Improvements in Nut Locks,
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1899-Accepted, 16th Dec., 1899
Improvements in Nut Locks,
I, FRANK GASPER STARK, of No. 114, West 11th Street, in the Borough of
Manhattan, in the City of New York, in the County and State of New York,
United States of America, Manufacturer, 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; --
The invention relates to improvements in nut locks, and consists in the
spring ring or clip hereinafter described and claimed, which is to be applied
upon the thread of the bolt to prevent the nut from becoming loose or jarring
therefrom. The spring ring or clip of my invention is readily distinguishable
from all previous ring nut locks, in that it has an initial diameter which is
not uniform but differential, one portion of the ring or clip being on a line
adapting it to be readily started on the thread of the bolt, while the other portion
of the ring or clip is formed on a curve or arc of less diameter than the diameter
of the bolt, whereby said portion when the ring or clin is screwed upon the bolt,
becomes expanded by the bolt to the diameter of he same and is caused to
exert efficient binding force thereon, the degree of said force being capable
of regulation by the relative diameter of the bolt with respect to
the diameter of that portion of the ring which is to be expanded
by the bolt. Thus the present spring ring or clip is of initial dif-
ferential diameter, that is before being applied to the bolt, and is of uniform
diameter after being applied upon the bolt. Two important results are attained
by the present invention, one being that, without the use of expanding tools,
the ring or clip may be readily started on the thread of the bolt, and the other
being that when once applied the ring has of itself such binding force that it
effectually resists displacement. The ring or clip is made of comparatively thick
spring steel and its portion or member which is formed on the reduced diameter
exerts, when on the bolt, a powerful binding action.
The nature and objects of the invention will be more fully understood from
the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accom-
panying drawings, in which:—
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bolt and nut equipped with a nut lock con-
structed in accordance with and embodying the invention;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the spring ring embodying my invention, the
same being shown in the normal condition it possesses prior to being applied
upon the bolt:
Fig. 3 is an edge view of same
Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section through the bolt on the dotted line 4--1
of Fig. 1, equipped with the spring ring of my invention, this figure illustrating
the ring in the position it is forced to take when upon the bolt and in actual
use.
Fig. 5 is an edge view of the spring ring illustrated in Fig. 4:
Fig. 6 is an outer side elevation of a modified form of the ring illustrated
in Fig. 2, the modification consisting simply in giving to the ring an additional

page_text: In the drawings A designates a usual bolt, B the nut thereon, and C' the nut
lock applied upon said bolt.
The nut lock C is in the nature of a spring ring or clip formed on the line
of a decreasing diameter, as indicated at D, E, the part E being of less diameter
than the part D and terminating at the end a. The ends of the ring terminate,
by preference, with outwardly extending arms F', which arms F are provided
to receive the tool by which the ring is screwed upon the bolt. The outer
surfaces of the ring C will preferably be convex, and the inner surfaces of
the said ring will preferably be of cone-shape in cross-section so as to form an
odge G capable of entering the thread of the bolt. That portion of the ring C
curved on the larger diameter D is lettered H and may be termed the inner
portion of the ring, since it is this portion of the ring which is first applied
to the bolt and which, when the ring is in position upon the bolt, is in advance
of the outer portion I of the ring which is formed on the reduced diameter E.
The main feature of the ring C and the one which distinguishes it from all
previous spring rings or clips known in this art, is that the inner part H of
the ring, is on a curve substantially corresponding with that of the bolt, while
the outer portion I of said ring is curved on a diameter less than the diameter
of the bolt. The purpose of thus forming the inner portion H of the ring is
to enable the ring to be started on the thread of the bolt with ease and facility,
and without any previous expanding of the ring. The portion I of the ring when
the latter is screwed upon the bolt, becomes expanded by the bolt and exerts
efficient binding force thereon. The normal or initial condition of the ring C
prior to its application to the bolt is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and the con-
dition of the said ring after its application to the bolt is illustrated in Figs. 1,4
and 5, in which it will be seen that the ring (then conforms to the diameter
of the bolt. After the ring has been applied to the bolt its inner edge G will
grip the latter, but the outer portion I of said ring will have a very decided
binding action upon the bolt. It is well understood that split spring rings
have heretofore been used as nut locks, but I believe in no instance has there
been used heretofore a spring ring or clip nut lock possessing the characteristics
of my present invention or equivalent principles of construction and operation.
One of the main features of the construction of my present split ring or clip
nut lock is that it possesses, when in its initial form, the two diameters
indicated at D, E, these being formed by bending the bar from which the
ring is made, on a gradually reducing diameter and, as herein before explained,
enabling the attainment of important results. The manner of constructing the
split ring of my present invention may probably be better understood by
explaining that the bar from which the ring is made describes a gradually
reducing diameter and that if the coiling of the bar were continued with the
coils on a parallel plane, they would form a helix or helical coil, and if spirally
coiled would form the outline of a cone. The main consideration to be observed
in the construction of the split ring of my present invention is that the inner
portion shall be on the larger diameter so as to readily start upon the bolt,
without the preliminary spreading of the ring, and that the part I shall be on
the reduced diameter, so that it may be expanded by the bolt while the ring
is being screwed thereon.
In Figs. 6 and 7 I illustrate my invention in a slightly modified form,
the modification consisting simply in giving the ring an additional coil J inter-
mediate the inner and outer parts H, I, said coil J being less in diameter than
the bolt to which it is to be applied, so that it and the said outer part I may
possess an extended gripping edge for contact with the thread of the bolt. The
construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 illustrates what I have herein before
described as a gradually reducing diameter, and also the statement that if the
bar from which the ring is made were continued on a spiral line the resulting
structure would have the form of a cone. The construction shown in Figs. 6

page_text: and 7 will only be desirable when the lock is made of light wire or the bolt
is of some unusual thread formation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A nut lock comprising a spring ring or clip initially of reducing diameter,
one portion of the ring substantially conforming to the bolt so as to be readily
started thereon, and the other portion thereof defining a smaller diameter than
that of the bolt so as to be expanded by the bolt as the ring is screwed thereon;
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. A nut lock comprising a spring ring or clip initially of reducing diameter
and having at its ends the outwardly extending arms, one portion of the ring
substantially conforming to the bolt so as to be readily started thereon, and
the other portion thereof defining a smaller diameter than that of the bolt so
as to be expanded by the bolt as the ring is screwed thereon; substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.
1000
FRANK GASPER STARK.
Cruikshank & Fairweather,
Chartered Patent Agents, 62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents for the Applicant.