Abstract: A method of installing an insert in a sandwich panel for mounting a fastener includes making a hole in the panel and inserting a spacer having a height greater than the thickness of the panel. An entrance rim of the spacer extends above an upper surface of the panel and a setting tool exerts a force on the entrance rim to force it into the hole and to position an upper edge of the entrance rim flush with the panel surface. The spacer can include an annular groove on an interior wall of the entrance rim to facilitate the cold working deformation during an installation in the panel and a hole engaging surface to align and maintain the spacer within the hole. An outer exterior surface of the entrance rim can be indented and coated with a first sealing compound to ensure a watertight seal with the panel. A second sealant material can be provided within the entrance rim for sealing with a head of any fastener extending through the spacer. An improved floor panel with spacer is accordingly provided for aircraft.

Abstract: A method of installing an insert in a sandwich panel for mounting a fastener includes making a hole in the panel and inserting a spacer having a height greater than the thickness of the panel. An entrance rim of the spacer extends above an upper surface of the panel and a setting tool exerts a force on the entrance rim to force it into the hole and to position an upper edge of the entrance rim flush with the panel surface. The spacer can include an annular groove on an interior wall of the entrance rim to facilitate the cold working deformation during an installation in the panel. An outer exterior surface of the entrance rim can be indented and coated with a first sealing compound to ensure a water-tight seal with the panel. A second sealant material can be provided within the entrance rim for sealing with a head of any fastener extending through the spacer. An improved floor panel with spacer is accordingly provided for aircraft.

Abstract: A snap fastener assembly includes a cylindrical C-shaped spring retainer member having a hollow open core with an exterior longitudinal slit aperture extending into the core. The spring retainer member is mounted on a stud member having an enlarged head at one end, a retaining head at the other end, and a longitudinal shaft that is dimensioned to be substantially enclosed by the spring retainer member. The stud member can be used for both the insertion and retraction of the cylindrical spring retainer member. The retainer member can be actively fastened to a hole, for example, to hold panels on a wall.

Abstract: A plastic composite fastener capable of cutting its own hole in a resin composite panel and friction welding itself to be flush with the outer surface of the resin panel is provided. An inner metal core member can be provided with at least one cutting edge member extending from the core member. An outer plastic sheath member having an annular flange is fastened to and extends about the inner metal core member. The cutting edge member is exterior of the plastic sheath member at one end of the fastener insert unit and is configured to cut a hole in the resin panel, while the annular flange is configured to friction weld to a resin panel surface.

Abstract: A method of installing a thermoplastic fastener insert unit into a thermoplastic composite resin panel includes the steps of cutting a hole in the plastic resin panel of a diameter less than the annular flange of the fastener insert unit. The fastener insert unit is then rotated to frictionally generate heat between the annular flange and the plastic resin panel until sufficient heat has been generated to enable the welding of a fastener insert unit directly to the plastic resin panel. Additionally, the lower surface of the fastener insert unit can also be frictionally welded to an interior surface of the plastic resin panel.

Abstract: A locking assembly for fastening two components together, such as a fluid coupling assembly, is disclosed. A first member has a serrated annular surface and fastening threads adjacent a bearing surface. A second member has a flexible projection or projections or a complementary configuration to the serrated annular surface. The second member also includes fastening threads and a bearing surface. When the respective threads engage, they provide the primary preloading force to the bearing surface, while simultaneously the projections and the serrated detects provide a retention force to ensure a positive coupling.

Abstract: A castellated locknut having an annular ring and a set of castellations, wherein the castellations are tapered to provide a locking mechanism. The locknut is provided with a circumferential groove formed between the castellations and the annular body which ensures that the castellations have equal base cross-sectional areas, such that the castellations deflect uniformly upon mounting to a shaft. Further, the provision of the circumferential groove renders the annular ring torsionally flexible as compared to the flexural stiffness of the castellations. Upon mounting to a shaft, the annular ring of the locknut elastically and torsionally deflects, thus allowing the castellations to pivot clear of the shaft without undesirable inelastic deformation. Accordingly, a precise and uniform locknut having an effective locking mechanism is achieved.

Abstract: A fastener designed to be securerd into a hole in an aircraft panel can be manufactured from an integral engineering thermoplastic structure which includes a centrally located cylindrical body carrying flanges at its ends. One of these flanges has diametrically opposed notches leading through it. Ribs are located on the flanges so that when the fastener is within a hole in a panel and a fluid resin composition is forced in to one of the notches the flow is divided into two separate streams, each of which flows in a labyrinth-like manner in reaching the other notch.

Abstract: The method of affixing a fastener to a panel, said fastener comprising a body portion and a flange portion, said body portion comprising a thermoplastic material and being of a length greater than the thickness of said panel, comprising the steps of: inserting said fastener into and through said panel opening, whereby an end of said body portion of said fastener extends beyond the plane of the surface of the opposed side surface of said panel; and applying ultrasonic energy to said end of said fastener body portion for reshaping said end into a flange, said ultrasonic energy causing said end to flare over and contact said adjacent panel surface thereby sealing the panel against moisture entering the core space via the fastener installation hole.

Abstract: A set of platens locatable as for instance on a die shoe and a slide die each contain a recess sized and shaped so as to partially receive one die of a set of dies. The platens further contain a wall which extends between the outer periphery of the platen and the recess with a hole extending through the wall and opening into the recess. The dies have a corresponding hole positioned in the dies so as to align with the holes in the walls when the dies are appropriately located in the recesses in the respective platens. A fastener has a shank with a handle having cam surfaces thereon located on one end of the shank and a flared head on the other end of the shank. A sleeve having a tapered tip fits on the shank between the cam and the tapered head with an expandable bushing then positioned between the sleeve and the head. Movement of the sleeve toward the head expands the bushing so as to lock the fastener in the aligned holes between the walls and the dies.

Abstract: The utility of an expansion fastener including an externally threaded shaft having a head shaped so as to be capable of being engaged by a manipulative tool, a generally cylindrical longitudinally split sleeve located around the shaft, a nut threaded on the shaft, the sleeve and the nut including coacting surfaces capable of expanding the sleeve as the nut is moved on the shaft can be improved by utilizing coacting structures on the end of the sleeve remote from the head and on the nut for preventing relative rotation between the sleeve and the nut as the shaft is turned. Preferably the sleeve is twisted slightly in a spiral-like manner so that an end of the sleeve serves as one of the coacting structures which engages an adjacent ridged or other not smooth surface of the nut serving as the other coacting structure.

Abstract: An improvement to ultrasonic probes useful in the non-destructive testing of structural materials includes a compact, high-sensitivity coaxial design probe. The probe has a centrally located transmitter point and a circumferentially arranged receiver ring. The geometrical relationship between the transmitter point and the receiver ring provides for high-sensitivity in the detection of defects and allows for a compact construction without orientational sensitivity. A receiver tube is provided which encloses the probe and acts as a tuned wave guide for the detection of ultrasonic vibrations from the structural material under test. The increased sensitivity of the improved ultrasonic probe is advantageous in the testing of non-metallic structural materials having a complex composite structure. The compactness of the improved ultrasonic probe is advantageous in the testing of structural materials having complex and narrow shapes.

Abstract: An improved clip nut has a long flat spring steel body which is bent back upon itself such that the two end portions of the spring steel body lie essentially parallel to each other with one portion forming the top arm and other portion forming the bottom arm. The top arm has a hole through its surface and a small flange projecting off of each of the respective sides. Each of the flanges has a slot near the edge where the flange joins the top arm. The nut portion of the clip nut comprises a nut member having tabs fitting into the slots. The threaded bore of the nut is in alignment with the hole in the upper arm. The bottom arm has two fingers integrally formed with and parallel with the side edges of the arm. The end of each finger is provided with a dog. A plastic sleeve is formed of a molded structure having a channel along each respective side edge of the plastic sleeve. A hole passes through an annular boss in the sleeve.

Abstract: A fastener structure which is especially desirable for use with laminated members such as graphite fiber members in which the fibers are secured together with an epoxy resin can be constructed utilizing a layer of a thermoplastic adhesive on at least one heat conductive functional part of the fastener. The fastener is preferably constructed so as to include a plate capable of being located against a surface of the member, a shank extending through a hole in the member and a holding part or element for securing the shank so that the plate is held against the surface of the member. The precise fastener used may be formed as a grommet, a rivet, a nut element or the like. Such a fastener can be constructed so as to provide corner reinforcement for the laminated member.