当前申请(专利权)人地址：
Pegasus House, Aerospace Avenue, Filton, BRISTOL, BS34 7PA, United Kingdom
摘要：
A cap for forming a sealed cavity around an end of a fastener. The cap has an inner cap (10) terminating at an inner cap rim (18) which surrounds an opening into a central cavity (12) and lies in an inner cap plane (19) around a majority of a circumference of the inner cap (10). An outer cap (20) is fitted over the inner cap (10), the outer cap (20) comprising an outer cap body (21) and a skirt (25) extending from the outer cap body (21) to a skirt rim (26) which lies in or slightly below the inner cap plane (19) around a majority of a circumference of the skirt (25). An annular pocket (34) is provided between the skirt (25) and inner cap (10), and a flow space (30) is provided between the outer cap body (21) and the inner cap (10). The flow space (30) is in fluid communication with the annular pocket (34) so that it can receive a flow of sealing material and feed it into the annular pocket (34). The outer cap body (21) is formed from a first material with a first elastic modulus, and the skirt (25) is formed from a second material with a second elastic modulus which is lower than the first elastic modulus. The skirt (25) flexes as the flow of sealing material is fed into the annular pocket (34) so that the skirt rim (26) lifts up to form a gap between the skirt rim (26) and the structure (50) which enables air to escape the annular pocket (34) by flowing through the gap.
权利要求：
Claims
1. A cap for forming a sealed cavity around an end of a fastener, the cap
comprising:
a. an inner cap terminating at an inner cap rim which surrounds an opening
into a central cavity and lies in an inner cap plane around a majority of a
circumference of the inner cap;
b. an outer cap fitted over the inner cap, the outer cap comprising an outer
cap body, and a skirt extending from the outer cap body to a skirt rim,
wherein the skirt extends to or through the inner cap plane around a
majority of a circumference of the skirt,
c. an annular pocket between the skirt and the inner cap; and
d. a flow space between the outer cap body and the inner cap, wherein the
flow space is in fluid communication with the annular pocket so that it can
receive a flow of sealing material and feed it into the annular pocket;
wherein the outer cap body is formed from a first material with a first elastic
modulus, and the skirt is formed from a second material with a second elastic
modulus which 1s lower than the first elastic modulus.
2. The cap of claim 1 further comprising an inlet hole in the outer cap, wherein
the inlet hole is in fluid communication with the annular pocket via the flow
space so that it can receive a flow of sealing material and feed it into the
annular pocket via the flow space.
3. The cap of claim 2 wherein the outer cap comprises a tube which projects
outwardly from the outer cap and leads to the inlet hole.
4. A cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner cap and outer cap
are formed as separate parts.
5. The cap of any preceding claim wherein at least part of the skirt extends at an
acute angle to the inner cap.
6. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the inner cap further comprises one or
more projections, the (or each) projection extending inwardly into the central
cavity.
7. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the skirt extends to or through the
inner cap plane around a full circumference of the skirt.
8. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the inner cap rim lies in the inner cap
plane around a full circumference of the inner cap.
9. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the second material is an elastomer. 10. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the inner cap is formed from an inner
cap material with an elastic modulus which is higher than the second elastic
modulus.
11. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the flow space comprises a plurality
of channels, each channel having an outlet in fluid communication with the
annular pocket so that it can receive a flow of sealing material and feed it into
the annular pocket.
12. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the skirt is attached to the outer cap
body by a joint comprising a male part received in a groove which runs round
a circumference of the cap.
13. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the skirt extends through the inner cap
plane around a majority of a circumference of the skirt.
14. The cap of any of claims 1 to 12 wherein the skirt extends to the inner cap
plane around a majority of the circumference of the skirt so that the skirt rim
lies in the inner cap plane around a majority of the circumference of the skirt. 15. The cap of any preceding claim wherein the skirt rim lies in a single plane
around a majority of the circumference of the skirt except where the skirt rim
1s formed with one or more recesses.
16. A joint comprising: a structure; an end of a fastener protruding from the
structure; and a cap according to any preceding claim forming a sealed cavity
around the end of the fastener, the cap comprising a bead of sealing material in
the annular pocket which secures the cap to the structure.
17. The joint of claim 16 wherein the skirt rim contacts the structure. 18. The joint of claim 16 or 17 wherein the inner cap rim contacts the structure.
19. A method of assembling the joint of claim 16, the method comprising: fitting
the cap over the end of the fastener; and after the cap has been fitted over the
end of the fastener, feeding a flow of sealing material into the annular pocket
via the flow space to form the bead of sealing material.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the flow of sealing material is fed into the
annular pocket via the flow space by injecting it through an inlet hole in the
outer cap.
21. The method of claim 19 or 20 wherein the skirt rim contacts the structure, and
the skirt flexes as the flow of sealing material is fed into the annular pocket so
that the skirt rim lifts up to form a gap between the skirt rim and the structure
which enables air to escape the annular pocket by flowing through the gap. 22. The method of any of claims 19 to 21 wherein prior to fitting the cap over the
end of the fastener the skirt extends through the inner cap plane around a
majority of a circumference of the skirt, and when the cap is fitted over the end
of the fastener the skirt rim contacts the structure before the inner cap rim
contacts the structure and then the skirt flexes to enable the inner cap rim to
contact the structure.
23. A method of manufacturing the cap of any of claims 1 to 15, the method
comprising co-bonding the skirt and the outer cap body.