US1168692A

US1168692A - Automatic coupling.

Info

Publication number: US1168692A
Application number: US3336315A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sam B White
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1915-06-10
Filing date: 1915-06-10
Publication date: 1916-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 1933-01-18

Description

S. B. WHITE.

I AUTOMATlC COUPLING.

APPLICATIQN FILED ;uNE 10, 19.15.

Panted Janflamle.

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Inventor Attorneys Witnesses f sans; WHIEIE; or roRTsi/IOUTH, omo.

Auroivin'ric conge-LING:

Patented Jan'. 18,1916.

Appiafim filed miie 1d, 1915. serial ivd. 33,363.

To all whomit may maceta-'' Be it known that I, sin e'. Wam, a citizen of thef Unitedv States,- resid-ing, at` Portsmo'nth, in the county of Scioto: and` State of Ohio, have inventedaV newfand' use"- ful, Automatic Coupling,k of which the fol# lowing is a specification? The present inventionlafpp'e'rtains to pipe couplings, and aims"y to providenove'l and improved meansfor automatically cou-'v pling together", the air,y steam or other pipe sections of pair of railroad oa'1's,\\"vvher`1the"` cars are coupled together, `s"o"th'at'it is not necessary for the brakenan to manually couple the pipe se'otions togetherasv usual:

One of the specific objects of the invention is the provision of uniqnemeans for mounting the tubular members `vvhich arefemployed for coupling' thepipev sections tofl gether, whereby said tubular members1 may swingand slide *toy be properlycoupledto` gether under variousv conditions," when rounding a curve,` or when onetubu'lar meniber 'is out off alinement with the other` for anyv reason Whatever.

Another specific object of the `invention is the provision of novel meanscarried by the tubular members orbringingtliem into alinement and abutment: i

It is also within thescope of the inventiii yto provide an applianceof the nature indify cated yWhich is'quite simple and inexpensive in construction, lWhich may, beycre'adily in=` stalled upon railway cars andcoaches, andy which Will serve'its oliice inapraotical and eiiicient manner. f

Wah al@l foregoing and other inyectaan*v View which Will appear as the description proceeds, the invention lres1des in the' coins4 bination and arrangement of'part's and in" the details of construction"y hereinafter del scribedand claimed, itfbeing understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be' made Within the scope of what is claimed kWithout departingl from the spiritl of the invention". The invention is illustrated in theaccom* panying drawing, ywherenty p Figure l is aA bottom View of the improved couplingy at the initial moment of coupling. Fig.l 2` isf any enlarged longitudinal* section 1 thereof vta'len on the line 2 2 of Fig.' 1^.` Fig. 3 is an enlarged end v'ievsT of onef of thecoupling members. Fig.' 4 is a longitudinal seotionof the couplingmem-k berwta'ken ,on thel line 4-'4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 1s ak perspective viewof one of the slidabley plates. Fig. 6 is a fragmental perspective vievv ofo'ne of the tubular members. Fig. 7 isa perspective-'view cal members.

In carrying outl the invention, hangers or supporting members l are attached to the end sills' S oi' they railwayV cars, the ha'Iiger'sfl beinglocated at'the-adjacent ends of the cars, andl the hangers l are provided with spherical pockets or openings 2 therein Within which are journaled for rotation in various' directions, spherical members 3. Plates 4- and 5 are `attached to the inner and outer sides of the* hangers lior holding the spherical members 3v Within' the hangers,y

and` said plates 4 and 5 are provided With openingsy @exposing said sphericalv members. Said spherical members are provided with square `or non-f'zircular bores l.

,Tubular members 8 are slidable through the boresZand are of square or non-circular cross sect-ion Where they slide through the bores"7 to4` al'lovvthe members S to sliderrelative yto themembers 3, but to prevent said members 8` from rotating with respect to said members 3'. To the` remote ends of the tubular members S are attached the hose sections 9 Which are connected to the pipe sections (not shown) carried by the cars.

The present appliance may be employed for connecting theutrain or air pipe sections,'the' steam pipe sections, or other pipe sections carried by the cars. i

Spiral" springs l0 have their larger ends bearing against the outer plates 5 of the hangersl', and'surround the tubular members 8, the` smaller ends of the springs lO bearing againstl collars l1 carried by the tubular members S near theirouter ory adjacent'ends. These springs l0 tend to pro`- ject "theA tubular membersy 8y outwardly, and' allow said membersto yield When they abut against one another. i K

Collars 12 are clamped upon the tubular members 8 behind the hangers l, by means 'of one of the sp'he'ri-`r of set screws 13, and limitl the outward movement of the tubular members 8 under the influence of the springs 10.

Slidable plates 14 are carried by the inner plates 4 of th'ehangers 1, and are provided ,y with rectangular or non-circular opemngs Y.

15 through which the tubular'members eX- tend, whereby said tubular members arepermitted to oscillate vertically and horizontally to a limited extent, but are prevented from rotating about their axes. 'lhe plates 14 are guided for vertical sliding movement Y bers 8 into alinement and abutment, the

outer end of each member 8 is provided with an outstanding lugv 19V adjacent the outer end of the oblique endsY face 17 as clearly seen by reference to Fig. 4. The end face 17 of the tubular member' 8 is disposed ina vertical plane, whereby the lug 19 is arranged at one side of the said mem-ber, while the other side of the member 8 carries a scoop-shaped guiding wing 20. This Wing has an arcuate basal portion 21 soldered or otherwise secured to the respective side of thel member 8 at the inner end of the end face 17 and the body portion 22 of the wing 2O projects from the basal portion 21.

v The body portion 22 of thewing and end face 17 diverge from one another, vas seen in Fig. 4, and the body portion 22 of the wing is curved between its upper and lower edges, the portion 22 increasing in width from its basal to its free end. Y The portion 22 has upper and lower inturned ianges 28, and the portion 22 is provided with an outstruck portion 24 adjacent the end faceV 17 of the member 8 for receiving the lug 19 of the other coupling member 8..

The guide lugs 19 and wings 20 of the two tubular members 8 are located at opposite sides, due to the reversal of the two couplingvmembers, as seen in Fig. 1, and each wing 20 is arranged to receive the lug 19 of the other tubular member 8 when the parts are coupled together. Supposing the cars to be separated or uncoupled, the members 8 will be projected by the springs 10 until the collars 12 bear aga-inst the plates 14, which limits the outward movement of Ithe members 8. Then, when the two cars are coupled together, the tubular members 8 will be moved together, and the lugs 19 will be received or caught by the opposite wings V20, in order that the members 8 will properly abut against'oneanother to provide a `tight joint therebetween. Should the members 8 'be spaced at different vertical planes, the lugs 19 in engaging the upper and lower inclined or converging flanges 28 ofthe wings 20, will [bring themembers 8 into Vvthe same vertical plane, and the lugs 19 in'bearing against land moving along the body portions 22 ofl the wings, will move the members 8 .sidewise into alinement. The lugs 19 are n'ally received in the outstruck portions 24 of the 'wings 20, which causes the members 8 to aline and abut properly, the inclined.

faces `o1 the two tubular members bearing Ysnugly against one another. Vhen the members 8 are brought together, they will be moved against the tensionsof the springs 10, whereby the said springs serve to tightly hold the. members 8 together, anddue to the fact that the members 8 lare slidable through the spherical members 3, they may slide and swing properly when they; are brought to--` gether.` The members 8 may also swing relative tothe hangers 1 due to the move'- ments of the cars relative to one another, but there is no liability ofthe members turning or rotating about their axes, which Ywould be liable to displace the .adj acent ends of the y members 8. NVhen the cars are uncoupled and separated, the members 8 will leave one another.

The presentappliance is operable for a'utomatically connecting vthe pipe sections when the carsl are coupled together, and withoutthe intervention of the brakeman, which saves time and trouble.

The present coupling may not .only be usedupon railroad cars, but mayalso beV used for other purposes, Jforl connecting the pipes or hose sections with one another when theyare moved toward veach other.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as newv is:

Y 1. In an Vappliance of the character de-V scribed, a pair of supporting members,

spherical members carried thereby for oscil-` lations in various directions, tubular members of non-circular cross section slidable through said spherical members, the adjacent ends of the tubular members having cooperating guiding means for guiding the tubular Vmembers into abutment, means for yieldablyY projecting the tubular members, movable plates carried by the supporting members and having non-circular openings through which the tubular members extend, means for preventing the rotation of the said plates, and means for limiting the movement of the tubular members.

2. In a coupling, a pair of tubular members having oblique end faces adapted to abut, each tubular member having an outstanding lug at the outer end of its face, a guiding wing having its basal portion at-v tached to each tubularmember at the inner end of itsrface, they 'wing having a curved iso 1,168,692 body portion increasing in Width from its basal to its free end7 said body portion divergng from seid face and having inturned anges at its edges, and said body portion of the Wing having an ontstruck portion adjacent seid face for receiving the lug of the other tubular member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

SAM B. WHITE.

Witnesses:

FRANK GERLACH, HOWARD DAIRs.

Copies of thin patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.