Patent ID: 7713012

Claim:
A decorative fastener for use in mounting a license plate onto a vehicle, comprising: (a) a threaded fastener for securing the license plate to the vehicle, said threaded fastener including a head portion having a diameter and a threaded shank portion, said head portion having a top wall, a bottom wall having a circumferentially extending shoulder and a tapered sidewall interconnecting said top and bottom wall, said top wall having a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radially extending protuberances; and (b) a decorative cover connected to said head portion of said threaded fastener, said decorative cover comprising a body portion having a front face provided with decorative symbols, a rear face and a first cavity having a diameter larger than said diameter of said head portion of said threaded fastener, said body portion further including gripping means disposed within said first cavity for gripping said head portion of said threaded fastener, said gripping means comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart, resiliently deformable gripping segments disposed within said first cavity, each said gripping segment terminating in a gripping protuberance for gripping engagement with said circumferentially extending shoulder of said head portion of said threaded fastener, said gripping protuberances cooperating to define an opening having a diameter smaller than the diameter of said head portion of said threaded fastener.