Railway car coupler

Claim 2

An automatic hook-type railway car coupler comprising a hollow head: A. a coupling hook connected in said head for horizontal pivotal movement from a coupling position to an uncoupling position; B. a lock member supported by said head for rotary movement from a locking position to an unlocking position, said lock member when in locking position being disposed in engagement with a forward side portion of the hook of a mating coupler to maintain said hook of the mating coupler in coupling position; C. a thrower member rotatably mounted in said head for engaging the hook of said mating coupler to move the hook from its coupling to uncoupling position; and D. a lock-set member movably supported by said head and adapted to be actuated by said lock member from reposed position to lock-set position, said lock-set member in moving to lock-set position actuating said thrower member to move the hook of said mating coupler to an uncoupling position, said lock-set member when in said lock-set position maintaining said thrower member in its position corresponding to said uncoupling position of the hook of said mating coupler.

Claim 3

A car coupler in accordance with claim 1 in which said head has a rear wall joined by laterally spaced side walls and vertically spaced top and bottom walls and providing a chamber therebetween for receiving said coupling hook, and wherein said lock-set member is mounted for vertical rotative movement about its axis by a pin mounted to said top wall.

Claim 4

A car coupler in accordance with claim 2 wherein resilient means is provided in said head for urging said coupling hook towards its coupling position, and said coupling hook having stop means for engaging an associated abutment on said rear wall of said head to limit pivotal movement of said coupling hook in its coupling position under the influence of said resilient means.

Claim 5

A car coupler in accordance with claim 2 in which a shaft member is rotatably supported in a horizontal plane below said bottom wall of said head, and said lock member is connected to said shaft member for rotation therewith.

Claim 6

A car coupler in accordance with claim 2 wherein said lock-set member comprises an upper leg and a lower leg, said upper and lower legs being so arranged that when the lock-set member is in said reposed position, one of said legs engages a portion of the top wall and the lower leg is disposed in adjacent opposed relation with said thrower member and said lock member.

Claim 7

A car coupler in accordance with claim 4 wherein said lock member extends in a direction upwardly and away from said shaft and through an opening in said bottom wall, and abutment means is provided on said bottom wall for engagement with said lock member for limiting rotative movement of said lock member while in said locking position.

Claim 8

A car coupler in accordance with claim 5 wherein said upper leg extends in a direction upwardly through an opening in said top wall to provide a manual release for said lock-set member when said latter member is in its lock-set position.

Claim 9

A car coupler in accordance with claim 5 wherein said thrower member comprises two spurs spaced at an angle about its axis, said thrower member in one position having one of said spurs disposed rearwardly of said lower leg of the lock-set member and adapted for engagement therewith for limiting movement of said thrower member in one direction when the lock-set member is in its reposed position, and the other spur being disposed in adjacent opposed relation with the forward portion of the coupling hook of the mating coupler when said thrower mEmber is in said first mentioned position.

Claim 10

A car coupler in accordance with claim 8 wherein said one spur has a forwardly facing lower surface adapted to be slidingly engaged by a portion of said lower leg upon actuation of said lock-set member by said lock member to swingably urge said thrower member from said first mentioned position towards a second position, and said one spur having an upper rearwardly inclined surface joining said lower surface and adapted to engage and hold said lock-set member in said lock-set position.

Claim 11

A car coupler in accordance with claim 8 wherein abutment means is provided on the free end of said lower leg of the lock-set member for engaging the other spur of said thrower member to limit movement of said thrower member in the other direction when the lock-set member is in its reposed position and the coupler is in an uncoupled condition.

Claim 12

A car coupler in accordance with claim 1 wherein counterweight means is provided on said lock-set member to effect reverse rotation of said member upon the release of said member from said lock-set position.

Claim 13

An automatic hook-type railway car coupler comprising a hollow head: A. a coupling hook pivotally mounted in said head for horizontal pivotal movement from a coupling position to an uncoupling position; B. a lock member connected to said head for rotary movement from a locking position to an unlocking position, said lock member in its locking position being disposed between a side wall portion of said head and a forward portion of the coupling hook of a mating coupler when the couplers are in a coupled relationship; C. resilient means biasing said coupling hook towards its coupling position; D. a thrower member mounted in said head for rotative movement from a first position to a second position; and E. a lock-set member supported by said head for rotative movement from a reposed position to a lock-set position, said lock member upon being rotated out of said locking position operatively engaging and actuating said lock-set member to cause the latter to actuate said thrower member, said thrower member upon being engaged by said lock-set member being rotatable to its second position and caused to be held in said last-mentioned position by said lock-set member when the latter is in said lock-set position, said thrower member upon being actuated by said lock-set member operatively engaging said resiliently biased coupling hook of the mating coupler to pivot said last-mentioned coupling hook to an uncoupling position, and said coupling hook on said mating coupler in its uncoupling position reacting against said thrower member to cause said thrower member to maintain said lock-set member in its lock-set position.

Claim 14

An automatic hook-type railway car coupler comprising a hollow head: A. a coupling hook pivotally mounted in said head for horizontal pivotal movement from a coupling position to an uncoupling position; B. a lock member connected to said head for rotary movement from a locking position to an unlocking position, said lock member in its locking position being disposed between a side wall portion of said head and a forward portion of the coupling hook of a mating coupler when the couplers are in a coupled relationship; C. resilient means biasing said coupling hook towards its coupling position; D. a thrower member mounted in said head for rotative movement from a first position to a second position; and E. a lock-set member supported by said head for rotative movement from a reposed position to a lock-set position, said lock member upon being rotated out of said locking position operatively engaging and actuating said lock-set member to cause the latter to actuate said thrower member, said thrower member upon being engaged by said lock-set member being rotatable to its second position and caused to be held in said last-mentioned position by said lock-set member when the latter is in said lock-set position, said thrower member upon being actuated by said lock-set member operatively engaging said resiliently biased coupling hook of the mating coupler to pivot said last-mentioned coupling hook to an uncoupling position, and said coupling hook on said mating coupler in its uncoupling position reacting against said thrower member to cause said thrower member to maintain said lock-set member in its lock-set position.

Claim 15

A car coupler in accordance with claim 12 in which said head has a rear wall joined by laterally spaced side walls and vertically spaced top and bottom walls and providing a chamber therebetween for receiving said coupling hook, and said coupling hook having stop means for engaging an associated abutment on said rear wall of said head to limit pivotal movement of said coupling hook in its coupling position under the influence of said resilient means.

Claim 16

A car coupler in accordance with claim 12 wherein counterweight means is provided on said lock member to effect reverse rotation of said member after the lock-set member has been positioned in its lock-set position.

Claim 17

An automatic hook-type railway car coupler comprising a hollow head: A. a coupling hook connected to said head for horizontal pivotal movement about a vertical axis from a coupling position to an uncoupling position; B. a shaft member rotatably mounted below the bottom wall of said head and having its axis of rotation contained in a transverse vertical plane disposed in close proximity to the pivotal axis of said coupling hook; C. a lock member operatively connected to said shaft member for rotation therewith, said lock member in its locking position eXtending in a forward direction upwardly and away from said shaft and through an opening in said bottom wall, said lock member in its locking position being disposed in engagement with a forward side portion of the hook of a mating coupler to maintain said last mentioned hook in a coupling position, said lock member being movable from its locking position to an unlocking position upon rotation of said shaft member, D. a thrower member rotatably mounted in said head for engagement with the hook of said mating coupler to move the hook from its coupling position to its uncoupling position, said thrower member being operatively associated with said lock member and upon actuation thereof by said last mentioned member said thrower member operatively engaging the hook of the opposed coupler to pivot said last mentioned hook to its uncoupling position; and E. a lock-set member pivotally mounted in said head and being movable by said lock member to lock-set position, said lock-set member when in lock-set position engaging said thrower member to hold said thrower member in its position corresponding to said uncoupling position of the hook of said mating coupler.

Claim 18

An automatic hook-type railway car coupler comprising a hollow head: A. a coupling hook connected to said head for horizontal pivotal movement about a vertical axis from a coupling position to an uncoupling position; B. a shaft member rotatably mounted below the bottom wall of said head and having its axis of rotation contained in a transverse vertical plane disposed in close proximity to the pivotal axis of said coupling hook; C. a lock member operatively connected to said shaft member for rotation therewith, said lock member in its locking position eXtending in a forward direction upwardly and away from said shaft and through an opening in said bottom wall, said lock member in its locking position being disposed in engagement with a forward side portion of the hook of a mating coupler to maintain said last mentioned hook in a coupling position, said lock member being movable from its locking position to an unlocking position upon rotation of said shaft member, D. a thrower member rotatably mounted in said head for engagement with the hook of said mating coupler to move the hook from its coupling position to its uncoupling position, said thrower member being operatively associated with said lock member and upon actuation thereof by said last mentioned member said thrower member operatively engaging the hook of the opposed coupler to pivot said last mentioned hook to its uncoupling position; and E. a lock-set member pivotally mounted in said head and being movable by said lock member to lock-set position, said lock-set member when in lock-set position engaging said thrower member to hold said thrower member in its position corresponding to said uncoupling position of the hook of said mating coupler.