Patent ID: 7883531

Claim:
An orthopedic bone plate system, comprising: a bone plate for placement adjacent one or more vertebral bones, said bone plate having an aperture extending along a longitudinal axis; a locking element including a compression member and a fixation member, said compression member having an aperture and at least one deformable portion, and said fixation member having at least one deformable portion; and a bone fastener having a longitudinal axis and adapted for connecting said bone plate to a vertebral body, said bone fastener having a stem and a bone engaging portion, said stem being slidably received within said aperture of said compression member; wherein said compression member is adapted to exert an increasing force against said fixation member in response to said compression member being moved towards the vertebral body along said longitudinal axis of said bone fastener, wherein said deformable portion of said fixation member is adapted to exert a force against said bone plate in response to said increasing force, said force exerted by said deformable portion of said fixation member against said bone plate creating a resultant force, wherein said deformable portion of said fixation member is adapted to transmit said resultant force through said fixation member to said compression member, wherein said deformable portion of said compression member is adapted to clamp said bone fastener relative to said bone plate in response to said resultant force; and wherein said compression member and said fixation member include threads that engage one another as said compression member is brought into proximity of the vertebral body along said longitudinal axis of said bone fastener.