IMPROVED MEANS FOR SECURING SCREW NUTS AND KEYS OR WEDGES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Me-
chanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS FOR
SECURING SCREW NUTS AND KEYS OR WEDGES."-A communication from
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd November 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS FOR SECURING
SCREW NUTS AND KEYS OR WEDGES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to means for securing the nuts of screw
bolts applicable chiefly to the permanent way of railways, and secondly,
to means for securing the keys or wedges used in fixing the rails of
railways in their chairs.

page_text: In order to prevent the nuts of screw bolts from working loose a
plate or strip of sheet iron is employed which forms a washer for two
adjacent nuts. This plate or strip is made of such a length as to allow
of its ends being bent back when the nuts are tightened up and made
to butt against the outer sides of the nuts. Or the ends of the plate
are made circular, so that it takes the form of a double or twin washer,
and radial cuts are made in the circular ends of the plate to allow of
portions of the washer being bent up and caused to bear against the flat
sides of the nuts.
Another plan is to slit the plate longitudinally at the part intermediate
of the bolt holes, and to form thereby two tongues which stand out in
opposite directions. These tongues on contracting the plate lengthwise
(by bending it up in the middle) will be caused to abut against the
tightening nuts.
A further modification consists in the use of washers with ratchet
teeth on their periphery, which washers have lips to embrace their
respective nuts in order that they may turn with them. In this
example the plate through which the screw bolts are passed is slit
longitudinally near its opposite edges to form pawls which take
respectively into the ratchet teeth of the adjacent washers; thus the
nuts are free to be turned to tighten up the bolts, but they cannot
work loose by reason of the contact of their washers with the fixed
pawls.
The improvements in securing the keys or wedges used in fixing rails
in their chairs consists in the use of a strip of hoop iron or its equivalent
which is driven in with and virtually forms part of the wooden or metal
wedge or key. The wedge may be grooved on its side next the jaw of
the chair to receive the hoop iron, or the jaw itself may be grooved
transversely for the like purpose. This strip is driven in with the key
and its rear end is bent back at right angles over the head of the key
or wedge while its forward end is bent back over the jaw of the chair.
Thus though the wedge is free to be driven in further in case it should
shrink it cannot work backwards by reason of the metal holdfast
bearing on its head.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd May 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of November; in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVED MEANS FOR SECURING SCREW NUTS AND KEYS OR WEDGES," being
a communication to me from abroad by Alexander Campbell, of
Sacramento, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say) :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to means for securing the nuts of screw
bolts applicable chiefly to the permanent way of railways, and secondly,
to means for securing the keys or wedges used in fixing the rails of
railways in their chairs.

page_text: In order to prevent the nuts of screw bolts from working loose a plate
or strip of sheet iron is employed which forms a washer for two adjacent
nuts. This plate or strip is made of such a length as to allow, when the
nuts are tightened up, of its ends being bent back and made to butt
against the outer sides of the nuts.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews in isometrical perspective
a fished railway joint with the first part of the Invention applied thereto.
A, A, are the rails connected together by fish plates B, B, and screw
bolts and nuts C, C, in the ordinary manner. D is a strip of sheet iron
pierced with holes to allow of the bolts being passed through it and
forming a washer for two adjacent nuts. The ends of this strip are
bent over and caused to butt against the outer sides of the nuts or the
ends may butt against the angles of the nuts, and for this purpose
notches are formed therein, as shewn in the Drawing, to receive and
fit against an angle of the nuts.
Another plan of forming the safety washer is to strike out from the
plate or strip of sheet iron at the part intermediate of the bolt holes
two tongues, which standing out in opposite directions will, on the plate
being contracted lengthwise (by bending it up in the middle) be caused
to abut against the tightened nuts. This arrangement is shewn in
isometrical perspective at Fig. 2, where D is the washer. plate or strip
formed with two tongues d for butting against the nuts and preventing
their working loose. This plate or strip D is shewn detached in plan
and edge views at Figs. 3. The tongues d it will be seen are formed by
punching them out of the strip of metal, and to give them a proper
bearing on the nuts they are raised by arching or bending up the
middle of the plate.
A further modification consists in the use of washers with ratchet
teeth on their periphery, which washers have lips to embrace their
respective nuts in order that they may turn with them. This arrange-
ment is shewn in plan or side view in Fig. 4, and in edge view at Fig. 5.
In this example the plate through which the screw bolts are passed is
slit longitudinally near its opposite edges to form pawls d; d, which are
bent outwards from the plate and take respectively into the ratchet
teeth formed on the periphery of the adjacent washers E, E, the teeth
of which will slip past the ends of the pawls d, d. As the nuts are
turned to tighten up the bolts they will carry with them their respective
washers, but by reason of the contact of their washers with the fixed

page_text: pawls they will not be able to work loose. When it is desired to slacken
the nuts the pawls d must be bent up out of line with the ratchet teeth
of the washers, and the nuts will then be free to turn with their washers
in the opposite direction.
The improvement in securing the keys or wedges used in fixing rails
in their chairs consists in the use of a strip of hoop iron or its equivalent
which is driven in with and virtually forms part of the wooden or
metal wedge or key. The wedge may be grooved on its side next the
jaw of the chair to receive the hoop iron, or the jaw itself may be
grooved transversely for the like purpose.
Fig. 6 shews in isometrical view part of a rail secured in its chair by
the improved combined wedge fastening. In this Figure A is the rail;
B, the chair; and C, the wedge or key. Introduced in the chair along
with the key C is a strip of iron or steel D; one end of this strip of iron
or steel is bent at right angles to form a head. This strip from its head
to its other extremity is made a little longer than the key, and its head
is applied to the larger end or head of the key or wedge. When the
key has been driven home in the chair the free end of the strip is bent
back over the chair to prevent it from working back, and the head which
is formed on the strip effectually prevents the key from working loose
and falling out; the key can either be grooved the whole or part of its
length as shewn in the Drawing for the strip D to fit in, or the chair
can be cast with a groove in the adjacent jaw to receive the strip, or
the strip can be introduced without making a groove in either key
or chair.
If desired the strip may be used without a head leaving that to be
formed after the key and strip are driven firmly in between the rail.
and chair by simply bending part of the strip round the driven end of
the key and bending the other end outwards over the chair as before
explained.
When employing the improvement constituting the second head of
the Invention the keys can have a little more taper than is usually
given to them. When the keys require to be loosened from the rail
and chair the strip can be bent back straight and driven out with
the key. If the key at any time requires to be driven a little further
in the strip can be bent outwards over the chair a little more keeping
the key in the position in which it is fixed.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved
Means for Securing Screw Nuts and Keys or Wedges," as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First. The construction of washers or substitutes therefor for securing
screw nuts in the manner above described.
Secondly. The means above described for securing keys or wedges in
place.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.