Abstract:
The present invention relates generally to medical/dental devices for fixing bone fractures, anchoring of bones, or anchoring of prosthetics to bones. The device generally relates to molly bolts, expandable screws, or devices/screws with expansion or locking mechanisms. More particularly, the present invention concerns an implant assembly which includes a tubular body portion that can be positively secured within a bore in a bone or prosthetic by expander mechanism at both ends of the tubular body portion.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present invention claims priority to provisional application 60/899,245 filed on Feb. 1, 2007. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention relates generally to medical/dental devices for fixing bone fractures, anchoring of bones, or anchoring of prosthetics to bones. The device generally relates to molly bolts, expandable screws, or devices/screws with expansion or locking mechanisms. More particularly, the present invention concerns an implant assembly which includes a tubular body portion that can be positively secured within a bore in a bone or prosthetic by expander mechanism at both ends of the tubular body portion. 
         [0005]    Use of mechanical locking means for securing bone fractures, anchoring of bones, or anchoring of prosthetic to bone are old in the art. Exemplary of such devices is the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,883 issued to Flander. An improved dental implant is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,004,421 and 5,807,199 issued to Lazarof. The Lazarof dental implant makes use of mechanical securement means. In one form, the Lazarof implant is positively secured within the bore in the bone by two separate but cooperating securement mechanisms. The first securement mechanism comprises self-tapping, external threads provided on the tubular body of the device which are threaded into the bone by rotating the device in a first direction. The second cooperating securement mechanism comprises a plurality of bone penetrating anchor blades formed on the skirt portion of the tubular body which are moved into a bone engagement position only after the implant has been secured into the bone. The anchor blades are moved into the bone engagement configuration by rotating a threaded expander member also in a first direction. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present invention relates to a device for securing two components together, namely, prosthetics-to-bone, or bone-to-bone, etc. The device comprises an elongated hollow body with expandable skirts at both ends of the elongated hollow body. The device further comprises a draw screw having a head captured within the hollow body that engages the internal of the hollow body. The device further comprises a threaded shank at the end of the draw screw head which extends to an end of one skirt. At the end of the threaded shank is an expansion nut for expanding the skirt at this end of the device. 
     
    
     
       FIGURES 
         [0007]      FIGS. 1 through 3  shows the device of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIGS. 4 and 5  are cut out views of the device of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMBERS 
       [0000]    
       
           100  . . . Securing Device 
           110  . . . Hollow Body 
           120  . . . Skirt 
           400  . . . Draw Screw 
           410  . . . Draw Screw Head 
           440  . . . Threaded Shank 
           450  . . . Expansion Nut 
           460  . . . Blocking Edge 
       
     
       DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    The present invention relates to a device for securing two components together, namely, prosthetics-to-bone, or bone-to-bone, etc. The device of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 .  FIGS. 1 through 4  discloses the device  100  of the present invention. The device  100  comprises an elongated hollow body  110  with expandable skirts  120  at both ends of the elongated hollow body  110 . The device  100  further comprises a draw screw  400  having a head  410  captured within the hollow body  110  that engages the internal of the hollow body  110 . The device  100  further comprises a threaded shank  440  at the end of the draw screw head  410  which extends to an end of one skirt  120 . 
         [0018]    At the end of the shank  440  of the draw screw  400  is an expansion nut  450  having a skirt-engaging side wall and an inner threaded cavity. Rotation of the draw screw  400  through the inner cavity of the expansion nut  450  causes radial movement of the skirts  120  from the first retracted position to the second expanded position. The expansion nut  450  may be eliminated if expansion of the skirts  120  at the end farthest away from the head  410  is not desired. 
         [0019]    The head  410  of the draw screw  400  is flared, whereby rotation of the draw screw  400  through the inner cavity of the hollow body chamber  220  causes radial movement of the skirt  120  from the first retracted position to the second expanded position. The interior of the elongated hollow body  110  further comprises a blocking edge  460  for stopping the movement of the expansion nut  450 . While the head  410  of the draw screw  400  may be flared, in an alternative form, the head can be unflared such that rotation of the draw screw  400  in the expansion direction will not cause the skirt  120  closes to the head  410  to expand. 
         [0020]    To further aid in the expansion, skirt  120  may include an inclined internal surface. The skirt-engaging side wall of the expansion nut  450  may also have an inclined external surface moveable into engagement with the inclined internal surface of the skirt  120  upon rotation of the draw screw  400  through the inner cavity of the expansion nut  450 . The skirt  120  may also be split such that at least two anchor segments movable from the first retracted position to the second expanded position is created. The split in the skirt may be a plurality of circumferentially spaced, longitudinally extending slits which separate the anchor segments. 
         [0021]    The exterior of the elongated hollow body chamber  220  may be threaded such that selected components may be threadably connected. The threading prevents the device  100  from sliding out of the connection points created in the components to be connected. 
         [0022]    To use the device  100  of the present invention two holes are created, one in each of the two components to be connected. The holes should be the same size or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the device  100 . Ideally, the end with the expansion nut  450  would be placed into the first hole. The draw screw  400  is rotated such that the expansion nut  450  travels up the threaded shank  440 . As the expansion nut  450  travels up the threaded shank  440 , the skirt  120  is pushed out and expands to secure to the first component. 
         [0023]    The second component to be attached to the first component is then inserted such that the protruding end of the device  100  passes into the hole in the second component. The hole in the second component may be drilled through so that the draw screw head  410  is accessible. Since the expansion nut  450  is blocked from further movement by the blocking edge  460 , continued rotation of the draw screw  400  causes the draw screw  400  to move towards the center of the device  100 . As the draw screw  400  moves towards the center of the device  100 , the flanged head on the draw screw  400  causes the skirt  120  closes to the draw screw head  410  end to expand. The expansion of the skirt  120  secures the device  100  to the second component which in turns connects the first component to the second component. 
         [0024]    Alternatively, instead of having a hole that provides access to the draw screw head  410 , the draw screw head  410  may be magnetic. A head  410  with magnetic characteristics allows the draw screw  400  to be rotated with a magnetized screw or drill. As the draw screw is rotated, the skirt  120  expands to secure the device  100  to the second component which in turns connects the first component to the second component. 
         [0025]    In an alternative of the device  100  of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 5 , the interior of the skirts  120  farthest away from the draw screw head  410  is enlarged such that the passageway from the hollow body  110  through the skirts  120  are narrowed or closed completely. The initial starting position of the threaded shank  440  would be within the hollow body  110  and may be just beyond the enlarged section of the skirts  120 . All other aspects of the device  100  may be similar to those discussed above. 
         [0026]    In another embodiment of the device  100  in this alternative form, the flare on the head  410  may be eliminated such that the skirts  120  closest to the head  410  is not expanded. 
         [0027]    In another embodiment of the device  100  in this alternative form, the enlargement of the interior of the skirts  120  is removed such that the skirts  120  at the end farthest from the head is not expanded when the draw screw  400  is rotated into the expanded position. 
         [0028]    To use the device  100  of the present invention in this alternative form, the device  100  is inserted into prepared holes in objects to be connected. As the draw screw  400  is rotated in the proper direction for expansion, both the skirts  120  farthest away from the draw screw head  410  and the skirts  120  closest to the draw screw head  410  are forced to expand due to the pushing of the farthest skirts  120  by the threaded shank  440  and the draw screw head  410  on the closest skirts  120 , respectively. The expansion of both skirts  120  causes a tight connection between the components to be joined. 
         [0029]    All the features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. 
         [0030]    While specific systems and methods have been disclosed in the preceding description, it should be understood that these specifics have been given for the purpose of disclosing the principles of the present invention and that many variations thereof will become apparent to those who are versed in the art.