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AssigneeRockwell International Corporation
InventorsGilles A. Rainville, Leonardo Israeli
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A composite fastener, preferably in the form of a rivet, which comprises a shank having a first head integrally formed on one end thereof, the shank and head formed of a high temperature thermoplastic matrix material selected from the group consisting of a polyether ether ketone resin and a polyamide imide resin, and having continuous reinforcing fibers, such as graphite fibers, axially oriented in substantially parallel relation throughout the shank, the fibers being flared and extending continuously into the head and substantially evenly flared and swaged therein, thereby forming a fastener having high shear and high tensile characteristics. The rivet is installed to fasten a plurality of structural components together by providing a conical tip on a forming tool, such as a heat gun or ultrasonic welding device for plastics, placing the tip in contact with the central portion of the other end of the rivet and upsetting and melting the matrix material under controlled conditions to form a second head, the fibers in the second head being flared and extending continuously into the second head and evenly swaged therein. Where the structural components are composite thermoplastic components, the heating of the rivet head to upset same heats the adjacent composite structure in contact with the head and, upon solidification, forms a substantially integral unit.
A process for fastening structural components together with a composite fastener, which comprises:
A composite fastener which comprises a shank having a first head integrally formed on one end thereof, said shank and head formed of a high temperature thermoplastic matrix material selected from the group consisting of a polyether ether ketone resin and a polyamide imide resin, and having continuous reinforcing fibers axially oriented in substantially parallel relation throughout the shank, all of said fibers in said first head being uniformly flared from said axial orientation and extending continuously from said shank into said head and being substantially evenly swaged therein, and a second head integrally formed on the other end of said shank, all of said fibers in said second head being uniformly flared from said axial orientation and extending continuously from said shank into said second head and being uniformly and substantially evenly swaged therein, said shank and said heads defining a rivet fastener having high shear and high tensile characteristics.
In combination, a plurality of structural members fastened with at least one rivet, comprising an elongated body of solidified high temperature thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of a polyether ether ketone resin and a polyamide imide resin, having a shank and a first head integral with one end of the shank and a second head integral with the other end of the shank, and reinforcing fibers selected from the group consisting of graphite, boron, fiberglass and Kevlar fibers, embedded in said resin and extending longitudinally and in substantially parallel relation in the shank and extending into each of said heads, all of the reinforcing fibers in each head being flared and evenly swaged, said first and second heads being in abutting relation with the outer surfaces of said structural members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.