GB237545A - Improvements in railway vehicle automatic couplings - Google Patents

Abstract

237,545. National Malleable & Steel Castings Co., (Assignees of Willison, J.). July 24, 1924, [Convention date]. Couplings, automatic.-A car coupler of the vertical plane type, of the kind described in Specifications 9622/12 and 174,946, has a lock-actuating device journaled in the cavity between the jaws of the coupler, and is arranged, on movement about its axis, to retract the lock into unlocked position, but normally serves to limit the movement of the lock during coupling. The lock 9, Figs. 1 and 3, slides upwardly and rearwardly in a groove 11 in the bottom of a cavity 10 in the coupler head 2 and is provided on one side with a projection 12 which bears against an inwardly projecting web 13 of the coupler to maintain the lock in the vertical plane when interlocking with the lock of the opposing coupler; and on the other side with a projection 16 which is engaged by one arm 19 of a U-shaped lever 17 pivoted on a bolt 18, the other arm 20 being connected to a lock-operating rod 31. A curved extension 29 is provided on the lock adapted to engage the bolt 18 when the lock has moved forwardly to the extent necessary for engagement with the lock of the opposing coupler. When uncoupling, the rod 31 is pulled by hand to rotate the U-shaped lever 17 in an anticlockwise direction which causes the arm 19 to engage the projection 16 on the lock to move it rearwardly clear of the lock of the opposing coupler. If the rod 31 is moved still further and then released the projection 12 moves beyond the confines of the wall 13 where the lock tilts and an inclined surface 14 on the projeotion 12 engages a corresponding inclined surface 15 on the end of the wall 13 to maintain the lock in the " lock-set " position, where re-engagement cannot occur as the face of the lock 9 lies across the face of the opposing lock. In the " ready to couple " position of the coupler the lock 9 is in the extended position, Fig. 1, and in order to prevent the lock being driven further back into the cavity 10 than is necessary in coupling, i.e. beyond the confines of the wall 13, a shoulder 25 on the lock is adapted to contact with the forward face 24 of the lever arm 9.