Self-locking fasteners

Claim 2

A self-locking threaded fastener for use with matinG fasteners manufactured to a standard thread configuration; said locking fastener being provided with mechanical means for smoothly compressing to accommodate tightly fitting soft mating threads without galling or scoring, and for consistently deflecting upon engagement with a standard mating thread to provide consistent and repeatable locking action; said mechanical means constituting an integral protrusion extending from one flank of at least one turn of the thread of said locking fastener substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread, and extending away from the flank over at least a substantial portion of one turn of said thread to form a groove between the rib and the remainder of the thread, said protrusion being in the form of a resiliently yieldable rib having a crest, the rib having an external generally rectilinear cross-sectioned surface located in its entirety substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread adjacent the crest which rib, prior to assembly with a mating thread, constitutes a generally rectilinear cross-sectioned bearing surface which will make surface contact with the flank of the mating thread by virtue of its orientation to form an angle of inclination with the axis of the fastener which is substantially equal to the angle of inclination of the contacting surface of the mating thread, said rib having a second external surface interconnecting said bearing surface with the remaining crest portion of said thread via said groove, and a third external surface interconnecting said bearing surface with the root of said thread.

Claim 3

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said rib is faired into the flank of the thread.

Claim 4

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said rib has an included angle at its crest of between 55* and 100*.

Claim 5

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said rib is substantially equal in height to the crest of the remainder of the original thread.

Claim 6

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein the cross-section of said rib is substantially quadrilateral in form.

Claim 7

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said groove is open and is substantially flat near the center and is relatively steep near the crest of the remainder of said thread and near the crest of said rib.

Claim 8

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein the volume of the rib extending beyond the flank of the original undeformed thread is substantially equal to the volume of metal displaced from the original thread in the vicinity of said groove.

Claim 9

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein the crest of said rib extends radially further from the root of the thread than the crest of the remainder of said thread.

Claim 10

A self-locking threaded fastener having at least one massive rib protruding outwardly from one flank of a thread substantially beyond the normal flank of a standard thread, the other flank of said thread extending to a crest formed by the remainder of the unmodified original thread, said rib and said crest forming an open spiral groove concentric with said rib and crest, said rib being provided on at least a portion of at least one turn of the thread, said rib having an outer surface area adjacent its crest forming a bearing surface located entirely beyond the normal flank of a standard thread and oriented at an included angle of substantially sixty degrees with respect to the other flank of said thread having said one massive rib and in substantial alignment with a surface area of the thread of a standard mating threaded element and having a generally rectilinear cross-section, said rib having a second external surface interconnecting said bearing surface with the remaining crest portion of said thread via said groove, and a third external surface interconnecting said bearing surface with the root of said thread; and said rib causing the fastener to bE locked upon assembly with a mating standard threaded element when said external surface area of the rib comes in surface contact with the mating threaded element; with said rib adjacent said external surface area of said rib, upon engagement with the mating threaded element, being compressed in a direction normal to said bearing surface area, and resiliently deflected in the direction of the axis of the threaded fastener.

Claim 11

A self-locking threaded fastener having at least one massive rib protruding outwardly from one flank of a thread substantially beyond the normal flank of a standard thread, the other flank of said thread extending to a crest formed by the remainder of the unmodified original thread, said rib and said crest forming an open spiral groove concentric with said rib and crest, said rib being provided on at least a portion of at least one turn of the thread, said rib having an outer surface area adjacent its crest forming a bearing surface located entirely beyond the normal flank of a standard thread and oriented at an included angle of substantially sixty degrees with respect to the other flank of said thread having said one massive rib and in substantial alignment with a surface area of the thread of a standard mating threaded element and having a generally rectilinear cross-section, said rib having a second external surface interconnecting said bearing surface with the remaining crest portion of said thread via said groove, and a third external surface interconnecting said bearing surface with the root of said thread; and said rib causing the fastener to bE locked upon assembly with a mating standard threaded element when said external surface area of the rib comes in surface contact with the mating threaded element; with said rib adjacent said external surface area of said rib, upon engagement with the mating threaded element, being compressed in a direction normal to said bearing surface area, and resiliently deflected in the direction of the axis of the threaded fastener.

Claim 12

A body adapted for engagement with a mating thread, having self-locking threads disposed thereon wherein at least one of said threads has a quadrilateral rib on at least one flank extending substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread, said rib having a spiral groove between it and the crest of the remainder of the thread, said rib having a bottom wall commencing at the said one flank intermediate the pitch line and the root of said thread and extending externally of the normal flank of said thread, an inner wall extending along one side of said groove, an outer wall extending from said bottom wall to intersect said inner wall along an arcuate rib crest line which line is generally midway in an axial direction between the root of said one flank and the remaining crest of said thread, said outer wall of said rib having a generally rectilinear cross-sectioned surface disposed parallel to the mating thread flank at an included angle of approximately sixty degrees with respect to the other flank of said thread, said last mentioned surface being located in its entirety substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread.

Claim 13

A body adapted for engagement with a mating thread, having self-locking threads disposed thereon wherein at least one of said threads has a quadrilateral rib on at least one flank extending substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread, said rib having a spiral groove between it and the crest of the remainder of the thread, said rib having a bottom wall commencing at the said one flank intermediate the pitch line and the root of said thread and extending externally of the normal flank of said thread, an inner wall extending along one side of said groove, an outer wall extending from said bottom wall to intersect said inner wall along an arcuate rib crest line which line is generally midway in an axial direction between the root of said one flank and the remaining crest of said thread, said outer wall of said rib having a generally rectilinear cross-sectioned surface disposed parallel to the mating thread flank at an included angle of approximately sixty degrees with respect to the other flank of said thread, said last mentioned surface being located in its entirety substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread.

Claim 14

A body as set forth in claim 10 wherein said groove at some place in its width intersects the transverse plane that defines the midsection of the cross-section of said thread.

Claim 15

A locking thread as described in claim 10 wherein a plurality of said ribs are spaced along a helical thread of the conventional type.

Claim 16

A self-locking thread in which at least a part of one pitch of the thread has, intermediate the crest and root in at least one flank of said thread, an arcuate rib defined by an arcuate outer wall and an arcuate inner wall which walls intersect to form an arcuate outer edge exterior of the normal flank of said thread, said outer wall having a bottom surface intersecting said flank along an arcuate line at the bottom edge of said surface, said inner wall having an inner arcuate edge within said flank, said inner wall and said flank defining a space therebetween which extends radially inward of said outer edge, said bottom edge of said bottom surface and said inner edge of said inner wall all being concentric with said thread crest, the orientation of said outer and inner walls being such that the said outer edge and the adjacent outer part of said rib can bend toward said flank when engaged by the flank of a thread of a correspondingly sized conventional thread with the outer wall of said rib in tension and the inner wall in compression, said rib being yieldable in the direction of said flank with the said inner wall being placed in compression and the outer wall in tension when said self-locking thread is mated with a correctly sized cooperating conventional thread, characterized in that in the unflexed and unstressed state said rib has as a first portion of said outer wall, a relatively broad smooth bearing surface area disposed for parallel extended surface engagement with a cooperating conventional thread, said relatively broad smooth bearing surface area being located in its entirety substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread and also having a generally rectilinear cross-section and being broad in a direction between the crest and root of said thread, and as a second portion of said outer wall an additional surface external of the normal flank of said thread interconnecting said bearing surface with the remainder of said thread adjacent the root of said thread.

Claim 17

A self-locking thread in which at least a part of one pitch of the thread has, intermediate the crest and root in at least one flank of said thread, an arcuate rib defined by an arcuate outer wall and an arcuate inner wall which walls intersect to form an arcuate outer edge exterior of the normal flank of said thread, said outer wall having a bottom surface intersecting said flank along an arcuate line at the bottom edge of said surface, said inner wall having an inner arcuate edge within said flank, said inner wall and said flank defining a space therebetween which extends radially inward of said outer edge, said bottom edge of said bottom surface and said inner edge of said inner wall all being concentric with said thread crest, the orientation of said outer and inner walls being such that the said outer edge and the adjacent outer part of said rib can bend toward said flank when engaged by the flank of a thread of a correspondingly sized conventional thread with the outer wall of said rib in tension and the inner wall in compression, said rib being yieldable in the direction of said flank with the said inner wall being placed in compression and the outer wall in tension when said self-locking thread is mated with a correctly sized cooperating conventional thread, characterized in that in the unflexed and unstressed state said rib has as a first portion of said outer wall, a relatively broad smooth bearing surface area disposed for parallel extended surface engagement with a cooperating conventional thread, said relatively broad smooth bearing surface area being located in its entirety substantially beyond the normal flank of said thread and also having a generally rectilinear cross-section and being broad in a direction between the crest and root of said thread, and as a second portion of said outer wall an additional surface external of the normal flank of said thread interconnecting said bearing surface with the remainder of said thread adjacent the root of said thread.

Claim 18

A self-locking threaded fastener as defined in claim 1, wherein said external generally rectilinear Cross-sectioned surfAce makes an included angle of sixty degrees with the flank of the opposite side of said thread.

Claim 19

A self-locking threaded fastener comprising: a plurality of standard lead-in threads at one end of said threaded fastener for engaging matching threads of a standard mating threaded fastener; means including at least one resilient bendable rib for providing locking action between said locking threaded fastener and the standard mating threaded fastener, with the outer portion of said rib in tension and the inner portion of said rib in compression; said locking rib being located on the flank of said threaded fastener and being faired into said lead-in threads; said rib extending beyond the normal flank position of said self-locking threaded fastener; and said rib further having, in the unflexed and unstressed state, a generally quadrilateral cross-sectional shape and including three external surfaces comprising a pair of surfaces extending outwardly beyond the normal flank portions of the standard thread configuration with an intermediate surface joining said pair of surfaces, the intermediate external surface of said rib being substantially rectilinear in cross section and providing a substantial area extending generally parallal to corresponding flank portions of said standard thread configuration and to the matching surface of the flank of the thread of the standard mating threaded fastener.

Claim 20

A self-locking threaded fastener comprising: a plurality of standard lead-in threads at one end of said threaded fastener for engaging matching threads of a standard mating threaded fastener; means including at least one resilient bendable rib for providing locking action between said locking threaded fastener and the standard mating threaded fastener, with the outer portion of said rib in tension and the inner portion of said rib in compression; said locking rib being located on the flank of said threaded fastener and being faired into said lead-in threads; said rib extending beyond the normal flank position of said self-locking threaded fastener; and said rib further having, in the unflexed and unstressed state, a generally quadrilateral cross-sectional shape and including three external surfaces comprising a pair of surfaces extending outwardly beyond the normal flank portions of the standard thread configuration with an intermediate surface joining said pair of surfaces, the intermediate external surface of said rib being substantially rectilinear in cross section and providing a substantial area extending generally parallal to corresponding flank portions of said standard thread configuration and to the matching surface of the flank of the thread of the standard mating threaded fastener.

Claim 21

A self-locking fastener as defined in claim 15, wherein the rib extends away from the root of the threads of the locking fastener farther than the crest of the remainder of the thread from which the rib extends.

Claim 22

A self-locking fastener as defined in claim 15, wherein the combined cross-sectional area of the rib and the remainder of the thread from which the rib extends, is substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of a standard thread of said self-locking fastener; and wherein the flank of the remainder of the thread on the opposite side from said rib is substantially rectilinear in cross-section, and conforms to the standard thread pattern of said fastener.