Method of manufacture for a plastic-capped panel fastener
US8161616B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 23, 2010 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 23, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/4998
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A captive panel fastener is manufactured by first overmolding a plastic cap around the head of a screw, the cap having a cylindrical plastic skirt extending downwardly beyond the base of the screw head and formed with a circular opening at the bottom. After a compression spring is placed around the shank of the screw, the screw is pressed against a top surface of a ferrule to a point where the capped-skirt extends downwardly below a ferrule flange. At that point, heat and pressure are applied radially inwardly around the periphery of the plastic skirt along its bottom edge until it is permanently deformed to a point where the bottom of the skirt is smaller in diameter than the ferrule flange. The screw is thereby captivated to the ferrule between extended and retracted positions.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.