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US 6,668,688 B2Granted
Expandable screw apparatus and method thereof
OwnerChunfeng Zhao, Bradford L. Currier +3inventors
InventorsChunfeng Zhao, Bradford L. Currier, Kai-Nan An, Fredrick Schultz, Patricia Neale
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for an expandable screw including an outer screw, a inner screw, and an end nut. An assembly and method for driving and expanding an expandable screw apparatus into a surface or structure. The assembly and method dynamically expand the expandable screw by driving and expanding the expandable screw simultaneously.
Claims23
An expandable screw apparatus, comprising:
- an outer screw having a longitudinal hollow core and a plurality of longitudinal expandable slits proximate a distal end;
- an inner screw, disposed inside the longitudinal hollow core of the outer screw, having a distal end extended outside the longitudinal hollow core of the outer screw;
- said inner screw is threaded with one of a right handed orientation or a left handed orientation on an outer surface, and having opposite orientation to an outer surface of said outer screw;
- and
- an end nut, engaged with the distal end of the inner screw, wherein by rotating the outer screw relative to the inner screw while simultaneously holding the inner screw, the end nut is drawn into the hollow core of the outer screw, thereby causing simultaneous expansion of the expandable slits in a transversal direction.
2 more elements
A driving and expanding assembly comprising:
- an expandable screw apparatus including an outer screw having a longitudinal hallow core and a plurality of longitudinal expandable slits proximate a distal end;
- an inner screw, disposed inside the longitudinal hollow core of the outer screw, having a distal end extended outside the longitudinal hollow core of the outer strew;
- said inner screw is threaded with one of a right handed orientation or a left handed orientation and on an outer surface and having opposite orientation of an outer surface of said outer screw;
- and
- an end nut, engaged with the distal end of the inner strew, wherein by rotating the outer screw relative to the inner screw while simultaneously holding the inner screw, the end nut is drawn into the hollow core of the outer screw, thereby causing simultaneous expansion of the expandable slits in a transversal direction;
- a driver mechanism with a structural end connectable to a structural head of said outer screw, said driver having a hollow shaft;
- and
- an elongated stabilizing member including an end insertable first through said hollow shaft of said driver mechanism towards a proximal end of said outer screw and through a hole region of said outer screw, said elongated stabilizing member being connectable to an insertion space of a proximal end cap of said inner screw.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.