US570274A - Car-coupling - Google Patents

Description

' UNITED STATES PATENT Enron.

ELRA A. YOOUM AND MORTIMORE O. NICHOLS, OF MENDON, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,274, dated October 27, 1896. Application filed June 30,1896. Serial No. 697,582. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ELRA A. YOOUM and MORTIMORE O. NICHOLS,0itiZens of the United States of America, residing at Mendon, in the county of Mercer and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and .useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In the practical use of car-couplings of the usual type it sometimes happens that one of the draw-heads becomes broken or unfastened fromits car, and uncoupling-"itself from the other draw-head will often result in serious damage by falling upon the rails and causing a derailment of the cars.

Our invention is designed to prevent the draw-heads becoming uncoupled in an accident of this kind; and it consists in providing the draw-heads with chains which support or retain the loose draw-head in connection with the other, means also being provided for severing the chain that extends from the pivoted latch to the operating device therefor, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings we have shown our invention applied to a car-coupling of the J anney type.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of the draw-heads, the swinging head being open or in position for coupling. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the draw-heads coupled, one of said drawheads being in horizontal section.

A designates the draw-head, which is constructed to present a cavity to receive the locking-catch and is provided with a swinging head A, pivoted thereon and composed of the coupling-arm a and supplemental arm a, the latter having a notch a at its lower end for the purpose hereinafter set forth. The locking-latch B is pivoted within the cavity of the draw-head, resting upon the bottom thereof, and is provided with a vertical recess, presenting a shoulder 72, the free end of said catch being forced outward by a rod 0, of spring metal, depending from the upper part of the draw-head. An operatingchain cl is connected to the locking-catch and extends therefrom through an opening in the upper part of the draw-head to an arm cl, projecting from a rock-shaft D.

The opening in the drawhead through which the operating-chain 01 passes is partly covered by a plate E, having V-shaped recesses, presenting a pointed tongue 6, the edges of said tongue and adjoining edges of the plate being beveled or sharpened, so that should the draw-head become unfastened from its car the operating-chain d thereof would catch in the V-shaped recesses of the plate and be severed by the tension or pulling force exerted thereon by the other car, said chain being thereby prevented from operating the locking-catch to uncouple the draw-heads. I

F designates a chain which is attached at its ends to opposite sides of the forward end of the draw-head and is of sufficient length so as not to interfere with the operation of the swinging heads when the cars come together.

When a draw-head becomes broken from its fastening devices, the operation of our improvements is as follows: As the said drawhead falls the operating-chain (2 thereof will catch upon the plateE and be prevent-ed from operating the locking-catch, and as the pulling force is brought upon said chain it will be severed, leaving the draw-head free from its car and supported in connection with the other draw-head by means of the chains F, which prevent a vertical movement of the unfastened draw-head. It will be noted that a downward movement of the unfastened drawhead is prevented by the chain F, carried by the other draw-head, while an upward movementis prevented by its own chain F. It will also be noted that the locking-catch cannot be operated to uncouple the cars until the supplemental arm a of the swinging head is moved out of engagement with the shoulder I), this movement being effected when the draw-heads come together and the couplingarm to contacts with the adjoining draw-head, thus leaving said locking-catch free to be lifted above the plane of the arm a. By having the shoulderb, which contacts with the end of the coupling-arm of theswinging head, this construction provides an additional precaution against the operation of the lockingcatch when the strain comes upon the chain.

The construction herein shown and described provides very efficient devices for the purposes set forth, and it will be obvious that said construction could be changed or modified without departing from our invention.

Having thus described. our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. In a car-coupling, the combination with the draw-heads each having a locking-catch and operating-chain extending therefrom, of

a plate having V- shaped recesses the edges of which are-beveled orsharpened, and chains F carried by the draw-heads, said chains being adapted tosupport the draw-heads against vertical movement upon each other, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

2. Ina car-coupling, the combination, of the draw-head carrying a swinging head and having an opening in its top, a plate provided with cutting edges which partially overlie said opening, a locking-catch adapted to engage the swinginghead, and a chain attached to the locking-catch and passed through the opening in the top of the draw-head to operating means; together with means for supporting the coupled draw-heads against excessive vertical movement upon each other, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a car-coupling, the combination with the draw-heads A, of a locking-catch recessed to present a shoulder b, a swinging head composed in part of a coupling-arm adapted to be engaged by said shoulder, an operating-chain attached to the locking-catch, and a plate having sharpened edges which engage the operating-chain; together with chains F carried by the draw-heads, said chains being adapted to support the draw-heads against vertical movement upon each other, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix; our signatures inpresence of two Witnesses.

ELRA A. YOCUM. MORTIMORE O. NICHOLS.

Vitnesses:

A. H. BARBER, J. S. MURLIN.

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