US 9,849,549 B2Granted

Method for the attachment of a hollow element such as a hollow rivet or a nut element to a component consisting of a composite material

AssigneeProfil Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG

InventorsOliver Diehl, Richard Humpert, Andreas Lembach, Christian Sowa

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Abstract

A method for the attachment of a hollow element such as a hollow rivet or a nut element to a component consisting of a composite material, with the element having a flange part and a shaft part or rivet section extending away from the flange part, wherein a rivet section can also be formed at the free end of a shaft part. The hollow element has a central passage which is optionally provided with a thread cylinder. In the method an auxiliary tip is either passed from the flange side of the element remote from the shaft part and/or the rivet section through the passage or is introduced from the side of the free end of the shaft part and/or of the rivet section into the passage such that a conically converging region of the auxiliary tip projects from the free end of the shaft part or of the rivet section. The hollow element is pressed with the tip to the fore against the component and the tip is pressed through the component until the component comes into engagement with the side of the flange part adjacent to it and the tip has produced a hole in the component.

Claims35

Dependent claims

A method for the attachment of a hollow element to a component (130) consisting of a composite material being one of a plastic part having a fiber reinforcement in a plastic matrix material or a plastic part having a fabric reinforcement in a plastic matrix material, with the hollow element having a flange part (102) and a shaft part (104) or a rivet section (106) extending away from the flange part (102), wherein the rivet section (106) can also be formed at a free end of a shaft part (104), wherein the hollow element has a central passage (108), passing an auxiliary convergent tip (126) from either a flange side of the element (100) remote from the shaft part (104) through the passage (108), or introducing the auxiliary convergent tip from a side of the free end of the shaft part into the passage (108), such that a converging region (128) of the auxiliary tip (126) projects from the free end of the shaft part or of the rivet section (106);

pressing the hollow element (100) with the tip (126) to a fore against the component (130) and piercing the component forming a pierced hole and pressing the convergent tip through the component thereby dilating the pierced hole in the component (130) and displacing the fibers or fabric of the plastic material and engaging a plastic matrix material with a side (114) of the flange part adjacent to it, the tip (126) thus pierces a hole (132) in the component and the material which is displaced by means of the tip builds up at at least one of an underside and an upper side of the component 130 in a form of thickened portions 134 and 136 respectively, removing the auxiliary convergent tip and forming the rivet section into a rivet bead trapping the component between the flange part and the rivet bead.

A method for the attachment of a hollow element to a component (130) consisting of a composite material being one of a plastic part having a fiber reinforcement in a plastic matrix material or a plastic part having a fabric reinforcement in a plastic matrix material, with the element having a flange part (102) and a shaft part (104) or a rivet section (106) extending away from the flange part (102), wherein the rivet section (106) can also be formed at a free end of a shaft part (104), wherein the hollow element has a central passage (108), passing an auxiliary convergent tip (126) from either a flange side of the element (100) remote from the shaft part (104) through the passage (108), or introducing the auxiliary convergent tip from a side of the free end of the shaft part into the passage (108), such that a converging region (128) of the auxiliary tip (126) projects from the free end of the shaft part or of the rivet section (106);

pressing the hollow element (100) with the tip (126) to a fore against the component (130) and piercing the component forming a pierced hole and pressing the convergent tip through the component thereby dilating the pierced hole in the component (130) and displacing the fibers or fabric of the plastic material and engaging a plastic matrix material with a side (114) of the flange part adjacent to it, the tip (126) thus pierces a hole (132) in the component and the material which is displaced by means of the tip builds up at at least one of an underside and an upper side of the component 130 in a form of thickened portions 134 and 136 respectively;
removing the auxiliary convergent tip and forming the rivet section into a rivet bead trapping the component between the flange part and the rivet bead wherein the component is heated, at least in the region of the piercing, to a matrix material dependent temperature at which the matrix material of the composite material does not melt but softens or becomes pasty.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/745,140Filed 18 Jan 2013
Priority: DE 10 2012 001 06820 Jan 2012
Published: US 2013/0185921 A125 Jul 2013
Granted: 26 Dec 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B23P 19/00
Machines for simply fitting together or separating metal parts or objects, or
F16B 37/068
By means of riveting: by deforming the material of the support, e.g. the sheet or plate
F16B 19/086
Hollow rivets; Multi-part rivets: self-piercing rivets
F16B 19/1027
Fastened by expanding mechanically: multi-part rivets