BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to fasteners more particularly, to a floating fastener, which is so configured that the shaft of the locking member can move horizontally or vertically in the limiting space formed by the protruding butting portion and the accommodating groove, and the shaft of the locking member uses the stopper as a fulcrum to form a tilted state, so that the floating fastener of the present invention has the ability to correct the tilt lock when combined with the first and second preset plates.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, when assembling and joining common plates (board-to-board), they are usually locked with positioning screws with knobs, collars and screws. The assembly procedure is to fix the screws and collars on the outer plate member first, and turn the knobs to lock the screws into the inner plate member, and then use a hand tool to fasten tight the screws, so that the outer plate member and the inner plate member are locked together as a whole. This multi-layer plate member locking mode can be applied to the field of working mother machine or other board-to-board connection plates.

However, these machine tools need to use plates to lock the joints, most of which are power devices or speed adjustment devices. The various power devices and speed adjustment devices are located inside the space formed by the machine housing. When the power unit crashes, fails, or is damaged, or when the speed adjustment device changes or adjusts the speed, remove the plate members for related maintenance and adjustment operations. The plate members are locked by a plurality of positioning screws, so it is easy to cause the positioning screws to fall off and lose during the disassembly process, and it is impossible to re-lock the plate members back to the original position, which will cause inconvenience and trouble in assembly and disassembly. In order to solve the shortcomings that the locking screws are easy to lose, some companies have developed a fixing device composed of a cap, a screw rod and a positioning block. First buckle the positioning block of the fixing device into the perforation of the plate member, and then use the screw rod to lock it to another plate member to form a fix. When the user disassemble the plate member, the fixing device can still be fixed in the perforation of the plate member through the positioning block, so that the fixing device will not fall off or lose. However, in the assembly process, the user must use force or hand tools (such as: screwdriver or wrench, etc.) to control the locking or disassembly of the fixing device. There are still many defects and problems in practical applications.

The above-mentioned fixing device does not provide any floating lock structure. When the above-mentioned fixing device is in the locking operation, if the screw rod is accidentally locked into the plate member at an inclined angle, and there is no remedy, it can only be unlocked and re-aligned and locked, while leaving a defective lock hole on the plate member. For product assembly production lines that require fast operation, the process of locking, disassembling, and relocking delays too much work time. For companies that pay attention to product production efficiency, the aforementioned factors that slow down the speed of work must be eliminated. Therefore, how to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and deficiencies is the direction that relevant manufacturers in this industry want to study and improve.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore a main object of the present invention to provide a floating fastener, which comprises a position-limiting cover, a locking member, a stopper, and a socket. The position-limiting cover comprises a perforation therein and a protruding butting portion at the bottom surface thereof. The locking member comprises a head, an operating surface provided around the periphery of the head, a shaft downwardly extending from the bottom side of the head, a locking portion located at the bottom end of the shaft, and an external thread formed on the periphery of the locking portion. The shaft and the locking portion of the locking member are inserted through the perforation of the position-limiting cover and exposed on the bottom side of the protruding butting portion. The stopper comprises a vertical movement hole for the shaft of the locking member to pass through, and a plurality of locking points formed in the vertical movement hole for the shaft to move in a vertical direction. The socket comprises an accommodating groove therein, and a positioning portion protruded from the bottom side thereof for positioning on a first preset plate. The accommodating groove comprises a bottom surface, and a through space at the center of the bottom surface. The locking portion of the locking member is inserted into the through space. The position-limiting cover outside the shaft covers the top side of the socket. The stopper outside the shaft is limited to a limiting space between the protruding butting portion of the position-limiting cover and the accommodating groove for allowing the shaft to move in a horizontal or vertical direction and in a floating state, so that the locking portion of the locking member can be tilted into a second preset plate to form a fixation. Through the aforementioned structure, the shaft of the locking member can move horizontally or vertically in the space formed by the protruding butting portion and the accommodating groove, and the shaft of the locking member uses the stopper as a fulcrum to form a tilted state, so that the floating fastener of the present invention has the ability to correct the tilt lock when combined with the first and second preset plates.

Preferably, the stopper is formed of an E-shaped ring. The E-shaped ring has the vertical movement hole at the center thereof, and an assembly port extends from the vertical movement hole to one side of the E-shaped ring for the shaft of the locking member to penetrate, and the locking points are protrudingly provided to the other side of the E-shaped ring around the center of the vertical movement hole for vertical movement or tilting of the shaft.

Preferably, the position-limiting cover further comprises a plurality of protruding teeth arranged around the periphery of the protruding butting portion for friction against the side wall of the accommodating groove when the position-limiting cover covers the top side of the socket.

Preferably, the locking member further comprises an actuating groove located on the top surface of the head for a preset hand tool to be docked. The actuating groove is a groove structure with a straight, cross or other special shape.

Preferably, the locking member further comprises a resisting surface formed on the top side of the locking portion for the bottom side of the stopper to resist. The resisting surface prevents the locking member from being separated from the stopper in a vertical direction.

Preferably, the socket further comprises a raised tooth ring arranged around the periphery of the positioning portion to increase friction. The raised tooth ring is used to increase the friction when the socket is combined with the first preset plate.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fully understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference signs denote like components of structure.

