US2409322A

US2409322A - Coupler operating mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2409322A
Application number: US552471A
Authority: US
Inventors: James S Swann
Original assignee: Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1944-09-02
Filing date: 1944-09-02
Publication date: 1946-10-15
Anticipated expiration: 1963-10-15

Description

0d. 15, 1946. -J 5, sw

COUPLER OPERATINfiMECI-IANISM Filed Sept. 2, 1944 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN'VEN TOR.

m. J 5 m Oct. 15, 1946. J. s. SWANN I 2,409,322

COUPLER OPERATING MECHANISM' V Filed Sept. 2, 1944 2 Shets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR. Jam 5 Swann,

Patented Oct. 15, 1946 COUPLER OPERATING MECHANISM James S. Swann, Homewood, Ill., assignor to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Dela ware Application September 2, 1944, Serial No. 552,471

v This invention relates to railway car coupler operating mechanisms, operable from the side of the car, and the principal object of the invention is to provide an operating rod having a handle at its outer end normally non-rotatably supported by a bracket on the end of a car and having means at its inner end for attachment to the lock lifter of a car coupler so that upon rotation of said rod said lock lifter is swung to raise the coupler lock and thereby operate the coupler.

Another object is to so form the supporting bracket and the part of the rod supported by the bracket so that, normally, the rod is non-rotatable in said bracket, but when the rod handle is operated in the usual way by a trainman the rod may be rotated within the bracket to operate the coupler.

Another object is to so form the supporting bracket that when the rod handle is released by the trainman the operating rod will automatically return to its non-rotatable position therein,

The desirability of normally non-rotatively supporting a coupler operating rod has been recognized in the prior art, but in most instances known to applicant, it is necessary for the rod to be elevated out of its held position before it can be rotated. This is objectionable because it requires a special operation by the traimnan which is not readily apparent, especially when working in the dark. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following descriptionrthereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Fig. 1 is an elevational viewshowing the uncoupling rod supported adjacent its handle end in a bracket and connected at its inner end to the lock lifter of a coupler.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the rod and its supporting bracket showing fragmentary portions of the car.

Fig. 3 is a section through the rod on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of Fig.1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the bracket at right angles to that shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating the relation of the operating rod to the bracket.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagrammatic view showing the relation of the operating rod to its supporting bracket and showing in dotted lines several positions of the movement of said rod during operation of said rod to operate the coupler.

15 Claims. (Cl. 213-471) In the drawings, l indicates an operating rod for an Association of American Railroads stand ard E coupler, which rod is provided at its outer end with a depending handle portion 2 and at its inner end with a hook portion 3 connected to an eye 4 of the rotary lock lifter 5, pivotally connected at one end, as at 6, to the link 1 which lifts the lock of the coupler 8 upon swinging of the lock lifter and thereby operates the coupler. Adjacent the handle portion 2 the rod is supported adjacent the side of a car in a bracket 9.

The trend of railway freight train operation is toward faster moving trains which causes greater wear and tear on the car and equipment thereon, and sometimes the inertia built up in the operating rod, or the lock lifter, is suflicient to lift the coupler lock and thereby uncouple cars of a moving train. To prevent such an occurrence, I have designed my operating rod so that in normal operation, i. e., at all times other than when the coupler is to be operated to'uncouple a pair of cars, said rod is non-rotatably held in its supporting bracket. Consequently the handle cannot whip due to said inertia and thereby un lock the coupler. This is accomplished by pro viding a non-circular portion in the rod adjacent the handle, which said portion is elongated in section (Fig. 3) and provided with a downwardly protruding lobe Ill, having tapering sides, which lobe is eccentric to the axis of rotation of the rod.

The bracket for therod comprises a supporting plate H which is provided with spaced holes l2 through which bolts or other attaching means may secure said plate to a fixed part of the end of a car, as, for example, the brace I3. The plate H is bent at slightly more than a right angle, as at M, forming a flange portion 15. A somewhat ear -shaped opening I!) is formed through the flange portion l5, which opening is countersunk from opposite sides of the plate so that when the operating rod is supported therein it may have a substantial pivotal movement caused by a movement of the coupler longitudinally of the car. The lower part of the opening [9 is restricted, being elongated or notched downwardly, as at 20, and having downwardly tapering sides, to non-rotatively receive the lobe IU of the rod I, where the rod normally rests, as shown in Fig. 5. The upper part of the opening is larger, provid-. ing enough arear for the rod to rotate suihciently to operatethe coupler, and it will be noted that upon the first movement of the operating rod handle, anti-clockwise, the lobe It will engage the guiding surface 26 of the opening and cause the operating rod to roll or slide on the prefer-i ably arcuate bearing surface 2| of the opening, thereby elevating itself out of the lobular part of the opening and up into the upper larger portion thereof, as shown progressively in dotted lines, Fig. 6. In other words, it will be unnecessary for the trainman to first raise the rod out of the lobular or restricted part of the opening before turning the rod to operate the coupler. This is due to the fact that the center of rotation 22 of the rod is above the first line of contact 23 of arcuate surface 2| and consequently when the rod is rotated it will not bind against the tapered sides of the lobular portion .20. This .is a material advantage over such anti-rotating rod and bracket connections as shown in Richards Patent No. 2,000,987, of May 14, 1935, wherein the rod must be elevated first before it may be-rotated. The upper part of the opening, furthermore, is so shaped that the operating rod cannot get in any position. therein from which it could not drop by gravity into the lower part of the opening to normal. non-rotative position. when the trainman releases his hold on the handle portion of .the

rod. It will be noted that when the rod is in its uppermost position within the opening, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, upon release of the handie by the trainman, the overbalancing weight of the rod from its line of support upon the arcuate surface 2| causes'the rod to fall by gravity back to its normal non-rotative position. This is due to the fact that the center of gravity is always over the restriction. Furthermore, the contour of the engaging surface 26 is such as to prevent the rod from assuming any position wherein it could bind between said surfaceZB and the armate surface 2!.

For application of the rod .to the bracket, the upper portion 24 of the flange thereof is cut from the outer edge of the bracket to the opening I9 thereof so that,said portion 24 may be removed and the rod applied therethrough to the opening when the portion .25 may be replaced and held in place, as by a pin, bolt, cotter or other suitable means, indicated at 25.

ferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious'that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. An operating mechanismfor a railway car Coupler comprising bracket having an opening,

the lower portionofsaid opening being restricted,

and a rotatable operating rod, supported in said opening, said rod having a portion the cross section of which is such as to have a non-rotative relation thereto when positioned in said lower portion, one side of said restricted lower portion being shorter than the other and merging into a. bearing surface for the operating rod, and the other side of said lower portion being longer and of .such contour in relation to said shorter side and bearing surface as to provide a guiding surface to cause said portion of said operating rod to roll and slide upon said said bearing surface out of said lower portion when manually rotated.

2. An operating mechanism for a railway car coupler comprising a supporting bracket mountable upon a car, said bracket having spaced parts forming a restriction, a bearing surface, and a guiding surface, and a rotatable operating rod adapted to be operatively connected to said coupler to operate the same upon manual rotation of said rod, said rod having a non-circular portion normally non-rotatively supported by said bracket in said restriction, against service move ments of said car, said bearing surface, guiding surface and rod being associated and arranged so that upon manual rotation of 'said rod said guiding surface causes said portion of said rod to roll and slide upon said bearing surface out of said restriction.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2 wherein said bearing surface, guiding surface and portion of said rod arealso associated and arranged .so that when free to do so said rod will return by gravity to normal position within said restriction.

4. The structure set forth in claim 2 wherein said bearing surface, guiding surface and portion of said rod are also associated and arranged so that when said portion has been manually rotatedout of said'restriction, the center of gravity of said rod is so positionedrelative to the restriction that, when free to do so, said portion of said rod will return by gravity to normal position with-v in said restriction.

5. An operating device for a car coupler having a lock lifter, said device comprising a rotatable rod adapted to be connected at one end to said lock lifter to operate the same' upon rotation of the rod, and means to prevent accidental ro-' tation of said rod due to service movements of the car sufiiciently to unlock said coupler, said means comprising a non-circular portion of said rod having a part eccentric to the axis of rotation of said rod and engageable within a correspondingly shaped notch in a supporting bracket, the perimeter of said notch and the cross section of said non-circular portion of the rod being such that upon rotation of said rod saidp'ortionrolls and slides upon a portion of said bracket so that said rod may be normally rotated sufficiently to unlock said coupler.

6. An operating mechanism ,for a car coupler, said mechanism comprising a rotatable rod adapt- The accompanying drawings illustrate the ed to be connected at one end to a locklifter of a coupler to operate the same upon rotation of the rod, said rod having a non-circular portion having a part eccentric to the axis of rotation of said rod and engageable within a' correspondingly shaped notch in a supporting'bracket, one side of said notch being below the axis of rotation of said rod, whereby uponrotation of said rod said portion rolls and slides upon a portion of said bracket, .so that said rod maybe normally rotated suificiently to unlock said coupler.

'7. A railway car coupler operating mechanism comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to a railway car and having an opening there'- through, the lower portion of said opening being retricted and having upwardly diverging sides, one of said sides having an arcuate upper portion, and an operating rod for operating the lifter of a car coupler and having a portion shaped and adapted to snugly fit within said restricted portion of said opening, the arcuate portion .of said side being below the axis of rotation ofsaid rod, whereby upon rotation of said red by" an operator to unlock the coupler said portion of said rod rolls and slides upon said arcuate portion out of said restricted portion, so that said rod may be normally rotated sufliciently to unlock the coupler.

8,. A structure as defined in claim "7 wherein the upper portion of said opening is shaped so that when said rod is released by said operator said portion of the operating rod returns by gravity into the restricted portion of said opening. 1 I

9. A supporting bracket for a rotatable operating rod for a car coupler operating mechanism, said bracket having an opening, the lower portion of said opening having inwardly tapering sides to prevent rotation of an operating rod when mounted between said sides due to the service movements of the car, one of said sides being shorter than the other and provided with a bearing surface for an operating rod and the other of said sides being longer and of such contour in relation to said shorter side as to provide a guiding surface to cause an operating rod. to roll and slide upon said bearing surface out of said lower portion when manually rotated.

10. A supporting bracket for a rotatable operating rod for a car coupler operating mechanism, said bracket having an opening, the lower portion of said opening being restricted to prevent rotation of an operating rod when mounted therein due to service movements of the car and one side of said restricted lower portion being shorter than the other and provided with a bearing surface for an operating rod and the other side of said lower portion being longer and of such contour in relation to said shorter side as to provide a guiding surface to cause an operating rod to roll and slide upon said bearing surface out of said lower portion when manually rotated. v 11. A railway car coupler operating mechanism comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to a railway car and having an opening therethrough, the lower portion of said opening being restricted and having upwardly diverging sides, and an operating rod for operating the lifter of a car coupier and having a portion shaped and adapted to snugly fit within said restricted portion of said opening to prevent the rod being accidentally rotated by service movements of the car, one side of said opening being below the axis of rotation of said rod, whereby upon rotation of said rod by an operator to unlock the coupler said portion of said rod simultaneously rises out of said restricted portion.

12. A railway car coupler operating mechanism comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to a railway car and having an opening therethrough, the lower portion of said opening being restricted, and an operating rod for operating the lifter of a car coupler and having a, portion shaped and adapted to snugly fit within said restricted portion of said opening to prevent the rod being accidentally rotated by service movements of the car, one side of said restriction having an arcuate surface below the axis of rotation of said rod, whereby upon rotation of said rod by an operator to unlock the coupler said portion of said rod simultaneously rolls and slides on said arcuate surface out of said restricted portion.

13. A railway car coupler operating mechanism comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to a railway car and provided with a notch having upwardly diverging sides and a supporting portion therebetween, and an operating rod for operating the lifter of a car coupler and having a portion shaped and adapted to be supported upon said supporting portion between said sides to prevent the rod being accidentally rotated by service movements of the car, one of said sides being below the axis of rotation of said rod, whereby upon rotation of said rod by an operator to unlock the coupler said portion of said rod simultaneously rises out of said notch.

14. In a railway car coupler operating mechanism having a bracket adapted to be secured to a railway car and having an openin therethrough, the lower portion of said opening being restricted, one side of said restricted portion merging into an arcuate surface; an operating rod for operating the lifter of a car coupler, said rod having a portion shaped and adapted to be normally non-rotatively supported within said restricted portion to prevent said rod from being accidentally rotated by service movements of the car, the axis of rotation of said rod occurring above said arcuate surface of the restricted portion when the rod is supported therein so that upon rotation of said rod by an operator to unlock the coupler said portion of said rod rolls and slides upon said arcuate surface out of said restricted portion.

15. An operating rod for a car coupler operating mechanism, said rod comprising a handle portion adjacent one end thereof extending in one direction only at substantially right angles to the axis of rotation of said rod, whereby said rod may be rotated about its longitudinal axis of rotation, the other end of said rod adapted to be connected to and supported by a couplerlock lifter so as to operate said lifter upon rotation of said rod, and a non-circular portion adjacent said handle portion adapted to be supported by supporting means attached to the car, said non-circular portion having a lobe ofiset eccentrically from one side only of the axis of rotation of said rod and in substantially the same direction as said handle, so that when said rod is supported by said lock lifter and said supporting means the offset weight of said handle and said lobe tends to maintain the majoraxis of said lobe substantially vertical.

JAMES S. SWANN.