Untitled record

Application filed December 17,1889. Serial No. 334,043. (No model,)

To all whom il may concern:

Be it known that I, David J. Lupton, of Jerusalem, in the county of Monroe and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved 5 Combined Car and Air-Brake Coupler, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of carcouplers that couple upon contact and that io can be uncoupled from the platform of a passenger-car or from the top of a freight-car; and the object of my invention is to provide means for effectively coupling cars automatically and of uncoupling them in such a man15 ner that the operator will not need to stand between the cars, also to combine with the car-coupler an automatic coupler for the steam or air brake connections, so that the air-pipe will be coupled and uncoupled by the same 20 operation that couples and uncouples the carcouplers, thus enabling air-brakes to be used upon freight-cars with greater facility than they are now used upon passenger-cars.

To this end my invention consists in cer25 tainfeaturesofeonstructionandcombinations of parts, hereinafter fully described, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, 30 in which similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of two couplers embodying· my invention coupled together 35 and applied to passenger-cars. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the coupler as applied to a freight-car, showingarod by which thecoupler is operated from the top of the car; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 4, a side ele40 vation of the coupler, partly in section, on the line x x of Fig. 5; Fig. 5, a plan of the same; Fig. 6, a longitudinal'section on the line y y of Figs. 5 and 8, showing the front end of the coupler in elevation; Fig. 7, a hori45 zontal section of the air-brake coupler on the line 1 1 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a horizontal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9, a plan view of the air-brake coupler; Fig. 10, an enlarged front elevation of the coupler; Fig. 11, a 50 transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 8, and Fig. 12 apian view of a modification of the device.

The frame A of the car-coupler is provided with a shank A', which extends back through a frame B,in which it is supported, the frame 55 B being rigidly attached to the end beams of the car C C'. The shank A' is retained in the frame B by a key a, which passes through a slot in the shank A' and rests against the back of the frame B. The shank A' of the 60 coupler-frame A is backed by a buffer-spring D in the usual manner to prevent excessive jolting.

The coupler frame A is hollowed out in front and provided on one side with a forwardly-ex- 65 tending arm A² and on the other side with two forwardly-extending ears A³, arranged at the top and bottom of the coupler, and between which is pivoted the coupling-piece E. The coupling-piece E is of curved form and is piv- 70 oted to the ears A³ of the coupler-frame A by the pin h, which passes through the couplingpiece near the center of the curve, so that the forward end of the coupling-piece will extend laterally in front of the mouth of the 75 coupler, and the rear end in the form of a shank will extend around inside the couplerframe A, where it may be retained by a vertical key d, which extends down through the coupler-frame. 80

The outside of the coupling-piece E is provided with rounding teeth e', arranged thereon behind the pin b, which engage the end of a flat spring/, which is attached to the side of the coupler-frame A by a screw g, so that 85 when the rear end of the coupling-piece E is released by the key d the spring /, pressing against the teeth e and having the pin b for a fulcrum, will press in the rear end of the coupling-piece E and swing the forward end 90 into open position ready to receive the coupling of another car. The coupling-piece E is also provided with two projecting ears E', through which passes an ordinary couplingpin II, so that the coupling-piece may be 95 coupled to the link of an old-style coupling in the usual manner.

The key d is pivoted at the top to the interior of the coupler-frame A by the pin d'. It extends down through the coupler-frame A, ico

433,296 and is curved backwardly at its lower end, so that it will enter the frame K of the air-brake coupler. It is also capable of a limited oscillating movement in the vertical recess h of the 5 coupler-frame A.

A flat key M extends laterally through the coupler-frame A through a slot in said frame, in which it may slide. The inner side of the key is notched and beveled at the part 1, (shown io in dotted lines in Figs. 5 and 8,) and the beveled part bears against the front of the key d, and one end of the key is provided with a . slot i, which engages the end of the crankarm J of the rod N. The rod N extends ver15 tically through two ears I on the outside of the coupler-frame A, in which it turns, and the lower end of the rod is provided with a crank-arm j, having a downardly-extending pin, which enters the slot i of the key M. The 20 upper end of the rod K extends upward through the passenger-platform C, and in the case of a freight-car is elongated so as to reach the top of the car, and is provided with a lever-handle P, pivoted thereto by the pin 2 5 τη, so that it may swing vertically. The top of the platform and of the car are provided with catches n, w’hich receive the handle P and prevent it from turning.

The air-brake coupler K is provided with a jo backwardly-extending shank L, which slides in the bearing 0, and around which is coiled the spiral spring r, one end of the spring bearing against the back part of the air-brake, coupler frame K, and the other against the 35 bearing 0, so that the spring will keep the frame K and the key d, the end of which enters the frame ΙΓ, pushed forward.

When the cars provided with this coupler come together, one of the coupling-pieces E will 40 slip in behind the corresponding piece of the other coupling, and the extending arms A² of the couplings will strike the coupling-pieces E, tipping the front end of the coupling-pieces inward, forcing the rear ends of the coupling45 pieces outward, and forcing back the keys d until the rear ends of the coupling-pieces E pass the key d, when the springr, acting upon the frame K and key d, will force the key forward in front of the rear end of the coup50 ling-pieces, as shown in Fi4. 8, thus holding them in locked position.

To uncouple the cars, the handle P is raised from the catch n and turned back, thus turning the rod N and arm j, and the arm 7, act55 ing on the slot i, will draw out the key M, and as the beveled part 1 of the key strikes the vertical key d it will force it back into the recess h, and the spring/, acting on the coupling-piece E, will swing it into open position, 60 as already described. When the handle P is turned back, the key M will be pushed in and ‘ the spring r will again throw the key d forward ready for another operation.

The. air-brake coupler K is provided on 65 each side at the top with projecting flanges K', which move in the slide-grooves S in the bottom of the car-coupler frame A, and by which the air-brake-coupler frame K is suspended from the car-coupler frame. The front of the frame K is provided with a door 70 It, which swings downwardly upon the bolt/, the door being fastened in closed position by a key and staple 5. The door R is provided upon one side with a projecting nozzle R', having an annular rubber band u fixed in a 75 groove around it, and with a projecting plate R² fixed in the mouth of the nozzle, the purpose of which will appear hereinafter. Upon the other side of the door R is a circular opening R^s, which is lined with a rubber ring to 80 assist in packing, and adapted to receive a nozzle R' of another similar coupling. Within the frame K is a movable abutment T, having its front portion covered by a rubber pad or packing-piece Τ', which closes over the 85 opening to the nozzle R' and the openingR³. The abutment T and packing Τ' are pressed against the front part of the. frame K and over the openings above described by a spiral spring T², which is held in place by a guide- 90 rod T³, and the abutment is prevented from moving laterally by a screw 6, which passes through the bottom of the frame K and into a slot in the bottom of the abutment. To the top of the chamber formed by the frame 95 K is attached a spring-plate Wby the screws v, and which is provided with a forwardlyprojecting hook W' and a small hook W³, which engages an inclined slot or groove 2 in the key M, and which passes through a re- 100 cess 3 of the key M when the frame K is pushed backward and forward. When the cars are coupled, as heretofore described, the nozzle R' of the air-brake coupler K will enter the opening R³ of the opposite coupler, 105 the rubber bands u will press against the walls of the openings indoors R and prevent the air from escaping from the couplers, and the plates R² will push the packings T' and abutments T, so that the air which enters the no side of the air-brake couplers through the opening y, which communicates with the airpipes, will circulate freely around the. abutments T and through the nozzles R'. The hook W' will spring over the shoulders 4 at 115 the top of the doors R, thus holding the parts together. The door R is held in closed position by a wooden key, which passes through the staple 5, so that if the cars should break apart the hook W' would pull open the door 120 by breaking the wooden key, and the brakes would be set and the cars stopped.

When the handle P is turned and the key M drawn to uncouple the cars, as above described, the hook W² will engage.the inclined 125 slot or groove 2 of the key M, and, following the incline of the groove, will raise the springplate W and release the hook W^z from the shoulder 4 of the air-coupler K, thus uncoupling the air-pipes at the same time that the 130 cars are uncoupled. When the key Al is again pushed in to set the ear-coupler, as described,

433,296 the hook AV² will travel down the incline of the groove 2 and the plate AV will spring back into position ready for another operation.

In Fig. 12 I have shown a modification of 5 the car-coupler shown in the other figures, but which works in the same way as the device described, the only difference being in the form, the projecting arm A⁴ being more flaring than the arm A², and the couplingio piece E² being bent at a more acute angle than the coupling-piece E.