DE20303978U1 - Screw element has operating section which has outer or inner elliptical contour to engage with similarly contoured operating tool - Google Patents

Abstract

The screw element (1) has an operating section (3) which has an outer or inner non-round contour to engage with a similarly contoured operating tool (4). The contour of the operating section is elliptical in form, and as an operating section the screw element has a head which is shouldered in relation to the threaded section (2) and especially with regard to the cross section, with its outer side (7) having the elliptical contour or outline shape. In addition to the head or instead of a head, a recess (8) with an elliptical inner contour may be provided as the operating section.

Description

MAUCHER, BORJES & COLLEAGUES

PATENT AND LAW FIRM

Patent Attorney Dipl.-Ing. W. Maucher · Patent and Attorney H. Börjes-Pestalozza

Anton Hummel Dreikönigstrasse 13

Verwaltungs GmbH D-79102 Freiburg i. Br.

Mozart Street 2 _{Telephone (07} 61)79 174 0

79183 Waldkirch Fax (07 61)79 174 30

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Screw element with at least one actuating part

The invention relates to a screw element provided with a screw thread with at least one actuating part which has an outer or inner non-circular contour for the engagement of a correspondingly contoured actuating tool.
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Such screw elements are known in many different forms and often have a polygonal, particularly hexagonal, actuating part, i.e. in the case of a screw, for example, a hexagonal screw head. A wrench or a nut that takes up the entire outer contour of the actuating part or head can be used as an actuating tool.

However, there are also screw elements that do not serve as fastening screws, but contain or form fittings and also have corresponding polygonal actuating parts for the engagement of tools.

There are also screw elements with contoured recesses, for example with a hexagon socket, to which a corresponding

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a suitably contoured tool can be used for the screwing movement.

Such a very technical-looking design of these screw elements can be visually disturbing in some cases. In addition, there are application examples in which the tools suitable for the common hexagon sizes are available to everyone, so that unauthorized persons could possibly loosen or remove such a screw element.

The object is therefore to create a screw element of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which a torque transmission for tightening or loosening a thread is possible with the aid of an actuating tool, without requiring a polygonal contour and shape.

The surprising solution to this problem is that the contour of the actuating part is elliptical. This also results in a non-circular contour, which can therefore be grasped with an appropriately contoured and shaped actuating tool in order to be able to screw in or unscrew such a screw element and also to be able to apply sufficient turning force or torque to the thread.

At the same time, this results in a pleasing and, for some designs, aesthetically pleasing shape, and furthermore, unauthorized loosening of such a screw element from its screw connection is made more difficult because a conventional wrench or tool socket does not fit the elliptical contour.

It is useful if the screw element is used as an actuating

The fastening part has a head which is offset from the threaded area - particularly in terms of cross-section - and whose outside has an ellipsoidal contour or outline. As with conventional screws or other screw elements forming or containing a fitting, a head can be provided which is offset from the threaded area in that it protrudes radially, or in some cases has a smaller cross-section than the threaded area.

A modified embodiment can provide that in addition to a head or instead of a head, a recess with an elliptical inner contour is provided as an additional or sole actuating part. This can also achieve aesthetic advantages - depending on the application - and make unauthorized actuation considerably more difficult.

The difference between the length of the main axis and the length of the minor axis of the elliptical contour can be about a tenth or a twentieth or up to a fortieth or a fraction in between of the size of the main axis or the minor axis of this ellipse. This results in ellipses that do not deviate very much from a circle in purely optical terms, but still have a sufficiently large eccentricity to be able to transmit sufficient torque with an operating tool 5 adapted to this elliptical shape. Of course, the difference between the length of the main axis and the length of the minor axis can also be somewhat larger than a tenth of the stated size if the transmission of the torque is the main focus. For example, the ratio of the main axis to the minor axis could be 8.5 cm : 8 cm or 5.7 cm : 5.3 cm or 4.4 cm : 4 cm or 3 cm : 2.5 cm. Comparable, slightly different ratios between the main axis and the minor axis are also possible, whereby on the one hand

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The upper limit for the difference in length is that the elliptical shape should be as visually inconspicuous as possible, while the lower limit is the need to be able to transmit sufficient torque; because too small a difference in the dimensions of the main axis and the minor axis of the ellipse results in the risk that a correspondingly shaped actuating tool could be slightly twisted and deformed relative to the circumference of the actuating part at a high torque and thus jammed.

Overall, this results in a "screw head" that looks practically circular even from a relatively short distance and thus adapts beautifully to the corresponding environment, be it fittings, radiators, flanges or the like.

The screw element can be a radiator plug and/or a holding body for screwing into a radiator or a heating system, in the interior of which a vent valve or a valve body of a vent valve is arranged, in particular axially adjustable, and the stop arranged on the outside of the radiator in the position of use can be the actuating part with an elliptical outline or contour. This represents a particularly useful embodiment of the screw element according to the invention in an unusual application.

The screw element can be assigned an actuating tool that matches its actuating part, which then forms an assembly set with the screw element and which has a recess with an elliptical or partially elliptical inner contour that fits at least partially in a form-fitting manner to an elliptical outer contour or a recess with an elliptical or partially elliptical inner contour that fits an elliptical

has an elliptical outer contour that fits the inner contour at least in some areas in a form-fitting manner. Due to the special non-circular shape of the actuating part of the screw element according to the invention, it is therefore expedient in a preferred arrangement if the screw element is also assigned the appropriate actuating tool in the form of an assembly set.

Examples of embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below with reference to the drawing. It shows in a partially schematic representation:

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section through a screw element provided with an external thread, which has a protruding head as an actuating part, which extends from a to the non-circular outer contour of this actuating part

a form-fitting operating tool with a corresponding recess on the outside is overlapped,

Figure 2 shows a cross-section along the line A-A through the actuating tool and its elliptical inner contour or recess adapted to the elliptical outer contour of the actuating part of the screw element,

Figure 3 is a representation corresponding to Figure 1, i.e. a longitudinal section of a screw element with an external thread and an actuating part protruding from it, designed as a head, on which a non-circular contour is recessed, open at the front, into which a

operating tool with corresponding outer contour engages positively,

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Figure 4 shows a cross-section through the non-circular inner contour of the screw element according to Figure 3 and the analogous non-circular elliptical outer contour of the actuating tool,

Figure 5 shows a longitudinal section of a screw element designed as a vent valve with an external thread and a head protruding from it with a non-circular outer contour and

Figure 6 is a front view of the vent valve according to Figure 5, wherein the elliptical outer contour of the head serving as the actuating part is clearly visible in comparison to a valve body with a circular contour arranged in this screw element.
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In the following description of different embodiments, parts that are essentially identical in their function are given identical reference numbers, even if their shape is modified.
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A screw element designated as a whole with 1 has an external thread 2 in all embodiments, but could also have an internal thread as a screw sleeve if necessary.

An actuating part 3 is provided on this screw element 1, which has an outer or inner non-circular contour for the engagement of a correspondingly contoured actuating tool 4, which can form an assembly set with the screw element 1.

In Figures 2, 4 and 6 it can be seen that the non-circular contour of the actuating part 3 is elliptical with a main axis 5 and a secondary axis 6.

In the embodiments according to Figures 1 and 2 as well as according to Figures 5 and 6, the screw element 1 as the actuating part 3 has a head which is offset from the area of the thread 2, namely radially projecting, the outer side 7 of which has the elliptical contour or outline shape, as can be seen particularly well in Figure 6.

In the embodiment according to Figures 3 and 4, however, a solution is shown in which, in addition to a head, a recess 9 with an elliptical inner contour is provided as an actuating part, into which inner contour an actuating tool 4 with a corresponding matching elliptical outer contour engages in a form-fitting manner in order to be able to transmit a torque during the screwing movement.

Figures 4 and 6 in particular make it clear that the difference between the length of the major axis 5 and the length of the minor axis 6 of the respective elliptical contour is relatively small, so that even from a short distance the elliptical contour appears practically circular. For example, this difference can be one tenth or even just one twentieth or up to one fortieth or a fraction in between of the size of the major axis 5 or the minor axis 6 of the respective ellipse.

According to Figures 1 and 3, the screw element 1 can be assigned an actuating tool 4 that matches its actuating part 3 and has a recess 8 with an elliptical inner contour that fits at least partially or over the entire circumference to an elliptical outer contour (Figures 1 and 6). The tool 4 can thus be fitted onto the actuating part 3 with this elliptical, nut-like recess 8.

as shown in Figure 1. A rotation of the actuating tool 4 then results in a desired rotation of the screw element 1 and thus its screwing in the direction of a tightening or loosening movement.
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However, the screw element 1 can also be assigned an actuating tool 4 that matches its actuating part and has an elliptical outer contour that fits an elliptical inner contour 9 according to Figures 1, 3 and 4 at least in some areas or over the entire circumference. In this embodiment, a recess 9 with an elliptical inner contour is provided on the actuating part, to which the tool 4 in turn fits in a form-fitting manner. Fig. 1 indicates that even an elliptical outer contour 7 and an elliptical recess 9 can be provided together.

The embodiment according to Figures 5 and 6 shows a screw element 1 which is designed as a radiator vent valve, wherein the actual screw element 1 represents a holding body for a valve body 10 which is adjustable inside it. The stop arranged on the outside of a radiator in the position of use is the actuating part 3 with the elliptical outline or contour 7, which an actuating tool can engage with, for example as shown in Figure 1, in order to screw this vent valve into the radiator or, if necessary, to remove it again. Similar applications are possible in which the actuating part 3 can also have an elliptical outer and/or inner contour. In some applications, both an outer contour and an inner contour with an elliptical shape enable the optional assignment or use of different actuating tools 4 (Fig. 1).

Normal screws can also be provided with an elliptical head, onto which a tool could engage, for example as shown in Figure 1, or in the case of a head with an elliptical inner recess, a tool as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

/Expectations

Claims (6)

1. Screw element ( 1 ) provided with a screw thread with at least one actuating part ( 3 ) which has an outer or inner non-circular contour for the engagement of a correspondingly contoured actuating tool ( 4 ), characterized in that the contour of the actuating part ( 3 ) is elliptical. 2. Screw element according to claim 1, characterized in that the screw element ( 1 ) as an actuating part ( 3 ) has a head which is offset from the region of the thread ( 2 ) - in particular with regard to the cross section - and whose outer side ( 7 ) has the elliptical contour or outline shape. 3. Screw element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in addition to a head or instead of a head, a recess ( 8 ) with an elliptical inner contour is provided as an actuating part. 4. Screw element according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the difference between the length of the main axis ( 5 ) and the length of the minor axis ( 6 ) of the elliptical contour is approximately 1/10 or 1/20 or up to 1/40 or an intermediate fraction of the dimension of the main axis ( 5 ) or the minor axis ( 6 ) of this ellipse. 5. Screw element according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is a radiator plug and/or a holding body for screwing into a radiator or a heating system, in the interior of which a vent valve or a valve body ( 10 ) of a vent valve is arranged, in particular axially adjustable, and that the stop arranged on the outside of the radiator in the position of use is the actuating part ( 3 ) with an elliptical outline or contour. 6. Screw element according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the screw element ( 1 ) is assigned an actuating tool ( 4 ) which matches its actuating part ( 3 ) and which has a recess ( 8 ) with an elliptical or partially elliptical inner contour which fits positively at least in regions or over the entire circumference to an elliptical outer contour, or an elliptical outer contour which fits positively at least in regions or over the entire circumference to an elliptical inner contour.