Buckling semi-solid rivet

A rivet for joining panels, comprising:

• a two-piece shank formed of a solid member and a member having a tubular portion surrounding a portion of said solid member, said tubular portion having an exterior forming a part of a shank exterior, and said solid member having an exterior forming a part of the exterior of said shank adjacent said tubular portion exterior;
• and
• a head forming a part of said solid member on one end of said rivet, and a rivet tail on the opposite end forming a part of the other of said members, each of said members being shorter than said rivet before setting of the rivet, said solid member being longer than the combined thickness of said panels, said members defining an interior cavity axially adjacent an end of said solid member, the cavity being surrounded radially by a part of said tubular portion, said tubular portion including a section which is deformable to buckle radially outwardly when unsupported outwardly and subjected to a compressive force on opposite ends of said rivet, said cavity being adapted to accommodate shortening of said rivet caused by said force and the buckling of the tubular section, and said members having interior, axially facing surfaces that engage after the axial dimension of the cavity has reduced a predetermined amount.

A rivet for joining panels, comprising:

• a two-piece shank formed of a solid member and a member having a tubular portion surrounding a portion of said solid member, said tubular portion having an exterior forming a part of a shank exterior, and said solid member having an exterior forming a part of the exterior of said shank adjacent said tubular portion exterior;
• and
• a head forming a part of the member having said tubular portion on one end of said rivet, and a rivet tail on the opposite end formed integral with said solid member, each of said members being shorter than said rivet before setting of the rivet, said solid member being longer than the combined thickness of said panels, said members defining an interior cavity axially adjacent an end of said solid member, the cavity being surrounded radially by a part of said tubular portion, said tubular portion including a section which is deformable to buckle radially outwardly when unsupported outwardly and subjected to a compressive force on opposite ends of said rivet, said cavity being adapted to accommodate shortening of said rivet caused by said force and the buckling of the tubular section, and said members having interior, axially facing surfaces that engage after the axial dimension of the cavity has reduced a predetermined amount.

A two-part rivet body, including a tubular sleeve having a head on one end and a tubular tail on the other end, and a solid member having a shank extending through said tubular tail and into said sleeve, terminating at a point spaced from an outer axial face of said head to define a cavity, said solid member further having an enlarged head on the tail of said shank that engages the tail end of said sleeve, a portion of said sleeve which normally protrudes beyond the end of a workpiece when the rivet is positioned within the workpiece being adapted to buckle or deform outwardly when an axial compressive force is applied to the opposite ends of said rivet, said cavity being adapted to accommodate the buckling of said sleeve.

A semi-solid rivet for joining panels, comprising:

• a shank to extend through said panels having a head end engaging one of said panels and a tail end protruding beyond the outer face of a second one of said panels, said shank being formed by a non-tubular solid member having a section with an exterior surface forming a part of the exterior surface of said shank, and a member having a tubular portion which surrounds a portion of said solid member and has an exterior surface which forms a portion of the exterior surface of said shank, a section of said tubular portion surrounding said solid member intersecting and protruding beyond the outer face of said second panel, said tubular portion section being adapted to buckle outwardly when an axial compressive force is applied to the ends of said rivet, said rivet having an internal cavity formed by said members which accommodates the shortening of said fastener which occurs when said force is applied to the rivet, said buckling portion being configured such that the forward boundary of the buckling will always occur at the intersection of the buckling portion and the outer face of said second panel, within a predetermined rivet grip range.

A semi-solid rivet, comprising:

• a solid shank to extend through a workpiece having a head end and a rear end;
• and
• a tail having a forward portion secured to said shank, said tail further having a rear portion spaced axially rearwardly from the shank, said tail further having a buckling portion positioned between said tail forward and rear portions, said buckling portion defining a cavity within said tail adjacent the shank rear end which will permit said tail rear portion to be compressed towards said shank and cause said buckling portion to buckle outwardly adjacent a rear surface of said workpiece when an axial compressive force is applied to a head end of said shank and the rear portion of said tail, said buckling portion being configured such that the forward boundary of the buckling will always occur at the intersection of the buckling portion and the rear face of the workpiece, within a predetermined rivet grip range.

A rivet, comprising:

• an elongated body having a solid, closed head end, a solid, closed tail end and a generally cylindrical exterior, said body further having an interior cavity creating a tubular buckling portion adjacent said tail end, said buckling portion being formed to buckle outwardly when a predetermined axial compression force is applied to said body, said body tail end being formed as an integral one piece tail with said buckling portion, said body having axially facing surfaces that engage to limit buckling of said buckling portion.

A rivet, comprising:

• an elongated body having a head end, a solid, closed tail end, and a generally cylindrical exterior, said body further having an interior cavity creating a tubular buckling portion adjacent said tail end, said buckling portion being formed to buckle outwardly when a predetermined axial compression force is applied to said body, said body closed end being formed as an integral one-piece tail with said buckling portion, the wall thickness of said tubular buckling portion tapers from a thinner forward end to a thicker rearward end so that the forward boundary of the buckling will occur at the forward most area of the buckling portion that is unsupported on its radial exterior when the compressive force is applied.

A rivet comprising:

• a solid shank having a head end and a rear end;
• a tail having a tubular forward portion and a solid rear portion, said forward portion having an open end surrounding said shank rear end, said tail having been formed as a separate element and then secured to said shank, the tail having an inner wall formed by said solid rear portion which is spaced from said shank tail end so that a cavity is formed by said inner wall, an end face of said shank rear end and said tail tubular portion.