Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Locomotives, Carriages, Wagons, and Trucks.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Mar., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 11th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1846
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Locomotives,
Carriages, Wagons, and Trucks.
I, GEORGE JOHNSTON, of No. 65 Eastbourne Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention consists of automatic couplings for railway locomotives, carriages,
wagons and trucks the parts of which are constructed and combined and operate in
the manner hereinafter described.
I will describe my invention as applied to railway trucks.
To the drawbar fixed to the middle of the headstock or framing of the truck and
in the same horizontal plane as the buffers is jointed a two branched fork, the said
fork having motion through a small angle both in a horizontal and vertical plane.
The two branches of the said fork when in position are situated in a plane making
an angle of forty five degrees with a vertical plane. The inner ends of both
branches of the fork are bevilled or inclined. In each of the branches of the
fork is a slot extending through nearly its whole length. In one of the said slots
a flat arm or lever is situated the said arm or lever being jointed to the branch of
the fork at a short distance from the point where the branches of the fork are
connected. The unjointed or free end of the said arm or lever is formed into a
hook the outer face of which is convex, the inner face of the said hook being plain
and inclined at an acute angle to the inner edge of the hook. A stop or projection
on the outer edge of the hook limits the motion of the said hook, permitting the
arm or lever to occupy the slot but preventing it from entering the space between
the branches of the fork.
A mechanism of the kind described is attached to each of the opposed ends of
the trucks to be coupled the plane in which the branches of one of the forks is
situated being at right angles to the plane in which the branches of the other fork
are situated. The forks as already described have play through a small vertical
and horizontal angle but after deflection are brought back to their normal positions
when at liberty to move by light springs.
.
The action of the parts is as follows. On the trucks to be coupled being made
to approach each other the open ends of the forks are presented to each other. As
the open end of each fork is temporarily closed by the hook of its lever crossing
it the said hooks as the trucks approach, strike against each other and the striking
faces being inclined, the said hooks are forced back until they have passed each
other when they fall by their weight into their normal positions; that is they cross
their respective forks. The inner faces of the hooks are now presented to each.
other and being inclined in the manner hereinbefore described the forks can no
longer be withdrawn by any pressure tending to separate the trucks.
The couplings described can be uncoupled when necessary by the following
arrangement of parts. A horizontal rod having a limited sliding motion on the
end of the truck has connected to its middle one end of a chain or cord. This
chain or cord passing over pulleys its other end is connected to the booked end of
the lever of the coupling and by the sliding of the said horizontal rod of either
truck the hooked lever can be. moved so as to withdraw its hooked end from
between the branches of the fork and the two parts of the coupling being detached
the trucks can be separated.

page_text: In consequence of the limited motion which the parts of the coupling have both
in a vertical and horizontal plane combined with the inclined inner faces of the ends
of the fork, the two parts of the coupling readily engage with each other although
they may not approach in the same right line.
Dated this Sixteenth day of March 1895.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Locomotives,
Carriages, Wagons, and Trucks.
1 GEORGE JOHNSTON, of No. 65 Eastbourne Street, Liverpool in the County
.of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer 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 :-
My invention consists of automatic couplings for railway locomotives, carriages
wagons and trucks, the parts of which are constructed and combined and operate
in the manner hereinafter described.
I will describe iny invention as applied to railway trucks.
In each of
In
To the drawbar fixed to the middle of the headstock or framing of the truck and
in the same horizontal plane as the buffers is jointed a two branched fork or forked
bracket, the said fork or bracket having motion through a small angle both in a
horizontal and vertical plane. The two branches of the said fork when in position
are situated in a plane making an angle of forty five degrees with a vertical plane.
The inner ends of both branches of the fork are bevilled or inclined.
the branches of the fork is a slot extending through nearly its whole length.
one of the said slots a flat arm or lever is situated the said arm or lever being
jointed to the branch of the fork at a short distance from the point where the
branches of the fork are connected. The unjointed or free end of the said arm
or lever is formed into a hook the outer face of which is convex, the inner face of
the said hook being plain and inclined at an acute angle to the outer edge of the
hook. A stop or projection on the outer edge of the hook limits the motion of the
said hook, permitting the arm or lever to occupy the slot but preventing it from
entering the space between the branches of the fork.
A mechanism of the kind described is attached to each of the opposed ends of
the trucks to be coupled, the plane in which the branches of one of the forks are
situated being at right angles to the plane in which the branches of the other fork
are situated. The forks, as already described, have play through a small vertical
and horizontal angle but after deflection may be brought back to their normal
positions when at liberty to move by light springs.
The action of the parts is as follows. On the trucks to be coupled being made
to approach each other the open ends of the forks are presented to each other. As
the open end of each fork is temporarily closed by the hook of its lever crossing it
the said books as the trucks approach, strike against each other and the striking
faces being inclined, the said hooks are forced back until they have passed each
other when they fall by their weight into their normal positions; that is, they cross
their respective forks. The inner faces of the hooks are now presented to each
other and being inclined in the manner herein before described the forks can no
longer be withdrawn by any pressure tending to separate the trucks.
The couplings described can be uncoupled when necessary by the following
arrangement of parts. A horizontal rod having a limited sliding motion on the
end of the truck has connected to its middle one end of a chain or cord. This

page_text: chain or cord passing over pulleys its other end is connected to the hooked end
of the lever of the coupling and by the sliding of the said horizontal rod of either
truck the hooked lever can be moved so as to withdraw its hooked end from
between the branches of the fork and the two parts of the coupling being detached
the trucks can be separated.
In consequence of the limited motion which the parts of the coupling have both
in a vertical and horizontal plane combined with the inclined inner faces of the
ends of the fork, the two parts of the coupling readily engage with each other
although they may not approach in the same right line.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in side elevation and Figure 2
in plan, two railway trucks coupled by means of automatic couplings constructed.
according to my invention. In the said Figure 1 the buffers at the ends of the
trucks presented to each other are omitted in order the better to exhibit the
automatic coupling.
Figure 3 represents in side elevation a pair of my improved couplings before.
being coupled ;
Figure 4 represents in plan a portion of the draw bar of one of the couplings.
and also in plan of underside a portion of one of the forked brackets detached
from the draw bar;
Figure 4 represents in side elevation one of the hooked levers of the.
coupling detached;
Figure 5 represents the said couplings in the act of coupling and
Figure 6 represents the said couplings coupled or engaged together;
Figure 7 is a cross section taken through the dotted line, Figure 5 and
Figure 8 is a cross section taken through the dotted line Y, Y Figure 6.
Figure 9 represents in end elevation a portion of one of the trucks showing the
uncoupling mechanism.
Figures 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1.
and 2.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of
the drawings.
a, a are the drawbars of the couplings fixed to the headstocks H, H of the
trucks in the ordinary way.
Each of the drawbars a, a has jointed to its outer end a two armed fork or.
forked bracket b, b³, being the jointed end of the said forked bracket.
and 62, 63 being respectively the upper and lower arms or branches of the same..
The two arms 2, 3 of the said fork are situated in a plane making an angle of
forty-five degrees with a vertical plane and the inclined plane in which the arms
of the fork of one coupling are situated crosses the plane in which the arms of the
fork of the other coupling are situated at a right angle as will be seen by reference;
to the cross sections Figures 7 and 8.
The forks or brackets 6, 62, 63 are preserved in a nearly horizontal position when
uncoupled by the V shaped projections or parts a' of the T heads a² of the draw-
bars a and by the engagement therewith of the corresponding V shaped recesses
or grooves in the underside of the jointed ends of the said forks or brackets.
as will be best understood by reference to Figure 4.
The upper arm of each of the forks or brackets has a longitudinal slot in it in
which the coupling levers c, are situated and work the said levers being pivoted
to the pin d crossing the upper arm 2 of the fork. The hooked ends c² of the
coupling levers c, e cross the open ends of the forks b, 62, 63 and engage in holes *
in the lower arms 63 of the said forks; the stops c³, c³ limit the desceuding motion.
of the levers C c².
On the approach of a pair of trucks provided with the said couplings the
curved outer ends of the hooks c² of the levers c, c strike against each other and
mutually force each other outwards or apart (as is represented in Figures 5 and 7)
until the hooked ends c² pass or escape each other when the said hooks falling by
their own weight immediately engage behind one another and effect the coupling

page_text: of the two trucks together as will be best seen by reference to Figures 6 and 8.
By the jointing of the forks or brackets b, 62, 63 to the pins e of the drawbars a
the said brackets are made capable of a limited angular motion in a vertical
plane.
It will be seen by reference to Figure 6 that the engagement of the forks or
brackets of the couplings brings them in line with each other.
In order to effect the uncoupling of the said trucks it is only necessary to
slightly raise and pull the handle or looped end of one or other of the
horizontal sliding bars according to which side of the trucks the person effecting
the uncoupling is situated, when the lever 9 92 connected to the sliding bar is
turned into the dotted position indicated in Figure 9 and the link h and coupling
hook of the lever c, c² thereby raised and disengaged from the hooked lever of
the other coupling. The parts of the coupling may be fixed in its open or
uncoupling position by depressing the barf and engaging the projection or tooth f¹
with the staple in which the said bar f works. By pressing the bar finwards
the parts are returned to their coupling position. In order to prevent the
accidental movement of the uncoupling bar f its toothed projection f is
engaged with the staple i by depressing the bar into the position represented in
Figure 9.
When the booked ends of the coupling levers rise in the act of coupling the
eye ends of their links h, h ride up the arms g, g of the levers 9, y² and fall into
their normal position on the closing of the said coupling levers.
Instead of employing levers 9, 9² and links h the uncoupling may be effected by
chains or cords passing over pulleys the said chains or cords being connected at
one end to the uncoupling bars f and at their other end to the hooked ends of the
coupling levers c c².
The drawbar a may be provided with a hook on its upper face so that when
the truck has to be coupled with a truck not provided with my invention the
chain of the ordinary truck may be passed onto the said hook and the coupling of
the two trucks thereby effected. Or the pin e may have the link of a chain
attached to it by means of which chain the coupling may be effected.
The application of my invention to railway locomotives, carriages and wagons
differs in no essential respect from its application to railway trucks as hereinbefore
described and illustrated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that I claim
as my invention ;—
The construction and arrangement or combination of the parts of the improved
automatic couplings for railway locomotives, carriages, wagons and trucks
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the said
construction and arrangement of each coupling of a pair consisting of a two armed
fork or forked bracket jointed to the outer end of the drawbar, the two arms or
branches of the forked bracket making an angle preferably of forty-five degrees.
with a vertical plane the upper arm or branch being slotted and provided with a
hooked coupling lever the hooked end of which crosses the forked bracket near
its open end and engages in a hole in the lower arm or branch of the said forked
bracket, the plane in which the forked bracket and coupling lever of one coupling
is situated crossing the plane in which the forked bracket and coupling lever of
the other coupling is situated at a right angle or thereabouts, the coupling
and uncoupling being effected substantially as herein before described and
illustrated.
Date L 1
1805