Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Hinge – Including means to fasten leaf to member
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-05
2001-05-01
Mah, Chuck Y. (Department: 3626)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Hinge
Including means to fasten leaf to member
C411S386000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223394
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a fitting component, preferably for furniture, such as hinge bowl element, with fixing screws passing through holes in said fitting component, said screws being insertable in pre-drilled holes of a carcass element or a furniture door.
2. Description of the Related Art
If, for example, hinge bowl elements of hinges, which form their moving parts, need to be connected to a door, it is necessary, following insertion of the hinge bowl element in the matching shallow blind hole, to align the holes of the fixing flange of said hinge bowl element to the pre-drilled holes of the door before the fixing screws can be wound in and tightened. This alignment of the holes of the fixing flange to the pre-drilled holes of the door and the subsequent insertion, winding-in and tightening of the fixing screws demands additional time which extends the production times to an undesirable degree.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is therefore to create a fitting component of the type mentioned at the beginning which facilitates pre-assembly in the correct position in a simple and quick fashion so that the assembly times can be shortened to the times required merely for tightening the fixing screws.
This objective is achieved according to the invention in that the fixing screws are provided with thread-free sections at the ends of their shafts, the diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the pre-drilled holes, and that said fixing screws are also each provided with a threaded section which forms a friction-lock connection with a fixing hole, preferably with a beaded fixing hole of the fitting component, allowing the thread-free sections to pass through the holes of the fitting component.
The fitting component according to the invention can thus be easily and quickly installed owing to the fact that the fixing screws mounted with their threaded sections in the holes of said fitting component exhibit thread-free sections which pass through said fitting component and which can be inserted for their pre-assembly in the pre-drilled holes of a furniture element in such a way that said fitting component is, as a result, pre-assembled in its correct position. The threaded sections of the fixing screws are held in the holes of the fitting component by forming a frictional lock with the hole walls, or even cutting into them. If the fitting component is mounted for the purpose of pre-assembly with the thread-free sections of the fixing screws inserted in the pre-drilled holes of a furniture element, final assembly is performed by simply winding in the fixing screws in the pre-drilled holes so that the threaded sections which were previously located in the holes of the fitting component are screwed into the pre-drilled holes.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, it is envisaged that the thread-free sections have a length of approx. ⅔ to ⅓ of the length of the screw shaft. A sufficient length of the thread-free sections enables the fitting component to be fixed in relation to the carcass component in its pre-assembled condition such that, for example, a door hinge-mounted on the fitting component can be repositioned. The thread-free sections also enable the threaded section to be reduced to a minimum length which just ensures application of the necessary axial fixing force for securing the fitting component. Here use is made of the fact that the main load acting on the fitting component runs transverse to the holes of the fitting component so that this load can be absorbed in the first instance by the thread-free sections inserted in the holes. The threaded sections themselves can thus be reduced to a short length which is just long enough in order to absorb the load which occurs in the longitudinal direction of the holes. As a result, the assembly times of the fitting component according to the invention can be reduced to a minimum, and indeed to values which are comparable to the assembly times of a so-called snaplock device such as that disclosed in patent specification DE-U1-295 06 600.
As a further useful feature, the fixing screws may exhibit between their heads and their threaded sections thread-free sections, the length of which corresponds to the length of the holes of the fitting components. With this further development of the invention, it is ensured that, in the assembled condition, the threaded sections of the fixing screws completely exit the holes of the fitting component and are wound into the fixing holes. The diameter of this thread-free section of the fixing screw usefully corresponds to the diameter of the holes of the fitting component.
In order to enable the fixing screws to be wound in and tightened with just a few turns, the threaded sections of the fixing screws may comprise double-start threads.
Usefully, the fixing screws may take the form of so-called Euro screws.
In a further development of the invention, it is envisaged that the holes of the fitting component take the form of holes with beaded rims. This design is usefully selected if the fitting components consist of punched sheet metal fabrications.
Electric screwdrivers are frequently employed for winding in the fixing screws of fitting components of the type mentioned at the beginning. Such screwdrivers may be calibrated or adjusted to a specific winding-in torque which is aligned to the fixing screws commonly employed. Because, however, the screws according to the invention only exhibit a short shaft section containing a thread, these may be overwound in the pre-drilled holes when performing assembly work with electric screwdrivers.
In order to prevent the fixing screws from being overwound when assembling the fitting components with electric screwdrivers, it is envisaged in accordance with another embodiment of the invention that the fixing screws be provided at the bottom of their heads with corrugations or knurls. The corrugations or knurls which may consist of flutes running radially relative to the screw axis, increase the winding-in torque just before completion of the winding-in operation of the fixing screws due to increased friction with the hole rims, so that even when performing assembly work with electric screwdrivers, a resistance value corresponding to the torque setting is achieved, so preventing the overwinding of the fixing screws.
Preferably, the fixing screws take the form of countersunk head screws which are provided on their truncated-cone-shaped underside with corrugations or knurls.
In order to further increase the winding-in torque resistance during the end phase of the fixing screw winding-in operation, the rims of the holes of the fitting component may also be provided with corrugations or knurls.
When employing countersunk head screws, the rims of the holes may usefully be designed to match the truncated-cone-shaped underside of said countersunk head screws and be provided with corrugations or knurls.
In a further embodiment of the invention, it is envisaged that the holes of the fitting components be of polygonal, preferably hexagonal, design. In this embodiment, the self-tapping fixing screws are held and centred in the holes of the fitting components by virtue of the fact that they only cut into the sides of the holes in an approximately punctiform manner.
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Arture Salice S.p.A.
Jacobson Price Holman & Stern PLLC
Mah Chuck Y.
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