Improvements in Thill Couplings.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 18th July, 1893-Accepted, 19th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Thill Couplings.
I ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the Firm of A. M. & Wm. Clark of
53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Member of the Chartered Institute
of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
to me from abroad by Adolf Engelhard of Lawrence in the County of Queens and
State of New York, United States of America) to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive thill coupling
of great strength, which can be conveniently applied to or removed from the clip
of an axle, thus enabling the thills or a pole to be quickly removed or attached,
and also to provide means to prevent rattling of the coupling.
It is well known that in running carriages into a carriage house a great deal of
unnecessary space is taken up by the thills, and this coupling is especially intended
to facilitate the quick removal of the thills so that a great many carriages may be
conveniently packed in a comparatively small space.
The coupling is used in connection with the ordinary axle clip, which has
forwardly-extending parallel lugs adapted to receive the coupling bolt, these parts
being of the usual kind. The coupling bolt serves as the pivot for the thill iron
knuckle which is formed on the rear end of the thill iron, and the latter is adapted
to be bolted in the customary manner to the underside of the thill.
The knuckle is provided with a slot rounded at the top to fit the bolt, and it
leads from the upper portion of the knuckle downward to its lower end, so as to
permit the knuckle to be easily placed upon the bolt, and the knuckle is elongated
downward to form jans, one on each side of the slot. The jaws are provided with
a transverse bore extending at right angles to the bolt and having keyways in its
side walls, the bore being adapted to receive the locking pin, and the keyways being
adapted to permit the passage through the jaws of lugs on one end and opposite
sides of the pin or key. The rear jaw is provided with inclined grooves or recesses
which open from the bore and which, are adapted to receive the lugs on the pin.
The front end of the pin has a head adapted to be grasped between the thumb and
finger when the pin is inserted or moved in the bore of the knuckle. The front
jaw on its outer side is provided with a cushion which encircles the pin and forms
an abutment for the inner end of the head and is adapted to yield sufficiently to
permit the lugs to slide up the inclined bottoms of the grooves.
When the knuckle is to be fastened to the coupling bolt, it is first placed upon
the bolt, the pin is thrust through the bore of the knuckle jaws the lugs sliding
through the keyways, and the pin is then turned, thus causing the lugs to
slide up the inclined bottoms of the grooves, and the pin and knuckle are both
locked in place.
On top of the thill iron there is a spring which is held between the thill iron and
the thill and which follows the curve of the knuckle, the spring extending down-
ward behind the knuckle to a point near the lower end of the latter, and is then
bent abruptly upward, the free end portion of the spring extending above the top
of the knuckle so as to strike the clip. When the thills are dropped there will be
no tension on the spring and consequently after removing the pins of the two thill
knuckles, the thills may be easily lifted from the bolts. When, however, the thills
are raised, the free end of the spring strikes against the clip, thus pressing the
opposite portion of the spring forward and downward upon the knuckle and forcing
the latter into close contact with the bolt and rattling is prevented.
The pressure of the spring is sufficient to hold the knuckle firmly in place, and
when the thills are raised the knuckle would not be accidentally displaced even

page_text: though the pin should be lost, and for this reason the coupling may be used without
the pin, but it is desirable to use the latter as an additional safe-guard against an
accident of any kind such as might occur by the breaking of a spring.
It will be understood that the thills can only be attached and removed when
the free ends of the thills are down, and the tension is removed from the anti-rattling
springs.
Dated this 13th day of June 1893.
A. MELVILLE CLARK,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Thill Couplings.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the Firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark,
of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Chartered
Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a
communication to me by Adolf Engelhard of Lawrence in the County of Queens
and State of New York, United States of America) and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention relates to a simple and inexpensive thill coupling of great strength,
which can be conveniently applied to or removed from the clip of an axle, thus
enabling the thills or a pole to be quickly removed or attached, and provided with
means for preventing rattling of the coupling.
It is well known that in running carriages into a carriage house a great deal of
unnecessary space is taken up by the thills, and this coupling is especially intended
to facilitate the quick removal of the thills so that a great many carriages may be
conveniently packed in a comparatively small space.
To this end the invention consists in certain features of construction and
combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the views.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the coupling on the line 1-1 in Figure 2.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the coupling.
Figure 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the thill iron knuckle, the locking
pin for fastening the knuckle to the coupling bolt, and the anti-rattling spring which
is applied to the thill iron; and
Figure 4 is a broken end view of the thill iron knuckle.
The coupling is used in connection with the ordinary axle clip 10 which has
forwardly extending parallel lugs 11 adapted to receive the coupling bolt 12, these
parts being of the usual kind. The coupling bolt serves as the pivot for the thill
iron knuckle 13 which is formed on the rear end of the thill iron 14 and the latter
is adapted to be bolted in the customary manner to the under side of the thill 15. The
knuckle 13 is provided with a slot 16 rounded at the top to fit the bolt 12 and it
leads from the upper portion of the knuckle downward to its lower end, so as to
permit the knuckle to be easily placed upon the bolt and the knuckle is elongated
downward to form jaws 17 one on each side of the slot 16. The jaws are provided
with a transverse bore 18 extending at right angles to the bolt 12 and having
keyways 19 in its side walls, the bore being adapted to receive the locking pin 20
and the keyways being adapted to permit the passage through the jaws 17 of the
lugs 21 on one end and opposite sides of the pin or key 20. The rear jaw 17 is
provided with inclined grooves or recesses 22 which open from the bore 18 and
which are adapted to receive the lugs 21 on the pin 20. The front end of the pin
is provided with a head 23 adapted to be grasped between the thumb and finger

page_text: when the pin is inserted or moved in the bore of the knuckle. On the front jaw 17
and on its outer side, is a cushion 24 which encircles the pin 20 and forms an
abutment for the inner end of the head 23 and is adapted to yield sufficiently to
permit the lugs 21 to slide up the inclined bottoms of the grooves 22. When the
knuckle is to be fastened to the coupling bolt, it is first placed upon the bolt, the
pin 20 is thrust through the bore 18 of the knuckle jaws, the lugs 21 sliding through
the keyways 19, and the pin is then turned, thus causing the lugs 21 to slide up the
inclined bottoms of the grooves 22 and the pin and knuckle are both locked in
place. On the top of the thill iron 14 is a spring 25 which is held between the
thill iron and the thill, and which follows the curve of the knuckle, the spring
extending downward behind the knuckle to a point near the lower end of the latter,
and it is then bent abruptly upward, as shewn at 26, the free end portion 27 of the
spring extending above the top of the knuckle so as to strike the clip 10. When
the thills are dropped there will be no tension on the spring 25 and consequently
after removing the pins 20 of the two thill knuckles, the thills may be easily lifted
from the bolts 12. When, however, the thills are raised the thill iron assumes the
position shewn in Figure 1 and the free end 27 of the spring strikes against the
clip 10, thus pressing the opposite portion of the spring forward and downward
upon the knuckle 13 and forcing the latter into close contact with the bolt 12, and
rattling is prevented. The pressure of the spring is sufficient to hold the knuckle
firmly in place and when the thills are raised the knuckle would not be accidently
displaced even though the pin 20 should be lost and for this reason the coupling
may be used without the pin, but it is desirable to use the latter as an additional
safeguard against an accident of any kind such as might occur by the breaking of
a spring.
It will be understood that the thills can only be attached and removed when
the free ends of the thills are down and the tension is removed from the anti-rattling
springs.
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 combination, with the axle clip and coupling bolt carried by the clip, of
the thill iron having a knuckle with a downwardly-extending slot to receive the
coupling bolt and an anti-rattling spring held on the back portion of the thill iron
and having an upwardly-extending free end to abut with the axle clip, substantially
as described.
2. The combination, with the axle clip and the coupling bolt carried thereby, of
the thill iron having a head with downwardly extending parallel jaws adapted to
receive the coupling bolt between them, the said jaws being transversely bored and
having cam grooves at one end of the bore and a fastening pin extending through
the bore of the jaws, the pin having end lugs to enter the cam grooves, substantially
as described.
Dated thin 10th ... 1002
A. MELVILLE CLARK,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.