IMPROVED AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER TRUCKS OR CARRIAGES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, GEORGE WELLINGTON RHOADES, Furniture Manufacturer, of 5 and 7 Laburnam
Street, Kingsland Road, London; in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for "IMPROVED AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOR RAILWAY
AND OTHER TRUCKS OR CARRIAGES" to be as follows:-
My improved automatic coupling is so constructed that when two trucks or
carriages are brought together they at once become coupled, no matter which ends
of the trucks or carriages face each other, and when desired to uncouple the same
a simple movement of a lever on each truck or carriage and capable of being
operated from either side, will instantly effect such uncoupling.
For this purpose each end of the truck or carriage is provided preferably with a
link and also a hook, the centre of each being situated at an equal distance on
opposite sides of the centre line of the truck or carriage, and the link and hook at
one end being on opposite sides of the centre line to those at the other end, so that
which ever ends of two adjacent trucks or carriages face each other, the link on one
will always be opposite the hook on the other.
The link and the hook at each end are attached to separate draw-bars suitably
mounted in the under frame of the truck or carriage, the draw-bar of the link being
preferably capable of a limited longitudinal movement so as to give to sudden
shocks, for which purpose the pull on such bar will act in opposition to a spring
surrounding the same.
The normal position of the link is practically horizontal, and it is prevented from
falling below such position, but is free to move upwards when required, for which
purpose its inner end is pivotted to the outer end of its draw-bar, and a suitable
stop arrests it when it has fallen as far as is desired, but does not interfere with its
turning in an upward direction on such pivot.
The nose of the hook points upwards and its extreme outer end is normally
situated at a level lower than that of the under side of the link when in its lowest
position, and the whole of this outer end is inclined or curved upwards and
backwards, so that the link of an adjoining carriage coming in contact therewith,
will by turning on its pivot, ride up the incline until it passes over the top of the
hook, when it will fall by its weight and so couple the two carriages together.
The hook at each end projects the same distance beyond the link, so that the
links and books on two carriages will be simultaneously brought into contact
and coupled.
For the purpose of preventing the link turning too far in an upward direction,
as it might when two carriages to be coupled are brought into violent contact,

page_text: a stop is arranged to limit such upward movement and to ensure the link falling
down again into its normal position.
For the purpose of enabling the coupling to be disconnected, each of the hooks is
formed on the end of a shank, the normal position of which is in a line with the
draw-bar. This shank is pivotted at a point intermediate between the hook at its
outer end, and the inner end of such shank, the latter end being weighted and a
stop arranged on the draw-bar, so as to cause the hook to always return to and be
arrested at its normal position. Over the top of the inner end of the shank of the
hook, a spring bar or catch is arranged to lock the hook in position, but when such
catch is withdrawn the hook will be free to turn on its pivot, when a pull is
exerted thereon, so that if two carriages which are coupled together are pulled or
moved away from each other, after the spring bar or catch has been withdrawn,
the link of each carriage acting upon the hook of the other will cause the latter to
turn on its pivot until such link clears the nose of same, when the carriages will
be uncoupled, and the weight acting on the shank of the hook will then cause
the latter to again assume its normal position, and the spring bar or catch will
immediately resume its position over the inner end of the shank.
In order to prevent the hook turning too far downwards a stop is arranged on
the draw-bar to limit its movement.
For the purpose of withdrawing the spring bar or catch from over the inner end
of the shank of the hook, a cross shaft is arranged to turn in suitable bearings in
the under frame of the carriage, and is fitted with a lever at each end, so that it
can be actuated from either side of the carriage. In a position coinciding with that
of the spring bar or catch over the shank of the hook, the cross shaft is provided
with an arm which when the shaft is turned, is brought into contact with a
projection on the spring bar or catch, so as to force the latter back until it is clear
of the end of the shank. As soon as the levers by which the cross shaft is actuated
are released, the spring acting on the bar or catch will cause it to return to its
normal position. The inner end of the shank of the hook and also the outer end
of the spring bar or catch, are both inclined, so that when the two are brought into
contact, by the movement of the hook in its return to its normal position in the
manner above described, the spring bar or catch will be forced back and allow
the shank of the hook to pass, when it will again assume its position over the top
of the same.
The levers which actuate the cross shaft which effects the withdrawal of the
spring bar or catch, may be capable of being fixed so that the cross shaft cannot
turn in its bearings, both with the object of locking the spring bar or catch in
position over the shank of the hook, and thus prevent any possible chance of its
becoming accidentally disengaged, and also with the object of holding such spring
bar or catch clear of the shank, when desired to allow the carriages to become
disconnected without having to turn the cross shaft, as when shunting a part of
a train.
It will be readily understood that instead of the duplicate arrangement of hook
and link at each end of the carriage, the arrangement described may be modified
so as to have only a link at one end of each carriage and a hook at the other end
of same, both arranged in the centre of the width of the under frame, but in this
case the carriages could not be reversed as it would be necessary that the link of
one carriage should be brought into contact with the hook on another, in coupling
two carriages together.

page_text: Improved Automatic Coupling for Railway and other Trucks or
Carriages.
I, GEORGE WELLINGTON RHOADES, Furniture Manufacturer, of 5 and 7 Laburnain
Street, Kingsland Road, London, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :--
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a longitudinal sectional elevation of my
improved coupling, showing the hook at one end and the link at the other end of
the frame of the truck or carriage; Fig. 2 is a plan view showing each end of the
truck or carriage provided with a hook and also a link; and Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6,
are detail views illustrating the construction and operation of my improved
coupling.
My improved automatic coupling is so constructed that when two trucks or
carriages are brought together they at once become coupled, no matter which ends
of the trucks or carriages face each other, and when desired to uncouple the same
a simple movement of a lever on each truck or carriage and capable of being
operated from either side, will instantly effect such uncoupling.
For this purpose each end of the truck or carriage is provided preferably, as
shown in Fig. 2, with a link A and also a hook B, the centre of each being situated
at an equal distance on opposite sides of the centre line of the truck or carriage,
and the link and hook at one end being on opposite sides of the centre line to
those at the other end, so that which ever ends of two adjacent trucks or carriages
face each other, the link on one will always be opposite the hook on the other.
The link A is attached to a draw-bar A', and the hook B to a draw-bar F,
separate draw-bars being provided, and suitably mounted in the under frame of
the truck or carriage, for the link and hook at each end, and the draw-bar A'
being preferably capable of a limited longitudinal movement so as to give to sudden
shocks, for which purpose the pull on such bar will act in opposition to a spring
or rubber block A2 surrounding the same.
The normal position of the link A is practically horizontal, but is preferably
inclined slightly in a downward direction, and it is prevented from falling below
such position, but is free to move upwards when required, for which purpose its
inner end is pivoted at C to the outer end of its draw-bar A¹, and the stop D on
the link arrests it when it has fallen as far as is desired, but does not interfere with
its turning in an upward direction on such pivot.
The link A is also pivoted to its draw-bar A' in a vertical direction, as shown
at E in Figs. 5 and 6, for the purpose of permitting it to turn on such pivot in a
horizontal plane, so as to allow the link to move in relation to the truck or carriage
when travelling round curves.
The nose of the hook B points upwards and its extreme outer end is normally
situated at a level lower than that of the under side of link A when in its lowest
position, and the whole of this outer end is inclined or curved upwards and back-
wards, so that the link A of an adjoining carriage coming in contact therewith,

page_text: will by turning on its pivot C, ride up the incline until it passes over the top of
the hook B, when it will fall by its weight and so couple the two carriages together.
The hook at each end projects the same distance beyond the link, so that the links
and hooks on two carriages will be sinrultaneously brought into contact and
coupled.
The stop D may also serve to limit the upward movement of the link, for
the purpose of preventing it turning too far on pivot C, as it might when two
carriages to be coupled are brought into violent contact, or a separate stop may be
provided for this purpose, whereby the fall of the link back to its normal position
is ensured.
By inclining the link downwards, if two carriages or trucks are brought together,
one of which is more heavily weighted than the other, the lower link will come
into contact with the hook of the adjoining carriage in a more favourable position
for being raised to clear the nose of same, than it otherwise would, and the higher
link will be more certain to fall as soon as it clears the nose of the book on the
other carriage.
For the purpose of enabling the coupling to be disconnected, each hook B is
formed on the end of a shank B1, the normal position of which is in a line with the
draw-bar F. This shank is pivoted to the draw-bar at a point G intermediate
between the hook at its outer end and the inner end of such shank, which latter is
provided with a counterbalance weight H, and the draw-bar F provided with a
stop F¹, so as to cause the hook B to always return to and be arrested at its normal
position. Over the top of the inner end of the shank B¹, a spring bar or catch I
is arranged to lock the hook B in its normal position, but when such catch is with-
drawn the hook will be free to turn on its pivot G, when a pull is exerted thereon,
so that if two carriages which are coupled together aro pulled or moved away
from each other, after the spring bar or catch I has been withdrawn, the link of
each carriage acting upon the hook of the other will cause the latter to turn on its
pivot G, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 3, until such link clears the nose of same,
when the carriages will be uncoupled, and the weight H acting on the shank B¹ of
hook B, will then cause the latter to again assume its normal position, and the
spring bar or catch I will immediately resume its position over the inner end of
the shank B¹.
The shank B' of hook B is provided with a guard arm B³, which is directed
from the back of the shank towards the nose of the hook, leaving sufficient space
between their facing ends to allow the link to drop freely between them. The
object of the guard arm B is to prevent the accidental disengagement of the link
from the hook upon any sudden concussion being imparted to the coupled carriages,
as the link when coupled if suddenly forced back might turn upwards on its.
pivot C, but by coming in contact with the under side of the guard arm B2, it
will be thrown down again and so prevented from clearing the nose of the hook
on the rebound.
For the purpose of withdrawing the spring bar or catch I from over the inner
end of the shank B' of hook B, a cross shaft J is arranged to turn in suitable
bearings in the under frame of the carriage, and is fitted with a lever K. at each
end, so that it can be actuated from either side of the carriage. In a position
coinciding with that of the spring bar or catch I over the shank B₁ of hook B, the
cross shaft J is provided with an arm L, which when the shaft is turned, is brought
into contact with a projection I on the spring bar or catch, so as to force the latter
back until it is clear of the shank B'. As soon as the lever K by which the shaft J
is actuated is released, the spring I2 acting on the bar or catch I will cause it to
return to its normal position. The inner end of the shank B¹ and also the outer
end of the spring bar or catch I, are both inclined, so that when the two are
brought into contact, by the movement of the hook B in its return to its normal
position under the action of the weight H as above described, the spring bar or
catch I will be forced back and allow the shank B1 to pass, when it will again
assume its position over the top of such shank, by the action of its spring 12.

page_text: If desired the spring bar or catch I may be pivoted and weighted, so as to
cause it to always return to its normal position after the lever K is released, under
the action of its counterbalance weight instead of the spring 12, in which case the
connection with the cross shaft J will have to be modified so as to cause the bar
or catch I to revolve on its pivot when actuated by the lever K.
The levers K may be capable of being fixed so that the cross shaft J cannot
turn in its bearings, both with the object of locking the spring bar or catch I in
position over the shank B₁ of hook B, and thus prevent any possible chance of its
becoming accidentally disengaged, and also with the object of holding such bar or
catch I clear of the shank B¹, when desired to allow the carriages to become
disconnected without having to turn the cross shaft J, as when shunting a part of
a train.
For the purpose of enabling the spring bar or catch I to be actuated by the
guard of a train from the break, the levers K may extend up as shown in broken
lines K¹, so as to place such extension within reach from the door of the break or
carriage.
When applied to trucks or carriages fitted with spring buffers, it is preferable to
arrange the contact surface between the hook of one carriage and the link of
another carriage when coupled, so that the same is in a vertical plane slightly
behind that of the outer ends or contact surfaces of the buffers, so that the latter
will always be held slightly forced back and their springs consequently slightly
compressed, when two carriages or trucks are coupled together.
From the above construction it results that my improved coupling can be applied
to existing trucks or carriages no matter what the length of the buffers may be, as
it is only necessary that the outer ends of the links and hooks shall always occupy
the same relative positions to the outer ends. of such buffers on all carriages to
which they are applied, and this can readily be accomplished by varying the
distance from the outer ends of such links and hooks to the end of the truck or
carriage itself, according to the length of the buffers on the latter.
It will be readily understood that instead of the duplicate arrangement of book
and link at each end of the truck or carriage, the arrangement described may be
modified so as to have only a link at one end of each carriage and a hook at the
other end of same, both arranged in the centre of the width of the under frame,
but in this case the trucks or carriages could not be reversed as it would be
necessary that the link of one carriage should be brought into contact with the
book on another, in coupling two carriages together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
:-
1. The improved coupling consisting in a link pivoted to a draw-bar so as to be
capable of moving in a vertical plane when brought into contact with the inclined
lower end of a hook fixed in the same vertical plane of an adjoining carriage, such
lower end extending downwards and forwards below the level of the link, for the
purpose of causing the latter when two trucks or carriages are brought together to
ride up over the nose of the hook and then to fall and so automatically couple the
two carriages together, substantially-as described.
2. Arranging a hook and link constructed as described in the preceding claim,
on the opposite ends of each truck or carriage, and situated at an equal distance on
opposite sides of the centre line of the truck or carriage, the link and hook at one
end being on opposite sides of the centre line to those at the other end, substantially
as described.
3. Forming the hook B at one end of a shank pivoted to the draw-bar F, and
providing a spring or weighted catch to normally maintain the hook in its raised
position, such catch being capable of being withdrawn to permit the hook to turn
on its pivot and allow the link to clear its nose and disengage the coupling, the

page_text: hook being then caused to again assume its normal position by means of a weight
suspended to the rear end of its shank, substantially as described.
4. Pivoting the link A to its draw-bar A¹ so that such link can turn in a
horizontal plane in relation to such draw-bar, as and for the purpose specified.
5. Providing the, hook B with a guard arm B2 extending towards the nose of
the hook, but leaving sufficient space for the passage of the link A between them,
for the purpose of preventing the accidental disengagement of the link from the
hook upon any sudden shock being imparted to the truck or carriage, substantially
as specified.
6. The construction and arrangement of automatic coupling operating sub-
stantially as described.