COUPLING FOR HEATING AND OTHER CONNECTING PIPES BETWEEN CARS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JOHN JOSEPH LACEY of N° 512, Jessie Street, in the City and County of
San Francisco, State of California one of the United States of America, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "COUPLING FOR HEATING
AND OTHER CONNECTING PIPES BETWEEN CARS" and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in, and by the
following statement :-
My Invention relates to a joint or coupling for pipes extending beneath cars,
and which must be connected when the cars are coupled.
It consists of pipe ends adjustably supported, the adjacent or meeting ends upon
two cars being so constructed that one may slip into the other as the cars approach,
a means for automatically opening a passage from one pipe to the other, when they
meet, and a means for rendering the joint steam or air-tight, while the pipes are
allowed end and side play to accommodate themselves to the motion of the cars.
Referring to the accompanying Drawings for a more complete explanation of my
Invention.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing the two parts of the coupling.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, showing the interior mechanism.
Figure 3 is a plan view, showing the couplings in pairs.
Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section of the pipes shown in Figure 3, taken
through the line X X.
Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section of the pipe with the valve chamber
above.
My pipe couplings are attached to the meeting-ends of two cars having the
usual coupling devices for connecting them.
My Invention is designed for the purpose of conveying hot air or steam either
from the engine or from any convenient source of supply, through pipes which are
secured beneath the cars, and by means of cocks or valves are connected with
beating drums or pipes within each car, so that a greater or less amount can be
turned on, and the desired temperature maintained.
The pipes B which extend beneath the cars may be suitably protected by non-
conductors, and at one end are connected with the female coupling C, and at the
other with the male coupling D
One end of the pipe should be fixed rigidly enough to the car-body to prevent
end motion, while the opposite end is supported preferably by elastic coils E,

page_text: which have their outer sides secured to the frame timbers of the car, while the
inner portions of the coils support the pipe and allow it considerable motion in
every direction.
The male portion D of the coupling may be attached to this free or movable
end of the pipe, and the opposite part C with which it connects, has a wide conical
or funnel shaped mouth into which the part D will enter as the cars come together,
and by the funnel and its own freedom of motion it is directed into the tube F,
passing through a stuffing-box G, which makes a tight joint, and at the same
time allows the tube D to slide in and out, to accommodate itself to the motion
of the cars.
Near the mouth of the tube D is a valve H, which is kept closed by a spring,
or by the pressure within the tube, which presses upon its back, and prevents
any escape of air or steam from it when it is not coupled with the pipe from
another car.
The rear end of the tube F which extends back, and is closed at some distance
from its outer end, has a rod K screwed into it so that its end extends to a point
near the stuffing-box G, the rod being exactly in the centre of the tube so that
when the tube D, passes through the stuffing-box, the end of the rod K will enter
its open mouth and push the valve H back, holding it open as long as the parts
remain coupled.
Upon the top of the tube F just behind the stuffing-box G, is a chamber L
having within it a valve M, which is seated so as to close an opening from this
chamber into the tube F.
The top of the chamber L is open and it has an annular channel formed in it,
into which a flange from a short tube N is fitted with a suitable packing to make
a tight point.
The chamber L, and the pipe F, are allowed to turn or swivel about this joint
to adjust the coupling, so that the parts D and F will always remain in line when
the cars are turning curves, or when anything occurs to throw them out of line.
The tube N projects downward from, or forms a part of a vertical cylindrical
chamber O, from the rear part of which, the main pipe B extends back beneath
the car to the opposite end, where the nozzle D is fitted for the next coupling.
A frame passes around the bottom of the pipe F up beside the chamber L,
and across the top of the chamber O. This frame has pivot pins R centrally
placed at the top and bottom to support the parts and hold them in line as they
turn about the joint at N, above described.
It will be seen that any pressure of air or steam within the pipe B, which
connects with the tube F, will be confined to it, and the passage N, the valve M
preventing its escape, in the same manner that the valve H closes pipe D.
When the pipe D enters the pipe F of the opposite coupling, it passes under the
conical or pointed end of the valve M, thus lifting it at the same time when the
rod K, enters the tube D, and forces the valve H open so that there will be a free
communication through the pipes and couplings from car to car.
.
Each valve closes instantly as soon as the couplings are separated, so that none
of the contents of the pipes will escape. As the cars may sometimes be reversed,
and two male or two female coupling-ends would meet with no means for uniting
them, I fit my couplings to the cars in pairs, one male and one female coupling
side by side, at each end of every car, as shown in Figure 3.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
First. A means for connecting air, gas, or steam pipes which are secured to
railway carriages, consisting of a bell-shaped guiding mouth upon one of the
'meeting ends, an extension or nozzle upon the other, which will enter this mouth
when the carriages meet, and a means for supporting, one or both the pipes, by
which lateral adjustment may be made, substantially as herein described.

page_text: Second. A coupling device for pipes, which are attached to railway carriages,
consisting of a bell-shaped guiding mouth upon one of the meeting ends, a nozzle
or extension upon the other; adapted to enter this mouth, and a steam or air-tight
packing, through which the nozzle may have longitudinal motion, a valve in the
first section which is opened by the entrance of the nozzle, and a valve at the rear
of the nozzle, which is opened by a stem or rod extending centrally from this
section into the nozzle, substantially as herein described.