Improvements in Locking Bolts and Nuts.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1889-Accepted, 21st Sept., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locking Bolts and Nuts.
I, SYDNEY PITT of Sutton, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, (a communication
to me from abroad by Alexander James Perry, General in the United States Army,
at present residing at San Francisco, California, U.S.A.) 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:-
My improvements are especially designed for use in connection with fish-plates for
uniting the abutting ends of railway rails, but my invention is not thus limited in its
application, as some features of the invention may be employed wherever it is necessary
or desirable to lock a bolt in its socket or lock a nut to its bolt.
In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention-
Figure 1 shows a section of a railway rail and fish plates with my improvements
applied.
Figure 2 is a view of the bolt locking plate.
Figures 3 and 4 are views of the nut locking plate and nuts, and,
Figure 5 illustrates a modified construction for locking the bolts.
In Figure 1 of the drawings I have shown my improvements applied to one end of
the fish plates on one side of the rail joint. The locking devices on the opposite side
of the joint may be precisely the same and need not be illustrated or described.
The fish plates A A¹ on opposite sides of the rail B are preferably provided with
elongated apertures a somewhat longer than the width of the bolts C to admit of the
bolts having a slight movement with the rail without moving the fish plates. Such a
movement is often caused by the longitudinal expansion and contraction of the rail and
it is desirable that the fish-plate remain stationary while admitting the movement
of the bolts with the rail. The bolts C which extend through the apertures « and
through the apertures b in the rail are locked in position by a plate D provided with
apertures or sockets d through which the shanks of the bolts are inserted and thus
forming closed recesses or sockets in which the squared or polygonal heads of the bolt
neatly fit. The sockets & are preferably bevelled to correspond with the bevelled heads
of the bolts so that when the bolts are driven home and the bolt heads seated in their
sockets, the plate is held in place without additional fastenings and will effectually pre-
vent the bolts from turning. Instead of using a separate locking plate, the fish plate
may, in addition to the aperture a have a socket a¹ for the head of the bolt, as indicated
in Figure 5.
The polygonal nuts E, have bevelled sides, tapering from their upper or outer ends
inwardly. When driven home on the bolts, the flat under sides of the nuts (which are
the smaller sides) rest against the fish plate A'. The fish plates are firmly secured to
the rail by the two bolts C and their nuts, and the bolts are prevented from turning in
their sockets by means of the locking plate D or by the sockets in the fish plates, as
indicated in Figure 5. It now remains to lock the nuts to the bolts to prevent them
from turning thereon. This I effect by means of a simi-rigid endwise expansible bar
or plate F having forked bevelled ends to fit the bevelled nuts.
The bar, when straight or expanded to its greatest extent is of a length sufficient to
extend from one bolt to the other and enclose the nuts in its forked ends. The forked
ends of the plate F, or rather the recesses in the ends of the plate, are preferably of a
form or contour to correspond with one half of the nut and the sides of the recess are
bevelled to correspond with the bevels on the nuts. It is not, however, absolutely
necessary that the recesses correspond exactly with the shape of the nuts, as the tines of
the forks embracing opposite sides of the nuts will be effective, but not so much so as where
the recesses accurately fit one-half of the nut, as indicated in the drawings. It is,
however, always desirable to have the tines of the forks bevelled to correspond with
the bevelled sides of the nuts,

page_text: Before being put in place the locking plate F is bent as shown in Figure 1, so that
the extreme ends of the fork on each end of the plate inay be inserted under the nuts.
When in this position the plate is forced in and straightened out by means of a sledge
hammer or the like. The locking plate now lies parallel with the fish plate and its
forked ends embrace the bevelled nuts. The plate cannot disengage itself from the
nuts, and the nuts cannot turn on the bolts. To unlock the nuts, the plate F may be
bent and thus removed by applying a tool between the locking plate and the fish plate.
The locking plate F may be made of steel, iron, or any other suitable material, but
preferably of wrought iron.
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. The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the bolts, their bevelled
nuts, and the locking plate or bar having forked ends with bevelled tines.
2. The combination substantially as herein set forth, of the bolts, their bevelled
nuts, and the semi-rigid endwise expansible locking-plate or bar forked at opposite ends
and having bevelled tines which correspond with and snugly fit the bevelled nuts when
the locking plate is expanded to its greatest extent.
3. The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the abutting rails, the fish
plates having elongated apertures for the bolts and overlapping the abutting ends of the
rails, the bolts having angular bevelled beads, and the bolt-locking plate having angular
bevelled recesses closed on all sides for the bolt heads.