Claims
- 1. A rigging connection assembly for connecting a stay to a mast or other support structure comprising:
- A. a round ball on one end of the stay,
- B. a tang adapted to be connected to the mast or other support structure, said tang having an exposed front face with a recessed edge margin defining a flange and a rear face for positioning inside the mast so that the flange engages the inside wall of the mast and the front face is flush with the outside wall of the mast;
- C. means defining a vertical keyhole in said tang, said keyhole having a cylindrical upper head portion extending from the front face completely through to the rear face of said tang and being sized to snugly receive said ball, and a lower neck portion communicating with said upper head portion and being sized to receive the stay, said lower neck portion including a downwardly extending trough which is recessed below the front face of said tang but which does not extend completely through to the rear face of said tang and which is tapered such that its depth below the front face decreases, and its width increases, with distance from said upper head portion, and
- D. means at the rear face of said tang defining a ball-retaining pocket, said pocket being generally cylindrical and being spaced vertically away from said keyhole head portion so that when the stay is in a first orientation relative to said tang, said ball can be inserted through said keyhole head portion from the front face of said tang and engaged in said pocket at the rear face of said tang and when the stay is in a second orientation relative to said tang, said ball is retained in said pocket with the stay projecting through said keyhole neck portion and said trough, said ball is free to swivel both laterally and vertically in said pocket and the stay is free to swivel both laterally and vertically in said trough.
- 2. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said pocket defining means are positioned on said tang above said keyhole head portion so that said key must be inserted through said head portion below said pocket before said key can be engaged in said pocket.
- 3. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said pocket defining means are positioned on said tang below said keyhole head portion so that said key is engaged in said tang by inserting it through said head portion and moving it vertically downward into said pocket.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 164,537, filed July 2, 1980 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 923,824, filed July 12, 1978, both of which applications are now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1050918 |
Dec 1966 |
GBX |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
164537 |
Jul 1980 |
|
Parent |
923824 |
Jul 1978 |
|