Fibre reinforced plastic connecting rod
AssigneeThe Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland
InventorsJoseph D. A. Hughes, Alan J. Wootton, Walter A. Lee, Alexander M. Mitchell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A connecting rod has a rod member formed from fiber reinforced plastic material secured to a cap member to define the big end of the connecting rod. Securement is by a metal member rigidly attached to the rod member, to which the cap member is secured. Attachment of the rod member and the metal member is via a locally transversely expanded end portion of the rod member enclosed within a similarly shaped (e.g. wedge shaped) cavity in the metal member such that the expanded end portion cannot be withdrawn axially of the rod member from the cavity.
Claims12
A connecting rod, having a little end and a big end, including a Fibre Reinforced Plastic rod member, a cap member, and means for securing the rod and cap members together to define the big end, characterised in that the securing means includes a metal member, rigidly attached to the rod member, to which the cap member can be secured, the rod member having a locally transversly expanded end portion enclosed within a similarly shaped cavity in the metal member such that the expanded end portion cannot be withdrawn axially of the rod member from the cavity, the cavity having a mouth through which the rod extends, the mouth of the cavity being of smaller transverse dimension than a correspondingly transverse dimension of the expanded end portion within the cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.