Patent ID: 7815406

Claim:
A centering element ( 12 ) for attachment to a sheet metal part ( 10 ) by a riveted connection, said element having a shaft part ( 14 ), a tubular rivet section ( 22 ) surrounding said shaft part and a head part ( 16 ), said head part having a cylinder section ( 21 ), a side ( 18 ) confronting said sheet metal part, a recess ( 20 ) at least approximately in the shape of a ring in said side and an annular sheet metal contact surface ( 24 ; 24 ′) surrounding said recess, said recess merging at a radially inner side into said cylinder section ( 21 ) of said head part ( 16 ) and said cylinder section ( 21 ) in turn merging into said shaft part ( 14 ) and said cylinder section also merging into said tubular rivet section ( 22 ) which surrounds said shaft part ( 14 ) in a region of said head part ( 16 ) and being disposed within said annular contact surface ( 24 ; 24 ′) and said recess merging at a radially outer side via an at least approximately conical wall ( 23 ) into said annular contact surface, there being a plurality of local recesses ( 32 ) provided in at least one of said conical wall ( 23 ) of said recess and in a base surface ( 26 ) of the ring recess, and wherein a region of said shaft part ( 14 ) forms a centering section ( 40 ) radially within said tubular rivet section ( 22 ) adjacent said cylinder section ( 21 ).