US198736A - lewis - Google Patents

Description

H. J. L. DETTE. Car-Coupling...

la nu Witnesses: Inventor:

IINIIED s PATENT foEEIcE;

II. .I. IIEwIs DETTE, 0E EUEEAlLo, .'NEw roert, AssIeNono'F, T'WOTHIRDS His EIGHT To -JULIUs .ooHEN ANn HENRY MILLING, `oE sAME rIIAcE.`

IMPROVEMENT lN CARoUPLlNGs. l1

Specification forming part o f Letters Patent No. 193,736, dated January 1, 1878 application filed To all whomit'maf'j concern:` l

Be It known that I, H. J. LEWIsnETTE, of

Buffalo, in the county of; Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and forms afull," clear, and exact speciication,

which will enable others skilled in 'the art` to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This inventionhas special reference to carcouplings; and its object is, and it 'consists in',

the production of Aa connection for railroadcars which-shall be selicoupling, andmaybe uncoupled'froni thesid'es or platform-cfa car,

to dispense with the necessity of stepping between the cars towithdraworinsert the coup` ling-pin, thus guarding again st` the g l frequent I accidents to life and limbs of railway-employes when engaged in coupling, and uncoupling It shall, furthermore, beso constructed as to fit the majority of cars now in use without changes or alterations on the cai1 body or frame, so that my improved 'coupling may be readily substituted for the common link-andpin coupling; and it is to be so arranged as to c onnect with the link-and-pin couplings now 1n use.

To this end, I construct my car-coupling as illustrated in the drawings hereinbefore referrcd to, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of my improved car-coupling as attached to the body of a car. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, and Fig. 3 shows a modification.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

.In these drawings, Arepresents a fragment of a freight, stock, grain, coal, or other railroadcar, of the ordinary or any special construction. On eachu end of this body are securely fastened two draw-timbers, B, placed a sufficient distance apart to admit the shank of the draw-head C between them, and they are made ofthe usual length. This draw-head C has a longitudinal bore, into which is inserted a push-block, D, having a stud, E, serving as l a guide for a spiral spring, F, placed between said push-block D and the end of the said bore to push the said block forward toward the link-opening in said 4draw-head lC. The draw-head is traversed verticallyby a cylindrical passage near its face for the reception of the coupling-pin G. This pin has, near its 'upv per extremity,- an angular enlargement, YH,

which is ltraversedby anfaperture, I. Above this `enlargement is a'circular disk, .I, and

above that a ball, Kl Upon the draw-headC'* is provided a bracket, L, within which is. pivoted 'a lever, N, the forward end of which e"n`` gages the pin G in the aperture I, while the rear end is acted upon by the extremity of either oneffof two levers, P P', which levers are centrally pivoted to the .car-body A by F meansof the flanged studs Q Q' screwed to said body. The ends of these levers P vP areprovided with handles It R", for conven-L ience inI 'actuating said levers, and kthey'are` provided each with bifurcated guidebrackets S S, to keep them in proper position. Theu opposite 'ends of these levers are reduced inA width', 'asshown at T, soas to enable themto pass *one another, and tor-,act upon 'the lever N,as near as possible, upon 'thes'aniefspot.n To\ the guides S S are pivotedr stops U, to L support the outer end in an elevated position,

when necessary, so that the push-block D may readily move forward in imcoupling carsby upholding the pin G.

The push-block D consists of an angular piece, having its face cup-shaped, or provided with a semi-spherical depression.

The operation of my improved coupling is as follows, to wit: Assuming two cars are being uncoupled, the levers P P are elevated to depress the rear end of the lever N and elevate the coupling-pin G. Now the cars are disconnected, and can be shifted at any time, the stops U being placed under said levers P, to uphold the said coupling-pin until the link V is with drawn by separating the cars, when the push-block D will shoot forward, through the action of the spring F, and carry the pin G.

The coupling of cars is effected in a reverse` manner of that described for uncoupling.

One of the features of my push-block D is that, when the pin and link are in position, the spring F, acting upon said block, presses the link tightly against the pin, and thus keeps the same in any position, either elevat- 2 A l i 198,736

ed, horizontal, or depressed. In this the pushblock is assisted by the spherical depression in u catch the same, which might not always be the case were the said block square-faced, in which case lthe pin G may fall upon the link Vand not readily catch.

It is obvious that in uncoupling cars only one of the pins on each car is withdrawn, and

that one of the .links always remains in thev draw-head C, and is held there by the pushblock D, in the position it was in when leavling the opposite draw-head, and is thus ever ready to make connection without guiding the link into the opposite draw-head.

v It is further evident that, the levers P being duplicates, coupling` and uncoupling may be effected from either side of the car.

In passenger-cars having front and rear platforms I shall alter the shape of the-levers P P' to it that style of cars-that is to say, I shall bend these levers upward directly behind their fulcrums, so as to bring the end having the handle into a vertical, instead of a horizontal, position, and so that they may be readily manipulated from such platform, and shall attach the guide-brackets S S accordingly. No further changes are required to fit my coupling to a car of the before-mentioned style.

To enable my draw-head to connect with the style of hook-couplings known as the Miller coupler,7 which is extensively usedl on passenger-cars, I may provide my drawhead C with wings W, Fig. 3, behind which said hook may catch. As a matter of course,

in uncoupling such a connection the Miller coupler will have to be manipulated.

When two cars are to be coupled having` each a pin-and-link coupling, but one being considerable higher than the other, I shall use the crooked links now employed for a like purpose.

l have heretofore mentioned that the coupling-pin G has a disk, J. This serves as a protector in winter-time, to prevent ice and snow.

from locating in the pin-hole, and thus prevent the proper and instantaneous action of the pin G.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The car-coupling hereinbefore described, consisting essentially of the draw head C, having the link-aperture fitted with the pushblock D, provided with the spherical depression in its face, the spring F on its shank, the coupy ling-pin G, having the collar J and the angular perforated part H, the lever N, and the leversP, said levers P being pivoted to the car-body, and operating within bifurcated brackets S S, having the stops U pivoted to said brackets, the whole constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose speciied.

2. The mechanism for actuating the coupling-pin G, consisting essentially of the pivoted lever N, pivoted levers P P', and guide-4 H. J. LEwIs DETTE. [1.. S4

Attest MICHAEL J. STARK, FRANK HIRscH.

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