Releasable fasteners

Abstract

Abstract 1,109,793. Screw sockets. ITW Ltd. 11 July, 1966 [13 July, 1965], No. 29701/65. Heading F2H. [Also in Division E2] A pin-and-socket fastener comprises a pin member 10 which has a head 12 and shaft 14, the free end portion of the shaft being screwthreaded, and a socket member 18 which includes a boss 20 having a socket 22 passing through it, legs 24, 26 extending axially from the boss and surfaces 34, at the junction of the boss and the legs, facing towards the free ends of the legs and extending radially outwards from the legs, the space between the legs lying in line with the socket, one of the legs being-resiliently flexible in a radially outward direction by virtue of its cantilever attachment to the boss, one of the legs having a projection 30 which protrudes into the space between the legs and has a form such that it can lie within the groove of the threaded portion of the shaft. As described the socket member at least, is made of a resilient plastics material and the pin member is either of the same plastics material in which case, as shown, it is moulded in one piece with the socket member, the connection being broken when the fastener is put into use. As shown, both legs are resiliently flexible and each has a said projection to engage the threaded portion of the pin member; when the threaded portion engages the projection it forces the leg slightly apart; in addition, however, the surfaces 38, 40 of the legs normally diverge from the junction with the boss and the legs are each formed with a projecting part 48, 50, the projecting part having surfaces parallel to and facing the shoulder, to impede withdrawal of the legs, and inwardly sloping surfaces 52 to assist insertion of the legs into an aperture. The overall form of the legs radially, is substantially square or rectangular, to resist rotation of the fastener in the aperture. When the socket member is located securely in the aperture the boss connects as a spacing member to hold something between the pin member head and itself and away from the surface through which the legs extend or the fastener can be used to hold two members together and spaced apart from the surface through which the legs extend, i.e. holding both between the head and the boss; the boss can also serve as a pivot for a link.

Inventors

• 👤 Alan Roger Griffiths
• 👤 Michael Adrian Bainbridge

Bibliographic Details