ES1260154U - Lock nut for rail-shaped profiles (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Fixing nut (1) for rail-shaped profiles, comprising: - a piece of rigid nut (2) comprising a threaded hole (3) and having a width, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said threaded hole (3), greater in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction; - a support piece (4) of polymeric material that supports said rigid nut piece (2), said support piece (4) comprising a frame (5) that forms an upper face of said fixing nut (1) and a central part (6) that is attached to said frame (5), said central part (6) comprising a housing (7) to which said rigid nut part (2) is coupled and a through opening (8) aligned with said hole threaded (3) of said rigid nut part (2), so that a fixing screw can pass through said through opening (8) to screw into said threaded hole (3), and said central part (6) being shaped so that, when subjected to a thrust force, at least a part of said central part (6) undergoes an elastic deformation that moves said housing (7) away from said frame (5); characterized in that said central part (6) comprises an upper platform (9) that is accessible from said upper face of the fixing nut (1) and that comprises projections (10) formed on an upper face (11) of said upper platform (9), said projections (10) being formed in a part of said upper platform (9) that moves and sinks with respect to said frame (5) when said elastic deformation occurs. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

FIXING NUT FOR RAIL SHAPED PROFILES

Field of the invention

The invention is in the field of devices for fixing components to a rail-shaped profile and relates to a fixing nut intended to be placed inside the rail formed by the profile. In preferred, but not exclusively, applications, the profile is a support bar of those used to form support structures such as cable trays for the guiding of electrical cables, fiber optic cables or cables of another type.

More specifically, the invention relates to a fixing nut for rail-shaped profiles, of the type comprising:

- a rigid nut part comprising a threaded hole and having a width, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said threaded hole (3), greater in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction;

- a support piece of polymeric material that supports said rigid nut piece, said support piece comprising a frame that forms an upper face of said fixing nut and a central part that is attached to said frame, said central part comprising a housing to which said rigid nut piece is coupled and a through opening aligned with said threaded hole of said rigid nut piece, so that a fixing screw can pass through said through opening to be screwed into said threaded hole, and said central part being shaped so that, when subjected to a thrust force, at least a part of said central part undergoes an elastic deformation that moves said housing away from said frame.

State of the art

The fixing nuts of the type to which the invention refers have the particularity that they can be placed on the rail of a profile without the need to use other fastening means, so that they remain in place on the profile by themselves before to fit a set screw. To do this, the user must place the fixing nut on the profile, with the frame resting on the profile and the rigid nut piece oriented with its greatest width parallel to the rail, sink the central part that is elastically deformed so that the rigid nut enters the rail and remains below the flanges of said rail, and finally rotate the entire fixing nut 90 °. In this final position, the piece of rigid nut is retained under the flanges of said rail and against them by the return force due to the elastic deformation of the central part. Fitting the lock nut to the profile requires some skill on the part of the user. In the particular case of structures for guiding cables, the installation is often carried out in places that are difficult to access, with space restrictions and possibly at a high height. It is therefore important that the installation operations are carried out as easily as possible.

Documents ES2111383T3 and CN203770351U disclose fixing nuts of this type in which the frame has projections on its upper face that can be pushed laterally by the user's fingers to perform 90 ° rotation. Normally, it is necessary to use two hands to carry out the complete installation operation of the fixing nut on the profile: with one finger of one hand the central part is sinked and with two fingers of the other hand the frame projections are acted upon to perform rotation. It is also possible to carry out the operation with one hand, but it is necessary to use three fingers in a coordinated way: the index finger to sink the central part and the thumb and ring fingers to perform the rotation acting on the projections. On the other hand, the projections on the frame have the disadvantage that they can be accidentally pushed laterally after the fixing nut has been installed causing the latter to come out of position.

Document US9194418B2 discloses another fixing nut of this type in which the upper area of the central part is recessed with respect to the frame and has a cone shape, and the frame has on its inner periphery some rigid radial projections that serve as a seat. for the user's fingers to turn the locking nut 90 °.

Description of the invention

The invention aims to provide a fixing nut that can be more easily installed on a rail-shaped profile.

This purpose is achieved by means of a fixing nut of the type indicated at the beginning, characterized in that the central part comprises an upper platform that is accessible from the upper face of the fixing nut and that includes projections formed on an upper face of said platform. upper, said projections being formed in a part of said upper platform that moves and sinks with respect to the frame when elastic deformation occurs. This configuration according to the invention considerably facilitates the installation of the fixing nut on a rail-shaped profile. The operation is easily performed with just two fingers, usually the thumb and forefinger, from one hand. The user places the two fingers against each other and supported on the upper platform, pushes said platform down to sink it causing elastic deformation of at least a part of the central part, thereby sinking the housing with the rigid nut housed in it , and then performs a rotation of its fingers that rest against the projections, thus easily causing the 90 ° rotation of the fixing nut. It will be noted that, in addition to requiring only two fingers from a single hand, the turning operation is particularly efficient because at the end of the sinking the fingers rest firmly against the projections thanks to the latter having sunk in together with the platform.

In order to provide effective support of the fingers against the projections and to avoid at the same time that the projections protrude excessively, said projections have a height, with respect to the upper face of the upper platform on which they are formed, preferably higher or equal to 1 mm and less than or equal to 5 mm, and more preferably greater than or equal to 2 mm and less than or equal to 4 mm.

Preferably, said projections are at least two and are arranged facing each other on either side of the through opening. Each of the two fingers of the user can thus rest on one of said projections.

Preferably, the central part is shaped such that when it undergoes elastic deformation the upper platform moves and sinks with respect to the frame and the projections are located below the upper face of the frame. Thanks to this configuration, when the fixing nut is in its final position of use, the protrusions do not protrude from the upper face of the nut and therefore do not interfere with the devices. that want to be installed on the profile. Furthermore, the risk of the projections being accidentally pushed laterally after the fixing nut has been installed causing the latter to come out of position is eliminated.

More preferably, the frame has a flat, protruding top face that forms the top face of the lock nut, whereby the lock nut is not an obstacle for devices to seat on the profile. Furthermore, the risk of the locknut experiencing an accidental twist due to interference with an external object after being installed causing it to come out of position is eliminated.

Preferably, in the absence of elastic deformation, the upper face of the upper platform is in the same plane, with the exception of the projections that project from said upper face. This configuration favors a good seat for the user's fingers to push the platform down and at the same time a good support of said fingers on the projections.

In preferred embodiments, the upper platform of the central part comprises two opposite arms with respect to the through opening, each of said arms extending from a first end attached to said frame to a second end in a central area that delimits said through opening, and each of said arms presenting at least two sections separated from each other by a direction change elbow, so that the elastic deformation comprises an elastic deformation of said two arms. This solution allows easy elastic deformation to sink the platform. Furthermore, the arms thus arranged offer a bearing surface for the user's fingers, on which said fingers can slide to bear laterally on the projections and perform the 90 ° rotation.

Preferably, the frame has a circular inner perimeter and each of the arms has a first section that extends from the frame and has an arc-of-circle shape adjacent to said circular inner perimeter of the frame and a second section that extends said first section through the direction change elbow and extending to the central part that delimits the through opening. This configuration still facilitates plus the seat of the fingers on the upper face of the platform and its sliding to support laterally on the projections and make the 90 ° rotation.

Preferably, at least one of the projections is formed in each of the sections of each of the arms, said projections of the arms being aligned in a transverse direction with respect to the through opening. This solution makes the 90 ° turning operation even easier because it ensures that the user's fingers, when making the 90 ° turn, always find at least one projection on each arm.

In preferred embodiments, the upper platform of the central part comprises two opposite wings with respect to the through opening that extend laterally from a first end in a central area that delimits the through opening to a second end adjacent to the frame, being the width of each of said wings preferably greater than or equal to 4 mm. These wings arranged in this way offer a good seating surface for the user's fingers.

Preferably, each of the two wings is attached to a column of the central part at the end of which the housing is formed, so that said wings do not deform when said central part undergoes elastic deformation. This further facilitates the seating of the fingers, which can carry out the thrust on the surface of the wings that does not deform.

The invention also comprises other features of detail shown in the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention and in the accompanying figures.

Brief description of the drawings

The advantages and characteristics of the invention can be seen from the following description in which, without limiting the scope of the main claim, a preferred embodiment of the invention is set forth with reference to the figures.

Figs. 1 to 6 are successively a top perspective view, a bottom perspective view, a top view, a bottom view, a front view and a side view of the fixing nut in a rest position.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the lock nut in an elastic deformation position.

Fig. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the fixing piece in which the rigid nut piece is removed from its housing in the support piece.

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the support piece without the rigid nut piece.

Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively a perspective view and a front view of the nut piece placed on a rail-shaped profile in an initial position.

Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively a perspective view and a front view of the same piece of nut placed on the same rail-shaped profile in a final position rotated 90 ° with respect to the initial position.

Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

Figs. 1 to 6 show a preferred embodiment of the fixing nut 1 in a rest position, in the absence of elastic deformation. The fixing nut 1 is formed by a rigid nut part 2 and a support part 4 that supports said rigid nut part 2.

The rigid nut part 2 has a threaded hole 3 and is preferably a metal part. Its width, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the threaded hole 3, is greater in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction. In the embodiment represented in the figures, the rigid nut part 2 is an oblong body in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, with one side longer than the other on its main parallel faces. In the center of these main faces the threaded hole 3 is formed, which in this case is a through hole, intended to receive a fixing screw (not shown in the figures).

The support piece 4 is preferably a one-piece molded piece of polymeric material such as, for example, PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The support part 4 comprises a frame 5 that forms an upper face of the fixing nut 1 and a central part 6 that is attached to said frame 5. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the frame 5 is a flat plate with an annular shape preferably comprising two facing projections 18 extending outward in a transverse direction. The frame 5 has a flat upper face free of projections that forms the upper face of the fixing nut 1. The central part 6 comprises a housing 7 to which the rigid nut part 2 is coupled and a through opening 8 that is aligned with the threaded hole 3 of the rigid nut part 2, so that a fixing screw (not shown in the figures) can pass through said through opening 8 to screw into said threaded hole 3. In Fig. 7 it can be seen that the The housing 7 is made up of two parallel plates that have a central window and that are joined at their sides, in such a way that they delimit a space in which the rigid nut part 2 is laterally inserted. Other shapes are possible for both the nut part rigid 2 and housing 7.

The central part 6 comprises an upper platform 9 that is attached to the inner perimeter of the frame 5 in such a way that it is accessible from the upper face of the fixing nut 1. The upper platform 9 comprises two arms 12 opposite with respect to the through opening 8 As can be seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 9, the inner perimeter of frame 5 is circular and each of the two arms 12 has a first section 12a and a second section 12b separated by a direction change elbow. The first section 12a extends from the inner circular perimeter of frame 5 and has an arc of circle shape adjacent to said inner circular perimeter of frame 5. The second section 12b extends the first section 12a through the direction change elbow and it extends to a central area 13 that delimits the through opening 8. As will be seen later, when the upper platform 9 is subjected to a thrust force the two arms 12 experience an elastic deformation that displaces the housing 7, and with it the piece of rigid nut 2, moving it away from the frame 5. The upper platform 9 further comprises two flat wings 14 opposed with respect to the through opening that extend laterally from a first end in the central zone 13 to a second end adjacent to the inner perimeter of the frame 5. The wings 14 have a rectangular shape with a width greater than or equal to 4 mm. In the embodiment shown, the width of the wings 14 is 7 mm. Each of the two wings 14 is connected through an elbow to a cylindrical column 15 of the central part 6 in the end of which the housing 7 is formed. The wings 14 thus form a rigid block with the column 15, so that they do not deform when the arms 12 undergo elastic deformation.

On an upper face 11 of the upper platform 9 projections 10 are formed. More specifically, on the upper face of each of the sections 12a, 12b of each of the two arms 12 one of said projections 10 is formed. projections 10 are aligned in a transverse direction with respect to the through opening 8, so that they are arranged in pairs and facing each other on either side of said through opening 8. As can be seen in Fig. 7, when the arms 12 undergo elastic deformation, said arms 12 move and sink with respect to frame 5, so that projections 10 remain located below the upper face of said frame 5. As can be seen in Fig. 6, in the absence from the elastic deformation of the arms 12, the upper face 11 of the upper platform 9 is in the same plane, with the exception of the projections 10 that protrude from said upper face 11. In the embodiment shown, the projections 1 0 have a maximum height of 3.5 mm with respect to the upper face 11.

The fixing nut 1 is intended to be placed on a rail-shaped profile, such as the profile 16 shown in Figs. 10 to 13, which is an extruded profile of polymeric material such as PVC. The same fixing nut 1 can be placed on various other rail-shaped profiles, different from the profile 16 shown in the figures. The profile 16 has an open face delimited by the free ends of two facing side walls that have an inward rim 17.

To place the fixing nut on the profile 16, said fixing nut 1 is oriented so that the rigid nut part 2 is oriented with its greatest width parallel to the profile 16. With this orientation, the rigid nut 2 can be inserted to through the open face of the profile 16, so that the fixing nut 1 is arranged in the initial position shown in Figs. 10 and 11. In this initial position, the frame 5 rests on the free ends of the side walls of the profile 16 that delimit the open face of said profile 16 and the rigid nut piece 2 is inserted into the profile 16 but is not entirely below the flanges 17. There is no elastic deformation, whereby the locking nut is in the state described above for Figs. 1 to 6. The user places its index and thumb fingers of the same hand against each other and in support on the wings 14 of the upper platform 9 and pushes said upper platform 9 downwards, thus causing the elastic deformation of the arms 12 that displaces the housing 7, and with this, the rigid nut part 2, moving it away from the frame 5 as described above with reference to Fig. 7. The rigid nut part 2 thus displaced is located entirely below the flanges 17. The user then performs a rotation of its two fingers, which come to bear laterally against the projections 10, to cause a 90 ° rotation of the fixing nut 1, so that the rigid nut part 2 is traversed inside the profile 16 and below the flanges 17. The fixing nut 1 is then in the final position shown in Figs. 12 and 13. The user withdraws his fingers and the fixing nut 1 remains alone in this final position thanks to the elastically deformed arms 12 exerting an elastic return force that pulls the housing 7 upwards, whereby the rigid nut 2 is pressed against flanges 17.

1

Claims (13)

1. Fixing nut (1) for rail-shaped profiles, comprising: - a piece of rigid nut (2) comprising a threaded hole (3) and having a width, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said threaded hole (3), greater in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction; - a support piece (4) of polymeric material that supports said rigid nut piece (2), said support piece (4) comprising a frame (5) that forms an upper face of said fixing nut (1) and a central part (6) that is attached to said frame (5), said central part (6) comprising a housing (7) to which said rigid nut part (2) is coupled and a through opening (8) aligned with said hole threaded (3) of said rigid nut part (2), so that a fixing screw can pass through said through opening (8) to screw into said threaded hole (3), and said central part (6) being shaped so that, when subjected to a thrust force, at least a part of said central part (6) undergoes an elastic deformation that moves said housing (7) away from said frame (5); characterized in that said central part (6) comprises an upper platform (9) that is accessible from said upper face of the fixing nut (1) and that comprises projections (10) formed on an upper face (11) of said platform upper (9), said projections (10) being formed in a part of said upper platform (9) that moves and sinks with respect to said frame (5) when said elastic deformation occurs. 2. Fixing nut (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said projections (10) have a height, with respect to said upper face (11) of the upper platform (9) on which they are formed, greater than or equal to 1 mm and less than or equal to 5 mm. Fixing nut (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said projections (10) have a height, with respect to said upper face (11) of the upper platform (9) on which they are formed, greater than or equal to 2 mm and less than or equal to 4 mm. Fixing nut (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said projections (10) are at least two and are arranged facing each other on either side of said through opening (8). 5. Fixing nut (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said central part (6) is shaped such that when said elastic deformation undergoes said upper platform (9) it moves and sinks with respect to said frame (5) and said projections (10) are located below the upper face of said frame (5). Fixing nut (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that said frame (5) has a flat upper face free of projections that forms said upper face of said fixing nut (1). Fixing nut (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, in the absence of said elastic deformation, the upper face (11) of said upper platform (9) is in the same plane, with the exception of said projections (10) protruding from said upper face (11). Fixing nut (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said upper platform (9) of the central part (6) comprises two arms (12) opposed with respect to said through opening (8), each of said arms (12) extending from a first end attached to said frame (5) to a second end in a central area (13) that delimits said through opening (8), and each of said arms (12) presenting at least two sections (12a, 12b) separated from each other by a direction change elbow, so that said elastic deformation comprises an elastic deformation of said two arms (12). Fastening nut (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that said frame (5) has a circular inner perimeter and each of said arms (12) has a first section (12a) that extends from said frame (5 ) and which has an arc of circle shape adjacent to said circular inner perimeter of said frame (5) and a second section (12b) that extends said first section (12a) through said direction change elbow and extends up to said central area (13) that delimits said through opening (8). Fixing nut (1) according to any of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that in each of said sections (12a, 12b) of each of said arms (12) at least one of said projections (10) is formed ), said projections (10) of the arms (12) being aligned in a transverse direction with respect to said through opening (8). Fixing nut (1) according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that said upper platform (9) of the central part (6) comprises two wings (14) opposed with respect to said through opening (8) that they extend laterally from a first end in a central zone (13) that delimits said through opening (8) to a second end adjacent to said frame (5). Fixing nut (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that each of said two wings (14) has a width greater than or equal to 4 mm. 13. Fixing nut (1) according to any of claims 11 or 12, characterized in that each of said two wings (14) is attached to a column (15) of said central part (6) at the end of which it is formed said housing (7), so that said wings (14) do not deform when said central part (6) undergoes said elastic deformation. 1