James L Blechschmidt

US Patent:

55623786, Oct 8, 1996

Filed:

Feb 7, 1995

Appl. No.:

8/385118

Inventors:

James L. Blechschmidt - Sycamore IL
James F. L. Blair - St. Charles IL

Assignee:

Saint Switch, Inc. - St. Charles IL

International Classification:

F16B 3910
F16B 3932

US Classification:

411121

Abstract:

Corrosion, loosening and reusability problems incurred with prior art lock washers are eliminated in a lock washer having a planar washer body (10) formed of a thin sheet of resilient metal. A central aperture (18) is locate in the body (10) and is adapted to receive the shank (42) of a bolt to which a nut (40) is to be attached and locked. First and second lock tabs (14), (16) are formed in the body (10) radially outward of the central aperture (18) and are the sole lock tabs on the body (10). Each of the tabs (14), (16), has a radially inwardly facing, straight free edge (30) displaced to one side of the plane of the body (10). Each of the edges (30) is transverse to a radius of the body (10) and the lock tabs (14), (16) are angularly spaced by more than 90. degree. and less than 180. degree. such that when one free edge 30 is engaging the flat (50) of a nut (40), the other free edge (30) will be underlying a point (52) of the nut (40), between two adjacent flats (50) thereof.

US Patent:

57558248, May 26, 1998

Filed:

Oct 7, 1996

Appl. No.:

8/726681

Inventors:

James L. Blechschmidt - Sycamore IL
James F. L. Blair - St. Charles IL

Assignee:

Saint Switch, Inc. - St. Charles IL

International Classification:

B21D 5320

US Classification:

470 42

Abstract:

An assortment of lock washers is produced from a method including the steps of (a) providing a plurality of blanks formed of generally planar resilient metal, some of the blanks having a different configuration from other of the blanks, each of the blanks including a central aperture, an outer periphery, a tab, and two locating holes spaced from the central aperture and spaced from each other a selected distance and at a selected orientation relative to the tab; (b) providing a tool having two locator pins and structure for bending a tab out of the plane of a blank; (c) orientating the two locating pins with the two locating holes of a selected blank; (d) actuating the tool to bend the tab of the selected blank out of the plane of the selected blank; and (e) repeating steps (c)-(d) for each of the blanks.