US1612775A

US1612775A - Car coupler

Info

Publication number: US1612775A
Application number: US758703A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kelso William
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1924-12-29
Filing date: 1924-12-29
Publication date: 1926-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 1943-12-28

Description

Dec. 28 1926.

w. KELSO CAR COUPLER Filed Dec. 29, 1924 2 Shoets-Sheet 1 Dec. 28 1926. 1,612,775

W. KELSO cAn couLER Filed Dec. 29, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec, 28, 1926,

WILLIAM KELSO, 033 PITTSB'UEGH, PENNEYLVANIA.

CAR COUPLER.

Application filed December 29, 1924.

My invention relates to car couplers of the Master Car Builders type and particularly to the standard El -coupler. lVhile the invention is especially applicable to the D- coupler it is to be understood that the improvements claimed are not limited thereto.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a lock lifting device for a coupler of the D-type which is or simple form and 0 affords a plurality of means for preventing an accidental unlocking movement of the coupler lock, the said means being designed to function successively so that one may be effective in the event the other fails to act. The principal feature of the invention, generally stated, consists in associating with the coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, a lock actuating device which is slidably and rotatably connected to the lock and involves a member capable of assuming a plurality of positions in either of which it cooperates with the coupler head to prevent accidental unlocking of the lock. A more specific feature of the invention consists in providing, in combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, a lock actuating device involving upper and lower members which are connected so as to be capable of sliding and rotating with respect to said lock and upon each other, the said lower member having a portion adapted to project rearwardly of the lock so as to engage the coupler head and thereby prevent accidental unlocking of the lock, and also having a portion adapted to engage the coupler head above the lock for the purpose of preventing accidental unlocking of the latter, said portions of the lower member being adapted to engage the coupler head alternately so as to provide both primary and supplementary or auxiliary means for looking the lock in locked position.

A still further feature of the invention consists in the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for said knuckle having an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot, of a device for actuating said lock, said device being rotatably Serial No. 758,703,

connected to said lock and comprising two slidably and rotatably connected members one of which is adapted to cooperate with the coupler head at a plurality of points 5 so as to provide both primary and auxiliary means for preventing the lock from accidentally moving to unlocked position, said device having at its lower end trunnions received by the slot of the lock, and means being provided for limiting the extent of relative rotation of said lock actuating members.

Other features of the invention relating to advantageous combinations of parts and de tails of construction will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings illustrating the invention as embodied in a standard D-type coupler,-

Figure 1 is a vertical central section of a car coupler embodying the invention, the lock and its actuating mechanism being in elevation and the parts being shown in the positions they normally assume when the coupler is locked. t

Figure 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating the relations of the parts when the auxiliary lock-to-the-lock is operating to prevent accidental unlocking of the coupler.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the relations of the parts when the lock has been cause-d to perform an extended unlocking movement for actuating the knuckle opener of the coupler.

Figures 4 and 5 are detail elevational views of the lock lifting device.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 66, Fig. 3.

The invention is especially suited for e1n bodiment in lD-couplers which are to-be applied to freight cars, as the locks of such couplers are generally actuated by a lock lifter which extends upwardly through an openingin the top wall of the coupler head, and mechanism involving the present inven-- tion may be substituted for the form of top operating lock litter member now commonly used in the lT -coupler without necessitating any departure in the design of other elements of the coupler.

The knuckle of the D-coupler is retained in coupled relation by means of an upwardly ISO sliding and rearwardly swinging lock. The top operating lock lifter heretofore employed for actuating the lock has been formed as a single rigid piece slidably and rotatably connected to the lock, the lower end of the lifter member being adapted to extend under a portion of the coupler head when the parts are in locked position so as to provide means for preventing an accidental unlocking of the lock. If, however, as has been known to happen, this common. form of lifter moves upwardly with respect to the lock as a result of the jars and shocks which the coupler receives in service or because of the slight working of the parts upon each other under imposed strains, the lock is freed from the control of the an t-icreep means and may ultimately assume an unlocked position permitting accidental parting of the train. By my invention means are provided whereby in the event of failure of the primary means for preventing accidental unlocking of the lock supplemental means will operate to that end.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the coupler head. It is provided as usual *ith a rotatable knuckle (not shown) normally maintained in coupled position by means of a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock 2 having a depending leg 3 which projects downwardly through an opening 4: in the lower wall of the head when the parts are in locked relation. When the parts are in normal locked position the lock 2 rests upon the rotatable knuckle opener 5 which latter is actuated by the depending lock leg 3 when the lock 2 swings rearwardly in performing an extended unlocking movement.

The lock 2 is actuated by a lifter device which projects upwardly through an open ing 6 in the top wall 7 of the coupler head, said lifter mechanism being brought to assembled position within the coupler head by being introduced through the mouth of the latter.

The lock 2 is formed with an upwardly and rearwardly openin slot 8 for receiving the lower member of the lifting device, the lower wall of said slot being inclined downwardly toward the rear of the lock. The side walls of the slot 8 are provided with the usual recesses 9 for respectively receiving the oppositely disposed trunnions 10 with which the lock lifting device is furnished at its lower end. The trunnions 1O serve to connect the lock lifting means to the lock in a manner permitting said means to slide and rotate with respect to the lock.

The device for actuating the lock 2 comprises two movably connected members 11 and 12, respectively, the former being fashioned with the integrally connected trunnions 10 at its lower end and the latter preferably being provided at its upper end outside of the coupler head with an opening 13 afi ording means for attaching the lock actuating mechanism to a suitable uncoupling rod or release rigging in a well known manner. Near its upper end the lifter member 12 is preferably provided with a lug or shoulder 1% which normally overlies the top wall 7 of the coupler head when the parts are in locked relation. said lifter member imn'iediately below said shoulder being, as shown in Fig. 2, of such width as not to interfere with the effective cooperz-ition of the upper end of the lifter member 11 with the top wall 7 of the coupler head in the performance of its function of locking the lock against accidental unlocking. It will be appreciated that if the width of the lifter member 12 should be unduly increased the movement of said lifter member through the opening 6 in the top wall of the coupler head during an accidental upward movement of the lifter mechanism would have a tendency to effect a rotation of the lower lifter member 11 resulting in moving the upper end of the latter toward a position. permitting it to enter said opening 6.

The lower end of the lock lifter member 11 is formed with a projection or shoulder 15 which, when the parts are in normal locked position, protrudes rearwardly from the lock 2 and extends under the usual anticreep shoulder or look down lug 16 with which the D-coupler head is provided on its interior. The lifter members 11 and 12 are slidably and rotatably connected, such connection preferably being effected by furnishing the upper end of the lower member 11 with a slot 17 which receives a rivet or pivot member 18 carried by the upper lifter member 12. The lower end of the number 12 is preferably bifurcated to form jaws 19 between which the upper slotted end of the member 11 is received, said aws constituting shoulders or lugs which are adapted to cooperate with corresponding shoulders or lugs 20 on the member 11 to limit the relative rotation of the upper and lower lifter members so as to prevent their joint from breaking rearwardly of the coupler, thereby ensuring that the parts of the lifter mechanism will reassume proper locked relation to the lock when the latter returns to locked position after having been lifted.

The upper end 21 of the lower lock lifter member 11 is adapted to engage the inner surface of the upper wall 7 of the coupler head, as shown in Fig. 2, to prevent accidental unlocking of the coupler lock 2. In the normal locked relation of parts the co operation of the lower end 15 of the lifter member 11 with the lock down shoulder 16 of the coupler head-prevents unlocking of the lock; but if the cooperating antiereep shoulders 15 and 16 should be accidentally displaced from cooperative relation the up ward or unlocking movement of the lock 2 is arrested-by the upper face or end portion 21 of the liftermember 11 coming-into contact with" the top wall'of the coupler head, A pluralityof alternately or successively operatingmeans is thus provided for locking the lockinlocked position; and it will be perceived thatbecause these related means operate alternately there is no practical possibility of an accidental unlocking movement of the loo 1 2 which would result in uncoupling. When it is desired to cause the lock to perform an unlocking movement the jointed lock lifter device is pulled upwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The first upward movement of the upper lifter member 12 causes the lower end 15 of the member 11 to be withdrawn from beneath the anticreep lug 16 of the coupler head, such movement being accompanied by a relative rotation of said member 11 with respect to the lock 2 and the upper lifter member 12 sutiicient to move the upper end of the member 11 from beneath the top wall of the coupler head and permit it to pass out through the opening 6 in said Wall. Continued upward pulling upon the lifter member 12 causes the lock to execute its unlocking movement.

The expressions employed in describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings are not to be understood as terms of limitation, because many changes in details of construction might be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim 1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, of means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means being slidably and rotatably connected to said lock and involving a member adapted to assume a plurality of positions in each of which it engages a different part of said head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, said member and lock being slidable with respect to each other to permit said member normally to move to one of said positions when the lock is in locked position.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, of means for-actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means being movably connected to said lock and involving a plurality of movably connected members, one of said members being provided with a plurality of faces alternately adapted by sliding with respect to the lock to engage said coupler head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock.

In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, of means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means involving a plurality of slidably' and rotatab-ly connected members one of which .slidably engages said lock and isprovided with a plurality of faces alternately adaptedto engage said coupler head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock.

111 a :ar coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, of means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means being slidably and rotatably connected to said lock and involving a plurality of members having a pin and slot connection permitting said members to slide and rotate with respect to each other, said lock being provided with a slot which opens through a plurality of faces of said lock, and one of said members of said lock actuating means extending into said slot and being provided with a plurality of faces which are alternately adapted to engage said coupler head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock.

5. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for said knuckle having an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot, of means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means involving a member provided with trunnions received by said slot and serving to connect said member to said lock in a manner permitting said member to slide and rotate with respect to said lock, and said member being provided with a, plurality of faces which are alternately adapted to engage said coupler head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock.

6. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said knuckle, of means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means involving a plurality of slidably and rotatably connected members, one of said members being slidably and rotatably connected to said lock and having a plurality of faces which are alternately adapted to engage said head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, said members being provided with cooperating means for limiting their relative rotation in one direction, and one of said members being adapted to cooperate with said head to limit relative rotation of said members in the opposite direction.

7 In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a rotatable knuckle, and a lock for said. knuckle having an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot, of means for actuating said lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said means involving upper and lower members connected so as to be capable of sliding and rotating with respect to each other and provided with cooperating parts adapted to engage each other to limit Cir llU

relative rearward rotation of said members, said lower member extending into said slot and having a portion adapted to project rearwardly therethrough so as to engage said head to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, a portion of said lower member being adapted to engage said head above said lock to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, and said lower member being provided with trunnions slidabiy engaging and forming an 10 operative connection with said lock.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WVILLIAM KELSO.