US3627145A

US3627145A - Coupler with means to support a mating pulled-out coupler

Info

Publication number: US3627145A
Application number: US2140A
Authority: US
Inventors: Russell G Altherr
Original assignee: Amsted Industries Inc
Current assignee: Amsted Industries Inc
Priority date: 1970-01-12
Filing date: 1970-01-12
Publication date: 1971-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 1988-12-14

Abstract

A railway coupler having a coupler head with a knuckle pivoted thereto for interlocking engagement with a similarly pivoted knuckle of a mating coupler is provided with a downwardly and outwardly flaring skirt preferably in the form of a flange depending from the bottom ear of the coupler head through which ear extends a pivot pin which pivotally connects the knuckle to the head. The skirt is engageable with a guard arm of the mating coupler when it has been pulled out of engagement with its supporting vehicle and thus is supported solely by a shelf extending from the bottom ear to a coupler head throat beneath the knuckle of the mating coupler. The skirt is effective as a wedge to hold the knuckle of the mating coupler on said shelf.

Description

limited States Patent lPlUlLlLlED-OUT COUPLER 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. Cl 213/l53 [51] BtSlg3/04, B6lg 7/14 [50] Field olSem-ch 213/153 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,562,203 7/1951 Metzger 213/153 Primary Examiner-- Drayton E. Hoffman AttorneyWalter L. Schlegel, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A railway coupler having a coupler head with a knuckle pivoted thereto for interlocking engagement with a similarly pivoted knuckle ofa mating coupler is provided with a downwardly and outwardly flaring skirt preferably in the form ofa flange depending from the bottom ear of the coupler head through which car extends a pivot pin which pivotally connects the knuckle to the head. The skirt is engageable with a guard arm of the mating coupler when it has been pulled out of engagement with its supporting vehicle and thus is supported solely by a shelf extending from the bottom ear to a coupler head throat beneath the knuckle of the mating coupler. The skirt is effective as a wedge to hold the knuckle of the mating coupler on said shelf.

COUPLER WllTl-ll MEANS TO SUPPORT A MATHNG PULLED-UUT COUPLER This invention relates to railway couplers and more particularly to a coupler having means to support a mating coupler which has been pulled out of engagement with its supporting railway vehicle.

A primary object of the invention is to devise such support means which will prevent the mating coupler from falling to the roadbed even under the most severe bouncing and oscillation which can occur in railway service. 7

Another object of the invention is to minimize the size of a support shelf which extends from the bottom ear to the lower edge of the coupler head throat beneath the knuckle of the mating coupler to support such knuckle when its coupler head has been pulled loose as above described.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FlG. l is a bottom plan view of mating couplers embodying a preferred form of the invention shown in normal draft condition; and

HO. 2 is a front elevational view of one coupler shown in FIG. 11 with parts of the other coupler shown in phantom lines in a pulledout condition supported solely by said one coupler.

Describing the invention in detail and referring first to FIG. 1 which shows

mated couplers

2 and 2a embodying the invention, it will be understood that these couplers are shown in bottom plan view under normal draft condition with their knuckles 4 and la respectively, spaced from the

throats

6 and 6a, respectively, of the coupler heads 8 and tin, respectively. Corresponding parts of respective couplers are identified by corresponding numerals, with the suffix a" in the case of coupler 2a.

The knuckle of each coupler is pivoted by a conventional pin 10 to top and bottom cars 12 and M of the coupler head 8, and in the mated position of FlG. l whereat the knuckles are locked by conventional means (not shown), the knuckle of each coupler overlies a shelf 16 or 16a of the other coupler to prevent accidental uncoupling due to relative vertical movement between the

respective coupler heads

8 and 8a. The shelf l6 extends from the bottom ear 14 of its head 8 beneath its throat 6 across the longitudinal vertical centerplane X-)( of the coupler head 8 but not as far as the centerpoint 18 of the throat 6. Such a shelfis considerably smaller than prior art shelves for a reason hereinafter discussed in detail. It may also be noted that the forward edge 20 of the shelf 16 is spaced rearwardly of a vertical plane Y-Y bisecting its pin 10 and normal to the plane XX. The inner edge 22 of the shelf extends from its forward edge 26 at an angle of approximately 1 l0" therefrom to a point beneath the throat spaced laterally from centerpoint 18 toward the knuckle side of the coupler head.

Each

coupler head

2 and 2a comprises a conventional guard arm 24 which cooperates with a novel skirt 26 depending from its bottom ear M and flaring downwardly and forwardly and outwardly from said ear (as best seen in FIG. 1) toward the guard arm 24 or 240 of the mated coupler under the normal draft condition shown in FIG. ll.

FIG. 2 shows the coupler head 2a in a condition whereat its coupler shank 28a has been pulled from its support on an associated railway vehicle and has thus dropped so that it is supported solely by the coupler head 2. Under these conditions, knuckle la rests on shelf to and guard arm 24a has been wedged outwardly by skirt 26 to maintain knuckle 4a in engagement with the top of shelf 16 so that coupler 20 cannot drop from engagement with coupler 2 even under the most severe service conditions. Because of this wedging action between the guard arm 2 5a and skirt 26 it will be understood that the dimensions of shelf llfi may be reduced to a minimum without any possibility of coupler head 2a dropping from coupler 2 under service conditions with the coupler 2a supported entirel b coupler 2.

It wi 1 so be understood that one of the novel couplers disclosed herein will similarly support a conventional coupler which does not have a shelf 16 or a skirt 26.

What is claimed is:

1. in a railway car coupler having a head comprising a throat and having a knuckle pivoted to the head at a point at one side of the head's longitudinal vertical centerplane; the combination of a shelf on said head below said knuckle the rear edge of the shelf intersecting said throat at a point spaced from the midpoint thereof toward the pivot point of said knuckle, said shelf adapted to support a knuckle of a mating coupler, and a wedge surface on said head sloping laterally thereof downwardly and away from said shelf and downwardly and away from said centerplane to engage a guard arm of said mating coupler to thereby retain its knuckle in engagement with said shelf.

2. A railway coupler according to Claim 1 wherein the knuckle is received between and pivoted to top and bottom spaced ears on the head and wherein the wedge surface is formed on the bottom ear.

3. ln a railway car coupling having mated couplers comprising, respectively, pivoted knuckles in interlocking engagement with each other at the longitudinal vertical centerplane of said couplers; the combination of a shelf on one coupler beneath the knuckle of the other coupler, said one coupler having a throat intersecting the rear edge of the shelf at a point spaced from the center point ofsaid throat toward the knuckle side of said one coupler, a guard arm on said other coupler, and interengaged wedge means on said one coupler and said guard arm one of said wedge means sloping downwardly and away from said centerplane for holding the knuckle of said other coupler above said shelf.

4. A railway car coupling according to claim 3 wherein said wedge means are characterized by an outwardly and downwardly flared skirt attached to and depending from a bottom lug of said one coupler which supports its knuckle, said skirt being engaged with said guard arm.

5. A railway coupler comprising a coupler head having top and bottom ears, a knuckle received therebetween, a vertical pivot pin extending through openings of the ears and knuckle, said head having a guard arm merging with a throat rearwardly of the knuckle, a shelf extending between the bottom ear and the lower edge of the throat, the forward edge of the shelf being disposed rearvvarclly of a vertical plane bisecting the pin and normal to said heads longitudinal vertical centerplane, the rear edge of the shelf intersecting the throat at a point spaced from the centerpoint of the throat toward the coupler heads knuckle side and a downwardly and forwardly flaring skirt depending from the bottom ear for wedging engagement with a guard arm of a mating coupler to hold its knuckle above the shelf.

6. A railway coupler according to claim 5 wherein the forward edge of the shelf is at an angle of the order of 1 10 with respect to the inner edge of the shelf which extends from said forward edge to the throat.

m n t m a

Claims

1. In a railway car coupler having a head comprising a throat and having a knuckle pivoted to the head at a point at one side of the head''s longitudinal vertical centerplane; the combination of a shelf on said head below said knuckle the rear edge of the shelf intersecting said throat at a point spaced from the midpoint thereof toward the pivot point of said knuckle, said shelf adapted to support a knuckle of a mating coupler, and a wedge surface on said head sloping laterally thereof downwardly and away from said shelf and downwardly and away from said centerplane to engage a guard arm of said mating coupler to thereby retain its knuckle in engagement with said shelf.

3. In a railway car coupling having mated couplers comprising, respectively, pivoted knuckles in interlocking engagement with each other at the longitudinal vertical centerplane of said couplers; the combination of a shelf on one coupler beneath the knuckle of the other coupler, said one coupler having a throat intersecting the rear edge of the shelf at a point spaced from the center point of said throat toward the knuckle side of said one coupler, a guard arm on said other coupler, and interengaged wedge means on said one coupler and said guard arm one of said wedge means sloping downwardly and away from said centerplane for holding the knuckle of said other coupler above said shelf.

5. A railway coupler comprising a coupler head having top and bottom ears, a knuckle received therebetween, a vertical pivot pin extending through openings of the ears and knuckle, said head having a guard arm merging with a throat rearwardly of the knuckle, a shelf extending between the bottom ear and the lower edge of the throat, the forward edge of the shelf being disposed rearwardly of a vertical plane bisecting the pin and normal to said head''s longitudinal vertical centerplane, the rear edge of the shelf intersecting the throat at a point spaced from the centerpoint of the throat toward the coupler head''s knuckle side and a downwardly and forwardly flaring skirt depending from the bottom ear for wedging engagement with a guard arm of a mating coupler to hold its knuckle above the shelf.

6. A railway coupler according to claim 5 wherein the forward edge of the shelf is at an angle of the order of 110* with respect to the inner edge of the shelf which extends from said forward edge to the throat.