Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Button with fastener – Covers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-29
2001-06-19
Brittain, James R. (Department: 3626)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Button with fastener
Covers
C024S094000, C024S691000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247209
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capped rivet with two parts: a cap part (cap, for short) and a rivet part. The cap has an exposed topside and an inside, and the rivet part has a rivet shank and a rivet flange. The rivet shank extends away from the inside of the cap, and the rivet flange extends transverse to the axis of the rivet shank and is firmly attached to the cap. The invention also relates to an attachable element comprising a capped rivet of this kind and to a carrier material to which the attachable element is connected.
Capped rivets as introduced above may have the form of decorative elements that are attachable to a sheet-like carrier material, for example to clothing garments and carrying bags. Furthermore, capped rivets of this kind may also be used for attaching snap-button closure elements to a sheet-like carrier material. In this case, the rivet shank is passed through the carrier material and then shaped to form the attachment of the capped rivet. To protect the carrier material or to attach a snap-button closure part, it is possible to first slide a counterpart such as a lug or a ball forming the snap-button closure part onto the rivet shank after it has been passed through the carrier material and then clamp the counterpart against the carrier material by deforming the rivet shank.
The deformation of the rivet shank required for fastening the capped rivet is usually performed by a rivet-installation machine comprising a riveting tool that presses against the exposed topside of the cap and pushes the rivet shank through the carrier material against a tool that holds the counterpart.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known capped rivet used for the installation of snap-button closure parts is shown in FIG.
5
. This capped rivet has a cap
100
and a rivet part
110
consisting of a rivet shank
112
and a rivet flange
114
. To attach the rivet part to the cap, the outer rim
106
of the cap
100
is bent downward and inward to reach around and below the outer rim of the rivet flange
114
. To install the snap-button closure part, a riveting tool pushes against the exposed topside
102
of the cap
100
and forces the capped rivet through the carrier material and against a counteracting tool that bends the free end
112
of the rivet shank outwards and upwards so that the carrier material is clamped against a clamping surface
116
at the underside of the rivet flange
114
. In this process, the pressure force of the installation tool may have the effect of deforming the cap
100
, thereby damaging the appearance of the capped rivet.
To solve the aforementioned problem, the capped rivet of
FIG. 6
has been proposed. In addition to the rivet shank
112
and the rivet flange
114
, the rivet part
110
of this capped rivet has two supporting portions
120
that are arranged between the rivet shank
112
and the cap
100
and extend approximately parallel to the inside of the cap. The supporting portions
120
are formed by cutting out and folding back two sections of the rivet flange along fold lines running between the rivet shank
112
and two windows
118
in the rivet flange that are formed as a result of this process. The supporting portions
120
form a thrust-bearing surface to counteract the effect of the insertion tool of deflecting the cap
100
towards the rivet shank
112
and thus to prevent the undesirable deformation of the cap
100
.
To further stabilize the cap, a capped rivet of the kind shown in
FIG. 5
is proposed in DE 196 38 450 where one of the supporting portions is folded over the other in such a manner that the topside of one supporting part is in at least partially overlapping contact with the bottom side of the other.
This arrangement provides a reliable means of preventing the undesirable deformation of the cap during the rivet-installation process. However, the known capped rivet has proven to be unsuitable for the attachment of watertight snap buttons because the windows that the supporting portions leave in the rivet flange form a leakage spot. In addition, the process of forming the supporting portions by folding back sections of the rivet flange and thereby opening up corresponding windows in the rivet flange has proven to be a problem, particularly in the case of capped rivets with flanges that have a stepped profile rather than a plane surface, e.g., in spring pin rivets. Finally, the known way of stabilizing the cap cannot be used if the diameter of the rivet flange is only insignificantly larger than the diameter of the rivet shank.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the problems with the existing state of the art as explained above, the object of the present invention is to provide a capped rivet in which the deformation of the cap during the installation process is reliably prevented, in essence with no restrictions on the shape of the rivet flange.
This problem is solved through a design advancement of the known capped rivet with the essential characteristic feature that the rivet part has a reinforcing element arranged at the underside of the rivet flange, i.e., on the side that faces away from the inside of the cap.
This solution is based on the observation that the only reason for the deformation of the cap in the installation process of conventional capped rivets is that the rivet flange, which serves for attaching the cap to the rivet part, yields to the pressure force that the riveting tool exerts on the topside of the cap. In the capped rivet according to the invention, the rivet flange is strengthened by a reinforcing element. In this manner, the deflection of the rivet flange, which is the actual reason for the deformation of the cap, is reliably prevented. By arranging the reinforcing element at the underside of the rivet flange (i.e., the side that faces away from the inside of the cap), it is also assured that the reinforcing element itself will not cause an undesirable deformation of the cap due to the effect of the pressure force applied to the cap by the riveting tool. The design of the reinforcing element may be independent of the shape of the rivet flange. Overall, this solution allows an unwanted deformation of the cap to be prevented no matter what shape the rivet flange has.
In view of the tact that deformations of the rivet flange occur with particular frequency in the transition area between the rivet shank and the rivet flange and can cause appearance-degrading impressions of the upper rim of the rivet shank in the cap, it has been proven to be particularly practical if the reinforcing element is arranged in the area where the inner border of the rivet flange meets the rivet shank. With this arrangement, the occurrence of unwanted deformations can reliably be prevented even in capped rivets of the smallest rivet flange diameters because the reinforcing element can be formed independently of the rivet flange with a diameter corresponding to or smaller than the rivet flange diameter.
An arrangement where the reinforcing element backs immediately against the underside of the rivet flange is particularly reliable in preventing unwanted deformations. In this, it has proven to be especially practical if the reinforcing element is shaped like a ring that coaxially surrounds the rivet shank.
A capped rivet in accordance with the invention is particularly simple to produce if the reinforcing element is formed in one piece together with the rivet shank. This can be achieved by giving the reinforcing element the form of a protuberance of the rivet shank. In the last described embodiment of the invention, a particularly strong support of the rivet flange is assured if the protuberance has the shape of a reinforcing convex bead that is concentric to the axis of the rivet shank and has a first flank lying flat against the underside of the rivet flange and a second flank lying flat against the side of the first flank that faces away from the underside of the rivet flange. This arrangement provides between the cap and the rivet shank a supporting port
Brittain James R.
Friedrich Kueffner
YKK Europe Ltd.
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