Hand releasable locking collar
OwnerDonald A. Lundstrominventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hand releasable locking collar to secure objects or itself in a desired location on a shaft, bar or the like. The device comprises a housing, end cap, preload spring and clutch plate conformed to the shaft. The clutch plate is rotatably assembled within the device such that said device is free to move axially on the shaft when the clutch plate is positioned perpendicular to the axis of the shaft. When released, said clutch plate allows further tightening of the device by moving axially in the direction installed, but locks positively to prevent removal or movement in the opposite direction unless such clutch plate is again moved to the position of perpendicularity with the axis of the shaft.
Claims5
A device for gripping a shaft, having a longitudinal axis, inserted into the device, the device comprising:
- a housing;
- a clutch plate, mounted to the housing, having a central opening and a plurality of projections facing radially inward into the opening, such that the projections tend to grip the shaft when the plate is disposed at an oblique angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft but not when the plate is disposed perpendicularly with respect to such axis;
- and
- bias means for biasing the clutch plate at an oblique angle with respect to the shaft, and thus tending to cause the projections to grip the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.