Self-locking nut with rocking anti-reversing pin

In a self-locking nut which includes:

• an annular body having internal threads;
• said body having a small bore at one side parallel to the thread axis thereof;
• an L-shaped anti-reversing pin fabricated from an elastic material, having one leg disposed within said small bore and having its other leg extending generally radially from said bore toward said thread axis for interference engagement with a mating bolt;said one leg having a latching recess disposed adjacent to its free end and facing away from said other leg;
• said latching recess being engaged by displaced metal of said nut body flowed into said small bore to retain said pin within said bore;
• the improvement comprising:
• said latching recess including two abutment surfaces forming a ridge facing away from said other leg, said abutment surfaces being disposed in planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of said one leg and inclined at respective selected acute angles from a reference plane parallel to said longitudinal axis and perpendicular to the plane defined by the legs of said pin;
• said displaced metal of said body being disposed within said recess to limit oscillation of said free end of said one leg within said small bore through the alternating abutting of said two abutment surfaces with said displaced metal, to allow swinging of said other leg of said locking pin between alternative anti-reversing positions with resultant reduced stress of said locking pin and to engage said ridge in the radial position of said locking pin to provide a resistance to oscillation of said pin between alternative anti-reversing positions.

A method for fabricating a self-locking nut including the steps

• forming, in an annular nut body having a threaded bore, a small bore at one side thereof parallel to the thread axis of said threaded bore;
• forming an L-shaped anti-reversing pin from an elongated shaft of an elastic material;
• forming a latching recess in one leg of said pin, adjacent to the free end thereof and facing away from the other leg thereof;
• forming said latching recess to include two contiguous abutment surfaces disposed in intersecting planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of said one leg, said abutment planes each being inclined at a selected acute angle away from a reference plane parallel to said longitudinal axis and perpendicular to the plane defined by both legs of said pin;
• mounting said anti-reversing pin on said nut body with said one leg of said pin confined within said small bore, and with the other leg of said pin extending generally radially into said threaded bore to interfere with the threads of a mating bolt;
• and displacing metal of said nut into said small bore and into said recess to latch said pin within said bore, and to be abutted alternately by said two abutment surfaces;
• said free end of said one leg being thereby oscillatable within said small bore through a limited angle determined by the abutment of said abutment surfaces with said displaced metal;
• said oscillation of said free end of said pin enabling said other arm thereof to swing through a greater angle from one anti-reversing position to another with reduced elastic stress on said pin.

A method for fabricating a self-locking nut including the steps of:

• forming, in an annular nut body having a threaded bore, a small bore at one side thereof parallel to the thread axis of said threaded bore;
• forming an L-shaped anti-reversing pin from an elongated shaft of an elastic material;
• forming a latching recess in one leg of said pin, adjacent to the free end thereof and facing away from the other leg thereof;
• forming said latching recess to include two abutment surfaces disposed in planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of said one leg and separated by an intervening ridge, said abutment planes each being inclined at a selected acute angle away from a reference plane parallel to said longitudinal axis and perpendicular to the plane defined by both legs of said pin;
• mounting said anti-reversing pin on said nut body with said one leg of said pin confined within said small bore, and with the other leg of said pin extending generally radially into said threaded bore to interfere with the threads of a mating bolt;
• and displacing metal of said nut into said small bore and into said recess into engagement with said ridge to latch said pin within said bore, and to be abutted alternately by said two abutment surfaces;
• said free end of said one leg being thereby oscillatable within said small bore through a limited angle determined by the abutment of said abutment surfaces with said displaced metal;
• said oscillation of said free end of said pin enabling said other arm thereof to swing through a greater angle from one anti-reversing position to another with reduced elastic stress on said pin while oscillation of said locking pin between alternative anti-reversing positions is resisted by engagement of said displaced metal with said ridge.