U.S. patent number 3,851,978 [Application Number 05/396,359] was granted by the patent office on 1974-12-03 for turnbuckle.
Invention is credited to Sytze Arnold Kuipers.
United States Patent |
3,851,978 |
Kuipers |
December 3, 1974 |
TURNBUCKLE
Abstract
The present invention relates to a turnbuckle comprising three
oblong sections which are screwed together in a direct line with
internally threaded sleeve and externally threaded rod portions
which are oppositely threaded on either side of the centre of the
turnbuckle, and two locking arms which are so pivoted so as to
swing in the same locking direction about a transverse axis to the
rod portions that a substantially channel-sectioned portion of each
of said locking arms can be brought into tight-fitting engagement
with the hexagonal outer circumference of the adjacent sleeve
portion for preventing relative rotation of the three sections.
Inventors: |
Kuipers; Sytze Arnold
(Terhorne, NL) |
Family
ID: |
23566901 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/396,359 |
Filed: |
September 12, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
403/45;
403/46 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B
7/06 (20130101); Y10T 403/293 (20150115); Y10T
403/295 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
F16B
7/06 (20060101); F16B 7/00 (20060101); F16b
007/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;403/43,44,45,46,47,48
;254/54,67 ;29/175R ;114/109 ;301/93 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kundrat; Andrew V.
Claims
I claim:
1. A turnbuckle comprising three oblong sections which are screwed
together in a direct line with an internally threaded sleeve end
section and an externally threaded rod end section oppositely
threaded respectively to opposite ends of the centre section of the
turnbuckle, and two channel-sectioned locking arms pivoted to the
center section and one of said end sections respectively about an
axis transverse to the sections such that a substantially
channel-sectioned portion of each of said locking arms can be
brought into tight-fitting engagement with a hexagonal outer
circumference of an adjacent sleeve portion for preventing relative
rotation of the three sections, one of the two end sections (3, 9)
being in the form of an internally threaded sleeve (9) screwed onto
an externally threaded rod portion (8) of the middle section (5,
8).
Description
A turnbuckle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Specification 2,845,288.
This known turnbuckle is of the conventional type with an
intermediate section in the form of a sleeve or barrel having
opposite threads on either side of its centre and end sections
which are both in the form of externally threaded rods which are
screwed into the sleeve. Consequently, the two locking arms are
each pivoted to one of the end sections and lock onto the barrel
between them.
When using this turnbuckle in the standing rigging of a sailing
vessel one of the rod-shaped end sections is usually secured by
means of a yoke or fork at its free end to a fixed structural part
of the vessel such as futtocks while the other end section is
secured in a similar manner to the lower end of a shroud or stay.
When tensioning or slackening the shroud or stay by rotating the
barrel or sleeve in one direction or the other the lowermost
section of the turnbuckle which is secured to a fixed point will
remain stationary and the locking arm on the uppermost section can
be conveniently used as a handle for holding that section, together
with the shroud or stay to which it is secured, against rotation,
thus eliminating the necessity of using a special tool. Rotating
the barrel, however, will require the rather awkward use of a tool
such as an open-ended spanner or a pin wrench inserted in a
cross-bore of the barrel. Particularly when it is desirable to be
able to adjust the tension of the standing rigging when under sail
not only each member of the crew will be obliged to allways carry a
suitable tool but also the member of the crew entrusted with the
adjustment will be able to hold on to the upper handle with only
one hand while he is at work with the tool in his other hand. This
is a patent imperfection of this known turnbuckle.
A further imperfection is constituted by the fact that the lower
locking arm, when in its locking position, is always pointing
upwards so that in the event of using the turnbuckle for the
purpose and in the manner described above this lower locking arm,
unlike the upper one, will be prone to be swung down and unlocked
such as by a sheet being hauled in along the shroud unless it is
properly fastened itself, which fastening again is an awkward and
tedious job to accomplish and to undo, particularly in a rough
sea.
The object of the present invention is to provide a turnbuckle of
the kind described in which the above-mentioned imperfections are
attended to.
According to the invention this object is attained in that one of
the two end sections is in the form of an internally threaded
sleeve screwed onto an externally threaded rod portion of the
middle section.
When a thus constructed turnbuckle is used in the standing rigging
of a sailing vessel with its sleeve end secured to a fixed
structural part of the vessel the lowermost locking arm which is
pivoted to the rod portion of the middle section screwed into the
sleeve end can be used as a handle to rotate the middle section in
one direction or the other for tensioning or slackening the
concerning rigging wire without any need for a tool so that the
person carrying out the operation has both his hands available for
holding fast while performing his task. Moreover, the lowermost
locking arm as also the uppermost one, when in locking position, is
pointing downwards so that, even when it is not secured in that
position, it is not likely to be unlocked by an external force.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with
reference to the drawing which shows a turnbuckle in unlocked
position partly in cross-section.
The turnbuckle according to the invention is intended for use in
the standing rigging of a sailing vessel and as usual consists of
two oppositely threaded end sections 4 and 9 which are in screwed
engagement with a middle section of which the two halves 5 and 8
are correspondingly oppositely threaded.
One of the end sections 4 is in the form of a right hand screwed
rod onto one end of which a forked end piece 1 is screwed and
fastened by a locking pin (3).
The other end section 9 is in the form of an elongated hexagonal
nut or sleeve having internal left handed threads and in a counter
bore at one end of which a forked end piece 10 is tightly
screwed.
One half 5 of the middle section is in the form of an elongated
hexagonal nut or sleeve having internal right handed threads along
the greater part of its length while the remaining short length at
one of its ends has left handed threads for receiving one end of
its other half 8 which is in the form of a left hand screwed rod.
The two halves are fastened to one another by a locking pin 7.
Each of the locking pins 3 and 7 of the screwed rod end section 4
and the middle section 5, 8 also serves as a fulcrum or pivot pin
for a channel-sectioned locking arm 2 and 6, which locking arms, as
indicated in the drawing by arrows, can be swung from their full
line horizontal position to their broken line position in which
they lockingly engage the hexagonal sleeve half of the middle
section and the hexagonal sleeve end section.
It will be appreciated that the length of the locking arms 2 and 6
is such that they are adapted to lock onto the respective hexagonal
sleeves even when the turnbuckle is extended to its maximum
capacity.
In use, the sleeve end section of the turnbuckle with its forked
end 10 is secured to an eye on the sheating or boarding of the
vessel or to futtocks or any other suitable fixed part of the hull
while the rod section with its forked end 1 is secured to an eye at
the lower end of a rigging wire which is to be tensioned. By
transversely swinging out and taking hold of the upper locking arm
2 with one hand and of the lower locking arm 6 with the other hand
and rotating the latter clockwise or counter clockwise the wire can
be tightened or slackened, as the case may be, to the desired
degree without the use of any tool. Subsequently the turnbuckle is
locked by swinging both locking arms down into engagement with the
respective hexagonal sleeves located below them. By dimensioning
the channelsectioned locking arms for making a reasonably tight fit
with the sleeves no securing of the arms against becoming undone
will be necessary.
It is to be understood that the embodiment of the turnbuckle
described above is merely an example and is susceptible of various
structural modifications without departing from the scope of the
invention as laid down in the claim.
* * * * *