Wallboard anchor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wall anchors for drywall and other friable wallboards face challenges in manufacturability and performance, particularly in efficiently penetrating the wallboard without pre-drilling and providing reliable retention and easy installation.
Innovation Solution
The development of an anchor body with a specific geometric configuration, including frusto-conical body portions, threads, and key-shaped through openings, which allows for efficient penetration and retention in the wallboard, featuring a combination of taper angles, threads, and structural features like double start threads and diametrically opposed projections to facilitate easy installation and separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the anchor body uses a single frusto-conical shape with threads, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the penetration efficiency and retention performance are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor body is divided into multiple frusto-conical portions (first, second, and third portions) with different taper angles, where each portion contributes to different stages of the penetration and retention process. This segmentation allows optimization of penetration efficiency through varying taper angles while maintaining manufacturability through a unified casting or molding process.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the anchor body have different geometric properties - the first frusto-conical portion has a larger taper angle for initial penetration, the second has a moderate taper for expansion, and the third has a smaller taper for retention. Threads are applied selectively to specific portions rather than the entire body, optimizing performance at each stage while simplifying manufacturing.
2Reliability
If the anchor body has a complex multi-portion frusto-conical geometry with varying taper angles, then the penetration and retention performance is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex geometry is segmented into three distinct frusto-conical portions, each with a specific function: the first portion for initial penetration with larger taper, the second for expansion with moderate taper, and the third for retention with smaller taper. This functional segmentation achieves high retention performance while allowing each portion to be manufactured using standard processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The taper angle parameter is varied across different portions of the anchor body to optimize performance at each stage of installation and use. The first portion has a larger taper angle for easier penetration, while subsequent portions have progressively smaller angles for better retention, creating a gradient that balances complexity and performance.
3Strength
If threads are applied to all portions of the anchor body, then the retention strength is maximized, but the manufacturing precision requirements and production time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Threads are applied selectively only to the first and third frusto-conical portions where they are most needed for engagement and retention, while the second portion remains smooth to facilitate expansion and wallboard engagement. This localized application of threading reduces manufacturing precision requirements and production time while maintaining adequate retention strength.
Data Source
AI summary
An anchor for wallboard installation includes an anchor body elongated along an axis, the anchor body including a driving end, a wall boring end and an internal bore running from the driving end to an internal end short of a distal tip of the wall boring end. The anchor body includes a first frusto-conical body portion, a second frusto-conical body portion running from the first frusto-conical body portion to an annular groove and an end body portion running from the annular groove toward the distal tip.