Compression Limiter Sleeve With Internal Protuberance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastener assemblies for joining dissimilar materials, such as plastic and metal components, face challenges including increased costs due to specialized machining requirements, material removal, and potential for loose connections due to thermal cycling and creep in plastic materials.
Innovation Solution
A compression limiter assembly featuring a sleeve with a flange and internal protuberance that allows for lateral motion of the fastener, combined with a spring washer to prevent release and manage thermal changes, ensuring secure fastening without compressing plastic parts and allowing for alignment and installation flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a springing flange is incorporated into the sleeve design to permit deflection during assembly, then alignment flexibility is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to additional machining requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the compression limiter into separate functional components: a sleeve body and a distinct springing flange assembly. The springing flange is not integrally formed with the sleeve but is instead a separate element that can be independently manufactured and then assembled to the sleeve, thereby segmenting the complex function into simpler, manufacturable parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The springing flange acts as an intermediary element between the sleeve and the fastener assembly. It provides the necessary deflection and alignment compensation without requiring the sleeve itself to be complexly machined. The flange mediates the mechanical interaction, allowing the sleeve to remain relatively simple while still achieving the desired alignment flexibility.
2Reliability
If material is removed from the sleeve bore to create a stop engaging the shank rib member, then fastener retention is improved, but manufacturing cost increases due to additional machining operations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the stop function from the sleeve bore itself and relocates it to a separate retainer ring component. Instead of machining a stop directly into the sleeve bore, the retainer ring is positioned within the bore and provides the stopping function through its outer diameter engaging the shank rib member. This extraction eliminates the need for complex internal machining of the sleeve.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer ring serves as a separate component that copies or replicates the stop function without requiring the sleeve to be directly modified. The retainer ring's outer diameter creates the engagement with the shank rib member, effectively copying the retention function in a simpler, more manufacturable way than direct sleeve machining.
3Reliability
If an additional flange is created on the sleeve to prevent fastener release, then fastener retention is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to additional operations
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer ring acts as an intermediary component that provides the fastener retention function without requiring the sleeve to have an additional flange. The retainer ring is positioned within the sleeve bore and uses its outer diameter to engage the shank rib member, thereby mediating the retention function and eliminating the need for complex sleeve modifications.
4Ease of manufacture
If standard fastener designs are used without specialized modifications, then manufacturing cost decreases, but fastener release prevention becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer ring serves as an intermediary component that enables the use of standard fastener designs while still providing release prevention. The retainer ring engages the shank rib member of the fastener, and this engagement prevents fastener release without requiring modifications to the fastener itself. This allows standard fasteners to be used, maintaining manufacturing simplicity, while the retainer ring provides the necessary retention reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A compression limiter assembly having a spring washer and a sleeve. The sleeve includes a cylindrical body and a flange radially extending from a first end of the body. A fastener inserted through the spring washer is received in a through aperture of the cylindrical body. The fastener includes a head, an unthreaded shank portion extending from the head, and a threaded shank portion extending from the unthreaded shank portion having a threaded diameter greater than a diameter of the unthreaded shank portion. An annular swage created proximate to the flange defines an internal protuberance extending into the through aperture of the cylindrical body. The protuberance is operable to prevent release of the fastener by contact between the threaded shank portion and the protuberance. The unthreaded shank portion is capable of lateral motion within a diameter defined by the protuberance.