains the complementary locking features. This segmentation enables easier assembly through radial displacement and pivoting movements, while the modular design allows for standardized manufacturing of each part.
Solution Approach 2:
The two nut parts are designed to nest together in the assembled state, with the locking arms and guide surfaces interlocking. The first nut part and second nut part fit within each other's structural envelope, creating a compact assembled configuration that minimizes the overall complexity footprint while maintaining the ease of assembly benefits.
3Force
If pressure screws are arranged around the internal thread, then contact pressure force is increased, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Pressure screws are strategically positioned at specific locations around the internal thread where maximum contact pressure is needed. This localized approach concentrates the force-generating elements at critical points rather than distributing them uniformly, thereby achieving high contact pressure force while minimizing the number of pressure screws required and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure screws are pre-positioned and pre-tensioned during manufacturing or initial assembly to create a preliminary compressive force that counteracts the separating forces that will occur during nut operation. This preliminary anti-action ensures that the locking mechanism maintains high contact pressure force throughout its operational life without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The two-part nut facilitates easy handling and secure fastening on diverse threaded sections, including those without free ends, by allowing radial displacement and pivoting movements, while generating high contact pressure forces with reduced torque requirements.
Implementation Method 1
The guide surface of the locking arm as well as the guide surface cooperating therewith can extend over the entire length of the nut. This results in a large load-bearing surface and therefore a high load-bearing capacity.
Implementation Method 2
A fastening and tensioning arrangement with a two-part nut... wherein at least one pressure thread is arranged in the first locking arm, which has the first axial end face, and where the second locking arm with the second axial end face, which cooperates with the first locking arm, has a recess through which recess the pressure screw projects.
Implementation Method 3
the guide surface that induces the rotational movement of the nut parts is arranged on one side of the locking arm. The opposite side of the locking arm... forms an outer surface of the nut on its upper or lower side and can bear against a supporting surface when tightened.
Data Source
AI summary
A nut has two parts, each having a section of an internal thread which is radially slidable onto an external thread. The nut parts have cooperating connecting elements which permit relative displacement in a direction extending radially with respect to the axis of the internal thread until reaching a use position in which the internal thread of the nut engages around the external thread with a small clearance. The connecting elements have guide surfaces which guide the nut parts in a rotational movement about an axis of rotation extending transversely to the axis of the internal thread when displaced into the use position. Each nut part has at least one first locking arm which has on one side a guide surface which induces the rotational movement when the nut parts are displaced and bears against a complementary guide surface on a second locking arm of the other nut part.