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US 6,095,713 AGranted
Engagement device and coupling member
AssigneeD & D Group Pty Ltd
InventorsDavid Doyle, Neil Dunne, Mark Cumming
Life of this patent
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AssigneeD & D Group Pty Ltd
InventorsDavid Doyle, Neil Dunne, Mark Cumming
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to engagemnent devices and coupling members for forming a structural frame work for hollow tubes. One form of engagement device comprises a hollow sleeve (1) through which a tube (31) may be passed. The hollow sleeve has a deformable flared portion (2). A further hollow sleeve member (12) is immovable on the outside of the first sleeve and has a surface (13) arranged to co-operate the flared portion to cause it to deform to grip the tube (31). A further engagement device comprises a hollow sleeve portion (100) which is distendable to grip a tube mounted on its surface. A trustoconical wedge (101) is movable within the hollow sleeve potion (100) to cause to distend. A number of engagement devices may be connected together to form coupling members for connecting tubes to form a structural frame work.
A coupling member for coupling a plurality of beams together, comprising a first engagement device including a sleeve having a passage therethrough for receiving a first beam, the sleeve having a portion which is deformable to grip the first beam, a tightening member having a passage therethrough for receiving the sleeve and being axially movable with respect to the sleeve and being arranged to co-operate with the deformable portion to cause the deformable portion to deform to grip the first beam, and a biasing means for maintaining the tightening member in co-operation with the deformable portion, the coupling member further including a second engagement device mounted to the first engagement device, the second engagement device being arranged to engage and hold a further beam in a predetermined orientation with respect to the first beam.
A framework, comprising a plurality of beams mounted with respect to each other by a coupling member having a first engagement device including a sleeve having a passage therethrough for receiving a first of the plurality of beams, the sleeve having a portion which is deformable to grip the first beam, a tightening member having a passage therethrough for receiving the sleeve and being axially movable with respect to the sleeve and being arranged to co-operate with the deformable portion to cause the deformable portion to deform to grip the first beam, and a biasing means for maintaining the tightening member in co-operation with the deformable portion, the coupling member further including a second engagement device mounted to the first engagement device, the second engagement device being arranged to engage and hold a further beam of the plurality of beams in a predetermined orientation with respect to the first beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.