Improvements relating to Lock-nuts and to Bolts for Use therewith.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 21st Jan., 1895-Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Lock-nuts and to Bolts for Use
therewith.
I, ALFRED BUCKINGHAM IBBOTSON of Sheffield in the County of York.
England, and of Villa Ibbotson, Porta Romana, Florence, Italy, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in lock-nuts and screw-threaded bolts,
which latter are intended for use with the lock-nuts. The said improved nuts and
bolts are chiefly designed for use in connecting or securing the ends of railway rails.
and for analogous purposes; the said nuts are adapted to hold tightly and securely
upon the bolts (as hereinafter described) without the aid of any separate locking
device or appliance.
In the Specifications of former Letters Patent granted to me, viz. No. 11,438
dated 8th September 1886 and No. 3929 dated 15th March 1887, I have described
mcdes of making a screw-nut which, without the use of separate or additional parts
or devices for locking or fastening it, will have a secure and permanent grip or hold
upon the bolt to which it is applied, this object being accomplished in the first
case by making a few only of the screw-threads in the nut of a smaller diameter
than the other threads and in the other case by making a few of the threads of
differing pitch from the remaining threads. Without the exertion of much greater
force than can be employed by the fingers alone, nuts thus made cannot be
screwed home upon the bolt.
The object of this my present invention is to provide improved means for forming
the said small diameter threads and the threads of differing pitch in a manner as
accurate but less costly than has hitherto been practicable.
Instead of forming a few of the small-diameter screw-threads in the nut by
compression while on a specially screwed mandrel, as shown and described in the
above-mentioned Specification No. 11,438 of 1886, I use in place of such mandrel
the bolt upon which the uut is intended to be used, taking care that each bolt has
at least one or more of its screw-threads at and nearest the extreme end of its
screw-threaded part which is intended to enter the nut, slightly tapered in
diameter; I place a parallel-threaded nut on the parallel threads of such bolt,
and screw it thereon as far as is necessary to cause the further end of the nut an.
the end of such bolt to be as nearly as practicable in a straight line, and then using
the bolt itself as a handle, I place that part of the nut which covers the smaller
diameter-threads on the end of the bolt, between pressing dies or swages, as
described and illustrated in said former Specification No. 11,438 of 1886 and
compress the nut on the bolt.
When a few of the screw-threads in the nut are required to be of a differing
pitch, instead of using partially screw-threaded mandrels or otherwise, as described
and illustrated in the aforesaid Specification No. 3929 of 1887, I screw the
parallel-threaded nut on the parallel-threaded bolt with which it is intended to be
used, just far enough to leave one or more of its threads unoccupied by the threads of
the bolt, and then slide the nut, (having the bolt hanging vertically downwards from
it and loose within the die) on the top of the bottom die of a pressing machine of the
necessary form and action to permit the nut only to be sufficiently compressed
between the upper and lower die of the machine when the latter is put into
operation to give the required smaller pitch to its threads. As those threads of

page_text: the nut which are occupied by the threads of the bolt cannot be compressed,
practically the whole of the compression will be exerted on that part of the nut
which has been left unoccupied by the screw-threads of the bolt, and the pitch of
the threads at such part will be slightly reduced.
Dated this 20th day of March 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Sonthampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Lock-nuts and to Bolts for Use
therewith.
I, ALFRED BUCKINGHAM IBBOTSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
England, and of Villa Ibbotson, Porta Romana, Florence, Italy, Merchant, 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 invention relates to improvements in lock-nuts and bolts chiefly designed
for use in connecting or securing the ends of railway rails, and for analogous
purposes; the said improved nuts are adapted to hold tightly and securely upon
the bolts without the aid of any separate locking device or appliance.
In the Specifications of former Letters Patent granted to me, viz.: No. 11,438
dated 8th September 1886 and No. 3929 dated 15th March 1887, I have described
two methods of making a screw-nut that, without the use of separate or additional
parts or devices for locking or fastening it, will have a secure and permanent grip
or hold upon the bolt to which it is applied, this object being accomplished
according to the first method by making a few of the screw-threads in the nut of
a smaller diameter than the other threads, and according to the second method by
making a few of the threads of differing pitch from the remaining threads. Without
the exertion of much greater force than can be employed by the fingers alone, nuts
thus made cannot be screwed home upon the bolt.
The object of this my present invention is to provide improved means for forming
the threads of smaller diameter and the threads of differing pitch much more
expeditiously and in a manner as accurate but less costly than has hitherto been
practicable, which object I accomplish by using the bolt itself upon which the nut
is to be used as a handle or otherwise as holder instead of a special mandrel as
described in the before-mentioned Specification>.
Referring to the drawings
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bolt slightly tapered at the end, and showing
also in central section a nut screwed on the bolt until flush with the end thereof.
Figures 2 and 3 are front elevations of square and hexagon slit nuts before the
slit part is compressed as hereinafter described.
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the end of the nut com-
pressed portions of the compressing dies or swages and guide plates are also
shown.
Figures 5 and 6 are front elevations of the nuts when compressed.
Figures 7 and 8 are front elevations of portions of swaging dies for square and
hexagon nuts respectively.
Figures 9 and 10 are front elevations of unslit square and hexagon nuts.
Figure 11 is a central section of a nut between the compressing dies or blocks of
a pressing machine, shewing also the bolt partially screwed into the nut and suspended
therefrom.
Figure 12 in a central section taken at right angles to the plane of Figure 11.
Figures 13 and 14 are central sections of the nut hefore and after compression,

page_text: and showing the bolt screwed therein and a piece of metal resting on the end of the
bolt to limit the amount of compression.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures.
Instead of forming a few of the small-diameter screw-threads in the nut by
compression on a portion of the sides of the nut while on a specially screwed
mandrel, as shown and described in the above-mentioned Specification No. 11,438
of 1886, I use in place of such mandrel the bolt A Figures 1 and 4 upon which the
nut is intended to be used, taking care that each bolt. has at least one or more
(two or three being preferred) of its screw-threads at and nearest the extreme
end a of its screw-threaded part intended to enter the nut, slightly tapered in
diameter, which by preference I accomplish by forging the bolts slightly tapered
at the end before they are screw-threaded. I may screw-thread the bolt partially
near the extreme end by means of a deep threaded screwing die and then fully
with an ordinary die of the same pitch, or I may reverse this process as may be
most convenient. I then place a parallel-threaded nut B on the parallel threads of
such bolt, and screw it thereon until the outer end of the nut is flush with the end
of the bolt as shewn in Figure 1 and then using the bolt itself as a handle, I place
that part of the nut which encloses the threads of smaller diameter on the end a of
the bolt, between pressing dies or swages C, as described and illustrated in the said
former Specification No. 11,438 of 1886 and radially compress or close the nut on
the bolt. D is a guide plate against which the end of the bolt and nut are pressed
during the compressing or swaging operation. The nut is preferably furnished
with slits b, as shown, at the end that is to be compressed to facilitate the compression
and it is preferably made of steel having a different temper from that of the bolt.
After this operation is complete the nut is of the shape shown in Figure 4 and can
only be screwed further on and then off the bolt with difficulty. If not screwed further
on it can easily be screwed off after compression.
When a few of the screw-threads in the nut are required to be of a differing
pitch, instead of using screw-threaded mandrels or otherwise, as described and
illustrated in the aforesaid Specification No. 3929 of 1887, I screw the parallel-
threaded nut on the parallel-threaded bolt with which it is intended to be used,
just far enough to leave one or more of its threads unoccupied by the threads of
the bolt, and then as shown in Figures 11 and 12 slide the nut (with the bolt
hanging vertically downwards from it) on the top of the lower "set or die E of
a pressing machine. The die is slotted at E¹ to allow the bolt to hang vertically
downward within the die. When the pressing machine is put into operation, the
upper die F or pressing surface of the machine axially compresses the nut on the
lower die. As those threads of the nut which are occupied by the threads of the
bolt cannot be readily compressed, practically the whole of the compression will
be exerted on that part of the nut which has been left unoccupied by the screw-
threads of the bolt. The pitch of the threads at such part will thus be slightly
reduced and the required locking threads thereby formed.
To limit the amount of compression I sometimes insert a metal block G in the
nut to rest on the end of the bolt.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The method of converting an ordinary nut into a lock-nut by compressing it
radially upon the tapered bolt with which it is to be used, substantially in the
manner described.
2. A lock-nut such as that hereinabove described formed by radially compressing
or closing a part of the nut on the reduced end of the prepared bolt, by means of
swages or dies, substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
3. A lock-nut formed by axially compressing the nut when the same is partially
screwed on the bolt and suspended therefrom, with or without the use of the metal
block G, substantially as described.

page_text: 4. An improved combined lock-nut and bolt formed by tapering the end of the
bolt, screwing the nut thereon until flush with the end, and then using the bolt as a
handle for holding the nut while the latter is compressed radially, the nut and bolt
being made of steel having different tempers, and the nut being preferably slit,
substantially as described.
5. The modified form of combined lock-nut aud bolt formed by compressing
the nut axially upon a special " set or die of a punching or pressing machine,
with or without a loose block G to limit the compression, while the bolt is used as
a handle to hold the nut in the correct position, substantially as described.
Dated this 21st day of January 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.