Reusable two-piece fastener

Abstract

A reusable two-piece fastener for releasably securing together a plurality of panels which have aligned apertures therethrough comprises a body member and an associated externally threaded screw member. The body member, which is molded of resiliently flexible compressible plastic, comprises a head at one end radially expandable/retractable legs at the other end. A cylindrical bore extends inwardly from the head end of the body member. Screw-engaging internal female threads are integrally formed on the bore wall and are arranged in axially spaced apart sets therealong, each set including a plurality of thread sections, each of which sections extends around only a part of the circumference of the bore. These female threads are resiliently movable radially outwardly either because they are inherently compressible and flexible (one embodiment) or because they are formed on outwardly swingable bore wall portions (another embodiment). The screw member is axially and slidably insertable into the bore past the outwardly movable female screw-engaging threads to effect leg expansion and entrap the panels between the expanded legs and the body head. After such insertion, the female screw-engaging threads operatively engage the externally threaded screw member to permit only rotational removal thereof. Preferably, the thread on the screw member is discontinuous to prevent complete withdrawl of the screw member from the body bore.