Captivated fastener assembly with post-formed retention feature and method for forming the same

Abstract

A captivated fastener assembly is provided along with a technique for captivating a fastener in a workpiece. The assembly includes a fastener having a head, a shank extending from said head that has an upper unthreaded shank portion and a lower threaded shank portion, wherein the diameter of the outer tips of the threads of the lower threaded shank portion exceed the diameter of the upper unthreaded shank portion. The assembly further includes a workpiece having a sleeve with an internal bore with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the fastener shank so that the sleeve can be received over the shank. The sleeve also includes segments that deform inwardly in response to a predetermined compressive force, thereby forming a plurality of deformed segments that protrude inwardly. Thus, the plurality of deformed segments provide an inner diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer tips of the threads of the lower threaded shank portion, thereby holding the fastener captive.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.