Apparatus for inserting, securing and extracting receptacles, such as equipment cases

A device is disclosed by which a portable receptacle can be inserted onto, secured to and extracted from a stationary support. The device utilizes a pair of cooperating securing members, one of which is attached to the support and the other of which is attached to the receptacle. The securing member on the receptacle is stationary. The other securing member is movable linearly and rotatably. When the two securing members are engaged with each other, they can cooperate in connection with the insertion, securement and extraction of the receptacle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to inserting securing and extracting 
apparatus, and, more particularly, to such apparatus by which a portable 
receptacle, such as an equipment case, can be inserted onto, secured to 
and extracted from a stationary support, such as a horizontal rack. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Swing-bolt, hold-down devices have been used in the aviation industry to 
retain equipment cases on mounting racks. Such devices generally operate 
by securing a collar over a retaining hook which is attached to a front 
panel of the equipment case. The collar is forced down onto the hook by a 
nut and threaded rod, the threaded rod being pivotally attached to the 
mounting rack. 
Some of the devices described in the preceding paragraph just secure the 
equipment case to the mounting rack. Others facilitate the insertion of 
the equipment case onto the mounting rack, as well as secure the case to 
the rack. Most of these devices are not, however, designed to facilitate 
the extraction of the equipment case from the mounting rack. 
In the aviation industry especially, the equipment case often interfaces 
with the mounting rack through blind electrical connectors which include a 
plurality of mated connector pins. The extraction force required to 
overcome friction between the mated connector pins can exceed two hundred 
pounds, thereby making the normal manual extraction of the equipment case 
difficult. 
Although some swing-bolt, hold-down devices are adapted to facilitate the 
extraction of the equipment case from the mounting rack, these devices 
require a portion of the equipment case to protrude below the mounting 
rack. Such a protrusion of the equipment case can, in some cases, 
complicate the insertion of the equipment case onto the mounting rack. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The problems and disadvantages of the prior art devices discussed above are 
overcome in accordance with the present invention by providing a new and 
improved securing device by which a portable receptacle can be inserted 
onto, secured to and extracted from a stationary support. More 
particularly, the new and improved device includes a first securing member 
attached to the receptacle and a second securing member attached to the 
support. The second securing member is mounted on a mounting rod or shaft 
such that the second securing member is movable along the mounting rod in 
one direction toward the first securing member and in an opposite 
direction. The second securing member is also movable between a position 
in which the second securing member engages the first securing member and 
another position in which the second securing member disengages the first 
securing member. A driver, which itself is movable along the mounting 
mechanism, moves the second securing member along the mounting rod to a 
location in which the second securing member is engageable with the first 
securing member, whereby the first and second securing members can 
cooperate with each other to insert the receptacle onto the support and/or 
to secure the receptacle to the support. The driver, which can be in the 
form of a handle, also moves the second securing member along the mounting 
rod in an opposite direction, whereby the second securing member, when it 
is engaged with the first securing member, cooperates with the first 
securing member to at least partially extract the receptacle from the 
support. 
In one embodiment, the second securing member is rotatably mounted on the 
mounting rod such that the second securing member can be rotated into and 
out of engagement with the first securing member. In this embodiment, the 
second securing member is coupled to the driver such that the second 
securing member can be rotated without rotating the driver, which itself 
may be rotatably mounted on the mounting rod by, for instance, a pair of 
mating screw threads. So that the securing device will not interfere with 
the complete extraction of the receptacle, the mounting rod can be 
pivotally mounted to a floating pivot pin which is supported by a bracket 
mounted underneath the support, whereby the mounting rod and hence the 
driver and the second securing member can be pivoted out of the way after 
the first and second securing members are disengaged from each other. 
Inasmuch as the first securing member does not protrude below the rack, it 
does not interfere with the extraction of the receptacle. 
In a typical installation, two devices constructed in accordance with the 
present invention would be employed. The two devices would be identical to 
each other and would be mounted one alongside the other.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT 
Although the present invention can be used in connection with many 
different types of receptacles and many different types of receptacle 
supports, it is especially suitable for use in connection with an aviation 
equipment case and a mounting rack therefor. Accordingly, the present 
invention will be described in connection with an aviation equipment case 
and its associated mounting rack. 
Referring to FIG. 1, an aviation equipment case 10 is retained on a 
horizontal mounting rack 12 by a pair of securing devices 14. The 
equipment case 10 interfaces with the rack 12 through blind electrical 
connections (not shown) which include a plurality of mated connector pins 
(not shown). The equipment case 10 is conventional except that the 
standard equipment case hooks are replaced with special hooks 16, each of 
which forms a part of a corresponding one of the securing devices 14. 
Inasmuch as both of the securing devices 14 are identical, only one of 
them will be described below. 
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the securing device 14 includes, in 
addition to the hook 16, a bracket 18 attached by any suitable means, such 
as bolts, to the bottom of the rack 12. The bracket 18 includes a pivot 
pin 20 located below an inclined surface 22 of the bracket 18. 
A shaft 24 has an elongated slot 26 which receives the pivot pin 20 such 
that the shaft 24 is pivotable about and slideable over the pivot pin 20. 
The slot 26 is arranged at an angle relative the longitudinal axis of the 
shaft 24 for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The shaft 24 is also 
provided with external threads 28. 
A collar 30 is freely mounted on the shaft 24 such that the collar 30 can 
slide back and forth along the shaft 24 and such that the collar 30 can be 
rotated about the shaft 24. With particular reference to FIGS. 4-6, the 
collar 30 includes a bore 32 through which the shaft 24 passes. The collar 
30 is also provided with an internal, semi-circular groove 34 on one side 
of the collar 30 and another internal, semi-circular groove 36 on an 
opposite side of the collar 30. An opening 38 provides access to the 
groove 34, while an opening 40 provides access to the groove 36. The 
groove 34 is sized and shaped so as to receive the hook 16, the opening 38 
permitting the hook 16 pass into the groove 34. A pin 42 is provided on 
the same side of the collar 30 as the groove 34 and the opening 38. The 
pin 42 functions as a stop for the hook 16 when the hook 16 is received 
within the groove 34. 
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, in general, and FIGS. 7 and 8, in 
particular, a handle 44 has a bore 46 which is provided with internal 
threads 48 adapted to threadedly engage the external threads 28 on the 
shaft 24 such that upon the rotation of the handle 44 in one arcuate 
direction the handle 44 moves along the shaft 24 in one linear direction, 
and such that upon the rotation of the handle 44 in an opposite arcuate 
direction the handle 44 moves along the shaft 24 in an opposite linear 
direction. The handle 44 also includes a cylindrical barrel 50 having a 
circular flange 52 extending radially outwardly from one end and a pair of 
ears extending radially outwardly from an opposite end. The flange 52 is 
sized and shaped so as to be rotatably received within the groove 36 of 
the collar 30, the opening 40 permitting the flange 52 to pass into the 
groove 36 before the handle 44 and the collar 30 are mounted on the shaft 
24. Thus, the flange 52 cooperates with the groove 36 to couple the handle 
44 to the collar 30, whereby the handle 44 and the collar 30 move 
conjointly along the shaft 24 as a unit. However, because the flange 52 is 
rotatably received within the groove 36, the collar 30 can be rotated 
about the shaft 24 independently of any rotation of the handle 44. 
The operation of the present invention will now be described with reference 
to FIGS. 1-3. In order to insert the equipment case 10 onto the rack 12, 
the case would be manually positioned on the rack 12 and then slid over 
the rack 12 until the connector pins (not shown) are engaged. One of the 
securing devices 14 is then manipulated into the position illustrated in 
FIG. 3, whereby the hook 16 is aligned with the opening 38. The collar 30 
can then be rotated until the hook 16 contacts the pin 42, whereby the 
hook 16 is engaged by the collar 30. Upon the rotation of the handle 44 in 
an appropriate arcuate direction, the handle 44 and hence the collar 30 
move along the shaft 24 toward the end which is provided with the slot 26, 
whereby the shaft 24 slides relative to the bracket 18 until the pivot pin 
20 moves relative to the slot 26 from the position illustrated in FIG. 3 
to the position illustrated in FIG. 2. When the shaft 24 can no longer 
move relative to the bracket 18, the continued rotation of the handle 44 
causes the further linear movement of the handle 44 and hence the collar 
30 along the shaft 24 such that the equipment case 10 is completely 
inserted onto the rack 12, the force applied to the case 10 by the handle 
44 and the collar 30 overcoming the friction produced as a result of the 
contact between the connector pins (not shown). The shaft 24 may be 
provided with indicia, such as a red line 54 (see FIG. 2), which provides 
a visible indication that the equipment case 10 has been completely 
inserted onto the rack 12. 
The above procedure is then repeated for the other one of the securing 
devices 14. With both of the securing devices 14 in the position 
illustrated in FIG. 2, the equipment case 10 is firmly secured to the rack 
12. 
In order to remove the equipment case 10 from the rack 12, the handle 44 of 
one of the securing devices 14 is rotated in an opposite direction, 
thereby causing the shaft 24 to slide relative to the bracket 18 until the 
pivot pin 20 moves relative to the slot 26 from the position illustrated 
in FIG. 2 to the position illustrated in FIG. 3. During such movement, the 
angle of inclination of the shaft 24 varies until the shaft 24 lies flat 
against the inclined surface 22 of the bracket 18. When the shaft 24 can 
no longer more relative to the bracket 18, the continued rotation of the 
handle 44 causes the handle 44 and hence the collar 30 to move along the 
shaft 24 away from the end having the slot 26. Because the hook 16 is 
engaged by the collar 30, the equipment case 10 moves conjointly with the 
handle 44 and the collar 30 so as to partially extract the case 10 from 
the rack 12. The force applied to the equipment case 10 by the handle 44 
and the collar 30 overcomes the friction produced as a result of the 
contact between the connector pins (not shown). By rotating the collar 30 
such that the hook 16 is aligned with the opening 38, the collar 30 can be 
disengaged from the hook 16, thereby permitting the shaft 24 to fall away 
by gravity. 
The above procedure is then repeated for the other one of the securing 
devices 14. With both of the securing devices out of the way, the 
equipment case 10 can now be completely removed from the rack 12 manually 
by, for instance, pulling on a handle (not shown). 
It will be understood that the embodiment described herein is merely 
exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations 
and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the 
invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be 
included with the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims 
.