Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a dovetail joint and in particular, to a dovetail joint for industrial use having a fixed or removable wedge to enable a zero-play fastening of a movable member fastened to a fixed member.

BACKGROUND
[0002] The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] In certain manufacturing equipment, a compact solution is required for easy assembly and disassembly of a housing (or) component (or) subassembly, from a fixed support (or) component (or) base, whilst maintaining zero mechanical play at the joint after remounting it in a space constrained environment.
[0004] Various solutions are available in the art to address this requirement such as the bolt-on system, the dove-tail with bolt-on system and the dovetail with ball catch system.
[0005] The Basic bolt-on system uses simple screws/bolts to mount and unmount the desired component, but to provide access to these screw heads will render this system unusable in constraint spaces. It’s a non-user-friendly system due to constant screwing/unscrewing & always requiring two hands to hold the component whilst unscrewing simultaneously, since it runs the risk of fall over while removing the last screw, making it non-ideal for heavier sensitive components.
[0006] The Dovetail with Bolt-on system uses screw’s flat tips which are screwed from male / female section of dovetail and the tips butt against the counter surface i.e., female / male respectively depending on the use case, thus achieving the preload. But this mechanism too isn’t usable in constraint spaces since the preload screw heads need to be accessible, additionally the screws tend to damage the counter surfaces which they butt against, not making it ideal for frequent demounting and remounting.
[0007] The Dovetail with Ball catch system uses a dovetail in conjunction with a spring-loaded ball catch mechanism. Here a ball catch cavity is used through which a spring-loaded ball is placed either in female / male part of dovetail, this ball then whenever the counter dovetail surface is slid into gets compressed and applies a counter force equivalent to the stiffness of the spring used thus creating the desired preload. This system though ingenious it has a drawback that the component weight totally depends on the spring stiffness to achieve zero play, also this joint would unsettle under machine vibrations due to the nature of spring.
[0008] Thus, a dovetail joint was an ideal solution for its ease of use and operational space required, but due to manufacturing tolerance and sliding clearance required, zero play was not achievable.
[0009] There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide a solution that obviates above-mentioned limitations to provide a joint that enables zero-play at the joint and overcomes problems due to manufacturing tolerance and sliding clearance.

SUMMARY
[0010] The present disclosure relates to a dovetail joint and in particular, to a dovetail joint for industrial use having a fixed or removable wedge to enable a zero-play fastening of a movable member fastened to a fixed member.
[0011] The proposed disclosure provides a compact solution for easy assembly and disassembly of a housing (or) component (or) subassembly, from a fixed support (or) component (or) base, whilst maintaining zero mechanical play at the joint after remounting it in a space constrained environment. The proposed modified dovetail joint design uses simple wedging mechanism to achieve zero play by auto preloading the dovetail whenever remounting the joint, thus making it ideal solution in a compact precision play-free machine application.
[0012] An aspect of the present disclosure pertains to a dovetail joint with wedges. The dovetail joint may comprise a male dovetail member, the male dovetail member has at least one slot to receive a removable wedge. The removable wedge is removable and operatively fastenable to the male dovetail member through screws. The joint further comprises a female dovetail member to accommodate the male dovetail member such that on operative coupling of the removable wedge with the male dovetail member and the female dovetail member, the joint allows fastening of the dovetail joint with no relative motion between the male dovetail member, the female dovetail member (154) and the removable wedge (152). The dovetail joint with wedge as claimed, wherein one of the male dovetail member (156), the female dovetail member (154) being operatively coupled with a fixed surface and the other of the male dovetail member (156), the female dovetail member (154) being operatively coupled to a detachable component to be attached with the fixed surface.
[0013] In an embodiment, the removable wedge may be fastened to the male dovetail member by a plurality of removable wedge screws.
[0014] In yet another embodiment, the removable wedge may contain a wedge release set screw such that the removable wedge is removable when it is jammed between the dovetails due to excessive tightening of the wedge screws,
[0015] In yet another embodiment, the male dovetail member further comprises a fixed wedge being fixed such that it wedges with the at least one slot on the female dovetail member, wherein said fixed wedge being removable and fixed to the male dovetail member through a plurality of fixed wedge mount screws.
[0016] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary diagram of illustrating and highlighting the requirement of the solution provided by the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary diagram of showing an exploded view of the dovetail joint, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 3A illustrates the front view of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 3B illustrates the sectional view of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 3C illustrates the side view of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0023] FIG. 3D illustrates the rear view of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 4A illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary dovetail joint with a fixed wedge and male dovetail manufactured as a monolithic structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0025] FIG. 4B illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary dovetail joint with two removable wedges in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.
[0027] The present disclosure relates to a dovetail joint and in particular, to a dovetail joint for industrial use having a fixed or removable wedge to enable a zero-play fastening of a movable member fastened to a fixed member.
[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary diagram illustrating and highlighting the requirement of the solution provided by the present disclosure.
[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary diagram of showing an exploded view of the dovetail joint, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The dovetail joint with wedge (150) comprises a male dovetail member (156) and a female dovetail member (154). The female dovetail member (154) may have at least one slot to receive a removable wedge (152), the removable wedge can removable and operatively fastenable to the male dovetail member (156). In some embodiments, the fixed wedge may be fixed and built into the male dovetail member with the fixed wedge (158, 422) and male dovetail being a monolithic structure.
[0030] The female dovetail member (154) is adapted to accommodate the male dovetail member (156) such that on operative coupling of the removable wedge (152) with the male dovetail member (156) and the female dovetail member (154), the joint allows fastening of the dovetail joint with no relative motion between the male dovetail member (156), the female dovetail member (154) and the removable wedge (152).
[0031] In an embodiment, the female dovetail member (154) further comprises a groove to slot in with the male dovetail member.
[0032] In yet another embodiment, the male dovetail member (156), the female dovetail member (154) may be operatively coupled to a detachable component to be attached with the fixed surface.
[0033] In yet another embodiment, the removable wedge (152) of the dovetail joint with wedge may be fastened to the male dovetail member by a plurality of removable wedge screws (153).
[0034] In yet another embodiment, the removable wedge may be locked in place by a wedge release set screw (160) such that the removable wedge (152) is removable only on release of the wedge release set screw (160).
[0035] In yet another embodiment, the dovetail joint with wedge as claimed, wherein the male dovetail member (156) further comprises a fixed wedge (158) being fixed such that it wedges with the at least one slot on the female dovetail member (154), wherein said fixed wedge being removable and fixed to the male dovetail member through a plurality of fixed wedge mount screws (159). In an embodiment, the female dovetail member may have two mirrored cutouts to accommodate wedges which are of same profile as can be seen in FIG. 2. The wedges may be slot into these cutouts and butt onto the surfaces, as removable wedge is pushed in, the male dovetail portion fully butts with the female counterpart. The male Dovetail may have one wedge permanently assembled to it using countersunk screws. This fixed wedge as seen in FIG. 2 enables the female dovetail member to automatically stop from sliding down by holding it in place along with providing the necessary wedging action to preload the dovetail joint.
[0036] In an embodiment, there may be two wedges in this joint with one known as fixed wedge and the other as removable (user accessible) wedge. These wedges enable in pushing the female and male dovetail portions apart from each other thus ensuring that the dovetail surfaces butt completely with a preload force. This then ensures zero mechanical play.
[0037] In an embodiment, the assembly for this joint may only make use of using basic fastening techniques. In a first embodiment, one of the wedge may be fixed and the fixed wedge may be screwed onto the male dovetail using two countersunk screws. The whole male dovetail member may then be permanently bolted onto a fixed support (104). The female dovetail member (154) may be slid into the male dovetail member (156) until the contact with fixed wedge is established. Then the removable wedge is slid between the wedge slot of male dovetail and female dovetail, in a manner that the two wedges are in mirrored orientation with respect to each other. Two screws can then be used to fasten the removable wedge onto the male dovetail, as the screws are tightened both the wedges pushes the male and female dovetails apart from each other by means of wedging action, due to this wedge action the dovetail surfaces come in complete surface contact with a preload force, which ensures the joint has zero play.
[0038] In an embodiment, a through tapped hole for set screw may be provided on the removable wedge as seen in FIG. 3 through the Section A-A. for the purpose that when the removable wedge is over fastened, during the disassembly process the wedge could have been lodged (or) jammed in due to high friction and would pose difficulty in detaching it, this can be countered by screwing a set screw through the tapped hole, which would butt against the top surface of the female dovetail and dislodge the wedge when screwed further.
[0039] In an embodiment, the male dovetail may be attached to the fixed support (104) and the female dovetail as the detachable unit (102). The preferred fixed support (104) may contain the fixed wedge attached along with removable wedge screw holes drilled to it.
[0040] FIG. 3A illustrates the front view (310) of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0041] FIG. 3B illustrates the sectional view (320) of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0042] FIG. 3C illustrates the side view (330) of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0043] FIG. 3D illustrates the rear view (340) of an exemplary dovetail joint with wedge, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0044] FIG. 4A illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary dovetail joint with a fixed male dovetail in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0045] The dovetail joint (400) comprises a fixed wedge (422) constructed along with the male dovetail member (420). Assembly (410) illustrates the male and female dovetail members in a butted assembled condition.
[0046] FIG. 4B illustrates an exploded view of an exemplary dovetail joint (450) with two removable wedges (452) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure that are operatively mounted with the help of a plurality of removable wedge screws (453) along with the wedge release set screw (460). Different orientations and butting of the male dovetail member (456, 156) and the female dovetail member (454, 154) are illustrated.
[0047] In an embodiment, the dovetail joint can be used as a separate manufactured unit fastened to desired components (or) as an infused feature of any components of an assembly, where the joint required in its fully assembled form has zero mechanical play and between components which need frequent assembly/disassembly cycles.
[0048] In an embodiment, the dovetail joint as disclosed is implemented where components are difficult to manufacture as a single piece; this joint can help split/breakdown the parent component into simpler daughter components such that this joint designed as an infused part of these components for easy permanent assembly to form the desired parent component
[0049] In an exemplary implementation, the dovetail joint with wedge as disclosed can be used in an Indentation hardness tester, as an indenter mount to get accurate results. i.e the removable component being the indenter assembly, thus during indentation process this joint eliminates any sort of mechanical play ensuring accurate results, since indenter tips need to be replaced periodically this joint helps easy mount and dismount of the indenter assembly during maintenance.
[0050] In yet another embodiment, the dovetail joint with wedge can be implemented as a removable sample mounting stage in a sensitive mechanical testing machine, sample stages which go inside machines like Scanning electron microscope, and other in-situ testing machines etc. The dovetail joint with wedge can help with easy accessibility.
[0051] In yet another embodiment, the dovetail joint with wedge as disclosed can be implemented in Turbines; the disclosed joint could be used between the hub and blades making the blade modular and easy for repair/ maintenance/ replacement, i.e Mounting of Blades to a Hub.
[0052] In yet another embodiment, the dovetail joint with wedge as disclosed can be implemented for Mounting Scopes and Butt Stocks to a gun; the disclosed joint with wedge can help quick change of these components.
[0053] In an embodiment, the dovetail joint with wedge can be implemented as a mount for components/sub assembly which has limited degrees of freedom and needs frequent removal, and after mounting these is a need for zero mechanical play.
[0054] While embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the claim.
[0055] In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, to avoid obscuring the present invention.
[0056] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term "coupled to" is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms "coupled to" and "coupled with" are used synonymously.
[0057] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C … N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.
[0058] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0059] The present disclosure provides a joint that enables zero-play at the joint and overcomes due to manufacturing tolerance and sliding clearance.
[0060] The present disclosure provides a joint with varying adaptations and implementations enabling detachable joints with different equipment.
, Claims:1. A dovetail joint with wedge (150) comprising:
a female dovetail member (154), said female dovetail member (154) having at least one slot, out of which one wedge slot is to receive a removable wedge (152), the removable wedge being removable and operatively fastenable to the male dovetail member (156);
a female dovetail member (154) to accommodate the male dovetail member (156) such that on operative coupling of the removable wedge (152) with the male dovetail member (156) and the female dovetail member (154), the joint allows fastening of the dovetail joint with no relative motion between the male dovetail member (156), the female dovetail member (154) and the removable wedge (152).
2. The dovetail joint with wedge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the female dovetail member (154) further comprises a groove wherein the female dovetail member slots in with the male dovetail member such that the dovetail portions are butting and the wedges are butting against the female dovetail slots/grooves.
3. The dovetail joint with wedge as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the male dovetail member (156), being operatively coupled with a fixed surface and the female dovetail member (154) being operatively coupled to a detachable component to be attached with the fixed surface.
4. The dovetail joint with wedge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removable wedge (152) is fastened to the male dovetail member by a plurality of removable wedge screws (153).
5. The dovetail joint with wedge as claimed in claim 1, further comprising, a wedge release set screw (160) such that the removable wedge (152) is removable in case of jamming by the release set screw.

6. The dovetail joint with wedge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the male dovetail member (156) further comprises a fixed wedge (158) being fixed such that it wedges with the second slot of the female dovetail member (154), wherein said fixed wedge being removable and fixed to the male dovetail member through a plurality of fixed wedge mount screws (159).