Expanded – threaded – driven – headed – tool-deformed – or locked-thr – Headed fastener element with nut – washer – securing means or cap – Headed fastener element with securing means and biasing spring
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-04
2004-01-20
Wilson, Neill (Department: 3679)
Expanded, threaded, driven, headed, tool-deformed, or locked-thr
Headed fastener element with nut, washer, securing means or cap
Headed fastener element with securing means and biasing spring
C411S348000, C411S508000, C411S512000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679665
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for holding a coupling pin at a desired position in a pin-coupled structure, regardless of a relative movement of two or more coupled parts in the structure, and, more particularly, to a pin holding apparatus, which has two semicircular pin holding blocks with an elastic member interposed between the two pin holding blocks, and is inserted into a pin slot with the two holding blocks radially compressed by an external force to reduce the outer diameter of the apparatus, and elastically expands in the pin slot due to the restoring force of the compressed elastic member when the external force is removed, thus being set in an annular groove formed on the inner surface of the pin slot and holding a pin at its desired position in the pin slot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, a pin-coupled structure has been typically used in a variety of machines and other structures. In order to couple two or more parts of a machine or a structure to each other using a coupling pin in the prior art, a pin slot is formed at a desired position of each part. The parts are, thereafter, coupled together by inserting a coupling pin into the aligned pin slots of the parts. An example of such conventional pin-coupled structures is shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 1
shows a breaker used as an attachment of a power excavator and having a conventional pin holding apparatus. As shown in the drawing, a breaker drill
103
along with a plurality of locking members is inserted into a drill hole of a drill support block
102
, and is held at a desired position in the support block
102
by means of a plurality of pins
101
and stoppers
105
. During a breaking work using the breaker, the breaker drill
103
generates intensive vibrations to loosen the pins
101
. In an effort to hold the pins
101
in their positions regardless of such vibrations, the stoppers
105
are used. However, the stoppers
105
are also gradually loosened by such vibrations and cannot effectively hold the pins
101
in their positions for a desired lengthy period of time. In the pin holding apparatus used in this breaker, each of the stoppers
105
comprises a rubber peg driven into a pin slot after inserting a pin
101
into the pin slot, and the rubber peg is stopped using both a stop ring and a plug bolt.
As shown in
FIGS. 2
a
and
2
b
showing a conventional pin holding apparatus used in such a pin-coupled structure, a snap ring
200
manufactured according to the Korean Industrial Standards, KS B 1336-85, is used as a stop ring. This snap ring
200
has a gap formed therein, thus having elasticity. That is, such a snap ring
200
is inserted into a pin slot
201
while being compressed, and is released in the pin slot, so the snap ring
200
elastically expands to restore its original shape, and stops a pin
202
in the pin slot
201
. However, the thickness of the snap ring
200
is limited since it is very difficult to form an annular shape of the ring
200
with desired elasticity when the thickness of the ring
200
exceeds a predetermined level. Therefore, the snap ring
200
is somewhat thin, so the ring seat groove formed on the inner surface of the pin slot
201
for seating the ring
200
therein fails to have a desired effective depth.
In order to hold the pin
202
in the pin slot
201
, the pin
202
is first inserted into the pin slot
201
. Thereafter, a rubber peg
204
is driven into the pin slot
201
until it is positioned at the end of the pin
202
. The snap ring
200
is, thereafter, set in the pin slot
201
to stop the rubber peg
204
. However, when the pin
202
is repeatedly vibrated in such a pin-coupled structure, vibration impact is repeatedly transmitted to the snap ring
200
through the rubber peg
204
, thus forcing the ring
200
to be removed from its original position and fail to stop the rubber peg
204
. In such a case, the pin
202
may be undesirably removed from the pin slot
201
, and disconnect the coupled parts from each other.
FIG. 3
shows another embodiment of conventional pin holding apparatuses. This conventional pin holding apparatus uses a spring pin
300
manufactured according to the Korean Industrial Standards, KS B 1339-85. In this pin holding apparatus, the spring pin
300
is manufactured by rolling a steel plate having elasticity allowing the pin
300
to be elastically compressed and expanded in a radial direction within a predetermined range. This spring pin
300
is forcibly fitted into a pin slot to accomplish a pin holding effect. However, this spring pin
300
undesirably gradually loses its original elasticity when it is used in a pin-coupled structure generating intensive vibrations for a lengthy period of time. In such a case, the spring pin may be unexpectedly removed from the pin slot, and fail to continue performing its pin holding function, thus disconnecting the coupled parts from each other.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pin holding apparatus, which has two pin holding blocks with an elastic member interposed between the two pin holding blocks, and holds a pin at its desired position inside a pin slot by the protruding semicircular portions of the pin holding blocks set in an annular groove formed on the inner surface of the pin slot.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pin holding apparatus, which is easily set in and removed from the pin slot.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a pin holding apparatus, which effectively holds the pin in the pin slot for a desired lengthy period of time regardless of vibrations of the pin-coupled parts, thus maintaining the stable coupling of the parts, and which has an elastic cushion positioned at the junction of the pin and the pin holding apparatus, thus almost completely preventing a breakage of the pin.
In order to accomplish the above objects, an embodiment of this invention provides an apparatus for holding a pin in a pin-coupled structure consisting of two or more parts each having a pin slot, with an annular groove formed on the inner surface of the pin slot at a position around an end of the pin slot, and a pin set in the pin slot to couple the parts to each other, wherein the apparatus comprises: two pin holding blocks each having a protruding portion on the external surface thereof and made of an incompressible material; and an elastic member interposed between the two blocks, whereby the apparatus is inserted into the pin slot while being compressed in a radial direction by an external force to reduce the outer diameter thereof, and is released from the external force, so the apparatus elastically expands by a restoring force of the elastic member and the protruding portions of the two blocks are seated in the annular groove, thus holding the pin in the pin slot without allowing the pin to be undesirably removed from the pin slot regardless of a relative movement of the pin-coupled parts.
Another embodiment of this invention provides an apparatus for holding a pin in a pin-coupled structure consisting of two or more parts each having a pin slot, with an annular groove formed on the inner surface of the pin slot at a position around an end of the pin slot, and a pin set in the pin slot to couple the parts to each other, wherein the apparatus comprises: two pin holding blocks each having a protruding portion on the external surface thereof and made of an incompressible material; an elastic member interposed between the two blocks; and an elastic cushion having a cross-section similar to that of the pin and covering the lower ends of the two blocks and the elastic member, whereby the apparatus is inserted into the pin slot while being compressed in a radial direction by an external force to reduce the outer diameter thereof with the elastic cushion coming into contact
Renner , Otto, Boisselle & Sklar, LLP
Soosan Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
Wilson Neill
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