Patent Description:
Components can be mounted to each other using threaded means such as bolts and nuts. In a conventional context, a fastening part has a flanged contact surface in contact with the component, that has a hole for accommodating the bolt. Also conventionally, the pair of threaded fastening parts are rotated relative to each other, to provide for a clamping arrangement through the threads.

In certain applications, it is preferred that the releasable connection cannot be released by accident. For example, when components are connected via a bolt and nut heavy vibration may release the connection. In order to mitigate this effect, a glue or friction conditioner may be applied to the bolt and / or nut. The glue or friction conditioner may increase the friction applied by the nut on the bolt and vice versa, thereby making it unlikely that the bolt and nut are released. In case the bolt and nut need to be released on purpose, e.g. maintenance or replacement of components, the glue or friction conditioner may be removed by applying heat or a solvent. Afterwards, a new friction conditioner or glue may be applied again when the bolt and nut are used to form a releasable connection once more.

A disadvantage of using glue or a friction conditioner is that it may make forming the releasable connection more difficult to which end a slotted hole may provide the proper counter torque during the assembly. In such context, it is undesired that one of the fastening part rotates during assembly, and a slotted hole in the component may accommodate an abutment surface that extends from the flanged contact surface and that prevents rotation of the first fastening part. However the slotted hole.

requires a relative orientation of the abutment surface of the fastening part to accommodate the fastening part correctly. In practice, there may be situations that it is not easy to accommodate the fastening part, in particular, if more than one fastening parts are used and manual positioning of the fastening part is problematic or even impossible.

Publication <CIT> discloses a connecting device which is provided for connecting two elements of a cable tray, such as a ceiling support or a first and second cable tray section adjacent to one another. The connecting device comprises at least one connecting set having at least one connecting screw and a corresponding screw nut. At least one of the cable tray elements has an elongate passage opening. Publication <CIT> discloses a method and apparatus for installing an elevator car and counterweight guide rails within an elevator hoistway of a building that requires no welding operations to be performed in order to connect the brackets. Specially configured connector bolts are provided which impart substantial structural integrity to the interconnected bracket. <CIT> discloses a system including panels and a fastener for fastening the panels together. A distal portion of a threaded shaft and have has a distal portion which has a perimeter surface permitting rotation of the fastener within a non-circular opening when the distal surface extends into the non-circular opening.

The invention aims to counteract the above disadvantages, by providing for a threaded fastening arrangement, preferably with a high friction thread that easily can be releasably connected.

To this end, the invention relates to a threaded fastening arrangement for mounting a component to a base component, comprising a pair of cooperating fastening parts and a component. The component comprises a slotted hole defined by a slotted hole surface and wherein a first fastening part of the pair of cooperating fastening parts comprises an abutment surface arranged to substantially limit rotation of the first fastening part relative to the component when the abutment surface abuts the slotted hole surface. The slotted hole or the first fastening part comprises a guiding surface contiguous to the abutment surface and shaped to rotate the first fastening part relative to the slotted hole such that the abutment surface abuts the slotted hole surface thereby causing the first fastening part to become rotationally locked with the component. The threaded fastening arrangement has the advantage that the fastening parts need not be separately rotated to bring the fastening part in position in the slotted hole, which offers efficiency and safety benefits when assembling the fastening parts for mounting a component to a base component.

A threaded fastening arrangement can provide for a releasable connection between components. Having a releasable connection allows for the connection to be undone without damaging the components, for example when maintenance needs to be performed or components need to be repaired. In the invention, at least one of the components that needs to be repaired. In the invention, at least one of the components that needs to be mounted to a base component, or second component, has a slotted hole, i.e. an elongated opening. The slotted hole is preferably a straight slotted hole, i.e. its longitudinal direction is substantially not curved. A first part of the fastening part of the pair of cooperating fastening parts comprises an abutment surface that can abut with a slotted hole surface. For example, the abutment surface may be a substantially planar surface provided on the first fastening means. Such a planar, or flat, surface may interface substantially with most, or all, of its surface with the surface of the slotted hole. The first fastening part is dimensioned such that, once provided in the slotted hole and the abutment surface abuts the surface of the slotted hole, slack between the first fastening part and the slotted hole surface is relatively small. In other words, the first fastening part is dimensioned such that if the abutment surface does not abut the surface of the slotted hole, the first fastening part cannot be provided in the slotted hole.

In order to help facilitate the correct orientation of the first fastening part relative to the slotted hole, i.e. such that the abutting surface can abut the surface of the slotted hole, a guiding surface is provided. Preferably, the guiding surface is arranged to provide for a rotational movement of the first fastening part when the first fastening part is provided in the slotted hole. For example, a person assembling the component to a base component can provide the first fastening part in the slotted hole of the component. When the first fastening part is not correctly orientated, and the abutment surface does not abut the surface of the slotted hole, an axial force can be provided on the first fastening part in the direction of the component. The guiding surface will come in to contact with the component, and due to the force applied on the first fastening part, will cause the first fastening part to rotate around an axis. When the guiding surface is obliquely orientated relative to the rotation axis of the first fastening part, rotation of the first fastening part allows for the first fastening part to move further in to the slotted hole. Once the first fastening means is correctly orientated relative to the slotted hole, i.e. the abutting surface is aligned with the surface of the slotted hole, the first fastening part can move to its final position in the slotted hole, wherein the abutting surface abuts the surface of the slotted hole.

Once the first fastening part is provided in the slotted hole such that the abutting surface abuts the surface of the slotted hole, the abutting of the surfaces causes the first fastening part to be rotationally locked with the component. In other words, the first fastening part can no longer rotate relative to the component. As a result, it is now possible to rotate the second fastening part relative to the first fastening part, for example by using an impact wrench, without the first fastening part rotation locking with the second fastening part such that both fastening parts rotate relative to the component and thus not forming a releasable connection between the component and the base component. In a further advantage, by providing an abutment surface that abuts the elongated slot and thereby forms a rotational lock between the first fastening part and the component, no additional resources need to be spent to facilitate new mounting processes or tools.

Furthermore, the above described guiding surface allows for relatively easy placement of the first fastening part in the elongated slot as a person assembling the component to the base component using the described threaded fastening arrangement can place the first fastening part in a comparable way to a common first fastening part such as a bolt. The person assembly now only needs to apply an axial downward force, for example using commonly available plate to place the first fastening part in the elongated surface.

In a preferred embodiment, the pair of cooperating fastening parts are a bolt and a nut. More preferably, the first fastening part can be the bolt, wherein the bolt can comprise a shaft on which the abutment surface is provided. More specifically, the abutment surface can be provided on the shaft next to a bolt head of the bold. The guiding surface can then be provided on the opposite side of the abutment surface than the bolt head. An advantage of using a bolt and a nut is that they are commonly used and relatively cheap and reliably means for releasably connecting a component to a base component. The shaft of the bolt can comprise a thread comprising a coating, preferably glue or a friction conditioner, such that a relatively high friction between the bolt thread and the corresponding nut thread can be achieved. High friction bolt / nut thread connections can be used for bolt / nut connections that may endure significant vibrations. Non-high friction bolt / nut thread connections may unintentionally release.

The bolt can comprise at least two of abutment surfaces, preferably six abutment surfaces, provided evenly distributed around the shaft. A plurality of abutment surfaces may facilitate for even easier orientating of the bolt in the elongated slot. In a special embodiment, the plurality of provided abutment surfaces is an even number, forming pairs, wherein the pairs of abutment surfaces are provided substantially parallel to each other and on opposite sides of the shaft. This embodiment would, when the bolt is present in the elongated slot, allow for two abutment surfaces to abut to the surface of the elongated slot at the same time. This may provide for a stronger rotational lock between the bolt and the component.

Alternatively, the nut can comprise a tapered section on which the abutment surface is provided. In such an embodiment, the nut instead of the bolt would form a rotational lock with the component. As a result the bolt needs to be driven to form the releasable connection. This embodiment may be advantageous in case there is not sufficient space for providing a bolt in the slotted hole, but there is sufficient space for providing a nut in the slotted hole. In addition, the invention further provides for a method of mounting a component to a base component according to independent claim <NUM>. The method has the benefit that no individual rotational positioning of the fastening parts is necessary since they are so called 'self positioning' and only need axial displacement that can easily be provided by a pressing tool that may provide axial pressing force on the fastening parts without needing to individually align and position the fastening parts. Further advantageous aspects of the invention are set out in the description and appended claims.

The technical features described in the paragraphs and sentences above can be isolated from the context, and the isolated technical features from the different paragraphs and sentences can be combined. Such combinations are herewith specifically disclosed in this description.

The invention will further be elucidated on the basis of exemplary embodiments which are represented in the drawings. The exemplary embodiments are given by way of non-limitative illustration of the invention.

It is noted that the figures are only schematic representations that are given by way of non-limited examples. In the figures, the same or corresponding parts are designated with the same reference numerals.

Turning to <FIG>, a threaded fastening arrangement <NUM> for mounting a component <NUM> to a base component (not shown) is depicted. The fastening arrangement <NUM> comprises a pair of cooperating fastening parts, of which only a first fastening part, in the form of bolt <NUM> is shown for clarity, and a component <NUM>. The second part is a threaded nut (not shown) that cooperates with the threaded shaft of the bolt <NUM>. The component <NUM> comprises a slotted hole <NUM> defined by a slotted hole surface <NUM>. The first fastening part, in the shown example a bolt <NUM>, comprises an abutment surface <NUM> arranged to substantially limit rotation of the first fastening part <NUM>, e.g. the bolt, relative to the component <NUM> when the abutment surface <NUM> abuts the slotted hole surface <NUM>. The slotted hole surface <NUM> or the first fastening part <NUM> comprises a guiding surface <NUM> shaped to center the first fastening part <NUM> in the slotted hole <NUM> such that the abutment surface <NUM> abuts the slotted hole surface <NUM>, thereby causing the first fastening part <NUM> to become rotationally locked with the component <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the fastening part in more detail, notably a threaded shaft <NUM>, abutment surface <NUM> and contact surface <NUM> of a flange <NUM> of the bolt <NUM>. The bolt <NUM> further has guiding surface <NUM> contiguous to the abutment surface <NUM> and shaped to rotate the first fastening part <NUM> relative to the slotted hole <NUM> such that the abutment surface <NUM> abuts the slotted hole surface <NUM> thereby causing the first fastening part <NUM> to become rotationally locked with the component <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, the bolt <NUM>, which acts as the first fastening part in the shown example, comprises a shaft <NUM> on which the abutment surface <NUM> is provided. In the shown embodiment, the bolt <NUM> comprises a plurality of abutment surfaces <NUM>, more specific six abutment surfaces <NUM>, provided evenly disturbed around the shaft <NUM>. On the shaft <NUM> a thread is provided, which comprises a coating. More specifically, the coating is a friction conditioner or a glue. In the shown example, the guiding surface <NUM> has an edge or slope 8a that, when inserted in the slotted hole <NUM> is angled with an angle α respective to a normal plane s representing the slotted hole edge s, which is also the contact surface of the component <NUM>, so that through axial displacement of the first fastening part <NUM> the first fastening part <NUM> is rotated relative to the slotted hole surface abutment surface until the abutment surface is parallel to the slotted hole surface. Slope 8a prevents the corners of the polygon P to get stuck on the edge of the slotted hole <NUM> in the plate and forces the bolt <NUM> into the slotted hole <NUM>. The slope angle α may be such that the spinning direction of the nut through thread angle β will enforce an axial or "downhill" movement of the bolt into the slotted hole <NUM>. The edge 8a runs to this end at least in part in tangential direction under an angle α relative to normal plane s and extends radially outwards of the abutment surface to the beginning of thread <NUM> to optimize a torque transfer between the edge and the slotted hole, in order to rotate the fastening part when pressed in axial direction. The angle α of the slope should be such that tan(α) is a factor <NUM> higher than the coefficient of friction between the edge of the slotted hole and the edge that forms the slope. This optimizes an optimal torque that results in rotation of the bolt <NUM>, even with a substantial friction. The edge 8a may be curved to initiate the rotation of the bolt more easily.

It is shown that the slope of guiding surface <NUM> starts at the corner I of a polygon forming the abutment surfaces <NUM> and runs towards the start of the round part of the shaft of the bolt, point II in the figure.

In <FIG> the polygon dimension is shown where preferably opposite points of the polygon P are wider than the width of the straight part of the slotted hole and opposite ends of the slope (at the shaft), are less wide than the straight part of the slotted hole. The polygon P, when oriented right the polygon should fit in the slotted hole, but cannot fully rotate in the slotted shole shown in <FIG>. In other words : in Wy < Wsy < Wx < Wsx. <FIG> shows a preferred relative dimensioning of the slotted hole <NUM> relative to the fastening bolt <NUM>.

Claim 1:
Threaded fastening arrangement (<NUM>) for mounting a component to a base component,
- comprising a pair of cooperating fastening parts and a component (<NUM>);
- wherein the component (<NUM>) comprises a slotted hole (<NUM>) defined by a slotted hole surface (<NUM>);
- wherein a first fastening part (<NUM>) of the pair of cooperating fastening parts comprises an abutment surface (<NUM>) arranged to substantially limit rotation of the first fastening part (<NUM>) relative to the component (<NUM>) when the abutment surface (<NUM>) abuts the slotted hole surface (<NUM>);
- wherein the slotted hole (<NUM>) or the first fastening part (<NUM>) comprises a guiding surface (<NUM>) contiguous to the abutment surface (<NUM>) and shaped to rotate the first fastening part (<NUM>) relative to the slotted hole (<NUM>) such that the abutment surface (<NUM>) abuts the slotted hole surface (<NUM>) thereby causing the first fastening part (<NUM>) to become rotationally locked with the component (<NUM>); characterized in that:
- the guiding surface (<NUM>) has an edge (8a) that, when inserted in the slotted hole (<NUM>) is angled respective to the slotted hole surface (<NUM>), so that through axial displacement of the first fastening part (<NUM>) the first fastening part (<NUM>) is rotated relative to the slotted hole surface (<NUM>) abutment surface (<NUM>) until the abutment surface (<NUM>) is parallel to the slotted hole surface (<NUM>).