US1450248A - Coupling for railway cars - Google Patents

Description

Apr. 3, 1923, 1,450,248

M. K. CARR COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed June 15,"1921 1 1710.74 12: a E l -wfll Maw; I

mbmrs Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNITED}. STATES MELVIN K. CARR, OF BREMERTON, WASHINGTON.

GOUPLING'F OR RAILWAY CARS.

Application filcd June 16, 1921-. Serial No. 477,988.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that'I, MELVIN K. CARR, a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bremerton, in the county of Kitsap and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Couplings for Railway Cars, ofwhich the following is a specification,

The present invention relates to an improvement in couplings for railway cars or the like and has for its object to provide a device of'this character which is of simple and durable construction, reliable in opera tion, and easy and inexpensive to manufac- 16 ture', which is adapted to effect the automatic' and efficient coupling of the railway car or other vehicles to be coupled and which may be released Without necessity of the operator going between the cars 'or vehicles.

Other objects and advantages of the invention reside in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed 2 out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the coupling-members immediately prior to the coupling action, parts being shown in sec-- tion for the sake of illustration;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical longitudinal section, showing the parts coupled, parts being shown in elevation for the sake of illustration;

Figure 3 is similar view in horizontal section;

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the swinging coupling bars and associated elements.

Referring to the drawings wherein for the sake of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, the character C designates the coupling members which are carried by the cars in the usual manner and which are oppositely arranged and of identical construction so that a description of one will serve for both.

Each coupling member includes a housing 10 preferably of frusto-conical form and carried at the lower end of the draw bar in the usual manner. The housing is provided with a removable plate 11 normally secured in position by fastening means 12 or the like. In each housing there is provided. a chamber-13 having vertical side walls 14 constituting guides' A vertically swinging. coupling bar 15 is operatively arranged in the housing and has a flat vertical face 15 engaged with. the

guide face 14: of the housing to constrain the coupling bar to its proper mot-ion. At. its

inner end the coupling bar is pro-vided' with an enlarged bearing 16 having its lateral face flat as indicated at 16 and also engaged with the guide walls 14 of the chamber to supplement the action of theface 15 and wall 1 1 inconstraining the swinging bar to provide motion'. ,Trunnions 17 undercut, as at 17 are carried by the bea-ri-ng lfiand are j our-naled cooperable with the curved face 19 of the bill 19 of thehook of the complementary coupling member. At the upper end of the lock lug an inclined shoulder 23 is provided and is adapted to be received in the seat 20 of the latch bar of the complementary member when the coupling members are associated in coupled relation, as clearly shown in Figure 2.'

Operating means is provided and preferably comprises a control lever 25 rotatably mounted upon the car and having a crank arm 26 connected by a chain-or other flexible element 27 with a link 28 which in turn is pivotally connected to the latch bar of the underlying coupling member, as clearly shown inFigure 2.

In the coupling operation each projecting end of each coupling bar of each coupling member enters the housing of the other coupling member and the curved faces 19 of the bills of the hooks thereof'ride up the cam surfaces 22 of the lock lugs 21. This carries the bills of the hooks over the lock lugs so that they then are disposed slightly behind and vare adapted to engage the rear faces of the lock lugs and so that the inclined shoulders then are received in the seats 20. There is thus provided an efficient, effective and secure coupling.

In the coupling operation, either one of the control levers 25 is grasped and rotated to swing the crank arm upwardly and thus draw the link 28 upwardly. The link 28 carries the vertically swinging coupling bar 15 to which it is connected upwardly about its trunnions. This also lifts the other coupling bar and as the coupling bars thus swing, the bills of the hooks are disengaged from the lock lugs and the shoulders of the lock lugs slide out of the seats of the coupling bars and thus disengagement is effected.

I claim:

1. In a coupling of the character described, a pair of coupling members, each including a housing having a chamber therein provided with vertically side walls constituting guides, a coupling bar having a flat lateral face engaging the adjacent side walls of the chamber, trunnions carried by the bar and journaled in the housing for constraining the coupling bar to vertical swinging movement, a hook carried at the outer end of the coupling bar and having a bill provided with a curved outer face, said coupling bar having a seat formed therein adj accnt said hook, a lock lug carried by the coupling bar and having a cam adapted to coact with the curved bill of the hook of the complementary coupling member and an inclined shoulder at its upper end adapted to be received in the seat of the coupling bar of the complementary coupling member, and operating mechanism for releasing said coupling members including a control lever having a crank arm, a link pivotally connected at one end to the coupling bar and a chain connecting said link and said crank arm.

2. In a coupling of the character described, a housing having a chamber, a swinging coupling bar pivoted to said housing within the chamber and ,brojecting therefrom, a hook carried by the outer end of the coupling and having a bill provided with a curved face, said coupling bar having a seat formed therein adj acent said hook, a lock lug carried by the coupling bar having a cam face and an inclined shoulder at the upper end thereof, and operating means for releasing said coupling.

3. In a coupling of the character described, a housing having a chamber, a swinging coupling bar pivoted to said housing within the chamber and projecting therefrom, a hook carried by the outer end of the coupling and having a bill provided with a curved face, said coupling bar having a seat formed therein adjacent said hook, and a lock lug carried by the coupling bar having a cam face and an inclined shoulder at the upper end thereof.

MELVIN K. CARE.

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