Improvements in or relating to Central Buffers for Railway and like Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Jan., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 18th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 9th Dec.,
1893
Improvements in or relating to Central Buffers for Railway and
like Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM RICHARD SUMPTION JONES, of 4, Whitehall Court, Whitehall, in
the County of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention of improvements in or relating to central buffers for railway
and like vehicles has reference to central buffers of the kind designed to be coupled
together by means of a loose or independent coupling link and coupling pins
carried by the heads of the buffers on adjacent vehicles.
According thereto each buffer head is provided with improved coupling
apparatus so constructed and arranged that the coupling of a loose coupling link
held in position by a coupling pin in one buffer head with the coupling pin
normally held in the inoperative position in another buffer head, will not only
take place in an automatic manner, as heretofore, when two vehicles provided
with such central buffers are brought together, but the coupling pin can be
tightened up to hold the adjacent buffer heads close together and this tightening
up will effect the locking of the coupling pin in place, whilst should the coupling
link carried by one buffer head be brought in contact with any obstruction, such
as the coupling pin of another buffer head that is by accident in the lowered or
coupling position, such link can yield and thus prevent damage of the coupling:
In one construction of coupling apparatus according to this invention, each
buffer head is made hollow and provided with a coupling pin that is capable of
extending transversely through and retaining in place one end of a loose coupling
link that serves to connect two central buffers together in a manner well under-
stood. The coupling pin is capable of being moved in and out of its operative
position in a transverse direction, and also of being moved lengthwise of the
buffer head so as to tighten up the coupling link and at the same time to become
itself locked so that it cannot accidentally release the coupling link. For the
purpose of moving the coupling pin in and out of the buffer head, its upper or
outer end may be bifurcated and journalled upon a cross piece that is connected
at its ends by links to a pair of lever arms fixed to a cross shaft journalled in
the buffer head. The lower or inner end of the coupling pin is adapted to engage
with a slide block mounted to move lengthwise of the buffer head, its outward
movement being limited by a suitable stop, such for example as a part of the
buffer head. For moving the coupling pin practically parallel with itself for the
purpose of tightening up the coupling link, the cross piece to which the pin is
journalled is formed as a nut that is engaged with one end of a right and left
handed screw the other end of which is engaged with another crosspiece which
is also formed as a nut and is journalled in the upper ends of a pair of levers'
journalled upon the cross shaft and the lower ends of which are connected to a

page_text: :
link formed in one with or carrying the above mentioned slide block, the for-
ward end of the said link being held up in position by a bracket that is fixed to
the buffer head and on which the said block can slide. The coupling pin is formed
at its inner part with a shoulder to rest upon the slide block through a hole
in which its free end extends, and also with a second shoulder formed by re-
cessing its inner side. The arrangement is such that the coupling pin can be
readily turned outward from its operative. position to its inoperative, or vice versa,
about the axis of the cross shaft, by operating one or other of the lever arms,
and that when the coupling pin is in the inner or operative position, it can be
readily moved parallel to itself, so as to abut against the adjacent end of the
coupling link, by rotating the screw by its handle, whereby not only will the
cross piece to which the coupling pin is journalled be moved longitudinally in
an upward direction but also the link carrying the slide block, and when the
coupling pin is brought into close contact with the coupling link it will be
locked in position by reason of the said second shoulder thereon then abutting
against the said link.
:
Fixed parts of the buffer head between which the screw comes when the coup-
ling pin moves into its operative position, serve to prevent endways movement
of the screw and thus to control the movement of the levers journalled on the
cross shaft. A slotted plate, or two plates arranged side by side with a space
between them for the coupling pin and having a downwardly and backwardly
inclined lower side, is or are secured within and at the upper part of the buffer
head to guide the coupling link into the buffer head. The front surface of the
slide block is inclined upward and backward for a like reason. Means other
than a slide block and link may obviously be used for moving the free inner end
of the coupling pin longitudinally within the buffer head. For example a
shackle link jointed to the levers journalled on the cross shaft and adapted to be
held in a horizontal, or approximately horizontal position, may be used. The
slide block link or its equivalent is hereinafter called for distinction the lower
link.
Various means may be provided for holding the coupling pin in the outer
and inoperative position until the coupling link carried by the other buffer head
enters the buffer head carrying such pin, and then to automatically allow such
pin to move into the operative position and hold the link in place. In one
arrangement for this purpose there is pivoted to the buffer guide or other normally
fixed part of the vehicle through or in relation to which the buffer rod works,
a pivoted catch which, when the coupling pin is turned into the inoperative
position, automatically engages with a projection on the cross shaft and holds
the parts in the inoperative position. The cross shaft and attached parts are
automatically released, when adjacent vehicles are brought forcibly together,
by causing the backward movement of the buffer head relatively to the vehicle,
which then takes place, to lift the catch out of engagement with the projection
on the cross shaft. For this purpose the rear side of the said projection may be
arranged to act upon an inclined surface on the catch and lift the latter out of
engagement with the projection and thus free the same and attached parts.
The adjacent lever journalled on the cross shaft, may be provided with a pro-
jection to serve as a stop against which the projection on the cross shaft will
abut so as to limit the outward movement of the coupling pin.
To allow the coupling link to move endways into the buffer head that carries
it in the event of its outer projecting end striking against an obstruction, there
is provided within the buffer head an elastic or yielding abutment for the inner
end of such link. In one example for this purpose, there is employed a coiled
wire spring that is mounted on a pin carried by the lower link the rear ends of
this spring being arranged to bear against the buffer head, or a part, for example
the cross shaft, carried thereby, whilst the bent central portion of the spring,
which may normally bear against the slide block, extends upward and forms a

page_text: yielding seat that will permit the coupling link that bears against it to move
backward when necessary and will also return the link into its coupling position.
According to another arrangement for holding the coupling link in the in-
operative position and for automatically releasing it when the coupling link with
which it is to be engaged has.entered the buffer head, there is provided within the
buffer head a pair of levers (hereinafter called for distinction spring levers),
that are loosely mounted upon pins in the buffer head and are inclined back-
wardly towards each other. The forward end of each of these spring levers is
provided with a vertical extension having a rounded surface, and with a lateral
inwardly projecting extension having a curved lower side. The rear ends of the
spring levers are bent downward and are pressed backward and apart so as to
depress the lateral extensions on their forward ends in the path of an entering
coupling link, and force them sideways against opposite sides of the coupling
pin, so as normally to hold the latter in the inoperative position. The rear ends
of the spring levers may for these purposes be acted upon by the rear end portions
of the spring used to form a yielding seat for a coupling link, such spring then
serving three functions. The arrangement is such that when the coupling pin
is moved outward into its inoperative position, it will be held in that position
by the extensions of the spring levers which will then abut against opposite sides
of the pin, and when the coupling link enters the buffer head and by acting
against the rounded surfaces of the extensions of the said levers forces the latter
apart, the coupling pin will be automatically released and allowed to fall through
and engage the coupling link, the lower shoulder on the coupling pin coming to
rest upon the slide block which, together with the cross piece to which the coup-
ling pin is journalled, is then moved endways by the screw to tighten up and lock
the coupling pin as with the arrangement first herein described.
In a further modified arrangement the coupling pin is disconnected from any
mechanism by which it can be swung into and out of the buffer head and is
adapted to be inserted through longitudinal slots in the buffer head to engage
the coupling link, and to be withdrawn therefrom to release such link, by hand.
To tighten up the coupling pin and coupling link, the pin is passed through the
top and bottom portions of a bifurcated block that is passed through the open
sides of the buffer head and is connected at its respective sides by a right and
left handed screw and a tee-headed link to the opposite ends of a lever mounted
on a vertical pin carried by the buffer, the arrangement being such that by
tightening up the screw, which loosely fits in the block, the said block will be
caused to slide longitudinally backward in the buffer head and tighten up the
pin against the coupling link and thereby securely lock such pin in position.
To further assist in locking the pin vertically, it may be circumferentially
grooved, to partly receive the coupling link which is guided into the coupling
position by suitably inclined or curved guiding surfaces on the slide block.
Sufficient space is provided between the inner end of the coupling link and "the
back of the buffer head to allow of inward movement of the link, and, as in the
other arrangements hereinbefore described, a suitable spring may be provided
within such space to form a yielding seat for the link and to afterwards return
such link to its proper position.
As will be obvious the means for moving the coupling pin in and out of position
and for tightening it up and simultaneously locking it in place can be variously
modified, the constructions hereinbefore described being merely given by way
of example.

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Central Buffers for Railway and
like Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM RICHARD SUMPTION JONES, of 4, Whitehall Court, Whitehall, in
the County of London, Engineer, 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; -
This invention of improvements in or relating to central buffers for railway
and like vehicles has reference to central buffers of the kind designed to be coupled
together by means of a loose or independent coupling link and coupling pins
carried by the heads of the buffers on adjacent vehicles.
According thereto each buffer head is provided with improved coupling
apparatus so constructed and arranged that the coupling of a loose coupling link
held in position by a coupling pin in one buffer head with the coupling pin
normally held in the inoperative position in another buffer head, will not only
take place in an automatic manner, as heretofore, when two vehicles provided
with such central buffers are brought together, but the coupling pin can be
tightened up to hold the adjacent buffer heads close together and this tightening
up will effect the locking of the coupling pin in place, whilst should the coupling
link carried by one buffer head be brought in contact with any obstruction, such
as the coupling pin of another buffer head that is by accident in the lowered or
coupling position, such link can yield and thus prevent damage.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying illustrative drawings shows partly in side elevation
and partly in longitudinal section, a pair of central buffers provided with one
construction of coupling apparatus according to this invention, and Fig. 2 shows
the same partly in plan and partly in horizontal section.
Each buffer head 1 in this example is made hollow and provided with a
coupling pin 2 that is capable of extending transversely through and retaining
in place one end of a loose coupling link 3 that serves to connect two central
buffers together in a manner well understood. The coupling pin 2 is capable
of being moved in and out of its operative position in a vertical direction, and also
of being moved lengthwise of the buffer head so as to tighten up the coupling
link 3 and at the same time to become itself locked so that it cannot accidentally
release the coupling link. For the purpose of moving the coupling pin 2 in
and out of the buffer head, its upper or outer end 2 is, in the example illustrated,
bifurcated and journalled upon a cross piece 4 that is connected at its ends by
links 5 to a pair of lever arms 6 fixed to a cross shaft 7 journalled in the buffer
head. The lower or inner end 2b of the coupling pin 2 is adapted to engage
with a slide block 8 mounted to move lengthwise of the buffer head, its outward
movement being limited by a suitable stop, such for example as a part 1 of
the buffer head (Fig. 1). For moving the coupling pin 2 practically parallel
with itself for the purpose of tightening up the coupling link 3, the cross piece 4
to which the pin is journalled, is formed as a nut that is engaged with one end
of a right and left handed screw 9 the other end of which is engaged with another
cross piece 10 which is also formed as a nut, and is journalled in the upper ends
of a pair of levers 11 journalled upon the cross shaft 7 and the lower ends of
which are connected to a link 12 formed in one with or carrying the slide
block 8, the forward end of the said link 12 being held up in position by a
bracket 13 that is fixed to the buffer head and on which the said block can slide.

page_text: The coupling pin 2 is formed at its inner part with a shoulder 2° to rest upon the
slide block 8 through a hole in which its free end 2 extends, and also with a
second shoulder 2d formed by recessing its inner side.
As will be seen the arrange-
ment is such that the coupling pin 2 can be readily turned outward from its
operative position, shown at the left hand side of Fig. 1, to its inoperative
position, shown at the right hand side of the same figure, or vice versa, about the
axis of the cross shaft 7 as a centre, by operating one or other of the lever arms 6,
and that when the coupling pin 2 is in the inner or operative position shown at
the left hand side of Fig. 1, it can be readily moved parallel to itself, so as to
abut against the adjacent end of the coupling link 3, by rotating the screw 9
by its handle 9, whereby not only will the cross piece 4 to which the coupling
pin 2 is journalled be moved longitudinally in an inward direction but also the
link 12 carrying the slide block 8. It will also be seen that when the coupling
pin 2 is brought into close contact with the coupling link 3 it will be locked in
position by reason of its shoulder 2d then abutting against the said link.
Fixed parts 1, 1° of the buffer head between which the screw 9 comes when
the coupling pin 2 moves into its operative position, serve to prevent endways
movement of the screw and thus to control the movement of the levers 11. A
slotted plate, or, as shown, two plates 14 arranged side by side with a space
between them for the coupling pin 2 and having a downwardly and backwardly
inclined lower side, is or are secured within and at the upper part of the buffer
head to guide the coupling link 3 into the buffer head. The front surface of
the slide block 8 is inclined upward and backward for a like reason.
Means other than a slide block 8 and link 12 may obviously be used for moving
the free inner end 2b of the coupling pin 2 longitudinally within the buffer head.
For example a shackle link jointed to the levers 11 and adapted to be held in
a horizontal, or approximately horizontal position, may be used. The slide block
link 12 or its equivalent is hereinafter called for distinction the lower link.
Various means may be provided for holding the coupling pin 2 in the outer
and inoperative position shown at the right hand side of Fig. 1 until the coupling
link 3 carried by the other buffer head enters the buffer head carrying such pin
and then to automatically allow such pin to move into the operative position and
hold the link in place. In the arrangement shown for this purpose in the example
now being described, there is pivoted to the buffer guide 1d or other normally
fixed part of the vehicle through or in relation to which the buffer rod 1° works,
a pivoted catch 15 which, when the coupling pin 2 is turned into the inoperative
position shown at the right hand side of Fig. 1 automatically engages with a
projection 16 on the cross shaft 7 and holds the parts in the inoperative position
shown at the right hand side of Fig. 1. The cross shaft and attached parts are
automatically released, when adjacent vehicles are brought forcibly together, by
causing the backward movement of the buffer head relatively to the vehicle,
which then takes place, to lift the catch 15 out of engagement with the projection
16 on the cross shaft 7. For this purpose the rear side of the projection 16 is
arranged to act upon an inclined surface 17 on the catch 15 and lift the latter
out of engagement with the projection and thus free the same and attached parts.
The adjacent lever 11 may be provided with a projection 18 to serve as a stop
against which the projection 16 will abut so as to limit the outward movement
of the coupling pin.
To allow the coupling link 3 to move endways into the buffer head that carries
it in the event of its outer projecting end striking against an obstruction, there
is provided within the buffer head an elastic or vielding abutment for the inner
end of such link. In the example illustrated for this purpose, there is employed
a coiled wire spring 19 that is mounted on a pin 19 carried by the lower link 12
and the rear ends 19" of which are arranged to bear against the buffer head, or
a part, for example the cross shaft 7, carried thereby, whilst the bent central
portion 19 of the spring, which may normally bear against the slide block 8,
extends upward and forms a yielding seat that will permit the coupling link 3

page_text: that bears against it to move backward when necessary and will also return the
link into its coupling position.
Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views to Figs. 1 and 2 respectively; and Fig. 5 is
a part end view and a part cross section, showing another arrangement for holding
the coupling link in the inoperative position and for automatically releasing it
when the coupling link with which it is to be engaged has entered the buffer head.
In this arrangement there is provided within the buffer head 1 a pair of levers 20
(hereinafter called for distinction spring levers), that are loosely mounted upon.
pins 21 in the buffer head and are inclined backwardly towards each other. The
forward end of each of these spring levers is provided with a vertical extension
20 aving a rounded surface, and with a lateral inwardly projecting extension 20b
having a curved lower side. The rear ends 20° of the spring levers 20 are bent
downward and inward (Figs. 3 and 5) and are pressed backward and apart so
as to depress the lateral extensions 20 on their forward ends into the path of
an entering coupling link 3 and force them sideways against opposite sides of the
coupling pin 2, so as normally to hold the latter in the inoperative position. The
bent rear ends 20° of the spring levers 20 may for these purposes be acted upon
by the rear end portions 19" of the spring 19, such spring then serving three
functions. As will be seen, the arrangement is such that when the coupling
pin 2 is moved outward into its inoperative position, it will be held in that position
by the extensions 20 of the spring levers 20 which will then abut against opposite
sides of the pin 2, and when the coupling link enters the buffer head and by
acting against the rounded surfaces of the extensions 20" of the said levers, forces
the latter apart, the coupling pin 2 will be automatically released and allowed to
fall through and engage the coupling link, the shoulder 2° on the coupling
pin 2 coming to rest upon the slide block 8 which together with the cross piece 4
to which the coupling pin is journalled, is then moved endways by the screw 9
to tighten up and lock the coupling pin as with the arrangement shown in and
described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. The vertically movable lateral exten-
sions 20b also serve to guide the entering link 3 and to hold the same in coupling
position in the buffer head.
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 7 a plan; and Fig. 8 a cross section on
the line Z-Z of Fig. 6 showing a further modified arrangement.
In this case the coupling pin 2 is disconnected from any mechanism by which
it can be swung into and out of the buffer head 1 and is adapted to be inserted
through longitudinal slots 1 in the buffer head 1 to engage the coupling link 3,
and to be withdrawn therefrom to release such link, by hand. To tighten up
the coupling pin 2 and coupling link 3, the pin is passed through the top and
bottom portions of a bifurcated block 8 that is passed through the open sides of
the buffer head and is connected at its respective sides by a right and left handed
screw 9 and a tee-headed link 12" to the opposite ends of a lever 11 mounted on
a vertical pin 7 carried by the buffer, the arrangement being such that by
tightening up the screw 9, which loosely fits in the block 8, the said block will
be caused to slide longitudinally backward in the buffer head and tighten up the
pin 2 against the coupling link 3 and thereby securely lock such pin in position.
To further assist in locking the pin vertically, it may be circumferentially grooved
as shewn in dotted lines at 2d (Fig. 6), to partly receive the coupling link 3
which is guided into the coupling position by suitably inclined or curved guiding
surfaces 8, 8b on the slide block 8. Sufficient space is provided between the
inner end of the coupling link and the back of the buffer head to allow of inward
movement of the link, and, as in the other arrangements hereinbefore described, a
suitable spring may be provided within such space to form a yielding seat for
the link and to afterwards return such link to its proper position.
As will be obvious the means for moving the coupling pin in and out of position
and for tightening it up and simultaneously locking it in place can be variously
modified, the constructions hereinbefore described being merely given by way
of example.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a central buffer provided with a coupling pin adapted to engage with a
loose coupling link on an adjacent vehicle, providing in connection with such
coupling pin means whereby the said pin when moved into its operative position
to engage the coupling link can be tightened up and simultaneously locked in
place, substantially as described.
2. In a central buffer having a coupling pin adapted to engage with a loose
coupling link on an adjacent vehicle, providing within the buffer head an elastic
or yielding seat or abutment for the coupling link whereby the latter is per-
mitted to move inward when its outer projecting end strikes against an obstruction
and is afterwards returned to its coupling position, substantially as described.
3. In a central buffer provided with a coupling pin for engagement with a
loose coupling link on an adjacent vehicle, the combination with the pin and
means means for carrying the same, of a catch device so constructed and arranged
that when the coupling pin is moved into the inoperative position, the catch device
will come into action to hold the pin in that position, and on the buffer head
being pushed backward relatively to the body of the vehicle that carries it, on
two vehicles being brought forcibly together, the catch device will be caused to
release the pin and allow it to automatically move into its operative and en-
gaging position, substantially as described.
t. In a central buffer provided with a coupling pin for engaging a loose coup-
ling link on an adjacent vehicle, connecting one end of the coupling pin to a
pivoted frame by which it can be moved into and out of its operative position
and which is provided with a slotted block or equivalent device to engage the
other end of the pin and with a screw by which the pin and block or equivalent
device can be moved lengthwise in the buffer head in a direction to tighten
and lock the pin in position and afterwards in a direction to release the pin,
substantially as described.
5. In a buffer head of the kind referred to in the preceding claim, providing
in connection with the pivoted frame and connections for carrying and operating
the coupling pin, a spring arranged to form a yielding seat or abutment for
the loose coupling link carried by the buffer head of an adjacent vehicle, sub-
stantially as described.
G. A central buffer provided with coupling apparatus constructed, arranged
and operating substantially as herein before described with reference respectively
to and shown in Figs. 1 and 2; in Figs. 3, 4 and 5; and in Figs. 6, 7 and 8
of the accompanying drawings.