LIGHT WEIGHT SEAL CAP
First Claim
1. A method of protecting a fastener comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a fastener;
b) providing a seal cap which defines an interior, wherein the seal cap comprises a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm, and wherein the seal cap has an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm;
c) applying an uncured sealant to the interior of the seal cap or to the fastener or to both; and
d) positioning the seal cap over the fastener such that at least a portion of the fastener resides in the interior of the seal cap.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure provides methods and articles useful in sealing fasteners, including seal caps and methods of their use, and in particular light weight seal caps having higher dielectric breakdown strength, lower weight, and/or lower wall thickness. In some embodiments, the seal caps according to the present invention are made of a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm, in some embodiments greater than 15.0 kV/mm, and in some embodiments greater than 50.0 kV/mm. In some embodiments, the seal caps according to the present invention are thin-walled, having an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm and in some embodiments less than less than 0.5 mm In some embodiments, the seal cap comprises a polyurethane polymer, a polythioether polymer, a polysulfide polymer, a fluorinated thermoplastic polymer, a THV polymer, a fluorinated thermoset polymer, an engineering thermoplastic, and/or a PEEK polymer.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method of protecting a fastener comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a fastener; b) providing a seal cap which defines an interior, wherein the seal cap comprises a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm, and wherein the seal cap has an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm; c) applying an uncured sealant to the interior of the seal cap or to the fastener or to both; and d) positioning the seal cap over the fastener such that at least a portion of the fastener resides in the interior of the seal cap. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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2. A method of protecting a fastener comprising the steps of:
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f) providing a fastener; g) providing a seal cap which defines an interior, wherein the seal cap comprises a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm, wherein the seal cap has an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm, and wherein the interior of the seal cap contains a quantity of an uncured sealant; and h) positioning the seal cap over the fastener such that at least a portion of the fastener resides in the interior of the seal cap. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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14. A protected fastener construction comprising:
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q) a fastener; r) a seal cap which defines an interior; and s) a cured sealant; wherein the seal cap comprises a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm, and wherein the seal cap has an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm; wherein the seal cap is positioned over the fastener such that at least a portion of the fastener resides in the interior of the seal cap; and wherein the interior of the seal cap additionally contains the cured sealant which binds the seal cap to the fastener. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An application-ready seal cap comprising:
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v) a seal cap which defines an interior; and w) a quantity of an uncured sealant; wherein the seal cap comprises a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm, and wherein the seal cap has an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm; and wherein the interior of the seal cap contains the quantity of uncured sealant. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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- 34. A seal cap for protection of a fastener comprising a material having a dielectric breakdown strength of greater than 1.0 kV/mm having an average wall thickness of less than 1.5 mm.
Specification