Aerpat A.g.

Leslie R Prickett

Keith Denham

Lawrence R Pallister

A self-plugging blind rivet (10) embodies lockingly interengageable members in the form of a headed tubular rivet body (12) with a bore (20) which reduces in diameter towards the head (18), and a mandrel (14) for setting the rivet. The mandrel (14) has a break-off stem (60) and a plug portion (62) which is left in the bore (20) of the rivet body (12) after setting the rivet. The plug portion (62) engages the end of the body (12) remote from the head (18) and has radially projecting longitudinal splines (102) which form grooves in the body (12) when pulled into the reduced diameter region (26) of its bore, and has a cylindrical swaging portion (84) which swages material of the body into parts of the grooves along which the splines (102) have passed so as to lock the plug (62) in the bore (20) and prevent its retraction from the set rivet. The rivet body (12) includes an axially collapsible shank (16) which forms a blind head when the mandrel (14) is pulled along the bore (20) and before the plug (62) becomes locked in the reduced diameter region (26).

Growing community of inventors

Stevenage, United Kingdom

Leslie R Prickett