Improvements in Coupling Boxes and Clips for Coupling and Sup- porting Wires, Wire Ropes, Rods, Tubes, and Bars for Various Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left. 22nd July, 1890-Accepted, 6th Sept., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coupling Boxes and Clips for Coupling and Sup-
porting Wires, Wire Ropes, Rods, Tubes, and Bars for Various
Purposes.
I HENRY JOHNSON of Trindle Road Dudley in the County of Worcester Mining
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In making a coupling box according to my invention for joining cylindrical tubes
I make an oblong box box preferably rectangular and of malleable cast iron. The
said box is provided with a lid which fits on shoulders in the box. The bottom of the
box and the underside of the lid are semi-cylindrical in figure so that when the lid is
in position the space enclosed between it and the bottom of the box is cylindrical.
The ends of the closed box are open so that the said closed box has the general con-
figuration of an oblong rectangular solid with a tubular passage through it. in the
direction of its greater length. A hole is made through the middle of the box and lid
for the reception of a screw bolt. On the concave bottom of the box and also on the
under concave side of the lid two small snugs or projections are made the said snugs
being symmetrically situated on each side of the middle hole in the box and lid. Near
the end of each of the tubes to be joined holes are made of such a size and in such
positions that when the tubes are placed in the box their ends being at a distance apart
equal to the diameter of the middle hole and the lid is placed in position the snugs of
the box and lid enter and engage in the holes in the tubes. The said tubes are thereby
securely joined together and are incapable of turning or moving longitudinally. The
parts are fixed in position by a screw bolt being passed through the middle hole and
fixed by a screw nut.
By duplicating the parts described the boxes being hase to base and formed in one
casting a double or compound coupling box for joining parallel tubes may be
made.
For joining tubes at right angles the box may be made square with a hole in each
of two opposed sides a continuous tube passing through the said holes. The other
tube at right angles to the one described is divided and the ends of the divided tube
are passed through holes in the other two opposed sides of the box its ends abutting
against the sides of the continuous tube. The ends of the divided tube and the bottom
of the box are provided with holes and snugs of the kind herein before described. The
parts are fixed in position by a screw bolt and nut the bolt being passed through
central holes in the lid continuous tube and box. For fixing coutinuous tubes at
right angles the holes in one of the boxes of the double box must be at right angles to
the holes in the other box. By slight modification coupling boxes may also be con-
structed capable of joining together tubes at any desired angle to a straight or
through tube.
In joining flat bars I make a coupling box having the figure of a shallow trough
the bottom and sides of which are at right angles. A partition crosses the middle of
the trough. In each of the two divisions of the box a snug is made on the opposite
sides of the trough. The ends of the bars to be joined have notches or recesses in
their edges suitable for engaging with the said snugs. The ends of the bars having
been put in position in the box a screw bolt is passed through a hole in the partition
and fixed by a scrow nut. The head of the screw bolt bears upon the ends of the bars
and bolds them down. No lid is required with this box although for greater security
a lid may be employed.
For joining flat bars angularly or a series of flat bars radially I employ a box of a
circular figure and having on one face a series of radial depressions or depressions inclined
to each other at the required angle. These depressions are of a size and shape suitable to

page_text: receive the square ends of the bars to be joined. Each recess has a snug on one or
both sides and the hars to be introduced into the said recesses have notches the counter-
part of the said snugs. The ends of the bars having been placed in the depressions a flat
circular cover having the same diameter as the box is fixed on that face of the hox
having the depressions and secured in position by a screw bolt passed through a central
bole in the lid and box and fixed by a screw nut. The box may have depressions on
each face and a lid on each side. In this way two sets of flat bars in parallel planes
may be joined.
a central bolt
The coupling box may have depressions suitable for receiving through flat bars in
combination with the ends of other flat bars the through bars having
hole in addition to the lugs and notches. By modifying the shapes of the recesses and
chambers in the coupling box it may be made suitable for the joining of tubes and bars
of various cross sections as well as cylindrical flat tubes and bars.
I will now describe that part of iny invention which relates to clips for various
purposes. In making a clip for connecting a coupling box or pulley frame and
pulley to an angle bar I make preferably in malleable cast iron a clip or holder of such
a form that it surrounds the angle iron on all sides excepting at the edge of one of the
webs. The two sides of the clip are open at this part and are prolonged beyond
the edge of the web a distance about equal to the breadth of one of the
webs of the angle iron. The angle iron is inserted in the clip by a sliding
motion and is fixed by a screw bolt and nut the bolt passing through the prolonged
parts of the clip which are tightened by the screw nut and the angle iron thereby
gripped in the clip. I attach to one or to each of the prolonged parts of the clip the
coupling box or pulley frame and pulley (the said box and frame being either inade
separately or in one casting) by the screw bolt which secures the clip to the angle
bar. The clip described may by modifying the shape of the part which grips the bar
be employed for clipping hars of all the ordinary sectional figures. The said clip by
modification of the shape of the gripping part may be employed for connecting two
T shaped bars two or four angle bars trough shaped bars with T bars and angle bars
and for various other like purposes.
Or the clip may be made without the open sides that is the parts described as
open may be closed or connected. The bar or bars gripped and connected by the
clip are fixed in position by a screw bolt passed through the clip and bar or bars and
fixed by a screw nut.
Coupling boxes and clips made according to my invention are applicable to fencing
telegraph wires and to the joining and supporting of the parts of structures made
wholly or mainly of wire wire rope tubes bars and rods and to other like purposes.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1889.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coupling Boxes and Clips for Coupling and Sup-
porting Wires, Wire Ropes, Rods, Tubes, and Bars for Various
Purposes.
I HENRY JOHNSON of Trindle Road Dudley in the County of Worcester Mining
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention and the manner in which
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
In making a coupling box according to my invention for joining cylindrical tubes
I make an oblong box preferably rectangular and of malleable cast iron. The said
box is provided with a lid which fits on shoulders in the box. The bottom of the box
and the underside of the lid are semi-cylindrical in figure so that when the lid is in
position the space enclosed between it and the bottom of the box is cylindrical. The
ends of the closed box are open so that the said closed box has the general configuration
of an oblong rectangular solid with a tubular passage through it in the direction of its

page_text: greater length. A hole is made through the middle of the box and lid for the reception
of a screw bolt. On the concave bottom of the box and also on the under concave side
of the lid two small snugs or projections are made the said snugs being symmetrically
situated on each side of the middle hole in the box and lid. Near the end of each of
the tubes to be joined holes are made of such a size and in such positions that when
the tubes are placed in the box their ends being at a distance apart equal to the diameter
of the middle hole and the lid is placed in position the snugs of the box and lid enter
and engage in the holes in the tubes. The said unbes are thereby securely joined
together and are incapable of turning or moving longitudinally. The parts are fixed
in position by a screw bolt being passed through the middle hole and fixed by a screw
nut. A coupling box for joining cylindrical tubes constructed according to this part
of my invention is represented in plan (with the cover and fixing bolt removed) in
Figure 1 longitudinal section in Figure 2 and end elevation in Figure 3 and the cover
detached in Figure 4.
a
is the coupling box the ends of which are open the said box having an oblong
figure and being preferably made of malleable iron; b is the semi-cylindrical bottom
or sent of the box on which seat the ends of the tubes cc to be joined to the box
rest is the lid or cover semi-cylindrical on its underside the said lid fitting in a
recess in the upper half of the coupling box and resting on the shoulders bas
represented in Figure 3. At the middle of the seini-cylindrical seat part b of the
coupling box a are snugs ff upon which holes in the ends of the tubes c c² take as
represented in Figure 2 so as to prevent rotation and longitudinal motion of the tubes
in the coupling box. Snugs may also be made on the underside of the lid and holes
in the upper side of the tubes for the same purpose. A hole is made in the middle
of the box a and also a hole in the lid e for the passage of the fixing screw bolt i.
The ends of the tubes c c² having been placed in the coupling box a from the opposite
open ends of the said box and engaged with the snugs ff the lid e is put in its
place. The ends of the tubes are thereby enclosed between the concave bottom or
seat of the coupling box and the concave underside of the lid e as represented in
Figure 3. By now passing the shank of the screw holt i through the lid e and box a
and fixing it by the screw nut & the several parts are bound together and the two
tubes joined to the coupling box.
C
By duplicating the parts described and illustrated the boxes being fixed base to
base and formed in one casting a double or compound coupling box for joining
parallel tubes may be made.
For joining tubes at right angles the box may be made square with a hole in each
of the two opposed sides a continuous tube passing through the said holes. The other
tube at right angles to the one described is divided and the ends of the divided tube
are passed through holes in the other two opposed sides of the box its ends abutting
against the sides of the continuous tube. The ends of the divided tube and the
bottom of the box are provided with holes and snugs of the kind hereinbefore
described. The parts are fixed in position by a screw bolt and nut the bolt being
passed through central holes in the lid continuous tube and box.
A coupling box for joining tubes at right angles constructed according to my
invention is represented in plan with the lid removed in Figure 5; longitudinal
section in Figure 6; end elevation in Figure 7 and plan and elevation of the lid
detached in Figure 8.
In this arrangement the coupling box a is square and has a square lid e the
bottom of the box and the underside of the lid having four semi-cylindrical depressions
or seats each at right angles to the adjacent one for receiving the continuous tube
and the ends of the divided tube. The ends 12 12 of the divided tube abut against
the continuous tube at the middle of the box. A boleh is made in the lid e; a
hole m in the continuous tube and a hole in the bottom of the coupling box for the
passage of the fixing screw bolt i as represented in the drawing.
For fixing continuous tubes at right angles a double coupling box consisting of two
boxes base to base is used the holes or seats for the continuous tubes in the box and
lids being situated at right angles to one another the fixing screw bolt being passed

page_text: through coincident holes in the two continuous tubes where they cross. By slight
modification which I do not think it necessary to describe the coupling boxes may
also be so constructed as to be capable of joining together tubes at any desired angle
to a straight or through tube.
In joining flat bars I make a coupling box having the figure of a shallow trough
the bottom and sides of which are at right angles. A partition crosses the middle of
the trough. In each of the two divisions of the box a snug is made on the opposite
sides of the trough. The ends of the bars to be joined have notches or recesses in
their edges suitable for engaging with the said snugs. The ends of the bars having
been put in position in the box a screw bolt is passed through a hole in the partition
and fixed by a screw nut. The head of the screw bolt bears upon the ends of the
bars and holds them down. No lid is required with this box although for greater
security a lid may be employed.
This part of my invention is illustrated in plan in Figure longitudinal section in
Figure 10 and end elevation in Figure 11 where the coupling box having the form of
a shallow trough is marked p and the ends of the flat bars fitted in the trough box
and abutting against the cross-partition are marked p² the said partition having
a hole in it through which the fastening screw bolt is passed, the head of the
bolt hearing on the ends of the bars and holding them down as representod. The
ends of the bars have notches p p made in their edges which take upon corre-
spondingly shaped snugs p³ p³ in the sides of the trough of the box as represented
in Figure 9.
For joining flat bars angularly or a series of flat bars radially I employ a box
of a square or circular figure and having on one face a series of radial depressions
or depressions inclined to each other at the required angle. These depressions are
of a size and shape suitable to receive the square ends of the bars to be joined.
Each recess has a snug on one or both sides and the bars to be introduced into
the said recesses have notches the counterpart of the said snugs. The ends of the
bars having been placed in the depressions a flat circular or square cover having
the same diameter and size as the box is fixed on that face of the box having the
depressions and secured in position by a screw bolt passed through a central hole
in the lid and box and fixed by a screw nut.
Figure 12 represents in plan and Figure 13 in section a coupling box made according
to my invention for joining a series of flat bars angularly or at right angles to
one another; is the coupling box having recesses in its face for receiving the
continuous flat bar and the ends of the divided bar notches in the edges of
the divided bar taking upon snugs on the sides of the recesses into which the said
bar is fitted as seen in Figure 12. The fixing screw bolt
in the box and also through a hole in the continuous bar
bolt bearing on the continuous bar and on the abutting ends
A cover may be used with this construction of coupling box.
passes through a hole
the head of the screw
of the divided bar ³.
Figure 14 represents in plan with the cover removed and Figure 15 in section
a coupling box for joining a series of flat bars radially. In this arrangement the
coupling box is circular and has a series of radial depressions for receiving the
ends of the radial flat bars 66 and is furnished with a lid or cover which is placed
upon the ends of the radial bars in the coupling box and fastened down by the
screw bolt 25. The coupling boxes represented in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15 may
have depressions on each face and a lid on each side. In this way two sets of flat
bars in parallel planes may be joined. The coupling box may have depressions
suitable for receiving through flat bars in combination with the ends of other flat
bars the through bars having a central bolt hole in addition to the lugs and notches
represented. By modifying the shapes of the recesses and chambers in the coupling
box it may be made suitable for the joining of tubes and bars of various cross sections
as well as cylindrical or flat tubes and bars.
I will now describe that part of my invention which relates to clips for various
purposes. In making a clip for connecting a coupling box or pulley frame and pulleys
to an angle bar I make preferably in malleable cast iron a clip or holder of such a

page_text: form that it surrounds the angle iron on all sides excepting at the edge of one of the
webs. The two sides of the clip are open at this part and are prolonged beyond the
edge of the web a distance about equal to the breadth of one of the webs of the angle
iron. The angle iron is inserted in the clip by a sliding motion and is fixed by a
screw bolt and nut the bolt passing through the prolonged parts of the clip which are
tightened by the screw nut and the angle iron thereby gripped in the clip. I attach
to one or to each of the prolonged parts of the clip the coupling box or pulley frame
and pulley (the said box and frame and clip being either made separately or in one
casting) by the screw bolt which secures the clip to the angle bar. The clip described
may by modifying the shape of the part which grips the har be employed for clipping
bars of all the ordinary sectional figures. The said clip by modification of the
shape of the gripping part may be employed for connecting two T shaped bars two
or four angle bars trough shaped bars with T bars and angle bars anil for various
other like purposes. Figures 16, and 18 represent elevations taken at right angles to
one another and Figure 17 represents a plan of a clip and coupling box for connecting
a pipe to an angle bar; s is the clip and u the angle bar fixed in it; 2 is the
prolonged open or split sides of the clip; t is the coupling box in which the pipe v is
seated the said box being connected to or made in one piece with one of the split
sides of the clip; t is the lid of the coupling box and t³ the fixing screw bolt passed
through holes in the split sides of the clip and the box and its cover.
The angle
iron having been placed in the clips by an end sliding motion the screw bolt is
put in its place and fastened by a screw nut the fixing of the screw bolt tightening
the clip s on the angle iron u and at the same time fixing the tube in the coupling
box. Lugs on the sides of the coupling box take into holes in the tube as
represented.
Figure 19 represents a modified arrangement for connecting a pulley frame and
pulleys to an angle bar. In this arrangement the screw pin by which the split
clip is tightened on the angle bar constitutes the axis on which the pulleys turn
as represented. The split clip represented in Figures 17, 18 and 19 may be
modified in the manner represented in Figures 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 for
clipping bars or combinations of bars of various shapes. In Figure 20 the clip
has a form given to it suitable for holding two angle bars; in Figure 21 the clip
has a form suitable for holding two flat bars at right angles; in Figure 22 the
clip has a form suitable for holding two trough bars; in Figures 23 and 24 the
clips have forms suitable for holding a trough shaped bar and a T shaped bar
combined; in Figure 25 the clip has a shape suitable for holding two T shaped
bars and in Figure 26 the clip has a shape suitable for holding four angle bars.
The clip by which the angle or other bar or bars is or are gripped may be made
without the open sides; that is the parts described as open may be closed or con-
nected. The bar or hars gripped and connected by the last described clip are
fixed in position by a screw bolt passed through the clip and bar or bars and fixed
by a screw nut.
Coupling boxes and clips made according to my invention are applicable to fencing
telegraph wires and to the joining and supporting of the parts of structures made
wholly or mainly of wire wire rope tubes bars and rods and to other like purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "Improvements in coupling boxes and clips for coupling and supporting
wires wire ropes rods tubes and bars for various purposes":-
First-The combination or arrangement of the parts of coupling boxes for
joining and supporting cylindrical tubes (and other like articles) hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawing;
also the double or compound coupling box described for joining and supporting
parallel tubes and other like articles.
Secondly-The combination or arrangement of the parts of coupling boxes for
joining and supporting cylindrical tubes (and other like articles) at right angles or at

page_text: any desired angle to a straight or through tube herein before described and illustrated
in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying drawing.
Thirdly-The arrangements or combinations of the parts of coupling boxes for
joining and supporting flat bars (and other articles) end to end or angularly or
radially herein before described and illustrated in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
of the accompanying drawing.
bars
Fourthly: The construction of the clips and the combination therewith of coupling
boxes for joining tubes wires wire ropes rods and other like articles to angle bars
trough shaped bars and other bars hereinbefore described and illustrated in
Figures 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of the accompanying drawing;
whether the clips be made with open or split sides or with closed or connected sides.
Lastly-Adapting the clips referred to in the preceding claim to the connecting of
pulley frames and pulleys to angle bars and other bars as herein before described and
illustrated with reference to Figure 19 of the accompanying drawing.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.