Claims:
1. A non-collapsible clevis joint (200) comprising:
a pair of sleeves (208, 210) configured to be securely mounted on a forked end (502) of a clevis and a fastening member (206) configured to be fastened through the pair of sleeves (208, 210) for rotatably mounting the forked end (502) of the clevis on a bush (204) of mating component (218) adapted for securing the forked end (502) without collapsing.

2. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of sleeves (208, 210) configured with a collar (302, 402) adapted for securely mounting the said sleeves on the forked end (502) and length of the sleeves (308, 406) on collars are configured to be more than a thickness of the forked end (502) to maintain a gap between the forked end (502) and the bush (204).

3. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of sleeves (208, 210) are configured to compress by tightening pressure of the fastening member (206) without collapsing the forked end (502).

4. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of sleeves (302, 402) are configured to maintain the forked end (502) to be straight.

5. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of sleeves is configured to be a front sleeve (208) and a rear sleeve (210).

6. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front sleeve (208) and the rear sleeve (210) are configured with a key (404, 304) respectively for positive locking of the said sleeves to prevent rotation of the sleeves.

7. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear sleeve (210) is configured with an internal threading (306) for tightening of the fastening member (206) for securing the forked end (502) on the bush (204) of the mating component (218).

8. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening member is configured to be a bolt (206).

9. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mating component is configured to be a knuckle (218).

10. The non-collapsible clevis joint (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said clevis joint (200) is configured to mount a lower control arm (202) and a knuckle (218).
, Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
NON-COLLAPSIBLE CLEVIS JOINT

Applicant:
Tata Motors Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001,
Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the subject matter and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a clevis joint and more specifically relates to a non-collapsible type of clevis joint.

BACKGROUND
[002] A clevis joint is a type of coupling wherein a mating component fits between forked end and is held in place via a clevis pin. Generally, in vehicles, the clevis joint (200) is used in a suspension system for a lower control arm and a knuckle connection. Also, the clevis joint is used for a bush fitment and a ball joint fitment. For the bush fitment, the bush is mounted between the forked end of the clevis by tightening of a fastening member. In automobile industry, the clevis is generally made up of a sheet metal wherein the sheet metal may collapse if the fastening member tightened after certain limit of tightening.
[003] In Figure 1 (Prior Art), the clevis joint comprising the bush between the two forks of the forked end of the clevis is shown. As shown, a gap (101) between a washer and the fork has to be maintained as a tolerance but due to tightening of a bolt, there is partial contact (102) between the washer and the fork that may collapse the forked end of the clevis.
[004] Hence, the clevis joint with non-collapsible fork arrangement is needed to increase a life of the clevis joint.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[005] It is a main object of the present invention to provide a non-collapsible forked end for a clevis joint.
[006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a pair of sleeves to maintain a gap between a forked end of clevis and bush of a mating component.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[007] Before the present system and method are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a clevis joint. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[008] The present subject matter relates to a non-collapsible clevis joint. The said clevis joint comprises a pair of sleeves configured to be securely mounted on a forked end of a clevis and a fastening member configured to be fastened through the pair of sleeves for rotatably mounting the forked end of the clevis on a bush of mating component adapted for securing the forked end without collapsing. Further, the pair of sleeves may be configured with collars adapted for securely mounting the said sleeves on the forked end and length of the sleeves on collars may configured to be more than a thickness of the forked end to maintain a gap between the forked end and the bush. Furthermore, the pair of sleeves may configure to compress by tightening pressure of the fastening member without collapsing the forked end. The pair of sleeves may configure to maintain the forked end to be straight. The pair of sleeves may configure to be a front sleeve and a rear sleeve. The front sleeve and the rear sleeve may be configured with keys for positive locking of the said sleeves to prevent rotation of the sleeves. The rear sleeve may be configured with an internal threading for tightening of the fastening member for securing the forked end on the bush the mating component. The fastening member may configure to be a bolt. The mating component may configure to be a knuckle. The said clevis joint may be configured to mount a lower control arm and a knuckle.
STATEMENT OF INVENTION
[009] Accordingly, the present invention discloses a non-collapsible clevis joint comprising a pair of sleeves configured to be securely mounted on a forked end of a clevis and a fastening configured to be fastened through the pair of sleeves for rotatably mounting the forked end of the clevis on a bush of mating component adapted for securing the forked end without collapsing.
[0010] Further, the pair of sleeves configured with a collar adapted for securely mounting the said sleeves on the forked end and length of the sleeves on collars are configured to be more than a thickness of the forked end to maintain a gap between the forked end and the bush. The pair of sleeves are configured to compress by tightening pressure of the fastening member without collapsing the forked end. The pair of sleeves are configured to maintain the forked end to be straight. The pair of sleeves is configured to be a front sleeve and a rear sleeve. The front sleeve and the rear sleeve are configured with a key respectively for positive locking of the said sleeves to prevent rotation of the sleeves. The rear sleeve is configured with an internal threading for tightening of the fastening member for securing the forked end on the bush of the mating component. The fastening member is configured to be a bolt. The mating component is configured to be a knuckle. The said clevis joint is configured to mount a lower control arm and a knuckle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, example constructions of the disclosure are shown in the present document, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing.
[0012] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing to refer like features and components.
[0013] Figure 1 illustrates a collapsible clevis joint (Prior Art).
[0014] Figure 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of a non-collapsible clevis joint, in accordance with the present invention.
[0015] Figure 3 illustrates a rear sleeve for a non-collapsible clevis joint, in accordance with the present invention.
[0016] Figure 4 illustrates a front sleeve for a non-collapsible clevis joint, in accordance with the present invention.
[0017] Figure 5 illustrates a non-collapsible clevis joint assembly, in accordance with the present invention.
[0018] The figure depicts various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognise from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. Although any system and method similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0020] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0021] The present subject matter discloses a clevis joint to prevent collapsing of a material of the clevis. The clevis may be configured to be made up of a sheet metal or a plastic or a stainless steel etc wherein the material may be selected according to where it has to be use. Generally, in automobile industries, the clevis joint may configure to connect a lower control arm and a knuckle wherein the lower control arm may configure as the clevis and may be casted from the sheet metal. The lower control arm and the knuckle may be fastened with a fastening member and the bush may be inserted in the knuckle wherein the fastening member may be a bolt and a nut. Further, a washer may be secured on the bolt between a fork of the clevis and the bush. On tightening of bolt, the forked end of the clevis may bend that may result in partial contact between the fork and the washer, and the fork may collapse upon further tightening or after certain duration of time. In the present disclosure, the non-collapsible joint ensures a straight contact between the fork and the washer that prevents collapsing of the fork.
[0022] Referring to Figure 2, the cross-sectional view of the non-collapsible clevis joint (200) of the proposed invention is illustrated. The proposed clevis joint (200) comprises a lower control arm (202), a knuckle (218), a front sleeve (208), a rear sleeve (210), a washer (212), a bush (204) and a bolt (206). The front sleeve (208) may configure to be mounted on one of the fork (502) of a clevis and the rear sleeve (210) may configure to be mounted on another fork (502) of a clevis. Further, the front sleeve (208) and the rear sleeve (210) may configure with locking feature (214, 216) to provide anti-rotation of the sleeves. The bolt (206) may configure to connect the lower control arm (202) and the knuckle (218) wherein the bolt (206) may be inserted from the rear sleeve (210) and further extended to the front sleeve (208) through the bush (204). The washer (212) may be mounted between the front sleeve (208) and the bush (204). Further, the lower control arm (202) may be casted to adapt the front sleeve (208) and the rear sleeve (210). In another embodiment, the lower control arm (202) and the knuckle (218) may be any components where the clevis joint is used to connect two components. Further, the bolt (206) may be threaded bolt. The bush (204) may be mounted between the front sleeve (208) and the rear sleeve (210) wherein the bush (204) may configure to be connected to the knuckle (218). In another embodiment, the bolt (206) may be any fastening member. Furthermore, section A-A and section B-B are shown in the figure. The sleeves (208, 210) may configure with keys (304, 404) to provide positive locking of the said sleeves (208, 210).
[0023] Referring to Figure 3, the rear sleeve (210) in detail is illustrated. The rear sleeve (210) may configure with an internal threading (306) to adapt the threading provided on the bolt (206). The rear sleeve (210) may be cylindrical in shape. Further, the rear sleeve (210) may configure with a collar (302) that rests on an outer side of the forked end (502) and may compress on applying tightening force by the bolt (206). Further, length of sleeve (308) may configure to be of more than thickness of the forked end (502) to maintain a gap between the forked end (502) and the bush (204). Further, the external surface of the rear sleeve (210) may be provided with key (304) configure to engage with the lower control arm (202) to provide positive locking of the rear sleeve (210) that may prevents rotation of the rear sleeve (210). The key (304) may be provided through halfway on the external surface of the rear sleeve (210). The rear sleeve (210) may configure to act as a nut for the bolt (206).
[0024] Referring to Figure 4, the front sleeve (208) in detail is illustrated. The front sleeve (208) may be cylindrical in shape. Further, the front sleeve (208) may configure with a collar (402) that rests on an outer side of the forked end (502) and may compress on applying tightening force by the bolt (206). Further, length of sleeve (406) may configure to be of more than thickness of the forked end (502) to maintain a gap between the forked end (502) and the bush (204). The external surface of the front sleeve (208) may be provided with key (404) configure to engage with the lower control arm (202) to provide positive locking of the front sleeve (210) that may prevents rotation of the front sleeve (210). The key (404) may be provided through halfway on the external surface of the front sleeve (208). The front sleeve (208) may configure to receive head of the bolt (206).
[0025] Referring to Figure 5, the clevis joint assembly (500) of the proposed invention is depicted. The bush (204) may configure to mount between the forked end (502) of the lower control arm (202). The front sleeve (208) may configure to be inserted into one of the forks and the rear sleeve (210) may configure to be inserted into another fork. In the present subject matter, the bolt (206) may configure to be inserted through the front sleeve (208) and tightened with the rear sleeve (210) via passing through the bush (204) and the washer (212). Further, an introduction of the front sleeve (208) and the rear sleeve (210) may configure to provide a straight surface contact of the forked end (502) and the bush (204). Furthermore, the sleeves (208, 210) may configure to be mounted such that any amount of the tightening pressure exerted by the bolt (206) may compress the collars (302, 402) of the sleeves (208, 210) thereby keeping the forked end (502) to be straight in any condition.
[0026] The present invention discloses a non-collapsible clevis joint (200) comprising a pair of sleeves (208, 210) configured to be securely mounted on a forked end (502) of a clevis and a fastening member (206) configured to be fastened through the pair of sleeves (208, 210) for rotatably mounting the forked end (502) of the clevis on a bush (204) of mating component (218) adapted for securing the forked end (502) without collapsing. Further, the pair of sleeves are (208, 210) configured with a collar (302, 402) adapted for securely mounting the said sleeves on the forked end (502) and length of the sleeves (308, 406) on collars are configured to be more than a thickness of the forked end (502) to maintain a gap between the forked end (502) and the bush (204). The pair of sleeves (208, 210) are configured to compress by tightening pressure of the fastening member (206) without collapsing the forked end (502). The pair of sleeves (302, 402) are configured to maintain the forked end (502) to be straight. The pair of sleeves is configured to be a front sleeve (208) and a rear sleeve (210). The front sleeve (208) and the rear sleeve (210) are configured with a key (404, 304) respectively for positive locking of the said sleeves to prevent rotation of the sleeves. The rear sleeve (210) is configured with an internal threading (306) for tightening of the fastening member (206) for securing the forked end (502) on the bush (204) of the mating component (218). The fastening member is configured to be a bolt (206). The mating component is configured to be a knuckle (218). The said clevis joint (200) is configured to mount a lower control arm (202) and a knuckle (218).
[0027] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.
• The present invention bridges a gap between a bush and a clevis.
• The present invention provides sustainability to all type of loads.
• The present invention provides increased durability of a clevis joint (200).
• The present invention eliminates requirement of a nut for tightening of a bolt.
• The present invention eliminates bending of forked end of a clevis.
[0028] Following is the list of reference numerals referred in the present invention.

Reference Numerals Part Name
100 Conventional Clevis Joint
101 Gap between Washer and Forked end
102 Partial Contact of Forked end
200 Clevis Joint of Proposed
202 Lower Control Arm
204 Bush
206 Bolt
208 Front Sleeve
210 Rear Sleeve
212 washer
218 Knuckle
302 Collar
304 Key
306 Internal Threading
308 Length of Sleeve
402 Collar
404 Key
406 Length of Sleeve
500 Clevis Joint Assembly
502 Forked End