claim -is: 1. An automatic train pioe coniiecter comprising iii combiii.ation, a couplin.- head aiid a sup70. por'Ll thei:efo-f, said support ineluding a bracket h@iving on its lower port4on a vertically di-sposed truniaion, a pi-vot bloe-k su"@ably mounted on said trunnion, a spring rotatab.y supported on the bracket by said pivot block, and a meraber ex75- tending from tl@e coupling head rearwardly beyond said spring aiid spanning sai-d ttunnion and pivot block. 2. An auto-,-natic train pipe coiinecter comprising in ciombiiiat-lon, a coupl-ing head and supportino; means therefor, said means including a so bracl@:et havi@l,- at its lo@,ver portion a vertically disposed cyli,-idrically shaped ti:unnion, a pivot block rota'Llably mounted on said trunnion for riiovement in a hoi!lzontal plane, means for secur4-ng the block in place, a seat for a spring 85 mounted on the block for rockinmoveiiient thereoii, a spring foi- extendi.ng sa,-id coupling head, the spriiag being iiioui-ited oli said seat, and a member coiii,.ected to the hi@.-,d aiid extei-iding i:earwai:dly thereof past said spring and seat and go ,,,round said oivot block. 3. An automatic train pipe coiiiiecter comptisin c c-iiibiiiation, a coupling head and a re,ilieiit ,,uoport IL-,her,,fo--rl gaid suppbrt i-nelud-LlIg 0, bi:acket having at i-ts lovvel-,end a pivot block 95 m-@uiited o,-i the bi!acket for rotary movement in -,t hol,izontal pl-ane, said b',-ock hcving on its front face a s-,at, a pai:t mount--d i-,l said seal fOr '!Oc',x-ing mo-vement therc-on i-n the vertic-al p'@aiie, a SDi,@@ng between said couplii-ig head and 100 saicl p,-,Tt with one end slipported by said part, al'id a r-riember extending rearwardly of the head t"11:0u,lh said spring and said part and .tround said pivot block and said bracket, said pivot b,ocl-,, snid pa--,t and said member beiiag i:,otatable 105 in either di-c-ectio,.-i ai:ound said bracket to the extent of at lea@t (,101 from their normal position. 4. An @iut(,in,,i,tic traiii p-ipe connecter compr'Lsiii.- in coi-.ibi-yiation, a coupling head, a bi:acket 110 for support4@.ng the head froiii the coupler Of the car, said braci,,et b@.in.- provided at its lower portioii @vith a seat, a pivot block niounted on said sea"-, a spring between the coupling head "-iid th., bracl@@:et and exerting presst,.re against 115 s,@lid pivot block, said bracket being provided at a Doirt -,bove the pivot block with a forwardly j9ared bearing surface, and a member spa-,iiiipg the lower porti,on of said bracket and extendin.- forwardly thereof along said spring 120 lrto enga.,emeiit N@.7-ith said head, said member be-inp, pi:ov;@ded with a vertically extending p-rojec,+@;loy-l shaped to engage said flared slirface to pos."tioli sa-id coupling head. 5. An a-Lil@-omatic traii-i pipe connecter I com- 125 p2:ising in comb-"-,lat'@on, a coupl;ng head, a memb,-,r see-Li7fed thei:eto ard extendiiig readwa2:dly t@ie-- reoT-, sq@id memb,-r being provid,-d with a head h@-ving aii elon.@ated opening there-'@n, a bi:acket extelidilig f-com.@-bove said member dow,nwardly: 130 t',li7ough said bpening, said brac@-et beilig provided -@vi-th a pivot block mounted for rotation on a vertical axis ai-ound the b,@-acket and lying @,-,rtly within said opeiiing, said pivot block having on its front face a hori.zontally disposed 135 trn@-,isvei:sely -,xtending bearing, a seat for a si3rin,, mounted bn said bearing fol! rocking movei'@-ient therc-on, a part of s--id seat being also within the elongated ope--iing in said member, sair-I member serving tb prevel-it said seat from 140 slippinglate,@-,tlly out of sa-id bearin,-, and a s),)i-in-I interposed between said seat and said couLIin, head. 6. An automatic ti:ain pipe connecter comp,,,isi,rg in combination, a couphing head having 1 145- -,uitp-bl@y Secured thereto a shank prov-"derj -with --@n anrular seat,, a spring mounted oii said seat, @- tie member ai-ichored to said sheilk and extending rearwardly along said spring, said meinbe-f being provided at i . ts front portion with lat- 150

l@921,207 3 erally extending webs to support the forward coils of the spring and being provided at its rear portion -,vith a head having therein an elonaated opening, a seat for a spring lyiiig partr, ly @viihin said ojening, said seat having slots in its sides to receive said tie member, a bracket extendin- downwardly into the elongated openi-@ig in sai@ member and having therein a trunnion, a pivot block mounted for -rotary movement on 10 the trun@-iion, said block being provided on it.fi:oi,it face with a beari-ng to pivotallr receive ,t i-eai,wardly extending lug formed on the rear side of said spring seat, and a verti(,ally extending hollow projection on the rear end of said 15 m,-i-nbe,. -,,,iad en.-e.-,ing said brack,-t, the bracket and its poiiit of engagement with the projection beiiig i9a-red in opposite directions complement,@iry of the meeting siirfaces of s,.@id proi4ection. 7. An automatic train pipe connecter com20 prising in combination, a couplin.- head and a support therefor, said support including ,i bracket, a pivot block mounted on the lov@er portion of the bracket for rotary moverient the,,-@eon ii@ the horizonl@al -olaie orily, a spring, a iiiembe-r 25 connected with the coupling head a-!:id exteiidiilg rearwardly past said sprin.- and embrqc,'@ng said p;lvot block alid the lower portion of said bracket, and a rod engagin.- the bracke-@@ above. said spring and anchored to the coupling head for 30 cooperat-ing wit'h said spring atid rrieinber to support the head, said pivot block, s,,tid member said rod and said spring being rotatable together around said bracket to the extent of at least 90' frolil their iiormal positi-on. 35 S. An automatic train pipe connecter, co-ni3rising in combination, a cotipling head and -) support therefor, a bracket extending doi,@nwardly through said ,upport, said bracket ad- I jacent i.ts lower end having a vertically disposed 40 trunr.ion portion, a pivo'Ll block rotatably supported on said brunnion ond havin,- a forwardly faci-ng seat, a member pivotally engaging saicl seat and a spring carried by said membe-r and arran,-ed to press the same against said seat and 45 said support a.aainst the rear side o-f the bracl--et. 9. An automatic train pip,- coriiiecter, cbinprisirg in combiiiation, a coupling head, a bracket havin.- an elongated vertically arran.-ed t,2unii-ion portio-@i adjacent its lonver end, a sup50 porting member connected to said head and extending rearwardly and spanning said bracket, sa-id member at its rear end havi-ng a coptact porti-on adapted to bear against the rear side 55 of said b,-acket, a pivot block rotatal.ly inounted o--,i said tru--qnion and having a forwardly facing sc-at, a member pivotally engaging said seat and a spring for pressing said member agoitist said seat and said contact portio-,i a,,ai-ast th60 bracket, said supporting member, pivot blocli-@ and spring being rotatable in e-ither diree.. tion about said trunnion to the extent of a4least 90' from their normal position. 10. An automatic train pipe connectbr com65 prisinu, in combination, a coupling head and a support therefor, said stipport including a bracket having adjacent its lower end a vertically disposed trunnion, a pivot block engaging the front face of said trunilion aiid rotatable a-round 70 the same, said block having a seat on its front face, a spring supporting member engaging said block and having a portion arranged in said 75 seat, said member bein.- rotatable in a vertical plane relative to said block, a head supporting member connected to sa-ld head and extending rear,,@r ardly and haiting spacld portions arranged on opposite sides of said trunnio-D- and said pivot 50 block and also having a portion array-iged to engage the i:ear side of said bracket and a spring ai:range d between said spring supporting member aiid said head, said spring supporting r@-iember hovin.- pa-fts arranged to engage the spaced 85 portions of said head supporting member whereby the forriier is held in proper position to en.-age sa'@.d se@9 t on said block. 11. An automatic train pipe connecter coffprisiii.-, in combination, a coupling head and a 90 sup--oi!t therefor, said support including a bra@',@ et having adjacent -its lower end a vei:tically disposed tru-tinior@, a pivot block mounted on said trunnion and rotatable arolind the same, a sdrilig pivotally sup-,oorted on the bra,-k6t by 95 said pivot block, a member extending from the coupling head rearwardly beyond said spriilg and spa,--ning said trunnion and pivot block, said pivot block, said member and said spring being rotatable around said trunn;@on to the ex- 100 tert o.L' at least 900, and m--ans for pi:eventin.- rotation of sa-.d member on its longitudinal axis relative to the bracket. 12. An automatic train pipe connecier comPTisil'I. 1, -in combinat-ion, a bracket having a sub- 105 stantip -Ily vel-t;cally arl-,anged trunnioia portion, a nivot block.rotatably suppol,ted on said trunnion portioil , a coupling head, n@, rc-ei. , ber cbnn--cted to the head and extendiiig reaj:wardly and spanning said pivot block ard said ti:unnion portion, 110 a soring suoported on said member avid begring again@,,t said pivot block, said p-lvot block, membc)r, spring and head beiiig rotatable around said truiini-on oortion to the extent 6f at least 90- 1 he n- 115 to the normal longitud-inal direction o'L t co necter. 13. Aii aiitomatic tr,-4,n pipe coyinecter comprising, in -ombination, a bracke'u having a vertical ly arranged ti:unilion, a pivot block bearing against said ttunnion, a coupliiig head in 120 front of said br,,icket, a m--Mber, extending rearward',- Y 'Lrom said head aiid spaniiiiig said trunnioii. and said pivot block, a sp.-iiig seat bearitig against said pivot block, a sprin.@ ayranged betwee,,i said he ad ard said sprilig seat, said pivc)t 125 block, inembef, sprir@g seat and spring being rotatable about said ti:unnion into a, position at right angles to the normal longitudi@nal direction of the cbnnecter. m- 130 14. Aii au'uomatic train pipe connecter co prisil,,g , in cbmb,-nation, a coupling head, P, member:con nected thereto and extend-ing 3:ear,,vardly -nber hav-' g hotizontally spaced thei:eof , said iiei in portion -, a btacket having a trunnion portion extendi n.- dovtil@vardly between said spaced por- 135 tions of said member, a pivot block arranged in f2ont of and bearing against said triinnion portion of the bracket, a sp@iiig seat bearing against said pivot block, a spi:ing atranged betwee n said head and said spriiig seat, 140 said pivot blocli, member, sp.-ri-i-ig seat and spring bp-iri-_, i,otatable about said truianion l@Orti On of the bracket into a. position at right anp;les to the normal longitudi@-ial direction of the conne,,ter. 145 JOSEPH ROBINSON. 150

Patented Aug. 8, 1933 19921,207 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,921,207 AUTOMATIC TRAIN PI[PE CONNECTElt josepli Robinson, New York, N. Y. Appli.iation October 14, 1929, Ser-Lal No. 399,670 Renewed April 20, 1932 14 Claims. My invention relates to improver-qents in auton-iatic train pipe coniiecters, and particularly to means for supporting such connecters for free universal movement with respect to the car ecupler. An object is to provide a simple form .of such support, which will be inexpensive to: make, strong and'dependable, and on wiii,-h the coupling head raay swing to a position at a right angle to the longitudinal direction of th,-, 10 track if necessary ii-i order to prote ct itself against damage when car couplers slip by. In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvement; 15 Figure 2 is a sectional detail inside view of the ui,iiversal joint; Figure 3 is a sectional plan vi-ew of parts of the un@iversal joint, aiid Figure 4 is a sectional plan view of a modifica20 tion of my improvement. It will be understood that any type of automatic t,.,ain pipie connecter head may be used with my i-nvention. I illustrate a coupling head A of the pin and funnel type, but a head of the 25 butt face vvip-g type, or other form, may be used if desired. The head is provided with a suita-ble shank 8 secured to the head in any desired manner. Th,, shank has an anntilar seat 9 to receive the front end of the buffer spring B. The shank So is threaded, or otherwise arranged, as at 10 to receive the front end of the eye bolt or t-ie member C. The member i-s provided with radially extending fins or webs 11 which form a support for the-forward end of the spring. Extending 35 i-earwardly away from these fins the tie member is provided with a perforated head 12 comprising horizontally disposed portions 14 spaced ,ipart. These portions are f@lattened on the inner surface as at 15 to provide greater clearance for 40 the associated parts. The bracket D, formed of one or more pieces, is secured at its upper end to the usual lug E which is su-"tably connected to the underside of the car coupler, not shown. The bi!acket is secured to the lug by bolts or 45 rivets 16 or by other means@ At its lower end the bracket is suppl4@ed with a vertically disposed cylindrical shaped lug or trunnion 17 over which is slipped a pivot block 18, the block havir- rocking movement on the lug or trunnion. 50 A retainin.- member 19 is rigildly secured to the bottom of the trunnion after the pivot bloclc has been applied. The retaining member serves of course to support the pivot block in place. It is slotted at 20, and its inside diameter is sli.ahtly 56 less than the diameter of the, trunriion 17, so (Cl. 285-58) that vjhen the retaining member is pressed 6n, to the trunnion its grips the saine firmly. A pin 21 is i,@aserted in the men. ber and trunnion to fu,,ther secure the me -mber in pl ace., Laterally extending lugs 22 extend away from the opposite 60 sides of,the @meraber 19 a distan-@e greater thaii the width of the Oerforated head 12 of the lin@k C. These are provided to prevent dislddgement of: the connecter body from the bracket 'in dase of breakage of a sprit-ig or other part. Upon its 65 front face the piliot block, 18 is provided with a tra,.isversely extending horizontally disposed curved bearing or seat 23 v7hich receives the domplementarily shaped face 24 of the bearing lug 25 of the spring seat F, the seat and the lug 70 being preferably integ@a;l though they inay, of course, be forwed separately if prefp-rred. The eat is provided with an annular bearihg 26 for the rear end of the spring B. At opposite sides it is slotted at 261, to slidin.,Iy receive the ba@rs 75 14 of the link C. Between these slots I provide a vertically dilsposed reinforcement w,@b 27. A@j appears iii the drawing, the trunnion, 17, and the p-ivot block- 18@ lie within the elongated opening in the head 12 of the link C. Tb-e link 50 spans or, e-tends around these part@ aiid eiigages the rear face of the bracket. The bearing lug 25 also l@ies within the open@@4g in the link C, the portioi-is 14 S---rvirg to prevent the lug, from shi,fting laterally out of. its bear;@ng or sea@u, 23 85, o,,q the pivot block 18. @ To centrally posit,'@on the coupliiig head la-terally with i:espect tb the bracket, I provide the bracket, at a point adjacent the pivot block @nd preferably above 'Uho same, with a V-shaped seat 90 or bear5ng surface 28, see Darticularly Figure 3, which is spanned by a complementarily shaped jaw 29 of a vertileally dispbsed flange or jprojection 30 formed integral with the rear end of the link or memb-,i@ C. This V-shaped seat forms an 05 abutment for positioning the block 18 6n the brat3ket against undesired vertical upward movemept. The bq-se of the -flange br projection extends preferably about half way around the pivot block 18, as sho'wn, aiid is preferably an int@e- 100 gral part of the link C. As the coupling head A is swung in the horizontal plane around the trunnion 17 a cam action is.set,up between the V shaped seat 28 and the ja-,v 29 which embraces it, thus draviing the 1-ink C re atwardly 10-5 against the tension of the spring B. When the force is r6rhoved the coupling head A wil',, of course, be a@ once returiaed to its nbrmal posit,@on shovin iii Figure 1. In@sn-iuch as the flan-e 30 straddles the seat 28 of the bracket, the lin 11.0

2 1,921,207 C cannot unduly rotate about its lon.,itudinal 4 axis on the bracket, nor, -.n consequente, caii the couplinr,, head A so rotate. Rotation is permitted, however, when the connecters coul)le up, at which time the projecl@,ion or f-lange 30 is pressed rear-,Tiardly away froi,-i the Yea-.-, face of the brock.,t D. Howevei,, contact betvieen the bearin--- li-ig 25 and its seat oil the p'-Ivot block 18 prevents the spring seat F -froin rota6ing oii t@ie 10 brocket aboiit th,@ longil'-Iudiiial axis ol-@ the connecter. As the walls 14 of the link C have a fairly clese slidin,- fit in the slots 26" of the seat the sevel@al parts are, by this arrongerf,,ant, ,9,t @ill times -orevented f--@om exc ' essl-,,,e rotatioii 15 about the '@on.-itud@nal a7@is of the conliecter. Whilp- the '-eiit,@th of the flang,@ or ),--oject;on C may be such as to depei-idabII7 SU@lport tile @l c(-,upling heqd A -in the no--,iiial posit-iori showii -,'-n Figure 1, I have prov-ided an auxiliary supporl-u 20 therefor. --Ii@s co,-isi.,ts of the rod G vihich -Ls suitably coiinceted to the cou-niing head at 31, and is provided viith a-111 eion@,,ated perforated eye 32 which rotatably embra,.es the bl-,acket D at a po,@iit aoove the buffer spi:-ng B, as sho,,vn. 25 When the coiaiie-,ter cou-oles iip the SL,.Ppol,t,',ng effect of th4s rod is rerno,@ied and the coiirie,-,ter is free to move uiii-v@-1-@sally. It will be understood, see p@articiila,-,Iy in Figure 3, that -Lhe coupl@ng head and lu-',Ie suoportii-ig mechanism 30 therefo,., riay move ai@ound the bracket to a positioia at ct right angle to the traci@, to a.--cor@,-(Podate itself to cxlurei-yi-, car coupler slip-bys. T'-,ae inod-"Ifl,3atioii -hown iTi Figtire 4 consists in eliiiiin@,,ting the V-sliaped seat 28 on the i:ear 35 side of the b@.acket, aiid el-imiiiatirg the projection or f-1pn.,e 30 Tll th eir stepd a fin or curved rib 33, relatively wiule transversely, is formed integral with uhe braeret Pt the point now occupi6d by the V-shaped seat 28. The tic rod or 4o auxi 'liary support H @'s provided -@,vith an enlaa!ged head 34 which extends around t@iis flange, as shown. Ob-,7iously, when the'coupl@iig head A is s-@7,7ung laterally on ItS P4-,Vbt on the braci@et, the en.-,-.@einelit betw@,en the rod H and the bracket 45 will cause the head eithe-@ to lift, or ilt wi."l compress IL-he buffier spring D. In either c2,se wh@.n the force is ,,emoved from the head t'@le lat'.-er will 'ce im@r@ediately returiied to a-.@id held in the no;:i7nal@ positioia shown in FIgure 1. 50 It i@,ill be noted that tie i:od or li--il: C exteiids through the sp@@'ing D, though it may of course span it, and that the spi:;ng is seated at one eiid agaiiast the flan.@e 9 of the shaiik 8 a-tid at the other ei-id agailist tli-- spring seat F, 55 aiad @@hat the spring is placed up@der the.desired comp-ession by sci:ewing the head oi-i to the stem C after the other patts have been assembl,-d. The plate o@-o spring seat F is ass,-mbled into the tie rod C by - turtiing the pl-.tte side-,vise 60 aiid -,oftssing it into the open'@ng in the 1-ir@k C until -'@ts slots,26a aTe iii line with the bars or 12 of the linl,-, a,,,id then turning it to the position shovin in Figure 1. Th;s applicatioi! covers improv,-ii,.ent on the structui:e shown -in 65 my co-pendin.- applicat;on Serif,,l #392,704 filed September 14th, 1929. What I