Patent ID: 7895919

Claim:
A connecting rod, comprising: a shaft including: opposed ends; a major flange being affixed to one of said opposed ends, and said major flange being adapted for attachment to a bearing housing; a minor flange being affixed to the other of said opposed ends, said minor flange including: a shoulder portion having opposite sides; and, a pair of arm portions, each being affixed to a respective one of said opposite sides of said shoulder portion and radiating outwardly and upwardly from said shoulder portion wherein said shoulder portion and said arm portions, together, define a cylindrical concavity in the top of said minor flange, and each of said arm portions being provided with a pair of spaced-apart holes that extend into said cylindrical concavity; a link having: a ring positioned within said cylindrical concavity, said ring being provided with a transverse aperture, said ring also being provided with a plurality of helically threaded bores positioned for registration with said holes in said arm portions, said helically threaded bores radiating outwardly from the center of said transverse aperture; and, a plurality of threaded fasteners, each respectively passing through one of said holes and threadably engaging one of said bores for releasably fastening said shaft and said link together.