US511556A - Car-coupling - Google Patents

Description

(No Mod I v GAR. COUPLING No. 511,556. Patented Dec. 26,1893;

snvtoN STU-Mr,- or GREAT BEND, PENNSYLVANIA.

I CAR-COUPLING. j -1.

SPECIFICATION forming part btLetter's ratnt N o e nesanata December 26, 1893.

V Appliationfiledtl'nnta 2,1893. Satanic-475.371. camera.) 1

T0 aZZ whom itjitcty-cohccr-nf Be it known thatI, Sill/IONSTUMI, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Great Bend, in the county of Susquehanna and State' of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain newand useful Improvements ,in Gar-Couplers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such:

as will enable others 'sk'illed in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and'to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specifica My invention relates to an improved carcoupling, and it has special reference tothat class in which a pair of pivot'edor swinging hooks co-operate with a link toconnect the cars, and my object is to produce a coupler having a combined hook and draw-bar and one in which the hook may be easily and effectively operated in spite of the two-fold character of its functiom To these ends my invention consists-of the peculiar construction and arrangement of the hook and its attached parts.

It also consists of certain peculiarities of construction and combinations of parts throughout the coupler, all of which'will now be fully disclosed and finally embodied in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

which illustrate my coupler applied as in practical embodiment: Figure 1 represents a side elevation partly in section, showing the parts coupled; Fig. 2 a perspective view of the draw-head detached and partly broken away to disclose the hook. I

The reference letters A, A indicate the contiguous ends of the cars to be coupled, which may be of any pattern or class, and each'provided with the platformvA. To each of these cars, one section of the coupler is attached. As each section is an exact duplicate of the other, only one will be described in detail.

B indicates the drawhead which is arranged within the stirrups B so as to be capable of limited longitudinal movement there in, a shoulder 1) being formed near the outer end of the mouth of the draw-head to prevent the same from being pushed under the car, while excessive outward movement is prevented by'the peculiar arrangement of the hook, which will hereinafter appear in detail. a

0 represents thehook which is provided at the hook gproper, its forward end, with a beveled face 0' inclined rearwardly and downwardly so asto glance the incoming link down to the endol' the point 0, preparatory to being caught'in thehook and the coupling efi'ected; i

Formed integral with or rigidly secured to the hook at a distance from its forward end equal to'about one-third the length'of the hook, is a pivot or trunnion c, which fits in the open notches or indentations c in the side of the draw-head. By'this means t-he hook C is pivotally yet positively connected to move longitudinally with the draw-head. f

Rearward of the trunnion c the shank of the hook is reduced slightly and passes beyond the innerend'of the draw-head'B. Lo-

cated a'slight distance beyond the inner end equal to about that from the inner endof the draw-head to the beam D. Fixed to the extreme inner end of the hook-shank is a washer or stop d, held from rearward movement by tne'ans of;a pin 01 passing through the shank. interposed between the washer d andthe beam D,is a spiral spring E, held in place by means of a staple embracing one of its coils and passing into the beam. On the remaining or forward side of the beam D, a

similar springE' is arranged,and this spring embraces the shank and bears at its forward end against the washer e, which in turn bears against the inner end of the draw-head B. A staple, similar in form andarrangement to the staple of spring E, is provided for hold ing and steadying the spring E'.,;. ,Bythis arrangement itwill be seen that are hook and draw-head, being connected to each other,

move longitudinally in unison and that both their forward" and" backward movements are cushioned and limited by the springs E and E. 'It will also be seen that the draw-head and hook will be automatically returned to their normal positions by the springs E and E after the pressure has been relaxed. The

normal position of the hook G is shown by Fig. 1, such position occurring when the hook is lying in nearly a horizontal plane,-and with the point 0 bearing against the enlarged orifice in the mouth of the draw-head. This position is efiected and retained by the fiat spring F, which is firmly bolted or riveted to the top of the draw-head at F, and extends forward and slightly downward, its free end engaging the hook C at a point forward of the pivots c and near its head. The spring F is secured to the outer side of the drawhead and extends through a longitudinally elongated slot G in the top side of the same, by which its engagement with the book 0 is eifected. The function of the slot G is twofold: to allow the spring F to engage the hook O, and to provide for the vertical play of the hook duringits operation. To effect these ends the slot is formed in the top side of the head B, itsrearward extremity extending to a point beyond the fulcrum c of the hook, while its forward end is far enough front to allow the head of the hook to swing clear of it. The hook C is raised in operation, by means of the transverse rock-shaft II, journaled in boxes fixed to the ends of the cars and extending beyond each of the sides, where it is provided with a weighted hand lever H which extends normally in a direction diagonal to the longitudinal disposition of the cars. Formed integral with or securely fastened to the shaft H, at a point directly over the hook C, is a crank-arm h, which also extends ,out diagonally, but in a direction opposite to that of the lever 11'. Connected to the free end of this crank is a link h which extends downwardly and is connected to the book 0 near its front end, by means of an eye or any suitable fastening device 71 Thus it will be seen that owing to the peculiar arrangement of the shaft H and its levers and crank, the hook C can be readily'swung on its fulcrum 0 against the tendency of the spring F, to lift the head and release the link, from each side of the car, and that by reason of the diagonal disposition of the levers 1-1 and arm it, no dead-center can occur, which fact is always followed by easy and effective operation.

The preferred construction of my invention having now been set forth, I will proceed to describe its mode of operation and use. As before stated, each car is fitted with dupli cate draw-heads and hook mechanism, and as the draw-heads engage each other, the link, shown at I, enters the flaring mouth of the draw-head B, whereupon it engages the face 0' of the hook C, and is glanced downwardly against the bottom of the cavity in the head. As the end continues to move into the head, it passes under the point e of the hook and finally beyond it. At this stage the coupling operation is complete; the link may however, continue to move inwardly, and to prevent excessive inward movement, the shoulder B is formed in the cavity of the drawhead. This shoulder extends around the cavity on all sides, and is adapted to operate as a barrier to prevent its further movement. \Vhen the link strikes this shoulder, its individual movement ceases and the movement of the draw-head begins, the spring E operating to cushion such movement and to tie crease its energy until it is finally stopped by the engagement ofthe stirrup Band shoulder 1). Then the pressure or shock occasioned by the engagement of the cars,has relaxed, the parts assume their normal position under the influence of the springs E and E, while the spring E serves to decrease the shock and jar occasioned by the uneven pulling of the engine or irregularitiesof the track. To uncouple the cars, the lever II is swung outwardly, which will be followed bythe rocking of the shaft II and liftingof the freeend of the crank-arm h. As the arm h is lifted, the hook is swung on its fulcrum c, against the tendencyof the spring Fand through the medium of the link h, and passes through the slot G far enough to allow the link I to pass freely out of the draw-head, thereby uncoupling the cars. When the uncoupling has been effected, the lever 11' is released and the parts assume their normal position under the influence of the spring F. By reference to the drawings,it will be seen that the hook 0 forms by its rearwardly elongated end, the draw-bar of the coupler, and that the drawhead and bar move longitudinallyin unison with each other, thereby permittingall the parts of the coupler to adjust themselves to the movements of the cars. It will also b seen that the hook O is free to swingon its fulcrum 0 during the coupling or uncoupling operation, unaflected by the draw-head, and that when so swinging, its elongated rear end will be free to move vertically in the slot D of the beam D. It will still further be seen that the beam D receives the draft of the strain, the stirrupsBserving only to support and retain the draw-head.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is In a car coupling, the combination ofa drawhead having a longitudinal slot formed in its upper face, a swinging hook arranged within the draw-head and fulcru med so that its head will when raised pass through the slot, a leaf spring fixed to the draw-head and operating with the hook to keep it in position, and a spring connected with the hook, substantially as described.

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

SIMON STUMP.

\Vitnesses:

B. S. BEEBE, F. T. ROOSA.

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