US1236908A - Mail-catcher. - Google Patents

Description

W. B. CHATHAM.

MAIL CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.\0.1916. 1,236,908. Patented Aug. 14,1917.

I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. B.- CHATHAM.

MAIL CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-.10. 19x6.

Pat'ehted- Aug. 14, 1917;

UNITED STAT FFIC.

MAIL-CAT CHER.

Application filed January 10, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WooDY B. CHATHAM, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Hattiesburg, in the county of Forrest and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Catchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail catchers H and particularly to automatically operated means for releasing mail pouches from cranes and for simultaneously grasping or clamping the said pouch so that it may be received by the passing mail coach or by the stationary crane, thus enabling the interexchange of mail pouches during the travel of a mail coach.

A still further object of this invention is to provide novel means for suspending mail pouches and means for operating the said suspending means for the purpose of causing it to assume a position to receive a loop or eye by which the mail pouch is suspended, the said suspending means including jaws pressed into operative relation with one another.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, ref erence will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a crane, and fragmental showing of a coach in section, with the pouch supporting and removing apparatus in elevation;

Fig. 2 illustrates a horizontal sectional view of a car showing the mail catching mechanism in plan;

Fig. 3 illustrates a view in elevation of a fragment of the body of a mail coach showing the crane carried thereby;

Fig. illustrates a top plan view of a pouch holding device;

Fig. 5 illustrates a perspective view of one of the pouch engaging elements;

Fig. 6 illustrates a perspective View of the other pouch engaging elements; and Fig. 7 illustrates a detail View of a pouch attachment for suspending the said pouch.

Specification of Letters Patent.

guides 16 projecting Patented Aug. 14, 1917. Serial No. 71,230.

In these drawings 10 denotes the coach body having a rotatable post 11 therein, the said post furthermore having one end of a spring 12 attached to it, the said spring having its other end attached or anchored to the side of the coach body so that the said spring normally holds the post in a position with the arms 13 and 14 which are carried by the said post inside of the coach body. In other words, when the pouches are not to be received or delivered, these arms are preferably within the coach body, whereas when the pouches are to be received or delivered, the post is rotated so as to swing the arms into side of the coach for a purpose to be presently explained. When the arms are in their outwardly extended positions, they may be so held by a bolt 15 oscillatable in suitable from the side of the coach and this bolt may be actuated by an arm or handle 17 extending to the interior of the coach body.

Externally of the coach body and prefer ably at the side of the track over which the coach is to be run, there is a crane 18 having arms 19 and 20 and the equipment of the arms 19 and 20 is practically the duplicate of the equipment carried by the arms 18 and 14, the only diflerence being that they are at different altitudes so that an element of the arm 20 operates to remove a pouch held by the equipment carried by the arm 14, whereas a pouch removing member carried by the arm 13 will operate to remove the pouch from the equipment carried by the arm 19.

As the parts are duplicated, a description of the equipment carried by either of the arms 14: Or 19 will suflice as a description of such elements and the same is true with respect to the members carried by the arms 13 and .20.

The members carried by the arms 13 and 20 are of very simple construction and they comprise rods or bars 21 which are partially rotatable in guides 22 and the outer end of each rod or bar terminates in a grab hook 23 adapted to receive a mail pouch 24. The inner end of each bar 21 has an angular portion 25 which limits the degree of rotation of the bar. Then a coach passes one of the cranes, the grab hook of the bar on the crane may remove a pouch from a pouch suspending equipment of the crane,

position to project from the' thus affording an intereXchange of mail pouches for obviously, the pouch may be delivered or received without an exchange should there be no pouch for delivery to the coach or to the crane.

The pouch suspending equipment, one of which is supplied to each crane and one of which is carried by the arm of each coach, consists of a tongue-like structure, the jaws 25 and 26 of which clamp an eye. or loop 27 on the mail pouch and the said jaws are connected together by the pivot 28 and the tail pieces 29 and 30 of the jaws 25 and 26 respectively are spaced apart and there are interposed between them springs 81 and 32 which have the effect of pressing them apart so that the jaws are held close together. In the present embodiment of the invention, the springs 31 and 32 have their inner ends anchored in seats 33 and 3% formed in the posts of the cranes. The jaws constitute the supports for a pouch as it is suspended and necessarily must be in their open position when the loop or ring of a pouch is being inserted therebetween, therefore, I have provided an operating means comprising a yoke provided with apertures 38 to receive a pivot 39 which pivot also extends through the bracket to on one of the arms 1 lor 19 so that the said yoke is pivotally mounted with relation to said arms and the rear ends of the yoke embrace the tailpieces 29 and 30 of the jaws and operate to press the tail-pieces against the action of the springs 31 and 32, which movement is effective to move the jaws to an open position to allow a ring or loop of a mail pouch to be positioned therebetween. It follows, therefore, that when the loop or ring has been positioned and the yoke moved to its normal position the mail pouch is rigidly supported, and the eye or loop is in a position to be grasped by the receiving hook of the train or crane whichever the case might be.

The construction of the bag supporting element is clearly shown in Fig. 7, and it will be seen that the eye or loop is sufficiently large to allow a receiving hook to be in serted therein.

I. claim 1. In a mail crane, a post, arms extending therefrom, clamping jaws pivotally connected to one of the arms, the tail pieces of the clamping jaws extending rearwardly of the pivot of the jaws, a yoke pivotally mounted to engage the tail pieces for moving the clamping jaws, and means for yieldingly holding the tail pieces apart.

2. In a mail crane, a post, arms extending therefrom, jaws pivotally connected to one or the arms, said jaws having tail pieces eX- tending beyond the pivot of the arm, a yoke pivotally connected to the arm and having ends embracing the tail pieces of the jaws for pressing the same together, yieldable means for holding the said tail pieces apart,

a pouch engaging member, and a grab hook carried by the other arm adapted to coact with pouch supporting means, one of said pouch supporting instrumentalities and grab hooks being mounted to have motion with respect to the other set of pouch supporting and grabbing instrumentalities.

3. in a mail crane, a post, means for rotatably nounting the post, means for holding the post in one position of adjustment, means for operating the said holding means, arms extending from the post, jaws pivot ally connected to one of the arms, said jaws 0 having tail pieces extending beyond the pivot of the arm, a yoke pivotally connected to the arm and having ends embracing the tail pieces of the jaws for pressing the same together, yieldable means for holding the said tail pieces apart, and a grab hook carried by the otherarin adapted to coact with pouch supporting means, one of said pouch supporting instrumentalities and grab hooks being mounted to have motion with respect to. the other set of pouch supporting and grabbing instrumentalities.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto atlix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

woonr B. GHATHAM.

Witnesses:

J. I. ALPI-IIN, G. H. BURCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

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