Year: 1886

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
Thomas L. McKeen residing at Easton, in the County of Northampton, United
States of America, gentleman) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention has relation to that class of automatic car couplings, in which the
pin is held supported by a sliding block cushioned by a spring, and in which the
link as it enters the draw-head will push the sliding block back allowing the pin to
drop into the end of the link inserted into the draw-head, and it consists in the
improved construction and combination of parts of the same, as hereinafter more
fully described.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a railway car provided with this
improved car coupling, showing the pin raised.
Figure 2 is a similar view showing the link raised by the link-controller.
Figure 3 is a similar view showing the pin raised and held raised so as not to
couple.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the end of the car and of
the drawhead.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the drawhead showing portions broken
away; and
Figure 6 is a perspective detail view of the sliding block and its latch and its
spring.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all figures.
The letter A indicates the drawhead which is secured to the car in any suitable
manner and which has a short recess Z in its forward end in which the sliding
block B reciprocates.
This sliding block is formed with a concave or transversely recessed forward end
and a flat rear side B¹ and bears with the said flat rear side against the wide end of
a helical spring D which bears with its contracted end against the rear end of the
recess in the drawhead so that the spring may be compressed to a flat spiral when
the block is pushed back,
The upper side of the sliding block is formed with a recess C¹ the bottom of
which is inclined rearwards and the rear end of the recess has at its edges two
vertical laterally extending grooves B2 B2 in which grooves the laterally projecting
trunnions of a latch C slide the said latch fitting in the recess and projecting with
its free end beyond the forward face of the sliding block.

page_text: The pin V may rest with its lower end upon this latch when it is drawn up and
if it is desired to drop the pin without sliding the block the latch may be raised
with the hand sufficiently to allow the pin to drop without operating the sliding
block.
The bottom of the interior of the drawhead is formed with two longitudinal
recesses E E at the side edges of the bottom and two cam plates F F having their
upward forward corners G rounded are pivotted at their rear ends upon a bar H
having its ends journalled in the sides of the drawhead and having its square
portions fitting in square perforations I in the cam-plates and turning in perfora-
tions in the longitudinal ribs K forming the inner sides of the longitudinal
recesses.
One end of the bar or shaft upon which the cam plates are secured is provided
with a forwardly projecting arm or shaft L to the outer end of which a connecting-
rod L' is secured with its lower end and the upper end of this connecting rod is
pivotted to the outward end of a bar N the inner end of which is pivotted to an
arm O projecting outwardly from the operating shaft P which is journalled in
transverse bearings Q upon the front of the car and provided with handles or
levers RR at its ends.
The rear upper corners S of the cam plates are cut off obliquely and will bear
against the rear ends of the longitudinal recesses in the draw-head when the said
cam-plates are raised preventing the said plates from being tilted too far up.
The bar N pivotted to the arm of the operating shaft and to the upper end of
the connecting rod rests near its inner end upon the upper edge of a bracket T
projecting from the end of the car and standing parallel to it and it will be seen
that when the transverse operating shaft is turned so as to depress the outer end
of the arm upon the same, the inner end of the bar pivotted to the said arm will
be depressed and the outer end will be raised raising the arm or crank of the shaft
for the cam-plates, and raising the outer ends of the cam-plates which will raise
the link U when the latter is in the draw-head the said parts serving as a link-
controller for the purpose of directing the link into an opposite drawhead.
The pin which fits in the perforations in the top and bottom of the draw head,
and which may rest upon the latch of the spring-cushioned block when raised is
provided with a chain W at its upper end which chain is attached to an arm X
projecting from the operating shaft P so that the link may be disengaged from the
draw-head by raising the pin when the operating shaft is so turned that the arm is
tilted upwards.
The operating shaft slides longitudinally in its bearings and the arm X connected
to the pin V may be slid to rest upon the bracket Y projecting from the front of
the car; when the pin is raised the arm X is tilted upwards, thus preventing the
pin from dropping down, when a link enters the draw-head and pushes the spring-
cushioned block back, enabling a car having the link projecting from its draw-head
to be pushed against the car having its link thus raised and secured with coupling
the same.
In this manner the pin may be operated and retained and the link raised or
lowered by the same handle and operating shaft, simplifying the construction of the
coupling and its accessories, and rendering it more practical and less expensive than
couplings, in which the pin is operated from one handle or shaft, and in which the
link is operated and guided by other ineans.
It will also be seen, that the pin may be let down if a link is inserted into the
draw-head without the necessity of pushing the sliding block back, or if for any
other reason the pin is desired to be dropped, by simply inserting the hand or fingers
into the recess of the draw-head and pushing upwards upon the free end of the
latch, when the pin may drop without interfering with the block, which is held
out by its spring.
By means of the link controller the link may be hooked upon a coupling having
an upwardly projecting hook as well as be disengaged from it equally as well as
the link may be connected with a coupling having a pin.

page_text: If by an accident the camn-plates should be raised when a link is introduced into
the draw-head, the said cam plates will be prevented from being tilted farther up
by their oblique corners bearing against the rear ends of the recesses for them, and
the rounded corners of the outer ends of the cam-plates will allow the link to slide
over them and to force the plates down in their recesses.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is,
1. In a car coupling, the combination of a draw head having longitudinal recesses
in its bottom, and having a transverse bearing through the rear ends of the said
recesses, a shaft rocking in the said bearings and having a forwardly projecting arm
at one end and having cam-plates secured at their rear ends to it and resting in the
recesses, a transverse operating shaft upon the end of the car, a bracket having its
edge parallel with the shaft at a distance from the same, a bar resting upon the
edge of the bracket and having its inner end pivotted to an arm projecting from
the operating shaft, and a connecting rod pivotted to the outer end of the said bar
and having its lower end pivotted to the end of the arm upon the cam-shaft; as
and for the purpose shown and set forth.
2. In a car-coupling the combination of a draw-head having longitudinal recesses
in its bottom and a transverse bearing intersecting the rear ends of the said
recesses, a shaft journalled in the said bearing and having means for rocking it, and
cain-plates secured at their inner ends upon the shaft and having their forward
corners rounded and having their upper rear corners cut off obliquely to bear
against the rear ends of the recesses; as and for the purpose shown and set forth.
3. In a car-coupling, the combination of a shaft journalled and sliding in
transverse bearings upon the front end of the car and having a forwardly
projecting arm connected to the coupling pin, with a bracket projecting from the
front of the car under the shaft for supporting the arm of the shaft when raised;
as and for the purpose shown and set forth.
4. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head having longitudinal recesses
in its bottom and having ribs at the inner sides of the recesses and having
registering perforations or bearings in the sides of the draw-head and in the ribs
at the rear ends of the recesses, a shaft journalled in the said bearings and having
square portions in the recesses and having means for rocking it in the bearings, and
cam plates secured with square perforations in their rear ends upon the shaft and
resting in the recesses; as and for the purpose shown and set forth.
5. In a car coupling the combination of a draw-head having a recess in its outer
end, a pin-supporting block sliding longitudinally in the said recess and having a
rear flat face, and a helical spring bearing with its wide base against the rear face
of the block and with its apex against the rear end of the recess; being capable of
being compressed into a flat spiral; as and for the purpose shown and set forth.
6. In a car-coupling, the combination with the draw-head, its sliding block, and
the spring for forcing the latter forward, of the pin supporting latch pivotted to
the upper side of the block; as and for the purpose shown and set forth.
7. In a car-coupling the combination of the sliding block having the recess in its
upper side formed with the inclined bottom and with the vertical grooves in the
rear ends of its sides, with the pin supporting latch having its laterally projecting
trunnions sliding and rocking in the grooves as and for the purpose shown and
set forth.
Tlated thin 10th
1000