US1610902A

US1610902A - Car coupler

Info

Publication number: US1610902A
Application number: US353720A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles H Tomlinson
Original assignee: Tomlinson Coupler Co
Current assignee: Tomlinson Coupler Co
Priority date: 1920-01-24
Filing date: 1920-01-24
Publication date: 1926-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 1943-12-14

Description

c. H. roMLlNsoN Dec. 14 1926.

CAR COUPLER FiledJn. 24. 1920 s sheets-sheet 1 Dec. 14 1926.,.

c. H. y'roMLlNsoN CAR COUPLER Filed Jan. 24, A 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 14 ,'19Z6.

' c. H. ToMLlNsoN CAR COUPLER Filed Jan. 24. 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 gramma/bom Patented lecrpdlff;` 1926.

UNirED.' STATES PATENT OFFICE. -I

CHARLES.v II. TOMLINSON, 0F MANSFIELD, OHIO', ASSIGNOR T0 THE TOMLINSON COUPLER COMPANY, 0F MANSFIELD, OHIO, AEORPOBATION 0F OHIO.`

can Corinna'.

Application. lediJanuaryy 24 1920; Serial No. 353.720.

vision of. a device of the classinamed w ich vns v other.

shall beef improved construction andoperation. Thel invention is exemplified. in .the` combination and` arrangement of. parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification, and

-it is moreparticularlypointedV outl inV theap ended dlaims.

n the drawingk Fig. 1. ifs a top plan view of two cars in a train connected by a coupler embodyingfoney form of 'the present invention.

Fig. 2 isa side elevation with parte in section of the mechanism show'n 1n Fig. -3 is a vertical sectional view of a car.

coupler such as that shown in Figs; 1 andA 2 but on a scale larger than that ofvthe pr`evious figures;

Fig. 4 shows one part of the coupler in a different position from that of Fig.` 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section substantially on line 5-5 oF'ig.y 3;-

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation showing a slight modification coupler; i

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the portion of the couplerat the right in Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 isa vertical section of theportion of the coupler at the right in Fig. 3 showing a modification of one of the parts;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a somewhat modified form of coupler;

Fig. l0 is a top plan View of the coupler shown in Fig. 9.

Although the car coupler embraced in the present invention is applicable to cars. of

various forms, it is especially vapplicable tocars or trucks which run upon the supporting surface without tracks and which are provided with casters or movable wheels at.

one end to permit the cars. or trucks to be readily turned from one direction to anfactories having' extended floor space to.

transfer material from one part` of the fac-` to permit the car to be readily turned fromy one 'direction to another. The rear portion of. one part of the.

' thel complementary coupler.

Such cars are extensively used in.

ofthe. cars as.v shown at the right in Figs. l

and 2is. jrovided with a stationary axle 23 having. w eels 24 rotatably carried thereby. A. pair of brackets 26 are. secured to the front portion of the car body 20 in spaced relation` to one another and' support a hor-l izontal pivot pin 27 u o n which is mounted a-coupling rod'28. T e coupling rod 28 is free toswing vertically upon the pivot27 as. an axis but is heldagainst 'lateral movement relative to the car body so that any movement of the rod 28, in a lateral direction willswing the body of thecar in unison plungerx30 bears upon the lower surface of the carbody and limits the downward move'- ment of the coupler rod 28.

The forward end of the coupler rod 28 is l rovided with a head-piece 34 which has its orward end ,tapered to facilitate entrance thereof into a socket member 35 comprising The member 35 is provided with a bell-shaped portion 36 to guide the head 34 into coupled relation therewith. The socket member 35 is propor- ,l

tionedy to fit accurately the head 34 at its maximum diameter and the head tapers to form a neck 37 in-the rear of the portion. of maximum size. A latch 38 is mounted on a pivot 39 supported by ears 40 extending downwardly from the socket member 35. The latch 38v is provided with a bearing surface 41 arranged to grip the tapered. portion of the neck 37 and hold the

parts

28 and 35 in coupled relation. It will be seen that any draw-barpull on the member 28 serves to produce a` tighter grip of the latch 38 u on the head 34. The latch 38 is provided with a tail-piece 42 which carries arms 43 extending laterally therefrom. Rods 44 are connected with the arms 43' and extend into cup-shaped members 45 at the sides ofi the socketmember 35. Coil springs 46 cooperate with; the rods 44 to resiliently hold the latch 38 in locking position. When two couplers are moved together the head 34 will be guidedby the bell 36 into the socket member 35, and the spring 31 and pivot 27 will permit of vertical displacement of the y B coupler rod 28 tobrinsthepartsinto properv the head 34 enters' the -socket ;35 it will press the latch 38 downf vertical?l alinenient.

" wardly to `permit the head to move pastthe'V .latch into coupled position. The springs 46 will, then return the latch into holding ref lation inthe rear' ofthe head 34.

` member 35 is pivotally suppainvof. ears 50 which extend is" rotatablyirfjrnountedn in a bearing 52 formed onaplate which'issecured to the l rearoi. ythef-acar'body 20. The socket is Aheldfinp'lace by a cap screw 55 and alockzwasher 55. An uncoupling pin or.

membei35,isjournaledon a' pivot pin 54 carried Ybyfears 50. The pivot member 51 plunger 56 extends downwardly through a centralopening in the caps screw 5 and .passes through lelongated transverse openings in the socket member and through a. transverse opening in pivot pin 54. .The lower end of the plunger 56 bears upon the tailpiec'eA 42, as illustrated in Fig. 3, so that Athe parts may be uncoupled b pressure or a blow upon the upper end o the lunger.

1 It will be observed that the uncoup ing pin Apasses throu'h the. center of motion of the socketmemlier 35 both with respect to the lateral pivotal motion of the socket member2 as well as the vertical motion thereof. This permits the uncoupling of the parts irrespective of. the position of the sbck'et mem- 'ber and the uncoupling pin 56 remains in thesame position for all angles to which the socket member is moved. 'When the plunger 56 is forced downwardl into the position-shown in broken lines in ig. 3, the latch 38 and tail-piece 42 will be moved from full line to broken line position as shown in that figure and the coupler parts will then readily move apart.

It will be apparent that the front or leading car mayA swing from one side to the other as'the direction of the train of cars is changed, and the socket member 35 will rotate about itsl pivot 51. As the car is drawn to one side or the other the lateral lstrain upon the coupling rod 28 will draw the front portion of the following car so -that it will substantially track the rear wheels of thev front car. When the cars are moved into coupled relation their move ment toward one another is limited lb a shoulder 57 which engages a correspon ing recess at the base of the bell-shaped member 36. 'hen t-he parts are uncoupled the ,bar 28 may be moved upwardly about its pivot 27 into the position shown in' Fig. 4 and it may be retained in this position by a catch 59. In this position of the bar 28 an abutment block 60 on the lower face of l the bar 28 is brought into position to engage the bell-shaped portion 36 of the socket member 35 in the rear of an adjacent car,l so that when it is desired one car may .be given a push .from another Without cansing the two cars to be coupled together.- The which. a cross-bar 61 maybe inserted to form a. hand-hold by which the car may be drawn, using the bar 28 as a tongue when 1t 1s uncoupled from other cars on a train. The coil springs 46 may Ibe replaced by helical springs shown at 62 in Fig. 6 .or by-fa coupling bar 28 may, if desired, be provided with a laterally extending opening-through 'l counterweight shown at 63 in Fig." 8, but

vthe Y, operation of these modified structures. 1s essentially'the sameasv that of the form shown inFigs. 3 and 5.

ln some cases it may be desirable to have both ends of the cars equipped with similar couplers and an arrangement for this purpose is illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. In

these figures a draw-bar 65 is pivotally coni? nected with the car 20 at 66 and is supported upon an arcshaped rod 67 secured to the lower face of vthe car body 20 by suitable fastening members 68. The rod 67 passes through an opening in a flange 69 on the A socket member 71 is AcarlUU et member 71 in a mannersimilar to the plunger 30 in the previously described form of the invention. A latch 76 is pivotally mounted at 77 beneath the socket membcr 7l and operates in the same way as the latch 38 previously described. An uncoupling plunger 78 has its lower end arranged to engage a tail-piece 79 on the latch 76 so that downward pressure on the plunger will release t-he latch 76. Both the front and rear ends of the cars are equipped with the same form of coupling mechanism and a coupling pin 80 having duplicate heads 81 on opposite ends vis used for joining the couplers of two connected cars. It is apparent that lwhen either of the latches 76 is released the coupling pin 81 will remain attached to the socket member of the opposite car so that it will be in position to re-engage the socket member from which it. has been uncoupled or a similar socket member on another car. lt will be apparent that a car equipped with a socket member like that shown in Figs. 9 and 10 may be coupled with a car having a coupling rod like that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and it will also lbe apparent that the socket member shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be connected with the form of coupling shown in Figs. 9

nordsee used.

Other .combinations of the various forms of couplers will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in th art.

I claim -1 V l. 'In combination, a car having front wheels laterally movable thereon to permit lateral turning of said car, a couplin bar carriedby the front end of said car an projecting forwardly therefrom, means for holding said bar against lateral movement relative to said car while permitting vertical pivotal inovementof` said bar, means for limiting .the downward pivotal movementA of said bar and a second car having a complementary coupler pivoted thereon adjacent said car and arranged to be detachedly connected with said bar.

2. A car coupler comprising a coupling member having means thereon for securing said member to a complementary member of a cooperating coupler, said iirst named member being movable into one position to perform its coupling function and into a dit'- ferent position to provide an abutment for transmitting the pushing force between two cars without coupling said cars to one another, said securing means being out of posi-- tion for cooperation with said complementary member when in said second mentioned position.

3. A car coupler comprising a-coupling bar having means thereon for securing said bar to a complementary member of a cooperating coupler, means for pivotally supporting said bar to permit said bar to be moved into one position to cooperate with said complementary member for securing two cars to one another and into another position in which said securing means is out ot' position for cooperation with its complementary member and said bar is inoperative as a coupling member, and means on said bar for transmitting a pushing force between said cars without coupling said cars together.

4. A car coupler comprising a bracket member secured to a car and having a horizontal pivot thereon, a coupling bar mounted on said pivot, a-spring pressed member carried by said coupling bar on the side of said pivot adjacent said car, said member being arranged to engage the underside osaid car to limit the downward pivotal movement of the outer end of said bar and an abutment. member on said bar arranged to be moved into position'to engage the coupler ot' a different car when said bar is swung upwardlyjnto inoperative position. t

5. A car coupling mechanism comprising a coupling member movable into one positionto automatically couple two cars when brought together, said coupling member being movable out of said position to permit saidcars to butt against one another without being coupled together, an abutment element on said coupling member for providing abutment for said cars, and means for yieldingly holding said coupling member in position for coupling engagement with a cooperating coupler.

6. Coupling mechanism comprising a -bar pivotally mounted on lthe front vend of a car to swing verticallythereon, but held against lateral movement relative thereto, j

To v

resilient means for limiting the downward movement ot said member, but permitting free movement thereof upwarldly, a comple.

mentary coupling member pivotally mounted on a carto be connected with said lirst named car, said complementar member being-an ranged to swing vertica ly and laterally, resilient means for limiting the vertical downward movement of said lcomplementary coupling member but permittingfree movement thereof upwardly, a latch arranged to automatically connect said coupling members when said cars are brought together in coupled relation to one another and means for releasing said latch to permit said cars to be separated from one another.

7 In combination, a coupling head for a vehicle, means for supporting said head for pivotal movement on said vehicle while said head remains in coupled relation with another vehicle, and an uncoupling device for said member extending through the pivotal center of said movement. v

8`. A vcar coupler comprising a female coupling member pivoted to swing in two din rections, and an uncoupling device passing through both-pivotal centers of movement of said member.

9. A coupling device comprising a coupling member pivoted to swing both vert1- cally and laterally, and an uncouplin pin arranged in the axis of movement o said member in one direction and passing through the pivotal center of movement of said member in the other direction.I

10. A coupling device comprisinga female coupling member pivoted to swing vertically and laterally, `,and an uncoupling device arranged in the axis of lateral movement of said member and passing through the axis of vertical movement of said member.

l1. A coupling device comprisin a coupling member, a pivot -pin about w ich said member is free to swing while said member remains in coupled relation with a comple` mentary coupling member, and an uncoupling rod extending through a transverse openingin said pivot pin. f

12. Antuncoupling device comprising a coupling member, a pivoted head for supporting said member to swing laterally, a

".pivotpin .forsecuring said member to said pivothead 'topermit said member to swing ivertiallvfand an` uncoupling pin arranged v inthe axis -of saidi'pivot head and passing 'through a transverse opening in said pivot lI? 13.-;A. coupling device com rising a couplingimember, a. ook for yhol ing said mem- 'ber in cou led relation with a eo'mpl'iemen` ,tary mem er, meansffor supporting said coupling ,member lfor vertical and lateral `jpivotal movement, and an uneoupiing pin extending through the center of both move- .ments of said member and arranged to engagetsaidloekto uncouple said members.

14. A ear coupler comprising a female coupling member pivoted for vertical and lateral movement, a male member, means for -1ocking said members in coupled relation to oneanother, and an uneouplmg pin extending through the axis of pivotal movement of said vfemale member andv arran ed to en-V gage said lock touneouple -sai members from one another.

In testimony whereof Ishave signed my name to this specification on this 20th day of January, A. D. 1920.

CHARLES H. TOMLINSON.