US2485338A - Tight lock car coupler - Google Patents

Description

H. E.'VAN DORN TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Oct. '18, 1949.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27, 1946 Oct. 18,1949. E, VAN BOR 2,485,338

TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Filed May 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 17 /6)? for WZ- 4 M ZZZ 021 1 Oct. 18, 1949. H. E. VAN DORN 2,485,338

TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Filed May 2'7, 1946 '4 Sheets-Sheeti I If Oct. 18, 1949. H. E. VAN DORN 2,485,338

.TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Filed May 2'7, 1946 4 Shees-Sheet 4 57%171271- ma WM Patented Oct. 18 1949 TIGHT LOCK CAR COUPLER Herbert E. Van Dorn, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Dornvan Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Application May 27, 1946, Serial No. 672,383

14 Claims.

1 .The present invention relates to that type of tight lock car couplerwherein there is employed a hook shaped link adapted automatically to interlock with a link on an opposing coupler in coupling; and it has for its object to produce a simple and novel construction that will make the connection between two couplers very rigid and at the same time provide means to compensate for wear in either or both of two cooperating couplers, and in which unlocking to permit two couplers subsequently to pull apart requires but little effort.

In a well known rigid tight lock linkless coupler, a hollow coupler head has on one side of the longitudinal axis a forwardly projecting nose and is open at the front beside the nose; there being within the head, on the opposite side from the nose, a cam shaped locking dog that automatically engages the outer side of the nose of an oncoming coupler and wedges it against the nose of the coupler in which the dog is located. Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to transform this latter type of tight lock coupler into one provided with a hook shaped coupling link, while retaining the desirable characteristics resulting from the use of cam shaped locking dogs.

The various features of novelty whereby the present invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims, but, for a full understanding of the invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a, horizontal section through a coupler embodying the present invention, the parts being shown in uncoupled positions and the nose of a companion coupler being shown in broken lines in coupled relation with respect thereto; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing only a fragment of the coupler, with the looking means for the link set in release position for uncoupling; Fig. 3 is a View similar to .Fig. 2,

7 showing the link pressed back as two couplers are being pulled apart, and the locking dog for the link on its way toward its coupled and uncoupled position; Fig. 4 is an elevational View of the coupler, with a portion of coupler head and Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 2; only a small fragment being shown; Fig. 9 is a section on line 99 of Fig.3, only enough parts being shown to illustrate the relation of the link-operated rocker to the locking dog mechanism; and Fig. 10 is an axial section through the hinge pin for the dog that locks the coupling link and the bearing blocks therefor, showin the means to prevent relative rotation between the pin and the blocks.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose 2 on one side of the longitudinal axis and being otherwise open at the front end. The head has a narrow, flat, vertical surface 3,,arranged at an angle of about 45 to the longitudinal axis just within the open end at the side opposite the nose. The nose has on the outer side, adjacent to the base thereof, a surface d that parallels the surface 3, and it may have another similar surface 5 on the outer side of the nose, at the tip. These surfaces on the nose cooperate with surface 3 in a companion coupler head when two like couplers come together, causing the noses to be moved laterally into proper positions relative to each other. Within the head, just behind the inclined surface 3, is a cam shaped locking block 6. This block is mounted on a vertical shaft I which, in turn, has bearings in eccentrically located openings in cylindrical bearing blocks 8, 8 in the top and bottom wa1ls, respectively, of the head. The locking block has a pair of radia1 arms, 9, 9,and each bearing block has a single radia1 arm ill. A vertical pin l l extends through all four of these arms close to their outer ends. A suitable spring device is connected to the pin to act on the same in such a way as to tend to hold the locking block swung forward against a rib I2 in the front end of the head, as shown. This spring device may conveniently consist of a rod 14 connected at one end to pin ll 50 as to be free to turn thereon; a long sleeve l5 into one end of which 7 ing at its rear end against a head or collar I8 shank in section, looking at the side which is at the bottom in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an elevation view, looking at the opposite side of the coupler; Fig. 6 is a section on line 66 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the locking dog for the link;

on the rod, while the front end abuts against a wall I9 closing the front end of the sleeve. The parts are so proportioned and arranged that when the locking block is moved in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, the spring is compressed and energy is stored up to swing the block back again to the idle postion. The free 3 end of the locking block has a cam face that bears against a flat vertical face 2| on the outer side of the nose of a companion coupler in coupling; face 2| being vertical and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coupler.

The interlock between the noses of two couplers is not through direct contact between them, upon making a coupling, but through the engagement of members movably mounted in the noses so as to protrude therefrom for coupling and be retracted for uncoupling. In the arrangement shown, there is a long link '23 ex tending lengthwise of the coupler from within the head behind the nose forwardly into the latter. The link is secured at its rear end to the coupler head by a vertical pin 24, while the front end of the link is in the form of a neck adapted to swing in and out through a window 26 in the inner side of the nose. The rearwardly facing working face 21 of the hook is parallel to the face 3 in the head, when the coupler is idle, while the outer corner of the hook at the front end is cut away to create a bevel 28 inclined oppositely to face 21. At the rear end of the link is a tail 29 which is adapted to strike against a vertical longitudinal wall 30 in the rear end of the coupler head to limit the swinging movement of the link in one direction.

The link is held with its tail pressed against the wall 30, as in Fig. l, by a locking dog 32 more or less similar to the locking block 6, while the coupler is idle. This dog is mounted on a vertic'al pin 33, supported in the head, close to the adjacent side of the latter, for swinging movements toward and from the link. When in its locking position, the dog engages a lug 34 on the outer edge of the link adjacent to the hook end of the latter; the contacting faces of the dog and the lug, 35 and 35, respectively, being sections of a cylinder having its axis coinciding with the axis of the shaft 33. The dog may strike against a lug 31 in the head at the base of the nose, when in its locking position, to prevent it from travelling past that position. At this time the dog stands substantially at right angles to a radius from the hinge axis of the link and tangent to the faces 35 and 36. In other words, the locking dog constitutes a strut or column that receives the thrust of the link when forces are applied to the latter tending to swing it into its retracted position. As is the case with the hinge pin for locking block 6, hinge pin 33 for 'dog 32 is mounted eccentrically in upper and lower cylindrical bearing blocks rotatable, respectively, in the upper and lower walls of the head. Each of these bearing blocks, 31, 31, has a radial arm 38, while the dog has two radial arms 'or wings, 3'9, 39, in spaced relation, one above the other and each lying close to one of arms 33. A vertical pin 40 extends through all four of these arms. There is no capacity for relative bodily movement between the pin and the arms on the bearing blocks, but the openings in the arms on the locking dog through which the pin passes are arcuate slots 4|, so that the bearing blocks and the dog are movable angularly relatively to each other through a distance determined by the length of the slots.

Pin 40 serves also to connect actuating devices for the dog and the bearing blocks. One such actuating device is very similar to the spring device associated with locking block 6, differing only in minor details. Thus, a sleeve 43 has at one end a fork or jaw 44 through the arms of which the pin 40 extends, this fork or jaw being interposed between the arms or wings 39 on the locking dog. Telescoped within this sleeve is a rod 45 having at the outer, rear end a head 46 that is attached to a part of the coupler head casting by a hinge pin 41. Surrounding the sleeve is a compression spring 48 one end of which bears against part 46 'on the anchored rod while the other end abuts against a collar or fiange 49 at the base of the jaw or fork 44. The spring device is so placed that it serves both to hold the dog in its locking position, as in Fig. 1, and the release position of Fig. 2; the device snapping past center when the dog is swung in either direction past a predetermined intermediate point between its two extreme positions.

The second actuator for the locking dog is a bar 53, one end of which lies in the jaw or fork 44 and is connected to the pin 40 so as to be capable of swinging thereon. The bar has therein a closed slot 5| which extends through almost the entire length thereof. A pin 52, passing through this slot, serves to connect the bar to an intermediate .point in the length of an operating lever 53. The forward end of this lever is fastened to the coupler head casting by a hinge pin 54. A torsion spring 55, surrounding the hinge pin, tends constantly to hold the lever close to the coupler head as in Fig. 1. Spring 48 serves a similar purpose when permitted to shift the dog into its locking position, because pin 52 is then at the outer end of slot 5| in the bar that connects the lever to the dog.

After the locking dog has been swung into the release position and is being held there by the spring device associated therewith, this spring device must be shifted back past center before it can again become effective to return the dog to its looking or coupling position. This is accomplished by the link which has on the outer side, at the hinged end, a projecting finger 51 that is approximately radial to the hinge pin 24 for the link. This finger lies in front of the inner end of a rocker member 58 in the coupler hea'd near and secured to the bottom wall of the latter by a pin or journal member 53 that passes through the same about midway between the ends thereof. As best shown in Figs. 5 and 8, the rocker lies in the plane of the arm 38 on the lower bearing block 31 for the hinge pin 33. The parts are so proportioned that when the locking dog is swung into its release position the free end of that arm is brought just in front of the outer end of rocker 58. Then, when the link 23 is swung back into the nose of the coupler to its retracted position, the finger 51 on the link turns rocker 58 so that its outer end drives the locking dog assembly toward the locking position of the dog. This movement of the locking dog assembly is sufficient to throw the spring device past center and thus make it ready to move the locking do the rest of the way to the locking position.

In order to guard against any relative angular movements between the two bearing blocks 31, 31 tied together by the pin 40, I lock them to the heavy hinge pin 33 for the locking dog 32; the bearing blocks thereby becoming eccentrics attached to the hinge pin. This is conveniently accomplished, as best shown in Fig. 10, by providing this hinge pin with a keyway 60 that extends throughout the length of the same and securing in the hinge pin openings 6| in the bearing blocks longitudinal keys 82 that area good sliding fit in the keyway. These keys are preferably set in grooves 63 cut into the blocks, and are preferably shorter than the thicknesses of the blocks. Consequently, welds 64 may be made at the ends of the keys within the grooves to hold the keys in place. In assembling the parts in a coupler head, it is easy to align the grooves in the two bearing blocks and then drop the hinge pin in when its keyway registers with the keys.

The operation of the coupler will now be described. In Fig. 1 of the drawings the parts of the complete coupler shown there are in their normal, idle positions ready for permitting the coupler to couple automatically with a companion coupler when the two are brought together. These positions are also the coupled positions for all of the parts except the locking block 6 and the parts by which its movements are controlled. When two couplers approach each other to effect a coupling, the nose in each enters the open front end of the other, pushing back both locking blocks. In Fig. 1 the nose of a second coupler is shown in broken lines in its coupled position relative to the other coupler. In swinging back, the locking block and the eccentrics 8 turn together. Therefore, with the parts assembled in the manner shown, the hinge pin 1 is shifted laterally away from the longitudinal axis of the coupler and carries the locking block along with it. That permits the block to drop in place against the flat face 2| on the outer side of the nose of the second coupler. As soon as that occurs, the spring actuating device associated with the locking block begins to pull on the block and eccentric assembly in a direction tending to swing the locking block back 'toward the position which it occupies in Fig. 1. The eccentrics and the cam face 20 on the looking block cooperate to force the nose of the second coupler toward the other nose, causing the hooks on the two links to be pressed tightly against each other while the inclined face 4 of the second coupler bears against the inclined face 3 in the first coupler head. The only contact between the two links, while interlocked, is along their inclined faces 21. in one coupler, in coupling, is duplicated in the other: the final result being that each link is locked in place in the nose of the corresponding coupler by its locking dog 32, so as to form with the nose a rigid unit; and each such unit is tight-locked with the other by the action of the locking blocks 6 and the "inclined faces 3 in the coupler heads just in front of the locking blocks.

When it isdesired to uncouple, either or both uncoupling levers are swung out from the position occupied by the lever in Fig. 1 to that in which it is shown in Fig. 2. Let it be assumed that only one of the levers is operated; the locking dogbeing held in its release position by the spring device that has been moved past center. As soon as the operator lets go of the lever, spring 55 swings the lever against the side of the coupler; this being permitted by the 'pin and slot connection between the lever and bar 50. With the locking dog back in the release position, as in Fig. 2, the link is free to swing back into the nose wherein it is mounted. The spring actuating devices for the two locking blocks 6 now push the two noses proper closer to each other, because one of the links (the one that has been unlocked), no longer offers any resistance to such movement. While this relative bodily movement What happens of the two couplers is small, it may be sufficient to start a movement of the rocker 58 in the direction to trip the spring actuator for the locking dog. Such initial movement of the rocker is not depended upon to throw the spring actuator past center. A greater movement of the rocker occurs as the couplers pull apart from each other, through the action of the inclined faces 21 on the links. As the couplers begin to separate, these inclined faces act as wedges to push the loose link progressively farther back in the nose that houses it. Thus the rocker is turned far enough to force the spring actuator past center, whereupon the actuator drives the locking dog forward until it strikes against the rear edge of lug 34 on the link and comes to a stop. When the links become completely disengaged from each other the locking dog beside the loose link, acting in the manner of a cam on lug 34 on the link, drives the link back into its normal coupling position and itself resumes the position in which it serves as a strut to hold the link immovable in its coupler head; the conditions illustrated in Fig. 1 having been reestablished.

When both couplers are unlocked for uncoupling, the action is the same as that just described, except that both links are loose and both locking dogs must be tripped during uncoupling.

It should be noted that when it is desired to swing a locking dog into its release position for uncoupling, the pressure between the dog and the corresponding link is fully released before any turning force is applied to the dog itself. This is due to the fact that pin 40 must move through the length of slots Al in the arms or wings of the locking dog upon swinging the operating lever 53 outward, while the dog is in the position shown in Fig. 1, before the dog starts to turn. In the meantime the eccentrics have been turning and have shifted the dog bodily lengthwise thereof away from the lug on the link, thus releasing the pressure between the dog and the link.

While I have illustrated and described with particularly only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details thus illustrated and described, but intend to cover all forms and arrangements that come within the definition of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, a member mounted in the nose so as to be movable from a retracted position to a coupling position in which a part thereof protrudes from the inner side of the nose to interlock with a like part in a companion coupler to effect a coupling, a device to lock said member in the coupling position, means to shift said device into a release position, means controlled by movement of said member during the act of uncoupling again to force said member into the coupling position and the device into its locking position, and means in the head on the opposite sideof the axis of the head from that on which the nose is located automatically to press against an incoming nose of a companion coupler to hold the two noses in a tight lock.

2. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, a member mounted in the nose so as to be movable from a retracted position to a coupling position 76 in which a part thereof protrudes from the inner "side of the nose and has an inclined, rearwardly directed transverse face to engage with the corresponding face on a like member in a companion coupler to effect a coupling, the inclination of said faces being such that the said members in both couplers are forced into their retracted positions when two couplers pull apart from each other, a device to lock said member in the coupling position, means to shift said device into a release position, means controlled by movement of said member during the act of uncoupling again to force said member into the coupling position and the device into its locking position when two couplers pull apart, and means in the head automatically to press an incoming nose of a companion coupler to bring the two noses into a tight lock while the movable members thereon remain locked in their respective coupling positions.

3. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter to receive'the nose of a companion coupler, a member mounted in the nose so as to be rock- .able from a retracted position within the nose to a coupling position in which a part thereof protrudes from the inner side of the nose to interlock with a like part in a companion coupler to effect a coupling, a stop to engage with said member in the coupling position, a device to lock said member against said stop, means to shift said device intoa position that leaves said member free to rock into the retracted position, means controlled by movement of said member during the act of uncoupling again to force said member into the coupling position and the device into its locking position, and means in the head on the opposite side of the axis of the head from that on which the nose is located automatically to press an incoming nose of a companion coupler to hold the two noses in a tight look while the movable members thereon remain locked against their respective stops.

4. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, a long link in and extending lengthwise of the nose, the link having at its front end a hook to interlock with a similar hook on a companion coupler and being hinged at its rear end so as to be movable from a coupling position in which the hook protrudes from the inner side of the nose to a retracted position, a device to lock the link in the coupling position, means to shift the device into a release position, means controlled :by movement of the link during an uncoupling operation to force the link into the coupling position andthe device into its locking position, and alocking dog in the head in position to engage the outer side of the nose of a companion coupler entering the head and press it laterally to prevent the two interlocked hooks from separating as long as the links are locked in their coupling positions.

5. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, a long link in and extending lengthwise of the nose, the link having at its front end a hook to interlock with a similar hook on a companion coupler :and being hinged at its rear end so as to be movable from a coupling position in which the hook protrudes from the inner side of the nose to -a retracted position, the hook being shaped to cause both hooks in two coupled heads to be forced into their retracted positions when the hooks are unlocked and the heads pull apart, a device to lock the link in the coupling position, means to shift the device into a release position, means controlled by movement of the link as it swings back into the retracted position again to force the link into the coupling position and the device into its locking position, and a locking dog in the head in position to engage the outer side of the nose in a companion coupler entering the head and press it laterally to prevent the two interlocked hooks from separating as long as the links are locked in their coupling positions.

6. A hollow coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter to receive the nose of a companion coupler, means in said opening to engage the nose of the companion coupler and yieldingly press it toward the aforesaid nose, a long link in the head and extending lengthwise of the head into the nose, the link having at its front end a hook and being hinged at its rear end so as to be movable from a coupling Position in which the hook protrudes from the inner side of the nose, to interlock with a similar hook on the companion coupler, to a retracted position, a dog to lock the link in the coupling position, a spring acting on said dog to hold the same in both its locking and its release position, depending on whether the dog has been moved by other means in one direction or the other past a predetermined intermediate point, means on the link to cause the dog to 'be forced past said intermediate point from the release position when two couplers draw apart, and cooperating cam surfaces :on the link and the dog then to drive the link into its coupling position.

7.. In a tight lock coupler, a coupler head having a forwardly projecting nose and an opening beside the latter for the reception of a nose of a companion coupler, means in said opening to engage the nose of the companion coupler and yield-ingly press it toward the aforesaid nose, a long link in the head and extending lengthwise of the head into the nose, the link having at its forward end a hook and being hinged at its rear end so as to be movable between a retracted position and a coupling position wherein the hook protrudes from the inner side of the nose to interloc'k with the like hook in a companion coupler, a dog mounted in the head on the outer side of the link for movements between an idle release position and a position in which it looks the link .in its coupling position, a spring device acting on said dog to hold the same in the locking position or the release position depending on whether the dog has been moved by other means in one direction or the other past a predetermined intermediate point, an actuator to move the dog into its release position, and means actuated by the link to move the dog from its release position past said predetermined point.

"8. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the link .and the-dog are provided with cooperating cam urfaces to cause the link to be swung into its coupling position bythe dog when the dog moves from the release position to the locking position.

'9. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the dog "is mounted for swinging movements about an axis eccentric to rotatable bearing blocks, and wherein the actuator for the dog has therewith .a connection containing a lost motion and also has a connection with the bearing blocks such' that these move .in unison with the actuator.

.10, A coupler as set forth in claim '7, wherein the bearing blocks :and the dog are connected by 'a pin and :slot to permit limited relative rotary movements, and wherein the spring device and the actuator are connected to the pin.

11. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the bearing blocks and the dog are connected by a pin and slot to permit limited relative rotary movements, the spring device is connected to the pin so as to move in unison therewith, the actuator contains a long slot through which the pin extends, and wherein there is a spring tending constantly to hold the actuator in a position that permits the dog to occupy its locking position.

12. A coupler as set forth in claim 7, wherein the means acting on the nose of the oncoming coupler to press it laterally is a swinging, springheld locking cam block that lies in the path of a nose in an oncoming coupler so as to be pushed back by that nose and then drop back beside the latter to press the hooks on the two cooperating noses into tight engagement with each other.

'13. A coupler head having at one side a forwardly projecting nose, means on the other side of the head to engage the incoming nose of a companion coupler and yieldingly press it toward the aforesaid nose, a long link in the head and extending lengthwise of the head into the nose, the link having at its front end a hook to engage a like hook in a companion coupler and being hinged at its rear end for swinging movements between a retracted position in which the hook is withdrawn into the nose to a coupling position in which the hook protrudes from the inner side of the nose, a stop to arrest the link when it reaches the coupling position, said hook being shaped to cause it to be pressed back into its retracted position by a link in a companion coupler when two couplers pull apart from each other, a movable dog in the head beyond the outer side of the link to lock the latter in its coupling position, a spring device acting on the dog to move it into its locking position or a release position depending on the direction in which the dog has been moved by other means past an intermediate point between the locking and the release positions, an actuator for said dog, a rocker having one end located near the link with other end lying near the dog when the latter is in its release position, and. an element on the link that engages the rocker when the link swings into the retracted position and turns it far enough to drive the dog from its release position past said intermediate point.

14. A coupler head as set forth in claim 13, wherein the dog and the link have thereon cooperating cam elements to cause the dog to drive the link back to its coupling position, upon separation of two coupler heads from each other, after the rocker has moved the dog from its release position past the dead center of the spring device.

HERBERT E. VAN DORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date 1,403,657 Van Dorn Jan. 17, 1922 1,989,894 Tomlinson Feb. 5, 1935 2,164,969 Van Dorn July 4, 1939

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