Threaded Structures Joined Using Adhesive-Filled Balls

Abstract

Threaded fasteners may be used in assembling structures. A threaded fastener such as a threaded screw may be used to secure one structure to another structure or may have a radially enlarged portion that retains a rotating member to the threaded fastener. A known quantity of thread-locking adhesive may be inserted into a threaded opening by placing an adhesive-filled ball within the threaded opening. A threaded fastener may then be screwed into the opening to burst the ball and release the adhesive. Arrangements in which the adhesive-filled ball has multiple chambers or is coated with a reactant may also be used. Two-part adhesives may be deployed by inserting two balls in an opening, one of which is filled with an adhesive material of a first type and another of which is filled with an adhesive material of a second type.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.