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US 4,554,773 AGranted
Device and method for securing overlapping corrugated sheets
OwnerJohn L. Conleyinventor
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OwnerJohn L. Conleyinventor
Estimating the term…
A captive nut plate for engagement by a screw useful when attaching corrugated composite or plastic sheets together includes a semi-cylindrical body shaped to match the curvature of a corrugated sheet. A pair of upstanding irregular pentagon-shaped piercing prongs are centrally positioned along curved edges of the body and are aligned with a central hole therethrough, for receiving the screw. The captive nut plate is installed by positioning it in a convex pocket on a semi-cylindrical tool in proper alignment with a concave edge corrugation of a first sheet. A soft mallet is then used to drive the corrugated material down onto the nut plate so that the upstanding prongs pierce through the sheet. The irregular pentagon-shape of the prongs assures that the prongs extend through the sheet beyond their widest portion. The prongs are then peened over to provide a permanent installation on the first sheet. Once sufficient nut plates have been attached to the first sheet, the corrugated edge of a second sheet is placed over the edge of the first sheet and screws are driven through both sheets and torqued into the central holes in the nut plates to complete an overlapping joint.
Fastening means for joining the edges of corrugated sheets together, said means include:
Fastening means including:
A method of forming an overlapping joint at the edges of first and second corrugated sheets each having an edge portion with a convex side, and a concave side including the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.