Locking/ indexing pin
AssigneeBNSF Railway Company
InventorDarrell Robert Krueger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A locking pin assembly having a body including a wall defining an interior space and having at least one aperture therethrough for allowing fluid communication between the interior space and an exterior environment. A barrel defines a bore and has an outer wall with external threads. A pin travels longitudinally within the interior space of the body and the bore of the barrel. A spring actuated assembly maintains an end of the pin in an extended position relative to an end of the barrel when no force is applied to the pin and allows the pin to retract relative to the end of the barrel when a force is applied to the pin.
Claims16
An apparatus, comprising:
- a body having an axis and including a plurality of walls defining an interior space, each of the walls has an aperture that is unobstructed and extends radially through the respective wall relative to the axis for allowing fluid communication between the interior space and an exterior environment, and a barrel extending from the body and configured to be mounted to an object, the barrel having a bore in communication with the interior space of the body;
- a sub-assembly configured to be removably attached to the body while the body is mounted to the object, the sub-assembly comprising:
- a pin operable to travel longitudinally within the interior space of the body and the bore of the barrel;
- a handle mounted to a handle end of the pin;
- a retainer removably disposed on the pin adjacent the handle;
- a clip removably mounted to a slot in the pin away from the handle;
- and
- a spring disposed on the pin between the retainer and the clip, wherein the spring is configured to:
- maintain an engagement end of the pin in an extended position beyond an end of the barrel when no actuating force is applied to the pin, and
- allow the engagement end of the pin to retract into the bore of the barrel when an actuating force is applied to at least one of the handle or the engagement end of the pin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.