IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING AND UNLOCKING NUTS FOR BOLTS, AND IN SPANNERS THEREFOR.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ramsey Blakemore, of Leadenhall Street, in the
City of London, William Alexander Sherring, and Henry Horstman,
both of Mile End, in the County of Middlesex, Engincers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING AND UNLOCKING NUTS FOR BOLTS,
AND IN SPANNERS THEREFOR.".
ealed the 1st March 1872, and dated the 8th September 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ramsey Blakemore,
William Alexander Sherring, and Henry Horstman at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 8th
September 1871.
We, RAMSEY BLAKEMORE, of Leadenhall Street, in the City of
London, WILLIAM ALEXANDER SHERRING, and HENRY HORSTMAN,
both of Mile End, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING
AND UNLOCKING NUTS FOR BOLTS, AND IN SPANNERS THEREFOR," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention relates to a method or methods of locking or securing
nuts to bolts as hereafter described, and it is particularly applicable for

page_text: railway fish plates and other fastenings where the nuts now so frequently
become loose through vibration and other causes.
The Invention consists of a washer having a cut or slit in it, whereby
the washer or a portion thereof is caused to act as a spring. This washer
fits over the bolt, which is grooved or cut away longitudinally through-
out the screwed portion thereof, the hole in the washer being formed
correspondingly to prevent it from turning; the under side of the nut is
notched or made with ratchet teeth, so that when the nut is screwed
down the slotted portion of the washer springs up and takes into one or
other of the notches or ratchet teeth. These notches or teeth may be
over the whole or only partially across the face of the under side of the
nut. The slit or cut in the washer may be made in any desired direction
as practice may suggest.
By another arrangement, and when using a nut with a plain inside
face, the washer may be cut or a slit made therein at one side thereof, so
as to form a tongue; the washer is placed over the bolt, and as the nut
is screwed home the cut or tongue portion of the washer springs up and
stops against one of the sides, or in succession against two or more of the
sides of the nut, and so prevents the latter from unscrewing.
Another form likewise used with a plain faced nut is, where the cut
portion of the washer is turned up at right angles to the face of the
washer, and so springs against the edges of the nut, thus offering a
certain amount of resistance to the same becoming unscrewed. The
washer may be of any irregular or other form suitable for preventing it
from turning; in many cases this may be accomplished by turning a
portion of the same over the edge of the work, to be fixed to prevent its
turning on the bolt.
The Invention then substantially consists in the employment of a.
spring washer, made by forming one or more slits or cuts therein, the
slotted or cut portion being sprung from the plane of the washer, and
locking itself or pressing. against the inside face or the edges of the
nut.
We prefer to make the nuts bevilled on their edges, and we prefer to
use a spanner bevilled on its edges, to adapt itself and to correspond with
the bevil or bevils on the nut, and thereby to press down the spring
portion of the washer when it is required to unscrew the nut; or we
the not with a projecting collar at or near its outside face In

page_text: that case we use a spanner of a tapering thickness, and when the
spanner is fully inserted between the collar and the washer the spring
tongue or tongues of the latter are pressed down, and the nut is released
from the washer and may be unscrewed.
For fish plates and other purposes where the bolt holes are sufficiently
close together, we make a double or compound washer, having two or
several holes therein, with cuts in the metal, to secure the several bolts,
as before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Ramsey Blakemore, William Alexander Sherring,
and Heury Horstman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th
March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RAMSEY
BLAKEMORE, of Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, WILLIAM
ALEXANDER SHERRING, and HENRY HORSTMAN, both of Mile End, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineers, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Ramsey Blakemore, William Alexander
Sherring, and Henry Horstman, Her special licence, that we, the said
Ramsey Blakemore, William Alexander Sherring, and Henry Horstman,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Ramsey Blakemore, William Alexander Sherring, and Henry'
Horstman, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING AND UNLOCKING NUTS FOR BOLTS,
AND IN SPANNERS THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others) that
the said Ramsey Blakemore, William Alexander Sherring, and Henry
w0 .

page_text: Horstman, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Ramsey Blakemore, William
Alexander Sherring, and Henry Horstman, do hereby declare the nature
of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and to
the letters of reference marked thereon, that is to say :-
Our Invention relates to a method or methods of locking or securing
nuts to bolts as hereafter described, and it is particularly applicable for
railway fish plates and other fastenings, where the nuts now so frequently
become loose through vibrations and other causes.
The Invention consists of a washer having a cut or slit in it whereby
the washer or a portion thereof is caused to act as a spring. This washer
fits over the bolt, which is grooved or cut away longitudinally through-
out the screwed portion thereof, the hole in the washer being formed
correspondingly to prevent it from turning; the under side of the nut is
notched or made with ratchet teeth, so that when the nut is screwed
down, the slotted cut or-slit portion of the washer springs up and takes
into one or other of the notches or ratchet teeth. These notches or teeth
may be over the whole or only partially across the face of the under side
of the nut. The slit or cut in the washer may be made in any desired
direction, as practice may suggest.
By another arrangement, and when using a nut with a plain inside
face the washer may be cut or a slit made therein at one side thereof so
as to form a tongue; the washer is placed over the bolt, and as the nut
is screwed home the cut or tongue portion of the washer springs up
and
stops against one of the sides, or in succession against two or more of the
sides of the nut, and so prevents the latter from unscrewing.
Another form likewise used with a plain faced nut is where the cut
portion of the washer is turned up at right angles to the face of the
washer, and so springs against the edges of the nut, thus offering a
certain amount of resistance to the same becoming unscrewed. The

page_text: washer may be of any irregular or other form suitable for preventing it
from turning; in many cases this may be accomplished by turning a
portion of the same over the edge of the work to be fixed to prevent its
turning on the bolt.
We prefer to make the nuts bevilled on their edges, and we prefer to
use a spanner bevilled on its edges to adapt itself and to correspond with
the bevil or bevils on the nut, and thereby to press down the spring
portion of the washer when it is required to unscrew the nut; or we
make the nut with a projecting collar at or near its outsido face. In
that case we use a spanner of a tapering thickness, and when the
spanner is fully inserted between the collar and the washer the spring
tongue or tongues of the latter are pressed down and the nut is relcased
from the washer and may be unscrewed.
For fish plates and other purposes where the bolt holes are sufficiently
close together, we make a double or compound washer having two or
several holes therein with cuts in the metal to secure the several bolts
as before described.
The washers should be of steel or other elastic material.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a plan of a washer made
according to our Invention and according to one of our arrangements.
Figure 2 is a section and Figure 3 is a side clevation of so much of a
rail with nut and washer applied a will be sufficient to illustrate the
manner in which we prefer to carry this part of our Invention into
effect.
a is the slit or cut in the washer, 6 is the bolt, c is the groove or cut
therein, and d is the corresponding projection on the washer which takes
into the groove c to prevent the washer from turning on its bolt; e is the
nut bevilled on its sides and notched on the under side, as seen at
Figure 2. To secure the nut, place the washer on the bolt with the
projection d taking into the groove c, screw the nut down on the washer,
when the spring portion formed by the slit a rises and takes into one
or other of the notches, and thereby prevents the nut e from becoming
loose.
Figure 4 is a section and Figure 5 is a side elevation of a rail fitted
with another arrangement of lock nut, where the slit or cut in the washer
is made at one side so as to form a tongue. a is the tongue, b the bolt,

page_text: c the groove in the bolt, d the corresponding projection in the washer.
To secure the nut it is screwed down tightly on the washer, the tongue
portion of which then rises and abuts against the nut as shewn in
Figure 4, and in this way prevents it from turning..
Figure 6 is a section and Figure 7 is an elevation of a rail fitted with
another arrangement of lock nut, where the cut portion of the washer is
turned up at right angles. a is the turned up portion, which by pressing
against the nut to a certain extent prevents its, turning.
Figure 8 is a plan of a double or compound washer for fish plates and
other purposes where the bolt holes are close together. a, a, are the
spring portions of the washer.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal section, Figure 10 is a plan, and Figure 11
is a vertical section through the line x, y, of Figure 10 of a spanner,
whereby the nuts secured in the manner before described may be
unfastened when necessary. 9, 9, are the bevilled edges of the spanner,
which are made to correspond with the sides of the nuts to be unfastened.
To unfasten a nut insert the spanner, which as it is pushed forwards and
advances over the washer, it, the spanner, forces the spring edge of the
washer back to its lowest position and on a level with the other part of
the washer, so that there is nothing then projecting to prevent the nut.
from being unscrewed. To again secure the nut, screw it down tightly
on the washer, and the spring portion thereof again rises up into a notch
or presses against the side of the nut, according to which of the arrange-
ments before described is adopted.
Figure 12 is a section and Figure 13 is a plan of another arrangement
where the nut is made with a projecting collar. a is the spring portion
of the washer which acts when the nut is screwed down in the manner
or manners before described; e is the nut, and h is the projecting
collar.
Figure 14 is a section and Figure 15 is a plan of a spanner to be used
with the arrangement just described. i is the tapered portion of the
spanner, and k is the flat portion. To unfasten the nut e the point of
the tapered portion i is inserted under the projecting collar h, the flat
part resting on the washer, so that as the spanner is pushed forwards, it
gradually comes further over the washer, and presses it down until the.
spring portion is flush with the remaining portion, when the nut can be
unscrewed.

page_text: And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim,―
First. The employment of spring washers made by forming one or
more slits or cuts therein, the slotted or cut portion or portions being
sprung from the plane of the washer and locking itself or themselves
against the inside notched or serrated face, or locking or pressing hard
against the sides of the nuts, substantially in manner and for the
purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
Second. The construction of spanners with bevilled or tapered inside
fitting edges, or with taper body, substantially as and for the purpose
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The construction of nuts with tapered sides in combination
with the spring washers and spanners, substantially as herein-before set
forth.
Fourth. The construction of nuts with parallel sides as usual, but
having a projecting collar, in combination with the spring washer and
spanners, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set forth.
.
In witness whereof, we, the said Ramsey Blakemore, William
Alexander Sherring, and Henry Horstman, have hereunto set
our hands and seals, this Fourth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
ACTATרית
DT
בדזלדילד
Witness,
EDW. GRIFFITH BREWER,
89, Chancery Lane.
AMSEY BLAKEMORE. (L.S.)
W. A. SHERRING.
HENRY HORSTMAN.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)¨