US1003461A - Mail catching and delivering device. - Google Patents

Description

A. J. HUGHES. MAIL GATHING AND DELIVBRING DEVICE.

- APPLICATION EILBD AUG.29, 1910. 1,003,461 Y Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

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, 1N VENTO WITNESSES:

C i3 z/ A. J. HUGHES.

MAIL GATGHING AND DELLVERING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG.29, 1910.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

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WITNESSES:

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ALBERT J. HUGHES, 0F ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

MAIL CATCHING AND DELIVERING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

Application led August 29, 1910. Serial No. 579,453.

lines in Fig. 1, so as to take up but little l To all whom 'it may conce/m:

Be it known that 1, ALBERT J. HUGHES, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Mail Catching and Delivering Device, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mail-bag catchers of the kind by which a moving mail car catches and delivers inail-bags at stations where the train does not stop; and the 0bject is to further improve my mail-bag catching device described in the United States Patent Number 962,571, which was issued to me on the 28th day of J une, 1910.

1n the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a top or plan view of my device in its improved form arranged on the ground near a railway track and on a portion of a mail car adjacent thereto on the track, the roof or upper part of the car being removed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a mail car in the act of passing a station equipped with my invention. Fig. 3 is a left hand side elevation of the mail supporting post and its table at the left end of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a partly iinished side elevation of one of the mail supporting stands on the ground, looking from the car. Fig. 5 is a rear side elevation of the stand shown in Fig. -1 slightlyT modiiied. Fig. 6 is an enlarged bottom view of the mail bag supporting table carried by the car and its bag-throwing strap. Fig. 7 .is a top view of the table in Fig. 6 and two mail bags on it. Fig. 8 is a partly sectional enlargement of a top portion of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, and omitting as much as possible, repetition of the description and claims already contained in my said previous patent, 1 designates a mail car supposed to be moving along on rails 2 of a railroad in either direction, but indicated by an arrow A as moving from right to left. Fixed on the car near one or both of its door openings 3 is a support 4C, on the top of which is mounted to swing horizontally an arm 5 near whose free end is pivotally supported at 6 to oscillate in horizontal plane, a table, 7 adapted to support the mail-bag or bags that are to be delivered from the car. The table is so mounted that it may not only be swung out into the door opening and into the car, but it may also when in the latter position be tilted edge up as shown in dotted iioor space when not in use. It may also for said purpose be folded at a joint 8, which is provided near its middle, and which when the table is unfolded is held stiff by a thumb button 9 pivoted at 10 to one leaf of the table and engaging' both leaves when turned i across the line of their adjacent edges. Fig. 1.)

In mounting the table and its arm in the (See manner described, various means may be employed; thus the table may be hinged to the arm to tilt from horizontal to vertical position, and the arm may be pivoted to the support to swing horizontally, or as in the present embodiment of the invention, a headed post 11 may be journaled in the top of the support, and in said head may be journaled a horizontal extension 12 of the arm 5 which is thereby allowed to turn when the table is to be tilted. The tilting is however prevented, as long as the table is in working position, by a linger or guide 13, which is fixed on the support l and engages the upper flat side of the arm while the support e engages the lower fiat side of said arm. Only when the arm is swung into the car is it released from said finger and may turn in the post 11.

rlhe table is at its under side provided with a lug 141 (see Fig. 2) which when the table is in central position in the door opening rests in the shallow notch 15 in a lateral projection 5X of the supporting arm. On each side of said notch is a deeper notch 16;

and the table is so loosely pivoted to the arm that a fair rotatory strain on it will cause the lug 14E toleave the notch 15 and move into either one of the notches 16, thereby allowing the table to yield both laterally and downward at its projected edge the moment a mail-bag is leaving it in being delivered from the car.

The normally outer or projected edge of the table is preferably formed with a V- shaped notch 17, near the bottom of which is pivoted at 18, preferably below the table, a spring clasp 19, which is adapted to hold an open sided springy ring 2O in the position shown in Fig. 1; said ring being secured to the outer end of a strap 21, which is taken one or more times about mail-pouch 22 (see Fig. 7 and the latter is placed on the table 7, where it remains until the ring 20 is engaged and removed from its clasp, which removal is eifected by catcher arms 23 that are mounted one on each of two stands 24, which are iiXed near the track. On each of said stands is hinged at 25 a table 26, which table to the rightin Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing is shown as tilted up edgewise out of the way when idle; the tilting is done automatically by a weight 27, which is adjustable on an arm 28 of the table, said weight tilting up the table as soon as the latter is idle and not held horizontal by the weight of mail-bags. Each of said tables is provided with a notch 17a and near the base thereof a clasp 19a, pivoted at 18a, about the same as the table in the car.

Upon each table 26 is pivoted at 29 and adjustably held by a thumb screw 30, a combined guide and shield 31, whose top portion covers the mail bag 22X on the table against snow and rain, while the vertical portion 31X, standing more or less obliquely tothe car, tends to direct the mail-bag 22X from the table into the car. To eect the last mentioned movement of the mail-bag,

the latter is placed on the table 26 with a,

strap 32 about it, and one end of said strap is provided with a ring 33, which is placed in the clasp 19a (see Figs. 1 and 3 and 8) in position to be engaged by either one of the two catcher arms 34 carried by the car. Each catcher arm 34 is pivoted at 35 to one of the door posts or casings and is normally held idle in upright position by a link 36 and hand lever 37, the latter being also pivoted near the door opening and held in upright position by a catch 38, as best shown to the right and in dotted lines to theleft in Fig. 2. But to the left is also shown in full lines how the arm 34 when in action, or ready for action is held in an almost horizontal outwardly slanting position, supported in a notch 39 of a small iron bracket 40 secured on the car.

In Fig. 4 it will be seen that the catching hooks 23 are each mounted 0n the post or stand 24 in such a manner that when catching the ring of the bag strap and pulling the bag from the car the hook yields slightly in'its bearing and after the strain is over it assumes automatically a hanging position and is thus out of the way for possible projections of passing trains until it is set again for action.

In further explaining the operation and some details connected therewith, it will be stated that in the present illustrations said yielding feature is provided for by making the catcher arm 23 hook-shaped and with a round shank 23a, which is journaled in the stand or in lugs 24a thereon (as in Fig. 5). In either case the stand has a notch 24b'into which the base of the arm 23 may pass and thus support the arm in horizontal position as shown in dotted line in Fig. 3.

The shank 23a has an oscillatory and sliding movement and is retained by a collar 23C.

having between it and the stand a rubber cushion 23d, which takes the blow against the stand when the hook or arm pulls the mail bag or bags from the car; said pulling brings the hook out of the notch 24b and it falls of its own weight to the downward hanging position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and in full line in Fig. 3.

`By looking at Figs. 1, 6 and 7 it will be seen that the strap 21 is fixed to the table 7 both at 7 a and by being taken about a hub 7b on the table, and is made in two strands until it unites and has the ring 20 secured to its end; said ring being open at 20a is simply engaged'by the arm 23 sutliciently to throw the mail bags from the car, whereupon the ring is sprung open enough to slip from the arm 23, so that the strap 21 always follows the car and is ready to be placed upon the table 7, in the manner shown in Fig. 7 with mail bags in the bight 21a and the ring 20 in the clasp 19 ready for action. The other strap 32 is easily removable from one mail bag to another. Its ring 33 when placed as in Figs. 1, 3, and 8 is readily caught by the catcher arm 34 of the moving train, and, as already above indicated, the motion of the train and the oblique position of the guide 31X cause the bag or bags to lodge upon or even beyond the table 7 in the car.

The notches 17 in the table on the car and 17ZL in the table on each stand are to permit the clasps 19 and 19ZL to swing some on their pivots when struck by the catcher arms, without pinching against the edges of the tables the rings held in the clasps.

It is, of course, understood that each station will have two reversely arranged stands 24 with the mechanism stated mounted thereon, so that the train by employing either one of its catcher arms 34 may deliver and pick up mail while movingl in either direction on the track, and where the road has double tracks both tracks and both sides of the car may be equipped with my device. The mail bags delivered from the car may drop on the ground, or be caught by the device shown in my former patent, or by any other suitable device for the purpose.

What I claim is:

1. A mail-bag catching and delivering device comprising in combination a stan fixed on the ground near the track on which a mail car moves, a table hingedly mounted on the stand for holding mail-bags in readiness for-the car to catch them, a car on the track and means on the car for catching the mailbags and means whereby the table when relieved of the mail-bags is automatically swung on its hinges to a position that increases the clearing between the table and the trains passing it.

2. A mail-bag catching and delivering device comprising in combination a stand fixed on the ground near the track on which a mail car moves, a catcher arm mounted on the stand and adapted to effect the removal of mail-bags from a passing car, means on said car for holding inail-bags ready to be caught, said catcher arm adapted to be set in catching position for service, and having automatic means for throwing it out of the set position to idle position by and after each catching action.

3. A mail-catching and delivering device comprising in combination a supporting taf ble for mail bags to be delivered to a moving car, catching means carried by the car, a guide on the table for directing the mailbags into the door of the moving cars; said. guide being adjustable to a more or less oblique position to the side of the car.

et. A mail-bag catching and delivering device comprising in combination, a mail car, a support fixed within the car near the door thereof, a horizontally swinging arm pivotally mounted on the support, a table carried by the said arm and adapted to hold mail bags to be delivered from the car, a strap engaging the mail bags placed on the table, and means on the ground arranged to engage the strap and thereby pull the mail bags from the table.

5. A mail bag catching and delivering device comprising in combination, a mail car, a support in the car near the door thereof, a horizontally swinging arm pivotally mounted on the support, a table carried by the said arm and adapted to support mail bags to be delivered from the car, a strap engaging the mailbags on the table, and means fixed on the ground for engaging the strap and thereby pulling the mail bags from the table; said table being pivoted near its center upon the arm, to oscillate in a horizontal plane when the strap pulls on the mail-bags.

6. A mail bag-catching and delivering device comprising in combination, a mail Car, a support in the car near the door thereof, an arm pivoted upon the support to swing horizontally, a table pivoted near its center upon the arm, to oscillate thereon in a horizontal plane, a strap arranged to engage inail-bags placed on the table, and means fixed on the ground for engaging the strap and thereby pulling the bags from the table; said table having a slight forwardly tilting movement to further facilitate the escape of the bags the moment the strap pulls on them and thereby tilts the table.

7. A mail-bag catching and delivering device comprising in combination a support fixed within the mail car near the door thereof, a horizontally swinging arm pivotally mounted on the support, a table carried by said arm and adapted to hold the mail-bags to be delivered from the car; said table being mounted to tilt from a horizontal to a vertical plane when the arm is swung into the car and means preventing such tilting when the arm holds the table inoperative position and means fixed on the ground for removing the inail-bags from said table.

8. A device of the class described comprising in combination, a mail car, a table pivotally mounted near its center in the car to oscillate in a horizontal plane and adapted to hold mail bags to be delivered, means on the ground for engaging the mail bags and pull them from the table, said oscillation being caused by the removing force applied to the mail bags.

9. A device of the class described comprising in combination, a mail car, a support in the car near the door thereof, a table about centrally mounted on the support to oscillate in a horizontal plane and adapted to support mail bags to be delivered from the car, means on the ground arranged to pull the mail bags from the table; said table having also a forwardly tilting movement, which as well as the oscillating movement yields to the removing strain' applied to the mailbags.

10. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a car, of a table arranged to be partly projected out of the door of the car and to hold mail-bags; said table being formed of sections hinged together so as to be foldable when not in use and means fixed on the ground for removing the mailbags from said table.

11. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a mail-car of a catching device involving a catcher arm pivotally supported near one side of the car door opening, means for supporting said arm in catching position projecting obliquely out from the car, and means for folding the arm upward out of the way when it is idle, means for holding the arm in idle position and means fixed on the ground for holding mail-bags in position to be caught by said arm.

12. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a mail car and means fixed on the ground for holding mail bags to be caught, of a catching device involving a catcher arm pivotally supported near one side of the car door opening, means for supporting said arm in catching position projecting obliquely out from the car, and means for folding the arm upward out of the way whenit is idle and means for holding the arm in idle position; the latter means involving a lever pivoted on the car and a link connecting said lever with the catcher arm.

13. A mail .bag catching and delivering device comprising in combination, a mail car, means in the door thereof for supporting mail-bags, a strap permanently seouredj with one end to the mail car and having at the other end a springy ring open in one side, means carried by the car for holding said ring yieldingly in position to be caught,

means fixed on the ground near the track over which the car moves, said means on the vground involving a Catcher arm adapted t0 engage 1n said ring and to escape through 10 'the opening 1n its side by forcing the ends which the mail bags are delivered, said strap having one end secured below the taf ble and at its other end an element adapted to be held in the clasp, and means arranged to engage said element and cause the strap to throw the mail-bags from the table, the strap forming normally a bight near its middle for the mail-bags to rest in upon the table, and said element adapted to automatically release itself from the means engaging and operating it.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature, n presence of two witnesses.

' ALBERT J. HUGHES.

Witnesses:

GEO. LA FOND, A. vW. GUTTERSEN.

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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