Angular and lateral self-aligning rod coupling

Claim 1

A COUPLING OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING OPPOSITE ENDS AND A CYLINDRICAL INNER WALL WHICH IS OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DIAMETER BETWEEN SAID OPPOSITE ENDS, SAID HOUSING HAVING AN END WALL ON ONE OF SAID ENDS WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A FLAT RADIALLY EXTENDING INNER END SURFACE, SAID END WALL HAVING A COAXIALLY DISPOSED OPENING THEREIN, AN ELONGATED STUD HAVING A CIRCULAR HEAD AND A STEM EXTENDING COAXIALLY THEREFROM, SAID HEAD BEING RELATIVELY FLAT WITH THE DIAMETER THEREOF BEING LONGER THAN THE THICKNESS THEREOF, SAID THICKNESS BEING MEASURED ALONG THE AXIS OF SAID STUD AND SAID DIAMETER BEING MEASURED AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO, SAID HEAD HAVING TWO OPPOSITE ANNULAR SURFACE PORTIONS WHICH ARE PART-SPHERICAL IN SHAPE, ONE OF SAID ANNULAR SURFACE PORTIONS BEING DISPOSED ON THE SIDE OF SAID HEAD OPPOSITE FROM SAID STEM, THE OTHER OF SAID ANNULAR SURFACE PORTIONS BEING DISPOSED ON THE SIDE OF SAID HEAD ADJACENT TO SAID STEM, THE CENTERS OF CURVATURES OF SAID SURFACE PORTIONS LYING ON THE AXIS OF SAID STUD ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID HEAD, THE RADII OF CURVATURES OF SAID SURFACE PORTIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL, SAID RADII HAVING A LENGTH AT LEAST TWICE AS LONG AS THE RADIUS OF SAID HEAD, THE INNER DIAMETERS OF SAID ANNULAR SURFACE PORTIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF SAID STEM, THE DIAMETER OF SAID HEAD BEING LARGER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID STEM, THE PORTION OF THE SURFACE OF SAID HEAD INSIDE SAID ONE ANNULAR SURFACE PORTION BEING FLAT AND NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF SAID STUD, SAID STUD HAVING A CYLINDRICAL THROAT PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID HEAD AND SAID STEM, SAID STEM BEING EXTERNALLY THREADED; SAID STUD BEING MOVABLY ASSEMBLED TO SAID HOUSING WITH SAID HEAD BEING COAXIALLY POSITIONED INSIDE SAID HOUSING AND SAID STEM PROJECTING BEYOND SAID END WALL OPENING, SAID THROAT PORTION BEING DISPOSED RADIALLY INSIDE SAID OPENING, THE DIAMETER OF SAID HEAD BEING SMALLER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID CYLINDRICAL INNER WALL TO PROVIDE FOR RADICAL CLEARANCE THEREBETWEEN, THE DIAMETER OF SAID THROAT PORTION BEING SMALLER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID OPENING TO PROVIDE FOR RADIAL CLEARANCE THEREBETWEEN, TWO ANNULAR BEARING MEMBERS OF SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL SHAPE AND SIZE; EACH SAID BEARING MEMBER HAVING OPPOSITE SURFACES OF WHICH ONE IS FLAT AND THE OTHER CONCAVE SPHERICAL, SAID ONE FLAT BEARING SURFACE BEING NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE BEARING MEMBER, THE OTHER CONCAVE SPHERICAL SURFACE OF SAID BEARING MEMBER HAVING A CENTER OF CURVATURE ON THE LAST-MENTIONED AXIS, THE RADIUS OF THE LAST-MENTIONED CURVATURE BEING EQUAL TO THE RADIUS OF CURVATURE OF SAID ANNULAR SURFACE PORTIONS; ONE OF SAID BEARING MEMBERS COAXIALLY SURROUNDING SAID THROAT PORTION AND BEING INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID HEAD AND SAID END WALL, THE FLAT SURFACE OF SAID ONE MEMBER BEING SLIDABLY ENGAGEABLE WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID END WALL AND THE CONCAVE SPHERICAL SURFACE THEREOF BEING SLIDABLY ENGAGEABLE WITH THE OTHER OF SAID ANNULAR SURFACE PORTIONS, THE DIAMETER OF SAID THROAT PORTION BEING SMALLER THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID ONE BEARING MEMBER, THE OTHER BEARING MEMBER BEING SLIDABLY ENGAGED WITH SAID ONE ANNULAR SURFACE PORTION IN COAXIAL RELATION THEREWITH, SAID BEARING MEMBERS HAVING OUTER DIAMETERS WHICH ARE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE OUTER DIAMETER OF SAID HEAD, THE AREAS OF THE CONCAVE SPHERICAL SURFACES OF SAID MEMBERS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO AND COEXTENSIVE WITH THE AREAS OF SAID ANNULAR SUFACE PORTIONS, RESPECTIVELY; AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY POSITIONING SAID TWO MEMBERS AND SAID HEAD AS AN ASSEMBLY AGAINST SAID FLAT INNER END SURFACE.