Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/825,148, filed Jul. 5, 2007, which is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/800,941, filed May 8, 2007 (now abandoned), which claims the priority of DE 102006021843.4 filed May 10, 2006, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a riveted joint between a first and second sheet-metal component spaced at a certain distance by means of a spacing rivet, a spacing rivet for this purpose as well as a method for producing the riveted joint. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Connections between two sheet-metal components by means of a blind-rivet nut are known. The blind-rivet nut normally consists of a hollow shaft, which is comprised of a hollow cylindrical upset section for forming an upset ridge and a reinforced thread section. The thread section has an internal thread, into which a tension mandrel of a mounting tool can be bored, in order to form the upset ridge by pulling through the tension mandrel. The two sheet-metal components are hereby clamped between a flange-like head of the blind-rivet nut and its upset ridge. The two sheet-metal components then rest directly against each other. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The object of the present invention is to provide a riveted joint between two sheet-metal components, a spacing rivet for this purpose as well as a method for producing the riveted joint, in which the two sheet-metal components are held at a certain distance from each other. 
         [0005]    The invention and advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the claims. 
         [0006]    In the case of a riveted joint designed according to the invention between a first and second sheet-metal component, the spacing rivet is immobilized on the first sheet-metal component by a flange and a first upset ridge and on the other sheet-metal component by a shoulder and a second upset ridge. The distance between the two sheet-metal components is determined by a spacing section of the spacing rivet, which is provided between the two upset ridges. 
         [0007]    The spacing rivet for this type of riveted joint is made of a rivet shaft, which has a first sleeve-like upset section with an associated outer flange for forming the first upset ridge, a second sleeve-like upset section with an associated outer shoulder for forming the second upset ridge, and a spacing section between the two upset sections. 
         [0008]    The spacing rivet designed according to the invention is an easily producible one-piece part, which enables a reliable and solid connection between the two sheet-metal components while maintaining a certain distance. 
         [0009]    The riveted joint designed according to the invention is fast and easy to produce. There are two options: 
         [0010]    In accordance with one option, the spacing rivet is inserted into the two sheet-metal components until its flange rests against the first sheet-metal component, and then the two upset sections, preferably in a continuous work process, are folded towards to upset ridges through a relative axial movement of the two sheet-metal components. 
         [0011]    In accordance with the other option, the following work steps are provided, which are performed consecutively: 
         [0012]    the spacing rivet is inserted into the first sheet-metal component until its flange rests against the first sheet-metal component, 
         [0013]    the first upset section of the spacing rivet is folded towards the first upset ridge in order to immobilize the spacing rivet on the first sheet-metal component, 
         [0014]    the spacing rivet is inserted into the second sheet-metal component until its shoulder rests against the second sheet-metal component, and 
         [0015]    the second upset section of the spacing rivet is folded towards the second upset ridge in order to immobilize the spacing rivet on the second sheet-metal part. 
         [0016]    In the last named case, the first two work steps can be performed by the supplier, who then delivers the first sheet-metal component with immobilized spacing rivet to the customer. The customer then performs the other work steps, through which the connection between the two sheet-metal components is established. The work effort required by the customer is reduced accordingly. 
         [0017]    Other advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention arise from the claims. 
         [0018]    Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in greater detail based on the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a partially cut view of a spacing rivet with two sheet-metal components before the joint is produced; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  shows a view according to  FIG. 1  after the joint has been produced. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a view according to  FIG. 2  of a spacing rivet, which is surrounded by a bushing-like element. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]      FIG. 1  shows two sheet-metal components A and B, which concern for example the two shells of a control arm in a shell construction. The two sheet-metal components A and B are permanently joined together by a spacing rivet  2 , wherein a certain distance needs to be maintained between the two sheet-metal components. 
         [0023]    The spacing rivet  2  is shown in  FIG. 1  in its un-deformed state. It consists of a rivet shaft, which comprises an outer flange  4 , a hollow cylindrical upset section  6 , a spacing section  8  and a hollow cylindrical upset section  12 , wherein a surrounding outer shoulder  10  is provided on the outer perimeter of the rivet shaft between the spacing section  8  and the upset section  12 . 
         [0024]    Similar to conventional blind-rivet nuts, the flange  4  is designed as a flat head, but could also be designed differently, e.g. as a countersunk head. 
         [0025]    The upset portions  6  and  12  serve to form upset ridges  6 ′ and  12 ′ ( FIG. 2 ), as will be explained in greater detail. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the upset section  6  has greater wall strength than the upset section  12 , so that the upset section  12  is easier to deform than the upset section  6 . 
         [0026]    The spacing section  8  is solid and closed in the exemplary embodiment shown. It could also be hollow instead. However, in either case, it should be designed reinforced with respect to the upset sections  6  and  12 , so that it is not deformed during the folding of the upset ridges  6 ′ and  12 ′. 
         [0027]    In the exemplary embodiment shown, the spacing rivet  2  is designed round over its entire outer perimeter. However, it is also possible that it only be round on the outer perimeter in certain areas, for example in the area of the spacing section  8 . Instead, it is also possible to design the outer perimeter of the rivet shaft to be non-circular at least in sections, e.g. multi-sided (square or hexagonal), elliptical or in any other non-circular manner. 
         [0028]    As already mentioned, the primary function of the spacing rivet  2  is to maintain a distance between components A and B. Moreover, the spacing rivet  2  can also be designed such that it has a functional characteristic for performing an additional function. Thus, for example, it can be provided with a borehole, which is either smooth or provided with an internal thread. The spacing rivet can also be designed as a bolt with or without a thread. It could also be designed as a quick-connect mechanism. 
         [0029]    Even if the punching rivet  2  can be provided with an internal thread for performing an additional function, an internal thread is not required to produce the upset ridges  6 ′ and  12 ′. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the inside of the punching rivet  12  is thus smooth. 
         [0030]    The one-piece punching rivet  2  is made of a malleable material, which enables the production of the upset ridges  6 ′ and  12 ′. Steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, brass or similar materials, such as those used for blind-rivet nuts, can be used. 
         [0031]    There are generally two options for producing the riveted joint shown in  FIG. 2 : 
         [0032]    In accordance with one option, the spacing rivet  2  is inserted into aligning holes  14  and  16  of the two sheet-metal components A and B from one side until the flange  4  rests against sheet-metal component A and the shoulder  10  against sheet-metal component B ( FIG. 1 ). The spacing rivet  2  is then compressed axially using a tool (not shown). For this purpose, the pressing device has e.g. two pressing bodies, one of which attaches to the flange  4  of the spacing rivet  2  and the other to the upset section  12  of the spacing rivet  2 . The two pressing bodies of the pressing tool are then moved towards each other axially whereby the upset section  12  is first folded towards the upset ridge  12 ′ and then the upset section  6  towards the upset ridge  6 ′. During the upset process, there is a corresponding relative, axial movement between the sheet-metal components A and B so that the distance between the sheet-metal components A, B changes from the state in  FIG. 1  by a corresponding amount to the state in  FIG. 2 . For example, the distance between the two sheet-metal components A, B decreases from approx. 15 mm ( FIG. 1 ) to approx. 13 mm. 
         [0033]    After the formation of the upset ridges  6 ′ and  12 ′, the sheet-metal component A is clamped between the flange  4  and the upset ridge  6 ′ and the sheet-metal component B is clamped between the shoulder  10  and the upset ridge  12 ′. The spacing section  8  ensures a solid and secure connection between the components A and B at the desired mutual distance. 
         [0034]    In accordance with the other option, the spacing rivet  2  is first connected only with the sheet-metal component A. For this, the spacing rivet  2  is inserted into the hole  14  of the sheet-metal component A until the flange  4  rests against the sheet-metal component A. Then the upset section  6  is folded towards the upset section  6 ′ so that the spacing rivet  2  is permanently connected with the sheet-metal component A. The sheet-metal component A and the spacing rivet  2  can now be operated as one structural unit so that a supplier can deliver the structural unit in its current state to a customer. 
         [0035]    The customer then performs the rest of the work steps to complete the riveted joint between the sheet-metal components A and B. For this, the upset section  12  of the spacing rivet  2  is inserted into the hole  16  of the sheet-metal component A until the sheet-metal component B rests against the shoulder  10 . Then the upset section  12  is deformed into the upset ridge  12 ′ so that the sheet-metal component B is clamped between the shoulder  10  and the upset ridge  12 . The riveted joint between the sheet-metal components A and B is thus complete. It follows that this manner of installation considerably decreases the customer&#39;s effort to produce the riveted joint. 
         [0036]    In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the holes  14 ,  16  in the components A and B are precast. However, it is also generally possible to provide the spacing rivet  2  with a cutting edge on the end turned away from flange  4 . This cutting edge can then be used to punch out the hole  16  of the component B via a corresponding punching procedure during the setting of the rivet  2 . Tolerance problems during the alignment of precast holes are hereby avoided. 
         [0037]    It is also understood that the upset sections  6  and  12  can also be designed with the same wall strength so that in the case of the first option for producing the riveted joint the two upset ridges  6 ′ and  12 ′ are formed at the same time. 
         [0038]    In the case of the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the riveted joint between the spacing rivet  2  and the components A, B are identical to those in  FIG. 2 . The only difference is that the spacing section  8  of the spacing rivet  2  is surrounded by a bushing-like element  18 . The bushing-like element  18  serves to perform other functions, e.g. as deflection roller, gear wheel, lever arm, etc. It is also possible to provide a bearing sleeve  20 , which is effectively “riveted in” during the production of the riveted joint, in the space between the spacing section  8  of the spacing rivet  2  and the bushing-like part  18 .

Technology Category: 2