US462915A - Dyer williams - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

D. WILLIAMS.

GAR COUPLING. No. 462,915. Patented Nov. 10,1891.

mi r i 7W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DYER IVILLIAHS, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOlVA, ASSIGITOR TO CARLOTTA B.

IVILLIAMS, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,915, dated November 10, 1891.

Application filed February 6, 1891. Serial No. 380,425. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, DYER WILLIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to car-couplers of the J anney type of draw-head; and the object of the invention is to improve the construction of couplers of that style with more particular reference to thelocking of the pivoted jaw.

The invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangment of parts, as hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a coupler embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front view of the locking pin or bolt; and Fig.4 is a fragmentary vertical section in the line 00 00, showing a modified form of pin or bolt and from the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 1, together with the contiguous parts.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A is a draw-head having the characteristics of the draw-head known as the Janney--that is to say, it has the arm A, to which is pivoted the jaw B, and on the other side the guiding and deflecting arm A.

In the construction of the draw-head, the jaw, and its locking device certain novel features have been devised, which I will now dcscribe.

By reference to the drawings it will be seen that the body of the draw head is cored straight through, thus permitting free passage of the bolt or other apparatus for attaching the draw-head to the car. One wall forms an integral portion of the arm A. Opposite this is another wall corresponding in thickness practically with the sides of the body and extending well forward toward the mouth of the draw-head. Outside of this wall apin or bolt 0.

the arm A is cored out for lightness, the disposition of the material being such as to give sufficient strength to the part. Through the top and bottom of the arm contiguous to the wall A are holes a, which are not in the same diagonal plane, but are in parallel planes of inclination. The upper hole at least should have a little clearance, so as to permit the pin 0 to enter. In these holes is placed so as to slide freely in a diagonal plane This pin is of peculiar construction, being staggered in outline as seen from the sides, but straight as seen from the front or rear. The straight middle part of the pin forms a bearing for the rear arm 13 of the pivoted arm B, as will be hereinafter more particularly explained. The diagonal terminal portions of the pin coincide with the diagonal holes in the draw-head and slide in the same to lock and unlock the pin. After the pin is in position in the draw-head it may be provided with a key 0 to prevent its being carelessly or wantonly displaced. The front face of the middle portion of the pin is preferably beveled, as shown, to facilitate its movement by the arm B; but this is not absolutely essential. The upper part of the pin connects with a suitable chain D, attached to anydesired style of hand-lever (not shown) for uncoupling.

In the back part of the arm B is formed a notch b. The face I) of this arm should be a cam, the upper terminus in Fig. 1 being nearer the pivot D than the portion next to the notch. In practice this notch is made wide enough to inclose the end of the wall A and the front face of the pin, the terminal portion of the arm B extending partly across the throat of the draw-head to prevent the link (indicated in dotted lines) from being forced therein. This is a common difficulty met with in the use of couplers of this type, the link being sometimes jammed in so as to force the lateral walls outwardly and bend or break the locking device, practically ruining the draw-head and causing serious delay and expense in the use of the car. The construction herein shown entirely prevents accidents of this nature, since the throat of the draw-head is so far closed as to bend the link rather than permit it to enter.

In the drawings I have shown the middle portion of the pin which forms the bearing for the arm 13 as vertical and also inclined. In practice the inclined position shown in Fig. 4 is preferred, since, as will be evident on reflection, the movement of the arm in swinging back and the inclination of its face corresponding to that of the contiguous part of the pin tend naturally to lift the pin and facilitate the passage of the arm and in greater degree than does the position shown in Fig. 2. This pin should be made of tenaceous material, as wrought-iron or steel, and particularly if made in either form shown in the drawingsthat is to say, of the same width throughout. It is to be understood, however, that the staggered part of the pin may be only on the front side thereof, the back side being perfectly straight, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 2. This would increase the width of the pin at the upper end materially and to that extent add to its weight. As the pin acts by gravity to lock, this weight would have certain advantages; but in practice I prefer to make the body of the pin uniform throughout, this form being easily made and well adap ed to all purposes. It may be comparatively slender, furthermore, inasmuch as it bears against thewall A at both the top and bottom, as in Fig. 2, and may overlap the wall in the middle portion, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4 and the full outline in Fig. l.

It will be seen that the construction is such that the cars are uncoupled by simply lifting the pin, and by reason of the angle in which it moves the pin may be lifted by drawing vertically on it or at any angle between that and the horizontal backwardly. Now inthe event that a draw-head is torn loose from a car, as frequently happens, the detached draw-head by its own weight disengages the pin and uncouples itself from the draw-head attached to the other car. The inability of draw-heads incommon use to uncouple in the case of accidents of this sort is often the cause of serious wrecks by reason of the detachedv draw-head hanging down and catching in the ties or other part of the track when the other car is backed, thus throwing it off the track.

It will be understood that the locking device would be complete if the arm B terminated at the shoulder engaging with the pin; but, as the extension into the throat of the draw-head serves a very important purpose, I prefer to make the arm in the form shown.

The construction is such thattwo drawheads are adapted to couple automatically, and the simplicity of the device renders it easy to manufacture, strong and efficient in use, and little likely toget out of order.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire-to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a draw-head, substantially as described, of a pivoted jaw having a shoulder on theinward arm, behind which the pin drops to lock said jaw, the face of the jaw contiguous to said shoulder and which moves the pin in looking being eccentric to the pivot or cam-shaped in the plane of the jawvs movement and beveled so as to have a greater diameter on the under side, and a locking-pin staggered in outline, the inclination of the middle portion corresponding to the bevel of the jaw and the parallel terminal portions inclining in the opposite direction and adapted to slide in bearings in the upper andlowerparts of the drawhead.

2. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a draw-head, substantially as described, having the wall A' and holes a adjacent thereto in the upper and lower part of the draw-head, of

a pin of the staggered outline shown, the terminal parallel portion sliding in said holes in the draw-head and bearing laterally against said Wall thereof, the middle portion serving as a lock for the coupling-jaw and having a bearing for a portion of its width against saidwall, and a locking-jaw having a cam-face on its inward arm, whereby the pin is pushed upwardly and backwardly as the jaw swings in to couple, the said cam-face being beveled so as to be relatively larger on the under side to facilitate the upward and backward movement of the pin.

3. In a car-coupler, the combination of the draw-head A, having the wall A" and holes a a adjacent thereto inthe upper and lower parts of the arm A .the zigzag or staggered pin 0, the jaw B, having the inward arm B extending partially across the throat of the draw-head when the jaw is locked and with a notch therein slightly wider than the wall A, and the pin forming on one side the shoulder 17 and on the other a shoulder to serve as a stop to the backward movement of the jawby striking the inner side of the wall.

4. In combination with the beveled camfaced jaw B b", the herein-described pin formed in a zigzag or staggered outline and of the same width of material throughout its length, with a hole in the. upper end for the attachment of a lifting device, and a pin or key in the lower end to prevent displacement.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. DYER WILLIAMS. Vitnesses:

S. W. BRAINERD, W. H. MEYERs.

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