US2245043A - Car coupler - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1941. w. J. METZGER 2,245,043

UAR COUPLER Filed Nov. 16, 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR my]. .1 Melz er ATTORNEY June 1() 1941. w. J. MEITZGER CAR COUPLER Filed Nov. 16, 1938 38heets-Sheet 2 M um 0 M5 W W 2 1 m June 10, 1941. w, E' 2,245,043

CAR COUPUER Filed NOV. 16, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR mllwmJMelz er aw 6d. W

\ ATTORNEY Patented June 10, 1941 UNiTE P'E'EN =97 FFHCE CAR COUPLER Application November 16, 1938, Serial No. 240,679

Claims.

This invention pertains to car couplers and particularly to improvements in the type of coupler disclosed in Bazeley application Serial No. 53,012, filed December 5, 1935, now issued as Patent No. 2,178,062, Oct. 31, 1939.

An object of th invention is to improve the operation of the coupler during uncoupling movements so as to eliminate binding in the contour such as would retard separation of the couplers.

The particular problem involved and the solution thereof which constitutes the resent invention may be more clearly understood from the following description and drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in horizontal section through a pair of couplers embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the longitudinal and lateral movement, during uncoupling, of couplers with and without my invention.

Figure 3 is a view of the contour of a pair of couplers as they were made previous to my invention.

Figure 4 is a view of the contour of a pair of couplers embodying my invention; and

Figure 5 is a plan View of la. knuckle showing the old and new contours.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a pair of couplers in coupled position each having a knuckle l pivoted at 2 and adapted to be held rigid with the coupler head 3 by means of a lock 4. The couplots are mounted on the car structure in the usual manner so as to allow some pivotal movement of the coupler. The knuckle noses l2 are shown inte locked, and the bufiing face I of each knuckle, which face is substantially perpendicuiar to the longitudinal axis of the coupler, is engaged with the buffiilg face 8 of the opposing coupler head. Adjacent face i the contour of each knuckle slopes rearwardly, as at 9, and merges into the contour of the knuckle nose l2. The knuckle on the coupler at the right of Fig. 1 is shown in dot-dash lines in open position. Each coupler is formed at one side with a recess 5 and at the other side with a projection 6 adapted to enter the recess of the opposing coupler to guide the two into coupled position.

It has been found in tests of full size couplers, of the type shown in the aforesaid Bazeley application, that separation of two couplers is sometimes retarded by reason of the contours binding in each other. This condition is illustrated in Fig. 3, which shows two couplers with old contours partially separated. Coupler A is locked with its knuckle Ill held rigid with respect to its coupler head, and in coupler B the lock has been raised to permit knuckle II to swing outwardly to effect uncoupling. In the position shown in Fig. 3, which I call the critical position, the knuckle i8 is in contact with the tail l3 of knuckle H at point i i, which is substantially at the juncture of bufilng face i and rearwardly sloping surface s; at the same time the knuckle hoses are in contact at point i5. Since the knuckles are in effect wedged into contact at points it and [5, further movement of knuckle it about its pivot is practically impossible. Knuckle ii and its associated coupler cannot rotate about point it since there are overlapping portions of the noses of the knuckles, as shown by. the arc aa drawn through point i5 with point it as a center. The metal at it, between are aa and the outer face of the nose of knuckle it, it will be observed, overlaps metal at ll between arc Ctr-0t and the outer face of the nose of knuckle ll hence the aforesaid movement about point i l cannot take place.

The only way the two couplers can separate is by movement generally in the direction of the line :c$, which is drawn tangent to the knuckle noses at point l5. However, line ar--x is almost perpendicular to the longitudinal center line c--c of the coupler, and, therefore, considerable lateral movement between the couplers would have to take place upon very little longitudinal separation thereof. The friction between the contacting surfaces may be very great due to the wedging engagement of the two knuckles, and separation thereof is sometimes retarded to such an extent as to make this condition objectionable.

Since the principal feature of this type of coupier is the tight contour through which slack is eliminated in coupled couplers, the aforesaid difficulty had to be overcome, if at all, without loosening the contour in such a manner as would destroy the advantage of the tight contour. I have found that by increasing the relative lateral separation of the couplers and increasing the outward pivotal movement of the knuckle before the critical point is reached, the noses of the knuckles can readily slide past each other and along a line tangent to the noses at the point of contact that is at a substantially lesser angle to the longitudinal center line of the coupler than in the couplers as they were before the dif-' ilculty was discovered. In my invention there is no possibility of one knuckle becoming wedged in the contour of the opposing knuckle during the uncoupling operation.

In Fig. the old and the new contours are superimposed on the same knuckle, the old being in dot-dash lines and the new in solid lines. It will be seen that metal has been added to and removed from the former knuckle tail pulling face. I have found that the new contour, formed by changing the 3 /2 radius as shown in Fig. 5 to and drawing the latter tangent to the 2 radius and also tangent to a line that is parallel to the dot-dash line representing the former construction but spaced A therefrom, will increase the amount of lateral separation of the couplers as well as the amount of outward pivoting of the knuckle before the critical point aforementioned is reached So as to effect smooth uncoupling. The other dimensions of the knuckle face and nose remain the same as on the old knuckle.

Referring to Fig. 4 in which knuckle l of coupler A is locked while knuckle l of coupler B is unlocked, the effect of the new contour is clearly shown. Movement of the knuckle of coupler B up to its position shown has taken place smoothly, and in this position the two knuckle noses are in contact at point [5' while the tail of the knuckle of coupler Bis in engagement with the knuckle of coupler A at point M, which again is substantially at the juncture of buffing face 7 with rearwardly sloping surface 9. By scribing an arc a'a through point i5, using point M as a pivot point, it will be observed that the arc does not pass through any portion of the nose of knuckle A or B. t will be noted that the distance between points it and I5 is at least as great as the distance from point I4 to any other point on the contour of the noseof the knuckle of coupler A. Moreover, the distance from l4 to It is no greater than the distance from I4 to points on the contour of the nose of the knuckle of coupler B adjacent point l5. Therefore, neither knuckle will tend to cut into the nose of the other knuckle when uncoupled further. The line xa: drawn tangent to the knuckle noses at the point of contact [5 is now at a substantially smaller angle to the longitudinal center line c' c and by reason thereof, the knuckles can be easily and smoothly moved past each other to uncoupled position. It will be noted that during the process of uncoupling it is the purpose of the new contour to first produce a greater lateral displacement of the couplers than provided by the old contour, and after a sufficient separation has been effected, the opening knuckle is permitted to pivot outwardly so as to reach the positionshown in Fig. 4. Both the greater initial separation of the couplers and the increased pivotal movement of the opening knuckle contribute to produce smooth uncoupling of couplers constructed in accordance with my invention.

To illustrate graphically the relative movement of the couplers during the uncoupling operation, there is shown in Fig. 2 the path of the center of the knuckle pivot pin, of the coupler having its lock lifted to permit opening of its knuckle, as the couplers are uncoupled. The full line represents the path of the pin of a coupler having a new contour and the dot-dash line represents the same for a coupler having the old contour. Lateral movement of the couplers is represented by distances perpendicular to the base line, while longitudinal movement is represented by distances along the base line. Starting at point F, which represents the position of the pin when both knuckles are closed, it will be observed that at the start of uncoupling, the lateral separation of the couplers is the same for both the old and new contours. However, as longitudinal movement progresses, the new contour line passes above that of the old, thus showing that a greater lateral separation occurs. With the old contour the critical point is at J which corresponds to the position of the knuckle as shown in Fig, 3. It will be noted that immediately after point J the lateral displacement of the old contour couplers increases very rapidly, and it is this greater lateral movement necessary upon small longitudinal movement which retards uncoupling. Now referring to the new contour line it will be seen that, at the time the old contour knuckles are at the critical point J or as shown in Fig. 3, the new contour knuckles are moving past each other in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal movement of the couplers, and no point that might be critical is reached until point H. However, at point H the knuckles are in the position as shown in Fig. 4, and as has been previously explained, further disengagement of the couplers may be readily accomplished. With the new contours the lateral displacement of the couplers is more even throughout the uncoupling period than with the old contours, and more nearly approaches a straight line movement.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperate with the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape in tight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckles interlocked with each other, and with the knuckle bufiing faces engaging the opposing coupler buffing face, said first named knuckle having a rearwardly extending tail, said tail having a surface adapted to engage the bufiing face of the knuckle of said opposing coupler upon pivotal movement of said first named knuckle during uncoupling, said surface being of such configuration that during uncoupling said couplers will be moved laterally relative to each other an amount sufiicient to prevent the knuckle of one coupler from binding between the knuckle nose and tail of an opposing coupler, the contour of said tail being comprised of a 1" radius centered {2,-" from the center line of the coupler on the same side thereof as the pivot for said knuckle, a 2 radius tangent to said 1" radius and centered 1%" from the coupling line of said coupler at apoint below the nose of the knuckle, a 10" radius tangent to said 2 radius centered 2% from said coupling line on the side thereof opposite to the centers of said first named radii, and a line tangent to said 10" radius and positioned at an angle of 37 to the center line of the coupler.

2. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperate with the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape in tight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle noses interlocked with each other, said knuckle having a buffing surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of said coupler and a surface adjacent said buffing surface sloping rearwardly therefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of the noses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of said first named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first named knuckle having a tail with a surface adapted to engage the opposing knuckle substantially at the juncture of said sloping and buffing surfaces of said opposing knuckle during uncoupling of the couplers, said tail surface having a configuration such that upon the said engagement thereof with said opposing knuckle the distance from said point of engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle noses is at least as great as the distance from said point of engagement to any other point on the contour of the nose of said opposing knuckle, and the configuration of said tail surface being such that during separation of two couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tail surface and the bufling surface of the opposing knuckle.

3. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperate with the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape in tight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle noses interlocked with each other, said knuckle having a buffing surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of said coupler and a surface adjacent said bufiing surface sloping rearwardly therefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of the noses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of said first named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first named knuckle having a tail with a surface adapted to engage the pposing knuckle substantially at the juncture of said sloping and buffing surfaces of said opposing knuckle during uncoupling of the couplers, said tail surface being constructed and arranged to separate said couplers laterally relative to each other during uncoupling, such an amount that upon the aforesaid engagement the distance from said point of engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle noses is at least as great as the distance from said point of engagement to any other point on the contour of the nose of said opposing knuckle, and the configuration of said tail surface being such that during separation of two couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tail surface and the buffing surface of the opposing knuckle.

4. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperate with the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape in tight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle noses interlocked with each other, said knuckle having a bufiing surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of said coupler and a surface adjacent said buffing surface sloping rearwardly therefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of the noses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of said first named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first named knuckle having a tail with a surface extending diagonally rearwardly and terminating with a lock engaging surface extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said coupler, portions of said tail surface forwardly of said lock engaging surface being adapted to engage the opposing knuckle to force the couplers laterally apart, and said tail surface being engageable with the opposing knuckle substantially at the juncture of said sloping and buiiing surfaces of said opposing knuckle during uncoupling of the couplers, said tail surface having a configuration such that upon the said engagement thereof with said opposing knuckle the distance from said point of engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle noses is no greater than the distance from said point of engagement to points on the nose of said first named knuckle adjacent the point of engagement between said knuckles, and the configuration of said tail surface being such that during separation of two couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tail surface and the bufling surface of the opposing knuckle.

5. A car coupler having a pivotally mounted knuckle shaped to cooperate-with the knuckle and coupler face of another coupler of similar shape in tight fitting engagement, with the inner surfaces of the knuckle noses interlocked with each other, said knuckle having a bufiing surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of said coupler and a surface adjacent said buffing surface sloping rearwardly therefrom toward the nose of said knuckle, the inner surfaces of the noses of said knuckles being in engagement upon pivotal movement of said first named knuckle during uncoupling of said couplers, said first named knuckle having a tail with a surface extending diagonally rearwardly and terminating with a lock engaging surface extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said coupler, portions of said tail surface forwardly of said lock engaging surface being adapted to engage the opposing knuckle to force the couplers laterally apart, and said tail surface being engageable with the opposing knuckle substantially at the juncture of said sloping and buffing surfaces of said opposing knuckle during uncoupling of the couplers, said tail surface having a configuration such that upon the said engagement thereof with said opposing knuckle the distance from said point of engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle noses is at least as great as the distance from said point of engagement to any other point on the contour of the nose of said opposing knuckle, and such that the distance from said point of engagement to the point of contact between said knuckle noses is no greater than the distance from said point of engagement to points on the nose of said first named knuckle adjacent the point of engagement between said knuckle noses, and the configuration of said tail surface being such that during separation of two couplers there will be free rolling contact between said tail surface and the buffing surface of the opposing knuckle.

WILLIAM J. METZGER.

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