Joints and connections – Rod to member to side – e.g. – plate – rod side – etc. – Arcuate or multiplanar side
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-29
2002-08-20
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3679)
Joints and connections
Rod to member to side, e.g., plate, rod side, etc.
Arcuate or multiplanar side
C403S381000, C403S180000, C403S170000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06435755
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a joint mechanism for joining structural members while keeping passages defined in the structural members in communication with each other when the structural members are to be assembled into a structural assembly.
BACKGROUND ART
The applicant of the present application has proposed an actuator which includes a drive means such as a motor or the like and a movable member that is displaceable by the drive means, the drive means and the movable member being accommodated in a recess in a structural member which comprises a substantially elongate columnar body, and also proposed a structural assembly (Japanese laid-open patent publications Nos. 5-69352, 5-180295, 5-180296, and 5180297). In the proposal, there has been used a term “structural member” which represents a concept including both an outer frame of an actuator and a columnar elongate member. The term will be used below as meaning the same concept.
According to the technical ideas disclosed in the above publications, a plurality of structural members which are of substantially the same shape may be assembled by joint mechanisms into a structural assembly that has a desired function.
One example of the joint mechanisms disclosed in the above publications is a locking member
2
for joining structural members as shown in
FIG. 1
of the accompanying drawings. As shown in
FIG. 1
, one end of the locking member
2
is inserted into a hole
6
defined longitudinally in a structural member
4
, and a head
8
on the other end of the locking member
2
is loosely fitted in a slot
10
defined in another structural member
4
a
. Then, a screw
14
is threaded through a plate
12
transversely into the structural member
4
until a tip end
16
of the screw
14
is held against a slanting surface
18
of a notch defined substantially centrally in the locking member
2
. The tip end
16
is of such a tapered configuration that when the screw
14
is threaded in, the tip end
16
presses the slanting surface
18
, displacing the locking member
2
in the direction indicated by the arrow A in
FIG. 3
of the accompanying drawings. When the locking member
2
is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow A, the head
8
of the locking member
2
pulls an inner wall surface of the other structural member
4
a
also in the direction indicated by the arrow A. As a result, the structural members
4
,
4
a
are fixedly joined to each other substantially perpendicularly to each other as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
of the accompanying drawings. The locking member
2
is normally biased in the direction indicated by the arrow B under resilient forces from a spring
19
.
The present invention has been made in relation to the above proposals. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved joint mechanism for joining structural members while keeping passages defined in the structural members in communication with each other.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a joint mechanism which joins structural members substantially in line or perpendicularly through slots defined longitudinally in the structural members, so that a structural assembly can simply be constructed of the joined structural members.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a joint mechanism which is capable of joining structural members angularly movably to each other at a freely selected angle between the joined structural members.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION:
With a joint mechanism for joining structural members according to the present invention, a passage communication member is fitted in a passage in one of the structural members, and has a head which is mounted in a slot in the other of the structural members. The passage in one of the structural members and a passage in the other of the structural members are held in communication with each other through a through hole that is defined in the passage communication member. Alternatively, a first engaging member is inserted in a recess defined in one of the structural members, and a second engaging member is retained in a slot in the other of the structural members. When the first and second engaging members are coupled to each other by a fastening member, the structural members are firmly joined and fixed to each other.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1602658 (1926-10-01), Germain
patent: 2046942 (1936-07-01), Goeller
patent: 3538940 (1970-11-01), Graham
patent: 3560027 (1971-02-01), Graham
patent: 3934605 (1976-01-01), Legris
patent: 4518033 (1985-05-01), Gartner
patent: 4775259 (1988-10-01), Shell
patent: 5090740 (1992-02-01), Creagu et al.
patent: 5116299 (1992-05-01), Kvols
patent: 5190392 (1993-03-01), Parma et al.
patent: 5192145 (1993-03-01), Rixen et al.
patent: 5433416 (1995-07-01), Johnson
patent: 5683197 (1997-11-01), Pihl
patent: 5779412 (1998-07-01), Nagai et al.
patent: 5785359 (1998-07-01), Nagai et al.
patent: 6273635 (2001-08-01), Swanson
patent: 683 022 (1993-12-01), None
patent: 87 04 548 (1988-09-01), None
patent: 42 11 770 (1992-11-01), None
patent: 2 260 015 (1975-08-01), None
patent: 2 653 836 (1991-05-01), None
patent: 5 69352 (1993-03-01), None
patent: 5 180295 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 5 180296 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 5 180297 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 6 915 210 (1970-12-01), None
patent: WO 92/21886 (1992-12-01), None
patent: WO 93/17248 (1993-09-01), None
patent: WO 94/18404 (1994-08-01), None
Nagai Shigekazu
Nagai Takeshi
Shiomi Hiroyuki
Sugano Koji
Browne Lynne H.
Dunwoody Aaron
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
SMC Kabushiki Kaisha
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