Improvements in Railway Vehicle Couplings.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1896
Improvements in Railway Vehicle Couplings.
I, AUGUST FRANK SHWADLENAK of Dexter, County of Cooke, State of Texas,
U.S.A., Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The coupling of this invention comprises a draw head having a link opening, a
link pin opening at right angles thereto and intersecting the link opening the latter
being wider in the rear of the pin opening than forward of the same and having a
pair of side recesses, a sliding head located in the wider portion of the link opening,
a spring tending to hold the sliding head in its forward position, a pair of lever.
arms movable in the side recesses and arranged to engage the sliding head, a catch
block operated by the lever arms, a spring tending to force the catch block forward
into engagement with the coupling pin and cranked hand levers for raising the
coupling pin from the sides of the vehicle.
Upon moving a vehicle against one of the couplings the link will enter the draw-
head strike the sliding head and force it rearward when the link pin is thrown
downward by a spring so as to engage in the link the catch block being at the same
time forced forward by its spring to take over a part of the coupling pin whereby
the latter is prevented from being accidentally forced upwards by jars or jerks of
the link.
Dated this 20th day of May 1895.
Improvements in Railway Vehicle Couplings.
I, AUGUST FRANK SHWADLENAK of Dexter, County of Cooke, State of Texas,
U.S.A., Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
In the drawings
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a portion of a railway vehicle provided with the
coupling of this invention.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Fi
Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 3-3. of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4.
Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views.
A is a draw head having a link opening or recess a and a vertical link pin
opening the upper portion a of which is square while the lower portion a³ is round.
The latter part of the opening intersects the link opening a and extends below it as
shewn in order to receive the lower end of the link pin. The rear portion of the
link opening a is somewhat wider than the part just in front of the pin opening a¹
Prindl

page_text: in order to form slideways a' which terminate at their forward ends in shoulders a*.
Extending upward from each slideway a³ is a side recess a°, these side recesses
sloping toward the rear and gradually contracting toward their upper ends where
they finally terminate in a horizontal recess a open toward the rear and extending
from the top end of one side recess to the other, this horizontal recess also having
a forward extending portion a' which intercepts the square upper portion a' of the
pin opening..
At the rear of the link opening a is a spring socket as in which is placed a spiral
spring B bearing against a sliding head C provided with a nipple c which holds the
spring in place, the sliding head having its ends movably located in the slideways a³.
In the pin opening is placed a pin D having a cylindrical lower end d and a square
central portion d¹ whose edge is bevelled downward and outward. The upper end
of the pin D is also cylindrical and surrounded by a spiral spring E the squared
central portion fitting loosely in the squared upper portion a' of the link pin
opening.
In the forward extending portion a' is located a reciprocating catch block F
having a bevelled lower face fand a transverse slot or groove f¹ in which lies the
central portion g of double armed lever G the arms g¹ of which are located in the
side recesses a and have their lower ends arranged to be engaged by the sliding
heads C whereby the lever arms g¹ are operated moving on the projections a as
fulcrums, whereby when the sliding head is moved forward the lower ends of the
lever arms g' are also pushed forward, thereby moving the catch block F rearward
and vice versa. The catch block is normally held forward by a small spring f
which is secured to the top of the draw head and projects downward against the
rear face of the catch block F. To limit the rearward movement of the catch
block F a plate H is arranged to slide in dovetails a¹0 formed in the head A and
held from accidental removal by a top plate I which fits over the pin D and is
secured to the head A by a screw i, the plate overlapping the top edge of the
plate H. The plate I is engaged on its under surface by the spring E which
surrounds the pin D the said spring resting with its lower end on the square central
portion d' of the pin whereby the latter is normally forced downward.
The draw head is attached to the end of the vehicle in the usual way and the
link pin D may be operated by any suitable means but I preferably employ the
following construction:-To the top of the pin D is attached a link k pivotally
secured to an arm K hinged to the end of the vehicle in two places A¹ this arm K.
being operated from the top of the vehicle by a rod attached to the center of the
arm the said rod having a suitable handle at its upper end. The arm K may also
be operated from the side of the vehicle by a stirrup L having handle bars land a
central cranked portion which engages the under side of the arm K and projects
at right angles to the handle bars the said stirrup L being journaled in boxings l
fixed to the vehicle.
The operation of my device is as follows:-In its normal position when not
holding a link the sliding head C is held at its extreme forward position by the
spring B while the link pin D is pressed downward by its spring E the lower end of
the pin resting on top of the sliding head C. If now a vehicle having a link of the
usual pattern is moved toward one of my improved couplings the link M will enter
the link opening and will contact with the forward end of the sliding head forcing
the latter rearward and compressing the spring B. As soon as the head C is forced
rearward the coupling pin D is thrown downward by its spring E, thereby passing
through the link M, its lower end entering the lower portion of the cylindrical pin
opening which is below the link recess or opening a. At the same time the sliding
head C having cleared the ends of the arms g' of the lever G, the catch block F is
forced forward by its spring until over the squared central portion d' of the
coupling pin D, whereby the latter is prevented from being accidentally forced
upward by any jars or jerks of the link M due to the movement of the vehicles.
When it is desired to uncouple the vehicles the pin D is raised by means of either
the rod of the stirrup L, the bevelled edge of the squared central portion d³.

page_text: engaging the bevelled under edge of the catch block F thereby forcing the latter
rearward against its spring f and permitting the pin D to be raised from the
link M whereupon the latter may be withdrawn.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In a railway vehicle coupling, the combination with a draw head having a link
opening, a pin opening intersecting the link opening, the latter being wider in the
rear of the pin opening than forward of the same, and a pair of side recesses, of a
sliding head located in the wider portion of the link opening a spring tending to
hold the sliding head in its forward position, a pair of lever arms movable in the
side recesses and arranged to engage the sliding head, a catch block operated by
the lever arms, a spring tending to force the catch block forward into engagement
with the coupling pin, and means for raising the coupling pin, substantially as
described and shewn.
Dated this 15th day of February 1896.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.