Patent ID: 8114080

Claim:
A bone fixation device comprising: a first construct comprising a plurality of first flexible plates, wherein the plurality of first flexible plates are configured to bend when a first threshold force is applied to said first construct and the plurality of first flexible plates are in an unlocked relationship, said first construct including a first middle portion located about half-way between a first end portion of the first construct and a second end portion of the first construct opposite to the first end portion; a second construct comprising a plurality of second flexible plates, wherein the plurality of second flexible plates are configured to bend when a second threshold force is applied to said second construct and the plurality of second flexible plates are in an unlocked relationship, said second construct (i) including a second middle portion located about half-way between a third end portion of the second construct and a fourth end portion of the second construct opposite to the third end portion, and (ii) only partially overlapping said first construct such that the first middle portion does not overlap the second middle portion; and a first locking member configured to compress an overlapped portion of the plurality of first flexible plates and an overlapped portion of the plurality of second flexible plates together into a first locked relationship, wherein the first threshold force applied to said first construct and the second threshold force applied to said second construct is insufficient to bend the plurality of first flexible plates and the plurality of second flexible plates in the first locked relationship.