US1021412A - Car-coupling. - Google Patents

Description

W. KELSOl OAR COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1911.

' 1,021,412. Patented Mar. 26, 912; 1

, nmmll COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.,wAs lllllll N UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOR T MGCONWAY TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 26, 1912,

Application filed September 18, 1911. Serial No. 649,909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Knnso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Gouplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appert-ains to make and use the same.-

My invention relates to the construction of car couplers of the vertical plane type and more especially to the locking mechanism thereof, the object of the invention being to provide simple, durable and efficient means for preventing the coupler lock from accidentally assuming an unlocked position when the device is in service.

Generally stated, the principal feature of my invention consists in forming the coupler lock with a latch receiving recess and with a downwardly extending portion which projects through the lower wall of the coupler head, and in combining therewith a lock lifting or look actuating member which is slidably connected to said look so as to be movable into engagement with the lower end thereof, the upper end of the lock actuating member being provided with a pivoted dog or latch which extends into the latch receiving recess of the lock and is movable into and out of alinement with a portion of the coupler head.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is pointed out 1n the claims: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a car coupler embodying locking mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention, a form of uncoupling lever and a portion of the end sill of a car being also shown; Fig. 2 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, of the coupler illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, of the knuckle locking mechanism; Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the locking mechanism; Fig. 5 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section,

of the knuckle locking mechanism, showing The lock 1 which restrains the'outwar'd' rotation of the knuckle 2 is mounted in the coupler head so as to slide vertically with respect thereto, its lower end being preferably somewhat reduced in cross section to form a downward extension P that projects through. the aperture 1 in the lower wall of the coupler head. The upper end of the lock is formed with a recess t which opens through the rear face of the lock 4 and which is provided at its lower'end with parallel, preferably inclined, faces 4: which, by engaging the under faces of the pivot lugs 5 of the lock-lifting member 5, serve to limit the downward movement of the latter with respect to the lock 1.

The member 5 by which the lock 41 is raised to unlocked position extends along one side of the lock and projects beneath the lower end of the latter, it being pref erably provided at its lower end with a socketed portion 55 into which the lower end of the extension 1 of the lock projects.

Pivotally mounted upon the upper end of the lock-lifting member 5 is a latch or dog 6 that extends into and is movable in the latch-receiving recess 1 of the lock. As a secure means for pivotally connecting the latch 6 to the upper end of the lifting member 5, it is preferred to form the latter with a pair of lugs 5 which extend into the latch-receiving aperture 1 of the lock and which are perforated for the reception of a pivot pin 7 by means of which the latch 6 is secured between said lugs, the member 5 being suitably slotted, as at 5, to permit the free end ofthe latch 6 to project outwardly beyond the face of the lifting member 5 when the parts of the locking mechanism are in locked position, as more particularly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. When in its projected position the latch 6 is designed to extend beneath a portion of the coupler head lrt 1, as, for example, a shoulder l such as shown in Fig. 2. In this position the latch 6 operates to prevent the lock t from accidentally moving upward to an unlocked position.

In unlocking a coupler having locking mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention the initial upward movement of the lifting member 5 permits the latch 6 at the upper end thereof to turn upon its pivot 7 and thus gravitate from beneath the locking shoulder l formed on the interior of the coupler head. After the lifting member 5 has moved upwardly wit-h respect to the lock 4 a sutlicient distance to cause the withdrawal of the latch 6 from beneath the shoulder 1 of the coupler head, the lower end 4 of the lock is engaged by the lifting member and both of these parts move upward simultaneously until the lock has been elevated to the required height to permit the knuckle 2 to rotate outwardly to coupling position. When the upward pressure upon the lifting member 5 has been released and the knuckle 2 is in coupled position, the lock at and lifting member fall together until the lock assumes its locked position when, by the continued downward movement of the lock-lifting member 5, the latch 6 is forced outwardly through the slot 5 in the latter so as to extend beneath the locking shoulder 1 on the coupler head and thus prevent the lock 4 from accidentally moving to unlocked position. By applying the lifting force to the lower end of the lock 4; the tendency of the look when moving to unlocked position to bind on the interior guiding surfaces of the coupler head is prevented. It will also be noted that the sliding socketed engagement of the lifting member 5 with the lower end of the lock t serves to prevent the oscillation of the lifting member when the coupler is in service and operates to di- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for rect the upward movement of the lifting member.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, a vertically sliding lock for said knuckle, and a lifting member for raising said lock to unlocked position, said lock projecting through the lower wall of the coupler head and being formed with a recess which is open through the face of the lock, and said lifting member having slidable socketed engagement with the lock, being movable into engagement with the lower end of said lock and being provided with a pivoted dog which extends into the recess of said lock and is movable into and out of alinement .with a portion of the coupler head.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, a vertically sliding lock for said knuckle, and a vertically sliding lifting member for raising said lock to unlocked position, said lock being formed with a downwardly extending portion of reduced cross-section which projects through the lower wall of the coupler head and being also formed with a recess which is open through the face of said lock, and said lifting member being provided with a socket which receives the lower end of the downwardly extending portion of said lock and being provided with a pivoted dog which extendsvinto the recess in said lock and is adapted to project through a slot formed in the lifting member at the upper end thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM KELSO.

Vitnesses J. W. HARTLEY, F. D. ECKER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

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