Quick-action fasteners

Claim 1

A quick action end-to-end fastener for coupling a pair of reinforcing rods end-to-end, the fastener comprising: a housing defining, along a bore axis, a throughgoing bore, the bore including a pair of generally frustoconical tapered sections and a pair of cylindrical explansion sections, each cylindrical section being adjacent a corresponding tapered section, the tapered sections being generally located at opposing ends of the bore; a pair of pluralities of arcuate nut segments, each plurality of nut segments being mounted in the bore, adjacent an end thereof, to be disposed about an end section of one of the reinforcing rods, each nut segment having an interior and an exterior segment surface, the interior segment surface being formed to define a textured surface matingly engageable to a corresponding portion of the reinforcing rod, and the exterior segment surface including a tapered portion formed to have a shape congruent with a corresponding portion of the tapered sections and an upper portion; and limit means for limiting the movement of each plurality of nut segments along the bore axis in the direction of the corresponding expansion section; wherein each plurality of nut segments is movable between a locking position in which the tapered portions engage the corresponding tapered section and the textured surfaces are engageable, over substantially the whole thereof, to the end section of the corresponding reinforcing rod to substantially prevent movement of the fastener relative to the corresponding reinforcing rod, and a second position in which the tapered portions are disengaged from the corresponding tapered section and the textured surfaces are disengageable from the end section of the corresponding reinforcing rod to allow movement of the fastener relative to the corresponding reinforcing rod.