The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 05, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 24, 1998
William E Welling, Saginaw, MI (US);
Thomson Saginaw Ball Screw Company, LLC, Saginaw, MI (US);
Abstract
A ball nut and screw system provides a helical raceway for load bearing balls disposed to occupy portions of the turns of the helical groove in the nut. The nut has a passage extending generally radially from its exterior surface to its interior to permit the balls to be fed into a ball-occupied portion of the turns. A snap-in crossover button inserted into the nut passage has an axially diagonal ball return channel in its underface for channeling the balls from one portion of one of the adjacent turns over an intervening land surface on the screw to a portion of another turn to recirculate them. The nut passage and snap-in button comprise a laterally compressible system with passage recesses and snap-in button projections received in the recesses which is operable automatically upon insertion of the button to a predetermined position to locate the button radially in a position in which the crossover channel aligns helically with the turns.