Chronology of innovation results and patent strategy of Harald Zahn GmbH

From the beginning of the eighties, Harald Zahn GmbH has concerned itself with the use of plastic screw combinations for the mechanical fastening of flat roof sealings. The advantages of plastic screw combinations, which still apply today, have been continuously supplemented over the years with improvements provided by the innovation potential of Harald Zahn GmbH. Applications for industrial property rights for new developments and inventions have been filed. These developments and inventions have been applied and realized in the products which Harald Zahn GmbH offers to its customers. The inventions of Harald Zahn GmbH are based on practical work, such as the plastic screw combination with melting protection (German patent P 43 19 054) developed by Zahn in 1993. Here, a plastic ring is fitted in the hollow shaft of the plastic handle, which causes the shaft wall in the screw head area to thicken during screwing in.

This prevents the screw from cutting into the tip of the shaft.

The loss protection for the Zahn plastic screw combination (German patent P 43 19 055) was also developed in 1993. It consists of thin lips fitted to the shaft end of the plastic handle, which secure the thread flanks of the protruding screw. During the screwing process, the lips are cut out by the first thread flanks of the screw so that the lips do not impede the actual screwing process. For the customer, this means that the Zahn plastic screw combinations can be fitted with screws in the factory and that the delivered fastening elements are ready for immediate use. Thanks to this invention, it is entirely excluded that the screws fall out of the plastic handle by accident.

With the registered German utility patent G 94 17 927, Harald Zahn GmbH once again pointed the way towards innovation. A pin attachment compatible with the Zahn plastic screw combination extended the fastener programme

to comprise an important construction element for roof base materials, such as concrete.

Of course, Harald Zahn GmbH also made sure that the partner companies can appropriately and efficiently use its products, which meanwhile comprise a wide range. For this reason, the automatic screwing machines K90 and K150 were developed, whose innovations are protected by the registered German utility patent G 94 20 475.

The magazining belt (registered German utility patent G 94 20 474) developed by Zahn allows the offered screwing machines to be filled efficiently. Up to 25 Zahn plastic screw combinations are lined up on a plastic strip and can easily be fed into the magazine of the screwing machine by hand. By pulling the magazining belt off, the Zahn plastic screw combinations are separated from the belt and lie loose and orderly on top of each other in the magazine of the screwing machine so that they are ready for singling and use.