AU2005203322A1 - A Push Lock System - Google Patents

Description

o A Push Lock System Field of the Invention 00 ciThis invention is directed to a particular type locking system which will typically Scomprise a press locking system or a push locking system where two members can be N pushed together to lock the two members together thereby doing away with the need en for separate fasteners. The invention will have broad applicability but can be used 0 particularly for fencing, balustrading, screens, partitions, latticework (particularly o metal slat screens! latticework) and various types of extrusions. The invention will be described with the use of the locking system with latticework but it should be appreciated that no limitation should be placed on the invention merely by illustrating this particular embodiment.

Background Art Fastening members together always requires particular care especially if it would be inappropriate or even dangerous for the members to inadvertently separate. Common techniques to fasten members together use separate fasteners such as nails, screws, rivets, nuts and bolts and the like. However, there are some instances where separate fasteners are undesirable. One instance is in assembling latticework, balustrading, or slat screens and the like where it is necessary to overlap and put together a large number of members. With this type of assembly, the use of separate fasteners is timeconsuming. Also, some latticework is relatively fine and great care must be taken to make sure that the fasteners are positioned in exactly the right place to avoid missing or damaging the lattice members.

Many items are welded and much welding is now automated. However, it is generally inconvenient or time-consuming or otherwise unsatisfactory to weld members on site.

Thus, while welding latticework can be done in a factory, it is generally difficult and unsatisfactory to weld latticework on site.

Although many of the above fastening techniques can be done quite satisfactorily in a factory environment and then transported to site, there are some disadvantages with this. One disadvantage is that the shapes and sizes of the final product can vary and it 2

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O is sometimes necessary to cut or modify the factory product to fit on site. This is time-consuming and generally not satisfactory. Another disadvantage is that transportation of rather large fully assembled articles can be expensive and difficult.

00 Another general disadvantage with many existing fastening techniques is that the fasteners (which includes weld joints) remain visible. In some circumstances (for instance metal latticework, balustrading and the like), it is advantageous to hide the 0fasteners such that the finished product has a "seamless" type look which is quite oaesthetically pleasing.

Therefore, there would be an advantage if it were possible to have some form of fastening system that can be used on site, and that does not require welding, or the use of multiple separate fasteners, that can be significantly "foolproof", that will attach members together in a relatively quick and easy manner while keeping the members together, and where the various members can be transported to site in a "disassembled" manner and attached together on site, and which can also provide an aesthetically pleasing product where the fastening arrangement can be at least partially hidden.

There are some "press lock" or "press fit" arrangements that are used particularly to attach aluminium extrusions together, for instance in assembling windows and doors.

However, it is found that these arrangements are not particularly satisfactory for assembling large relatively flat articles such as latticework, pool fencing, screens, partitions and balustrading.

It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide a particular type of fastening system that may overcome at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

In one form, the invention resides in an assembly, the assembly comprising a first member and a second member that are attachable together, one of the members 00 ci comprising at least one recess, and the other of the members comprising at least one projection whereby the members can be pressed together to cause the projection to pass into the recess to lock the members to each other.

o In another form, there is provided an assembly comprising a first elongate member n and a second member that can be connected together, the first elongate member being 010 substantially hollow to define an internal recess and having at least one entry opening to access the internal recess, fastening means in the internal recess, the fastening means comprising at least one elongate flange that has a free end and that extends from an internal wall in the internal recess, and a wall spaced from the elongate flange to define a spacing between the elongate flange and the wall, the second member having a portion that can pass through the entry opening and into the internal recess and between the elongate flange and the wall, the portion having a size which is larger than the spacing between the elongate flange and the wall such that the portion causes the elongate flange to be pushed backwardly, the portion including a recess that functions to reduce the size of the portion, such that when the recess is aligned with the free end of the elongate flange, the elongate flange moves back to the initial position where the free end is positioned in the recess to prevent the second member from being removed from the first member.

In a more particular form, the invention resides in an assembly as described above but where one of the members member is tubular, or contains some form of internal void/channel/recess, and the same member contains the recess and/or projection in the internal void/channel/recess, and the other of the members contains the projection and/or recess which can pass into the void/channel/recess to lock the members together in such a manner that the locking arrangements is substantially hidden.

As an example, one member may comprise an extruded metal or similar material tube and the inside of the tube can contain, for instance, one or more projections, and the other member may comprise a rail containing a recess (or a number of recesses) which t/ 4 o can pass into the tube (typically an opening is provided in the tube wall) and lock to the member, thereby locking the two members together in a substantially concealed manner.

00 S The members may comprise any suitable part that may benefit from the attachment as described above. As an example, it is considered that the attachment method would find use in slat screen/latticework and especially metal latticework made from oextruded or rolled tubes attached together, balustrading comprising a tubular top hand o rail and a number of vertical rails or spokes that attached to the tubular handrail, 010 fencing (and particularly pool fencing) that may comprise a horizontal tubular member (or a number of such members), and a number of vertical members that can be attached to the horizontal members using the attachment system, other types of partitions that can be used inside a house or outside, screening such as security screening or decorative screening and the like. However, it is not considered that the invention should be limited only to the above examples merely by describing the above examples.

It is considered that the fastening system will be particularly suited to metal members and particularly to aluminium members that can be extruded in various shapes and 2 0 relatively inexpensively.

The members may comprise any size, length, width, height, shape and the like and may have any suitable wall thickness. It is envisaged that the members will be tubular and may comprise a rectangular cross-section, a circular cross-section, an oval crosssection, a triangular cross-section, or an irregular cross-section (it being appreciated that particularly aluminium extrusions can be made with a quite complex profiles).

Typically, one member will be provided with one or more projections and the other member may be provided with one or more recesses that can engage with the one or 3 0 more projections. However, it is also envisaged that each member may be provided with recesses and projections that engage with projections and recesses on the other member. However, the examples will be directed to one member being provided only with projections and the other member being provided only with recesses.

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The first member may comprise a tubular substantially hollow section or extrusion that will typically be substantially rectangular in cross-section. The first member may 00 Shave a length of between 20 cm up to 6 m or ever longer)_which will depend on the size and shape of the final product latticework/fencing etc). The first member cmay have a width and height of between 2 cm up to 20 cm but this can of course vary eto suit. The first member may have a wall thickness of between 0.5-5 millimetres and o typically between 1-3 mm although this can vary depending on the material from 1 which the member is made.

Each member can be made of metal, plastic, metal composite materials, plastic composite materials (including laminates), and the like. As mentioned previously however, it is preferred that each member is made of aluminium.

The first member may contain at least one, and preferably two or more, projections that function to lock the first member to the second member. It is preferred that these projections are inside the first member and are therefore not readily visible. These projections may comprise longitudinal flanges or ribs, or may comprise separate projections. If the first member comprises extruded aluminium, it is considered convenient to have the projections extruded and therefore comprising longitudinal projections such as flanges.

It is preferred that the projections are formed or shaped in such a manner that they are somewhat biased towards or against the second member (when the second member is attached). Thus, the projections can be formed to have at least a portion of the projections shaped or curved or projecting in such a manner that when the second member is attached, the projections will be pushed away slightly until the recess on the second member aligns with the projections at which stage the projections will snap back into the recess to lock the second member to the first member.

There are various ways by which this can be achieved. In one form, the projections may comprise a pair of spaced apart flanges inside the first member between which the second member or a part of the second member passes. Each of these flanges may 3 6

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contain an inwardly directing portion which may comprise a hook and the like.

The projections may extend from any suitable wall of the first member but it is 00 C, envisaged that the projections will all extend from the same wall. Thus, the projections may extend from the bottom wall, the top wall, or the sidewalls of the first member (that is the internal walls of the first member).

oThe invention may also comprise one projection (such as an elongate flange), with the oother "projection" comprising an internal wall of the first member. In this variation, the internal wall is immovable and the one projection locks into the recess of the second member. However, to achieve a more positive locking action, it is considered that a pair of projections engaging with the recess would be desirable.

To enable the second member to pass at least partially into the first member, it is envisaged that the first member will be provided with at least one opening to enable this to occur. To provide strength and rigidity to the final product, it is preferred that the at least one opening has a shape that is approximately the same shape as the part of the second member that passes into the first member and is slightly larger. For instance, if the second member is substantially cylindrical, it is preferred that the at least one opening is substantially circular. Alternatively, if the second member is substantially rectangular, it is preferred that the at least one opening is also substantially rectangular.

For some types of assemblies pool fencing or balustrading), there may be multiple second members passing into a single first member. Therefore, it is preferred for these types of products that the first member is provided with a plurality of openings. Again, these openings are preferably the same shape as the part of the second member that passes into the opening.

3 0 In one form, the first member may be formed with the openings for instance by punching or drilling the openings into the extruded first member.

In another form, the first member may be slightly more complicated in design and O may comprise two or more parts that attached together to form the first member. An advantage of this is that one of the parts can be common while the other part can contain different types of openings to accommodate different types of second 00 i members. Therefore, with this embodiment, it is not necessary to have completely different first members. Instead, part of the first member (for instance a first extrusion) can remain unchanged and only the second part of the first member can be e varied depending on the types of openings that are ultimately required in the first omember.

As an example, the first member may comprise a substantially U-shaped or C-shaped first portion which does not change, and a second portion which may be a plate that can slide or otherwise be attached to the first portion to complete the first member.

The plate may be formed with different types of openings depending on the type and shape of second member that is to be attached to the first member.

As another example, the first member may comprise two substantially U-shaped part that can be attached together, for instance by clipping and the like with one part containing openings and the other part not containing openings.

Of course, it should be appreciated that no particular limitation should be placed on the first member merely by providing two exemplifications of possible configurations.

The second member may comprise any suitable shape or size depending on the final form of the product. If the product comprises pool fencing, the second member will comprise the vertical rails that pass into the upper (and possibly lower) horizontal members to complete the fencing.

However, as the invention is directed to a particular type of attachment system that has wide and varied application, there are many other instances where this type of attachment system may find suitability.

For instance, the attachment system can also be used to attach a pool fence panel to a vertical support post. For instance, the vertical support post may be provided with 8

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o openings containing internal projections and the pool fence member can contain extensions (which comprise the second member) that pass into the openings and lock against the internal projections. Thus, with this arrangement various pool fence 00 c panels can be quickly attached to the vertical posts without requiring separate fasteners.

In another example, metal latticework can be attached together. For instance, the ometal latticework can comprise a number of extruded typically oval or rectangular o aluminium tubular members (which comprise the first members), and these members 010 may be provided with openings and internal projections. A plurality of short second members can be provided which can interconnect the first members together.

In another example, metal balustrading can be made and assembled relatively easily.

The balustrading handrail may comprise the first member and may be hollow (or at least partially hollow) and contain internal projections, and the vertical rail members may pass through openings in the balustrading handrail and be connected by a relatively simple press locking arrangement.

As mentioned previously, although the examples given above show the first member having internal projections, there are circumstances where the first member may include the recesses and the second member may include projections.

Brief Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which: Figure 1. Illustrates a plan view of slat screen/latticework.

Figure 2. Illustrates how a first member and a second member can be attached together.

Figure 3. Illustrates a section view of figure 2.

Figure 4. Illustrates a variation of the attachment of the first member to the second member.

Figures 6-11. Illustrate various other modifications and variations.

~9 o Best Mode Referring to the drawings, and initially to figure 2 and figure 3, there is illustrated an assembly that comprises a first member 10 and a plurality of second members 11 that 00 c are attachable together in a particular press lock arrangement.

N The first member 10 in the particular embodiment comprises an extruded aluminium en member which is generally rectangular in cross-section. The member contains a obottom wall 12. The extrusion profile of first member 10 is such that inside the first member is a pair of spaced apart projections which are in the form of elongate flanges 13. Flanges 13 comprise an upper part 14 which is bent inwardly. The bottom wall 12 is formed with a number of circular openings 15 (see figure 3).

The second members 11 in the particular embodiment are all identical and comprise hollow cylindrical tubes. The diameter of the tubes is slightly less than the diameter of the circular openings 15 in the bottom wall 12 of first member 10 such that the top of the tubes can be pushed through the circular openings.

The top of the tubes contain an annular recess 16.

To assemble the tubes 11 to the member 10, each tube is simply pushed through a corresponding circular opening 15. The top 17 of each tube will initially strike against the inwardly directing upper part 14 of each flange 13 and because of the "ramping" effect, further forward pushing of the tube will cause each flange 13 to bend backwardly by a few millimetres sufficiently to allow the top 17 of the tube 11 to extend past of the uppermost portion of each flange 13. As soon as the annular recess 16 is in line with the uppermost portion of each flange, the flanges will snap back to the initial position which is illustrated in figure 2 and figure 3 where the top of each flange 13 is in the recess 16. Because the recess is substantially U-shaped, the net result is that the tube (second member) cannot be removed from the first member and is locked to the first member.

The arrangement provides a simple push lock or snap lock arrangement between the first member and a second member with the connecting parts being hidden within the

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0 interior of the first member. Thus, there are no external visible fasteners, weld marks, Sand the like.

00 Figure 4 illustrates one variation where the second member 11 is identical to that described above, but the first member 20 while still being substantially rectangular in cross-section, has a pair of spaced apart flanges 21 depending from the top wall 22.

n The free end of each flange 21 is hook shaped. The arrangement presents a ramped edge 23 as the second member 11 is pushed into the first member 20. As this ohappens, the top of the second member will initially engage with each ramped edge 23 10 and will push apart the two flanges, which will then snap back into a locking position as soon as the annular recess 16 presents itself.

Figures 5-11 illustrate various other modifications and configurations that can be used to achieve the object of the invention. Specifically, figures 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 illustrate different configurations of the aluminium extrusion. Thus, it can be seen that the invention need not be limited to any particular and precise extrusion as various modifications have been given and illustrated.

Figure 6 and 8 illustrate upper guides 30 which comprise short ribs extruded with the aluminium member. The guides function to hold the tube or pin 31 in the manner illustrated in figure 6.

Figure 6 also illustrates a sliding plate 32 that slides in opposed channels 33. An advantage of this arrangement is that plate 32 can contain openings of particular sizes, and therefore aluminium extrusion 34 can remain unchanged, and it is only necessary to change plate 32 should different size openings be required, different shaped openings be required, or differently spaced openings be required.

Figure 1 illustrates an assembled slat screen that can be made using the push lock system as described above.

Throughout the specification and the claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", t) 11 0 0 will be understood to apply the inclusion of the stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

00 Ci Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "substantially" or "about" will be understood to not be limited to cI the value for the range qualified by the terms.

0 It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to Sany embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the 10 invention.

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Claims (14)

1. An assembly comprising a first elongate member and a second member 00 ci that can be connected together, the first elongate member being substantially hollow to define an internal recess and having at least one entry opening to access the internal recess, fastening means in the internal recess, the fastening means comprising at least eone elongate flange that has a free end and that extends from an internal wall in the ointernal recess, and a wall spaced from the elongate flange to define a spacing 0 between the elongate flange and the wall, the second member having a portion that can pass through the entry opening and into the internal recess and between the elongate flange and the wall, the portion having a size which is larger than the spacing between the elongate flange and the wall such that the portion causes the elongate flange to be deflected from an initial position to a deflected position, the portion including a recess that functions to reduce the size of the portion, such that when the recess is aligned with the free end of the elongate flange, the elongate flange moves back to the initial position where the free end is positioned in the recess to prevent the second member from being removed from the first member.

2. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wall comprises a second elongate flange.

3. The assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second elongate flange is also deflected upon insertion of the second member, and contains a free end that is positioned in the recess of the second member upon insertion of the second member into the first member.

4. The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate flange contains an inwardly directing part that comprises a ramped surface, and the second member abuts against the ramped surface to push back the elongate flange upon insertion of the second member into the first member.

The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first member comprises a bottom wall, and a pair of said spaced apart elongate o flanges extend from the bottom wall.

6. The assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein the first 00 member comprises a top wall, and a pair of said spaced apart elongate flanges extend from the top wall.

7. The assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein each said flange contains an internally bent hook portion at the end of the flange, the hook portion presenting a oramped surface.

8. The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the portion of the second member comprises a head portion that forces apart the or each, internal flange upon insertion of the second member into the first member and a recess extending behind the head portion.

9. The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the portion of the second member is cylindrical and the recess is an annular recess.

The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the first elongate member contains a first internal flange extending from one side wall, and a second internal flange extending from the other side wall, the first and second internal flanges being spaced apart to define an opening through which the second member can pass.

11. The assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first internal flange and the second internal flange contains a first portion attached to the side wall and which is substantially at right angles to the side wall, and a second portion which is attached to the first portion and which is angled relative to the first portion, and towards a top wall of the first elongate member.

12. The assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first internal flange and the second internal flange are straight and are aligned relative to each other. O

13. The assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first internal flange and the second internal flange are straight and are angled towards the top wall of the first elongate member. OO

14. The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first elongate member contains a bottom wall, and contains a first internal flange extending from the bottom wall and towards the top wall, and a second internal flange en extending from the bottom wall and towards the top wall, thand a second inteal flanges being spaced oextending from the bottom wall and towards the top wall, the flanges being spaced I from each other to define an opening into which the second elongate member can 0 10 pass. ci An assembly comprising a first member and a second member that are attachable together, one of the members comprising at least one recess, and the other of the members comprising at least one projection whereby the members can be pressed together to cause the projection to pass into the recess to lock the members to each other. Dated this 28 h day of July 2005 Lattice World Pty Ltd 2 0 By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.