Patent ID: 8529176

Claim:
A tie-down assembly for attachment to and detachment from a structure, the tie-down assembly comprising: a female fastener configured to collapse during insertion of the tie-down assembly into the structure and to expand following the insertion for retention of the tie-down assembly on the structure; a male fastener configured to threadably engage the female fastener; and a holder configured to retain and rotatably restrain the female fastener when the male fastener is being threaded into and out of the female fastener; wherein: the holder includes an aperture formed therein and the male fastener is configured to be inserted into the aperture; the holder defines a fixed position for the female fastener-and is additionally configured to guide the female fastener to the fixed position and retain the female fastener therein for removal of the tie-down assembly from the structure; the holder includes a pair of substantially parallel flexible projections and each of the pair of substantially parallel flexible projections includes a ramped channel culminating in a pocket that defines the fixed position; the female fastener includes a pair of knobs, wherein each knob is configured to engage one of the ramped channels; and each ramped channel is configured to guide the female fastener to the respective pocket.