US478604A - Mail-bag catcher - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) I

' J. W. HORTON.

MAIL BAG OATGHER.

No. 478,604. Patented July 12, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES IV. HORTON, OF MADISON, INDIANA.

MAI L-BAG CATCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,604,1lated July 12, 1892.

Application filed August 31, 1891. Serial No. 404,292. (No model.)

T0 alt whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, JAMES W. HORTON, residing at Madison,in the county of Jefferson and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a mail-bag catcher which shall be simple in in its construction, easy to manipulate, and effective for its desired purpose.

It has also forits object to provide a catcher in which the holding devices will yield to the inertia of the bag to overcome the shock and in which theholding-arms are arranged to be quickly and easily reversed without the necessity of detaching the main frame from its supports or the arms from the main frame.

With other minor objects in view, which will hereinafter be referred to, my invention consists in the peculiar combination and novel arrangement of parts, all of which will hereinafter be fully described in the annexed specification, and particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved catcher, showing it supported in its normal position over the car-door. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same swung out to catch the bag, the holding-arms being shown in dotted lines in their closed position. Fig. 3 isa cr0ss-section on the line 33, Fig. 1; and Fig.4 is a detail view hereinafter referred to.

In the accompanying drawings, Aindicates the main or supporting bar, which is hung at its ends in bearings a a, secured upon the outer faces of the car-door posts a a, to which bar are secured the catching and holding arms,which in their normal position are pendent, as shown in Fig. 1;they being thrown out to their operative or horizontal position (shown in Fig. 2) by means of a lever-arm A, projected into the car, which when pushed down to a horizontal position rocks the bar A and swings the catcher-arms out, as stated.

While'I have not shown it, a suitable catch for holding the arm A down is provided, so the attendant can set the catcher at any time and leave it in position for operation.

One of the essential features of my invention is to provide catcher arms which are adapted to be readily reversed, so as to operate it in either direction of movement of the car, and to render such reversing operation simple and yet provide arms whichwill positively grasp the hag,'I provide centrally of the bar A a swivel-bearing B, the lower end of which is bifurcated, as shown at b.

O 0 indicate elongated horizontallydisposed slots arranged near the outer ends of the arm A, and D indicates a sliding head which is guided on the arm A by means of the studs d d, which enter the slot 0.

By reference to the drawings it will be noticed that the head D is formed on the inner end of a rigid catcher-arm D, the free end D of which is curved outward and serves as a guide for moving the bag toward a pivoted or locking catcher-arm E, which is pivoted at e to the rigid arm D and at e in the forked end of the bearing 13. The outer end of the arm E, which is of approximately the same length as the arm D is forked at E,such forked end being adapted to embrace the outer end D of the arm D when the parts are in their closed position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In operation, when the train moves in the direction indicated bythe arrow in Fig. 2, the arm D when it engages the bag is forced slightly rearward and outward, thereby causing the arm E to close in over the end D of the arm D, and as the bag strikes against the short member E of the arm it will move the head and arm D'D to the position shown, and in so doing will cause the base a of the fork E to engage the arm D, and thereby limit the rear movement of head D in the slot A, which, as will be noticed, is not to the rear extremity of such slot. By moving the head D toward the swivel-bearin g I3 the arms will open and the bag be detached. In each outer end of the slots A notches a a are cut, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. When it is desired to reverse the catcherarms, the operatorcloses the arm E inward, lifting the forked end so as not to embrace the arm D. He then presses the said arm D inward in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 until the studs d d of the head D register with the notches a or, when the head will become detached from the slot 0. Both arms are then swung around on the bearing B and the head D connected With slot C, when the device Will be ready to operate on the reverse movement of the car.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Paten t, is

1. A mail-bag catcher consisting of a main bar A, a rigid catcher member D, having its inner end D adapted for longitudinal movement on said barA, such end being connected to such bar and arranged when extended to become detached therefrom, the block 13, sWivor catch member D, havinga sliding connection D with the said bar A, of the arm E, pivoted at its inner end to the rigid member D and at a point in advance of such end to the bearing B, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of the main bar A, formed with elongated slots C O in its ends, the swivel-bearing B,the sliding head D, having studs d cl, fitting either of the slots 0 C and the rigid catch member D, and the forked catcher-arm E, pivoted near its end into the swivel-bearing and at its end to the rigid arm D, as and for the purpose described.

4. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, with the main framehaving the opposite e1on gated slots 0 0, formed with notches a a in their outer ends, and the swivel-bearing B, of the rigid catcher-arm D, having a head portion D, formed with lateral studs dd, arranged to fit in either of the slots 0 C, and 'the catcher-arm E, pivoted near its end in the bearing B and at its end to the arm D, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

J AMES \V. HORTON.

Vitnesses:

FRED G. DIETERIOH,

AMOS W. HART.

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