Fastener systems that provide eme protection
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsRichard P. Whitlock, Randall A. Rogers, Peter A. Coronado, Sean D. Morden
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Fasteners are inserted into a stack of members and terminated with parts having at least one of a dry dielectric coating and a dry dielectric seal at select locations to protect against electromagnetic effects (EME).
Claims33
A method comprising inserting fasteners into a stack of members and terminating the fasteners with parts having at least one of a dry dielectric coating and a dry dielectric seal at select locations to protect against electromagnetic effects (EME).
A fastener comprising:
- a fastener head having an upper surface with multiple mechanical interlocking sites that are configured to retain a dielectric layer;
- and
- a dry dielectric layer covering the upper surface of the head, the dielectric layer mechanically interlocked with the interlocking sites.
A part for terminating a fastener, the part comprising:
- a fastener termination body having a central opening;
- and
- at least one feature for protecting against EME effects, the at least one feature including at least one of a dielectric coating and a dielectric seal partially covering the central opening at a select location, the seal secured to the body, the coating and the seal having a thickness and composition for inhibiting lightning current, the select location including at least one of a distal location and a proximal location.
A fastening system comprising a fastener, at least one fastener termination part, and EME protection features for the fastener and each fastener termination part, the EME protection features taken from the group consisting of:
- a conductive resin coating on a shaft of the fastener;
- an interlocked dielectric cover on a head of the fastener;
- a dielectric seal on a proximal location of the fastener head;
- a dielectric seal on a distal location of the termination part;
- a dielectric seal on an proximal location of the termination part;
- a dielectric coating on a distal location of the termination part;
- and
- a dielectric coating on a proximal location of the termination part.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.