Year: 1887

page_text: We, WILLIAM FRIEDRICH GRASSLER, and WILLIAM GIBSON ELLIOT of Williamsport,
Lycoming County, and State of Pennsylvania, one of the United States of America,
gentlemen, 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 :-
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of the coupling devices, coupled ;
Figure 2 a similar view of one portion of the coupling device, in position to be
coupled, and
Figure 3 a longitudinal sectional view of the entering coupling section at one end
of the car.
This invention has relation to certain new and useful inprovements in that class of
inventions or apparatus employed in heating railway cars by steam, generated in the
boiler of the locomotive, and distributed throughout the train of cars by suitable
steam conducting pipes, and the special object of this invention is to provide an
improved coupling or connection for the adjacent ends of the conducting pipes of
the respective cars, which will be simple in its construction, position, and entirely
automatic in its action, and complete and efficient in all its details, as will be more
fully hereinafter set forth.
The invention consists in certain novel features of construction, which will be fully
understood and appreciated from the following description, when taken in connection
with the annexed drawings.
In order to enable others skilled in the art to use and construct our invention,
we will now proceed to describe the same, referring to the accompanying drawings
by letters.
The letter A designates a cylindrical chest which is adapted to be secured to the
bottom of the car at one of its ends. This chest has attached to, or formed on its
rear end, so as to communicate with it, a tube B, to which in turn is attached the
steam conducting pipe C of the train. The forward end of the chest is closed by a
head D which has an opening in its center, which communicates with the interior of
the chest. Upon the inner face of the head D, surrounding the opening therein, is
formed an annular tapering flange E, for a purpose hereinafter set forth. Bolted
to the face of the head and adapted to retain an annular steam-tight packing ring F
in the opening therein, is a flaring mouth piece G.

page_text: Within the chest A and tube B at its rear end, is arranged to reciprocate a tube H,
which is open at its rear end and provided with perforations I. The forward end of this
tube is closed by a head J which is provided with a forwardly extending perforated
flange K which reciprocates freely within the chest A and serves to guide the tube therein.
The inner side of this flange K is beveled or inclined so as to fit the corresponding
taper of the flange E upon the head D, when the tube pressed normally forward
as shown in figure 2, so as to close the opening in the head and prevent the escape of
steam from the chest.
The letter L indicates the entering end of a steam conducting pipe, which is
designed to be attached to the end of the car, adjacent to the one carrying the chest A
in any of the well known ways. This tube is provided with a conical end, and is
adapted to pass through the opening in the head of the chest, and abut against the
head of the movable-tube, and press the same back in the chest. This tube is provided
with a valve M in its forward end which is adapted to open when the tube contacts
with the forward end of the tube H, to allow the free passage of the steam through
the perforations N in its forward end, as clearly shown in figure 1. The letter O
designates a spiral spring which surrounds the tube H and serves to keep it pressed
normally forward.
It will be observed that when the cars come together, all that is necessary to do to
couple the conducting pipes of the train, is to direct the entering end L into the
chest A, the flaring mouth G on the forward end of the same serving to guide it
therein. When the conical end of the tube L enters the chest it abuts against the
closed end of the sliding tube H and causes the same to move back in the chest to
the position shown in figure 1, the valve M having been opened by contact with the
head J, and the spiral spring O having been compressed, thus permitting a clear
passage for the steam through the apertures in the tube H, the apertures in the flange K,
and the perforations in the forward end of the tube L. When the entering section is
withdrawn its valve closes automatically and prevents escape of the steam, and the
sliding tube H is pressed normally forward by the spiral spring O, to close the
opening in the chest as shown in figure 2.
It will be readily seen that any condensed steam collecting in the pipes, may be
run or blown off by opening the valve M or by pressing the tube H back in the
chest.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
wo claim is :-
1st. The combination with the chest A, the tube B secured thereto at its rear end,
and the head D secured to the forward end of the chest, and provided with an aperture,
of the perforated sliding tube H open at its rear end, and provided at its forward end
with a perforated head J, which is adapted to close the opening in the head of the
chest, the spiral spring O surrounding the said sliding tube and serving to press it
forward, and the perforated valve entering tube, all arranged as and for the purpose
set forth.
2nd. The combination of the chest A, provided with the tube B at its rear end, and
the apertured head D at its forward end, the perforated sliding tube H open at its
rear end, and provided at its forward end with a perforated head J, which is adapted
to close the opening in the head of the chest, and the spiral spring to press the tube H
normally forward, substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of November 1887