Screw locking arrangement
AssigneeBall Valve Company
InventorsStuart E. Bunn, Herbert B. Owsley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A screw locking arrangement comprises an article having a threaded aperture with an enlarged counterbore. A slot is positioned in the side wall of the counterbore and extends through the top surface of the article. A screw is threadedly engaged in the aperture and includes an enlarged head with a slot disposed in the outer marginal surface thereof. A deformable lock member is positioned in the counterbore and has a wall between the counterbore side wall and the marginal surface of the screwhead, and the wall is bent by a suitable tool into both of the slots, thereby positively locking the screw and the article together without indexing the same.
Claims1
A screw locking arrangement comprising:
- (a) an article having a top surface, and an aperture therein with first and second portions;
- said aperture first portion including an enlarged counterbore defined by a first side wall, and said aperture second portion having an internally threaded second side wall;
- said first side wall including an open slot therein, said open slot being substantially coplanar with the axis of the aperture and extending from adjacent an inner end of the counterbore through said article top surface;
- (b) a screw having a threaded shank and a head with an outer marginal surface and a top surface;
- said shank being threadedly engaged in said article second side wall, and said head being positioned within said counterbore;
- said screwhead including an open slot positioned in the marginal surface thereof;
- said open slot in the screwhead being substantially coplanar with the axis of the screw and extending from adjacent the inner end of the screwhead through said screwhead top surface, said screwhead slot and said article slot being substantially uniform and rectangular in transverse cross-sectional shape;
- and
- (c) a lock member having a wall with a central aperture through which the screw shank extends, said wall being positioned between the first side wall of said article counterbore and the marginal surface of said screwhead and clamped therebetween with the screw tightened in place;
- said clamped lock member wall being deformable and bent outwardly into said article slot and inwardly into said screwhead slot thereby positively connecting said screw and said article without indexing the same, and preventing relative rotation therebetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.