US2567933A - Lock nut - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 18, 1951 2,567,933

0. D. GRAY LOCK NUT Filed March 27, 1946 Patented Sept. 18, 1951 Orrin D. Gray, Chicago, 111. Original application September 23, 1944, Serial Divided and this application March 27, 1946, Serial No. 657,488

This invention relates to a lock nut which is simple and dependable in operation, and inexpensive to produce. In essence, the lock is a spring, in assembled relationship with a nut, exerting a force which proceeds toward the associated bolt to establish therewith an enhanced frictional resistance whereby to oppose rotation of the nut, either direction. The spring which may be in the form of a ring is carried by the nut, and during rotary advance of the nut, either way, may be distorted by the operating tool sufficiently to relax its tension upon the bolt. A spring lock of this character may be associated with the nut either separably or nonseparably. It is readily adaptable to quantity production, and in use may be advanced with the nut to or from its final position with a minimum of effort. A prior disclosure of my invention herein claimed was set forth in my application filed September 23, 1944, Serial No. 555,493, now Patent No. 2,443,614, issued June 22, 1948, of which this case is a division.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from the'description to follow, taken in conjunction with the showings in the accompanying drawings, wherein the present lock nut is set forth in various forms, as follows:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of one form of the present lock nut in operative position upon a coacting bolt;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the bolt with the nut fitted thereon, taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 5, through a bolt whereon is fitted a second form of lock nut;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section, taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 7, through a bolt whereon is fitted a third form of lock nut;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, taken on line 1! of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section, taken on line 88 of Fig. 9, through a bolt whereon is fitted a fourth form of lock nut;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view, the ring being sectioned on line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and the nut and bolt being shown in elevation;

14 Claims. (Cl. 15124) Fig. 12 is a transverse section through a seventh form of lock nut as it appears when off its coacting bolt.

The principle underlying the present lock nut in all of its forms is the application of frictional pressure to a bolt at one or more circumferential points through the instrumentality of a spring ring, continuous or otherwise, that may be carried upon the nut which is to be frictionally locked thereto, the ring being continuously interlocked with the nut against relative rotary movement for rotation with the nut and consequent movement lengthwise of the bolt; the ring is also distortable at spaced points, with the aid of a suitable wrench employed'for operation of the nut, to relax at other points its pressure upon the bolt whereby the nut, during its operating move- 'ments, may advance (either way) substantially free of frictional resistance. It is of importance that the spring ring be assembled with the nut in such a way as to advance therewith. While it is optional whether the ring be connected separably or inseparably to the nut, its position relative to the bolt is always such as to exert thereon a substantially radial resilient nut-locking pressure in all positions of the nut, this pressure being relaxable only at such moments as the nut undergoes adjusting manipulations with the aid of a proper tool. With these preliminary observations, I will now pass on to a. detailed description of the lock nut in a number of its various formsseveral of which are suggested in the accompanying drawing.

The bolt B herein illustrated in all of the figures is of conventional construction in that it comprises a shank having a threaded end portion adapted to receive thereon a polygonally faced nut N provided with an axial bore wherein are formed cooperating threads. The nut may be provided at one end with a radially distortable collar extension 0 through which the threaded axial bore is continued. A nut of the kind with which I am here concerned may be produced economically in quantities, desirably from mild steel, and no special problem is involved in its manufacture.

In Fig. 1-4, the nut collar 0 is circumferentially continuous, but in other forms, such as illustrated in Figs. 6, 8 and 10, it is interrupted by wide gaps a or slots 5. In Fig. 6, for example, the opposite gaps are extended parallel with the nut axis whereby the remaining collar portions are in the form of two curved tongues t also extended parallel with the nut axis. According to Figs. 8 and 9, the slot 8 is in bayonet form, extending 3 first inwardly from the collar free end and then laterally to define an arcuate tongue t. In the showing of Fig. 10, the slots s are parallel with the nut axis, two being in closely spaced relation diametrically opposite two others, the arrangement being such as to provide two narrow tongues 75. I may also form in the nut collar a shallow, circumferential groove g, preferably near the free end thereof, for purposes which will presently appear.

To frictionally hold the nut against rotation upon its associated bolt in all adjusted positions thereupon, I employ a spring ring R, continuous or otherwise. As shown in Figs. 1-11, the ring is fitted within the shallow circumferential groove 9 so as to remain'inseparably locked to the nut. The contours of the ring and of the surrounding nut collar 0, while variable within rather wide limits, should be designed for coaction to produce on the associated bolt frictional pressure in a degree requisite for locking purposes, and this feature of my invention will now be discussed.

The distortable nut collar 0 shown in Figs. 1-3 is normally slightly elliptical in contour as is also the coacting spring ring R which is fitted closely thereto. The material and thickness of the nut collar is such as to be yieldable inwardly or outwardly in response to pressures directed radially (or substantially so) at one or more points. Interiorly the collar short diameter is slightly less than the bolt diameter, so that when the nut is assembled upon the bolt, the collar is distorted to a substantially circular contour. The elliptical ring R is fitted in place about the collar c with its long axis substantially aligned therewith, the relationship being such that distortion of the collar 0 is opposed by the spring ring R whose tension force is exerted inwardly against the collar to enhance its frictional engagement with the bolt B. The material of which the nut is made will ordinarily have but little, if any, resiliency consequently it would be incapable in and of itself, to exert any tensional force directed against the bolt, but the presence of the surrounding spring ring will supply a requisite resiliency, exerted against the collar, to maintain the latter against the bolt with a high degree of frictional pressure. The lock nut so produced will accordingly tend to resist rotation from any adjusted position which it may occupy upon the bolt. In Figs. 4 and 5 the distortable nut collar is normally elliptical in contour the same as that of the spring ring, but the ratio of long diameter of the ring to that of the collar is here somewhat greater than in the construction of Figs. 2 and 3 in order to provide a wider range of resilient action. The tendency here is the same as that already described, viz., to resist outward expansion of the collar 0 along its short diameter thereby to maintain at such points an enhanced frictional resistance with the bolt.

The interrupted collar 0 of Figs. 6 and '7 provides opposite relatively wide tongues t which are initially pressed inwardly so that the space therebetween is slightly less than the diameter of the associated bolt. In response to the tension force of the surrounding ring R, whose normal contour may be round or otherwise, a resilient resistance to outward spreading of the tongues is provided. The wide gaps or between the curved tongues t afiord clearances into which the spring ring may be distorted, in response to properly directed opposed pressures, whereby to relax its pressure elsewhere, i. e., at the two tongues t. In

Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown a single tongue t, extending arcuately of the collar 0, subject to the inwardly directed pressure of the surrounding spring ring R whose contour may be round or otherwise. This tongue may be initially bent inwardly, the same as described for the tongues of Figs. 6 and '7, or be bent inwardly after assembly of the spring ring with the nut. Desirably the ring is formed to bear with pressure against the tongue at or near its free end, and for this purpose I may provide a slight boss 22 which also engages with the slot to maintain the ring against rotation relative to the collar. And in Fig. 10, the relatively narrow tongues t are adapted to receive pressure from spaced bosses 19 formed on the surrounding spring ring which, as shown, has a normal elliptical contour. In every case an enhanced frictional pressure at one or more points is imposed upon the associated bolt such as to cause the nut to remain locked thereupon in any selected adjusted position.

According to Fig. 11 the nut collar is formed with two relatively close slots s to define between them a tongue 15 thicker at its outer end than the remainder of the collar and therefore adapted to be forced outwardly by the bolt against the surrounding spring ring R which is fitted within the shallow circumferential groove 9, the same as already described in connection with Figs. 1-10. Elsewhere the collar is continuous except opposite the tongue where an opening 0 communicating with the groove is provided to receive a lug Z which is inwardly extended from the ring for direct engagement with the bolt. By such a construction the spring ring exerts pressure against the bolt, both directly and indirectly at widely spaced circumferential points. In applying the nut of Fig. 11 to the bolt, the lug Z should be in cooperative engagement with the bolt threads before the ring is distorted to its normal operative condition by the outward thrust of the tongue, thus obviating the necessity for distorting the ring with a special wrench for the purpose of application.

The nut collar of Fig. 12 is flatted at 1 upon opposite sides, and intermediately thereof is formed with two pairs of slots s to define opposed narrow tongues t which are extended in parallelism with each other and with the nut axis. The thickness of these tongues may be increased toward their free ends, the effect in either case being to narrow the intervening space progressively toward the free end of the collar so that advance of the bolt therethrough will force a spreading apart of the two tongues. The surrounding spring ring R, of round, elliptical, or other contour, will resiliently oppose any such spreading movement, thereby imposing a high degree of frictional pressure upon the bolt.

In each of the constructions thus far described, the spring force operates indirectly through the distortable collar to transmit to the bolt the frictional pressure that is relied upon to lock the nut in place. By employing a wrench having means for distorting the ring out of its normal contour, the collar itself may remain undistorted while rotation of the nut upon the bolt proceeds. This makes it possible to rotate the nut, either way, substantially free of frictional resistance with the bolt, and to utilize in such movements a torsional force comparable with that which is customarily required for an ordinary nut of the non-dockingtype. It is only when such a wrench is disengaged from the nut 5 that the ring is free .to exert its: spring force to frictionally lock the nut to the bolt. For details of several embodiments of a wrench which may be advantageously used foroperation of the present lock nut, see my co-pending application filed September 23, 1944, Serial No. 555,494, now Patent No. 2,528,430, dated October 31, 1950. g

In each of the various forms of lock nutherein discussed, there is a spring ring exerting upon the bolt a resilient pressure forceflwhich is relaxable in varying degrees by anappropriate tool whereby to free the nut for facile adjustment upon the bolt. The material of which the nut is formed possesses little or no resiliency, although it is yieldable or bendable to some extent. By itself the nut is incapable of locking resiliently with the bolt; the spring ring is relied upon for this purpose. When in locking relation with the bolt the spring serves effectively to oppose rotation of the nut, and continues indefinitely to do so. It is only when the spring ring is compressed properly, as with the use of a special tool, that relaxation of the rings resilient pressure engagement with the bolt takes place. This compression may obviously be brought about by inward pressures at opposite points upon the ring or by outward pressures at opposite points upon the collar. When the ring exerts its pressure upon the collar, rather than upon the bolt, it should desirably be continuous and endless in order to develop the necessary force.

I claim:

1. For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with a collar of elliptical cross sectional contour through which, at points aligned with the long diameter thereof, are spaced openings defining tongues inwardly and outwardly movable toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, and an elliptical spring ring having its long diameter of a length less than the diameter of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently of the same and fitted around the collar in resilient nut-locking pressure engagement therewith at points aligned with its short diameter, said ring being-distort:

able solely by exteriorly applied compression into threaded nut formed with a collar having a tongue and provided with spaces at opposite sides of the tongue, said tongue being movable toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, and a continuous spring ring of a diameter less than that of the nuts so as not to projectradially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and surrounding the collar in a plane transversely of its axis in resilient pressure engagement with the tongue and effecting a nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongue with the bolt, said spring ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression at opposite sides of the tongue and relieving the bolt of said nut-locking engagement of said tongue to permit facile adjustment of the nut on the bolt.

3. For use with a threaded bolt, a coating threaded nut formed with a collar through which is an opening defining a. tongue inwardly and outwardly movable toward and from the .bolt forpressure engagement therewith, and a continuous spring ring of a diametervgless than that of the nut so as not to. project radially beyond the nut and ,interlocked,inseparably with the nut for .ro-.- tation therewith butnot independently thereof and mounted on thecollar in resilient pressure engagement with the tongue and effecting a nutlocking pressure engagement of the tongue with the, bolt, said ring being. distortable solely by. exteriorly applied; compression, at opposite sides into said opening and, relieving the bolt of said nut-r-locking pressure of the tongue to permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

4. For, use with athreaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with a collar through which areslots parallel with its axis extending to the collar endto define a plurality of tongues mov;- able toward and. fromthe bolt for pressure engagement therewith, the distance outwardly from the nut axis to the tongues being decreased toward the free ends thereof, and a continuous spring ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and surrounding the collar in pressure engagement with the tongues and effecting a nut-locking'pressure engagement of the tongues with the bolt for resisting rotation of the nut on the bolt, there being spaces between the ring and the collar at points intermediately of the tongues and the ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression inwardly into such spaces whereby to elongate elsewhere for relaxation of its pressure against the tongues and relieve the bolt of the nut-locking pressure of the tongues to permit. facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

5; For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting; threaded nut formed with a collar having a lateral opening and, spaced therefrom, a tongue movable toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, a spring ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and surrounding the collar in a plane transversely of its axis in resilient pressure engagement with the tongue for maintaining the latter in pressure engagement with .the bolt, and a lug extending inwardly of the ring through the lateral opening of the collar and maintained by the spring ring in resilient pressure engagement with the bolt, said ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression to relieve the bolt of nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongue and the lug to permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

6. For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with a collar having a lateral opening and, spaced therefrom, a tongue movable toward and from .the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, the tongue thickness exceeding that of the collar whereby in response to pressure'from the bolt the tongue exterior face is required to stand outwardly beyond the corre sponding face of the collar, a spring ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and surrounding the collar in a plane transversely of its axis in resilient pressure engagement with the tongue for maintaining the latter in pressure engagement with the'bolt, and a lug extending inwardly of the ring through the lateral opening of the collar and maintained by the spring ring in resilient pressure engagement with the bolt, saidvring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression to relieve the bolt of nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongue and the lugto permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt;

7. For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with a collar having a lateral opening and, opposite thereto, a tongue movable toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, a spring ringof a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and surrounding the collar in a plane transversely of its axis in resilient pressure engagement withthe bolt, and means extending inwardly from the ring through the lateral opening of the collar and maintained by the spring ring in resilient pressure engagement with the bolt and itself acting to retain the spring ring in permanently assembled non-rotatable relation with the nut, said ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression to relieve the bolt of nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongue to permit facile rotation of the nut on .the bolt.

8. For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with an elliptical collar for pressure engagement with the bolt at points aligned with the short diameter of the collar, and an elliptical spring ring having its long diameter of a length less than. the diameter of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and fitted around the collar in resilient pressure engagement therewith at points aligned withits short diameter and at such points effecting a nut-locking pressure engagement of the collar with the bolt, said spring ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression at spaced. points aligned with its long diameter to relieve the collar of said nut-locking pressure engagement with the bolt and permit facile adjustment of the nut on the bolt, intervening spaces being provided between the spring ring and the collar at the long diameter of the collar to permit said distortion of the spring ring.

9. For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with an elliptical collar for pressure engagement with the bolt at points aligned with the short diameter of the collar, and a spring ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut, said ring being arranged around the collar and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and in resilient pressure engagement with the collar at points aligned with the short diameter of the collar and effectingat such points a nut-locking pressure engagement of the collar with the bolt, intervening spaces being provided between the spring ring and the collar at points aligned with the long diameter of the collar and said spring ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression at spaced points into said spaces to relieve the collar of said nut-locking pressure engagement with the bolt and permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

10. For use on a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with an elliptical collar for pressure engagement with the bolt at points aligned with the short diameter of the collate and an elliptical-spring ring having its long diam eter of a length less than the diameter of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof and fitted around the collar in spaced relation thereto at points aligned with its long diameter and in resilient pressure engagement with thecollar at points aligned with its short diameter and effecting at such points a nut locking pressureengagement of the collar with the bolt, the ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression into the spaces aligned with the long diameter of the collar and thereby relieving the bolt of said nut-locking pressure engagement of the collar and permitting facile adjustment of the nut on the bolt.

11. For use with a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut with diametrically opposed spaced tongues inwardly and outwardly movable toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, and a continuous substantially circular ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut, said ring being in resilient pressure engagement with the tongues and effecting a nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongues with the bolt for resisting rotation. of the nut on the bolt, there being spaces between the tengues and the ring extending through an arc of approximately 99 to permit distortion of the ring inwardly into such spaces solely by exteriorly applied compression to relieve the bolt of the nut-locking pressure of the tongues and permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

12. For use with a threaded bolt, a ccacting threaded nut whereon are carried a plurality of circumferentially spaced tongues having free portions movable toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, the distance outwardly from the nut axis to each tongue being decreased toward its free end, and a continuous spring ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof, and surrounding the collar and in pressure engagement with said tongues and effecting a nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongues with the bolt for resisting rotation of the nut on the bolt, said ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression into spaces between said tongues for relieving the bolt of the nut-locking pressure of said tongues to permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

13; For use upon a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with an elliptical collar through which are spaced openings defining tongues movable inwardly and outwardly toward and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, and an elliptical spring ring having its long diameter of a length less than the diameter of the nutso as. not to project radially beyond the nut and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof, and fitting around the collar in spaced relation thereto at points aligned with its long diameter and in resilient pressure engagement with the tongues at points aligned with its short diameter and effecting at the latter points a nutlocking pressure engagement of the tongues with the bolt for resisting rotation of the nut on the bolt, the ring being distortable solely by exteriorly applied compression into said spaced openings. to relieve the tongues of the pressure engagement of the spring ring and the bolt of the nut-locking pressure engagement of the tongues to permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

14. For use with a threaded bolt, a coacting threaded nut formed with a collar having a portion movable inwardly and outwardly to and from the bolt for pressure engagement therewith, and a substantially circular ring of a diameter less than that of the nut so as not to project radially beyond the nut and surrounding the collar and interlocked inseparably with the nut for rotation therewith but not independently thereof, and in resilient pressure engagement with said bolt-engaging portion of the collar and effecting a nut-locking pressure engagement of the same with the bolt for resisting rotation of the nut on the bolt, intervening spaces being provided between the collar and the ring at points spaced from the bolt-engaging portion of the collar and the ring being distortable inwardly into said intervening spaces solely by exteriorly applied compression to relieve the bolt of the nut-locking pressure of the bolt-engaging portion of the collar to permit facile rotation of the nut on the bolt.

ORRIN D. GRAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 337,801 Vaughn Mar. 9, 1886 1,041,920 Ward Oct. 22, 1912 1,091,959 Pybus Mar. 31, 1914 1,134,520 Dyba Apr. 6, 1915 1,241,401 Kusy Sept. 25, 1917 1,806,506 Savidge May 19, 1931 2,007,293 Cayouette July 9, 1935 2,255,286 Harvey Sept. 9, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 79,508 Sweden May 2, 1931 237,809 Great Britain Aug. 6, 1925 547,624 Great Britain Sept. 3, 1942 764,544 France Mar. 5, 1934

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