Temporary fasteners

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10260548-B2
Application number	US-201113037349-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2011
Priority date	Aug 26, 2008
Publication date	Apr 16, 2019
Grant date	Apr 16, 2019

Abstract

Fastener embodiments include a housing body, a collet body and a central body. The housing body receives a first portion of the collet body, which has internal threads and an external anti-rotation feature, as well as a first portion of the central body. A second portion of the collet body and an exterior portion of the housing body provide work piece contacting surfaces. The central body, which occupies an inner portion of the housing body, is threadably coupled to the collet body and displaces and/or converges radially displaceable portions of the collet body at the second portion thereof. Interaction between the collet body anti-rotation feature and the housing body, which may be a pair of extending pins engaging a pair of slots, prevents rotation of the collet body within the housing body during rotation of the central body, while axial movement thereof remains unaffected within intended operation parameters.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A fastener to hold, at least temporarily, at least two work pieces together where a portion of the fastener is disposed in a plurality of substantially aligned holes or bores formed in the at least two work pieces, the fastener comprising:
a collet body, defining a longitudinal axis, and comprising:
a distal end;
a proximal end;
a mid body portion there between; and
a screw radially extending from the proximal end, wherein the proximal end defines a generally circular opening;
a first wall portion adjacent to the distal end, having an inner surface and an outer surface, and defining at least two secondary slots extending longitudinally from the distal end and terminating at or before the mid body portion, thereby establishing at least two flexible fingers, each flexible finger comprising a portion of an annular protrusion having a leading face and a trailing face, wherein the trailing face includes a work piece contacting surface, and wherein the at least two flexible fingers converge towards the distal end to form a generally circular opening when the fastener is in a nominal state; and
a second wall portion adjacent to the proximal end, having an inner surface and an outer surface;

a housing body comprising a distal end having a reduced diameter opening, a proximal end, an exterior surface, an axially aligned slot receiving the screw, including a pair of opposing walls axially extending down the housing body and limiting rotation of the screw, and an interior surface defining a housing body bore from a proximal end opening to a distal end opening and an axis thereof to translatably receive at least the proximal end of the collet body, wherein the exterior surface of the distal end includes a work piece contacting surface and the proximal end defines a hole having a diameter less than a diameter of the housing body bore, wherein the housing body bore enables axial translation of the collet body therein;
a central body extendable through the housing body bore and engageable with the collet body for causing axial translation of the collet body in the housing body bore, wherein the central body has a proximal end and a distal end; and
a bushing at the proximal end of the housing body, wherein the bushing has a diameter less than the diameter of the housing body bore.

2. The fastener of claim 1 , wherein the central body comprises a threaded portion and wherein a collet body inner surface comprises a threaded portion rotationally complementary thereto.

3. The fastener of claim 1 , wherein the central body comprises a threaded portion and the collet body includes an interior surface comprising a threaded portion rotationally complementary thereto, and wherein the screw and the axially aligned slot counteract induced rotation of the collet body during rotation of the central body while permitting translation of the collet body within the housing body bore.

4. The fastener of claim 1 , wherein the central body comprises a threaded portion and wherein a collet body interior surface comprises a threaded portion rotationally complementary thereto, and wherein the central body further comprises a non-threaded portion having an external diameter greater than an internal diameter of the collet body at the threaded portion thereof.

5. The fastener of claim 1 , further comprising a drive element fixedly attached to the central body exteriorly of the housing body when the fastener is in an assembled state.

6. The fastener of claim 1 , wherein the bushing is removable from the housing body and whereby, when removed from the housing body, the collet body may be introduced into, or removed from, the housing body.

7. The fastener of claim 1 , wherein the housing body exterior surface comprises a plurality of planar surfaces.

8. A fastener to hold, at least temporarily, at least two work pieces together where a portion of the fastener is disposed in substantially aligned holes or bores formed in the at least two work pieces, the fastener comprising:
a collet body, defining a longitudinal axis, and comprising:
a distal end, a proximal end, a mid body portion therebetween, and a screw radially extending from the proximal end;
a first wall portion adjacent to the distal end, having an inner surface and an outer surface, and defining at least two secondary slots extending longitudinally from the distal end and terminating at or before the mid body portion, thereby establishing at least two flexible fingers, each flexible finger comprising a portion of an annular protrusion having a leading face and a trailing face, wherein the trailing face includes a work piece contacting surface, and wherein the at least two flexible fingers converge towards the distal end to form a generally circular opening that is aligned with a radial plane when the fastener is in a nominal state such that the at least two flexible fingers are in contact with each other; and
a second wall portion adjacent to the proximal end, having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein a portion of the inner surface is threaded;

a housing body comprising a distal end having a reduced diameter opening, a proximal end, an exterior surface, an axially aligned slot receiving the screw, including a pair of opposing walls axially extending down the housing body and limiting rotation of the screw, and an interior surface defining a bore from a distal end opening to a proximal end opening and an axis thereof to translatably receive at least the proximal end of the collet body, wherein the exterior surface of the distal end includes a work piece contacting surface and the proximal end includes a removable bushing that defines a hole having a diameter less than a diameter of the housing body bore, where the housing body bore enables axial translation of the collet body therein and includes a threaded portion;
a central body extendable through the housing body bore and a bushing hole, and engageable with the collet body threaded inner surface and the threaded portion of the housing body bore whereby rotation of the central body relative to the collet body is transformed into axial translational of the collet body in the housing body bore, wherein the central body has a proximal end and a distal end; and
a bushing at the proximal end of the housing body, wherein the bushing has a diameter less than the diameter of the housing body bore and wherein the bushing prevents unintentional escapement of the collet body from the proximal end of the housing body.

9. The fastener of claim 8 , wherein the screw is included in a pair of opposed screws radially extending from the second wall portion of the collet body, which are translationally receivable by a complementary pair of axially aligned opposed slots extending from the interior surface of the housing body to the exterior surface thereof, where the axially aligned slot is included in the complementary pair of axially aligned opposed slots.

10. The fastener of claim 8 , wherein the central body further comprises a non-threaded portion having an external diameter greater than an internal diameter of the collet body at the threaded portion of the inner surface of the collet body.

11. The fastener of claim 8 , further comprising a drive element fixedly attached to the central body exteriorly of the housing body when the fastener is in an assembled state.

12. The fastener of claim 8 , wherein the housing body exterior surface comprises a plurality of planar surfaces.

13. The fastener of claim 8 , wherein the central body further comprises a non-threaded portion having an external diameter greater than an internal diameter of the collet body at the threaded por

Assignees

• Mcclure Travis
• Centrix Inc

Inventors

• Mcclure Travis

Classifications

• F16B13/06 Primary

  combined with expanding sleeve {(F16B13/045 and F16B13/08 take precedence)} · CPC title

• F16B19/109 Primary

  Temporary rivets, e.g. with a spring-loaded pin (special clamping devices for workpieces to be riveted together, e.g. operating through the rivet holes B21J15/42; hand tools for temporarily connecting sheets before or during assembly operations B25B31/005) · CPC title

• F16B13/0833

  with segments or fingers expanding or tilting into an undercut hole (F16B13/0858 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16B33/002

  Means for preventing rotation of screw-threaded elements (F16B39/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16B39/34

  Locking by deformable inserts or like parts · CPC title