A Safety Coupling Hook
Page 47
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for Trailers
IN view of the increasing use of trailers in connection with lorries and tractors, a good deal of attention is being devoted to the question of providing simple, safe and secure coupling hooks. After looking around for a device embodying these requirements, the Sterling Motor Truck Co., of Milwaukee, Wis., -U.S.A., has recently acquired a licence to manufacture the coupling hook known as the ,Weber.
The hook, :which is made of highgrade alloy steel, is claimed to be able to withstand a direct pull of over 35 tons. It is in two main parts, one of which is pivoted so that it can be raised or lowered and locked in either the closed or open position by means of a pin. The faces of the two parts of the hook that come together are set at such an angle that in the closed position the pull of the trailer tends further to hold them together.
The coupling and uncoupling of a trailer can, it is_ claimed, be effected by one man. The eye in the end of the trailer drawbar is made in accordancewith the standards of the American Society of Automobile Engineers. Until the eye is in peal
tion on the lower part of the coupling hook there is no need for the operator to touch the latter, so that the danger of crushed fingers is avoided.
Once the eye is in position, the pin is released and tne upper portion of the hook allowed to drop into position, in which it is again locked. To release the trailer from the lorry or tractor the operation its reversed.