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EP-4491891-B1 - FASTENER

EP4491891B1EP 4491891 B1EP4491891 B1EP 4491891B1EP-4491891-B1

Inventors

  • MCCLURE, TRAVIS

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240711

Claims (12)

  1. A fastener (100), comprising: a body assembly (110) configured to: transition the fastener (100) between a clamping configuration and an insertion and removal configuration; and in the clamping configuration, adjust an axial length between a proximal clamping surface (258) and a distal clamping surface (228) while an axial length between the distal clamping surface (228) and a distal end (106) of the fastener (100) remains constant; wherein the body assembly (110) includes a shaft (210) that is axially spaced away from a drive screw (200) wherein the body assembly (110) includes: a sleeve (112) with a plurality of clamping feet openings (234); and a collet body (118) with one or more legs (224) that extend from a crown (222) and each include a clamping foot and wherein the clamping feet extend through the plurality of clamping feet openings (234); characterized in that when the fastener (100) is in the clamping configuration, a surface of the clamping feet is in contact with a surface of the clamping feet openings (234) and transfers loads thereto.
  2. The fastener (100) of claim 1, wherein the body assembly (110) includes a pin (212) that is mated with multiple axially extending slots (214) in a sleeve (112) and an opening (216) in the shaft (210).
  3. The fastener (100) of claim 2, wherein: an axial position of the pin (212) in the multiple axially extending slots (214) varies when the fastener (100) transitions between the clamping configuration and the insertion and removal configuration; and the axial position of the pin (212) in the multiple axially extending slots (214) remains constant while the fastener (100) is in the clamping configuration and the axial length between the upper and the distal clamping surfaces (228) are adjusted.
  4. The fastener (100) of claim 3, wherein when the fastener (100) is in the clamping configuration: a distal end (606) of the shaft (210) contacts a cap (108) that is coupled to a lower opening of the sleeve (112); or the pin (212) contacts distal axial sides of the multiple axially extending slots (214).
  5. The fastener (100) of claim 1, wherein the body assembly (110) includes a round cap coupled to a lower opening of the sleeve (112) and wherein the round cap forms the distal end (106) of the fastener (100).
  6. The fastener (100) of claim 1, wherein a crown (222) of the collet body (118) is positioned distal from the plurality of clamping feet.
  7. The fastener (100) of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a drive head fixedly coupled to the drive screw (200) and configured to drive rotation of the drive screw (200) while its axial position remains stationary.
  8. A method for operating a fastener (100) of any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: transitioning the fastener (100) between an insertion and removal configuration and a clamping configuration; and adjusting a grip length between a proximal clamping surface (258) and a distal clamping surface (228) while an axial length between the distal clamping surface (228) and a distal end (106) of the fastener (100) remains constant; wherein a body assembly (110) in the fastener (100) includes a pin (212) that extends through an opening (216) in a shaft (210) and multiple axially extending slots (214) in a sleeve (112).
  9. The method of claim 8, wherein, when the fastener (100) transitions between the insertion and removal configuration and the clamping configuration, an axial position of the pin (212) within the multiple axially extending slots (214) varies.
  10. The method of claim 9, wherein, when the fastener (100) in in the clamping configuration, the pin (212) bottoms out at distal axial sides of the multiple axially extending slots (214).
  11. The method of claim 9, wherein, when the fastener (100) in in the clamping configuration, a distal end (106) of the shaft (210) bottoms out on a cap (108) that is coupled to a distal opening of the sleeve (112).
  12. The method of any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the fastener (100) includes a drive head coupled to a screw and configured to drive rotation of the screw while its axially position remains constant.

Description

FIELD The present description relates generally to a fastener with a body assembly that includes a sleeve and a shaft. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY Many manufacturing fields use fasteners for securing multiple work pieces to one another. Blind fasteners are one type of fastener that is particularly useful in space constrained environments, when only one side of a joint is accessible, for instance. Blind fasteners have been used in industries such as the aerospace industry to secure floor panels to underlying floor beams, in some use cases. In other aerospace industry use cases, fasteners have been used to attach wing components, fuselage components, pylons, etc., to increase manufacturing adaptability. Previous fasteners have included a screw which interacts with a collet body to expand clamping legs in the collet body. When expanded, the legs act as a lower clamping arm to enable axial clamping of a workpiece stack. US2021207639A1 describes a known fastener. Some fasteners have included collet bodies with clamping arms. To engage the clamping arms, a spindle threads into the collet body and pulls the collet body over the spindle such that a lower end of the spindle pushes the clamping arms radially outward. However, when this type of fastener is clamping at its minimum thickness, a portion of the spindle protrudes well below the clamping arms. The inventor has recognized several drawbacks with previous fasteners. For instance, the type of fastener described above with the spindle and the collet body may present issues in space constrained installation environments, especially on the distal side of the parts to be clamped. For instance, the fastener may be unable to be installed in areas with tight clearance and may present an impediment to manufacturing personnel, in some scenarios. Further, when these fasteners are used in robotic manufacturing, the spindle may interfere with robotic components that are working on the distal side of the parts. Additionally, the threaded portion of the spindle may not be an ideal surface for some robotic sensors to resynchronize on. Resynchronization is the process of a robotic machine measuring the features of the temporary fastener in order to calculate a theoretical centerline of the hole in which the temporary fastener is located. This allows the robot to get a "fix" on its location so that it can move to the next coordinate (in order to do work (e.g., drill a hole) with increased accuracy). The inventor has therefore recognized a need to provide a fastener with characteristics that allow it to be installed in a wider range of manufacturing environments, allow for distal side robotic resynchronization, as well as carry higher loads. Facing the aforementioned challenges, the inventor developed a fastener to at least partially overcome the challenges. The invention is a fastener as defined in claim 1 and a method of operating a fastener according to claim 8. The fastener includes, in one example, a distal end that has a constant distance from the distal clamping surface while also have a distal end that is shaped to facilitate effective robotic resynchronization. The fastener, in another example, includes a body assembly configured to transition the fastener between a clamping configuration and an insertion and removal configuration. The body assembly is further configured to, in the clamping configuration, adjust an axial length between a proximal clamping surface and a distal clamping surface while an axial length between the distal clamping surface and a distal end of the fastener remains constant. Further, in the fastener, the body assembly includes a shaft that is axially spaced away from a drive screw. Designing the fastener with this functionality enables effective robotic resynchronization on the distal end of the fastener while also enabling the fastener to be installed in a much wider range of environments, particularly in space constrained environments, when compared to fasteners where the axial length between the distal end of the fastener grows as the distance between the clamping arms decreases. To elaborate, the fastener with the aforementioned characteristics, allows the fastener to be installed in environments with limited backside clearances and assists in backside robotic work both for clearance of robotic movement and the ability of the robotic machine to resynchronize on the fastener's distal end, if desired. Consequently, the fastener applicability is expanded and appeals to a wider customer base. In one example, the body assembly may include a pin mated with multiple axially extending slots in a sleeve and an opening in the shaft. In such an example, the axial position of the pin in the axially extending slots may vary when the fastener transitions between the clamping configuration and the insertion and removal configuration. Further, in such an example, the axial position of the pin in the axially extending slots may remain constant while the fastener