Car Coupler.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 11th May, 1896-Accepted, 13th June, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Car Coupler.
I, WILLIAM RANKIN FINE, Inventor and Machinist, of Newport, Tennessee,
U.S.A., 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 an improvement in car-couplers, the object being to
simplify and perfect a coupling mechanism for cars or other vehicles, so that space
may be economized, cheapness insured, an automatic operation obtained and
efficiency of action promoted; and the invention therefore consists essentially in
the construction, arrangement and combination of parts, substantially as will be
hereinafter described and claimed.
In the annexed drawings, illustrating my invention,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved car-coupler, represented as
practically applied to a car.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the coupler applied to the two adjacent draw-heads
of two cars and represents at the left-hand, the mechanism on one side of the
draw-head, and at the right-hand, the mechanism on the right-hand side of the
draw-head, the pin in the left-hand draw-head being in engagement with the link
and the pin in the right-hand draw-head being lifted to its upper position above
the link.
Fig. 3 is a central sectional elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the segment gear and ratchet devices which
are employed in connection with the pin-lifting and link-lifting mechanism.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the link-lifting sleeve and the shaft
running through it.
Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional plan view of a portion of the link-lifting
devices.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modification of my improved coupler, having the
pin supported beneath the draw-head instead of being suspended above it, as in the
other figures, and having the parts reversely arranged to accommodate the new
position of the pin-operating mechanism.
Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a draw-head and the coupling mechanism arranged
there with after the manner of the modification shown in Fig. 7.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the
different figures of the drawings.
A designates the end of a railway car, and B the draw-head attached centrally
thereto in the usual position, said draw-head being of any suitable size and shape
and being hollow, as shown, and having the vertical slot b wherein is accommodated
the vertically-movable coupling-pin C. Said pin C is generally carried by the
vertically-movable horizontal plate L, that rests normally upon the top side of
the draw-head B and is provided with the downwardly-projecting arms ll, which
lie on the opposite side of the draw-head and are made in the form of rack-
bars, as shown, the pin C having a shoulder or head at the upper end
thereof so that it can thereby be supported or hung in a perforation in the
plate L.
On the upper side of the draw-head B is a rigid upwardly-extending pin or
rod a, which passes through a perforation in the plate L. As said plate L travels

page_text: up and down, it moves upon this rod a. The plate L normally rests on the draw-
head B, but is vertically movable under the action of certain of the mechanical
parts, and when it is lifted it obviously carries with it, the pin C and places the
latter in the position shown in Fig. 2, whence it can easily drop into engagement
with the link D, whenever the latter may be introduced into the draw-head below
the pin, for the purpose of coupling. Although in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have
represented the coupling-pin C as supported or hung upon the plate L, which
is on top of the draw-head, yet I do not wish to be confined to this arrangement
of the coupling-pin; but if desired, said pin may be arranged below the draw-head
in the manner shown in Figs. 7 and 8, in which case, it will be carried by the
plate L', which is vertically movable below the draw-head and is provided with
the upwardly-projecting rack-bars arranged on opposite sides of the draw-head
and operating in like manner with the downwardly-projecting rack-bars 11. (Shown
in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.)
Within the bottom of the draw-head B is a short horizontal tube or sleeve E.
(See Figs. 3, 5 and 6.) This sleeve E has one or more forwardly-projecting
arms e, there being two of these arms in the example shown in the drawings,
and said arms being preferably grooved or recessed in their upper edges, as shown,
although this is not essential. Through the sleeve E, and like-wise through the
sides of the draw-head B, passes a horizontal shaft or rod F, which extends from
one side of the car to the other, being journaled in the horizontal projecting
arms F F and being provided at each end with a handle F¹
The shaft F is loose within the sleeve E, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and may
make nearly an entire revolution without affecting the position of said sleeve or
moving it in the least; but I have placed thereon a small lug or projection f
which is within the sleeve E, (see Figs. 3 & 5,) and which is adapted to come into
contact with a similar lug E¹ on the interior face of said sleeve. When this
contact occurs, as shown at the left-hand in Fig. 3, then the rotation of shaft F
will obviously result in partially rotating the sleeve E and lifting the forwardly-
projecting arms e e, thereby lifting the link D which may be resting thereon and
consequently adjusting the said link to the desired height to enable it to enter with
facility and accuracy, the mouth of the opposite draw-head, no matter what the
elevation of the opposite draw-head may be, whether it corresponds to the elevation
of the draw-head that carries the link, or not.
When the shatt F is reversely rotated, and the lug consequently withdrawn
from contact with the lug E', the result will be that the arms e will again drop
down into the bottom of the draw-head and with them will drop the link into its
normal position. Thus it will be understood that by the rotation of the shaft F,
in one direction, it will act upon the sleeve E and the arms e to accomplish the
lifting of the link. When it is rotated in the reverse direction it will be obvious
that it can be allowed to accomplish nearly an entirely reverse rotation freely
within the sleeve E, before the lugs fand E' will again engage and encounter each
other, and during such reverse revolution of the shaft the pin-lifting devices
may be brought into action in the manner which I shall proceed presently to
explain.
On the shaft F, adjacent to one of the sides, of the draw-head B, is a ratchet-
wheel or segment ratchet-wheel G. This is engaged by a pawl H pivoted at h to
the side of the draw-head B and having its rear part H' heavier than its front end,
so that said front end normally projects in an inclined position slightly beyond the
vertical edge of the mouth of the draw-head, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where it
will be in a position to be struck by the adjacent draw-head when two cars come
together for the purpose of coupling, and the result of such contact with the
inclined projecting face of the pawl H will be to disengage the rear end H from
the teeth of the ratchet-wheel and allow the arms e e, which have previously been
lifted by the rotation of the shaft F, to drop down into their lower position. It
will be understood that when the shaft F is partially rotated, with the lugs and E
in contact with each other, the ratchet-wheel G which is fast on shaft F will

page_text: likewise be rotated and will be held by the pawl H in whatever position it may
have been caused to take. Thus the link will be held lifted by this link-lifting
mechanism until the two draw-heads meet, and the result of such meeting will
be disengagement of the pawl H through the action upon its outer edge, as already
explained, and then the links will drop down normally into the bottom of the
draw-head as before. Likewise on the shaft F, near the ratchet-wheel G, is a
loose gear I, being generally simply a segment gear. (See Figs. 1 and 2 and
especially Fig. 4, the latter figure showing these parts in an enlarged_view.)
This gear-wheel I is provided on its side face near the ratchet-wheel G with
a slot i (see Fig. 4) which is engaged by a lateral lug or cog g on the side face of
the ratchet-wheel G. This segment-gear 1 engages one of the ratchet-bars 1.
Hence by rotating the shaft F in the reverse direction, already referred to, that
is to say, by revolving it in a reverse direction to that in which it is revolved when
the lugs and E¹ are in contact for the purpose of lifting the link, the result will
be that the lug g will act in the end of the slot i and cause the gear-wheel I to be
thereby bound to the shaft so that it will rotate sufficiently to lift the pin-carrying
plate L into its upper position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, where the pin C will be
in readiness for coupling.
On the shaft F at the opposite side of the drawhead B, is a disk J, (see Fig. 2,)
having several teeth in its periphery, which teeth are engaged by a pawl K,
or "swinging block," as it may be termed, which is pivoted to the side of the
draw-head at j and which has its rear part heavier than its front end, said rear
part being provided with a tooth k' which is adapted to engage the teeth j. The
front edge of the pawl K normally occupies a position slightly beyond the
vertical edge of the draw-head and is normally inclined in that position in like
manner with the pawl H already explained. Therefore when two draw-heads
come together in close contact for the purpose of coupling, the result will be
that they will not only strike the paw! H but they will also strike the pawl K,
which will cause the teeth ¹ of pawl K to be disengaged from the toothed disk J.
When the shaft F is reversely rotated for the purpose of lifting the pin C, the
disk J, which is fast on shaft F, will obviously be reversely rotated and will be
held in any position to which it may be rotated by means of the aforesaid pawl K.
Consequently the pin C will be held in its lifted position until the two draw-heads
come into contact, when the action of the draw-head in striking the pawl K and
disengaging it from the disk J, will result, allowing the pin C to drop downward
through its slot and engage the link lying beneath.
On the shaft F is a rigid arm N, to which is attached a rod or cord n running to
the top of the car. Ordinarily the shaft F will be rotated in one direction or the
other by means of the handles F F provided at the opposite end of the shaft, but
in the case of freight cars or cars where these handles cannot be used with facility
and where it is desired to operate the coupling mechanism from the top of the car,
the rod or cord n will be employed to advantage.
I have already alluded to the fact that sometimes it will be found convenient
to support the pin C below the draw-head instead of above it. This location of the
pin is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The pin, in this instance, is carried by the plate L
having the rack-bars . For the purpose of operating this modified form of
coupler, I rearrange the segment-gear, the segment-ratchet, and the toothed disk,
whereas in Figs. 1 and 2 the segment gear and the segment ratchet-wheel are
located at the left-hand side of the draw-head on shaft F and the toothed disk
is situated at the right-hand side of the draw-head on the shaft F, a rearrange-
ment is made in Figs. 7 and 8, and the segment ratchet-wheel and the segment-
gear-wheel are situated at the right-hand side of the draw-head and the toothed
disk J is situated at the left-hand side of the draw-head. Otherwise the application
and arrangement of the several mechanical parts is substantially the same in the
modified form, as in the original example.
Of course I do not intend to be restricted precisely and exactly to either the
original or the modified form, but reserve the liberty of varying and rearranging

page_text: sleeve having an arm, the operating shaft passing through said sleeve and having a
lug adapted to engage the sleeve lug and a detent device for the shaft and a pin.
lifting mechanism connected to said shaft, substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of May 1896
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.