CN212324465U

CN212324465U - Quick-lock fastener and quick-lock system

Info

Publication number: CN212324465U
Application number: CN202020911587.2U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 江秉桦
Original assignee: Southco Lock Technology Shenzhen Co ltd
Current assignee: Southco Lock Technology Shenzhen Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-26
Filing date: 2020-05-26
Publication date: 2021-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-26
Also published as: TWM618074U

Abstract

A quick lock fastener and quick lock system according to the present application includes: a housing having a bottom wall extending in a longitudinal direction, two side walls respectively connected to both sides of the bottom wall, and an open side opposite to the bottom wall, thereby defining an inner space in which the open side of the housing is open; a post disposed at least partially in the interior space of the housing and protruding from both ends of the housing in a longitudinal direction, the post being movable in the housing in the longitudinal direction and rotatable about the longitudinal direction and comprising a non-circular section extending in the longitudinal direction and a helical head at one end of the post; a guide stopper which is provided in the inner space of the housing so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal direction without being movable in the longitudinal direction, is fitted over the post, and is fitted to the outer contour shape of the non-circular section of the post, for guiding the longitudinal movement of the post and restricting the rotation of the post; and a bracket disposed at the open side of the housing, mounted on both sidewalls of the housing, and contacting and supporting the non-circular section of the post.

Description

Quick-lock fastener and quick-lock system

Technical Field

The application relates to a quick-locking fastener, in particular to a quick-locking fastener for electronic equipment such as a server. The present application further relates to a quick-lock system employing the quick-lock fastener.

Background

Generally, in electronic devices such as servers, it is necessary to fasten one object to another, for example, to fasten one circuit board to another. Attachment means such as screws, snaps, connectors, etc. may be used to accomplish the fastening function described above. In application scenarios where items are often fastened and released when needed, a convenient and fast fastener, i.e. a quick-lock fastener, is needed. Furthermore, there is a need for a quick-lock fastener that can achieve the fastening function stably and accurately.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present application proposes a quick-lock fastener and a quick-lock system to at least partially solve the above problems.

A quick lock fastener according to the present application includes: a housing having a bottom wall extending in a longitudinal direction, two side walls connected to both sides of the bottom wall, respectively, and an open side opposite to the bottom wall, thereby defining an inner space in which the open side of the housing is open; a post disposed at least partially in the interior space of the housing and protruding from both ends of the housing in a longitudinal direction, the post being movable in the housing in the longitudinal direction and rotatable about the longitudinal direction and comprising a non-circular section extending in the longitudinal direction and a helical head at one end of the post; a guide stopper which is provided in the inner space of the housing so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal direction without being movable in the longitudinal direction, is fitted over the post, and is form-fitted to an outer contour of the non-circular section of the post, so as to guide the longitudinal movement of the post and restrict the rotation of the post; and a bracket disposed at an open side of the housing, mounted on both sidewalls of the housing, and contacting and supporting the non-circular section of the post.

In one embodiment, the bottom wall of the housing is provided with a window extending along the transverse direction of the housing; the guiding and limiting part is annular and is provided with a non-circular through hole corresponding to the shape of the outer contour of the non-circular section and a protrusion extending from the outer circumferential surface of the annular section, and the rotation of the guiding and limiting part can drive the protrusion to slide in the range defined by the window of the shell.

In one embodiment, the non-circular section of the post has a polygonal cross-sectional profile and the non-circular through-hole has a corresponding polygonal cross-sectional profile.

In one embodiment, the bracket is sheet-shaped and has a straight portion in a line shape and an arc portion in an arch shape, and a middle portion of the straight portion and a middle portion of an outer periphery of the arc portion are connected to each other.

In one embodiment, the two side walls have corresponding grooves at the open side, respectively, for both ends of the straight portion of the bracket to be engaged in the grooves, and the inner circumferential surface of the arc portion faces the inner side of the housing and contacts and supports the post.

In one embodiment, the quick lock fastener further comprises a resilient member located in the interior space of the housing with one end abutting the post and the other end abutting the housing so as to bias the other end of the post opposite the screw head away from the housing.

In one embodiment, the quick-lock fastener further comprises a knob, the other end of the post opposite the screw head and the knob being rotatably connected to each other by a knob shaft perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

In one embodiment, the quick-lock fastener further comprises a screw fastening part fastened to the one end of the post and having the screw head so as to be longitudinally movable and rotatable together with the post.

According to the present application, a quick-lock system comprises: a first article on which a quick-lock fastener as herein described is mounted; a second object provided with a mounting portion; wherein the mounting portion corresponds to a screw head of the quick lock fastener, allowing the screw head to be screwed into the mounting portion.

In one embodiment, the helical head is shaped to be capable of being secured to or released from the mounting portion upon rotation through 90-180 degrees.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1G are front, left, right, top, bottom, perspective view at one angle, perspective view at another angle of a quick-lock fastener according to the present application;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views from one angle and from another angle of the housing of a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of one angle and another angle of a post of a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a screw fastening portion of a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views of one angle and another angle of a knob of a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a lead stop of a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a bracket for a quick lock fastener according to the present application;

FIG. 9A shows a quick-lock fastener according to the present application not being threaded into a mounting portion or being ready to be threaded into a mounting portion;

FIG. 9B shows the quick lock fastener according to the present application in a condition where it has completed threading into the mounting portion;

fig. 10A and 10B show a quick-lock system according to the present application in its installed condition and installed condition, respectively.

List of reference numerals

100 quick-locking fastener

110 casing

111 side wall

112 open side

113 window

114 groove

115 reserved function part

116 end face

117 bottom wall

120 column

121 non-circular section

122 button engagement

123 screw fastener engagement

124 elastic member locking part

130 screw fastening part

131 engagement feature

132 helical head

140 knob

141 knob body

142 knob shaft

150 guide limit piece

151 non-circular through hole

152 project

160 support

161 straight part

162 arc portion

163 joint pin

170 elastic member

200 mounting part

300 first object

400 second object

Detailed Description

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.

Reference is first made to fig. 1A-1G, which generally illustrate the quick-lock fastener 100 of the present application, and fig. 2, which illustrates an exploded view of the quick-lock fastener 100. Quick-lock fastener 100 can be quickly fastened to mounting portion 200 or released from mounting portion 200 (fig. 9A-9B). In an exemplary embodiment, quick-lock fastener 100 is secured to first article 300, while mount 200 is secured to second article 400. Thus, the first and

second objects

300 and 400 can be quickly fastened to or detached from each other by the quick-lock fastener 100 and the mount portion 200 (fig. 10A-10B). The quick-lock fastener 100 includes a housing 110, a post 120, a screw fastening portion 130, a knob 140, a guide stopper 150, a bracket 160, and an elastic member 170.

The detailed structure of the housing 110 will now be described with reference to fig. 3A-3B.

As shown, the housing 110 is for housing most of the components of the quick-lock fastener 100 and can be secured to the first article 300 by fastening means such as screws or form-fitting. The housing 110 is an elongated member, and thus defines a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The case 110 has a bottom wall 117 extending in a longitudinal direction, two side walls 111 connected to both sides of the bottom wall 117, respectively, and an open side 112 opposite to the bottom wall 117, thereby defining an inner space where the open side 112 of the case 110 is open. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the bottom wall 117 is curved in cross-section, while the two side walls 111 are flat in cross-section, so that the entire housing 110 is substantially door-shaped in cross-section. However, it should be understood that the cross-section of the housing 110 may be of other geometric shapes, such as generally circular, depending on the shape of the first article 300 and the shape of the post 120, so long as it allows the housing 110 to be secured to the first article 300 and allows rotational and longitudinal movement of the post 120.

Both ends of the housing 110 in the longitudinal direction are open so that the posts 120 can protrude from both ends of the housing 110. The bottom wall 117 of the housing 110 is formed with a window 113 extending along the transverse direction of the housing 110, so that the guide stopper 150 can rotate around the longitudinal direction in the housing 110, but cannot move along the longitudinal direction, which will be described in detail below. Both side walls 111 of the housing 110 are opened at the same longitudinal position with grooves 114 extending in the transverse direction so as to engage the brackets 160. The housing 110 is further provided with a cylindrical pre-functional portion 115 outside the bottom wall 117 for mounting other components that facilitate the function of the quick lock fastener 100, which is not expanded herein. The two side walls 111 of the housing 110 form end surfaces 116 near the open side, which end surfaces 116 may be attached to the surface of the first article 300300. In one embodiment, the flat 161161 of the mount 160160 is planar with the end face 116 of the housing 110.

The detailed structure of the post 120 will now be described with reference to fig. 4A-4B.

It should be understood that in the embodiment shown in the figures, the post 120 and the screw fastening portion 130 are described as two separate components assembled together, but in other embodiments, the post 120 and the screw fastening portion 130 may be formed as one component.

As shown, the post 120 is elongated so as to be at least partially housed inside the housing 110. The post 120 includes a non-circular section 121 extending over a majority of its longitudinal length. In the embodiment shown, the non-circular section 121 is octagonal in cross-section, however it will be readily appreciated that in other embodiments the non-circular section 121 may be geometrically shaped such as square, hexagonal, asymmetric polygonal, elliptical, cam-shaped, etc. The non-circular section 121 has a uniform cross-sectional shape over its length to enable sliding through the guide stop 150.

A screw fastener engaging portion 123 is provided at one end of the post 120 to engage the screw fastening portion 130. In the embodiment shown, the helical fastener engagement portion 123 is a recess recessed into the interior of the post 120. However, it should be understood that other means of engagement are possible. At the opposite end of post 120 is a knob 140 engagement and spring catch 124. The knob 140 engagement portion is a hole extending in the lateral direction, which allows the knob 140 to be engaged to the post 120 in a manner rotatable about the lateral direction with respect to the post 120. Spring detents 124 are edges of protrusion 152 in the transverse direction of post 120 for spring 170 to rest thereon.

The detailed structure of the screw fastening part 130 will now be described with reference to fig. 5.

As shown, the helical fastening portion 130 includes two portions distributed in the longitudinal direction, namely an engagement feature 131 and a helical head 132. The engagement feature 131 is a shaped feature, such as a friction-increasing surface pattern, for mating to the helical fastener engagement portion 123 of the post 120. The helical head 132 allows the quick lock fastener 100 to be quickly fastened to the mounting portion 200. The screw head 132 includes a plurality of helical surfaces extending around its periphery. Two helical surface embodiments are shown, however in practice the helical head 132 may comprise three, four, or more helical surfaces without departing from the inventive concepts of the present application. Also, the helical surface is shown as extending over a range of 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the helical head 132, however in practical applications the helical surface may extend over a range other than 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the helical head 132, for example may extend over any range between 90 degrees and 180 degrees, or may extend to other ranges without departing from the concepts of the present application.

The helical surface of the present application has a different configuration than the typical thread, and thus, when engaged with a correspondingly configured hole in mount 200, allows post 120 to be securely engaged to mount 200 by being rotated only 90 to 180 degrees, without the need to thread many turns as with conventional threads to form a secure engagement.

In the case where the post 120 and the helical fastener are formed as one piece, the helical head 132 is formed directly at one end of the post 120 as part of the post 120.

The specific structure of the knob 140 will now be described with reference to fig. 6A-6B.

As shown, the knob 140 is a generally sheet-like member that functions to be held by a user for rotating the post 120. The knob 140 has a knob body 141 and a rotation shaft 142 at one side of the knob body 141, the rotation shaft 142 being inserted into the button engaging part 122 of the other end of the post 120 such that the post 120 and the knob 140 can rotate relative to each other about the transverse direction of the post 120 but cannot rotate relative to each other about the longitudinal direction of the post 120. Thus, the action of the user rotating the button about the longitudinal direction causes the post 120 to rotate about the longitudinal direction. Also, when the knob 140 is not required to be used, the knob 140 may be rotated about the lateral direction in order to reduce the space occupied by the knob 140.

A specific structure of the guide stopper 150 will now be described with reference to fig. 7.

As shown, the guide stop 150 is ring-shaped, having a non-circular through hole 151 corresponding to the outer profile shape of the non-circular section 121 of the post 120, and a protrusion 152 extending from the outer peripheral surface of the ring. The guide stopper 150 is in the inner space of the housing 110 to be rotatable about the longitudinal direction without moving in the longitudinal direction. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the guide stop 150 is disposed in the housing 110 by the protrusion 152 of the guide stop 150 being inserted into the window 113 of the housing 110 and being able to slide laterally along the window 113. In other embodiments, the guide stoppers 150 may be configured to rotate around the longitudinal direction inside the housing 110 without moving in the longitudinal direction in other manners.

The guiding stopper 150 is disposed on the post 120 and matches with the outer shape of the non-circular section 121 of the post 120 to guide the longitudinal movement of the post 120 and limit the rotation of the post 120. The rotation of the guide limiting member 150 can drive the protrusion 152 to slide within the range defined by the window 113 of the housing 110. Specifically, the range of rotation of the post 120 is limited by the range of sliding of the protrusion 152 of the guide stopper 150 in the window 113.

The specific structure of the bracket 160 will now be described with reference to fig. 8.

As shown in the drawings, the bracket 160 has a plate shape and has a straight portion 161 having a line shape and an arc portion 162 having an arc shape, and a middle portion of the straight portion 161 and a middle portion of an outer periphery of the arc portion 162 are connected to each other. Both ends of the straight portion 161 have engaging legs 163 continuously extending along the extending direction of the straight portion 161, respectively. The two engaging legs 163 are respectively inserted into the grooves 114 of the two side walls 111 of the housing 110, so that the bracket 160 is mounted on the housing 110 in such a manner as to cross the open side 112 of the housing 110 with the arc-shaped portion 162 facing the inside of the housing 110. Thus, the inner peripheral surface of the arcuate portion 162 of the bracket 160 contacts and supports the non-circular section 121 of the post 120.

The guide stoppers 150 and the brackets 160 function to prevent shaking and shifting of the column 120. In practice, because the housing 110 and post 120 may be elongated in shape and the first article 300 may have a greater weight, during the securing of the first article 300 to the second article 400 by the quick lock fastener 100, the post 120 may wobble, move laterally, or deflect within the housing 110 such that the screw head 132 of the quick lock fastener 100 cannot align with the hole in the mounting portion 200. The support of post 120 by guide stop 150 and cradle 160 facilitates smooth movement and rotation of post 120 within housing 110, thereby facilitating proper alignment of helix head 132 with the bore of mounting portion 200.

In addition, spring 170 is located in the interior space of housing 110 with one end abutting post 120 (specifically spring stop 124 of post 120) and the other end abutting housing 110 to bias the end of knob 140 of post 120, i.e., the end opposite screw head 132, away from housing 110.

The operation of the quick lock fastener 100 of the present application to secure to the mounting portion 200 is now described with reference to fig. 9A-9B.

As shown in fig. 9A, the quick-lock fastener 100 has not yet been fastened to the mounting portion 200. The user pushes post 120 against the biasing force of spring 170 via knob 140 so that screw head 132 is adjacent and aligned with the hole in mount 200. The user then merely rotates knob 140 90-180 degrees to secure screw head 132 in the bore of mount 200. After the screw head 132 is tightened, the user may rotate the knob 140 about the lateral direction to reduce the space occupied by the knob 140, as shown in fig. 9B.

It will be appreciated that the release process of the quick lock fastener 100 operates in reverse of the fastening process described above.

The operation of the quick lock fastener 100 of the present application to fasten a first article 300 and a second article 400 to each other will now be described with reference to fig. 10A-10B.

As shown in fig. 10A, the quick-lock fastener 100 is secured to a first article 300 and the mounting portion 200 is secured to a second article 400. The first article 300 is secured to the second article 400 by the secure relationship between the quick lock fastener 100 and the mount 200. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the first article 300 and the second article 400 are both circuit boards, but it will be readily appreciated that the quick-lock fastener 100 of the present application may be applied in any scenario.

As shown in fig. 10B, the quick-lock fastener 100 is released from the mounting portion 200. At this time, the first and

second objects

300 and 400 may be separated.

In summary, the present application provides a quick-lock fastener 100 and a quick-lock system that can quickly and easily fasten or release one object to another. Moreover, through the design of the guide limit 150 and the bracket 160, the quick-locking fastener 100 and the quick-locking system of the present application have the advantages of stability and accuracy, and bring a good use experience to users.

While preferred embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only. Numerous modifications, changes, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A quick lock fastener comprising:

a housing having a bottom wall extending in a longitudinal direction, two side walls connected to both sides of the bottom wall, respectively, and an open side opposite to the bottom wall, thereby defining an inner space in which the open side of the housing is open;

a post disposed at least partially in the interior space of the housing and protruding from both ends of the housing in a longitudinal direction, the post being movable in the housing in the longitudinal direction and rotatable about the longitudinal direction and comprising a non-circular section extending in the longitudinal direction and a helical head at one end of the post;

a guide stopper which is provided in the inner space of the housing so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal direction without being movable in the longitudinal direction, is fitted over the post, and is form-fitted to an outer contour of the non-circular section of the post, so as to guide the longitudinal movement of the post and restrict the rotation of the post; and

a bracket disposed at an open side of the housing, mounted on both sidewalls of the housing, and contacting and supporting the non-circular section of the post.

2. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the bottom wall of the shell is provided with a window extending along the transverse direction of the shell;

the guiding and limiting part is annular and is provided with a non-circular through hole corresponding to the shape of the outer contour of the non-circular section and a protrusion extending from the outer circumferential surface of the annular section, and the rotation of the guiding and limiting part can drive the protrusion to slide in the range defined by the window of the shell.

3. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the cross-sectional profile of the non-circular section of the post is polygonal, and the cross-sectional profile of the non-circular through hole is correspondingly polygonal.

4. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the support is the slice, and has the straight portion that is "one" font and is arched arc portion, the middle part of straight portion with the middle part of the outer periphery of arc portion is connected each other.

5. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 4, wherein:

the two side walls are respectively provided with corresponding grooves at the open side so as to clamp the two ends of the straight part of the bracket in the grooves, and the inner peripheral surface of the arc part faces the inner side of the shell and contacts and supports the column.

6. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the quick lock fastener further includes a resilient member located in the interior space of the housing with one end abutting the post and the other end abutting the housing so as to bias the other end of the post opposite the screw head away from the housing.

7. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the quick-lock fastener further includes a knob, and the other end of the post opposite to the screw head and the knob are rotatably connected to each other by a knob shaft perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

8. The quick lock fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the quick lock fastener further includes a screw fastening part fastened to the one end of the post and having the screw head so as to be longitudinally movable and rotatable together with the post.

9. A quick lock system, comprising:

a first article having mounted thereon a quick lock fastener as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8;

a second object provided with a mounting portion;

wherein the mounting portion corresponds to a screw head of the quick lock fastener, allowing the screw head to be screwed into the mounting portion.

10. The quick lock system according to claim 9, wherein:

the screw head is shaped to be capable of being fixed to or released from the mounting portion by being rotated 90-180 degrees.