Screw drive mechanism for articulated beds and the like
AssigneeJoerns Healthcare Inc.
InventorBernard Krauska
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A screw drive mechanism for articulated beds and the like includes a drive shaft having external screw threads, a segmented drive nut having internal threads which engage the external threads of the shaft and a drive member in which the segmented drive nut is retained. At least one spring clip is disposed radially between the segmented drive nut and the drive member and engages the same to axially position and retain the drive nut in the drive member. The arrangement provides a simpler, less expensive drive screw mechanism which can be snapped together without tools and which can be easily disassembled for servicing.
Claims20
A screw drive mechanism for articulated beds comprising:
- an axially rotatable drive shaft having external screw threads;
- a segmented drive nut having internal threads which engage said external threads of said drive shaft;
- a linearly movable drive member having a hollow interior end portion in which said segmented drive nut is closely received and retained;
- and
- at least one spring clip disposed radially between said segmented drive nut and an interior end portion of said drive member and engaging said segmented drive nut and said drive member to prevent translation of said segmented drive nut relative to said drive member when said drive shaft is rotated.
A screw drive mechanism for articulated beds, comprising:
- an axially rotatable drive shaft having external screw threads;
- a segmented drive nut having internal threads which engage said external threads of said drive shaft;
- a linearly movable drive member having a hollow interior end portion in which said segmented drive nut is closely received and retained;
- and
- at least one spring clip disposed radially between said segmented drive nut and an interior end portion of said drive member, said spring clip including a tab which extends radially outwardly and projects through and engages an aperture on the wall of said drive member, whereby said drive nut can be axially positioned and retained within an interior end portion of said drive member by holding said at least one spring clip in engagement with the outer surfaces of said segmented nut, and inserting the segmented nut into an end of the drive member and pushing inwardly until said tab springs outwardly and engages said aperture in said drive member.
The screw drive mechanism of claim 20, wherein said interfitting alignment elements are comprised of at least one projection which extends outwardly from a mating surface on a first segment of said drive nut and a recess in a mating surface on a second segment of said drive nut, said projection being received in said recess to facilitate proper alignment and assembly of said screw drive mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.