IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLINGS FOR SHAFTS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Smith, of St. Ann's Road, Brixton, and Charles
Harrison, of Webber Street, Blackfriars Road, both in the County of Surrey
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLINGS FOR SHAFTS
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Smith and Charles
Harrison at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st July
1882.
HENRY SMITH, of St Ann's Road, Brixton, and CHARLES HARRISON, of Webber
Street, Blackfriars Road, both in the County of Surrey, "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COUPLINGS FOR SHAFTS"
The objects of our Invention are:-
1st To produce an efficient coupling for connecting the ends of two lengths of
shafting at a greatly reduced cost.
2nd To dispense with the employment of keys and keyways to secure the shaft
in position in the coupling; and,
3rd To greatly facilitate the introduction of the ends of the shafting into the
coupling when securing them together, and the withdrawal of the same when
necessary to uncouple the shafts.
The coupling is preferably cast in iron, steel, or other suitable metal, and when
fitted together it forms a sleeve to receive the two ends of the shafts to be coupled,
such sleeve by preference being formed in three parts, one of which (hereinafter
referred to as the lower part or cap) constitutes the lower half of the sleeve divided
longitudinally on its axis, and is bored truly to the required diameter to receive
the shaft ends; while the other half of the sleeve is preferably divided transversely
in the centre so as to form two upper parts or caps to fit over the ends of the
shafts, but which is used rough as cast, instead of being turned true in a lathe.
Two or more bosses are formed on the edges of the lower cap, and corresponding
bosses are formed on the upper caps, and through them bolts are passed to secure
the whole of the parts together.
Each upper cap on its inner or butting end is provided with a tongue or stop
piece projecting inwards for about the diameter of its bore, and of any suitable
Price Gd1

page_text: width, while the butting ends of the shafts to be coupled have a portion of the
metal cut away to form a space to receive such tongues or stop pieces, whereby the
shafts are effectually prevented from turning in the coupling.
The object of making the tongues or stop pieces in the upper caps of about only
of the diameter of the bore, is so as to have to remove less than a half of the metal
from the ends of the shafts, whereby their centres are left intact, so that the shaft
can readily be placed in a lathe again if required to reduce or turn any part of
them.
Instead of forming the upper part of the coupling in two parts or caps, it might
be formed in one continuous cap with a projecting tongue or stop piece in the
middle wide enough to fit into the space formed by cutting away the metal from
the ends of the shafts; or such tongue or stop piece might if desired be formed at
the middle of the lower cap.
The lower cap forms exactly one half of the sleeve, while the upper caps or cap
do not quite complete the other half thereof, so that the bolts when tightened up
cause the whole to bind firmly on the shaft ends, the rough casting of the bore in
the upper caps or cap still further increasing the hold.
By making the lower cap to form exactly half a circle we are enabled, by
temporarily bolting two of them together to borc out two of them at one operation,
thereby decreasing the cost of production, the two being afterwards separated and
cach used as the lower cap of two separate couplings.
In some cases where only light work is to be effected by the shaft the tongues or
stop pieces might be dispensed with, the rough bore in the upper caps or cap
affording the necessary hold.
It will be readily understood that by simply unscrewing the nuts and removing
the bolts, the top caps or cap can be at once lifted off and the shafts uncoupled.
Both the upper and lower caps might be formed at their ends with flanges
projecting outwards to a distance beyond the heads of the bolts, and a covering of
sheet iron or other suitable material be secured thereto in any suitable manner, so
as to completely enclose the coupling.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Smith and Charles Harrison in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th January 1883.
HENRY SMITH, of St Ann's Road, Brixton, and CHARLES HARRISON, of Webber
Street, Blackfriars Road, both in the County of Surrey, "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COUPLINGS FOR SHAFTS
"
The objects of our Invention are:-
1st To produce an efficient coupling for connecting the ends of two lengths of
shafting at a greatly reduced cost.
2nd To dispense with the employment of keys and keyways to secure the shafts
in position in the coupling; and,
3 To greatly facilitate the introduction of the ends of the shafting into the
coupling when securing them together, and the withdrawal of the same when
necessary to uncouple the shafts.
The coupling is preferably cast in iron, steel, or other suitable metal, and when
fitted together it forms a sleeve to receive the two ends of the shafts to be coupled,
such sleeve by preference being formed in three parts, one of which (hereinafter
referred to as the lower part or cap) constitutes the lower half of the sleeve
divided longitudinally on its axis, and is bored truly to the required diameter to
receive the shaft ends; while the other half of the sleeve is preferably divided
transversely in the centre so as to form two upper parts or caps to fit over the ends
of the shafts, but which is used rough as cast, instead of being turned true in a
lathe,
Two or more bosses are formed on the edges of the lower cap, and corresponding
bosses are formed on the upper caps, and through them bolts are passed to secure
the whole of the parts together.
Each upper cap on its inner or butting end is provided with a tongue, stop piece
or abutment projecting inwards for about 1/, the diameter of its bore, and of any
suitable width, while the butting ends of the shafts to be coupled have a portion of
the metal cut away to form a space to receive such tongues, stop pieces or
abutments, whereby the shafts are effectually prevented from turning in the
coupling.
The object of making the tongues, stop picces or abutments in the upper caps of
about /, only of the diameter of the bore, is so as to have to remove less than a half of
the metal from the ends of the shafts, whereby their centres are left intact, so that
the shafts can readily be placed in a lathe again if required to reduce or turn any
part of them.
Instead of forming the upper part of the coupling in two parts or caps, it might
be formed in one continuous cap with a projecting tongue, stop piece or abutment
in the middle wide enough to fit into the space formed by cutting away the metal
from the ends of the shafts; or such tongue, stop piece or abutment might if desired
be formed at the middle of the lower cap.
The lower cap forms exactly one half of the sleeve, while the upper caps or cap
do not quite complete the other half thereof, so that the bolts when tightened up
cause the whole to bind firmly on the shaft ends, the rough casting of the bore in
the upper caps or cap still further increasing the hold.
By making the lower cap to form exactly half a circle we are enabled, by
temporarily bolting two of them together to bore out two of them at one operation,
thereby decreasing the cost of production, the two being afterwards separated and
each used as the lower cap of two separate couplings.

page_text: In some cases where only light work is to be effected by the shaft the tongues,
stop pieces or abutinents might be dispensed with, the rough bore in the upper
caps or cap affording the necessary hold.
It will be readily understood that by simply unscrewing the nuts and removing
the bolts, the top caps or cap can be at once lifted off and the shafts uncoupled.
Both the upper and lower caps might be formed at their ends with flanges
projecting outwards to a distance beyond the heads of the bolts, and a covering of
sheet iron or other suitable material be secured thereto in any suitable manner, so
as to completely enclose the coupling.
But in order that our invention may be fully understood we will proceed to
describe the same by the aid of the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which the
same letters indicate similar parts in all the figures.
Fig 1 is a side elevation, Fig 2 a transverse section on the line a, b, Fig 3 a
longitudinal section on the line c, d, and Fig-4 a plan view of the under side of one
form of our improved coupling, the upper and lower caps forming the sleeve being
each formed in one piece.
A is the lower part or cap forming one half of the sleeve divided longitudinally
on its axis, and bored truly to the required diameter to receive the ends of the
shafts C and C¹. B is the upper part or cap the bore of which is left rough
as cast.
Two or more bosses D and D' are formed on the edges of both of the caps A
and B, and through them bolts E and E¹ pass and secure the whole together.
The upper cap B at or near its centre is provided with a tongue, stop piece or
abutment F of any suitable form, projecting inwards for about 1/3 of the diameter
of its bore, while the butting ends of the shafts C and C¹ have a portion of the
metal cut away (as shown in Figs 2 and 3) to form a space to receive such tongue,
stop piece or abutment, whereby the shafts are effectually prevented from turning
in the coupling.
The heads of the bolts E and E' are shown hexagonal, but they may be of any
other polygonal form, and the spaces left in the cap A to receive the same will be
correspondingly shaped to prevent the bolts turning when the nuts are being
screwed home on the bolts.
If the upper cap B is formed in two parts the tongue, stop piece or abutment F
will be formed one half on each butting end of the two parts of the upper cap; or
the tongue, stop piece or abutment might be formed in the bore of the lower
cap A.
Fig 5 is a longitudinal section and Fig 6 a transverse section on line e, f,
of.another form of our improved coupling, in which the upper cap B is shown as
being divided transversely so as to form two upper parts or caps, and two. tongues,
stop pieces or abutments F are shown, one arranged in the bore of each upper part
or cap, in a line with the centres of the bosses D and D', through which the bolts E
and E pass and secure the whole together. The portions of the shafts C and C+
to be cut away will have to be in such positions that when the shafts are inserted
in the coupling the tongues, stop pieces or abutments will fit therein. This
arrangement of the tongues, stop pieces or abutments might be equally well
applied to a coupling in which the upper cap B is formed in one piece.
Fig 7 is a longitudinal section and Fig 8 a transverse section on line g, h, of a
third form of our improved coupling, in which the tongues, stop pieces or
abutments F are shown of circular form, and fitting into corresponding recesses
drilled in the shafts to receive the same. This modification may be either applied
to a coupling in which the upper cap is made in a single piece or in two separate
pieces.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that what we claim is :—
An improved coupling consisting of a lower cap A the bore of which is turned
.truly to receive the ends of the shafts to be coupled, and an upper cap B, made
either in a single piece or in two separate pieces, the bore of which is left rough so

page_text: as to firmly grip the ends of the shafts to be coupled, when the whole coupling is
connected together by suitable bolts; such caps being formed either with or
without tongues, stop pieces or abutments F of any desired form, suitably situated
in the bore of the coupling, and serving to prevent the shifting of the shafts
therein, by entering corresponding recesses made in the shafts to receive them, all
substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this eighteenth
day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
eighty-three.
H. SMITH
(L.S.)
C. HARRISON (L.S.)