Improvements in and connected with Locking Nuts.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Locking Nuts.
We, THOMAS WASHINGTON CROZIER, Dentist, and JOSEPH RANDOLPH ELLIS,
Gentleman, both of the City of Roanoke, in the County of Roanoke, State of
Virginia, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to locking nuts or, as they are sometimes termed, nut
locks, and the object thereof is to provide a simple and efficient device of this
character; in which the nut will be firmly held on the bolt against retractive
rotation caused by vibration and shock to which the bolt may be subjected.
My improved nut lock is in the form of a washer having a flat body portion
with nut engaging means, and a plurality of prongs extending inward into the
bolt opening with their points arranged in a common plane, which plane is at
an angle to the plane of the washer body,
End or abutting portions of two overlapping plates are provided, and the lock-
ing bolt extends through alined apertures formed in the overlapping portions or
tongues of said plates, this being a common form of joint and being described
simply to show the nature of the invention. The nut lock of course can be used
to hold any two members in assembled relation.
The nut is held in a fixed position adjacent to the plate by a locking washer,
said washer being stamped and completed for use at one operation from prefer-
ably, resilient sheet metal, and is bent or deflected on straight lines tangen-
tially near its outer edge to provide a series of projections located at suitable
intervals apart and offset from the body thereof to form at intervals yielding
spring shoulders which serve to engage the outer edges of the nut, thereby
to maintain said nut in proper position and prevent rotative movement between
the nut and washer. The projections all extend from the same side of the
washer and are gradually inclined from one end to the other, the lowest point
of one projection being adjacent to the highest point of the other, the portion
of the washer between the projections being flat so as to lie flat against the
object. The locking washer has a substantially central aperture or opening to
receive the bolt and is equipped with a series of spurs or prongs having sharpened
or pointed ends which are adapted to be forced transversely or crosswise through
the thread of the bolt by the operation of the nut as the latter is turned on
the bolt and the points of the spurs or prongs touch a circle bounded by the
periphery of the bolt body, by reason of which they can be thrust into the
thread of the bolt by the advancing nut, and as a means for facilitating the
introduction of the washer the points of the spurs touch a pitch line conforming
to that of the thread of the bolt, so that said prongs can be successively inserted
in the front end of the groove between the thread, whereby when the washer
is turned in the proper direction it can be led on to or off from the bolt thread
with a screw-like action. Ordinarily, the washer and the nut will be simul-
taneously turned on to the bolt thread, the washer being in front, and these parts
may be moved in unison until the washer abuts against the plate or other part,

page_text: at which time the further turning of the nut will immediately force the spurs
into and across the thread: When the prongs are embedded sufficiently into
the thread of the bolt, the further turning of the nut will be stopped, and it will
be evident that the locking projections by engaging the outer edges of the nut,
will prevent retraction of the latter, and as the washer is locked firmly against
turning movement relatively to the bolt it will be evident that said nut cannot
be shaken off or dislodged by jars or shocks.
It will be evident from the preceding description that my improved device
includes broadly a bolt, a nut on the bolt, and a locking washer adjacent_to
the nut, and provided with a series of spurs forcible into the thread of the
bolt transversely or crosswise of said thread by the nut without changing the
relative disposition of said spurs.
Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction,
within the scope of the appended description, may be resorted to without depart-
ing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.
Applicants,
J. G. LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I.Mech. E.,
Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.
Improvements in and connected with Locking Nuts.
We, THOMAS WASHINGTON CROZIER, Dentist, and JOSEPH RANDOLPH ELLIS,
Gentleman, both of the. City of Roanoke, in the County of Roanoke, State of
Virginia, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
1
This invention relates to nut-locks, and the object thereof is to provide a
simple and efficient device of this character in which the nut will be firmly
held on the bolt against retractive rotation caused by vibration and shock to
which the bolt may be subjected.
My improved nut-lock is in the form of a washer having a flat body portion
with nut-engaging means and a plurality of prongs extending inward into the
bolt-opening, with their points arranged in a common plane, which plane is at
an angle to the plane of the washer body.
The invention consists of other peculiarities of construction and disposition
of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.
In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,―
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device provided with my improved
nut-lock.
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same, taken in the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the washer and bolt, showing the spurs or
prongs on the washer embedded in the thread of the bolt.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the washer, the section being taken in
the line 4 of Figure 3, and showing by dotted lines the spur-points touching
a pitch-line conforming to that of the thread of the bolt.
Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.
The ends or abutting portions of two overlapping plates are shown at 2 and 3,
respectively (see Figures 1 and 2), and the locking-bolt 6 extends through
aligned apertures formed in the overlapping portions or tongues 4 and 5 of said

page_text: plates, this being a common form of joint and being illustrated simply to show
the nature of the invention. The nut-lock, of course, can be used to hold any
two members in assembled relation.
The nut is designated by 8, and it is held in a fixed position adjacent to
the plate 2 by a locking-washer 9, said washer being stamped and completed for
use at one operation from, preferably, resilient sheet metal, and is bent or
deflected on straight lines in the direction of chards near its outer edge to provide
a series of projections, as 10, located at suitable intervals apart and offset from
the body thereof to form at intervals yielding spring-shoulders, which serve to
engage the outer edges of the nut, as indicated in Figure 1, thereby to maintain
said nut in proper position and prevent relative rotative movement between the
nut and washer. The projections all extend from the same side of the washer
and are gradually inclined from one end to the other, the lowest point of one
projection being adjacent to the highest point of the other, the portion of the
washer between the projections being flat, so as to lie flat against the object.
The locking-washer has a substantially central aperture, or opening 12 to
receive the bolt 6 and is equipped with a series of spurs or prongs 13, having
sharpened or pointed ends which are adapted to be forced transversely or
crosswise through the thread of the bolt by the operation of the nut as the
latter is turned on the bolt, and the points of the spurs or prongs, as will
be evident from an inspection of Figure 3, touch a circle bounded by the peri-
phery of the bolt-body, by reason of which they can be thrust into the thread
of the bolt by the advancing nut, and as a means for facilitating the introduc-
tion of the washer the points of the spurs touch a pitch-line (see dotted line,
Figure 4) conforming to that of the thread of the bolt, so that said prongs
can be successively inserted in the front end of the groove between the thread,
whereby when the washer is turned in the proper direction it can be led onto or
off from the bolt-thread with a screw-like action. Ordinarily the washer and
the nut will be simultaneously turned onto the bolt-thread, the washer being in
front, and these parts may be moved in unison until the washer abuts against
the plate
or other part, at which time the further turning of the nut will
immediately force the spurs into and across the thread. When the prongs are
embedded sufficiently into the thread of the bolt, the further turning of the nut
will be stopped, and it will be evident that the locking projections 10, by en-
gaging the outer edges of the nut, will prevent retraction of the latter, and as the
washer is locked firmly against turning movement relatively to the bolt it will
be evident that said nut cannot be shaken off or dislodged by jars or shocks.
It will be evident from the preceding description that my improved device
includes, broadly, a bolt, a nut on the bolt, and a locking-washer adjacent to the
nut and provided with a series of spurs forcible into the thread of the bolt
transversely or crosswise of said thread by the nut without changing the relative
disposition of said spurs.
Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction
within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing
from the spirit of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
-
1. A nut-lock consisting of a circular spring-metal washer provided with a
bolt-opening, and having portions around its outer edge permanently bent or
deflected on straight lines in the direction of chords to form laterally-offset
spring projections or shoulders for yieldingly engaging the sides of a nut,
the projections or shoulders extending from the same side of the washer
and each projection or shoulder having a gradual inclination from one end
to the other, the portion of the washer between the shoulders lying flat against
the object to which the nut-lock is applied, substantially as described.

page_text: 2. A lock-nut in the form of a washer having a flat body portion with nut-
engaging means, and a plurality of prongs extending inwards into the bolt-
opening with their points arranged in a common plane, which plane is at an
angle to the plane of the washer-body.
3. The combination with a threaded bolt and nut, of a locking-washer having
a flat body portion with nut-engaging means, and inwardly-projecting prongs for
engaging the bolt-threads, the points of said prongs being arranged in a common
plane which corresponds to the pitch of the bolt-thread, the prongs being adapted
under pressure to be forced laterally into the bolt-threads, substantially as
described.