Locking retainer for threaded fasteners
US7708509B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 8, 2009 |
| Grant date | May 4, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 8, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16B39/108
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Retainer for threaded fasteners such as the cap screws that secure the end caps of roller bearing assemblies to railroad axles. A locking plate is constrained against rotation relative to the fastener, a lock ring having a plurality of openings disposed along a circular path is placed over the head of the fastener, with the fastener being received in a non-circular central opening in the ring and thereby constrained against rotation relative to the ring, and tabs extending from the locking plate and engaging the lock ring through the openings to retain the lock ring on the fastener and prevent the lock ring and fastener from turning. In the disclosed embodiments, the ring can be placed on the fastener in different rotative positions, and the number of tab openings is either a prime number or another number that is not divisible by factors of the number of ring positions, whereby the fastener can be selectively locked in a relatively large number of different positions no more than a few degrees apart.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.