Improvements in Couplings for Railway and other Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Couplings for Railway and other Vehicles.
1. JOHN KREHBIEL, of 33 Quincey Street, in the City of Cleveland,
Cuyahoga County and State of Ohio, United States of America, Physician, 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 :-
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in car couplings, and the
invention consists in the peculiar construction of the coupler having a rigid portion
adapted to extend from one car beneath the other above a spring buffer or spring
supported bar together with suitable coupling hooks or locking devices whereby
I not only obtain an efficient coupling arranged to prevent lateral strain upon the
parts, but also prevent the vertical oscillation of the cars and materially decrease
the swaying movement thereof.
The invention further consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement and
combination of the various parts all as more fully hereinafter described.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the platform frames of two adjoining cars showing my
coupler attached and in the coupled position.
Fig. 2 is a detached plan view of the couplers showing them as in the act of
coupling.
Fig. 3 is a cross section on linea a Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a cross section on line a .r, Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the two coupler platforms
showing my couplers in elevation in their coupled position.
Fig. 6 is a cross section thereof on line y y, Fig. 5, showing one of the cars in
elevation to illustrate the effect of the vertical oscillation of the cars.
A and B are two car platforms of adjoining cars to be coupled together; each
car is provided with a coupler of similar construction.
C is the draft rod slidingly secured in the frame D drawing against the spring E
in the usual manner of such springs.
At its forward end it is provided with a head F which is pivoted to the draw-
bar G by means of a vertical pivot H. The draw-bar has a limited vertical move-
ment and to provide for this I make a slot in the forward end of the frame D, as
plainly shown in Fig. 5.
At the forward end of the platform it rests upon the cross-bar I which is
supported upon the springs J, sleeved upon the rods K at each end, which pass
through the bar and are provided with suitable washers at their lower ends to
support the springs.
The draw-bar extends some distance deyond the end of the platform and is
preferably formed of channel iron having flanges ab extending outwardly, that is
upon the sides opposite the locking hook. At its outer end it is provided with a
latch block e shown in Fig. 2 formed between the flanges a b. About midway
its length is formed a lateral stirrup d.
At the rear end of the drawbar, is formed an offset L in the end of which is
pivoted the forward extending arm M backed by a spring M¹ and provided at its
outer end with the hook N, the outer end of which is supported and guided in the
slot e formed in the stirrup d.
Suitable unlocking chains are attached to the rear face of the hook upon
each car.
The parts being thus constructed if two cars equipped with my couplers approach
each other the draw-bars G being guided between the hook N and the draw-bar

page_text: on the opposite car, the inclined face on the hook will cause it to be forced away
from the drawbar and allow the blocks c to pass behind the hook and be engaged
thereby, the spring M' holding the hooks in engagement with the blocks. If the
cars assume an angular position to each other as in turning a curve, as shown in
Fig. 1, the drawbar will turn upon the pivots H and draw on a straight line without
any lateral strain upon the parts.
To uncouple the hooks N are disengaged by drawing upon the chains O by any
suitable mechanism, when the cars will readily separate.
It will be observed that when my couplers are connected I have rigid arms
or bars projecting from each car beneath the adjoining car forming a practically
rigid frame from the pivotal point of each coupler to the pivotal point of the
other.
At the front edge of the platform this frame will be supported by the spring
backed cross-bar I.
Now it is evident that if one car lowers or rises in relation to the other owing to
inequalities in the track, this motion will be resisted by this frame acting through
the cross-bar I upon the springs J, thus tending to very materially reduce the
vertical oscillations between the ends of the adjoining cars.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The combination with the car platform, of a car coupler comprising a draft
rod, a draw bar hinged thereto free to oscillate laterally, and a hook secured to the
draw bar and extending beside the same, substantially as described.
2. The combination with the car platform, of a car coupler comprising the draft
rod, a draw bar hinged thereto free to oscillate laterally, an off-set at the rear of
the draw bar, a hook hinged to said off-set, and a latch block at the forward end
of the draw bar, substantially as described.
3. The combination with the car platform, of a car coupler comprising the draft
rod, the draw bar hinged thereto by a vertical pivot, guide flanges on the side of
the draw bar at or near the middle, a latch block at the forward end of the draw
bar, a hook pivoted to the side of the draw bar, having its hook portion between
the guide flanges, substantially as described.
4. The combination with the car platform, of a car coupler comprising the draw
bar G, having the flanges a 6 upon its outer face, the draw block & formed between
said flanges, the arm J pivoted to the off-set Í at the rear of said draw bar, the
hook Kformed at the forward end of said bar, the over-hanging flange d, the
guide plate e and the unlocking chains K', substantially as described.
5. The combination with a car platform having portions adapted to interlock
with the platform of an adjoining car, and a spring applied through such portions
to resist the vertical movement of said platforms, substantially as described.
a spring backed
ovement of the
6. The combination with a car platform, of a coupler having a rigid portion
adapted to extend beneath the platform of an adjoining ca
cross bar beneath said rigid portion adapted to resist the v
platforms of coupled cars, substantially as described.
DaLed LAIS TULA OBX OF ALAV 1892
DaLeⱭ LOIS FULL 08Y OF AV
1892
JOHN KREHBIEL.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.