WO2008055288A1

WO2008055288A1 - A fastener retaining device

Info

Publication number: WO2008055288A1
Application number: PCT/AU2007/001602
Authority: WO
Inventors: Neil Whittaker; Luke Andrew Jenner; Edward Anthony Gardner
Original assignee: Bucyrus Australia Underground Pty Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-11-09
Filing date: 2007-10-27
Publication date: 2008-05-15
Also published as: AU2007317178B2; AU2007317178A1

Abstract

A fastener retaining device (10) for retaining a fastener (11) in position includes a flexible body member (12) having at least one receiving formation (14) for receiving a first part of the fastener (11). A restraining arrangement (22) is carried by the body (member 12), the restraining arrangement (22) interacting with at least one further part of the fastener (11) for restraining movement of the body member (12) and the fastener (11) relative to each other when the first part of the fastener (11) is received in its associated receiving formation (14), in use.

Description

"A fastener retaining device"

Cross-Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2006906264 filed on 9 November 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a fastener retaining device. More particularly, the invention relates to a fastener retaining device for retaining a fastener in position in use, the fastener being used to fasten two components together.

Background to the Invention

In applications such as long wall mining, long hydraulic lines are used for the mining equipment. The hydraulic lines are made up of predetermined lengths which are secured together end to end by a coupling comprising mating female and male components.

A fastener, in the form of a staple, is used for retaining the male component within the female component. A typical long wall face may contain up to 30,000 staples.

The staple is a U-shaped element. A problem exists that, with repeated insertion and removal of a staple, 'it may work loose in operation. Also, in general operation of the hydraulic circuit, where vibrations occur, a staple can work loose.

A danger exists that, if the staple does work loose, due to the high pressures in the hydraulic line, the female component and the male component may separate from each other resulting in serious or even fatal injuries as well as damage to surrounding equipment.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided a fastener retaining device for retaining a fastener in position in use, the fastener being used to fasten two components together, the fastener retaining device including: a flexible body member having at least one receiving formation for receiving a first part of the fastener; and a restraining arrangement carried by the body member, the restraining arrangement interacting with at least one further part of the fastener for restraining movement of the body member and the fastener relative to each other when the first part of the fastener is received in its associated receiving formation, in use.

As indicated above, the invention is intended particularly for use in retaining staples in position for holding a female component and a male component of a coupling together. The invention will be described below with reference to that application but those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention could be applied to other types of fasteners such as, for example, bolts.

The body member may be an elongate element and may be in the form of a strap. The strap may be of a synthetic plastics material to enable it to be cut to facilitate removal of the fastener when it is desired to do so.

The strap may include a locking element at a first end with a locking formation at an opposed end. The locking element may be in the form of a boss-like head portion of the strap having an engaging formation which engages the locking formation. The locking formation may be carried on a tail portion of the strap. The engaging formation may be a pawl or tang carried in an opening of the boss-like head portion through which the tail portion is received. The locking formation may be a saw tooth or serrated array which is engaged ratchet and pawl-style by the engaging formation of the locking element.

The receiving formation may comprise a socket defining portion which defines a socket shaped to accommodate a head of the fastener. Side walls of the socket defining portion may be configured to facilitate flexing of the socket defining portion so that the socket defining portion fits snugly about the first part of the fastener. In the case where the fastener is a U-shaped staple, the crown of the fastener may be a bridging portion of the staple which bridges and interconnects spaced limbs of the staple. The restraining arrangement may be in the form of at least one opening defined in the strap in a longitudinally spaced position relative to the receiving formation of the strap. Once again, when the fastener is in the form of a staple having a pair of limbs, the restraining arrangement may comprise two longitudinally spaced openings, in or through each of which one of the limbs is received. In use, the limbs of the staple may be inserted through aligned passages or bores of the female and male components of the coupling. The retaining device is placed about the staple by receiving the head or bridging portion of the staple in the receiving formation of the staple and wrapping the strap about the periphery of the female component of the coupling such that ends of the limbs protrude through the openings in the strap. The tail portion of the body member may then be inserted into the boss and pulled to tighten the retaining device about the female component to retain the staple in position relative to the coupling.

To enable the age of the device to be determined, the body member may be of a particular colour.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a first embodiment of a fastener retaining device for retaining a fastener in position;

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the retaining device;

Fig. 3 shows an end view of the retaining device, in use;

Fig. 4 shows a side view of a female component of a coupling;

Fig. 5 shows an end view of the female component; Fig. 6 shows an end view of a fastener in the form of a staple;

Fig. 7 shows a front view of the staple;

Fig. 8 shows a side view of the staple in position in the coupling and retained in position by the retaining device, part of the retaining device being omitted for the sake of clarity; Fig. 9 shows an end view of the staple retained in position relative to the coupling via the retaining device, once again part of the retaining device being omitted for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 10 shows a plan view of a second embodiment of a fastener retaining device for retaining a fastener in position; and Fig. 1 1 shows a side view of the retaining device.

Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiment

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally designates a first embodiment of a fastener retaining device for retaining a fastener in the form of a staple 1 1 (Figs. 6 and 7) relative to two components to be held together by the staple 1 1.

The retaining device 10 comprises an elongate body member in the form of a strap 12. The strap 12 includes a receiving formation or socket defining portion 14 defining a socket 16 in which a crown 18 (Fig. 3) of the staple 1 1 is received. The crown 18 of the staple 11 is a bridging portion bridging a pair of spaced limbs 20 of the staple 1 1. The strap 12 further defines a restraining arrangement in the form of a pair of longitudinally spaced openings 22. In addition to being longitudinally spaced from each other, the openings 22 are longitudinally spaced from the receiving formation 14. As illustrated more clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings, ends 24 of the limbs 20 of the staple 1 1 protrude, in use, through the openings 22 of the strap 12, as will be described in greater detail below.

The retaining device 10 further includes a locking element 26 arranged at one end of the strap 12 and forming a head portion of the strap 12. The locking element 26 is in the form of a raised boss 28 defining an opening 30. An engaging formation in the form of a tang or pawl 32 projects into the opening 30 of the locking element 26.

The pawl 32 engages a locking formation in the form of a serrated or saw tooth array 34 arranged on a tail portion 12.1 of the strap 12. Thus, the locking element 26 cooperates with the serrated array 34 in a similar fashion to a cable tie for securing the strap 12 about a female component 36 of a coupling, in use. The retaining device 10 is a one-piece moulding of a synthetics plastics material.

This enables the retaining device 10 to be cut loose from the component when desired to release the staple 1 1. The retaining device 10 is also rendered in one of a number of colours. Each colour represents a particular time so that one can tell at a glance the age of the retaining device, in use. Referring now to Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawings, a second embodiment of a fastener retaining device 10 is shown. With reference to the previous drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts unless otherwise specified.

In this embodiment, side walls 42 of the receiving formation 14 are cut into a saw tooth-like pattern 44. This facilitates bowing of the receiving formation 14 about crown 18 of the staple 1 1 so that the receiving formation 1 follows the curvature of the crown 18 of the staple 1 1 and fits snugly about the crown 18.

In addition, the tail portion 12.1 of the strap 12 is tapered to facilitate the insertion of the tail portion 12.1 into the opening 30 of the locking element 26.

In use, the retaining device 10 is intended for retaining the staple 1 1 in position relative to components of a coupling. The female component 36 of the coupling is shown in greater detail in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. The female component 36 has recesses 38 at opposed ends. A male component (not shown) of the coupling is received in each recess 38. The male component is carried on the end of a length of hydraulic line (not shown). The female component 36 has a pair of opposed bores 40 arranged transversely to, and intersecting, the recess 38, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The limbs 20 of the staple 1 1 are received in these bores 40. The male component of the coupling has similar bores which, when the male component is inserted into the recess 38, align with the bores 40 of the female component 36 to define open passages through which the limbs 20 of the staple 1 1 can pass.

Thus, once the male component has been inserted into the recess 38 of its associated female component 36, the limbs 20 of the staple 1 1 are inserted through the aligned passages. As illustrated most clearly in Figs. 3, 8 and 9 of the drawings, the crown 18 of the staple 1 1 stands proud of the periphery of the female component 36. Further, the ends 24 of the limbs 20 of the staple 11 protrude beyond the periphery of the female component 36. Therefore, to retain the staple 1 1 in position relative to the coupling comprising the female component 36 and the male component, the retaining device 10 is placed about the periphery of the female component 36. This is done by placing the crown 18 of the staple 1 1 in the socket 16 of the receiving formation 14 of the strap 12. The strap 12 is wound about the periphery of the female component 36 such that the end 24 of each limb 20 of the staple 1 1 is received in one of the openings 22 in the strap 12.

The tail portion 12.1 of the strap 12, carrying the locking formation 34, is inserted into the opening 30 of the boss 28 of the locking element 26 of the retaining device 10. The pawl 32 of the locking device 26 engages the serrations of the locking formation 34 ratchet fashion. The retaining device 10 is tightened about the periphery of the female component 36 by pulling on the tail portion 12.1 of the strap 12. It is to be noted that the tail portion 12.1 and the locking device 26 are omitted from Figs. 8 and 9 for the sake of clarity.

Hence, by means of the invention a simple retaining device 10 is provided for retaining the staple 1 1 in position relative to the coupling. The chances of the hydraulic line separating due to the staple 1 1 working loose from the coupling is dramatically reduced due to the retention of the staple 1 1 in position by the retaining device 10, thereby improving the safety of the hydraulic line. Moreover, it is a reasonably simple procedure to remove the retaining device, when desired, simply by cutting it and removing it from the staple 1 1. The staple 1 1 can then be removed from the coupling to enable the coupling to be disassembled for whatever reason, for example, to add a further length of hydraulic line or to disassemble the hydraulic line. In addition by colour coding the device 10, the age of the device 10 can be easily determined.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A fastener retaining device for retaining a fastener in position in use, the fastener being used to fasten two components together, the fastener retaining device including: a flexible body member having at least one receiving formation for receiving a first part of the fastener; and a restraining arrangement carried by the body member, the restraining arrangement interacting with at least one further part of the fastener for restraining movement of the body member and the fastener relative to each other when the first part of the fastener is received in its associated receiving formation, in use.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the body member is an elongate element in the form of a strap.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the strap is of a synthetic plastics material to enable it to be cut to facilitate removal of the fastener when it is desired to do so.

4. The device of claim 2 or claim 3 in which the strap includes a locking element at a first end with a locking formation at an opposed end.

5. The device of claim 4 in which the locking element is in the form of a boss-like head portion of the strap having an engaging formation which engages the locking formation.

6. The device of claim 5 in which the locking formation is carried on a tail portion of the strap.

7. The device of claim 6 in which the engaging formation is a pawl carried in an opening of the boss-like head portion through which the tail portion is received.

8. The device of claim 7 in which the locking formation is a serrated array which is engaged ratchet and pawl-style by the engaging formation of the locking element.

9. The device of any one of the preceding claims in which the receiving formation comprises a socket defining portion which defines a socket shaped to accommodate a head of the fastener.

10. The device of claim 9 in which side walls of the socket defining portion are configured to facilitate flexing of the socket defining portion so that the socket defining portion fits snugly about the first part of the fastener.

1 1. The device of any one of the preceding claims in which the restraining arrangement is in the form of at least one opening defined in the body member in a longitudinally spaced position relative to the receiving formation of the body member.

12. The device of any one of the preceding claims in which, to enable the age of the device to be determined, the body member is of a particular colour.