Joining element and joining method thereof
AssigneeNes Co., Ltd.
InventorsDing-jun LIN, Rong-shean LEE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A joining element and joining method thereof are provided. The joining element comprises a head section, a rib section, and a tip section, wherein each cross section of the tip section has a geometric shape, and the geometric shape is formed by overlapping a plurality of ellipses. When the joining element applies downward pressure and rotational force on an assembly component, an inner concave portion of the geometric shape generates more plastic deformation heat than fraction heat on the material of the joining element. It facilitates the softening of the material in the assembly component, allowing for greater plastic deformation and, in turn, improves the assembly efficiency.
Claims10
A joining element configured to be driven by a rotary tool to rotate along an axis, comprising:
- a head section configured to be engaged with the rotary tool;
- a rib section comprising a body and a plurality of ribs, wherein the body extends from the head section along the axis, and the ribs are disposed on a surface of the body;
- and
- a tip section comprising a connecting end and a contact end, wherein the connecting end is connected to one end of the body of the rib section;
- the contact end is opposite to the connecting end and the contact end is configured to contact an assembly component;
- each cross section of the tip section has a geometric shape;
- the geometric shape is formed by overlapping a plurality of ellipses, and an inner concave portion is located at a connection between two adjacent ellipses.
A joining method of a joining element, comprising steps of:
- a first phase, engaging a rotary tool to a head section of a joining element, contacting a contact end of a tip section of the joining element to a surface of an assembly component, and rotating the rotary tool to generate a frictional heat greater than a plastic deformation heat between the tip section of the joining element and the assembly component, wherein each cross section of the tip section has a geometric shape;
- the geometric shape is formed by overlapping a plurality of ellipses, and an inner concave portion is located at a connection between two adjacent ellipses;
- a second phase, applying an axial pressure and a rotational speed through the rotary tool to drive the joining element to press down and rotate the assembly component to generate a plastic deformation heat greater than a frictional heat between the tip section of the joining element and the assembly component, wherein the tip section of the joining element penetrates into an interior of the assembly component to form a hole and a bulge around the hole;
- a third phase, piercing a rib section of the joining element into the hole, and pressing the head section of the joining element against the bulge of the assembly component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.