Improvements in Steam Pipe Couplings.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 24th July, 1893-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Steam Pipe Couplings.
I, AUGUST SCHNABEL, Engineer of 43 Lehrter Strasse Berlin Germany do
hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:-
The present invention consists of a metallic coupling to be employed between the
railway carriages, to connect the pipe systems used to heat the carriages with steam,
from one car to the other.
Up to the present time these couplings have been made of flexible hose usually
manufactured of rubber and canvas arranged in alternate layers, but these
couplings have the disadvantage that after having been in use a short time, the
steam often penetrates the interior layer and sets between that and the next layer.
As this steam is under pressure, it consequently blows out the interior layer
filling out the pipe and stopping the steam circulation from one carriage to the
other. It has, however, been difficult to obtain a metallic coupling of sufficient
flexibility to allow for the lateral displacement of the carriages with regard to each
other, when running.
My invention consists in the peculiar manner of connecting two rigid pipes by
means of universal joints, formed by hollowing out the end of one of the pipes and
rounding up the end of the other pipe and connecting the two parts by means of a
bow pivoted on the one part and having a spring pin mounted therein adjustable
by means of a screw thread and thumb nut, said pin fitting into a depression on the
head of the second part of the coupling.
Each complete coupling is provided with three of these joints, the central joint,
.e. where the two pipes meet, being provided with a cock or equivalent device for
letting off the water condensed in the pipes.
Dated this 28th day of October 1892.
HORN & SON,
Applicant's Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Steam Pipe Couplings.
I AUGUST SCHNABEL, Engineer of 43 Lehrter Strasse Berlin Germany do
hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The present invention consists of a metallic coupling to be employed between the
railway carriages, to connect the pipe systems used to heat the carriages with steam
from one car to the other.
Up to the present time these couplings have been made of flexible hose usually
manufactured of rubber and canvas arranged in alternate layers, but these couplings
have the disadvantage that after having been in use a short time the steam often
penetrates the interior layer and sets between that and the next layer. As this
steam is under pressure it consequently blows out the interior layer filling out
the pipe and stopping the steam circulation from one carriage to the other.
has however been difficult to obtain a metallic coupling of sufficient flexibility
to allow for the lateral displacement of the carriages with regard to each other
when running.
It
My invention consists in the peculiar manner of connecting two rigid pipes by
means of universal joints formed by hollowing out the end of one of the pipes and

page_text: rounding up the end of the other pipe and connecting two parts by means of a bow
pivoted on one part and having a spring pin mounted therein adjustable by means
of a screw thread and thumb nut said pin fitting into a depression on the head of
the second part of the coupling.
Each complete coupling is provided with three of these joints the central joint,
i.e. where the two pipes meet, being provided with a cock or equivalent device for
letting off the water condensed in the pipes.
And in order to render this Specification more easily intelligible, reference is had
to the accompanying drawings in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout
the several views.
Fig. 1 is a part side elevation of coupling on my improved system,
Fig. 2 a sectional end elevation through the centre of the lower joint,
Fig. 3 a sectional plan of the lower joint and
Fig 4 a sectional elevation of modified form of my invention.
The pipes A and B forming the coupling are each jointed at their upper ends
to mouth pieces K (one only is shown on the drawing) which fit into the spouts of
the end cocks of each of the carriages to be connected up, the said mouth pieces
being detachably connected up to the respective cocks by means of bows and
screws in the manner well known in the practice and forming no part of the
present invention. The lower ends of the pipes A and B are jointed together and
provided with a blow off cock C for the condensed water, said cock being of the
ordinary construction.
In order to obtain sufficient flexibility of the joints, the pipes A and B are bent
in the manner shown at Fig. 3 so that their open ends fit into each other the end
pipe A being rounded out to receive the rounded off end 6 of pipe B, the two
pipes being held together by a bow D pivotally attached to pipe B (Fig. 3) at d d'
and a loose pin E guided in a bow threaded sleeve piece G screwed in said bow
said pin resting with its lower pointed end in a depression formed in the exterior of
the pipe B.
A bridge piece is attached to the pin E near its pointed end against
which the pressure spring F plays, the latter resting at its upper end in the threaded
sleeve G, having lugs H by means of which its position in the bow D and thus
the pressure of the spring may be adjusted. The pin E is free to play up and
down in the sleeve G under pressure of the spring F, thus imparting great elasticity
to the joints. The joints between pipes A and B and their respective mouth-
piéces K are formed in the same manner as above described. In some cases I have
found it to be advantageous to construct the coupling with four joints as shown in
Fig. 4; in this case sufficient flexibility may be obtained by dispensing with the
bows D and arranging the springs F inside the pipe ends. The pipes A and B are
not connected together at their lower ends but to an intermediate fitting carrying
the blow off cock C. The joints are formed by rounding up the ends of the
pipes and fittings to be connected up and enclosing the same in caps B¹ hollowed
out to fit the said ends the springs F being inserted between the two pipe ends
inside the same as shown. The pipes and fittings may be made in one piece with
their respective rounded ends, or as shown in the drawings iron pipes may be
employed and brass or other ends screwed into the same. It will be seen that the
mouth pieces K are not provided with rounded ends, a single cap A' embracing
the upper ends of the pipes A and B being screwed directly on to the lower ends of
the mouth pieces.
I wish it to be clearly understood that, whichever of the joint constructions I
may employ, in no case do 1 confine myself to the particular number of said
joints.
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
1: A flexible metallic steam coupling in which the various lengths of metallic
pipe employed are connected up by having their ends bent round and fitted one into

page_text: the other after the manner of a ball joint, the said ends being elastically held
together by means of a pivoted bow and spring pin arranged in the manner and for
the purpose substantially as described and shown.
2-A modification in which the bow is dispensed with and the rounded ends of
the pipes held together by caps embracing the same, springs F being arranged
within in pipe ends inside the caps in the manner and for the purpose substantially
as described and shown (Fig. 4).
HORN & SON,
Applicant's Agents.