Rivetless nut plate

Abstract

A sealed rivetless nut plate which includes a retainer, a nut and a gasket, all retained in a shroud. The nut includes a threaded throughbore for threadably receiving a fastener as well as a base portion which includes either holes or slots which receive corresponding protrusions or dimples on the retainer. Alternatively, the base portion of the nut can include protrusions or dimples with the retainer providing corresponding holes or slots. Regardless, this feature is configured to provide a specific amount of x-axis and y-axis floatation. The shroud is folded under the retainer, thereby keeping the assembly intact. The shroud allows only a nominal amount of movement of the nut in the vertical axis. Before installation, a mandrel is engaged in assembly. During installation, the mandrel is pulled out, causing a tubular portion of the retainer to expand, against a workpiece, thereby securing the sealed rivetless nut plate in position.

Description

technical field [0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 598,580, filed August 3, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Background technique [0002] This invention relates generally to the design of nutplates and, more particularly, to a sealed rivetless nutplate. Sealed rivetless nut plates for joining liquid storage containers such as aircraft fuel tanks. [0003] Fasteners for connecting fluid tanks of aircraft or the like, such as fuel tanks or water tanks, present the problem of preventing leakage through openings of the fasteners. Fasteners for these devices may include a nut plate and nut as part of one assembly. There are many different nut plate designs and configurations in use today. The two main types are riveted nut plates and rivetless nut plates. [0004] In a riveted nutplate, two rivets are used to secure the body of the nutplate to the workpiece. To rule out the possibility of le...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Generally, the parts used for these designs are very expensive, expensive and inconvenient to install, and the pre-machining of the holes needs to be very precise

Therefore, the general cost of these designs is usually very high, so the application is limited

It is also known in the art that due to the large expansion required, the containment structure can deform beyond permissible limits, leading to damage and scrapping of the hole structure

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