CLIAMS:1. A fastener (100) comprising:
• a body (101, 501, 601), said body (101, 501, 601) defined by a plurality of portions (102), wherein said plurality of portions (102) are joined in an operative configuration of said fastener (100) to form said body (101);
• wherein said plurality of portions (102) define mating surfaces on radial faces, wherein said mating surfaces abut each other in said operative configuration, wherein complementary formations defined on said mating surfaces facilitate secure and removable fastening of said plurality of portions (102);
• an enclosure (104) formed in said operative configuration when said mating surface mate;
• at least one flexible bridge (108, 208, 308), wherein said flexible bridges (108, 208, 308) bridge said plurality of portions (102) at defined locations.

2. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cavity formed in at least one of inner face of said plurality of portions (102).

3. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of portions (102) is pivotable with respect to each other about said flexible bridges (108).

4. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of portions (102) of said body (101, 501, 601) comprises a head portion (105) and a shank portion (106).

5. The fastener as claimed in claim 3, wherein said flexible bridge element (108, 208, 308) is disposed at either one of a tip of said shank portion (106) or a tip of said head portion (205) or on an edge of the head portion (305).
6. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, said fastener (100) comprises fastening formations (107) configured on the outer surface of said plurality of portions of said body (101, 501, 601).

7. The fastener as claimed in claim 6, wherein said fastening formations (107) are threads formed on outer or inner surface of said plurality of portions of said body (101, 501, 601).

8. The fastener as claimed in claim 6, wherein said fastening formation (107) is a snap formation, wherein said snap formation formed on outer or inner surface of said plurality of portions of said body (101, 501, 601).

9. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein said complementary formations is by means including a ball-socket arrangement, or a boss-recess arrangement, or a tongue-groove arrangement.

10. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener (100) selected mainly from a group consisting a screw, a nail, a bolt, a stud, and a rivet.

11. The fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein said enclosure (104) is of any shape and size.
,TagSPECI:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of fasteners.
BACKGROUND
A fastener is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more structural elements together. Mechanical fasteners can be broadly classified as threaded fasteners and non-threaded fasteners. Different types of screws and nut-bolt arrangements are categorized as threaded fasteners, and nails, rivets, staples, cotter pins, skotch fasteners, and so on are categorized as non-threaded fasteners. Depending on the requirements and application, the fasteners can be of different materials.
Fasteners find their application in almost every machine that we use in our daily lives. Electrical machines like refrigerators, micro-wave ovens, food processors, cell phones, and so on use different kinds of fasteners. Fasteners are also used for mounting different elements in a system. Certain systems include electrical circuitry require mounting of sensors and other small elements at specific sites. Some of the sensors that are used in these machines are delicate and very small in size. Secured mounting of such sensors is very important as some these sensors are very high in cost, and smallest amount disturbance in the form of a jerk or a vibration, or dust ingress may cause the failure of the sensor. Other small elements and electronic components, e.g., small magnet discs, may have dimensions measurable in micrometres. Components of such small sizes are, in general, structurally weak and are required to be protected by a secure enclosure.
In order to address the above mentioned drawbacks, there is a need for fasteners which facilitate the secured mounting of delicate electronic elements such as sensors and other small elements, such that these delicate elements are protected from external environmental conditions which may cause damage to the sensor and ultimately lead to failure of the expensive sensors.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies are as follows:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the conventional practices or to at least provide a useful alternative.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a fastener that facilitates the secure mounting of small sensors and other small elements at a predetermined site.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a fastener which can be used in an electrical circuitry without affecting the operation of other electrical components in the electrical circuitry.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a fastener that facilitates installation of delicate elements of complicated geometries.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a fastener which is easy to manufacture, and can be manufactured using conventional processes.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a fastener that is inexpensive and exhibits an extended service life.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figure, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
A fastener including a body, an enclosure, and complementary formations is disclosed in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The body of the fastener is defined by a plurality of portions, wherein the plurality of portions is pivotable with respect to each other about a flexible bridge. The fastening formations are formed on the outer or inner surface of the body of the fastener. The purpose of the fastening formations is to facilitate secured fastening of the fastener. Mating surfaces are defined on the radial face of a plurality of portions such that the mating surfaces abut each other in the operative configuration of the plurality of portions. The plurality of portions includes a cavity formed therein on inner face. An enclosure is formed on at least one of the inner faces of said plurality of portions. The complementary formations are formed on the mating surfaces for securely and removably locking the plurality of portions.
BREIF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A fastener will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1A illustrates a front view of a fastener in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a first portion and a second portion of a body of the fastener are disengaged and moved away from each other by swivelling first portion with respect to the second portion to define inoperative configuration of the fastener.
Fig. 1B illustrates a front view of the fastener of Fig. 1B, wherein the first portion and the second portion are engaged with each other to define the operative configuration of the fastener.
Fig. 2 illustrates a front view of a fastener in accordance with the present disclosure.
Fig. 3 illustrates a front view of a fastener in accordance with the present disclosure.
Fig. 3A illustrates a view of the fastener depicting fastening formations formed on the inside of the shank portion.
Fig. 4 illustrates a front view of a fastener in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 5A to Fig. 5D illustrate different views of a fastener in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 6A to Fig 6C illustrate different views of a fastener in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A fastener to facilitate the mounting of delicate electronic, magnetic or electro-magnetic elements such as sensors and other small elements will now be described with reference to the embodiments, which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration. The embodiment herein, the various features, and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced, and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
Fig. 1A illustrates an embodiment wherein a plurality of portions has two portions. Fig 1A, illustrate a cross-sectional front view of a fastener 100. The fastener is bifurcated into two portions, particularly, the fastener 100 includes a body that is defined by a plurality of portions 102. The first and the second portions 102 are adapted to be joined in an operative configuration of said fastener 100 to form said body 101. Referring to Fig. 1A, the first and second portions 102 are disengaged and moved away from each other to define the inoperative configuration of the fastener 100. Mating surfaces are defined on the radial faces of the first and second portions 102 such that the mating surfaces abut each other in an operative configuration of said first and second portions 102 forming the body 101. The mating surfaces of the first and second portions 102 mate in the operative configuration, forming an enclosure 104... The first and the second portions 102 the body 101 are disengaged and moved away from each other as illustrated in Fig. 1A to provide access the interior of the enclosure 104. The function of the enclosure 104 is to accommodate a small delicate electronic, magnetic or electro-magnetic element like element like a sensor or any other element or component. The enclosure 104 is of any shape and size to accommodate the element to be placed inside accordingly. Once the first portion and second portions 102 are disengaged to provide access to the enclosure 104, the element is placed within the enclosure 104. After placing the small element in the enclosure 104, the first and the second portions 102 are engaged to define the operative configuration of the fastener 100. Such configuration provides a secure enclosure for receiving the small elements. Thereafter, the fastener 100 may be secured to a desired site for facilitating mounting of the small element at the desired site. Furthermore, the use of the fastener 100 provides structural integrity and secure mounting arrangement for mounting of the small elements such as delicate sensors that may otherwise get misplaced or damaged due to any external jerks/ vibrations in the absence of a secure mounting arrangement. Such configuration of the fastener 100 enables mounting of the delicate element in a relative secured position within the enclosure 104 of the fastener 100.
Fig. 1B illustrates a cross-sectional front view of the fastener 100 wherein the first and second portions 102 of the body 101 of the fastener 100 are engaged with each other to define the operative configuration of the fastener 100. As illustrated in Fig. 1B, the fastener 100 further comprises a head portion 105 and a shank portion 106. As described previously, the enclosure 104 is defined by the cavities formed on the mating surfaces, wherein the mating surfaces are defined on the first portion and second portions 102, when the first and second portions 102 are engaging with each other. In the first embodiment, as illustrated in Fig. 1B, the enclosure 104 is formed in the head portion 105 of the fastener 100. However, the position of the enclosure 104 is not limited to be at the head portion 105 only. In an example, depending upon the dimensions of the small element to be placed inside the enclosure 104, the enclosure 104 may be disposed in the shank portion 106 of the fastener 100.
Referring to Fig. 1B, the fastener 100 of the present embodiment is a screw. The fastener 100 may be a screw of any type, such as, cap screw, lag screw, machine screw with oval head, machine screw with Philips head, flat-head wood screw, self-tapping screw, and the like. In another example, the fastener 100 may also be a bolt having a corresponding nut, thus forming a nut-bolt assembly. In yet another example, the fastener 100 may also be a nail with no threads. In still another example, the fastener 100 may be a stud and the head portion 105 may be absent.
Furthermore, the cavities defining the enclosure 104 is of any shape and size and may have a symmetrical profile, such as rectangular, circular, triangular, elliptical, polygonal, and so on. In such cases, wherein cavities defining the enclosure 104 have a symmetrical profile, the fastener may be manufactured by processes like casting, moulding, and the like. In cases where cavities defining the enclosure 104 have an asymmetric and irregular profile, the fastener 100 may be manufactured using casting or moulding process, and the cavities of the desired profile can be obtained by post-machining processes like laser-cutting, water-jet cutting, and the like. Thus, the fastener 100 is an easy to manufacture component, which can be manufactured using conventionally known manufacturing techniques.
The fastener 100 further comprises complementary formations defined on the mating surfaces of first and second portions 102 to enable secure and removable engagement of the first and second portions 102 of the body 101. As illustrated in Fig. 1A, the first portion 102 comprises receiving cavity 109 which is adapted to receive a protrusion 110 which is formed on the second portion 102. In an example, the receiving cavity 109 may be formed on the second portion 102, and the protrusion 110 may be formed on the first portion 102. In another example, the complementary formations may include a ball-socket arrangement, a boss-recess arrangement, a tongue-groove arrangement, and the like. In the present embodiment, the press-fit arrangement, comprising the receiving cavity 109 and the protrusion 110, has a rectangular profile. However, the press-fit arrangement may be configured to have any profile other than a rectangular profile.
The fastener 100 further comprises fastening formations 107 disposed on a pre-determined site on the outer surface of the body 101. In the present embodiment, the fastening formations 107 are threads disposed on the outer surface of the shank portion 106 of the body 101. The threads facilitate easy installation and removal of the fastener 100 from the housing where the fastener 100 is to be installed. The threads also help in adjusting the position of the fastener 100, thus enabling the refining of the mounting position of the fastener 100. . In an example, the fastening formations 107 may also be formed on the inner surface of the shank portion 106, as illustrated in Fig. 3A. In another example, the threads may be absent and the fastener 100 may have profile similar to that of a nail. In yet another example, the threads on the shank portion 106 may be replaced by a snap-fit arrangement wherein snap formation formed either on the inner surface or the outer surface of the shank portion 106. In still another example, the fastening formation 107 is a christmas tree thread. The christmas tree threads are used when the installation of the fastener 100 is required to be secure and permanent. In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the first and second portions 102 are two completely separable separate components, sans the flexible bridge, assembled with each other by means of a ball-socket joint or any other joint configured on the mating surfaces defined on the first portion and second portions 102.
The fastener 100 further comprises a flexible bridge 108 disposed at the tip of the shank portion 106. The first and second portions 102 are pivotable about the flexible bridge 108. However, the position of the flexible bridge 108 is not limited to being disposed at the tip of the shank portion 106. In an example, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the flexible bridge 208 is disposed on the tip of the head portion 205 of the fastener 200. In another example, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the flexible bridge 308 is disposed on an edge of the head portion 305 of the fastener 300 and extends along the longitudinal axis of the fastener 300. This edge of the head portion on which the flexible bridge 308 is disposed may anywhere on the head portion 305. However, the position of the flexible bridge is not limited to being disposed on the head portion. In an example, the flexible bridge may be placed on the shank portion and may extend along the longitudinal axis of the fastener 100.
Fig. 4 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the fastener 400 in accordance with the present disclosure. In fastener 400, the cavity defining the enclosure 404 is formed only on the mating surface of the first portion 402, and the mating surface of the second portion 403 is flat and does not have any deformation. In another example, the cavity defining the enclosure 404 may be formed on the mating surface of the second portion 403 instead of the first portion 402. All the other features of the fastener 400 are similar to the features disclosed with respect to the first embodiment of the fastener, i.e., the fastener 100 disclosed in Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B. Hence, for the sake of brevity of the present application, the features of fastener 400 are not described again.
In all of the embodiments described above, the first and second portions 102 of the body 101 are bifurcated along the longitudinal axis of the fastener 100. However, the bifurcation of the body 101 is not limited along the longitudinal axis. The bifurcation may also be done in a radial direction. To gain access to the enclosure 104, the first portion 102 may be rotated about a pivot 108, wherein the pivot 108 is disposed such that the pivot 108 facilitates a rotational movement between the first and second portions 102.
Fig. 5A to Fig. 5D illustrate a second embodiment of the fastener 500 in accordance with the present disclosure. Unlike the previous embodiments of the fastener wherein the fastener was defined by a first portion and a second portion, the fastener 500 of the present embodiment is adapted to be divided into three portions 502-1, 502-2, 502-3. Each of the portions 502-1, 502-2, 502-3 subtend an angle of 120o to each other at the center of the fastener, as can be seen in the top view of the fastener 500, as illustrated in Fig. 5B. In the present embodiment, the three portions 502-1, 502-2, 503-3 are joined by a flexible bridge 508 at the tip of the shank portion 506, as illustrated in Fig. 5C. Fig. 5D illustrates another example of fastener 500 opened up in an inoperative configuration of the fastener 500, and joined together by two flexible bridges 508 extending along the axis of the fastener 500. All the other features of the fastener 500 are similar to the features disclosed with respect to the first embodiment of the fastener, i.e., the fastener 100 disclosed in Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B. Hence, for the sake of brevity of the present application, the features of fastener 500 are not described again.
Fig. 6A to Fig. 6C illustrate a third embodiment of the fastener 600 in accordance with the present disclosure. As can be seen in the top view of the fastener 600 illustrated in Fig. 6B, the fastener 600 is divided into four portions 602-1, 602-2, 602-3, 604-4, wherein each of the four portions subtends an angle of 90o to each other at the center of the fastener 600. The four portions 602-1, 602-2, 602-3, 602-4 are joined together by a flexible bridge 608 disposed at the tip of the shank portion 606. All the other features of the fastener 600 are similar to the features disclosed with respect to the first embodiment of the fastener, i.e., the fastener 100 disclosed in Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B. Hence, for the sake of brevity of the present application, the features of fastener 600 are not described again.
Although the above embodiments of the fastener are described as having upto four portions, the fastener of the present disclosure is not limited to be bifurcated in only four portions. The fastener 100 is manufactured from a non-magnetic material like plastics, e.g., polypropylene. The purpose of using a non-magnetic material for manufacturing the fastener 100 is that if the fastener 100 is housing an electrical or a magnetic sensor, the material of the fastener 100 should not affect the operation of the electrical or the magnetic sensor or the system in which the electrical or magnetic sensor is disposed. Any non-magnetic metal, e.g., aluminium and copper may also be used for manufacturing the fastener 100, as long as the operation of the system in which they are to be installed is not affected.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
The fastener 100, in accordance with the present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including but not limited to the realization of a fastener 100 that:
̶ that facilitates the secure mounting of small sensors and other small elements at a predetermined site.
̶ can be used in an electrical circuitry without affecting the operation of other electrical components in the electrical circuitry.
̶ facilitates installation of delicate elements of complicated geometries.
̶ is easy to manufacture, and can be manufactured using conventional processes.
̶ is inexpensive and exhibits an extended service life.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or mixture or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure, as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.