SELF ALIGNING SCREW FASTENERS AND ENGAGEMENT THEREOF

摘要

A male threaded fastener adapted to align itself automatically with a mating female thread. The fastener's shank (82) has an unthreaded generally cylindrical extension (86) extending coaxially from the threaded portion away from the head. The diameter of the extension (86) is a near match to the threaded portion's core diameter. A projection extending from the end of the cylindrical extension (86) has a rounded tip portion (88) offset with respect to the shank's axis (91) and has transition portions (92, 94, 96) blending between the cylindrical extension (86) and the tip portion (88).