AN IMPROVED SELF-DETACHING COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
SELF-DETACHING COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES."-A communication
from abroad by Ernest Von Jeinsen, of the City and State of New York,
Sealed the 12th November 1867, and dated the 27th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th June 1867.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED SELF-DETACHING COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES," a commu-
nication, to be as follows:-
The said Invention relates to a coupling whose connecting pins are hinged
to their supporting rods which at the same time may be made to support the
buffers. These rods are free to slide back and forth in suitable guides, and are
held in position by springs; the connecting or coupling pins are provided with
shoulders which catch under suitable lips or stops in such a manner that the
said coupling pins will remain in an upright position unless exposed to a lateral
strain, and consequently the shackle bar is retained and the uncoupling of the

page_text: carriages is prevented as long as they all remain on the rails; but if one of
the carriages leaves the rails and the coupling pins forming its connection with
the succeeding carriage are subjected to a lateral strain one or both of the
said coupling pins turn downward and the carriages become detached. The
rods which support the hinged pins are free to swing laterally for a short
distance in a horizontal plane in such a manner that when the carriages run
on a curved portion of the line the coupling pins are not liable to be tilted,
and the carriages will not uncouple spontaneously unless one of them should
be thrown from the rails. A self-acting guard and catch are combined with
the shackle bar and coupling pins in such a manner that the said shackle bar
is kept from being thrown from the coupling pins until the said pins have
turned downward and the accidental uncoupling of the carriages is conse
quently prevented. The two adjoining carriages to be connected are coupled
together by a shackle bar of the ordinary form, which drops over the
coupling pins. The said pins are hinged to the supporting rods, which slide
endwise in suitable guides or cages secured to the under surfaces of the plat-
forms of the carriages. The outer ends of the said rods are provided with
heads which may take the place of buffers. The cages are each furnished
with two rigid bearings, and with one moveable bearing through which the rods
slide freely. The moveable bearings are fitted into segmental slots which allow
the said bearings, together with the rods and coupling pins, to move laterally
for a short distance in a horizontal plane or in a plane parallel to the surface
of the cages; the moveable bearings are provided with slots or recesses to
receive ribs or shoulders which project from the coupling pins to prevent the
turning of the said pins on the rods until the same are drawn out far enough
to bring the ends of the ribs clear of the recesses in the moveable bearings ;
the position of the rods in their cages, and consequently the position of the
coupling pins in relation to the said recesses, is governed by the action of
springs which also act as buffer springs. The tension of these springs is
regulated by nuts which are fitted to screw threads cut on the rods, and by
screwing or unscrewing the said nuts the power which retains the shoulders of
the coupling pins in the recesses in the moveable bearings is increased or
diminished. By these means the power required to tip the coupling pins over
and release the shackle bar can be regulated at pleasure. As long as both
carriages remain on the rails the coupling pins are retained in an upright
position either by the recesses in the moveable bearings or by the strain of the
shackle bar itself, and the carriages are not liable to become uncoupled
spontaneously; and, furthermore, by giving to the said bearings a lateral
motion the cars are free to move on a curve without getting uncoupled; but

page_text: if one of the carriages leaves the rails the coupling pins are exposed to a
lateral strain, whereby one or the other or both become disengaged from their
recesses and turn on the rods; the shackle bar is consequently released, and
the carriages are uncoupled. The shackle bar is retained on the coupling pins
by guards which are hinged to the hub of the said coupling pius, and which
are locked by spring catches while the said coupling pins remain in an upright
position, the tail ends of the said spring catches being retained by recesses in
the heads of the rods. The edges of these recesses are rounded off or cam
shaped, and if one of the coupling pins turns on its rod the tail end of the
spring catch slides upon the rounded edge of the recess, so that the said
spring catch is made to release the point of the guard, allowing the same to
open and to set the shackle bar free. The guard is intended to be made
heavy enough and of such a shape that the same will reassume its original
position as the coupling pin is turned upward, and the point of the guard will
be thereby brought in position to be caught by the spring catch when the tail
of the said spring catch drops back into its recess.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention of "AN
IMPROVED SELF-DETACHING COUPLING FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors of
.

page_text: administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings forming a part of this Specification, in which like letters indicate
corresponding parts of the apparatus:-
The said improvements relate to a coupling whose connecting pins are
hinged to their supporting rods, which at the same time may be made to
support the buffers. These rods are free to slide back and forth in suitable
guides, and they are held in position by springs, and the coupling pins are
provided with shoulders which catch under suitable lips or stops in such a
manner that the coupling pins will remain in an upright position unless exposed
to a lateral strain, and consequently the shackle bar is retained and the
carriages are kept from getting uncoupled as long as all the carriages remain
on the track; but if one of the carriages runs off the track, whereby the
coupling pins forming its connection with the succeeding carriage are subjected
to a lateral strain, one or both of the said coupling pins turn down and the
carriages become detached. The rods which support the hinged pins are free
to swing a short distance in a horizontal plane in such a manner that when
the carriages run on a curve the coupling pins are not liable to be tilted, and
the carriages will not uncouple spontaneously unless one of them should be
thrown off the track. A self-acting guard and catch is combined with the
shackle bar and coupling pins in such a manner that the shackle bar is kept
from being thrown off from the coupling pins until the said pins have turned
down, and the accidental uncoupling of the carriages is avoided.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represent a sectional side elevation, and Figure 2 is an inverted
plan; Figure 3 is a detached view showing a coupling pin turned down.
A, A', represent two adjoining carriages which are coupled together by
the shackle bar B; this shackle bar is made in the ordinary form or shape,
and it catches over the coupling pins C, C', which are hinged to rods D, D¹,
as clearly shown in Figure 1; the said rods slide back and forth in suitable

page_text: guides or cages E, E', which are secured to the under surfaces of the plat-
forms of the carriages, and to their outer ends are attached heads F, F, which
may take the place of buffers. The cages E, E', are provided each with two
rigid bearings p, p¹, and with one movable bearing 9, 9', through which the rods
D, D¹, slide freely; the movable bearings q, q', are fitted into segmental slots
r, r, so as to allow the said bearings together with the rods D, D', and coupling
pins C, C¹, to travel a short distance in a horizontal plane, or in a plane
parallel to the surface of the cages E, E'. The bearings q, q', are provided
with slots or recesses a, a¹, to receive ribs or shoulders b, 61, which project
from the coupling pins so as to keep the said coupling pins from turning on
the rods until the same are drawn out far enough to bring the ends of the
ribs b, b, clear of the recesses a, a'. The position of the rods D, D¹, in their
cages, and consequently that of the coupling pins in relation to the recesses a, a¹,
is governed by the action of springs c, c, c', c¹, which also act as buffer springs.
The tension of these springs is regulated by nuts d, d*, d, di*, and it it will be
readily understood that by screwing up the nuts d, d, and unscrewing the
nuts d*, *, the power which retains the shoulders of the coupling pins in
the recesses a, a', is increased, and vice versa, and by these means the power
required to tip the coupling pins over and release the shackle bar can be
regulated at pleasure. As long as both carriages remain on the track the
coupling pins are retained in an upright position either by the recesses a, a¹,
or by the strain of the shackle bar itself, and the carriages are not liable to
become uncoupled spontaneously; and, furthermore, by giving to the bearings
9. 9', a traversing motion the carriages are free to move on a curve without
getting uncoupled; but if one of the carriages leaves the track the coupling
pins C, C', are exposed to a lateral strain, whereby one or the other or both
become disengaged from their recesses a or a³, so as to turn on the rods D or D¹,
and consequently the shackle bar is released and the carriages are uncoupled.
The shackle bar is retained on the coupling pins by guards 8, which are hinged
to the hub of said coupling pins, all which are locked by spring catches t while
the coupling pins remain in an upright position, the tail ends of the said spring
catches being retained by recesses f in the heads of the rods D, D¹. The
edges of these recesses are rounded off or cam shaped, and if one of the
coupling pins turns on its rod the tail end of the spring catch slides upon the
rounded edge of the recess, so that the spring catch is made to release the point
of the guard, allowing the same to open and to set the shackle bar free. The
guard is intended to be made heavy enough and of such a shape that the same
will reassume it original position as the coupling pin is righted up, and the
point of the guard will be thereby brought in position to be caught by

page_text: the spring catch when the tail of the said spring catch drops back into the
recess f.
By my improved self-detaching coupling many serious accidents will be
prevented, since if the engine or any of the carriages are thrown off the track
it will detach itself from the adjacent carriages, and the remainder of the train
will be saved.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently
and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,—
First, the hinged coupling pins C, C', provided with ribs or shoulders b, b¹,
in combination with recesses a, a', and with the shackle bar B, constructed and
operating substantially as and for the purpose described.
Second, the adjustable springs c, c*, in combination with the coupling pin C,
shoulder b, and recess a, constructed and operating substantially as and for
the purpose set forth.
Third, giving to the rod D which supports the hinged coupling pin C a
lateral play in a horizontal direction, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
Fourth, the guards and self-acting spring catch t in combination with the
hinged coupling pin C and rod D, constructed and operating substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my band and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (LS.)
Witness,
THOS. N. PALMER,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
8, Southampton Buildings, W.C.