Patents by Inventor Laurence A. Browne

Laurence A. Browne has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5252013
    Abstract: A self-plugging blind rivet, of the kind comprising a tubular body having a head and a shank which is deformed by means of a headed stem which is disposed in the body and pulled so as to form a blind head and, if necessary, to cause the shank to bulb so as to grip workpieces of lesser thickness than the maximum for which the rivet is designed, is so shaped and dimensioned as to avoid the need for a crimping or hardening operation to be performed on the shank. Thus the shank is made of uniform hardness, and has a waist and a tail portion, the waist being of reduced external diameter compared with the tail portion, and the tail portion having a length B and an external diameter D which are related to satisfy the expressionB=mD+nwhereinB is the length in millimeters, of the tail portion;D is the external diameter, in millimeters, of the tail portion;n is a length, in millimeters, of from 2.15 to 2.73 millimeters, andm is a number from 0.373 to 0.527 inclusive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 12, 1993
    Assignee: Avdel Systems Limited
    Inventors: Laurence A. Browne, Keith Denham, Raymond D. Lacey
  • Patent number: 5248231
    Abstract: A self-plugging blind rivet 10 comprises a tubular body 14 having a preformed head 34 at one end, and in the bore 36 of which a headed stem 12 is disposed. The stem 12 projects from the head 34 end of the body 14, and the head 18 of the stem 12 is substantially enclosed by a region 42 of the body 14 remote from the preformed head 34. The head 18 of the stem 12 abuts a shoulder 44 provided by a region 43 of the body 14 in which the diameter of the bore 36 is reduced and the wall is thickened. Axially spaced apart annular grooves 46, 48 in the external surface of the body 14 define between them a portion 50 which will collapse to form a blind head when the body 14 is compressed axially by pulling the stem 12 while supporting the preformed head 34. Finally, the stem head 18 may be pulled into the reduced diameter region 40 of the bore 36 and thereby cause the blind head to be reshaped and forced into compressive engagement with work being fastened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1993
    Assignee: Avdel System Limited
    Inventors: Keith Denham, Laurence A. Browne