Patent Publication Number: US-2010111637-A1

Title: Fastening assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure generally relates to fastening assemblies and, particularly, to a counter-rotate fastening assembly. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     When assembling two or more components together, fastening members such as bolts are usually used to connect the components. However, the fastening members may loosen when the fastening members during vibration and repeated cyclic loading. Thus, the fastening members may loosen or fall off from the components over time. A counter-rotate mechanism may be formed on the fastening members to prevent the fastening members from loosening or falling off. 
     A typical fastening assembly includes a housing, a tube partially received in the housing, a threaded pole extending through the housing and the tube, and a spring received in the housing. A top end of the tube forms a flange and a bottom end of the housing forms a flange engaging with the flange of the tube, thus preventing the tube from falling off from the housing. Ends of the spring resist the tube and the threaded pole. When the fastening assembly is used to connect components, the spring is compressed and generates an elastic force to resist the tube. The tube tightly contacts a surface of the components, thus preventing the fastening assembly from rotating relative to the components. 
     However, the tube is not detachable from the housing. The housing should be machined to form a flange at an end to prevent the tube from falling off during assembling the tube to the housing, making assembly inconvenient. In addition, if one of the tube and the housing is damaged, both the tube and the housing must be replaced, increasing costs. 
     Therefore, a new fastening assembly is desired to overcome the above-described shortcomings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views, and all the views are schematic. 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled, isometric view of one embodiment of a fastening assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the fastening assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cut-away view of the fastening assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the fastening assembly of  FIG. 1 , showing the fastening assembly connecting two components. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , one embodiment of a fastening assembly  100  includes a threaded fastening member  10 , a housing  30  sleeved on the threaded fastening member  10 , a resilient member  50 , and a slidable member  70 . 
     Also referring to  FIG. 3 , the threaded fastening member  10  is a bolt including a cap  11  and a shaft portion  13 . The cap  11  forms a flange  111  adjacent to an end opposite to the shaft portion  13 . The shaft portion  13  forms a threaded portion  131  at an end opposite to the cap  11 . 
     The housing  30  may be a hollow cylinder. The housing  30  defines a friction portion  31  at an outer surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the friction portion  31  includes a plurality of elongated protrusions. The housing  30  is fixed relative to the threaded fastening member  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the housing  30  and the threaded fastening member  10  are integrally formed by injection molding. The flange  111  is engaged in the housing  30 . In alternative embodiments, the threaded fastening member  10  and the housing  30  may be fixed together by other manners, such as welding, riveting, and so on. The cap  11  of the threaded fastening member  10  may be exposed out of one end of the housing  30 , and the threaded portion  131  of the threaded fastening member  10  protrudes out of the other end of the housing  30 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the resilient member  50  is a column, compression spring, received in the housing  30  and sleeved on the shaft portion  13 . 
     The slidable member  70  is a hollow cylinder forming a resisting portion  71  at a middle portion of an inner surface of the slidable member  70  and a joining portion  73  at one end. The resisting portion  71  defines a threaded hole  711  capable of engaging with the threaded portion  131  of the threaded fastening member  10 . The joining portion  73  includes a flat end  731  and a plurality of teeth  733 . 
     The resilient member  50  is sleeved on the shaft portion  13  of the threaded fastening member  10 . The shaft portion  13  of the threaded fastening member  10  extends through the threaded hole  711  of the slidable member  70  by rotating the threaded fastening member  10 . When the threaded portion  131  of the shaft portion  131  passes the threaded hole  711 , the slidable member  70  is partially received in the housing  30 . Ends of the resilient member  50  resist the cap  11  of the threaded fastening member  10  and the resisting portion  71  of the slidable member  70 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the fastening assembly  100  used to connect a first component  91  to a second component  93 . The first component  91  defines a first connecting hole (not labeled), and the second component  93  defines a threaded second connecting hole  931 . A diameter of the first connecting hole corresponds to an outer diameter of the flat end  731  of the slidable member  70 . The threaded portion  131  of the threaded fastening member  10  runs through the first connecting hole and engages with the second connecting hole  931 . As the threaded portion  131  engages in the second connecting hole  931 , the slidable member  70  slides relative to the housing  30 , the resilient member  50  is compressed, and the teeth  733  abut against the first component  91 . An elastic force generated by the resilient member  50  acts on the slidable member  70 , and as a result, the slidable member  70  resists a surface of the first component  91 . Therefore, the slidable member  70  is prevented from rotating relative to the first component  91 , and the fastening assembly  100  avoids or reduces the likelihood of becoming loosened or disengaging from the first and second components  91 ,  93 . 
     In addition, if one of the slidable member  70  and the threaded fastening member  10  is damaged, only the damaged member and not both, needs to be replaced. Furthermore, the fastening assembly  100  is easy to assemble. 
     The engagement of the joining portion  73  and the first connecting hole allows the slidable member  70  to tightly engage with the first component  91 . In alternative embodiments, the teeth  733  of the joining portion  73  may be omitted and the diameter of the first connecting hole of the first component  91  may be smaller than the diameter of the slidable member  70 . In this case, the flat end  731  resists the surface of the first component  91 . 
     In an alternative embodiment, the resisting portion  71  of the slidable member  70  may define a hole with a protrusion formed on an inner sidewall of the hole and extending parallel to an axis of the resisting portion  71 . Accordingly, the shaft portion  13  of the threaded fastening member  10  defines a slot corresponding to the protrusion of the slidable member  70 . The threaded fastening member  10  can engage with or detach from the slidable member  70  by making the protrusion of the slidable member  70  face the slot of the threaded fastening member  10 . When the protrusion of the slidable member  70  is offset with the slot of the threaded fastening member  10 , the threaded fastening member  10  is not detachable from the slidable member  70 . 
     Finally, while various embodiments have been described and illustrated, the disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various modifications can be made to the embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.