US1825907A - Car coupler - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 6, 1931. w, so 1,825,907

CAR COUPLER Filed June 2, 1928 Patented a. 6, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT Fries WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO THE MCCONVJAY 5 TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA CAR COUPLER Application filed. June 2, 1928. Serial No. 282,446.

My invention relates to car couplers and particularly to the type known as the American Railway Association Standard D- coupler. It is to be understood, however, that, although the improvements hereinafter described and claimed are especially applicable to the D-coupler, they may be embodied in couplers of other types.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a lock and a top operating locklifter for use with the Dtype coupler head, efliciently serving to prevent accidental un-' locking of the coupler as the result'of the shocks and jars to which the mechanism is subjected in service.

In the D-coupler, when equipped with top operating release mechanism for actuating the lock, accidental movement of said lock to unlocked position is designed to be restrained by causing the lock-lifter member of the mechanism to cooperate with a shoulder or lock-down lug on the interior of the coupler head.

Due to the form of the lock and top operating lock-lifter of the D-coupler andto their mode of combination and relative movements, as well as because of their manner of cooperation with thecoupler head, accidental upward creeping of the lock to unlocked position is not prevented with the desired degree of reliability. 7 Especially is this true when .freight cars, to which such couplers are applied,"are in trains moving at comparatively high speed, for blows imparted to the coupler from below cause the latter to be thrown upward against the lower surface of the usual striking plate secured to the car above the shank of the coupler at the rear of the coupler head, thus suddenly arresting upward movement of the coupler head and thereby permitting the locking block and its lifter to execute unlocking movements which vary in extent with the severity of the impacts. The lifter, being much less heavy 4:? than the lock, is the more greatly afiectedby these service shocks and impacts and, under their influence, frequently moves upward and forward relatively to the lock in a direction a which, if continued to a suflicient extent, re-

sults in freeing the' lock from the control of cidentally jumped upward with respect to the the means intended to prevent its accidental unlocking. 7

By my invention, the accidental movement of the lifter in the locking block, if of suflicient extent to jeopardize the effective performance by the litter of its duty of retaining the lock in locked position, results in causing the lifter to cooperate with the lock in such manner that the lower end of the lifter is forced well under the portion of the coupler head with which it cooperates when functioning to control the upward creeping of the lock. By thus controlling and directing the lower end of the lock-lifter during the movements induced by service impacts, the possibility of the'lifter accidentally assuming a position permitting the lock to execute an unlocking movement is substantially eliminated.

In the drawings illustrating the invention as applied to an American Railway Association Standard D-coupler, Figure 1 is a view, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, of the coupler head, lock, top operating lock-lifter and knuckle opener, the parts being in normal locked relation,

Figure 2- is a view corresponding to Figure 1, but illustratingthe relative positions of the parts whenthe lock and its lifter have accoupler head as the result of an accidental service impact, the lower end of the depending lock-leg being shown as positioned at the rear of the opening in the bottom wall of the coupler head. I V

Figure?) is a detailed view corresponding to Figure 2 but illustrating the manner in which the lock cooperates with the lifter during an accidental unlocking movementof said lock. 7 no In the drawings, 1 indicates the coupler head upon which is rotatably mounted the usual knuckle (not shown), Uncoupling rotation of the knuckle is normally prevented by a vertically sliding and rearwardly swing 'ing lock 2 which, when in normallocked position, rests upon and is supported by the knuckle opener 3 which, in the D-coupler, 1s formed, as 1s well known, as a horlzontal rotatable lever adapted to be actuated by the 1 depending lock leg 4:. When the lock 2 has been raised sufficiently to release the knckle the fulcrum lug 5. upon its forward side, strikes the shoulder 6 within the coupler head, the lock thereafter being forced to rotate so as to press the lower end of the depending leg 4 rearwardly against the knuckle opener.

The lifter 7, for moving the lock to unlocked positiomextends upwardly through aniopening 8 in the top wall oftberoup-ler head, its upper end being preferably formed with an eye 9 for receiving an uncoupling lever or other suitable release rigging. Upon its rear face the lifter formed with an upwardly facing inclined shoulder 10 adapted to cooperate with the lower end'of the lock down lug 11 on the interior of the coupler head 1 to prevent the locke from accidentally movingto unlocked position. Immer iately above the shoulder 10, the lifter 7 is provided with a rear face 12 which. when the parts are in normal locked position. overlaps the for ward'face' 0f the lock-down lug 11 and. in conjunction with the engaejement of the in:- per end of the lifter with the forward wall 13 of the opening 8 in the top of the coupler head,.serves to prevent the lifter from droppingtoo low and from becoming operatively disassociated from the lock.

The lock 2 is fashioned with an upwardly and rearwardly openingreccss 14; for receiving the lowerend of the lifter, these parts beingslidably and pivotally connected. For this latter purpose the lifter is preferably provided at its lower end with oppositel disposed trunnions 15, operating in shouldered guideways 16 in a Well known manner. To the rear and below the trunnions, the lifter 7 extends downwardly to form a lug, 17 having a. forward undercut face 18 for cooperating with a bevelled face 19 upon the rear side of the lock. .2 at a point immediately below the lifter receiving recess 14 of said lock. sa d bevelled face 19 resulting in the formation of a recess in the rear face of the lock 2 for receiving the lug 17 at the lowe end oftho lock lifter 7, as shown in Figure 3. \Vhen the arts are in normal locked relation, as shown in Figure 1, the inclined surfaces 17 and 19 are in spaced relation and the lower end of the undercut face 17 of the downward extension of the lifter occupies a position rearwardly of the upper end of the bevel ed face 19, clearance thus being afforded to permit the lock lifter to execute a normal unlocking movement when it is actuat d by an uncoupling lever or other means provided for that purpose.

When the coupler. while in service. receives a shocker impact causing it to move upward suddenly, the locking block and lifter continue their upward movement after that of the coupler head has been arrestei'l by the lattel coming in contactwith the striking plate or other similarly functioning part of the car.

The initial upward movement of these parts with respect to the coupler head causes the lower end of the lifter 7 to move upward and forward in the locking block recess 14 until the undercut face 18 of the downward extension of the lifter comes into contact with the bevelled face 19 of the locking block 2. Thereafter, if the lifter 7 moves upwardly with respect to the lock 2, which it must'do in orderto permit the lock to be released for an unlocking movement, the cooperation of the undercut face 18 of'the litter and the bevelled face 19 of the locking block forces the lower end of tlielifter rearwardly in relation to the lock by the amount of the um'lercut or bevel, thus moving the lock-down shoulder 10 of the lifter well under the lower end of the lock-down lug 11 of the coupler head; In the manual operation of unlocking the coupler, an upward pull upon thelock lifter 7 causes its lower end to be retracted into the slot 14 of the locking block, thereby withdrawing the lock-down shoulder 10 of the lifter from beneath the lock-down lug 11. of the coupler head andthus releasing the lock from the control of the lock-to-the-lock means.

I claim:

1.. In a car coupler, thecornbination with a coupler head. of a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock adapted to restrain uncoupling rotation of the coupler knuckle, a lock-lifter'movably connected to said lock and extending upwardly therefrom through the coupler head, said head being provided uponits interior with a lock-down shoulder for cooperating with the lower end'of said lifter to prevent the lock from accidentally movin'g'to unlocked position. said lock having'an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot for receiving said lifterand. through the rear end ofwhich said lifter is adapted to project so as to extend beneath said lock-down shoulder, said lifter being formed with a rear face i which overlappingly engages said shoulder whenthe parts are in locked relation and having an upwardly facing shoulder for coopcrating with said lock-down shoulder and having at its lower end a downward extension formed with an undercut forward face, said lock being recessedbelow said slot to provide a bevelled ,face adapted to cooperate withbsaid undercut face to force said up wardly facing shoulder rearwardly under said lock-down shoulder, and the said faces, when the lifter and lock are in normal locked relation, being spaced from each other and the upper endof said bevelled face being in a;

advance of the lower end of said undercut face to thereby permit said lifter to execute'a. normal unlocking movement.

2. In a carcoupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging look for the coupler knuckle, a lifter for actuating the lock to cause it to assume unlocked position, said lock being formed with an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot for receiving the lifter and the latter being adapted to slide and ro- V tate with respect to the lock, said coupler head being provided on its interior with a lock-down lug for cooperating with the lifter to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock,

said lifter having an upwardly facing shoulf der adapted to engage said lug and having at its lower end a downward extension formed with an undercut forward face, said lock being recessed below said slot to provide a bevelled face adapted to cooperate with said undercut face to cause the lower end of'the lifter to move rearwardy with respect to said lug, and the said faces being in spaced relation when the lock and lifter are in normal locked position and the upper end of said bevelled face being in advance of the lower end of said undercut face to thereby permit said lifter to execute a normal unlocking movement.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM KELSO.

Images