US2213430A - Thread protector - Google Patents

Description

P 1940- R. R. IRWIN ET AL 2,213,430

THREAD PROTECTOR Filed Oct. 29, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet.l

V I i7 12 14 I U I i' aim ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 3, 1940. R- R. IRWIN ET AL THREAD PROTECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 29, 1959 J1 1.\\ 'ENTQRS @l'qnw vd zlek m A TTORNERS.

IIHHHIL I umlmmlmllllllllllll ,3" IIIIIIII'I/IIIIII III WITNEJJEJ Patented Sept. 3, 1940 PA ENT OFFICE I THREAD PROTECTOR Robert R. Irwin, Sewickley, and Harlow W.

Culbertson, Edgeworth, Pa.

f Application October 29, 1938, seems... 237,694

3 Claims. (01. 13s 9s)f Our invention is. concerned with protectors such as are normally employed to shield threads from shocks and blows during the transportation and handling of the threadbearing member.

s, Such protectors commonly have a main body portion composed. of a metallic collar which surrounds external shielded threads or is surrounded by-internal shielded threads. It has also long been common practice to hold the protector in position relative to said threads by placing between said collars and threads pliant material such as cork, rubber, rope, etc., which firmly engages said collar and threads. Throughout this specification including the claims, pliant is used to .describe any resilient, yielding, or fibrous material such as rubber, cork, hemp, etc.

The primary object of our hereinafter described invention is toprovide a protector in which pliant thread-engaging material is so attached to a collar that verysmall amounts of it need be used and that the protector may be employed over and over upon numerous thread bearing members without the need for any renewal or adjustment of such material.

Our second object is to provide a protector in which pliant material is so attached to a collar thatthe material lies along'its exposed wall and cushions it against external'blows, thus helping to prevent the protector from being jarred loose and unscrewed.

Our third object is toprovide a protector in which pliant material isso attached to a collar that some portionsof each pliant element engage the shielded threads while other portions of each element lie along the exposed wall of the collar andcushion it against external blows, thus helping to prevent the protector from being jarred loose and unscrewed.

Other objects will be apparent from the ensuing description.

.Toishield external threads we use a protector which .has, briefly, a main body portion composed of a collar which encircles and is. spaced from the threads of. a threaded member. Pliant elements are so attached to this collar that one or more internal portions of each element lie along the inner wall of the collar for engagement with the shielded threads and thus hold or help to hold the protector in position by a resilient and yielding connection between thecollar and threads. Moreover, theelements are so attached that their intermediate parts,, between the internal portions, lie along the outer periphery of the collar to form'one, or, moreexternal portions which re-, siliently and yieldably cushion the protector against blows which would otherwise tend to jar it loose and unscrew it. Where each such pliant elementpasses from the inner to the outer wall of the collar, it is held fixedly in position by means upon the collar, as for example, lugs pro- .5 jecting from the ends of the collar, if the elements pass over its ends, or preferably .by the walls of apertures in the collar, if the elements pass through apertures in going from the inner to the outer wall.

To shield internal threads, we merely adapt the above idea to a collar which is surrounded bysuch threads.

Our preferred embodiments of this invention are disclosed in the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is ,asectional view along the longitudinal axis of a protector; Fig. 2 a side elevation; Fig. 3 a vertical section along the line III-III of Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 a sectional view, partlygin elevation, showing the protector in position upon external threads; Figs. 5 and 6, respectively, a sectional view along the axis and a side elevation of a slightly modified form of protector; and Figs. 7 and 8, respectively, a sectional viewalo-ng the axis and a side elevation of a protector for use with internal threads.

vThe emodiment of our invention disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, for use upon external threads, has a main body portion composed of a circular metallic collar l whose inner wall may describe either a right cylinder or a truncated cone, as will be hereinafter described. Through the collar is a row 2 of spaced apertures 3a,; 3b, etc., normally even in number, which preferably pass from its inner to its outer wall at oblique angles, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Also through collar 1 is a second row 4 of spaced-apertures 5a, 5b, etc., each of which preferably is in longitudinal alignment with one of the apertures in row 2 and at an oblique angle opposite in direction to that of the aperture in row 2.

A pliant element 6 passes in and out through the apertures in row 2, following the oblique angles of the apertures in the manner disclosed in Fig. 3, to form a series of internal portions 1 and a series of intermediate external portions 8. In a similar manner, a pliant element 9 passes in and out through the oblique apertures in row 4 to form a series of internal portions l0 and a series of intermediate external portions ll. Pliant elements 6 and 9 preferably fit each aperture rather snugly, both to prevent any infiltration of dirt and also to eliminate'any movement of the elements relative to collar I.

One end of collar l is preferably provided with 5;

a closure member I2 which stiifens the collar and also prevents the infiltration of dirt. Two integral lugs I3 and I4 protrude outwardly from closure member I2 for engagement by a lever I5 which may be used to screw the protector on or ofi the shielded threads. A packing ring I 6 is preferably placed against closure member I2 in such position that, when the protector is screwed up, the ring is tightly pressed between the shielded threads and closure member I2, to more firmly seat the protector upon the threads and to resist the infiltration of dirt.

Fig. 4 discloses this embodiment of our protector in position upon the tapered .external threads I! of a thread bearing member l8, such as a pipe. As the protector is'screwed into position, internal portions 1' of pliant element 6 are wedged between the inner wall of collar I and threads I! and positively and firmly engage the threads. Pliant element 9 is so proportioned that its internal portions I are similarly wedged and positively and firmly engage threads IT, it being necessary in the protector shown that element 9 be'somewhat larger than element 6 to compensate for the increment in distance between tapered threads I I and the inner wall of collar I'. Ofcourse, if there is no such increment, the inner wall of collar I being spaced uniformly from threads I1, element 9 is normally of the same size as element 6, it being merely requisite that elements 6 and 9 be so proportioned that each firmly and tightly'engages threads I8, regardless 0f the angle between threads I! and the innerwall of collar I. 1

In the protector thus disclosed, it will be noted that threads I! are fullyprotected from any external shock, pliant elements 6 and 9 cushioning them from any blows striking collar I. Moreover, collar I is prevented from being jarred loose by such blows, for their shocks are dissipated by the resilient and yielding connection efiected by internal portions I and I0 and by the cushioning eiTect' of external portions 8 and II of said elements. Due to the manner by which these pliant-elements are attached to collar I, a minimum-amount of material is used, and this materialisfirmly fixed in position, so that the protector may be utilized numerous times without necessity for-renewalor adjustment of said elements. Of course, as many encircling rows of apertures and pliant elements may be used as is necessary or desirable, while We contemplate the possible use ofone alone with some protectors.

Having referencenow to the embodiment of our invention shown in Figs. and 6, the main body portion of this protector is composed of a collar 2|, generally similar to collar I, although normally its inner wall is uniformly spaced from threads I! regardless of their taper. Thus if threads I7 are cylindrical, this inner wall is cylindrical; while if the threads are tapered, its inner wall bears a like taper. Collar 2I is also provided with a row 22 of small spaced apertures 23a, 2311, etc., and spaced from row 22 is a second row 24 of spaced apertures 25a, 25b, etc. A pliant element 26 is-passed out through aperture 23a in through an aperture 251), out through a second aperture 230, and so on around collar 2|, so that there are formed in' the element inner portions 2! which liealong the inner wall of collar 2I and engage threads I! when the protector is in place, and outer portions 28 which lie along the outer wall of collar 2I- and cushion it from any shocks or blows.- In a similar manner, a pliant element 29 is passed out through aperture 2312 in through aperture 250, out through aperture 23d, and so on around collar 2| to form thread engaging internal portions 30 and cushioning external portions 3I. As in the former embodiment, pliant elements 26 and 29 are firmly held in one position, so that the protector may be used over and over without replacement or adjustment of these elements. Moreover, both thread engaging and cushioning efiects are achieved with the use of a small amount of pliant material. Of course, the exact manner in which said elements are woven in and out through the apertures, and the number of elements so used is immaterial to the spirit of my invention. Likewise, the rows of apertures may be increased to three or four, as may be necessary or desirable.

In this embodiment of our invention a closure member 32 attached to collar 2I consists merely of a flange which extends inwardly from the end of the collar. Abutted against closure member 32 is .a packing ring 33 which is pressed against the end of threads Has the protector is screwed up, thus helping to seat the protector firmly and to prevent the infiltration of dirt.

Fig. 7 discloses a protector for shielding internal threads, such as tapered threads 39, upon a pipe coupler 40. The main body portion of this protector is composed of a collar 4| which is so proportioned that, when inserted Within coupler 40, it is spaced from threads 39. Passing through the collar is a row 42 of small apertures 43a, 43b, etc. and spaced from said row is a second row 44 of small apertures 45a, 451), etc. As in the protectors previously explained, pliant material is passed in and out through these apertures, Fig. 7 portraying the use of pliant elements 46 and 49, which pass, respectively, through the apertures of rows 42 and 44. Thus, there are formed in pliant element 46 a series of external portions 48 which engage threads 39 and in pliant element 49 similarly acting external portions 5|. Together these external portions hold the protector in position, and provide a yielding connection between it and threads 39 which absorbs the shocks from blows striking the protector. Moreover, these elements are held firmly in position, so that the protector may be used over and over without the need for renewal or adjustment.

A flange 52 encircles and extends outwardly from collar 4| to form a closure member, and a packing ring 53, pressed between closure member 52 and threads 39, helps to seat the protector firmly in place and to prevent the infiltration of dirt. Two lugs 54 and55 preferably project from flange 52 for engagement by a lever 55.

We contemplate numerous variations in the embodiments disclosed above, particularly in the manerin which pliant material is placedupon the protectors. Thus, as many encirclingrows of.

apertures as are desirable may be employed,.one row alone being sufiicient in some protectors. Moreover, pliant material may be woven through these apertures in irmumerable ways, while still presenting alternativethread engaging and cushioning portions.

According to the provisions of the patent statut'es, we have explained the principle and construction of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, we desire to have it underst00d=that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

along the inner wall of said collar for engage- We claim:

1. A protector for external threads of a threaded member comprising a collar adapted to encircle and be spaced from the threads of such member, the wall of this collar being provided With a plurality of apertures, and pliant elements passing in and out through said apertures in such manner that inner portions of said pliant elements lie along the inner wall of said collar for engagement with said threads, while outer portions of said pliant elements lie along the outer wall of said collar and cushion it, said elements being carried by said collar and moved thereby into engagement with said threads.

2. A protector for external threads of a threaded member comprising a collar adapted to encircle and be spaced from the threads of such member, the wall of said collar being provided with a plurality of spaced rows of spaced apertures, and pliant elements which pass inwardly through the apertures in one row and outwardly through the apertures in a second row in such manner that inner portions of said elements lie ment with said threads, while outer portions of said elements lie along the outer wall of said collar and cushion it, said elements being carried by said collar and moved thereby into engagement with said threads.

3. A protector for internal threads of a threaded member comprising a collar adapted to beencircled by and spaced from the threads of such member, the walls of said collar being provided with a plurality of apertures, and pliant elements passing in and out through said apertures in such manner that a plurality of circumferentially spaced external portions of said elements lie along the outer wall of said collar for engagement with said threads with their connecting portions extending from one aperture to another inside the collar, said elements being carried by said collar and moved thereby into engagement with said threads.

ROBERT R. IRWIN. HARLOW W. CULBERTSON.

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