US648504A - Antirattling thill-coupling. - Google Patents

Description

No. 648,504. Patented May I, I900.v

G. W. LESTER.

ANTIRATTLING THILL COUPLING (Application filed Mar. 8, 1900.) 1 (NoModeL) wo lO 15 J0 "M9 12 q .111411! 7 V E & ]6 I I r b J 6 a NITED STATES PATENT GEORGE w. LESTER, OF RACINE, wISooNSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALE To EVERETT LESTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ANTIRATTLING THILL-COUPLING;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,504, dated May 1900.

7 Application filed March 8} 1900. Serial No. 75784. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may oonrit':

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. LESTER, of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of \Visconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Antirattling Thill- Coup-- lings, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

The object of myinvention is to provide improved means whereby thills may be readily attached to and detached from the runninggear of a vehicle and as incidental thereto to prevent the rattling of the parts.

The invention consists of the devices and their combinations, as herein described and claimed, or the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a thill-coupling embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same thillcoupling. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the improved thill-coupling on line 3 3 of Fig.1.

In the drawings, 5 is the socket-plate, preferably made of metal and adapted to be placed against the under side of an axle, particularly a steel axle, and secured thereto by means of a clip passing around the axle and the ends of which extend through apertures 6 6 therefor in the plate. The means suggested for securing the socket-plate to the axle are not shown, but are such as are of common construction and form no part of my invention. The socket-plate is provided at its front extremity with a socket in which the thill iron 7 is pivoted. The socket in the socket-plate is formed by opposite forwardly-projecting socket-walls 8 9. The wall 8 is rigid to and preferably integral with the body of the plate 5. The socket-wall 9 is hinged to the body of the plate 5 at its rear extremity by a pivotpin 10, whereby it is adapted to be swung laterally when desired. The socket-wall Sis provided with a rigid coupling-pin 11, projecting from the inside of thesocket-wall across the socket and into an aperture there for in the Socket-wall 9. When the socketwall 9 is swung outwardly away from the coupling-pin 11, the thill-iron 7, which is provided with a head 12, bored transversely, can be slipped onto or removed from the coupling-pin 11. A pair of these socket-plates being secured to the axle of the vehicle at suit able distances apart are adapted to take there in the thill-irons on the rear extremity of a pair of thiils. These thill-irons may be used also on the cross-bar of a tongue for a vehi ole with which a pair of horses are to be employed.

For drawing the swinging socket-wall 9 to place on the end of the coupling-pin 11 and against the thill-iron 7 a link 13, conveniently made of heavy strong wire, is hinged on the socket-wall 9 a little in front of the pivot-pin 10 and extends therefrom across the socket and laterally beyond the socket-plate 8 and is provided with a locking-cam 14, which is conveniently in the form of a lever. The link 13 is conveniently made in U shape, the extremities of the legs being coiled, and thereby pivoted on a pin 15 transversely through the socket-plate 9, and the cross-bar or bend of the link forms a pivot on which the levercam 14: is mounted and swings. The cam 14 is advisably somewhat in segmental or curved form at its inner end, and this end or edge is adapted to contact withand bear on the surface ofthe socket-wall 8, and thereby to draw the socket-wall 9 firmly down against the opposite side of the thill-iron 7. By swinging the cam l t so as to disengage it from the socket-wall 8 the socket-wall 9 is thereby released and can be swung away from the thilliron and the coupling-pin ll sufficiently to permit of the removal of the thill iron 7.

To prevent rattling of the parts, a substantially-flat steel spring 16 is coiled at one end about and is thereby hinged on one leg of the link 13 and extends across the socketaperture downwardly and rests at its other extremity against the other leg of the link 13. The link 13 is so constructed and disposed that the spring 16 thus mounted on one leg of the link and bearing against the other leg of the link bears also medially against the rear side of the head 12 of the thill-iron 7 when the thill-iron is in position in the socket-plate, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This construct-ion and disposition of the parts prevent rattling thereof when in use. Shoulders 17 17 on the upper and lower edge, respectively, of the socket-wall 8 are adapted to receive the legs of the link 13 against them and prevent the free extremity of the link from swinging rearwardly beyond these shoulders.-

What I claim as my invention is 1. I11 combination, a socket-plate provided with a rigid and .a hinged socket-wall oppo-r site each other, one of the socket-walls being provided with a con pling-pinprojecting therefrom across the socket into the opposite socket-wall, a link pivoted to one of the socketwalls and extending across the'socket and beyond the opposite socket-wall, a cam pivoted wall and lock the swinging socket-wall releasably in place, and a thill-iron hinged be- .tween the socket-walls, on the coupling-pin.

3. In combination, a socket-plate provided with a rigid: and a hinged socket-wall opposite each other, one of the socket-walls being provided with a coupling-pin projecting therefrom across the socket into the opposite socket-wall, a link pivoted to one of the socketwalls and extending across the socket and be,- yond the opposite socket-wall, shoulders on the socket-wall beyond which wall the link extends, said shoulders being adapted to receive against them the legs of said link and prevent it from swinging beyond them, a cam pivoted on the free extremity of the link adapted to bear against the adjacent socketwall and lock the swinging socket-wall releasably in place, a thill-iron hinged between .the socket-walls on the coupling-pin, and a spring secured to one leg of said link and bearing against the other leg of the link and medially bearing oppositely against the thilliron preventing rattling of the parts.

yond the opposite socket-Wall, shoulders on the socket-wall beyond which wall the link extends said shoulders being adapted to re-' ceive against them the legs of said link and prevent it from swinging beyond them, a cam pivoted on the free extremity of the link adapted to bear against the adjacent socket- In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. LESTER.

Witnesses:

W. J. WEINECK, WM. HENRY MILLER.

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