Tolerance Compensating Fastener and Wing Nut Therefor

A tolerance compensating fastener (100) to align two components to be fastened thereby using a threaded fastening element (116), the tolerance compensating fastener (100) comprising:

• a compensation nut (200) having a hollow cylindrical body, an external wall thereof having a thread-like profile (201), the compensation nut (200) having a free end (202-2) and an insertion end (202-1), wherein the insertion end (202-1) is to receive the threaded fastening element (116) and the free end (202-2) is distal to the insertion end (202-1);
• a floatation element (110) engaged at the free end (202-2) of the compensation nut (200), the floatation element (110) comprising a floatation-element aperture (206) coaxially aligned with respect to the hollow cylindrical body of the compensation nut (200), the floatation element (110) being mountable to one of the two components;
• a mounting element (112) having a mounting-element aperture (211) coaxially aligned with a central longitudinal axis of the compensation nut (200) and the floatation-element aperture (206) of the floatation element (110), wherein the mounting element (112) is interlocked with the floatation element (110) and is movably mountable to the one of the two components,
• wherein the compensation nut (200), the floatation element (110), and the mounting element (112) are capable of collectively exhibiting a movement having at most six degrees of freedom;
• and
• a wing-nut (114) mountable, away from the insertion end (202-1), to one of the compensation nut (200), the floatation element (110), and the mounting element (112), and to receive the threaded fastening element (116), the wing-nut (114) comprising:
• a rigid insert (306) formed as having a hollow cylindrical body having a proximal end (306-1) and a distal end (306-2), the proximal end (306-1) being an end of the rigid insert (306) towards an end of the wing-nut (114) to receive the threaded fastening element (116) and the distal end (306-2) being axially opposite to the proximal end (306-1), the rigid insert (306) comprising:
• a plurality of threads (302) formed on an inner wall of the hollow cylindrical body;
• and
• a plurality of retention elements (308) at the proximal end (306-1) of the rigid insert (306);
• and
• a body component (300) surrounding the rigid insert (306), the body component (300) having an opening, coaxial with a central longitudinal axis of the rigid insert (306), to create a through-hole with the hollow cylindrical body of the rigid insert (306) to receive the threaded fastening element (116);
• wherein each of the plurality of retention elements (308) is encapsulated by the body component (300) to be interlocked and fixed in the body component (300).

A method (800) for manufacturing a wing-nut (114), wherein the method comprises:

• placing a rigid insert (306) in a cavity of a mold, wherein the rigid insert (306) is formed as having a hollow cylindrical body having a proximal end (306-1) and a distal end (306-2) axially opposite to the proximal end (306-1), the rigid insert (306) comprising:
• a plurality of threads (302) formed on an inner wall of the hollow cylindrical body;
• and
• a plurality of retention elements (308) at the proximal end (306-1);
• positioning a filler in the hollow cylindrical body of the rigid insert (306) placed in the mold;
• injecting an overmolding material around the rigid insert (306) in the mold, wherein overmolding material surrounds the rigid insert (306) and forms an opening coaxial with the hollow cylindrical body of the rigid insert (306), to create a through-hole with the hollow cylindrical body of the rigid insert (306);
• allowing the overmolding material to cool to form a body component (300) around the rigid insert (306), wherein the plurality of retention elements (308) are to interlock and fix to the body component (300);
• and
• extracting the wing-nut (114) from the mold.