FR2789748A1 - PROFILE CONNECTION DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for assembling a first profiled section (7) having an inner cavity (71) and a second profiled section (8) having at least a longitudinal groove (81), the device comprising two arms (1, 2) having at their ends a pair of jaws (11, 21) designed to be inserted in said second profiled section longitudinal groove (81), the two arms being linked at their other ends by an articulation (12, 25), the arms being perforated with a housing (16, 26) receiving a rotary spindle (3) with a substantially cylindrical body (30) provided with a head (31) formed with an actuating profile (32) adapted to be urged in engagement with a tool, such as a key, said spindle (3) including spacing means (4) for spacing apart the two jaws so as to be urged in engagement with the openings of the narrowed opening. The invention is characterised in that it further comprises cam means (30, 31) for moving the jaws inside the inner cavity of the first profiled section.

Description

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  The present invention relates to a connection device for assembling two sections in a removable manner by securing one end of a section along the length of the other section in order to build a structure. This type of device finds its application in the assembly of exhibition stands for example, or any other light structure intended to be dismantled quickly. There is already a wide variety of hollow metal profiles, generally made of aluminum, which have at least one longitudinal groove having a narrowed opening. For example, for a profile of rectangular section, the

  grooves are located laterally on the sides of smaller dimension.

  For the assembly of two such profiles, it is well known to use jaw connection devices capable of engaging in the groove of a profile and of holding it fixedly by spacing the jaws. This type of device comparable to a clamp generally has two arms provided with a pair of jaws at one of their ends, while the other two ends of the arms are integral with one another and capable of relative pivoting. so as to spread the jaws constituting the pair. In the most frequent case, a screw received in a threaded bore formed in one of the arms presses by positive rotation of the screw against the internal face of the other arm to urge the two arms away from one of the other and thus block the jaws in the

profile groove.

  The screw is designed so that its head protrudes from the outside face of the receiving arm, even in a position separated from the device. Thus, the head of the screw constitutes a retaining stud for the device, the body of which is engaged in the hollow part of a profile at the end thereof. The device is held in place in the profile by inserting the head of the screw into a hole in said profile near its end and located so that the

  single jaws protrude from the end of the profile.

  By way of example, mention may be made of French patent FR-2 502 267 which discloses a jaw device for the assembly of the profile comprising a first jaw element the opposite end of which is provided with a beak-shaped part. providing a pivoting zone, intended to cooperate with the inner wall of a hook-shaped part of the second jaw element. Conventionally, the spacing of the two jaw elements is

  secured by a screw received in one of the two elements.

  In this device, the spacer screw can only be introduced into its threaded bore after insertion of the device into the hollow end of the profile

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  and aligning the bore with the hole in the profile. It therefore follows an additional mounting operation which may have the unfortunate consequence of introducing the device too far into the profile, the tapped bore going beyond the hole with the jaws fully penetrating the profile. It is therefore difficult to extract the device since it is elusive at

inside the profile.

  In the same field, patent application FR-2 341 770 describes a device for fixing spacers in the form of an elastic piece of hairpin, the body of which is engaged in the end of a hollow spacer. and whose free ends are bent at right angles and elastically penetrate into a longitudinal groove of another spacer in which they are retained. Similarly, the body of the clamp is secured to the spacer by a spacer screw passing through both a

  branch of the hairpin and the spacer through a light.

  This mounting piece, apparently made from a single piece of sheet metal, has the disadvantage of being deformed by relative displacement of the two branches of the hairpin relative to one another, when a force is exerted, tending to move the spacer receiving the body of the device from its square position relative to the spacer receiving the curved ends. This results in a shift of the two curved end parts relative to each other by varying the elasticity of the bent part of the hairpin. Admittedly, the manufacturing cost of such a part is lower, but its lifespan is considerably shortened and the stability of the structure

  using such parts is also affected.

  In addition, as in the device described above, the spacer screw can only be mounted in its housing once the device

  inserted in the spacer opposite the hole. The same disadvantages ensue, that is

  i.e. inserting the device too deep into the spacer.

  Another problem related to this type of device of the prior art lies in the fact that the fixing of the jaws in the groove of the profile to be connected is only achieved by the spacing of said jaws. In some cases, the simple spacing of the jaws is not sufficient to ensure perfect

  stability of the structure to be built.

  The invention therefore aims to overcome these disadvantages of the prior art by defining a connection device using a rotary pin operable with a screwdriver or a hexagon wrench through a hole

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  formed in the receiving profile, which can, on the one hand, be introduced in the mounted state inside the receiving profile, which, on the other hand, permanently ensures perfect stability of the connection device, and which addition allows a

  improved attachment in the groove of the profile to be connected.

  To do this, the present invention provides a connection device for assembling a first profile having an internal cavity and a second profile having at least one longitudinal groove having a narrowed opening, the device comprising two arms having at one of their ends a pair of jaws intended to protrude from said internal cavity of the first profile so that it can be inserted into said longitudinal groove of the second profile, the two arms being connected at their other ends by a joint, the arms being pierced with a housing receiving a rotary spindle having a substantially cylindrical body provided with a head protruding from said housing and intended to be received in a hole formed in said first profile, said head being formed with an actuation profile adapted to engage with a tool, such as a wrench, said spindle comprising spacing means nt to move the two jaws away from each other, so as to engage with the edges of the narrowed opening, characterized in that it further comprises cam means for moving the jaws towards the inside the internal cavity of the first profile. Thus, the device no longer acts only by spacing the jaws but also by traction on the edges of the opening of the profile to be connected. Indeed, since the cam means ensure a displacement of the jaws towards the interior of the cavity, when they are spaced apart by the spacing means, the fixing of the receiving profile to the profile to be connected is improved due to the addition of a force component linked to the tensile movement. A more stable and robust structure can thus be

  made with this connection device of the invention.

  According to one embodiment, the cam means are made in that the head is arranged eccentrically with respect to said body of the spindle, so that a rotation of the head housed in the hole of the first profile causes a displacement of the body of the spindle housed in the arm housing outside the axis of rotation of the head. The head of the spindle being locked in the hole of the first receiving profile, the rotation of the head using a screwdriver or an Allen key necessarily causes an eccentric displacement of the body of the spindle which is inserted into the housing formed in the arms. It follows

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  a displacement of the arms inside the cavity of the receiving profile. On the other hand, the spacing means comprise a spacer element integral in rotation with the spindle between a rest position in which said spacer element is housed in a recess formed between the two arms so that their jaws can come into contact with one another, and an interposition position in which said spacer is disposed between the arms so as to separate their jaws. According to one embodiment, the spacer element is in the form of a rod segment connecting the body of the spindle in an offset manner. The rotation of the body of the spindle therefore causes, firstly, the spacing of the jaws by the interposition of the spacer element, and secondly, secondly the displacement of the arms and therefore jaws towards the inside of the cavity of the receiving profile. Thus, in a single operation, we spread and pull the jaws inward. As soon as the spacer comes out of its recess, the jaws are moved apart, and the two arms are gradually pulled towards the inside of the cavity as the body of the spindle rotates eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the head locked in the hole of the receiving profile. It is possible, for example, to arrange the head of the spindle so that the maximum traction, that is to say the maximum displacement of the arms towards the interior of the cavity of the receiving profile, is reached after a quarter turn corresponding to a displacement of 90 of the spacer around the

body of the spindle.

  According to a particularly interesting characteristic, the spacer element blocks the spindle in its housing. Since the spacer is permanently placed between the two arms, either in the recess or outside the recess, the spindle is thus blocked in the

  housing and cannot get out of it.

  In order to ensure an easy snap-fastening of the head of the spindle into the hole made in the receiving section, the spindle is urged out of its housing by elastic means such as a spring. On the other hand, the elastic means allow precise and appropriate positioning of the spacer element by

  relative to the two arms, which facilitates its exit from the recess.

  According to another advantageous characteristic, the spindle, the spacer and the elastic means constitute a unitary part when they are mounted with the arms. Thus, during assembly of the device, it suffices to separate the

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  two arms sufficient to allow the introduction of the spindle equipped with its spacer element and its elastic means inside the housing formed in the arms. This considerably facilitates the mounting of the connection device. On the other hand, because the body of the spindle performs an eccentric rotary movement, the arms are moved not only back and forth inside the cavity but also transversely. Therefore, the arms have a width less than that of the cavity of the first profile of the order of a few millimeters to allow transverse movement of the arms under the action of the rotary spindle which moves eccentrically during the

rotation of his head.

  According to another characteristic, the spindle has a total height less than that of the cavity of the first profile so that the connection device can be extracted from the cavity or put in place in the cavity without dismantling it. Thus, it is possible to extract the connection device from its receiving cavity by simply pressing on the head of the spindle so as to disengage it from its hole in the receiving section, then pull the device by its jaws. Similarly, it can be put in place by sliding the

  head under the edge of the cavity until it clicks into the hole.

  These extraction and storage operations can only be carried out

  when the device is at rest, jaws joined.

  According to another advantageous characteristic, the jaws each comprise a vertical traction surface intended to come into traction engagement with the respective internal edge of the longitudinal groove. The traction is thus carried out over an extended surface and no longer over a line as is the case in the devices of the prior art. The tensile force is thus exerted so

  then uniform on the edges of the longitudinal groove.

  The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings which give an embodiment by way of non-limiting example.

of the invention.

  In the drawings - FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view through a connection device according to the invention introduced inside an internal cavity of a receiving profile, the connection device being in the rest position not apart ;

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  - Figure 1b is a view similar to that of Figure 1a with the connection device in the separated fixing position - Figure 2a is a top view of the device shown in Figure la; - Figure 2b is a top view of the device shown in Figure lb - Figures 3a and 3b respectively show a cross-sectional view and a top view of the pin used in the device

connection of Figures la to 2b.

  The connection device used to illustrate the present invention and shown in the drawings comprises three essential constituent parts, namely two arms 1 and 2, and a rotary pin 3. The two arms I and 2 can be made of aluminum by spinning while pin 3 can be made of steel. The two arms 1 and 2 have at one of their ends a pair of jaws 11, 21 which can be arranged contiguously (fig. La) or away from each other (fig. Lb). These jaws extend perpendicular to the receiving section 7 in the figures, but it is also conceivable that the jaws extend obliquely so that the section to be connected is not square with the receiving section. To allow the movement of the two jaws 11, 21 relative to each other, the two arms 1, 2 are connected by a joint which is here constituted by a ball joint. The particular type of ball joint, which should not be considered as limiting, consists of the fitting of a ball joint appendage 12 formed at the end of the arm 1, in a ball joint housing formed by the end of the arm 2 which is configured in a substantially curved manner. The end of the arm 2 forms a sort of elbow produced by the parts 22 and 23 which close in the direction of a rib 24 to form the housing in which the appendage 12 of the arm 1 is fitted. The elbow of the arm 2 and the rib 24 define a plurality of contact points 25 on which the ball joint appendage 12 comes into frictional contact. The axis of rotation of the ball joint appendage 12 is located substantially in the center of the appendage, precisely at the center of the contact points 25. To prevent the two arms 1 and 2 from moving too far apart, and also for impart an elastic return to the arms in the joined position, a rod of elastic material, for example rubber, is placed in a housing formed by the arms I and 2 as can be seen in FIGS. 1a and 1b. With this type of articulation, the arm I can pivot relative to the arm 2 about an axis of rotation which is perfectly fixed and stable. This ensures perfect

  alignment of the two jaws 11 and 21.

  This type of articulation is only one embodiment, and other types of articulation can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. To urge the two jaws 1 1 and 21 away from one another, use the spindle 3 which is inserted in a housing formed by coincident bores 16 and 26 formed through the arms I and 2 nearby of

  jaws 11 and 21. The housing crosses the two arms 1 and 2 right through.

  The spindle 3 comprises a cylindrical body 30 which is engaged inside the housing 16, 26 and a head 31 which projects out of the housing inside a hole 72 formed in a receiving section 7 inside which the connection device is inserted as can be seen in Figures la and lb. The head 31 has a diameter substantially equal to or somewhat less than the diameter of the hole 72

  so that the head 31 is housed inside the hole 72 substantially without play.

  Since the body 30 of the spindle 3 has a diameter greater than that of the head 31, the body 30 is entirely located inside the cavity of the

receiver profile 7.

  According to the invention, the head 31 is arranged eccentrically relative to the body 30 of the spindle 3. Their axes of rotation therefore do not coincide. Therefore, a rotation of the head 31 housed in the hole 72 causes an eccentric rotary displacement of the body 30 housed in the housing 16, 26. To allow the head 31 to be driven in rotation, the latter is formed with a actuation profile, here in the form of a hexagon housing 32. Thus, by rotating the head 31 using a hexagon wrench, the body 30 of the spindle rotates around the axis of rotation of the head 31 which does not coincide with that of the body 30 of the spindle. The body 30 thus acts as a cam for

  move the arms 1, 2 inside the cavity of the receiving section 7.

  Since the movement of the body 30 of the spindle 3 is eccentric, the component of its movement is not only axial but also transverse so that the arms 1, 2 are also displaced transversely inside the cavity 71 of the receiving section 7. To allow this transverse movement, the arms 1, 2 have a width which is less than that of the receiving section 7 of the order of a few millimeters, as

  it can be seen in Figures 2a and 2b.

  The cam action of the body 30 driven in eccentric movement by the rotation of the head 31 therefore has the effect of exerting a traction on the arms I and 2 towards the interior of the cavity 71 of the receiving section 7. When the jaws 11 and 21 are spaced apart as can be seen in FIG. 1b, the movement of the body 30 towards the inside of the cavity of the receiving section 7 has the effect of exerting traction on the internal edges 82 of the longitudinal groove 81 d 'a profile 8 to be connected to the receiving profile 7. It should also be noted that the jaws 11, 21 each comprise a traction surface 111, 121 which extends vertically in the figures, that is to say in parallel at the inner edges of the throat. Strength

  traction is thus more uniform on the edges of the groove.

  Thus, in addition to the spacing fixing, the present connection device exerts a traction towards the inside of the receiving section 7 which

  increases the fixing force of profile 8 to profile 7.

  We will now explain in detail how the jaws

  i 1 and 21 are biased away from one another.

  According to the invention, the body 30 of the spindle 3 is provided with a spacer element, here in the form of a rod segment 4, which is integral in rotation with the spindle 30. This spacer element 4 , which can also be produced by a protuberance or a projection of the body 30, is arranged between the arms 1 and 2. In the rest position shown in FIGS. 1a and 2a, the spacer 4 is disposed between the two arms I and 2 in a place where they form a respective recess 17, 27, in which the spacer 4 can be housed so that the jaws 11, 21 are contiguous, as can be seen on figure la. The housing formed by the recesses 17 and 27 is of oblong shape, as can be seen in Figure la, for a reason which will be given below. In the rest position, the spacer 4 is therefore housed in the recesses 17, 27. By driving the head 31 of the spindle 3 in rotation, the spacer 4 is forced to come out of its housing 17, 27 to be placed between the two arms 1 and 2, as can be seen in Figures 1b and 2b. The interposition of the spacer 4 has the effect of spreading the jaws 11 and 21. As can be seen in FIG. La, the two arms 1 and 2 at the outlet of the recesses 17 and 27 are not perfectly contiguous but form slopes 18, 28 to facilitate the exit of the spacer 4 from its housing and to impose the direction of rotation "to the right". It is therefore understood that the maximum spacing will be reached, as soon as the spacing element 4 has left the

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  slopes formed by the arms, which occurs after a rotation of a few degrees. According to a characteristic of the spindle, the spacer 4 is connected to the body 30 of the spindle in an offset manner so that the spacer 4 cannot be received in the recess 17, 27, after a rotation of 180 as can be seen in Figure 2b with the dangling tail. Indeed, for reasons of ease of manufacture, the recesses 17 and 27 of the arms 1 and 2 extend over the entire width of the arms, as can be seen in FIGS. 2a and 2b. By arranging the spacer element in an offset manner, it can only be housed on one side of the spindle inside the housing 17, 27, so that the arms are joined only when at rest. The operator therefore knows where is

  the spacer 4 when the jaws 11 and 21 are contiguous.

  The spindle 3 and the spacer 4 can be made in one piece. However, for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, they are preferably made in two parts: for this purpose, the body 30 of the spindle is pierced with an off-center blind hole 34 in which a rod segment 4 is forcefully inserted. Once assembled, the spindle and the spacer 4 form a

indivisible unitary part.

  According to another characteristic, the spindle 3 is provided with elastic means 5 which urge it in the direction of the hole 72 formed in the receiving section 7. In the embodiment of the figures, these elastic means are in the form of a spring whose one end is fixedly housed inside a housing 33 formed in the body 30 of the socket at its end opposite to the head 31, as can be seen in FIGS. 1a and 1b. Once mounted in the housing 33, the spring 5 is secured to the spindle 3 so that the assembly formed by the spindle and the spacer and the spring 5

  constitutes an indivisible unitary piece which suffices to be mounted between the arms 1, 2.

  The spring 5 allows an easy snap-fastening of the head 31 inside the hole 72 which also has the effect of positioning the spacer element perfectly between the two arms 1 and 2. In addition, the spring 5 allows have the necessary clearance to allow the head 31 to disengage from the hole 72 allowing

  thus extracting the device from the internal cavity of the receiving section 7.

  To do this, the pin 3 has a total height less than the height of the internal cavity 71. The connection device according to the invention can thus be removed from its receiving profile without having to dismantle it. To allow the re-entry of the head 31 inside the internal cavity 71 against the action of the spring

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  , the housing in which the spacing element 4 is positioned is produced oblongly to allow the spacing element 4 to descend with

  pin 3 to extract the device from its receiving profile.

  With such a spindle provided with an eccentric head and a rotary spacer, as well as a spring, a connection device is obtained which can be removed from its receiving profile without dismantling it and whose jaws 11 and 21 work both in spacing and in traction. At the start of the rotation of the head 31, the spacer 4 immediately comes out of its housing 17, 27 which causes the jaws 11 and 21 to move apart. Continuing the rotation of the head 31, the arms 1 and 2 move gradually inside the cavity 71 thus creating a progressive traction. The maximum spacing is from the exit of the recess 17, 27 while the maximum traction is reached after a rotation of about 135. This angle value is defined by the eccentric position of the head. It can be seen in FIG. 3b that the head is positioned at 135 from point C in positive rotation. The operator will know that an effective fixing will be obtained for a rotation of 90 (quarter turn), the remaining 45 will thus constitute a reserve of tightening useful to compensate for the clearances

due to tolerances or wear.

Claims (10)

Claims:   1.- Connection device for assembling a first profile (7) having an internal cavity (71) and a second profile (8) having at least one longitudinal groove (81) having a narrowed opening, the device comprising two arms (1, 2) having at one of their ends a pair of jaws (11, 21) intended to protrude from said internal cavity (71) of the first profile so as to be able to be inserted into said longitudinal groove (81) of the second profile , the two arms being connected at their other ends by a hinge (12, 25), the arms being pierced by a housing (16, 26) receiving a rotary spindle (3) having a substantially cylindrical body (30) provided with a head (31) projecting from said housing (16, 26) and intended to be received in a hole (72) formed in said first profile (7), said head being formed with an actuation profile (32) adapted to engage with a tool, such as a key, said spindle (3) comprising spacing means (4) for moving the two jaws away from each other so as to engage with the edges of the narrowed opening, characterized in that '' it further comprises cam means (30, 31) for moving the jaws towards   inside the internal cavity of the first profile.   2.- Device according to claim 1, wherein the cam means are made in that the head (31) is arranged eccentrically relative to said body (30) of the spindle (3), so that a rotation of the head (31) housed in the hole (72) of the first profile (7) causes the body (30) of the spindle housed in the housing (16, 26) of the arms (1, 2) to move out of the axis of head rotation.   3.- Device according to claim I or 2, wherein the spacing means comprise a spacer element (4) integral in rotation with the spindle (3) between a rest position in which said spacer element is housed in a recess (17, 27) formed between the two arms (1, 2) so that their jaws (II, 21) can come into contact with one another, and an interposition position in which said element spacing is arranged   between the arms so as to spread their jaws.   4.- Device according to claim 3, wherein the spacer element   (4) blocks the spindle (3) in its housing (16, 26). 12 2789748   5.- Device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the spacer element is in the form of a rod segment (4) connecting the body   (30) of the spindle (3) offset.   6.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, in   which the spindle is biased out of its housing by elastic means (5) such as a spring.   7.- Device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein   the spindle (3), the spacer (4) and the elastic means (5) constitute   a unitary part during their assembly with the arms (1,2).   8.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, in   which arms have a width less than that of the cavity of the first profile of the order of a few millimeters to allow transverse movement of the arms under the action of the rotary spindle which moves   eccentrically when rotating his head.   9.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, in   which the spindle has a total height less than that of the cavity of the first profile so that the connection device can be removed from the cavity without removing it.   10.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims,   in which the jaws (11, 21) each comprise a vertical traction surface (111, 121) intended to come into traction engagement with the internal edge   respective (82) of the longitudinal groove (81).