Patent ID: 8038701

Claim:
A uni-planar taper lock screw as a connecting device for securing a connecting rod to bone, comprising: an inner housing and an outwardly disposed, slidably engaged outer housing, each of said inner and outer housing having a coincidentally aligned connecting rod slot that is sized and configured to circumscribe and hold at least a portion of a connecting rod, wherein said outer housing is capable of a sliding upward movement over said inner housing, said upward movement exerting a compressing force on said internally disposed inner housing to affect a locking action of said connection rod slot; a bone screw having a screw head and a screw shaft, said screw head being sized and configured to be rotationally engaged about only a single axis within a screw head articulation recess defined within said inner housing and said screw shaft extending downward and outward from a screw shaft exit portal defined in the lower portion of said inner housing, said single axis of rotation being perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said screw shaft, the screw head articulation recess selectively providing a compressive force against the screw head to hold the screw head in a locked position, the screw shaft exit portal defining a first axis; a guide pin; an elongated guide slot defined in the outer surface of the wall of the inner housing, the elongated guide slot sized and configured to enable sliding movement of said guide pin within said elongated slot along the first axis of the screw shaft exit portal; and a guide pin hole, said guide pin hole being defined through the wall of said outer housing at a position to facilitate passage of said guide pin through said guide pin hole and into said elongated guide slot of said inner housing.