US1226863A - Nut-lock. - Google Patents

Description

J. F. CUNNINGHAM.

NUT LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1916.

Patented May 22, 1917.

WITNESS A TTORNE Y.

JOHN ECUNNINGHAM, or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

NUT-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 22, 1917.

Application filed June 13, 1916. Serial No. 103,409.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. CUNNING- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in NutLocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of nutlocks, and more particularly a nut-lock of the type in which the locking member is readily removable to permit the turning of the nut.

The object of the invention is to provide a nut-lock of the type described which is simple and cheap to produce, which is efficient in its results, and which is easily and quickly operated. The device is particularly adapted for locking nuts of fairly large size, such, for example, as those used upon bolts joining the ends of railway rails. It is not restricted to such use, however, but may be employed wherever a device of this character is necessary.

To this end my invention consists in the nut-lock hereinafter described and herewith illustrated in its preferred forms, it being understood that changes may be made in the details of construction without affecting the principles of the invention.

To comprehend the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of my nut-lock, in its preferred form, as applied to a bolt and nut of standard construction.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the spring locking member.

Fig. 3 is a perspective sectional view of my nut-lock as applied to a railway rail joint.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, partly in section, showing one method of securing the apertured locking plate.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing another method of securing the apertured looking plate.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a nut, of any desired form, screwed upon the threaded end of a bolt 2. A plate or washer 3, prevented from turning by means to be hereinafter described, is placed under the nut 1, and is formed with an aperture 4 adapted to receive a spring locking memberfi. Said locking member,

formed preferably of flat spring steel or other suitable material, is U-shaped, as shown, and its ends are formed with outwardly projecting lips 6.

In order to insert the locking member 5 into the aperture 4, its ends must be squeezed together. When the lips 6 pass through the aperture 4, said ends separate as far as the sides of said aperture will permit, thereby causing the lips 6 to engage the under side of the plate 3, to prevent the accidental removal of the locking member 5.

The aperture 4 is so positioned in the plate 3 relative to the nut 1, that the outer end of the locking member 5, projecting from said aperture, will engage the corners of said nut, as shown in the drawings, and prevent the same from turning. It is to be understood that the locking member 5 is inserted in said aperture 4 after the nut has been set up, and must be removed from said aperture before said nut can be turned in either direction.

The form and size of the plate 3 may be varied to suit different conditions. When the nut lies adjacent to a projecting flange 7 as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the plate 3 is preferably rectangular, and of such a size that one of its edges lies against said flange 7 as shown at 8, to prevent said plate from turning.

If no such flange is convenient, the plate 3 itself may be formed with a downwardly turned flange 9, Fig. 5, adapted to engage the edge 10 of the member through which the bolt 2 passes. In either case, the under side of said plate 3 is recessed, as at 11, around the aperture 4, to form a space for the free operation of the lips 6 of the locking member 5.

When the bolt 2 is used in-fish-plates, at the ends of railway rails, as shown in Fig. 3, or in other similar plates, the aperture 4 may be formed in the fish-plate 12 itself, andthe separate plate 3 eliminated; and in such cases, when the central portion of said fish-plate 12 is spaced from the rail, as shown at 13, no further recess in its under side is necessary.

I claim A nut-lock comprising a U-shaped locking member lying in the path of rotation of the nut to be locked said member having resiliency normally expandlng its legs, and each leg terminating in an outwardly projecting lip; and a non-rotatable plate lying under the nut to be locked, said plate having a single through aperture with one dimension adapted to admit the width'of the locking member and a transverse dimension adapted to admit the end lips of the looking member only when its legs are pressed together, whereby said lips When passed through said aperture under squeezing com- 10 pression of the member will, when relieved,

normally expand to engagement with the inner surface of the plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN F. CUNNINGHAM.

WVitnesses:

WM. F. BOOTH, D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

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