US707412A - Receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags. - Google Patents

Description

No. 707,4!2. Patented Aug. 19, 1902 A. P. HAUSS.

RECEIVING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS FGR MAIL BAGS. (Application filed May 27, 1902.

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No. 707,4l2. Patented Aug. l9, I902. A. P. HAUSS.

BECEIVHNG AND DELIVERING APPARATUS FOR MAIL BAG (Application filed May 27, 1802.)

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wwwmw I7 I yaw Patented Au'g. I9, 1902.

A. P. HAIISS. RECEIVING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS FOR MAIL BAGS.

(Application filed May 27, 1902.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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Nrrh STATES AUGUSTUS P. HAUSS, OF NEW ALBANY, INDIANA.

RECEWING AND DELlVERlNG APPARATUS FOR MAIL-BAGS SI]?ECIFICATIO1\l' forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,412, dated August 19, 1902.

Application filed May 27,1902. Serial No. 109,182. (No model.)

To to whom, it may conccrm.

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS P. HAUSS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Albany, in the count-y of Floyd and State of Indiana, have invented certain Improvements in Receiving and Delivering Apparatus for Mail-Bags, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, and is more especially an improvement upon the apparatuses shown and described in the prior patents issued to me in this line.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide the receiving-arm of both the crane and mail-car with certain devices by which the mail-bag will be properly caught and firmly and securely held while the train is moving at a high rate of speed.

A further object of myinvention is to provide a suspending means for the mail-bag which is especially adapted for use in connection with my improved receiving-arm.

A further object of my invention is to so improve the general construction and arrangement of parts constituting my improved apparatus as to insure a perfect operation of the devices which are carried by the car and those which are mounted upon the crane.

With the above objects in view my invention consists in the particular construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter fully described, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the application of my invention, the parts being arranged in position for receiving and delivering the mailbags. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the parts after the mail-bags have been delivered and received by the crane and mail-car, respectively. Fig. 3is an enlarged detail view of the receiving-arm which is carried by the car. Fig. etis a horizontal sectional view through the standard of the crane. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the suspending means for the mail-bag, one end portion thereof being in section to illustrate the construction of said device. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the lower part of the crane.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In carrying out my invention I employ, as heretofore, a crane which is provided with my improved mail-bag receiving and delivering mechanisms and also provide the car with similar mechanisms, so that as the said car passes the crane the mail-bags will be we changed.

A designates the standard of the crane, which is braced by means of the rods a and is also provided with a platform a, leading to which is a ladder a and by means of this ladder and platform the delivery mechanism at the upper end of the crane may be reached. The standard or post A is preferably cast metal, and at the upper end thereof is rigidly secured or formed integrally a head B, providing vertically-disposed parallel plates b 1), between which is pivoted an arm O,which projects beyond each side of the standard or post and is provided at its rear end with a weight 0. Near the forward end of the arm 0 is swiveled a fiat bar d on a vertical pivot-pin c, said fiat bar forming the upper supporting means for the mail-bag and being hook-shaped at its outer or free end and provided with a spring d, by which to hold the suspending means of the mail-bagin engagement therewith. The pivot end of the bar d rests upon a lug c and when said bar is arranged to support a mail bag it also rests intermediately upon a lug c at the outer end of the supporting-arm G. The weight a of the supporting-arm is adapted to throw the forward end of said arm upward, and this movement is accelerated by a fiat spring 0 attached to the arm and adapted to engage the head or fixture B. A second supporting-arm E is pivoted to the standard or post at a suitable distance below the arm 0 and is also provided with a swiveled fiat bar e, having a hooked outer end, andretaining-spring e and 6 respectively, the same as the bar d,hereinbefore described. The lower supporting-arm is pivoted between ears or plates a formed on the standard or post, and is adapted to swing down when not in use, while the upper supporting-arm swings upward, as hereinbefore stated. These supporting-arms O and E, with the parts carried thereby, form the delivery mechanism of the crane by supporting the mail-bag through the intervention of the suspending means hereinafter described.

At a suitable distance from its base the standard or post A is provided with a vertical slot a, extending from front to rear, and in the upper portion of this slot, which is enlarged therefor, as shown, is pivoted an arm F, extending beyond the front and rear of the post or standard. The rear end of this arm is provided with a counterbalancingweightf, and at the forward end thereof are secured a pair of receiving-arms, hereinafter particularly described, the weight serving to overbalance the forward end of the arm and parts carried thereby, so that the said receiving-arms will be supported in the proper horizontal plane. The supporting-arm F is provided with a depending plate f, which plays in the lower portion of the slot a and in a well G, consisting of parallel guide-plates g g, bolted to the lower end of the post or standard A and to the sill-piece A, upon which said standard is mounted. The plate f and well G not only serve to brace the forward end of the supporting-arm F against lateral strain, the result of the operation of catching the mail-bag from the car, but also together form an abutment or buffer for said mail-bag and in this latter capacity relieve the receiving-arms of the full impact of the mailbag and suspending means therefor, which they would receive if the said mail-bag were permitted to swing free from said receiving-arms. It will be here noted that the counterbalancing-weight f supports the arm F in a normally horizontal position and that when a mail-bag is caught by one of the receiving-arms the weight of said mail-bag will tilt the forward end of said supporting-arm downward and out of the Way, and, further, that when all the movable parts of the crane assume the position shown in Fig. 2 they are entirely out of the way of the passing train. The pair of receiving-arms which are carried at the forward end of the supporting-arm F are located at either side of said arm, so that one or the other will operate when the train is running in either direction, and as these receiving-arms are exactly alike a description of one will answer as well for the other, like reference-letters being used to designate like parts in the two devices.

Thereceiving arm or fork I-I comprises the curved guide-arms h h, which provide the receiving-slot h and retaining-hole 71 as is usual, and the inner end of this receiving arm or fork is shaped to fit in a socket at the outer end of the supporting-arm F, being held] therein by bolts. To one of the members of the fork and at the outer end of the retaininghole is pivoted a dog I, which is adapted to extend across the receiving-slot from one member to the other and close the retaininghole, so as to hold the suspending means of the bag therein, said dog engaging a springcatch '6. The outer or free end of the dog enters a recess in the opposite member of the fork, engaging said catch, while the pivot end of said dog is mounted in a recess, as shown. At the inner side of this dog and mounted in a recess therefor in the short arm or member his a trip-lever I,which is curved and pivoted centrally. The location of this trip-lever is such with relation to the dog that when the latter is swung inward, practically on a line with the inner edge of the short member of the fork, it will engage one end of the triplever and force the other end outward into the retaining-hole, so that therefore when the mail-bag or its suspending means enters the fork and passes into the retaining-hole thereof it will strike said trip-lever, and the latter will throw the dog across the opening, hold the bag in engagement with the receiving-arm, and prevent rebound of said bag.

Having described the crane, which is located alongside the track, I shall now describe the mechanism which is carried by the mailcar and is adapted to cooperate with the crane in receiving and delivering mail-bags.

O designates the receiving-arm of the mailcar equipment, comprising the guide-arm 0, formed integrally with a plate 0 and shaped to provide the receiving-slot p and retaininghole p, in which is pivoted a dog 0" and triplever 7', similar to the corresponding parts of the receiving arm or fork H, hereinbefore described. The plate at the inner end of the receiving-arm O is formed with a sleeve 0 by'which it is mounted on the rock-bar S, and from this sleeve projects a socket 0 ,into which the operating-handle O is fitted. The rockbar S is supported in bearings 8, attached to the jambs of the car-door, and between the sleeve of the receiving-arm and the adjoining bearing is interposed a rubber collar 5', forming a buffer to receive the jar when a bag is caught. The receiving-arm O is located at a convenient height from the sill of the door, and below the sill is located a delivery-arm T, secured to a rock-bar T, supported in the bearings 10 u. The outer end of the deliveryarm is curved to one side, as shown, and at the terminal thereof is a pivoted jaw or catch i, actuated by a spiral spring t, the said jaw being adapted to hold the mail-bag or its supporting means in detachable engagement with the delivery-arm. On the rock-bar T, between the delivery-arm and adjoining support, is a rubber collar to to receive the end thrust of the bar when the bag is being delivered. The rock-bars S and T are connected by a rod 1), attached at its ends to arms projecting from collars mounted on said rockbars and so adjusted that when the receiving arm is brought to substantially a horizontal position the delivery-arm will be also moved into proper position or extended from the car to place the bag and its suspending means in line with the receiving-arm of the crane, also that when the operating-handle of the rock-bar S is thrown upward the receiving and delivering arms will be brought to a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2.

The suspending means for the mail-bag consists of a flexible rod 1V, having rings to at its ends, by which it is connected to the delivering mechanisms of the crane and car equipment and by which the bag is attached thereto. Near each end of the flexible rod is a disk a forming stops for supporting the device on the receiving-arm when it is caught thereby, the disk being, therefore, much larger than the retaining-holes of said receiving-arms. In making up the suspending means the rod is composed of several strands of rope passed back and forth between the rings and through them, the strands being then wrapped with leather, the disks, preferably leather, placed over the ends and held by the leather pieces,which are looped through the rings and riveted to the rope and to the disks. The portion of the device between the disks is further wrapped with canvas to form a weai'ingsul'face, and so that when said canvas covering is worn it can be readily replaced at small expense. At one end of the device is an additional ring y, carrying a snap-hook y, by which a second mail-bag may be attached to the device by placing the rings at the ends of the mail-bag in engagement with said snap-hook. When only a single bag is to be attached to the suspending means just described, a rope .2, having snap-hooks z .2 at each end, is first bound around the center of the bag and the hooks snapped into engagement with the lower ring. In placing this device in engagementwith the delivery mechanism carried by the crane the rings at the ends of the suspending means are placed in engagement with the arms 0 and E, as shown in Fig. 1, and in attaching same to the delivering-arm of the car equipment it is suspended from the outer end thereof, as also shown in said Fig. 1.

In the operation of the apparatus in exchanging a mail-bag from a car to the crane, and vice versa, the parts are arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, with the mail-bag on the crane supported by the arms C and E, while the mail-bag on the car is supported or suspended from the delivering-arm T and with the receiving-arms extended, so as to strike the suspending means between the disks or stops. As the car passes {the crane the receiving-arm of the latter catches the mailbag suspended from the car, while the receiving-arm of the car also catches the mailbag which is suspended by the crane, the operator 011 the car holding the receiving and delivering devices of the car in proper position by means of the lever 0. On the other hand, the crane needs no attention after the bag has been properly suspended and the receivin g-arms brought to a horizontal position. When the bag is delivered from the crane, the arms 0 and E swing on a line with the standard or post, while the receiving-arm, which has caught the bag from the car, swings downward.

From the foregoing it will be noted that I provide very simple and effective means for receiving and delivering mail-bags and that by means of the special construction of the receiving-arms, in conjunction with the particular construction of the suspending means for the mail-bags,the latter will be caught and positively held against rebound, so that there will be little or no chance of accident and no injury to the mails. The particular construction of the crane also possesses particular advantages that have been hereinbefore enumerated.

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

1. In an apparatus for receiving and deliverin g mail-bags, a receiving-arm having a receiving-slot and retaining-hole, a dog adapted to move forward across the receiving-slot, a stop for said dog, and a trip-lever located in the retaining-hole and adapted to actuate the dog, said trip-lever being operated by contact of the mail-bag therewith.

2. In an apparatus for receiving and delivering mail-bags, a receiving-arm having a receiving-slot and retaining-hole, a dog adapted to swing outward across the receiving-slot, a slot for said dog, and a curved trip-lever pivoted to the receiving-arm in the rear part of the retaining-hole, one end of said lever being adapted to engage and throw the dog and the other end located for contact of the mail-bag therewith, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an apparatus for receiving and delivering mail-bags, a receiving arm or fork one member of which is provided with a shoulder forming a stop, a dog pivoted to the other member of the fork and adapted to be swung forward across the fork and engage the said stop, and a trip-lever for actuating the dog, said trip-lever beingpivoted in the rear end of the fork and having one end in the path of the mail-bag.

4. In a receiving and delivering apparatus a dog pivoted in a recess in one member of the fork and adapted to extend across and engage a recess in the other member, and a curved trip-lever located in a recess in the fork, one end of said lever being adapted to engage the dog and the other end projected in the path of the mail-bag, so as to throw the dog when said projecting end is struck.

5. In a receiving and delivering apparatus standard having delivering means at its upper end, a receiving-arm carrying a plate,

aforesaid plate is adapted to move, the said plates reinforcing the receiving-arm and forming a buffer for the mail-bag.

and a well or guide-plates between which the' IIO for mail-bags,'a receiving-arm or catcher-fork,

for mail-bags, a crane, comprising a post or 6. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, a crane comprising a post or standard, a pivoted supporting-arm carrying a receiving-arm, a plate attached to said supporting-arm, and a stationary guide-plate on a line with the aforesaid plate, the said plates reinforcing the receiving-arm and forming a buifer for the mail-bag.

7. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard, an arm pivoted in the upper end thereof and weighted at its rear end, a bar swiveled to the arm and provided with a clamping-jaw at its outer end, a second arm pivoted to the standard below the aforesaid arm and having a bar with a clamping-jaw, an arm pivoted in a slot in the standard, said arm being weighted at its rear end and provided with receiving-arms at its forward end, a plate attached to the last-mentioned arm, and a stationary guide-plate located on a line with the aforesaid plate, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination with the arm) e, of a standard or post having delivering.mech anism at its upper end and slotted near its lower end, a supporting-arm pivoted in said slot and carrying receiving-arms, a plate attached to said supporting-arm, and stationary guide-plates between which the aforesaid plate Work's, substantially as shown and described.

9. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard having a vertical slot therein, a supportin g-arm pivoted in said slot and weighted at its rear end, a plate attached to said supporting-arm, and stationary guide-plates for the aforesaid plate, substantially as shown and described.

10. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard having a vertical slot therein, a supporting-arm pivoted in said slot, receivingarms at the forward end of said supportingarm, a plate attached to the supporting-arm, and stationary guide-plates for the aforesaid plate, substantially as shown and described.

11. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard, a supporting-arm pivoted thereto and carrying a receiving-arm at its forward end, and a plate attached to and depending from said arm.

12. In areceiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard, a supporting-arm pivoted thereto, a plate attached to said supporting-arm and means for bracing the lower or free end of said plate.

13. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard, a supporting-arm pivoted thereto, a plate attached to said supporting-arm and depending therefrom, and means for bracing the lower end of the plate.

14. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard, a supporting-arm pivoted thereto and weighted at its rear end, catcher-arms at the forward end of said supporting-arm, a plate attached to the supporting-arm below the catcher-arms, and means for bracing the outer end of said plate.

15. In a receiving and delivering apparatus for mail-bags, the combination, of a post or standard slotted at its lower end, a supporting-arm pivoted in said slot and weighted at its rear end, catcher-arms secured to the forward end of said supporting-arm, a plate attached to the supportingarm below the catcher-arms and bearing at its rear end in the aforesaid slot, and guide-plates attached to the post or standard below the aforesaid plate, and between which the lower end of the aforesaid plate is guided.

16. In a delivering and receiving mechanism for mail-bags, a suspending means for the mail-bag, comprising a flexible rod having rings at its ends, and disk-forming stops at either side of the center of said rod.

17. A suspending means for mail-bags, comprising a rope having rings attached to the ends thereof, disks secured to the rope at either side of the center thereof to form stops, and a leather and canvas covering between the stops, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS P. HAUSS.

Witnesses:

NOBLE D. MORRIS, LAFAYETTE FREDERICK.

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