US1346538A

US1346538A - Railway draft appliance

Info

Publication number: US1346538A
Application number: US374342A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Enoch George
Original assignee: McConway and Torley LLC
Current assignee: McConway and Torley LLC
Priority date: 1920-04-16
Filing date: 1920-04-16
Publication date: 1920-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 1937-07-13

Description

E. GEORGE, JR. RAILWAY DRAFT APPLIANCE. APPLICATiON man APR. 16, 1920.

1,346,538, Patented July 13, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. GEORGE, JR.

RAILWAY DRAFT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1920.

1,346,538, Patented July 13, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

:eivocn (mouse, .1 or rnrrsnunen, rnnnsvnvnnln, ASSIGNOR no THE MoGON- WAY 86 TORLEY ANYL Q IE ESBURGE, r nNNsrLvAma, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

harness.

' Application filed April 16,

T0 (ZZZ who/2t it may concern:

Be it known that l, ENOOH Gnonen, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-- way Draft Appliances 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to draft appliances for railway vehicles and particularly to adevice of that char-z cter which is especially designed to overcome difficulties in operating trains composed wholly or in large part of small industrial cars andopen hearth charging and other mill cars over tracks having sharp vertical curves, as for example, a track extending up or down an incline and then continuing along a horizontal platform. Theprincipal object of the invention is to provide a draft appliance, suitable for the purpose indicated, which shall be compact in form, strong and durable, and whichshall permit the car coupler forming a part thereof to execute eirtended swinging movements both vertically and horizontally. In carrying out my invention 1 provide a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly secured to a car and pivotally connect thereto, so that it may swing vertically both above and below its normal position, a coupler supporting member which is preferably provided at its outer end with a pocket for receiving the shank of a car coupler that is pivotally connected by means of a vertically extending pivot pin to the coupler supporting member, the latter being yieldingly sustained by the bracket through the instrumentality of springs which are seated upon the latter and engage the pivoted coupler supporting member on opposite sides of the pocket portion thereof. Such. a construction embodies the main features of my invention. Minor features of my invention, residing in certain advantageous details ofconstruction, will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred form in which I contemplate applying the principle of my invention e Figure 1 is a plan view of a draft appliance.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism an ation of Letters Patent.

"RAILW Y nears: arrnlenon.

Patented July 13, 1920.

1920. Serial no; 374,342

illustrated in Fig. l, the head of the coupler being omitted.

Fig. 3 a section on the line 3--3, Fi 2.

A 1g. 4: 1s a plan view of a modified form of draft appliance embodying the invention.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the construction illustrated in Fig. 4, the coupler head being omitted.

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the form of bracket memberembodied in the construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

p In the drawings, 1 isa car coupler, 21s a coupler supporting member to which the car coupler is attached, and 3 is a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly connected to a car, as for example, by means of bolts passing through the openings 4 formed in the base or flange 5 of the bracket. The coupler supporting member 2 is preferably provided at its forward end with an outwardly flaring pocket 6 for receiving the shank of the coupler, said shank being preferably cylindrically curved at its rear end concentric with a vertically extended aperture which is adapted to receive a pivot pin i that also passes through corresponding vertically alined openings in'the top and bottom walls of the pocket portion 6 of the coupler supporting member. If desired the head of the vertically extending pivot pin 7 may be flattened on opposite sides to engage upstanding lugs 8 adjacent the pivot pin opening in the upper wall of the pocket 6, the pivot pin thereby being prevented from turning when the coupler 1' swings laterally with respect to the coupler sup porting member 2. y

1 he coupler supporting member is pivotally connected to the bracket 3 rearwardly of the vertically extending pivot pin 7 in such manner that it is restrained from lateral movement but is capable of swinging movements both above and below its normal position.- To effect this connection it is preferred to provideithe bracket 3 with a plurality of spaced lugs9 having horizontally alined pivot pin openings therein which are adapted to receive a pivot pin 10,

the coupler supporting member 2 being provided witha rearwardly extending bar or tongue 11 which lies between the pivot lugs 9 and is provided with a suitable opening to receive the-pivot pin 10. The rear end of the tongue 11 is preferably convexly beveled, as indicated at 12, toafiord clearance allowing vertical swinging of the coupler sup porting member 2, the beveled faces 12 preferably being disposed so as to limit the vertical swinging and its supporting member.

Thevbracket 3 is preferably provided at opposite sides wlth arms 18 -wh1ch are of the bracket some united t'othe flange what below the horizontally extending pivotpin 10 and which slope downwardly towardthe outer end ofthe coupler supporting member 2. The arms 13. are'formed at their outer ends with upwardly opening cylindricalspring seats 14 which are respectively adapted to-receiye springs 15by whichthe coupler supporting member 2' 1s yieldiugly sustained. The arms 13 may be reinforced by diagonally extending bracingflanges 16, which integrallyconnect the spring cups 14 with the basal flange 5- of the bracket member, and they are also preferably united attheir inner ends by a transversely extending web 17 which is recessed at its forward end as'at 18 in vertical alincment with the pocket (iv-of the coupler supporting member so as toleave the outer ends of the arms 13 disconnected and in spaced relation. Y p

The coupler supporting member 2 passes between the'springs 15 andis provided near its upper, side with oppositely disposed spring seats 19 between which the pocket 6.

intervenes. These spring seats, 'which'are preferably of convex spherical form and 1 are respectively adapted to bear 'uponthe 'upper ends'of thesprings, may berrigldly united tothe pocket portion 6 andtongue 11 of the coupler supporting member 2 by horizontallyextending webs or platesZO formedintegralwith the coupler support-Q mg member. It will be perceived that by causing the, sprlngs 15 vertically to overlap the coupler supporting member 2 and by. re-

cessingthe bracket member 3 so as to leave the arms 13-thereof spaced apart and disconnected below the pocket portion 6 of the coupler supporting member 2, as well as by the downward-sloping of the arms 13 of the bracket -member, the device may be mace compact while yet permitting thecoupler l to execute extended swinging movements in a vertical direction.

The .operation of the Ineehanism' illusf trated in F igs. :1, 2 and 3 and heretofore de- I scribed will be 7 readily understood; 7 On; le'veltrack the coupler 1 is normally held in ahorizontal planebyimoans of the springs 15? which are free to compress when the car to which the device is applied passes over a convex verticalcurve. In .passing'overa dip such "asexists at the bottomof an incline, the coupleri freely lifts as far as may be necessary, carrying upwardly withit the coupler supportingniember 2 which turns upon; the pivot;pi1i 10 bywhich'ifiis-secured movements of the coupler to the bracket 3; hen level track again is reached the coupler 1 resumes ts normal posltlon in a horlzontal plane due to the action of gravity. 1 p v The modified form of constructlon dis- 7 closed in Figs. 4-, 5 and 6 is substantially like that-heretofore described, except that the bracket 3 by which the mechanism is ,connected to the car-is provided with only a single sloping arm 13 and the coupler supporting member 2 is yieldingly sustained by a single spring 15 which is seated in a spring cup 14 at'the outer end of the arm 13 and bears upon a centrally disposed convexlycurved spring seat 19 -fori ned on the under side ofthe coupler supporting member 2 In this form of the mechanism.

connected to the latter by means ofa verticallyextending pivot pin 7, and the memberiZ is pivotally connected to thebracket' by means of'a horizontally extending pivot pin 10 which passes through per forated' lugs provided. Y' I claim: '1; In a railway draft appliance, t-he conr binationwith a'bracket member which is adaptedtobe rigidly secured to'a' car, of a coupler supporting member, a horizontally extending pivot pin for pivotally connecting said members was to permit saidcoupler supporting member to swing vertically V with respeotto said bracket, yielding means interposed between said coupler supporting for supporting member and said bracket said coupler supporting member, a car coupler extending forwardly from said coupler supporting member, ,and a vertically extendingxpivotpin connecting said coupler and said coupler supporting-member in advance of the pivotal connection of said coupler supporting member-and bracket.

In a railway draft appliance, the combination with abracket member which is adapted to "be rigidly secured to a car, of a coupler supporting member, means for pivotally connecting sald members to permit said coupler supporting member'to have an extended swinging movement vertically with respect to said bracket member," means interposed between said'coupler supporting member-and said bracket for yieldingly member against downward movement with respect to said bracket member,a car coupler connected to said coupler supporting member 9 with which the bracket is spring supporting. said coupler supporting lit.

andv extending forwardly therefrom, and means for pivotally connecting said coupler and coupler supporting member so as to permit said coupler to swing laterally.

3, In a railway'draft appliance, the combination with a bracket member which is adapted to be secured to a. car, of a coupler supporting member, means for pivotally connecting said members so as to permit said coupler supporting member to swing vertically both above-and below its normal position, means mounted on said bracket member for yieldingly supporting said coupler supporting member against downward vertical movement, a car coupler, and means for pivotally connecting said. coupler and coupler supporting; member so as to permit said coupler to swing laterally in either direction with respect to said coupler supporting member.

i. in a railway draft appliance, the combination with a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly secured to a car, of a coupler supporting member, a horizontally extending pivot pin pivotally connecting said coupler supporting member and said bracket member, a car coupler, a vertically extending pivot pin connecting said coupler and coupler supporting member, and a spring operatively interposed between said bracket member and said coupler supporting member, said bracket member being pro vided with a forwardly extending arm sloping downwardly from a point adjacent said horizontally extending pivot pin and forming a support for said spring.

o. In a railway draft appliance, the combination with a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly secured to a car, of a coupler supporting member, means for pivotally connecting said members so as to permit said coupler supporting member to swing vertically but not horizontally with respect to said bracket member, means mounted on said bracket member for yieldingly supporting said coupler supporting member in advance of said means for pivotally connecting said coupler supporting member and bracket, a car coupler, and means for pivotally connecting said coupler to said coupler supporting member so that said coupler may swing laterally with respect to said coupler supporting member.

6. in a railway draft appliance, the combination. with a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly secured to a car, of a coupler supporting member, means for pivotally connecting said coupler supporting member to said bracket member, said means involving a horizontally extending pivot pin and a plurality of lugs having horizontally alined perforations, a spring mounted on said bracket member for yieldingly supporting said coupler supporting member, a car coupler, and means for pivotally connecting said coupler to said com pler supporting member so as to permit said coupler-to swing laterally with respect supporting member to said bracket memher so as to allow said coupler supporting member to swing vertically, springs interposed between said arms and said coupler supporting member, a car coupler, and means for pivotally connecting said coupler to said coupler supporting member so as to permit said coupler to swing laterally to either side of its central position.

8. In a railway draft appliance, the combination with a bracket member provided with a plurality of arms which are spaced apart and disconnected at their forward ends, of a coupler supporting member having at its forward end a pocket adapted to receive a car coupler and being provided with spring seats on opposite sides of said pocket and being pivotally connected to said bracket member rearwardly of said pocket, means for pivotally connecting said coupler supporting member to said bracket member, springs respectively interposed between said arms and said spring seats of the coupler supporting member, a car coupler extending into said pocket of said coupler supporting member, and means for pivotally connecting said coupler and coupler supporting member.

9. In a railway draft appliance, the combination with a bracket member, of a coupler supporting member, means for pivotally connecting said members so as to permit said coupler supporting member to swing vertically, a spring interposed between said bracket member and said coupler supporting member, a car coupler, and means for pivotally connecting said car coupler to said coupler supporting member, said coupler supporting member having a convex spring seat adapted to engage said spring.

10. In a railway draft appliance, the combination with a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly connected to a cansaid bracket member being provided with a pinrality of spring seats and a recess between said spring seats, of a coupler supporting member having a pocket adapted to receive a car coupler, means for pivotally connecting said bracket member and coupler supporting member rearwardly of said pocket, springs respectively engaging said spring seats and interposed between said bracket spring seats being out of vertical alinement.

In a railway draft appliance, the

combination with a bracket member which is adapted to be rigidly secured to a car, of a coupler supporting member, means for pivotally Connecting saidmembers' so as to permit said coupler supporting member to swlng vertically, a plurality of spaced springs seated upon said bracket and Vere tically overlapping said coupler supporting member, a .car coupler, and means ior pivotally connecting said coupler to said cou pler supporting member so as to permit said coupler to swing laterally.

1 In testimony wherof I aflix my signature. ENOCH GEORGE, JR.