USPTO Fastener Patents for February

February 9, 2022February 9, 2022 FTI February/March

USPTO Fastener Patents as Compiled from: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Screw Fastener Arrangement and Washer Assembly
United States Patent 11,225,994
Issued January 18, 2022
Inventor: Frank Lutter, Welver-Stocklarn, Germany
Assignee: Heico Befestigungstechnik GmbH, Ense-Niederense, Germany
A screw fastener arrangement comprising a screw fastener, with a head and a shank, and at least one washer on the shank. A coupling sleeve is in the washer opening through which the shank passes, the coupling sleeve having a U-shaped profile, which opens radially outward and is formed by two flanges spaced from each other and protruding radially outward, the coupling sleeve being held interlockingly with the at least one washer by the flange in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the washer opening. The coupling sleeve has clamping catches projecting radially inward and elastically adjustable in the direction of their longitudinal axis against the interior wall of the coupling sleeve, which, using their free end, engage in an undercut of the screw fastener, acting in a longitudinally axial direction to the coupling sleeve. Also disclosed is a washer assembly for such an arrangement.

Bone Screw and Method of Manufacture
United States Patent 11,224,470
Issued January 18, 2022
Inventors: Dale A. Tempco, Germantown, TN, USA; Rodney Ray Ballard, Lakeland, TN, USA; Keith E. Miller, Germantown, TN, USA; and Willaim Alan Rezach, Covington, TN, USA
Assignee: Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc., Warsaw, IN, USA
A bone screw comprises a shaft defining a longitudinal axis and a minor diameter. The shaft including a core having an angled surface relative to the axis. The angled surface extending from the minor diameter adjacent a proximal portion of the shaft to a distal portion of the shaft, and a wall disposed about the angled surface. The wall including at least one thread having an external thread form. In some embodiments, systems, spinal constructs, surgical instruments and methods are disclosed.

Window Systems Including Optical Fasteners
United States Patent 11,220,321
Issued January 11, 2022
Inventors: Joseph Andrew Bolton, Newalla, OK, USA; and Keith Daniel Humfeld, Federal Way, WA, USA
Assignee: The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL, USA
A fastener includes a head that is configured to be engaged by a tool, and a shaft extending from the head. The shaft includes a distal end that is opposite from the head. At least one optical component is coupled to one or both of the head or the shaft. The optical component(s) is configured to allow light to pass through the fastener. A window system includes a panel that includes an exterior surface and an interior surface, and the fastener extending between the exterior surface and the interior surface of the panel. A screen is coupled to the interior surface. The screen receives light from the optical component(s) of the fastener.

Methods and Systems for One-Sided Fastener Assembly Installation
United States Patent 11,215,966
Issued January 4, 2022
Inventors: Melanie J. Sutherland, Long Beach, CA, USA; Christopher Lance Newbolt, Long Beach, CA, USA; Sabyasachi Basu, Kingston, WA, USA; Mark Woods, Renton, WA, USA; and Victor X Du,
Sammamish, WA, USA
Assignee: The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL, USA

Tapered Lobular Driver and Fastener
United States Patent 11,215,215
Issued January 4, 2022
Inventor: Richard W. Lukes, Calmar, IA, USA
Assignee: Infastech Intellectual Properties Pte. Ltd., Singapore
A torque transmission driver has a first end portion adapted to receive and transmit torque from a torque generation source, and a second end portion including a shaped tapered bit having drive surfaces with an alternating series of five or six lobes and troughs about a rotational axis, having a taper angle between 15° and 45° from the rotational axis operable to engage corresponding drive surfaces in a plurality of at least two size fasteners, the tapered drive surfaces of the bit comprising a first tapered portion operable to engage drive surfaces of a first sized fastener and a second tapered portion operable to engage drive surfaces of a second sized fastener, the drive surfaces of the second sized fastener being larger than the drive surfaces of the first sized fastener.

Breakaway Nut
United States Patent 11,215,216
Issued January 4, 2022
Inventor: Matthew B. Strand, Lyme, CT, USA
Assignee: Greaves Corporation, Centerbrook, CT, USA
A breakaway nut includes a threaded section; a hex portion; and a breakaway portion connecting the threaded section and the hex portion, wherein a slot is defined in the hex portion along an axial dimension of the hex portion.

Composite Fastener with Locking Cap Feature
United States Patent 11,209,041
Issued December 28, 2021
Inventors: Donald Wayne Rice, Ripley, NY, USA
Assignee: Sky Climber Fasteners LLC, Delaware, OH, USA
A fastener comprising a nut body and an associated Lockone clasp is disclosed. The locking clasp may be maintained in its association by one or more locking clasp retainers, the retainers forming an arc. In one embodiment, the nut body is formed with an internally threaded thread bore partially filled by helical thread insert. In another preferred embodiment the helical thread insert is a free running helically wound wire thread insert.

Self-Clinching Fastener
United States Patent 11,209,040
Issued December 28, 2021
Inventors: Marc Andrew O’Donnell, Burlington, CA, USA
Assignee: RB&W Manufacturing LLC, Streetsboro, OH, USA
A self-clinching fastener for attachment to a plastically deformable metal panel includes a body portion with a central axis, the body portion has an outer peripheral surface extending in a direction perpendicular to the central axis. A punch portion is coaxial with the central axis and extends from the body portion such that the annular-shaped surface encircles the punch portion, the punch portion includes an outer peripheral surface extending in the direction of the central axis. A plurality of spaced apart lugs encircle the punch portion and axially projecting outwards from the annular-shaped surface, one of the lugs has a contact face configured to engage the metal substrate, the contact face declining, relative to an imaginary horizontal plane on which the annular-shaped surface lies, in a radially outwards direction of the self-clinching fastener.

Signal-Carrying Fasteners
United States Patent 11,207,765
Issued December 28, 2021
Inventor: Christopher V. Beckman, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Improved connection techniques are provided. In some embodiments, specialized connectors are provided with both physical fastening and signal-conducting attributes. In some such embodiments, signals related to conditions of a connector are passed through the connector. In other embodiments, multiple-section connectors are included, which may be self-actuating and create remotely-detectable conditions and signals.

Bolt
United States Patent 11,209,038
Issued December 28, 2021
Inventors: Koji Makino, Toyota, Japan; Masataka Kondo, Toyota, Japan; Katsuhide Takei, Toyota, Japan; Akihiro Futamura, Toyota, Japan; Shun Nishimura, Toyota, Japan; and Shungo Maki, Toyota, Japan
Assignee: Meidoh Co., Ltd., Toyota, Japan
A bolt which can prevent seizure is provided due to the bolt being installed obliquely. A guide portion is formed between a groove portion formed at a distal end portion of the threaded portion and a surface end position on a base end side of the tapered surface, a starting end portion of the guide portion being an intersection between the surface end position on the base end side of the tapered surface and a helix according to the groove portion, a terminal end portion of the guide portion overlaps with the distal end portion of the threaded portion, an angle in the direction around the axis of the bolt from the starting end portion to the terminal end portion is set in the range of 90° to 360°.

Shear Bolt
United States Patent 11,193,522
Issued December 7, 2021
Inventors: Natarajan Veerapathiran, Bengaluru, India; Sanjay Jha, Bengaluru, India; Rajapanth Srinivasa Murthy, Bengaluru, India; Permeet Singh, Tamilnadu, India; and Manoj Prabhaker Patil, Bengaluru, India
Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company, St. Paul, MN, USA
A shear bolt including a head portion and a shaft portion extending along an axis from the head portion is described. The shaft portion has a threaded outer surface and a stepped bore where the stepped bore has a plurality of regions along the axis and a plurality of steps. Each step in the plurality of steps separates adjacent regions in the plurality of regions and an inner diameter of the stepped bore is constant in each region in the plurality of regions and changes discontinuously at each step in the plurality of steps. The inner diameter increases from a first region in the plurality of regions closest to the head portion to a second region in the plurality of regions farthest from the head portion.