US536139A

US536139A - Car-coupling

Info

Publication number: US536139A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1895-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1912-03-19

Description

(No Model.)

T. GASKINS.

GAB. COUPLING.

No. 536,139. Y Patented Mar. 19, 1895.

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UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFIJC'E.

THOMAS GASKINS, OF ARCADIA, FLORIDA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,139, dated March 19, 18 95. Application filed April 21. 1894. Serial 110.508.423- camera.)

My invention relates to that 'form of car coupling popularly known as the Janney type, in which the draw head is provided upon one side with an articulated knuckle adapted to couple with a similar knuckle on the other draw head, which knuckles are provided with means for locking them rigidly in their coupled position, or allowing them to be turned outwardly to be disengaged from each other. 7 My invention consists chiefly in the means for so locking these knuckles that they may be freely and easily disengaged while the parts are under the influence of the draft strain, so. that there is no necessity for slackening or backing the train to uncouple.

Figure 1 is ahorizonta'l sectionthrough the draw head showing the coupled position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the uncoupled position. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and Fig.

4 is a View showing the difierent means for lifting the pin to uucouple.

hingedupon a vertical'pin D, a coupling knuckle a a constructed as a short elbow lever whose outer arm or forms the coupling hook, and whose inner arm a" is at right anglesto the outer arm and is acted upon by These locking devices con-j locking devices. sist of a horizontal lever b and a vertical pin C. The lever b is pivoted 'upon a-vertical pin b which is upon one side of the draw head one end of the lever 12 .on its'front side and immediately in front of itsaxis of' articulation is a curved seat b b in which the rounded end-of the knuckle arm 01, .plays, Working therein as an abutmentf In the opening movement of the knuckle its hook end a moves outwardly, and its inner arm 0. moves toward the center of the draw bar and bears against the side 1) of the seat in lever b, tending to throw the ire end of lever b 'rearwardly in the draw-head, and in the closing movement of the knuckle its arm a, strikes the side 17 of the seat in the lever b, and tends to throw its free end outwardly or to the front.

When the cars are cou pled and the knuckle is in the position shown in Fig. l a locking pin-O upon the opposite side of the drawhead is arranged to drop vertically through a hole in the draw-head, and passes behind. the notched end of the lever b, preventing its free end from moving to the rear from the pressure of the end of'the-arm or against the side 12 of the seat in lever b, which pressure is caused by the draft strain on the outer or hooked part a of the knuckle, and so long as the pin 0 remains behind the free end of lever b the knuckle a a is locked in the coupled position. raised above range of engagement with the arm I), the said arm may move to the rear, and the knuckle arm aand the hook amove outwardly, to permit of the uncoupling of thethe frictional contact thereagainst is very light, and does not interfere with the free and easy lifting of the pin 0 to uncouple, even when the fulldraft strain is on. The pin G, is made square at its upper part,its cross section being indicated at l, 2, 3, 4:, in Fig.1, and the hole in the upper part of the draw bar is made to correspond. 'The' lower end of the pin is, however, only about half the size, be-

When, however, the pin 0 is.

ing cut awayon one side, so that'its cross seetion is only that shown at 1, 5, 6, 4, and the hole in the lower part of the draw bar is made to correspond. There is therefore left onth e endiof lever b allows the latter to move back in coupling, and when dropped below the plane of lever 1) looks this lever from going back, and holds the coupling locked in its closed position.

On the back side of arm ct of the knuckle there is formed a shoulder a which,when the car coupling is closed, locks into and bears against a similar shoulder (Z formed on the inner side of the draw-head. When two drawheads come together forcibly the strain is partly taken from a. of the knuckle by means of the shoulders at and (L The knuckle a a of the draw bar is formed around its axis with the customary stop shoulders r that engage with similar stop shoulders t on the draw-head to limit the range of oscillation of the knuckle. also formed around its axial hole with a cylindrical boss I) at the top and bottom which play within corresponding recesses in the draw-head and distribute the wear and strain, and thus relieve the axial pin Z). The knuckle a. a is also provided with similar bosses. for the same purpose. To permit the lever b to be inserted in the mouth of the draw bar, curved recesses or channels h at top and bottom of the throat are formed in the walls of the draw bar to give passage to the bosses b in inserting or removing the lever b.

In setting the devices for automatic coupling, the parts are put in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with the shoulder s of pin 0 resting upon the end of lever 12. Now when the cars come together, the knuckles are closed by the impact, audthe rear end of arm a striking against the side 1) of the seat in lever b, throws its free end to the front from beneath the shoulder sof the pin C and allows the latter to pass behind the lever b which is immediately locked thereby, and in turn locks the long arm a of the knuckle.

To uncouple the cars this is easily effected even when the draft strain is on, because there is but little frictional resistance on account of the reduction of leverage by the arrangement of theparts described. Thelifting The lever Z) is of the pin may be effected either from the top, front, or side of the car, by the devices shown in Fig. 4, in which 11 is a double crank shaft, connected to the pin by a chain, or other ineans which crank shaft is worked from the top of a car through rod R and lever M, or from the side of the car through rod K and lever L. When worked on a passenger car lever M may or may not rise above the level of the platform.

I am aware that this type of car coupling, comprising a jointed knuckle, a locking cam for the knuckle, and a retaining dog for the locking cam, is old, and I therefore only claim my peculiar construction and arrangement of the parts, in which a leading feature is the transverse lever b pivoted upon one side of the draw-head immediately behind the axis of the knuckle and extending across the draw-head to its opposite side to co-operate with the pin 0. This, it will be seen, pro vides such a relation of leverage in the parts as to render the uncoupling of the cars practicable while the draft strain is on.

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

1. The combination with the draw-head and its hinged knuckle; of the locking lever Z) having seat b for the rear arm of the knuckle, and a vertically adjustable locking pin 0 made larger at its upper end than at its lower end, and having a shoulders adapted to rest upon the free end of lever l) or drop behind it substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

2. The combination with thecoupling knuckle, and the draw-head having channels h h in the top and bottom walls of its throat; of the locking lever 11 having bosses 1) around its axial hole anda detachable axial pin 11' substantially as and for the purpose described.

THOMAS GASKINS.

\Vitnesses:

WILLIAM E. DANIEL, JOHN Onoss.