Retained screw assembly
OwnerAlexander R. Nordeninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A screw for securing a wiring element to a terminal cooperates with a screw retainer including resilient nest means for receiving and releasably retaining the screw head. The screw retainer is movable for carrying the screw away from the terminal so that a wiring element with a hole for the screw can readily be moved into and out of mounting position, and for carrying the screw into position ready to be driven into a threaded hole in the terminal when the wiring element is in position to be tightened in place.
Claims18
An electrical connector including a stationary unit having a body of electrical insulation and a metal member assembled to said body and having a threaded hole therein, a screw for securing a retained wiring element to said metal member, said screw having a head and a threaded body extending from the underside of the head for driving entry into the threaded hole, and a screw retainer movably connected to said stationary unit and having resilient nest means for releasably retaining said screw head, said stationary unit and said screw retainer having cooperating portions for locating the screw, when the head thereof is in said nest means, in a position ready for insertion into the threaded hole with said threaded body aligned with the threaded hole, said screw retainer being movable relative to said stationary unit for carrying the screw when in the nest means away from said ready-for-insertion position to a removed position with the free end of the screw displaced from the metal member to free the space adjacent the threaded hole for admission and removal of a wiring element.
An electrical connector, including a stationary unit having a body of electrical insulation and a metal member assembled to said body and having a threaded hole in a terminal portion thereof, a screw having a head and a threaded body extending therefrom for securing a wiring element to said metal member, and a screw retainer movably connected to said stationary unit and having resilient nest means for receiving and releasably retaining said screw head, said stationary unit and said screw retainer having cooperating portions for locating said nest means in a position aligned with and spaced substantially from said head but less than the length of the screw when said head secures a wiring element to said terminal portion, the screw head being driven into said nest means for retention thereby when said screw retainer is located in said position while the screw is being unscrewed from said threaded hole, and said cooperating portions being adapted to accommodate movement of said screw retainer further away from said terminal portion while the head of the screw is in said nest means.
An electrical connector, including a stationary unit having a body of electrical insulation and a metal member assembled to said body and having a threaded hole in a terminal portion thereof, a screw having a head and a threaded body extending therefrom and adapted to mate with the threaded hole for securing a wiring element to said metal member between the head of the screw and said terminal portion, and a screw retainer movably assembled to said stationary unit and having resilient nest means for yieldably gripping said screw head when said screw is being unscrewed from said threaded hole, and said screw retainer being movable for increased separation from said terminal portion while the head of the screw is in said nest means for carrying the end of the threaded body away from said threaded hole after being unscrewed therefrom to accommodate insertion and removal of the wiring element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.