US3647252A

US3647252A - Guide for fasteners

Info

Publication number: US3647252A
Authority: US
Inventors: Roger J Nolin; Anthony F Brizzi
Original assignee: Tool Research & Engineering Co
Current assignee: Tool Research & Engineering Co; Tool Research & Engineering Corp
Priority date: 1970-04-03
Filing date: 1970-04-03
Publication date: 1972-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-07

Abstract

A guide for properly aligning elongated fastening means which are used to join opposed parts separated by a substantial distance in an opening. A typical application for the invented screw guide is in a lock or latch assembly where the holding screws must generally pass through a substantial distance to join and engage opposed rosettes.

Description

[ Mar. 7, 1972 United States Patent Nolin et a1.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,500,167 7/1924 Voight 2,314,489 13/1943 [54] GUIDE FOR FASTENERS Roger J. Nolin, Monterey Park; Anthony F. Brlzzi, Santa Ana, both of Calif.

[72] Inventors:

70/452 ....15l/69X 275,287 4/1883 Taylor.....................................70/452 Fennema [73] Assignee: Tool Research 8: Engineering Corporation,

Beverly Hills, Calif.

Apr. 3, 1970 Primary ExaminerRobert L. Spruill AttorneySpensely, Horn & Lubitz [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.:

ABSTRACT A guide for properly aligning elongated fastening means which are used to join opposed parts separated by a substantial distance in an opening. A typical application for the invented screw guide is in a lock or latch assembly where the holding screws must generally pass through a substantial distance to i join and engage opposed rosettes.

DIG. 53; 85/50; 151/69 15 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures euros FOR FASTENERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to the field of guide members for fasteners and more specifically to screw guides for aligning screws used for fastening two opposed parts separated by a substantial distance in an opening.

2. Description of the Prior Art In applications where two opposed and separated parts each having holes therein must be joined by a fastening means engaging the holes, a great deal of unwanted delay and inefficiency is encountered in attempting to suitably align the parts and to assemble the fastening means therein.

One typical type of installation which illustrates the problems of the prior art is the assembly of a door, lock or door latch to a door. Generally, after a standard lock or latch is inserted in its proper opening in a door two face plates or rosettes, each having holes therein, are positioned on either side of the door over the opening. Screws are then inserted through the holes in one face plate, through the lock-receiving opening in the door and engagement with the holes in the other face plate is made. It is quite difficult and extremely time consuming to properly engage the two face plates because the screws tend to fall out of alignment as they pass through the distance separating the face plates. Although various attempts in determining hole and screw size relationships and/or using specially fabricated face plates have been tried, no simple and effective solution to this problem using standard face plates is known. The same problem exists for many other types of applications where two separated parts to be joined must be joined by a fastening member extending across a substantial distance in an opening without any suitable supports or guides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention teaches a unique guide which is simple and is highly effective and allows for the simple installation of separated parts that must be joined by an elongated fastener through aligned holes in each part. The invented guide may be a molded plastic having at least one hollow elongated guide member of substantially uniform wall thickness therein. The hollow elongated guide portion is sized and dimensioned so that when a fastener (e.g., screw or bolt) is inserted part of the opening in this hollow elongated guide is substantially the same as the cross section of the fastener to be used, thus providing a tight engagement with the fastener. The guide is adapted to abut against the inner surface of one of the pans to be joined (e.g., a rosette for a door lock). The guide may be secured to such part by an adhesive or by utilizing any conventional mechanical securing means. The hollow elongated guide portions are disposed and aligned on the part so that one end of the openings are substantially adjacent with the holes in the part to be joined so that the centerlines of the holes are substantially coincident with the centerlines of the hollow elongated guide portions of the guide member. Various schemes and techniques for properly positioning and securing the guide member to the part will be apparent to those skilled in the art. However, one technique using embossed holes and a mechanical fastener will be described in detail hereinafter, by way of example. Also while the embodiments described herein are for a plurality of holes and fasteners, the invented guide may be used for single hole and single fastener applications.

The opening of the elongated guide portion of the invented guide member serves to guide the screw (or other elongated fastener) inserted therein so that irrespective of the angle the screw when it is inserted in the hole it will be properly aligned when seated with the longitudinal axis of the screw substantially coincident with the centerlines of the elongated guide portion and the holes in each of the parts to be joined (e.g., rosettes of a typical lock assembly).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 shows a front elevational view of a typical latch installation in which the invented guide is used;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing how the elongated guide portion of the invented guide properly aligns and seats a screw fastener inserted therein; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the invented fastener.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the invented guide is shown in FIG. 5. FIGS. 1-4 illustrate how the invented guide may be utilized, for example, in conjunction with two rosettes in a lock assembly to secure the rosettes to a door with a minimum amount of alignment difficulties. In this chosen preferred embodiment the elongated guide portion takes a frustoconical shape. In other embodiments the elongated guide portion could be cylindrical, for example, or shaped to conform generally with the cross section of any suitable fastening means.

The invented guide 10 shown in FIG. 5 has two hollow

frustoconical portions

12 and 14 joined by a substantially flat support member 16 and

ribs

18 and 20. The

frustoconical portions

12 and 14 have walls and 14a of substantially even thickness throughout. The smaller ends of the

portions

12 and 14 have

openings

22 and 24 which are sized and dimensioned to provide a relatively tight fit with a suitable elongated fastener (e.g., screw or bolt). While the

holes

22 and 24 may be oversized to a certain degree and still function properly, it is usually desirable to keep the diameter or cross section of the

holes

22 and 24 substantially equal to the diameter or crosssectional area of the fastener. In applications where the portions of the fasteners extending beyond the guide member I0 are long (e.g., about four times the height of the portions 12 and 14) a close fit with the fasteners at

openings

22 and 24 will insure that there are minimal alignment difficulties at the extended ends of the fasteners. The

openings

26 and 28 are sized and dimensioned to have diameters or cross-sectional areas larger than the diameters or cross-sectional areas of the fastener to allow for easy insertion (e.g., about twice the crosssectional area). When face plates or rosettes are utilized the

openings

26 and 28 are generally sized to be slightly larger than the holes or openings in such face plates or rosettes. The supporting portion 16 and

ribs

18 and 20 serve to properly space the frustoconical portions I2 and I4 and to make a rigid integral unit. The guide 10 in FIG. 5 is shown with a hole 30 which will be utilized with a lock shaft in mechanically mounting the guide on a lock rosette as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Other methods or techniques for mounting the guide will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, an adhesive may be used, the guide could be mechanically attached by suitable fastening means such as screws or by pins using interference locking techniques. The guide 10 may be molded from a suitable plastic material such as delrin or nylon, for example. Also, the guide 10 could be die cast zinc or another suitable metal. The materials used and the technique for making the guide are not, per se, the subject matter of the present invention and are mentioned merely to illustrate some commercially feasible materials and techniques.

In FIGS. 1-4 the invented guide is used in a lock or latch assembly, the installation of which has long presented time consuming problems in achieving proper alignment. In FIG. I a typical latch assembly 32 is shown mounted on a door 34. The latch assembly 32 has a knob 36 and

rosettes

38 and 40. In FIG. 2 a portion of a latch mechanism 42 is shown for purposes of illustrating a preferred scheme for mounting the guide member 10 to a rosette 38.

The rosette 38, for example, contains two embossed

screw head holes

380 and 38b which may serve to locate and engage the guide and a hole 380 for receiving a shaft of the latch. The edges of the embossed

holes

38a and 38b fit inside the

openings

26 and 28 of the guide 10 and thus serve to position the guide 10 on the rosette 38. After the guide 10 has been properly aligned on the rosette 38 it may be secured thereto by any conventional means (e.g., mechanical or by adhesives).

The hole 30 in the guide 10 is positioned to align with the hole 380 in the rosette 38. One method of securing the guide 10 to the rosette 38 is to utilize the

integral shaft portions

44 and 46 of the latch mechanism 42 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The shaft portion 44 has a considerably larger diameter than shaft portion 46. Shaft portion 46 is sized to pass through the

openings

30 and 380 and is then secured by conventional means (e.g., interference fit) to knob 36. The diameter of shaft portion 44 is larger than that of the

holes

30 and 380 and the portion 440 serves to abut against the support member 16 around the hole 30 and to thereby secure the guide 10 to the rosette 38 between the knob 36 and the shaft portion 44. If desired, a bowed washer (not shown) may be used between the support member 16 and shaft 44 to insure a tighter fit.

After the guide 10 has been assembled to the rosette 38, two

screws

48 and 50 with suitably shaped

heads

48a and 50a are inserted into the mating embossed

rosette holes

38a and 38b and through the

frustoconical portions

12 and 14 of guide 10. The rosette 38 containing the guide 10 and screws 48 and 50 is then positioned over the door opening 52. Generally, the hole 52 is sized so that the walls of the hole 52 are in partial engagement with part of the outside walls of the

frustoconical members

12 and 14 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, thus serving to position and align the entire rosette assembly. If desired, the

screws

48 and 50 may be inserted after the

rosettes

38 and 40 have been positioned. In any case the screws48 and 50 when inserted into rosette 38 and guide 10 will be aligned to easily pass through the corresponding holes in the rosette 40. The screws or bolts may be retained at their extended ends by conventional retaining means, such as

nuts

54 and 56.

FIG. 4 illustrates in detail how the frustoconical portions of the guide 10 serve to guide and position the screws inserted therein. For example, in FIG. 4 the screw 50 is shown in phanton entering the guide portion 14 at an angle. However, as the screw 50 continues through the guide it is straightened by the slope of the frustoconical portion until the end of the screw finds the properly sized opening 24 and passes through it. Once the leading end of the screw passes through the opening 24 the longitudinal axis of the screw is precisely aligned. The screw 50 may then extend over a long space and still hold its alignment as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example. The time previously lost in manipulating and aligning screws for proper mating is drastically reduced.

Thus, by utilizing a relatively simple and inexpensive guide member the problem of aligning fasteners to mate with opposed parts which are separated by a substantial distance is easily solved. The fasteners are held in a straight position and do not drop out of alignment. The guide may be used on a latch rosette, as described in detail above, or in any other fastening application where the same type of alignment problems exist. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the number of hollow elongated guide or frustoconical portions or the configuration described in the preferred embodiment since it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other configurations and numbers of hollow elongated guide or frustoconical portions can be used without departing from the teachings and scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. In a combination, a device for guiding and aligning elongated fastening means extending through a substantial distance in an opening and a face plate comprising:

a. a face plate having at least one hole therein adapted for receiving an elongated fastening means;

b. a guide means mounted on one side of said face plate having at least one hollow elongated guide member of shorter length than said fastening means and a supporting means;

c. said elongated guide member having at one end thereof a first opening and on the other end thereof a second opening of smaller cross section than said first opening, said first opening being positioned adjacent to and in substantial alignment with the hole in said face plate, said first opening having a cross section substantially larger than the cross section of said fastening means, said second opening having a cross section substantially identical to that of said fastening means to provide a relatively tight engagement between said fastening means and said second opening; and,

said supporting means being integral with said elongated guide member and secured to said face plate.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said elongated guide member has a length and configuration adapted to allow said guide member to partially engage the walls of said opening thereby determining the position and alignment of the guide and face place combination with respect to said opening.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said face plate is a rosette having a plurality of holes for fastening means therein.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which said guide means is secured to said face plate by mechanical fastening means.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which said guide means is secured to said face plate by an adhesive.

6. The combination of claim 3 in which said rosette has at least two spaced embossed holes for fastening means and said guide means contains at least two elongated guide members spaced on centerline corresponding to the centerline of the embossed holes on said rosette; whereby the edges of said embossed holes serve to engage and position said guide means.

7. The combination of claim 6 in which said elongated guide members are joined by said supporting means.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which said supporting means is a relatively flat member having rib means for providing rigidity.

9. In combination a device for guiding and aligning elongated fastening means extending through a substantial distance in an opening and a rosette comprising:

a. a rosette having a given number of holes therein adapted for receiving a plurality of elongated fastening means;

b. a guide means mounted on one side of said rosette having a given number of hollow frustoconical members of shorter length than said fastening means and a supporting means, the number of frustoconical members being equal to the number of holes in said rosette for receiving fastening means;

c. each of said frustoconical members having at one end thereof a first opening and at the other end a second opening of smaller cross section than said first opening, each of said first openings being positioned adjacent to and in substantial alignment with a hole in said rosette, each of said first openings having a cross section substantially larger than the cross section of said fastening means, each of said second openings having a cross section substantially identical to that of said fastening means to provide a relatively tight engagement between said fastening means and said second openings; and,

d. said supporting means being integral with said frustoconical members and secured to said rosette.

10. The combination of claim 9 in which the frustoconical members have walls of substantially even thickness.

ll. The combination of claim 9 in which said guide means is secured to said rosette by mechanical fastening means.

12. The combination of claim 9 in which said guide means is secured to said rosette by an adhesive.

13. The combination of claim 12 in which said frustoconical members are joined by said supporting means.

14. The combination of claim 13 in which said supporting means is a relatively fiat member having rib means for providing ridigity.

15. The device of claim 9 in which said frustoconical members have a length and configuration adapted to allow said guide means to partially engage the walls of said opening thereby determining the position and alignment of the guide and rosette combination with respect to said opening.

Claims

1. In a combination, a device for guiding and aligning elongated fastening means extending through a substantial distance in an opening and a face plate comprising: a. a face plate having at least one hole therein adapted for receiving an elongated fastening means; b. a guide means mounted on one side of said face plate having at least one hollow elongated guide member of shorter length than said fastening means and a supporting means; c. said elongated guide member having at one end thereof a first opening and on the other end thereof a second opening of smaller cross section than said first opening, said first opening being positioned adjacent to and in substantial alignment with the hole in said face plate, said first opening having a cross section substantially larger than the cross section of said fastening means, said second opening having a cross section substantially identical to that of said fastening means to provide a relatively tight engagement between said fastening means and said second opening; and, d. said supporting means being integral with said elongated guide member and secured to said face plate.

9. In combination a device for guiding and aligning elongated fastening means extending through a substantial distance in an opening and a rosette comprising: a. a rosette having a given number of holes therein adapted for receiving a plurality of elongated fastening means; b. a guide means mounted on one side of said rosette having a given number of hollow frustoconical members of shorter length than said fastening means and a supporting means, the number of frustoconical members being equal to the number of holes in said rosette for receiving fastening means; c. each of said frUstoconical members having at one end thereof a first opening and at the other end a second opening of smaller cross section than said first opening, each of said first openings being positioned adjacent to and in substantial alignment with a hole in said rosette, each of said first openings having a cross section substantially larger than the cross section of said fastening means, each of said second openings having a cross section substantially identical to that of said fastening means to provide a relatively tight engagement between said fastening means and said second openings; and, d. said supporting means being integral with said frustoconical members and secured to said rosette.

11. The combination of claim 9 in which said guide means is secured to said rosette by mechanical fastening means.

14. The combination of claim 13 in which said supporting means is a relatively flat member having rib means for providing ridigity.