Car Coupling. Page: 2 of 3
This patent is part of the collection entitled: Texas Patents and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.
HENRY SMALL, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.
CAR-COUPLING.
SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,509, dated April 1, 1890.
Application filed January 16,1890. Serial No. 337,070. (No model.)To call whom it 7nThcy concern:
Be it known that I, HENRY SMALL, a citizen
of the United States, residing at San Antonio,
in the county of Bexar and State of Texas,
5 have invented a new and useful Car-Coup-
ling, of which the following is a specification.
This invention relates to car-couplings, and
more especially to that part or portion of the
mechanism usually termed "link-lifters;" and
mo the object of the invention is to provide means
whereby the link can be lifted and caused to
enter the draw-head of an approaching carby
the operator when standing alongside the sta-
tionary car. Iattain this object by the mech-
15 anism hereinafter described, and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings, forming a part
of the specification, and in which-
Figure 1 is an end view of a car with my
improved link-lifter attached. Fig. 2 is a side
20 elevation of thelink-lifting arm proper, show-
ing the pivoted lifter attached thereto. Fig.
3 is a perspective detail view of the arm and
lifter, showing their manner of connection.
Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of the lifter de-
25 tached.
The letter A represents the track, B the
car-body, C the coupling, E the link thereof,
and P the pin for retaining the link in posi-
tion, all as is common and well known.
30 Across the end of the platform of the car
or the end of the car-body B, I place the rock-
shaft S, which turns in suitable bearings s,
and at the ends thereof I provide the crank-
handles K, all as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of
35 the drawings.
At a point in the length of the rock-shaft
S, a little to one side of the draw-head C, I
provide the lifting-arm L, whose outer end is
providedwith a vertical slot 1, opening through
40 the said end, and with a pair of horizontal
slots h, whose outer ends are closed, all as
shown in Fig. 3.
The letter I designates the lifter proper,
which is provided with an enlarged head D,
45 having a transverse eye d, and comprises a
vertical shank having a lateral arm i at its
lower end. The apertured eye d at the upper
end of the lifter is passed into the vertical
slot 1 in the lifter-arm and a transverse bolt
5 0 Opassed through the eye therein, its ends
loosely engaging the side slots h in the said
lifting-arm. One end of the bolt is providedwith an integral head o, and the other is lat-
erally perforated to receive a pin Z, this pin
retaining the collar or washer z in place. 55
The parts of my device being arranged as
above described, the operation of the same is
as follows: The lifting device normally hangs
in the position shown in Fig. 1; but when it
is desired to couple a car to another car pro- 6o
vided with the lifter the latter is operated by
the crank-handle K to bring the lifter into
operative position. The crank turning the
rock-shaft S in its bearings, the arm L is raised.
to about a horizontal position when the lat- 65
eral arm i of the lifter engages beneath the
link, as will be readily understood. The link
is now raised to the desired point to cause it
to enter the opening in the draw-head of the
approaching car, and the pin in the last-named 70
car is dropped into place, thereby coupling
the cars.
Devices similar somewhat to mine have
heretofore been constructed, and it was found
by experience that with cars having plat- 75
forms and ends of a great variety of shapes
and sizes the outwardly-projecting end of
the lifting-arm L was frequently struck by
the approaching car, resulting in the bending,
breaking, or smashing thereof, and the com- 8o
plete destroying of the link-lifter. Various
remedies for this objectionable feature have
been suggested, all more or less effective; but
the present construction combines the points
of simplicity, economy, durability, and double 85
prevention of the evil referred to-that is to
say, the pivoted lifter I is adapted to swing
longitudinally of the car, and this motion
prevents its breakage by being struck by any
part of the approaching car; but in addition 90
to this the slots in the lifting-arm L permit
the lifter I not only to swing around its pivot,
but to move bodily therein, as will be clearly
understood. By this construction, even if
the lifter became accidentally distended and 95
were struck when in such position by some
part of the approaching car, it would move
bodily on its pivot and no injurious results
would follow.
It frequently happened heretofore that at ioo
the moment the coupling was taking place
the following state of affairs occurred: The
lifter was beneath the link of the stationary
car, the tip of.the link entered the draw-head
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Reference the current page of this Patent.
Small, Henry. Car Coupling., patent, April 1, 1890; [Washington D.C.]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth172329/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.