US 2013/0239509 A1Published application

Invisible butt joint fastener

AssigneeJian Wang

InventorJian Wang

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A fastener for connecting two structural pieces over abutting surfaces with no or minimum exposure of the fastener itself. Each fastener comprises a male and a female member to be fixed into abutting surfaces of the structural pieces to be connected. The tongue of the male member can be inserted into and slide inside the socket of the female member when the two structural pieces slide against each other along the abutting surface. The socket surface is partially covered with raised ribs, that can catch the ribs on the male tongue when the tongue is at the locking position but not at the releasing position. All the ribs are slopped relative to the sliding direction to convert part of the sliding action into a pulling action, so as to create a preload between the structural pieces when connected.

Claims3

Dependent claims

A fastener for joining structural pieces over abutting surfaces, comprising

a) a male member, which further comprising a tongue for extending from a mating surface of a first structural piece to be connected, and a plurality of outward-facing ribs on surface of said tongue running generally alongside said mating surface of said first structural pieces, and,
b) a female member, which further comprising a generally slotted socket for receding from a mating surface of a second structural piece to be connected, and said socket further comprising a ribbed section covered with a plurality of inward-facing ribs running generally alongside said mating surface of said second structural piece for engaging said outward-facing ribs on said tongue, and a flat section for allowing said tongue to be inserted into or extracted from freely,
therefore, said tongue may be locked inside said socket in a locking action, which is sliding from said flat section to said ribbed section of said socket, and unlocked in a releasing action, which is sliding from said ribbed section to said flat section of said socket.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/418,632Filed 13 Mar 2012
Published: 19 Sep 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

F16B 12/125
For non-metal furniture parts, e.g. made of wood, of plastics: using mortise and tenon joints
F16B 12/22
For non-metal furniture parts, e.g. made of wood, of plastics: using keyhole-shaped slots and pins
F16B 12/24
For non-metal furniture parts, e.g. made of wood, of plastics: using separate pins, dowels, or the like
A47B 2230/0081
Mortise and tenon joints or the like including some general male and female connections: mortise and tenon type joints with some general male and…

Family

No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.

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