US611320A - Thill-coupling - Google Patents

Description

N0. 6l|,320. Patented Sept. 27, I898.

W. 8. JAMES. THILL COUPLING.

(Application filedDec. 10, 1897.)

(No Model.)

I "ILZZ Jame Z 0, $17 I v qflovge s,

WILL S. JAMES, OF MEXIA, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, OF THREE-FOURTHS TO J. D. HAM, W. E. NABORS, AND J. L. HARVEY, OF DE LEON, TEXAS.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 61 1,320, dated September 27, 1898. Application filed December 1897- Serial No. 661,413- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: with the thill-iron and bolt omitted and show- Be it known that I, WILL S. JAMES, a citiing one notch in full lines and the other notch zen of the United States, residing at Mexia, in by dotted lines in order to better illustrate the county of Limestone and State of Texas, the relative arrangement or position of the 5 have invented a new and useful Thill-Ooupnotches. f I ling, of which the following is a specification. Like numerals of reference denote like and This invention is a thill-coupling, and the corresponding parts in each of the several improvement relates more particularly to figures of the drawings. means for locking the thill-iron to the attached Referring now bynumerals to the drawings, 10 thill in a raised position. 1 designates a clip or shackle of a thill-coup- One of the objects that'I have in View is to ling which in all substantial respects is simiprovide an improved 'pivotalbolt which when lar to the shackles already in use. As shown, the thill-iron is raised is designed to have the clip or shackle is designed to be applied uniform locking engagement with both arms to the bolster and axle of a carriage or other I 5 of the clip or shackle, thereby avoiding unvehicle, and from the front sideof the clip equal strain and weight on the opposite ends project the parallel arms 2, adapted to receive of the pivotal bolt and the arms of the clip or the thill-iron 3 and the pivotal bolt or pin 4. shackle. The thill-iron has its eye-formed end arranged A further object that I have in view is to to fit snugly between the apertured ends of 20 provide an improved construction of the lockthe arms 2, and said thill-iron is adapted to ing appliance which may be'readily adapted move freely for a limited distance with the to ordinary thill-couplings, because the boltpivotal pin or bolt insaid arms of the thillnotches may readily be formed in such coupshackle to enable the shafts or thills to have lings by a suitable tool, and the bolt-actuatthe desired vibration or play in the'shackle 25 ing spring may be easily and quickly applied or clip. 1

to the clip orshackle withoutresorting to the In embodying my invention in the thilluse of bolts, screws, or other attaching applicoupling I provide the disalined notches 5 6 ances. in the eye-formed ends of the shackle-arms 2 With these ends in view the invention conand employ a peculiar construction of the 30 sists in the novel construction and arrangepivotal pin or bolt eiand a: novel form of spring ment of parts, which'will be hereinafter fully for actuating said bolt to force it into locking 8o i described and claimed. engagement with the clip or shackle when the To enable others to understand my 'inventhill-iron and the thill are raised. The notch tion, I have illustrated the preferred embodi-' 5 in one arm of the shackle is provided or ment thereof in the accompanying drawings, formed therein ata point out of line with the forming a part of this specification, and in notch 6 in the other arm of the shackle, and whichthe eye-formed end of the thill-iron is pro- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a' thillvided with a groove '7, which extends entirely coupling constructed in accordance with my through one wall of said eye-formed end of 40 invention. Fig. 2isavertical transverse secthe thill-iron, so as to open through both tional view thereof through the pivotal bolt sides or faces thereof. 0 and the eye of the thill-iron. Fig. 8 is a ver- The pivotal bolt or pin 4 is provided with tical section on a plane at right angles to Fig. along feather or spline 8, a short stud or lug 2 and indicated by the dotted 'lineaaof Fig. 9, and a head 10 at one end thereof. The 45 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the long feather or spline projects radially from pivotal bolt detached from the thill clip or one side of this pivotal bolt, and it extends shackle. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view longitudinally thereof from a point near one of the bolt-actuating spring; Fig. 6 is a de-' end to a point past the middle of said bolt. tail view in'elevation of the clip or shackle Said long feather, however, does not extend continuously of the length of the bolt, but it terminates a suitable distance within the ing its long feather or spline 8 fit in the groove headed end 10 of said bolt to leave a smooth space between the inner terminal of the feather or spline 8 and the head 10. The short stud or lug 9 is provided on the bolt in the space between the inner terminal of the feather or spline 8 and the head 10; but this short stud is not in alinement with the long feather or spline, but is situated at one side thereof and out of line with the same. The head of the bolt is produced thereon by slightly flanging or upsetting one end of the bolt, and said head is of such diameter that it will abut against the outer face or side of the arm of the clip or shackle sufficiently to limit the endwise movement of the bolt under the impelling influence of the spring 11.

I employ a construction of spring which is designed to be applied to one arm of the clip or shackle in a manner to hold itself in position on said clip or shackle and in operative relation to the bolt, thereby entirely dispensing with the employment of bolts, screws, or other means for fastening the spring in place on the clip or shackle. This spring is formed of a single piece of metal having the necessary resiliency and strength, and the head 12 of the spring is provided with the oppositely-extending arms '13, arranged substantially at right angles to the length of the spring to form a clasp by which the spring may be fitted upon an arm of the clip or shackle to hold itself in place thereon by frictional engagement therewith. The spring is made of a single piece of metal stamped in blank form and doubled upon itself to give the necessary resiliency thereto, after which the arms 13 of the spring are bent in the manner described to extend outwardly from the head 12.

In the practical embodiment of my invention I may manufacture the clip or shackle with the disalined notches 5 6 in the eyeformed ends of the arms 2 thereof; but in applying my invention to ordinary thill-coup lings already in existence a suitable tool may be provided by which the notches 5 6 may be produced in said arms of the clip or shackle. The thill-iron is treated to provide the continuous groove 7 in its eye, and a bolt or spring constructed in accordance with my invention is usedin connectionwith the notched shackle and grooved thill-iron.

In assembling the parts of the coupling together the thill-iron is adjusted between the arms of the clip or shackle to have the groove 7 of said eye aline with the notch 5 in one arm of the clip, after which the bolt is inserted in a manner to have its long feather or spline 8 fit in the groove 7 of the thill-iron,

while the short stud or lug 9 of said bolt rides against the exposed face of one arm of the clip or shackle. The spring is now applied to the shackle by fittingits clasp (or the arms 13) around one arm of said shackle and having the free end of the spring engage with the headed end 10 of the bolt. As the bolt is unwlocked with relation to the thill-iron by havof the said iron, the iron and bolt are adapted to turn or rock a limited distance and thus permit the thill to have the desired oscillation in the clip or shackle. When the thill is elevated to its raised position, the iron and bolt turn therewith in the shackle sufficiently to permit the short stud or lug 9 of the bolt to come opposite to the notch 5 in the clip,whereupon the pressure of the spring 11 against the headed end of the bolt forces the bolt endwise and causes its feather 8 to engage with the notch 6 and its short stud or lug 9 to engage with the notch 5 of the shackle. This endwise adjustment of the bolt takes place automatically under the pressure of the spring, and the bolt is thus forced into locking engagement with the shackle for the purpose of holding the thill-iron and the thill in their raised positions.

One of the important advantages due to my improved construction and arrangement of parts is that the bolt has locking engagement at both ends with the respective arms of the clip or shackle, and this construction is important in this art because the respective ends of the bolt have uniform bearing or looking engagement with the arms of the shackle, thereby obviating unequal strain on the locking-bolt of the coupling.

I attach especial importance to the peculiar construction of the locking-bolt with its disalined feather and stud 8 9 and to the construction of the spring in a manner to enable it to be applied to an ordinary thill iron without resorting to the use of bolts or screws.

While I have described and illustrated a construction of the bolt actuating spring made or stamped from a single piece of sheet metal, I do not desire to strictly limit myself to the precise form of the spring, because I am aware that a coil-spring may be used in lieu of the leaf-spring. Nor do I limit myself strictly to the precise details of construction and arrangement of parts, because I am aware that they may be modified. by a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit of the invention.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be seen that I have provided an improved construction of a thill-coupling which is simple and durable and at the same time possesses the requisites of ready application to an ordinary thill-coupling and that the device is efficient, reliable, and automatic in operation.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a clip or shackle having the disalined notches, and a grooved thill-iron, of a locking pivotal bolt provided with a long feather and a short stud or lug which is out of alinement with the long feather, and a spring in operative relation to said bolt to automatically impel the latter endwise and deflected or bowed laterally from said clip to have its free end engage with the exposed end of the bolt, whereby the spring may be readily detached from the clip without disengaging any of the parts thereof, substantially as described.

3. In athill-coupling, the combination with clip or shackle provided with disalined notches, and a thill-iron having a transverse channel or groove, of a pivotal locking-bolt having a head at one end, the long feather or spline, and a short stud or lug which is situated between the head and long feather and out of alinement with the latter, and a spring doubled upon itself to have one end in engagement with the headed end of the bolt and provided with the arms forming a clasp adapted to embrace the clip or shackle and hold said spring in position, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WVILL S. JAMES. Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, HAROLD H. SIMMs.

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