Floor panel fastener assembly
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorChristopher J. Mills
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fastener assembly for attaching a floor panel to an airframe is disclosed. The fastener assembly includes a collet, a pin, a capnut, and a subplate. The collet comprises at least one tang, extending from a cylindrical collar that defines a collet aperture. An external thread is formed on the collar, and a tab is formed on a distal end of the tang. The collet tang extends through a floor panel aperture, a subplate aperture, and an airframe aperture, and may interact with a subplate asymmetry. The capnut is screwed onto the collet, such that the pin is forced to slide along the collet tang and the tab is engaged with the airframe.
Claims20
A fastener assembly comprising:
- a collet with a cylindrical body defining a collet aperture, and including a tang;
- an external thread formed on the collet and surrounding the collet aperture;
- a pin sized to conform closely to the collet aperture, slide through the collet aperture, and slide along the tang;
- and
- a capnut with an internal thread that mates with the external thread;
- wherein the capnut is shaped to push on the pin and force the pin to slide along the tang as the capnut is screwed onto the external thread.
An airplane comprising:
- an airframe;
- an airframe aperture formed in the airframe;
- a panel attached to the airframe;
- a panel aperture formed in the panel and aligned with the airframe aperture;
- a subplate sandwiched between the panel and the airframe, and bonded to the panel;
- a subplate aperture formed in the subplate and aligned with the airframe aperture and the panel aperture;
- a collet including a collar having an external thread and integrally formed with a tang, the tang extending through the airframe aperture, the panel aperture, and the subplate aperture, and including a tab that engages with the airframe;
- a pin extending through the airframe aperture, the panel aperture, and the subplate aperture, the collar extending at least partially around the pin and the pin bearing against the tang to keep the tab engaged with the airframe;
- a capnut threaded onto the external thread of the collar and trapping the pin in place relative to the tang so that the tab is engaged with the airframe, thereby attaching the subplate and the panel to the airframe.
A method of attaching a panel to an airframe, comprising:
- sandwiching a subplate between a panel and an airframe, the subplate including a plurality of subplate apertures, and the airframe including a plurality of airframe apertures that correspond to the plurality of subplate apertures;
- inserting a tang through one of the plurality of subplate apertures and a corresponding one of the plurality of airframe apertures, the tang including a tab to bear against the airframe, and an externally threaded collet distal from the tab;
- inserting a pin through the one of the plurality of subplate apertures and through the corresponding one of the plurality of airframe apertures, thereby holding the tab of the tang against the airframe;
- and
- threading a capnut onto the externally threaded collet to tension the tang relative to the subplate and the panel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.