The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 18, 2025
Filed:
Nov. 16, 2022
Ample, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US);
Ankit Srivastava, San Francisco, CA (US);
Ample, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US);
Abstract
A self-aligning mechanical fastener includes an active apparatus and a passive apparatus and is configured to have locked and unlocked states. The active apparatus includes a motor that drives a shaft in first direction to advance a plunger towards the passive apparatus to transition the fastener to the locked state. The plunger includes a tapered distal end that mechanically engages a locking body. The locking body is moved laterally by the tapered distal end to apply a force to a locking frame that is located in a slot defined in a housing of the passive apparatus. The force causes the mechanical fastener to be locked. To unlock the mechanical fastener, the motor drives the shaft in a second direction to retract the plunger away from the passive apparatus.