Improvements in Car Couplings and Attachments related thereto.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 30th Dec., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Car Couplings and Attachments related thereto.
We NICHOLAS DARROW, of 1010 Milan Street, Houston, Texas, Railroad
Conductor, JAMES ALBERT ROOSEVELT, of 1122 Navasota Street, Austin, Texas,
Locomotive Engineer, and THOMAS HENRY WHELESS, of 1102 East 11th Street,
Austin, Texas, Attorney at Law, all citizens and residents of the United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of our invention and in what mauner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to improvements in car-couplings, and it consists in certain
novel features hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which the same parts are
indicated by the same letters.
Fig. 1 represents a front view of the car coupling and buffer, parts being broken
away.
Fig. 2 represents an inverted plan view of the car coupling, and illustrates the
manner of operating the uncoupling rod, and also the manner of attaching the
drawbar to the bottom of the car.
Fig. 3 represents a section along the line of Fig. 4, and looking upwards in the
said Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of the car coupler and its attachments as seen
from the left of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of the knuckle or hook detached.
Fig. 6 represents a perspective view of the latch detached, and
Fig. 7 represents a plan view of the buffer over the car coupler, for easing the
buffing strain on the head of the car coupler, as the cars come together.
A represents the hollow drawhead which is provided with a nose A', a lateral
opening A³, a transverse rib A³, a longitudinal rib A*, and a tailpiece A°, (as seen
in Fig. 3).
The nose of the coupler is provided with a cavity a¹ and a pin hole a³ for use as
a link and pin coupling, should it be desired, while the knuckle B is held in place
by the pivot pin A. This knuckle swings about the said pivot, and is provided
with a pivot hole B°, a hook B' having shoulders b adapted to strike against the
inner side of the nose and prevent the knuckle from swinging open too far, a
catch b', adapted to engage the latch C, and a lug B' having shoulder 6 adapted
to engage the latch C, and a lug B having shoulder 6 adapted to strike against
the inner wall of the nose A' as shown in Fig. 3, and thus to prevent the knuckle
from closing up too much.
The latch Cis pivoted at C° and is provided with a lug C¹ and a projecting
arm C³, around which arm the bifurcated legs e of the rod E are passed. These
legs e pass around the curved portion c¹ of the arm C' and rest against the face c
of the lug C. The curved face c¹ of the arm C' is at a short distance from the
rear face of the latch C, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. The front face of the
atch C, is provided with a recess c, adapted to allow the lug B' on the back of
he pivoted knuckle to enter freely therein. In the rear face c of the lug C¹, a
recess c is provided, adapted to engage the end of the latch spring D, which spring
ormally presses the latch C forward, causing the face co to engage the shoulder bl
of the knuckle and thus holding the knuckle closed as shown in Fig. 3.
The bifurcated rod E is connected at its rear end to a double crank F connected
by a flexible joint to the rods H having hand cranks h at either side of the car.
The double crank F and rod H, hand crank and rod E should be so arranged
elative to each other that when the crank hangs down, as shown in Fig. 1, the

page_text: latch C is pressed forward by the spring D or the crank his thrown up the latch C
is drawn backwards against the said spring or opened. By having the double
crank Fso adjusted as to be in a centre relative to the rod E when the latch is
drawn back, the spring I will then create sufficient friction between the parts E,
F and to hold the latch open against ordinary jars, and the open position of the
latch will be indicated by the raised position of the crank h.
The rod E passes through an opening a³ in the rib A³, and also through a
longitudinal slot as in the bottom of the hollow drawbar.
The drawbar is normally drawn towards the side thereof having the projecting
hook B', by means of the rod K and spring K' mounted in the box K. The said
rod is provided with nuts or bolt heads k', and washer plates at either end thereof,
as shown in Fig. 3.
The front end of the drawbar is supported by the carrying iron L, and the
tail is held up by the follower plates N and N₁ resting upon longitudinal
plates M², secured to the ribs m' of the plate M bolted to the sill of the car as
shown in Fig. 2.
The ribs m' have recesses m³ and m' adapted to receive the ends of the follower
plate N and N'. These ribs m and m' should preferably be cast integral with the
plate M, but they may be bolted or riveted thereto if it be desired to use wrought
iron or steel plates.
P represents the tail bolt, and P¹ the spring mounted thereon for giving the
requisite yielding connection between the drawbar and the car.
Mounted over the coupler we provide a buffer composed of the side pieces R
preferably held by means of the truss rods to the end sill Q, but these side pieces
may be attached to the end of the car in any other convenient way, and between
these side pieces a buffer piece R' is normally pressed forward by a stout spring S,
which spring may be of any desired form and requisite strength.
The movable piece R' has projecting -lugs which engage in corresponding
guide grooves in the fixed side pieces R.
While this improved buffer is of special advantage when used with the car
coupling herein described, it may also be used with most of the other forms of car
coupling now in use.
The operation of the devices is as follows:-
As two cars come together, the noses of the couplers strike on the sloping faces,
and each coupler is pressed back against the spring P1, and to one side against the
spring K, but before too great a pressure is brought upon the couplings, the
buffers R¹ come together and take up the shock of the contact of the cars.
As soon as one hook has passed the other, the springs K' draw the two
couplers into locking position, and the pressure on the spring P¹ is at the same time.
relieved.
:
In order to uncouple either one of the hand cranks his turned so as to cause the
double crank to withdraw the rod E sufficiently to draw back the spring D
and withdraw the latch C from engagement with the knuckle. If any pressure
now be brought upon the hook. B', such for instance as the resistance of the car or
a train of cars, the knuckle will swing open. If the hand crank be left up, as
described, the double crank E will remain on a centre, and the latch will remain
open until released by the turning the crank down; but if as soon as the knuckle B
swings open the hand crank be turned down and the latch released it will rest
on the back of the knuckle where it will be supported until the hook is closed again;.
when it would slide back into engaging. position as would happen automatically, in
coupling on another car.
The friction of the latch C, as pressed down by the spring. D on the back of the
knuckle would hold it open until some force is used to swing it around to the closed
position.
(
.:
As soon as the knuckle swings back into the position shown in Fig. 3, the
latch is thrown into engaging position by the spring D, and the coupler is firmly
locked.

page_text: By having the nose of the coupler, and the face of the coupler, and the hook,
shaped as shown, two couplers of the herein described type will couple together if
the cars come together in the usual way, no matter whether both knuckles be open,
whether both be closed, and locked, or whether one be open and the other be closed
and locked.
It will be seen that the coupler can only be operated by hand from the side of
the car, and that it would be impossible to accomplish anything either in coupling
or uncoupling by having a train hand go between the cars.
It will also be seen that the cars may be uncoupled or the couplers operated from
either side of the car.
The link and pin attachments a' and a' are provided solely for the purpose of
enabling the coupling to be used with cars provided only with link and pin
coupling, or where the knuckle becomes inoperative from accidents to any of the
necessary parts.
The drawbar A is preferably cast solid out of malleable iron, but it may be
built up or made of other suitable material, if desired.
The improved means of securing the coupler to the car herein described, enables
the plate M to be attached directly to the sills of the car without the necessity
for
any additional substructure, and at the same time renders it convenient of access,
thus facilitating the removal of damaged drawbars, and at the same time giving
great strength to the holding device against the violent strains to which car couplers
are normally subjected.
It will be seen that the strain is put upon the coupler nearly in the line of draught,
and that owing to the yielding tension of the spring K, the coupler may be pressed
to one side sufficiently to allow for coupling on any of the curves ordinarily found
in railroads.
Having thus fully described our said invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the car coupling
herein described, with reference to the drawings hereunto annexed.
2. The improved buffer herein described and shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7 of the
drawings.
3. The device for attaching the rear end of the drawbar to the car, herein
described, and shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings.
4. In a car coupling, the combination with a hollow drawhead of a knuckle
pivoted therein and provided with a hook on one side of said pivot and a catch on
the other, a latch pivoted in said drawhead and adapted to engage said catch, a
spring normally pressing said latch against said knuckle, a rod attached to said
latch, a double crank connected to said rod, and hand rods and cranks at either
side of the car connected to said double crank, substantially as and for the purposes
described.
5. In a car coupling, the combination with a hollow drawbar having lateral play
in its bearings, of a spring adapted to normally hold said drawbar in the central
position, a knuckle pivoted in the drawhead and provided with a hook in one side
of said pivot and a catch on the other, a latch pivoted in said drawhead and adapted
to engage said catch, a spring normally pressing said latch against said knuckle, a
rod attached to said latch, a double crank connected to said rod, and hand rods
and cranks at either side of the car connected to said double crank, substantially
as and for the purposes described.
6. In a car coupling, the combination with the hollow drawbar A of the rod K
and spring K', pivoted knuckle B provided with book B', stop lug B³, and catch b',
the pivoted latch C provided with groove c, lug C¹, and arm C², the spring D
normally pressing said latch against said knuckle, and means for drawing said
latch back against said spring, substantially as and for the purposes described.
7. A device for attaching the drawbars of car couplings to cars, comprising a
plate M bolted beneath the car, ribs m and m' attached to or integral with said

page_text: plate, recesses m³ and m³ in said rib m', follower plates N and N₁ adapted to fit
in said recesses, a spring P' held between said follower plates, and the tail bolt p
passing through said spring and follower plates and connected to the drawbar,
substantially as and for the purposes described.
8. The combination with a drawbar and a knuckle pivoted therein, of a spring
connected to said drawbar and adapted to allow said drawbar to be pushed back;
and a buffer above said drawbar adapted to take the buffing strain of the cars as
they come together, the said buffer comprising the fixed side pieces R provided
with guides
therein, the movable buffer piece R' provided with lugs adapted to
move in said guides, and the buffer spring S, substantially as and for the purposes
described.
9. A buffer for easing the buffing strain on car couplings, comprising two side
pieces R rigidly attached to the car, and provided with guides r; the movable
piece R¹ provided with lugs, adapted to engage in said guides; and a strong
spring normally pressing said movable piece outward, substantially as and for the
purposes described.
Dated this 28th day of November 1893
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.