Lockable nut system

• US 6,860,688 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Issued: 03/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Underwood Companies Holdings Pty Ltd
• Original Assignee: Danley Construction Products Pty Ltd (Illinois Tool Works Inc.)
• Inventors: Bushell, Walter Leslie, Webb, Ronald Joseph, Ariel, Peter Bruce
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, John B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lugo, Carlos
• Application Number:
  US10/036,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20020192048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 411/195, 411/190, 411/191, 411/192, 411/196, 411/197, 411/134, 411/204
• US Class Current: 411/195
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 35/041 Specially-shaped shafts shape of thread F16B33/02
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 37/085 with at least one unthreaded portion in both the nut and the bolt
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 39/105 locking the bold head or nut into a hole or cavity, e.g. with the cup washer, ring or sleeve deformed into a dimple in the cavity
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 39/108 with a locking washer under the nut or bolt head having at least one tongue or lug folded against the nut or bolt head, or against the object itself F16B39/103 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 39/28 by special members on, or shape of, the nut or bolt F16B39/26 takes precedence; locknuts F16B39/12
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 411/99 Washer tongue-held

Abstract

A lockable nut system for use with threaded steel bar which includes a screw threaded nut for engagement with the threaded steel bar and a locking member which is slidably engageable with the bar. The locking member is adapted to resist rotation about the bar and is also axially engageable with the nut to prevent rotation of the nut. The locking member has one or more fingers to engage the nut with an end of the finger being displaced to engage the nut as a result of deformation of a finger actuating tab or a dished body of the locking member. The locking member may engage the bar by displacement of an end of at least one tongue as a result of deformation of a tongue actuating tab during compression between the nut and a second structure.

Claims

1. A lockable nut system for threaded steel bar having a non-circular cross-sectional shape with at least one planar side wall, said lockable nut system comprising:

a screw threaded nut rotatably engageable on said threaded steel bar; and

a locking member comprising a generally disc-like body slidably engageable on said threaded steel bar, said locking member being adapted in use to resist rotation about said bar by engagement of at least one inner side wall of said locking member with a respective side wall of said bar, said locking system characterized in that said nut and said locking member are axially engageable by one or more spigot and socket formations on respective adjacent ends of said nut and said locking member, wherein said one or more spigot formations comprise at least one nut engaging element projecting axially from said locking member; and

said one or more socket formations comprise at least one recess in said nut and, at least one actuating element on said locking member being deformable from a first to a second position, in use, urging said at least one nut engaging element into engagement with said at least one recess in the nut, said nut and said locking member being axially engageable whereby in use said locking member resists rotation in at least one direction of said nut on said bar.

2. The lockable nut system of claim 1, wherein the at least one nut engaging element comprises a finger.

3. The lockable nut system of claim 1, wherein the at least one actuating element comprises one or more tabs deformable under compression by said nut.

4. The lockable nut system of claim 1 including a bar engaging member comprising:

at least one bar engaging element projecting axially from the locking member; and

at least one bar engaging actuating element deformable from a first position to a second position thereby urging said bar engaging element towards the threaded steel bar.

5. A locking member for the lockable nut system of claim 1, said locking member comprising a dished, generally toroidal body, said body comprising at least one finger projecting axially from an inner edge of said body adjacent a finger actuating portion wherein in use, deformation of said at least one finger actuating portion from a first position inclined to a transverse plane of said body to a second position substantially co-planar with said transverse plane of said body urges an end of said at least one axially projecting finger outwardly to engage an adjacent inner end of a nut to resist rotation thereof.

6. A locking member for a lockable nut system of claim 5 further comprising at least one bar engaging tongue projecting axially from an inner edge of said body adjacent a tongue actuating portion wherein deformation of said at least one tongue actuating portion from a first position inclined to a transverse plane of the body to a second position substantially co-planar with the transverse plane of the body urges an end of said bar engaging tongue inwardly towards a generally planar face of said threaded steel bar.

7. The lockable nut system of claim 4 wherein said at least one nut engaging element and said at least one bar engaging element extend in the same axial direction.

8. The lockable nut system of claim 4 wherein said at least one nut engaging element and said at least one bar engaging element extend in opposed axial directions.

9. A locking member as claimed in claim 6 wherein said at least one finger and said at least one bar engaging tongue extend in opposed axial directions.