US443466A - Half to john r - Google Patents

Description

(NoMod eL) 2Sheets-She6t 1.

v N. E. SMITH;

GAR GOUPLING.

Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

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N. E. SMITH. GAR COUPLING.

No. 443,466. Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL E. SMITH, OF JERSEY CITY, NEXV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO JOHN R. MCPHERSON, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 443,466, dated December 23, 1890.

Application filed April 21, 1890- Serial 110.3%,936. (No model!) [a all whom it may concern: crumed on one of the axles of the car or on a Be it known that I, NATHANIEL E. SMITH, a part connected therewith, and connected to citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey the body of the car by a bar or rod capable City, in the county of Hudson and State of of up-and-down movement, and means con New Jersey, have invented certain new and nected with the bar or rod for effecting the 55 ,usefullmprovements in Oar-CouplingAttachup-and-down movement of the bar or rod,

merits; and I do hereby declare the following consisting in a rack on the bar or rod meshto bea full, clear, and exact description of the ing with a pinion mounted on the body of invention, such as will enable others skilled the car and connected with a crank for imin the art to which it appertains to make and parting a rotary movement to the pinion, 60

use the same. whereby the coupler-head may be raised or This invention relates to carcouplings. lowered by hand. l-Ieretofore great difficulty has been expe- I have illustrated the invention in the acrienced in the use of car-couplings because companying drawings, in which of the difference in height of the draw-heads Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section 65 of adjacent cars to be coupled. The main of one end of a car, showing a coupler-head cause of this difiiculty, especially in freightand my novel attachment arranged in proper cars, is the inequality in the weights of the operative relation thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan loads of the cars, resulting in the unequal de- View of an ordinary freight-car having my pression of the springs of the cars and conseinvention applied thereto, the platform or 70 quently in the unequal height of the body of floor being removed in order more clearly to the cars and the draw-heads and couplers, illustrate the invention. Fig. 3 is an end which are attached to the bodies of the cars. View of a car having my invention applied The objectofthe present inventionis toprothereto. Fig. i is a perspective View of a duce an attachment for car-couplings whereframe or bar to be attached to the axle and 75 by the coupler-heads shall automatically be designed to act as a support for the lever, and kept at the same height irrespective of the Fig. 5 is a View of a modified form of support load 011 the cars. Furthermore, the object is for the lever. to produce an attachment for carcouplings In the drawings, A represents one of the so constructed and arranged that the coupleraxles of the car provided with the usual 80 heads shall automatically be kept at the same wheels and boxes or. Attached to these boxes height, and which shall be capable of being by bolts or the like is a frame B, having near regulated in height by hand independent of each end bends b to provide for the reception the automatic means for determining its p0 of the wheels a of the cars when the frame sition. is in position with its ends 19 bolted to the 85 With these objects in view the invention boxes a of the axle. The central portion 1) consists, essentially, in an attachment for carof the frame 13 is curved, the curve correcouplings in which the coupler-heads have a sponding to a circle drawn with the bolt, upon limited up-and-down movement, consisting in which the truck of the car is swiveled as a a lever bearing upon or attached to the coupcenter. This portion 19 is slotted at 19 and 0 lerhead, thelever being attached to the body in this slot is mounted a block 0 by means of of the car by a vertically-adjustable conneca retainingbolt c. In this block 0 is pivoted tion and attached to or supported upon one a lever D, the forward end D of which exor more of the axles of the car independent tends up into the housing of the coupler-head of the body of the car. and bears against the coupler-head. The 5 Furthermore, the invention consists in an rear end D of the lever is connected by a attachment for car-couplings in which the suitable bar or rod 61 to the body of the car. coupler-head is capable of a limited up-and The preferred manner of attaching the bar down movement, comprisingalever connected or rod d to the body of the car is by forming to or bearing upon the coupler head fulthe upper portion of the bar or rod (1 with a I00 rack, with which meshes a pinion (1, attached to the end of a shaft (1", which may be provided with a handle for imparting a rotary motion thereto, or which may be connected with a shaft (1 extending from the end of the car and connected with the shaft d by suitable gears.

It is not essential to the operation of the device that the hanger be attached to the body of the ear in this way, but it is of advantage, as it permits of the adjustment of the height of the-couplenhead by hand independently of the automatic means of adj ustment when this is desirable on account of the construction of the ears.

I do not wish to limit myself to the particular means shown of mounting the lever upon the axle or upon a part connected therewith, as it is obvious that various means may be employed for accomplishing this. For instance, the shaft may be provided with a collar E, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, this collar being mounted upon the center of the axle free to turn thereon and provided with a swiveled notched bloc]; e, in which the lever D may be mounted.

The operation of the attachment, as herein shown, the lever being arranged in suitable position, with its forward end bearing against the coupler-head, is, when sufficient load is imposed upon the body of the car, to depress its supporting-springs and lower the rear end of the lever, and as this lever is mounted upon the axle of the ear or upon a part connected therewith independent of the body of the car the effect will be to raise the forward end of the lever (that end bearing against the coupler-head) and raise the latter a distance corresponding to the distance which the rear end of the lever is depressed. Thus it will be seen that by my device I effect the automatic retention of the coupler-head at a predetermined height irrespective of the load imposed upon the car. If by any means the attachment should become deranged, the adjustment of the height of the coupling may be accomplished through the gears and rods connected with the bar or rod, by which the lever is attached to the body of the ear.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An attachment for car-couplings in which the compler-heads are capable of a limited up-and-down movement, consisting in a lever bearing upon or attached to the coupler-head connected to the body of the car by a vertically-adjustable connection, whereby the device may be adapted to retain the couplerhead at any desired height, the lever being attached to or supported upon one or more of the axles of the car independent of the body of the car, substantially as described.

An attachment forcar-conplers in which the draw-head is capable of an up-and-down movement, consisting in a lever connected to or bearing upon the coupler-head fulerumed on one of the axles of the car or on a part connected therewith, and connected to the body of the car by a bar or rod capable of upand-down movement, and means for effecting the up-and-down movementof the bar or rod, consisting of a rack on the bar or rod, meshing with a pinion on the body of the car and connected with a crank or the like for imparting rotary movement to the pinion.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NATHANIEL E. SMITH. Witnesses:

R. S. DYRENFORTII, DAVID II. MEAD.

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