Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Assembling or joining
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-08
2003-09-02
Hong, John C. (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Assembling or joining
C029S525050, C029S525000, C029S243521, C072S391400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06612013
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to blind riveting, that is, riveting performed from a single side of a workpiece assembly. In particular, the invention pertains to loose application of blind rivets to an assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known in the art relating to riveting to apply blind rivets from a single side of a workpiece assembly of two or more components. In the assembly process, holes are formed in the components, which are placed in engagement with the holes aligned to receive the hollow body of a blind rivet having a preformed head at one end. The rivet includes a mandrel with a stem extending through the hollow body and an enlarged end engaging a headless (blind) end of the body.
The rivet is held by a rivet gun with the stem of the mandrel inserted into an opening in a nose of the gun and the outer head of the rivet against the nose. The body of the rivet is inserted fully into the aligned holes in the components, and the gun is actuated to draw the mandrel outward through the preformed head. The enlarged end of the mandrel deforms the blind end of the body to create a blind head that pulls the components together and expands the body to fill the aligned holes while the nose of the gun forces the outer head against the adjacent component of the assembly. The result is a riveted joint that maintains the components in tightly fixed assembly.
FIGS. 1-3
illustrate steps in the prior art setting or application of one of the many forms of blind rivets to fix together two components of a component assembly
10
.
FIG. 1
shows a blind rivet
12
having a hollow body
14
with a preformed head
16
at one end. A mandrel
18
has a stem
20
connecting with an enlarged end
22
forming a conical wedge engaging the blind end
23
of the body
14
opposite from the head
16
. The body
14
is shown inserted through aligned holes
24
,
26
, respectively, in adjacent components
28
,
30
of the assembly. The rivet head is engaged by a nose
32
of any form of rivet gun or setting apparatus, not further illustrated. The components
28
,
30
are shown spaced apart for clarity but would preferably be placed in engagement adjacent the holes
24
,
26
prior to setting the rivet. The rivet gun includes mechanism, not shown, that grips the stem
20
of the mandrel for subsequently drawing the enlarged end outward in the direction of the rivet head
16
.
FIG. 2
shows the assembly
10
after actuation of the rivet gun to set the rivet
12
. The enlarged end
22
of the mandrel
18
has been drawn into the hollow body
14
of the rivet
12
, enlarging the blind end
23
of the rivet against the distal component
30
and expanding the body to fill the holes
24
,
26
while the nose
32
of the rivet gun remains against the preformed head
16
of the rivet, forcing the head against the adjacent component
28
.
In
FIG. 3
, the stem
20
has been broken off flush with the rivet head and removed with the rivet gun nose
32
, leaving the remainder of the mandrel
18
fixed to the interior of the hollow rivet body
14
while the body has been expanded into engagement with the aligned holes
24
,
26
. The head
16
remains in engagement with the adjacent component
28
while the enlarged blind end
23
engages the distal component
30
, thereby holding the components
28
,
30
in fixed engagement.
In a particular application, hydroformed frame components are held in pre-assembly by blind rivets prior to welding into a strong frame assembly. However, the riveted joints may be too constrained to accommodate variations in the parts that require adjustment of the joint connections to meet dimensional requirements of the frame prior to welding.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for loosely attaching blind rivets to components of an assembly. The method includes attaching a rivet to an assembly while positioning the head at a predetermined clearance away from the adjacent one of the assembly components. One or both of aligned openings in the components may also be enlarged to leave radial clearance between the assembled rivet body and the enlarged openings.
The apparatus includes a nose insert for use with or attachment to a rivet gun or attaching apparatus. The insert is formed as a member having a hollow center for receiving the stem of a mandrel or the nose of a conventional rivet gun. The member includes a first portion engageable with an associated rivet gun, a second portion engageable by a preformed rivet head, and a third portion engageable with a component adjacent to the rivet head and configured to maintain a predetermined clearance between the rivet head and the component when the rivet head is engaging the second portion.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description of certain specific embodiments of the invention taken together with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4368810 (1983-01-01), Maucher et al.
patent: 5533260 (1996-07-01), Kier, Jr.
Wang Pei-Chung
Zardus Paul M.
General Motors Corporation
Hong John C.
Marra Kathryn A.
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