US136033A - Improvement in car-couplings - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. OOFFIN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification formingipartof Letters Patent No. 136,033, dated February 18, 1873.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. GOFFIN, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gar-Coupler; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, which represents, in perspective, the end of a railroad car to which I have applied my improvement.

My improvement is designed to overcome or obviate the necessityof going between railroad cars for the purpose of guiding the link and inserting or withdrawing the pin in the operation of coupling or uncoupling the cars.

Many devices have been made for accomplishing this end; but the majority are objectionable, in that they add new and additional devices to the coupling-heads, thereby destroying their simplicity of construction, and rendering them intricate, costly, and liable to get out of order. In my improvement the coupling-heads are not touched, but retain all their desirable features.

To enable others skilled in the art to make anduse my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the drawing, the end of a freight-car is represented at a. This car is fitted with a draw-head, b, of any known or common form. In connection with these I have shown the draw-head b of the next or adjacent car. Hinged to the end of the car a, in the pivots c and d, is a swinging crane, e, from which hang the two chains f and g. The chain f supports a pair of tongs, h, the claws t i of which are bent over so as to stand at or nearly at right angles with the handles k, which extend out to the side of the car. The claws t of the tongs, when pendent, extend down to the front of the coupling-head b, and are intended to be used for seizing the link m and guiding it to place when the cars are being coupled. The chain g supports the fork 'n, the forked end a of which stands just beyond the end of drawhead I), and the handle n extends to the side of the car. This fork or forked lever is de signed to be used in inserting the pino into or withdrawing it from the draw-head. These devices are both operative from the side of the car or from the platform a, so as to obviate the necessity of going between the cars during the operation of coupling and uncoupling.

VVhen the cars are to be coupled, the link on is seized by means of the tongs h and guided into the adjacent head 6. The pin 0 is placed in the fork n and inserted in the couplinghead 'I).

When the fork n and tongs h are not in use the swinging crane e is swung around against the end of the car, and the tongs and fork placed upon the hooks or brackets 12 19.

To withdraw the pin from the draw-head for the purpose of uncoupling the cars, the fork a is inserted'under the head of the pin audits handle n pressed down so that the fork, operating as a lever, having its fulcrum at 9, shall raise the pin from its hole.

In the case of passenger-cars, the crane a may be attached to the railing along the front of the platform, and the tongs h be made straight, and fast long enough to be used with case from the plat-form.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The swinging crane attached to the end of a railroad car, carrying the tongs h and fork n, so that they may be operative in coupling or uncoupling the cars.

2. The tongs h suspended to the crane e, for guiding the link on in the operation of coupling. I

3. The fork a suspended to the crane 6, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I, the said GEORGE W. OOFFIN, have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE W; COFFIN.

Witnesses:

B. O. OHRISTY, Tnos. B. KERR.

Images