Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0125824B1/en
Timestamp: 2019-08-24 20:26:22
Document Index: 460855060

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 80', 'art 84', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 80', 'art 84', 'art 84', 'art 80', 'art 84', 'art. 29']

EP0125824B1 - Dismountable structure - Google Patents
Dismountable structure Download PDF
EP0125824B1
EP0125824B1 EP19840302836 EP84302836A EP0125824B1 EP 0125824 B1 EP0125824 B1 EP 0125824B1 EP 19840302836 EP19840302836 EP 19840302836 EP 84302836 A EP84302836 A EP 84302836A EP 0125824 B1 EP0125824 B1 EP 0125824B1
EP19840302836
EP0125824A2 (en
EP0125824A3 (en
MAGID ROBERT
1983-05-12 Priority to GB8313067 priority Critical
1983-05-12 Priority to GB838313067A priority patent/GB8313067D0/en
1984-01-27 Priority to GB848402148A priority patent/GB8402148D0/en
1984-01-27 Priority to GB8402148 priority
1984-04-27 Application filed by Robert Magid filed Critical Robert Magid
1984-04-27 Priority claimed from AT84302836T external-priority patent/AT35169T/en
1984-11-21 Publication of EP0125824A2 publication Critical patent/EP0125824A2/en
1985-06-26 Publication of EP0125824A3 publication Critical patent/EP0125824A3/en
1988-06-15 Publication of EP0125824B1 publication Critical patent/EP0125824B1/en
Swiss Patent Specification No. 398 201 describes a device for releasable connection of a driving element, such as a shaft, to a driven element. The shaft has at one end a solid journal provided with a transverse hole through which projects a pin biased by a helical spring. With this journal may be interlocked the driven element which has at one end a sleeve-like portion shaped and sized to receive the journal, the sleeve-like portion being provided with a transverse hole into which enters the spring biased pin when the two transverse holes are in alignment whereby interlocking is achieved. In this arrangement the single pin could easily be depressed by a finger, or any of a number of commonly used objects (e.g. a nail, pencil or screw driver), whereby the two parts may become disconnected. Although this arrangement is satisfactory for the intended use, it cannot be used for instance for a climbing frame for children, because a child could easily disconnect parts connected in this manner and this could have serious consequences. The locking pin described in this specification must be situated in a transverse hole passing through a substantially solid journal and is not foreseen to be used in a hollow or tubular journal.
French Patent Specification 2 240 487 describes a locking device, particularly for use in cartridges for magnetic tapes. The device uses a plurality of locking elements designed for the intended use and consequently not capable of withstanding forces of the magnitude generated when one or more children are climbing and swinging on a frame.
This is achieved according to the invention by a dismountable structure claimed in Claim 1.
Figure 1 shows a tube and an L-shaped connector interlocked by a fastener;
Figure 2 shows a front elevation of a first embodiment of a fastener;
Figure 3 shows a section along line A-A in Fig. 2;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a fastener;
Figure 5 shows a connector in cross-section with a fastener inserted in it;
Figure 6 shows, in cross-section, a connector and a tube partly assembled and a fastener in a position in which it does not interlock the connector and tube;
Figure 7 is the same view as Figure 6 with the fastener in its locking position;
Figure 8 shows one end of a tube;
Figure 9 and 10 are perspective views of a T-shaped connector;
Figure 11 is a front elevation of a bendable elbow connector;
Figures 12 and 13 show, respectively, the two arms of the connector shown in Fig. 11;
Figure 14 shows a pin half;
Figure 15 shows a pivot pin composed of two pin halves shown in Figure 14;
Figures 16 and 17 are perspective views of a first part and a second part, respectively of a stub axle;
Figure 18 is an exploded view of the two parts shown in Figs. 16 and 17 and a wheel carried thereby; and
Figure 19 shows a tool for unlocking the fastener.
Figure 1 shows a tube 10 connected to an L-shaped connector 20 by means of a fastener.
The fastener 30 shown in Figure 2 comprises a substantially square-shaped frame 31 which carries in the middle of the outer face of each of its sides a neck 32 supporting a substantially cylindrical head 33. As is apparent from Figure 3, the front portion of each head 33 has on its radially outer end an oblique surface 34 while the rear portion of each head 33 extends radially along its whole length and ends at a transverse surface 35. The frame 31 is relatively thin and made of a resilient material, so that its sides can readily collapse and the heads 33 can be deflected towards the centre of the frame 31 and return, on being released, to their initial position. Each head 33 carries at its bottom a stop 36.
The fastener 30A shown in Figure 4 is of a crown appearance and is substantially symmetrical with respect to an axis. It has a base formed by a ring 31A from which extend .four arms 32A spaced 90° from each other around the periphery of the ring 31A. Each arm carries at its free end a head 33A which is substantially the same as the head 33, except that the head 33A has no neck and no stop. The fastener 30 is preferred to the fastener 30A, and only the former will therefore be referred to in the following text.
The L-shaped connector 20 is a two-way connector having a core 21 and two tubular male sockets 23 extending at right angles to each other. The core 21 provides a shoulder 22 at each socket 23. In each socket 23 are made four radial holes 24 spaced through 90° from each other, all at the same distance from the shoulder 22.
In practice one fastener 30 is inserted in each socket 23 of the connector 20 such that the heads 33 of the fastener 30 pass through the holes 24 and protrude to an extent limited by the stop 36 above the outer surface of the socket 23 with all the oblique surfaces 34 facing the free end of the socket 23. This can be seen in Figures 1 and 5.
The tube 10 and the connector 20 are assembled by manually sliding the tube 10 on to one of the sockets 23 of the connector 20 in which is inserted the fastener 30 as described above with reference to Figures 1 and 5. The tube 10 is slid so far that its front face contacts the shoulder 22 of the connector 20. At this stage the tube 10 and the socket 23 of the connector 20 are either automatically interlocked by two heads 33 of the fastener 30 inserted in the socket 23 (Fig. 7) or, if they are not, the tube 10 is turned on the socket 23 about their common axis until the tube 10 and the socket 23 are interlocked.
Interlocking takes place when the socket 23 inside the tube 10 assumes a correct position relative to the tube 10, i.e., a position in which the holes 11 in the tube 10 are aligned with two of the holes 24 in the male socket 23 of the connector 20, in which position two of the heads 33 of the fastener 30 pass through the holes 11 as is shown in Figure 7. In the process of being slid on to the socket 23 the end of the tube 10 is pressed on to the oblique surfaces 34 of all the heads 33 and depresses the heads 33 to the position shown in Figure 6.
In the interlocked position two of the heads 33 pass through the aligned holes 11 and 24 as shown in Figure 7, and are visible on the outside of the two assembled structural parts. In that position the tube 10 is firmly locked in position by said two heads 33 and is prevented by the rear portions of the heads 33 from being slid off the socket 23.
As will be apparent from the description of Figures 1 to 7, a structure according to the invention comprises a first structural part having a female socket with two holes (in Fig. 1 represented by the tube 10 each end portion of which is in the shape of a female socket and has two holes 11) and a second structural part having a male socket with four holes and containing a fastener (in Fig. 1 represented by the connector 20 which has two male sockets 23, each with four holes 24 and each containing a fastener 30). The two structural parts are interconnected by inserting the male socket into the female socket such that two of the heads of the fastener inside the male socket enter into the two holes of the female socket. Naturally the structure can have any number of structural parts, but to be able to connect one part directly to another part, one of the parts must have a male socket and the other part must have a female socket. Two structural parts having both only male sockets or only female sockets cannot be directly connected to each other without the help of at least one other structural part.
A tube 10 according to the invention may have both its outer surface and inner surface smooth. It was, however, found advantageous to reduce the wall thickness of each of the end portions of the tube 10 to improve their resilience and thus 'to facilitate insertion of a male socket therein. This is illustrated in Figure 8 which shows a tube 10 having six ridges 12 uniformly distributed on its inner periphery. The thickness of the tube wall measured on a ridge corresponds to the overall thickness of the tube, the wall between the ridges is thinner to improve resilience as explained above. It will be understood that similar arrangement can also be made in any of the female sockets. It will further be understood that the thickness of the tube wall between its end portions need not be uniform but might increase from the end portions.
Figures 9 and 10 illustrate a T-shaped connector 40 which consists substantially of a tubular sleeve 41 and a male socket 43 provided with four holes 44 and containing a fastener (not shown). The sleeve 41 and the socket 43 are interconnected by a core 42 the face of which adjacent to the male socket 43 defines a shoulder. A slot 45 is made in the connector 40 extending radially through the wall of the tubular sleeve 41, through the core 42, and axially through two diametrally opposite regions of the end portion of the socket 43 adjacent the core 42. Due to the slot 45 the cross-sectional area of the hollow within the tubular sleeve 41 and also the cross-sectional area of the adjacent end portion of the socket 43 are slightly larger than they would be otherwise, and consequently the sleeve 41 can easily be slid over a tube 47 to a required position. When another tube 48 (the end portion of which represents a female socket) is pushed on to the male socket 43 the socket 43 is compressed and with it is compressed also the sleeve 41, whereby the tube 47 is firmly held in position.
Figures 11 to 15 illustrate a bendable elbow connector 50 comprising two arms 51 and 61 interconnected by a joint of the type known as knuckle joint.
It will be understood that both the arms 51, 61 can comprise the same sockets, either male or female.
Each pin half 71 is made of a resilient material allowing the end-pieces to be substantially radially deflected by outside forces and return to their original position when the outside forces cease to act. The slanted portion 76 facilitates insertion of the pin halves 71 through the eyes 55,65,66. When the pin halves 71 are fully inserted the inner collars 67 of the eyes 65,66 are situated between the shoulders 74 and 75, thus preventing the pin halves 71 from being withdrawn therefrom.
Figures 16 and 17 show, respectively, a first and a second part of a stub axle. The first part 80 is formed by a female socket 81 having two holes 82, which is closed at one end and open at the other and carries a collar 83. The second part 84 comprises a female socket 85 with two holes which has at one end a male socket 87 with four holes 88 and at the other end a collar 89. A fastener (not shown), such as the fastener 30, is inserted in the male socket 87.
Figure 18 shows a wheel 90 comprising an imitation tyre part 91 and a flange 92 having a tubular portion (not shown) passing through the tyre part 91. For mounting the wheel 90 on the stub axle the first part 80 of the stub axle is inserted into the tubular part of the flange 92 from one side and the second part 84 from the other side, so that the male socket 87 of the second part 84 enters the female socket 81 of the first part 80 and is locked therein by the fastener. The stub axle can be attached to another structural part having a male socket including a fastener, by the female socket 85 of the second part 84 being slid on said male socket of said other structural part.
A special tool is needed for unlocking the fastener 30 or 30A. One embodiment of such a tool 100 is illustrated in Figure 19. The tool 100 has a handle 101 carrying a curved jaw 102 which has on its inner side two diametrally opposite pins 103. In the illustrated embodiment the pins 103 are substantially in the form of two coaxial stub cylinders with rounded free ends spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to the diameter of the outer surface of a male socket. The illustrated tool is made of a resilient material, so that when the jaw is pressed on to a female socket the jaw 102 opens such that the pins 103 are spaced from each other through a distance equal to the outer diameter of a female socket. In the latter position the tool is applied so that the pins 103 are aligned with the heads 33 of the fastener 30 in the holes of a male socket, in which position the jaw 102 closes by its own resilience and the pins 103 compress the heads 33 and themselves enter into the holes in the female socket, thus forcing the heads 33 from the holes in the female socket thereby unlocking the male and female socket. The female socket can then be slid on the male socket by manually pulling the two sockets away from each other.
Several preferred modifications within the scope of the appended claims will now be mentioned. For instance, while only structural parts having one or two sockets were described, a structural part can have more sockets, e.g. three or four, at various angular dispositions. Also instead of having a single set of four holes accommodating a single fastener, a male socket can have e.g. two axially spaced-apart sets of four holes, each with its own fastener, and the female socket, which is to be interlocked therewith, may have two correspondingly arranged sets of two holes; naturally a female socket with only one set of holes can be used with a male socket with two sets of holes and two fasteners, in which case the second fastener is not used and may be removed. Also, while all the described sockets are annular in cross-section, they could be, for, instance square-shaped or polygonal, e.g. octagonal. Also the tube described can have axial recesses or ridges on its inner and/or outer surface or be of a cross-section other than substantially annular, e.g. polygonal, and both end portions of a tube could be made into a male socket, or one into a male and the other into a female socket. All the described and illustrated structural elements are preferably made of plastics.
1. A dismountable structure comprising at least one structural part (10) having a female socket provided with a transversely extending first hole (11) and at least one structural part (20) having a male socket (23) provided with a transversely extending second hole (24), the sockets being so sized and shaped that each said male socket is receivable in each said female socket in a position in which said second hole is aligned with said first hole, (hereinafter: locking position), the structure including fastening means (30,30A) having a resiliently displaceable locking element (33,33A) for interlocking one said female socket and one said male socket, when they are in said locking position, by said locking element extending from inside the male socket through the aligned holes of the two sockets, characterised in that said female socket is provided with at least one further first hole, said male socket is provided with at least one further second hole, and said fastening means is provided with at least one further locking element, the fastening means comprising an at least partly resilient separate carrier (31,31A) carrying said locking elements.
2. A structure according to Claim 1, characterised in that said first holes are circumferentially spaced from each other, and said second holes are circumferentially spaced from each other.
3. A structure according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that each said male socket contains permanently at least one said fastening means retained therein by all the locking elements thereof extending from inside the male socket through the second holes thereof.
4. A structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the carrier (31) is a substantially square-shaped or polygonal frame.
5. A structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the carrier (31A) is substantially ring-shaped.
6. A structure according to Claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the carrier comprises at least one arm (32,32A) carrying one said locking element.
7. A structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that all the locking elements of the fastening means are contained in the same plane and each has a first surface (34,34A) oblique to said plane and a second surface substantially parallel to said plane, all said oblique surfaces being made on one side from said plane, whereby a female and a male socket can be locked in said locking position automatically by insertion of a male socket into a female socket, whereas they can be unlocked only with the use of tool.
8. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one locking element has a stop (36) for limiting its penetration into the associated second hole.
9. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that all said sockets are substantially circular in cross-section, each said male socket has four said first holes all extending radially and spaced through 90° from each other, and each said female socket has two said second holes situated diametrically opposite each other, and each said fastening means has four said locking elements.
10. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least some of the sockets are provided with a shoulder
(22) for limiting the maximum insertion of said male sockets into said female sockets and thereby facilitating the establishment of said locking position.
11. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the walls of at least some of the sockets are provided with recesses (12) to reduce their thickness and improve their resilience.
12. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one said structural part is in the form of a tubular sleeve (41) provided with a male socket (43) extending substantially at right angles thereto.
13. A structure part according to any one of Claims 1 to 11, characterised in that two said structural parts (51,61) are designed to form a bendable elbow joint (50), one of said parts (51) having a single eye (55) and the other part (61) having two coaxial eyes (65,66) spaced to receive between them said single eye, a pivot pin (70) being insertable through all the three eyes to thereby join the two structural parts together, the pivot pin consisting of two halves (71) insertable through said eyes from opposite sides, means being provided whereby on insertion of said halves the latter are interlocked with the eyes and cannot be removed without damage to the elbow joint.
EP19840302836 1983-05-12 1984-04-27 Dismountable structure Expired EP0125824B1 (en)
GB8313067 1983-05-12
GB838313067A GB8313067D0 (en) 1983-05-12 1983-05-12 Dismountable structure
GB848402148A GB8402148D0 (en) 1983-05-12 1984-01-27 Dismountable structure
GB8402148 1984-01-27
AT84302836T AT35169T (en) 1983-05-12 1984-04-27 Detachable engineering element.
EP0125824A2 EP0125824A2 (en) 1984-11-21
EP0125824A3 EP0125824A3 (en) 1985-06-26
EP0125824B1 true EP0125824B1 (en) 1988-06-15
ID=26286093
EP19840302836 Expired EP0125824B1 (en) 1983-05-12 1984-04-27 Dismountable structure
US (1) US4711595A (en)
EP (1) EP0125824B1 (en)
CA (1) CA1219722A (en)
DE (1) DE3472144D1 (en)
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1984-04-27 DE DE19843472144 patent/DE3472144D1/en not_active Expired
1984-04-27 EP EP19840302836 patent/EP0125824B1/en not_active Expired
1984-05-07 CA CA000453648A patent/CA1219722A/en not_active Expired
1986-06-09 US US06/873,828 patent/US4711595A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
US4711595A (en) 1987-12-08
EP0125824A2 (en) 1984-11-21
CA1219722A1 (en)
DE3472144D1 (en) 1988-07-21
EP0125824A3 (en) 1985-06-26
CA1219722A (en) 1987-03-31
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1985-06-19 RHK1 Main classification (correction)
Ipc: F16B 7/00
1987-05-13 R17C Date of despatch of first examination report
Ref document number: 35169
1988-06-15 PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state announced via postgrant inform. from nat. office to epo
Ref document number: 3472144
1988-11-16 NLV1 Nl: lapsed or annulled due to failure to fulfill the requirements of art. 29p and 29m of the patents act; no legal effect from
1989-04-25 PGFP Postgrant: annual fees paid to national office
Payment date: 19890425
1989-06-21 PGFP Postgrant: annual fees paid to national office
Payment date: 19890621
Owner name: MAGID ROBERT
1990-12-28 PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state announced via postgrant inform. from nat. office to epo
1991-01-02 GBPC Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee
1991-03-01 REG Reference to a national code