Fastener system
AssigneeTesla, Inc.
InventorsGregory John Shendel, Justin William Vanness, Daniel J. Whitford, Samuel Putney
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Generally described, one or more aspects of the present disclosure relate to threadless fastening systems, and components thereof, the threadless fastening system including a fastening washer including a conical spring, a retaining cup comprising one or more washer centering ribs, and an attachment pin, wherein the fastening washer is configured to press fit onto an interface surface of the attachment pin, and wherein the conical spring is configured to generate a joint preload between the fastening washer and attachment pin clamp surface.
Claims20
A threadless fastener system for securing a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) to an attachment pin, the attachment pin extending from a heatsink and comprising a clamping surface spaced from the heatsink and configured to support the PCBA, the system comprising:
- a fastening washer having a conical spring and a plurality of interference petals, the plurality of interference petals being sized and shaped to clamp to the attachment pin;
- and
- a retaining cup sized and shaped to receive the fastening washer, a portion of the retaining cup being disposed between the fastening washer and the PCBA when the plurality of interference petals are clamped to the attachment pin,
- wherein the conical spring creates a thermally stable clamping force on the PCBA between the clamping surface and the portion of the retaining cup when the plurality of interference petals are clamped to the attachment pin.
A fastening washer configured for securement to an attachment pin, the fastening washer comprising:
- a conical spring having an inner edge and an outer edge;
- a flat outer rim extending from the outer edge of the conical spring;
- an integrated press surface extending inward from the inner edge;
- and
- a plurality of interference petals arranged inward from the integrated press surface.
A threadless fastener system comprising:
- a retaining cup having a cup clamping surface;
- a fastening washer comprising a conical spring positioned within the retaining cup;
- and
- an attachment pin having an interface surface and a pin clamping surface;
- wherein an end of the attachment pin is configured to attach to a first item, wherein the fastening washer is configured to clamp on the interface surface, and wherein the conical spring is configured to generate a clamping force on a second item positioned between the cup clamping surface and the pin clamping surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.