US 5,775,046 · Granted 1998-07-07
MIT's Dovetail Lock: The Modular Building Block That Clicks Together
Imagine construction panels with interlocking dovetail shapes (like puzzle pieces) that snap together and lock tight in two directions at once. You can mesh two panels flat, or stack them to build L-shapes, boxes, or any structure you dream up—all without bolts or glue.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers construction panels with closely-spaced dovetail-shaped engaging elements and matching receiving spaces that lock two panels together against motion in multiple directions. What's protected is the specific arrangement of these interlocking elements along the panel length and the ability to translate or rotate connected units by controlling where these engaging elements are placed or removed at the ends.
Why it matters
This patent represents a fundamental rethinking of modular construction: instead of bolts, fasteners, or adhesives, panels lock together through pure geometry. It enables rapid assembly and reconfiguration without tools, which has applications in furniture, temporary structures, and DIY building systems. The translational and rotational symmetry built into the design means users gain flexibility to slide components or rotate whole units—valuable for adaptive spaces and customizable furniture.
Real-world use
A modular shelving unit or reconfigurable furniture system where panels click together and lock without tools, letting you slide shelves side-to-side or rotate corner units in place as your room layout changes.
Original USPTO abstract
Construction member panels have an array of engaging elements and cooperating receiving spaces, such as dovetails and dovetail shaped keyways. The engaging elements are relatively closely spaced such that a pair of such panels can be meshed together, and will be locked against motion in two directions. The construction member panels can be used alone, with one planar member being fixed to a support and the other to an item to be supported, or they can be connected to each other to form units, such as L-shaped units, U-shaped units, or rectangular parallelepiped boxes. Shapes other than dovetails can also be used. Specially located engaging elements along the length of construction members, or the sides of the units made therefrom allow mated construction members to be translated relative to each other as desired, even if one construction member is mated with and bridges across two facing construction members, thus exhibiting translational symmetry. The special locations and shapes of engaging elements at the ends of the construction members also facilitates the rotation in place of any units made from a plurality of construction members, thus exhibiting rotational symmetry. Typically, all or a portion of an engaging element at one end of a construction member is removed, while the location of the full engaging element at the other end, is specially controlled.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,775,046
- Filing date
- 1996-05-10
- Grant date
- 1998-07-07
- Assignee
- Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
- Inventor(s)
- FANGER; DAVID J., SEUBERT; RICHARD E., HAN; BYUNGHO, YTTERDAHL; DARCY M., BOURG, III; O. JOHN
- CPC class
- E04B2/18
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