US2283080A - Car coupler - Google Patents

Description

- May 12, 1942. w.- J. METZGER CAR COUPLER Filed (Jan. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR William J. Metz BY aged/t ATTORN EY May 12, 1942. w. J. METZGER CAR COUPLER Filed Jan. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WilliamJMelz er BY Mi ATTORNEY Patented May 12, 1942 K UNHTED S'IA'EES PATENT .OFFIQE- CAR COUPLER William J.'Metzger, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 26, 1940, Serial No. 315,768 2 Claims. (61. 213- 142 Y This invention relates to improvements in couplers for railway cars and more particularly to means for retarding movement of the coupler knuckle of its own momentum from open to closed position.

In the past, couplers have been damaged due to miscoupling caused by the couplers being either partly or full closed when the cars came together. This damage has occurred particularly during classification of cars in the railroad yards or during shunting of cars when trains were being assembled or disassembled. In either instance, when a car is coasting down thetrack toward standing cars, unless the speed of. the car is reduced by a brakeman or by car retarders before it reaches-the others, it may strike them with an impact sumcient to close or partly close the coupler knuckle at the other end of the car, assuming that said knuckle had been in open position. Subsequently, when another car coasts down the track towardsaid firstcar,

, if its forward knuckle is closed, the approaching couplers may not couple 'due to the partly or fully closed knuckle of the first car, and if the impact is great enough, serious damage to the couplers may result. Accordingly, an object of my invention is the provision of a knuckle adapted to cooperate with the lock of the coupler in such a, manner that upon normal impact of a coasting car with a standing car an open coupler knuckle at the free end of the .former car will not move toward closed position so as to preclude normal couplingof said coupler with a coupler whose knuckle is closed. A more specific object is to provide abutment means on the knuckle tail adapted to cooperate with the lock of the coupler, to provide sufficient resistance to closing of the knuckle so that said knuckle will not close when the car is subjected to a longitudinal impact, as would ordinarily close the knuckle of its own inertia.

A feature of m invention which results from retarding the movement of an open knuckle toward closed position is that the normal gathering range of the coupler is thereby increased, and thus coupling of couplers may be effected under conditions which otherwise would have precluded coupling. Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a coupler embodying my invention, the knuckle being shown in full thrown position.

FigureZ is a View similar to Fig. 1, with the V knuckle in closed position.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the coupler showing the knuckle in full thrown posi- 'tion.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken alon line 44 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is an isometric view of a knuckle tail embodying my invention.

Figure 6' is a view illustrating the gathering range of couplers embodying my invention, one knuckle being closed and the other substantially open; and

Figure 7 is anotherview illustrating the gathering range of couplers embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a coupler head [0 having a knuckle ll pivotally attached thereto by means of a pin I2. The knuckle is adapted to be moved from closed to open position by means of a thrower 13, the

forward arm M of which engages an abutment IS on the knuckle during the opening movement.

'The thrower is actuated by leg l6 of lock ll.

When the lock is raised by means of link members l8 and I9, the fulcrum portion 20 engages wall 2| of the coupler, and upon furtherupward movement of the links the lock is caused to pivot about said fulcrum. Leg I6 is thereby swung rearwardly into engagement with arm 22 of the thrower, thus imparting rotational movement thereto and causing arm M to swing the knuckle open. As shown in Fig. 3, the knuckle has been fully opened and the lock and litter links have assumed reposed positions.

.In accordance with my invention the knuckle tail is provided in its top surface with an abutment 23 which is adapted to engage the portion 24 of thelock upon movement of the knuckle from open toward closed position. As the lock must be raised over abutment 23 before the knuckle can be closed, it will be evident that the frictional force developed between the lock and the abutment will act to oppose or retard movement of the knuckle toward closed position. The

degree of slopeand height of the abutment may of course be varied depending on whether more or less retarding force is desired. With the knuckle in fully opened position, as shown in Fig. 1, there is a clearance between portion 24 of the lock and abutment 23. This is so that in case the knuckle is not thrown completely open during the uncoupling operation, the lock will still come to rest with portion 24 in front of abutment 23 and will engage the lock upon movement of the knuckle toward closed position. The amount of the aforementioned clearance between the abutment and the lock may be varied depending upon whether it is desired to have the retardation of the knuckle occur immediately at the start of closing of the knuckle or after the knuckle has been closed a predetermined amount. Surface 25 of the knuckle'tail is sloped so as to correspond to the slope of under surface 26 of the lock thereby effecting full contact therebetween. However, I do not wish to limit my invention to the aforesaid surface contact between the lock and tail as it is not essential or necessary that such contact be provided. Surface 25 in addition to sloping downwardly toward the end of the tail also slopes downwardly laterally of said tail so that immediatel at the start of closing of the knuckle the lock travels uphill with respect to the tail and thus a certain amount of retarding action is developed before'engagement between the abutment 23 and the lock occurs. It will be noted that abutment23 slopes away from lock portion 24 when the knuckle is in open position. Furthermore, when the .knuckle is in the position in which the abutment and lock are in engagement, the surface of said abutment extends generally in the same direction as the portion of the lock in engagement therewith, and in the embodiment shown, lies in a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal center line of the coupler, as may be seen particularly in Figs. 6 and 7, in which thecenter lines of the couplers are indicated at a and b.

With my invention applied to a coupler, when the coupler is subjected to a longitudinal force, as would tend to cause the knuckle to swing toward closed position of its own inertia, the cooperation between abutment 23 and the lock will effectively preclude closing of the knuckle and prevent the danger of miscoupling as might subsequently occur'if the knuckle were closed. It is to be understood, however, that my invention nowise hinders the coupling of cars as the resistance to closing of the knuckle is'negligible in comparison to the force urging the couplers together when two cars are coupled. Insofar as the primary object of my invention is concerned, the resistance to closing of the knuckle affects only the coupler at the end of the car opposite from the end which is being coupled.

The increase in gathering range ofcouplers embodying my invention may be explained in connection with Figs. 6 and 7. In each of these views the coupler A has its knuckle closed while the knuckle of the coupler B is in open position, with abutment 23 of the knuckle in engagement with the lock portion 24. Referring to Fig. 6 in which the knuckle noses are in engagement, the couplers have been angled to the limit of the gathering range to which couplers not embodying my invention may be angled. Upon relative 1ongitudinal movement of the couplers toward each other, the open knuckle will so remain until the nose of the other knuckle has slid past the nose of the open knuckle and into position in which coupling may be effected. Coupling is thus possible due to the fact that the frictional resistance between the knuckle noses is less than the resistance to closing of the open knuckle. However, if

couplers not embodying my invention are angled any amount past the positions shown, they cannot couple since the frictional resistance between the noses will be greater than the resistance to closing of the knuckle. In such case, as the couplers approach each other the knuckle will be pivoted to closed position without embracing the closed knuckle. Therefore, it will be clear that by increasing the resistance to closing of the open knuckle, as is provided for in couplers embodying myinvention, the knuckle noses, if they have not been angled too far past the positions shown, may slide past each other so as to permit coupling. In Fig. '7 where the couplers are shown angled in the opposite direction, the gathering range has also been increased. In this position if the frictional-resistance between the guard arm and the knuckle nose is less than the resistance to closing of the knuckle, coupling may be effected, as upon relative longitudinal movement between the couplers they will be moved laterally relative to each other the amount necessary to be in position to couple. Accordingly, with couplers embodying my invention, since the resistance to closing of the knuckle has been increased, the couplers may be angled an amount greater than ordinarily so long as the frictional resistance between the guard arm and the nose of the open knuckle remains less than the resistance to closing of said knuckle.

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 head, a knuckle pivoted to said head and having a tail, a lock for said knuckle, said look when said knuckle is in open position being supported solely by said tail, and abruptly inclined abutment means on said tail being so disposed thereon that after a predetermined amount of movement of said knuckle from open toward closed position unrestricted by said abutment means said means is adapted to engage said lock to retard further closing of said knuckle except under the action of a positive closing force applied directly to the knuckle.

2. A coupler for railway car including a head, a knuckle pivoted to said head and having a tail, a lock for said knuckle, said look when said knuckle is in open position being supported solely by said tail, said tail having a substantially flat surface underlying said lock when said knuckle is open, said surface terminating in anabrupt inclined abutment-"adapted to engage said lock and arrest movement of said knuckle to preclude closing of said knuckle when the other end of the car is subjected to a longitudinal impact as would cause an ordinary knuckle to close of its own inertia yet allowing closing of the knuckle under a positive closing force applied directly to the knuckle.

WILLIAM J. METZGER.

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