Improvements in Shaft or Thill Lugs for Harness.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 1st July, 1890-Accepted, 2nd Aug., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JOHN STEPHEN HURLEY, of Lynn, in the State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman.]
Improvements in Shaft or Thill Lugs for Harness.
1, GEORGE MACAULAY-CRUIKSHANK, C.E., of 62 Saint Vincent Street, in the City of
Glasgow, Registered Patent Agent and Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed as communicated to me to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to shaft or thill lugs for harness in which the lag is made in
two parts or sections, one being hook-shaped and comprising the portion of the lug
which supports the shaft or thill, while the other constitutes one side of the upper
portion of the lug and is hinged so that it can be swung to open and close the side
of the lug and thus permit the insertion and removal of the shaft through one side of
the lug, the shaft being moved sidewise to insert and remove it.
The object of the invention is to provide a strong and durable lug of this class, in
which the swinging end of the hinged section shall be securely held when in place,
and shall at the same time be readily detachable from the body of the lug to permit
the insertion and removal of the shaft. To this end the invention consists in the
improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1
represents a side view of a shaft lug embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 represents
an edge view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3, 3, of Fig. 1.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all of the figures.
In the drawings, a represents the hook-shaped body or main section of the shaft
lug, the same being made of a suitable metal and comprising one side and the bottom
portion of the lug, its lower portion being formed to receive and support the thill.
represents the hinged section which is connected at its upper end by a hinge pintle
or pivot c to the section a, the said sections having hinge ears d and d¹ formed on
their upper ends through which the pin passes, the ears of one section alternating
with those of the other section. The hinged section 6 is formed to extend across
the open side of the section a, and to bear at its swinging end on the corresponding
end of said section a, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the arrangement being such that
the section swings outwardly, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to open the
lug for the insertion of the shaft, and inwardly to close the lug after the shaft is
in place.
The
e represents a locking lever which connected by a pivot pin e¹ to ears i i on the
hinged section b, said ears being at or near the swinging end of said section.
lever projects downwardly beyond the end of the section and is provided with a
tongue e which projects inwardly and is adapted to enter a slot g formed for its
reception in the section a, near the end of the latter on which the hinged section
bears.
h represents a spring which is supported by the section 6 and is arranged to press
outwardly on the upper end of the lever e above the pivot e¹, and therefore presses
the lower end of said lever with the tongue e inwardly.
It will be seen that when the section b is swung outwardly to open the lug, the
locking lever e is pressed inwardly at its lower end, and that when the section 6 is
swung back to place, the tongue e of the locking lever comes in contact with the
outer side of the section a and is forced outwardly against the pressure of the spring h
until it coincides with the slot g, whereupon the tongue springs into the said slot
and is held there by the spring. The tongue ell and slot g are somewhat inclined,
as shown in Fig. 3, their arrangement being such that the tongue cannot be forced

page_text: out of the slot by outward pressure exerted on the swinging section b, and can only
be disengaged by the outward swinging of the lower end of the lever e, hence there
is no liability of accidental displacement of the section, 6 by pressure of the shaft
against it.
The lower end of the locking lever stands out somewhat from the adjoining side
of the lug, so that it can be readily taken hold of and swung outwardly to unlock the
section b.
m represents a buckle composed of a frame and a tongue, both secured by the
pin c, the said buckle being adapted to engage the strap which supports the lug. The
free end of said strap may be confined between flanges 2, 2 on the section a by a
cross bar 4 attached to said flanges.
The lower end of the section 6 is formed with two downwardly projecting ears b¹ b₁
which, when said section is closed, fit two recesses formed to receive them in the
section a.
Said ears strengthen the connection of the meeting ends of the
sections a b.
I do not limit myself to the precise details of the construction here shown; and
the same may be modified within the limits of mechanical skill and judgment without
departing from the spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
I declare that what I claim is:
1. In a shaft or thill lug, the combination of a main or body section formed to
support a shaft or thill and having an opening for the lateral entrance and egress of
the shaft and an upwardly inclined slot near the lower end of said opening, a swinging
section hinged at its upper end to the body section at the upper end of said opening
and adapted to swing outwardly to open the lug, and a yielding locking device on
the swinging end of the swinging section, provided with an upwardly inclined tongue
formed to enter the said slot, the inclination of said slot and tongue being such that
the tongue cannot be forced out of the slot by pressure exerted on the swinging
section when the tongue is in the slot, as set forth.
2. The combination of the main section provided with a side opening and with the
inclined slot g below said opening, the hinged section adapted to swing outwardly
from the main section, the locking lever pivoted to the hinged section at or near its
swinging end and provided with an inclined tongue adapted to enter said slot, and a
spring supported by the swinging section and bearing against one end of the locking
lever, whereby said tongue is pressed inwardly, as set forth.
Dated this Thirtieth day of June 1890.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.