Plastic dowel pin and wood joint assembly

Claim 1

A dowel pin for connecting two members, each having aligned dowel holes, said dowel pin comprising an elongated body fabricated from a resilient material, the opposite ends of said dowel body being insertable into said dowel holes to join said members together, said body having a plurality of end-to-end longitudinally aligned truncated cone sections extending from the mid-section of said body to the opposite ends of said body, the larger circular bases of each truncated cone section at the opposite ends of said body having outer diameters that are substantially equal to the dowel holes within which said dowel pin ends are insertable, each larger circular base of each successively inwardly spaced truncated cone section from said end circular bases having outer diameters that are each successively greater than the diameters of said first mentioned larger circular bases by predetermined amounts; the conical surface of each of said truncated cone sections being inclined toward the ends of said body; said mid-section of said dowel body being of a uniform cylindrical shape, the opposite flat ends of which carry the largest diametered circular bases of the inwardly most aligned truncated cone sections, said mid-section having an outer diameter which is less than the diameter of either of said last mentioned truncated cone section circular bases; a longitudinal slot extending the full longitudinal length of said dowel pin thru the opposite ends of said dowel pin, said body being fabricated from a resilient materiaL, such that said dowel pin peripheral surface adjacent said slot is inwardly compressed as said dowel pin is inserted within said dowel holes, said dowel body exerting an outward force on the larger circular bases of each of said truncated cone sections to lockingly engage said cone sections with the walls of said dowel holes.