A support pin is engaged with a collar, as affixed to a mount, by an engaging mechanism between the support pin and the collar, which engaging mechanism provides interchangeability, index-ability and positive locking between the support pin and the collar. Motion picture lighting and rigging equipment is secured to the support pin. The engaging mechanism includes a V-shaped or other configured reception on or in the collar with a cross-pin or similarly other configured portion on the support pin (e.g., non-circular cross-sectional configurations such as a hexagon). A linchpin is placed though mating openings in the collar and support pin to lock the two together when the mating openings are aligned. Two or more crossing V-shaped receptions or non-circular cross-sectional configurations provide a variety of angular orientations of the support pin, especially for bent support pins, with respect to the collar.

An apparatus and method of manufacturing silicon seed rod in which two silicon seeds are joined into one long silicon seed rod by mechanical coupling. A mechanical seed coupler is a body in having an outer wall, an upper surface with an upper aperture, a lower surface with a lower aperture, and an inner wall surrounding an inner space. The mechanical seed couple can be of a shape including a cylinder shape, an elliptical tube shape, a rectangular tube shape and a square tube shape. Furthermore the mechanical seed coupler can be of unitary construction, made from one solid piece of material, or it can be composed of subparts.

A retaining and anchoring device forming a retaining and anchoring section on a metal plate on a reflector includes a recess provided in the metal plate. The recess has on an upper face of the metal plate a peripheral edge or edge sections spaced apart from one another. An undercut or several undercut sections are formed below the peripheral edge or the edge sections. The recess is free of bores or passages. A locking device prevents unintentional removal of a snap-on mechanism from the recess beyond an edge section or plural edge sections which cover the undercut section(s).

A combination component handling and connecting device connectable to a multi-axis robot for use in moving and connecting components and subassemblies includes a housing and an actuator fixedly connected to the housing. The actuator includes an actuating link movable from a first position to a second position. Connected to the actuating link is an end effector for concurrent movement with the actuating link. The component handling and connecting device includes a clamp having a first jaw and a second jaw. The second jaw is connected to the actuating link for selectively moving the second jaw toward the first jaw operative to engage a component.

A locking assembly and a socket configured with the locking assembly, wherein the locking assembly is for axially locking a ferrule in a socket. The locking assembly has a block that is able to be positioned and secured in the socket adjacent to the opposing end of the ferrule. The locking block may be a drop-in locking block with a major face that abuts an end of the ferrule to secure it in the socket. The locking block may also have one of a trapezoidal prism, an elongate cam element, or transversely sliding block parts, each of which can abut an end of the ferrule to secure it in the socket.

An apparatus and method of manufacturing silicon seed rod in which two silicon seeds are joined into one long silicon seed rod by mechanical coupling. A mechanical seed coupler is a body in having an outer wall, an upper surface with an upper aperture, a lower surface with a lower aperture, and an inner wall surrounding an inner space. The mechanical seed couple can be of a shape including a cylinder shape, an elliptical tube shape, a rectangular tube shape and a square tube shape. Furthermore the mechanical seed coupler can be of unitary construction, made from one solid piece of material, or it can be composed of subparts.

A laundry appliance includes a basement housing comprising a capacitor receiver. A capacitor is disposed within the capacitor receiver to define a secured position. The capacitor receiver includes at least one retaining flange that is coupled to the basement housing via a living hinge. At least one retaining flange is outwardly biased away from a body of the capacitor when the capacitor is placed in an inserted position. At least one retaining flange includes a thread-engaging surface that operates to the secured position upon rotation of the capacitor in the inserted position.

The present invention relates to, in a first aspect, a fixing device comprising an anchor element that is positioned along an axis, the anchor element extending substantially perpendicular thereto, a rotating element arranged perpendicular to and rotatable about the axis, and spaced therealong from the anchor element, and a deployment mechanism, comprising a first deployment portion on the anchor element and a second deployment portion on the rotating element, wherein one of the first and second deployment portions comprise a sloping surface extending at least partway around the axis, and the other is shaped to be able to roll, slide or otherwise move along the sloping surface, the anchor element and rotating element are able to move towards one another along the axis, and the deployment mechanism is adapted to convert movement of the anchor element and rotating element towards one another into helical movement in a first-handed direction along and about the axis. Also provided are a fixing device for fixing an article to a structure, a system comprising a fixing or fastening device, and a method of using a fixing device.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an adjustable connector including at least two parts, each having a main body with a bore having a longitudinal axis therein, wherein an external surface of the main body of a first part is configured to bear against an internal surface of the bore of a second part when the first part is at least partially inserted into the bore of the second part to form a connection, characterized in that the positioning of the bores with respect to the main bodies is such that when the parts are connected to each other, rotation of one part with respect to the other changes the inclination of the longitudinal axes of the bores with respect to one another.

The invention relates to a mounting system for mounting a component on a support of a motor vehicle. The mounting system comprises a first fixing device for fixing the component without tools in a first region of the component and a second fixing device for fixing the component without tools in a second region of the component. The first fixing device includes a snap closure for fixing the first region of the component in three linearly independent directions, and the second fixing device includes a rail for fixing the second region of the component so as to be displaceable in one direction on the support.