Year: 1886

page_text: I, RICHARD PERRY, of the town of Dunn, county of Moultrie, and State of
Illinois, in the United States of America, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
•
The object of this invention is to provide a draw head and latch that will
ordinarily hold a coupling link inclined slightly upward while a coupling is being
made, and that will permit a material horizontal deflection in said link and it is
also my object to provide means whereby the latch may be readily raised and
automatically held clear of the link.
In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Fig. 1 is
a perspective view of an end of a car, showing my device in position thereon.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the device used to hold the coupling latch out of
operation.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of my draw head.
a, b and c represent the levers with which my coupling is operated; & represents
a series of radial arms pivoted to the ond of the car above the draw head, and
connected by means of suitable rods with levers a, b, c respectively; e is a pulloy
located between arms d and the draw head; f is a chain that connects the arms d
with the latch of the draw head, lug d' forming a suitable point of attachment;
g is the draw head having link recess g and diminished opening g"; h represents
a latch pivoted in a slot in the draw head and provided with horizontal surface h¹
and vertical surface h¹¹ in the relative positions shown.
The outer end of the latch conforms in contour to the mouth of the draw head,
and the angle formed by surfaces h¹ and hu is located slightly in the rear of the
amallest diameter of throat g¹¹, in order that the front end of the link may be
slightly elevated by pressure from the latch.
The recess g¹ is enlarged as indicated in order that the outer end of the link may
be inclined downward to accommodate low couplings and in order that a coupling
may be readily made without forcing the end of the link against the inner surface
of the recess.
When the arms & are in the position shown in Fig 1 the chain f permits the
latch to rest on the link. When the arms d are in the position shown in Fig.
the latch is raised clear of the interior of the draw head. In the first mentioned

page_text: position the weight of the latch makes its position stable and in the last mentioned
position the connection of the chain with the arms is carried past the vertical center
and the weight of the latch is again utilized in making the position secure.
If under any circumstances the weight of the latch should be insufficient to
secure it in its different positions a spring of necessary. strength may be used to
assist the depression.
By the use of my device a car may be readily and effectively coupled, and
uncoupled from the side or top of the same, so avoiding the necessity of exposing
the operator to danger of being crushed between the cars; and cars of differing
heights may be coupled together without bent links.
The weight of the latch on the link presses the inner end of the same downward.
and causes a consequent elevation in its outer end; this elevation should be such as
to carry the link toward the center of the mouth of a coupling of medium height
and in case of a variation in the height of the coupling the link will become
deflected either upward or downward by the inclined mouth of the draw head and
accommodate itself to the different elevation. In effecting this result, the enlarged
recess of the draw head and the pivoting peculiarity of the latch are both utilized.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is 1
1st. In drawheads for car couplings the conformable link guide herein set forth
* consisting in the combination of head g having recess g¹ and diminished throat g",
and latch having horizontal under surface ¹ normally resting in recess g¹ on a
line approximately horizontal with the lower surface of the throat and also having
catch slightly in the rear of the narrowest portion of the throat, as and for the
.
purpose set forth.
2nd. Radial arms & having vertical rotation approximating a quarter revolution,
lug d' so located on arms & that the motion of said arms will carry the lug from a
position approximately horizontal with the pivot of the arms to a position above
and slightly past the vertical of said pivot, a chain running over a guide pulley and
connecting the arms with a latch in the drawhead, and readily accessible levers
connected with the arms, all in combination as and for the purpose set forth.