Improvements in Railway Couplings.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1894-4ccepted, 24th Nov., 1894
Improvements in Railway Couplings.
I, ANTON ROTH, of 5 Hochheimer Strasse, Erfurt, in the Province of Saxony,
Kingdom of Prussia, and German Empire, Government Architect, 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 relates to a coupling for railway vehicles, which acts automatically
when the vehicles come into contact with one another, and which can be uncoupled
with ease, safety, and certainty, from the side of the vehicles.
In order that this invention may be the better understood, I now proceed to
describe the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the
letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 shows the coupling closed, Figure 2 shows the same disconnected,
Figures 3 and 4 show a modified construction thereof.
The vehicles to be coupled to one another are provided with a fork, or 2¹
respectively, which carries a pin c, or d. On the latter is pivotted a double lever,
one end of which forms the draw hook a, or 6 respectively, while the other end
forms the loop a¹, or b¹.
A.s
The hook a in Figs. 1 and 2 has a projection e, and the hook has a projection f.
Before the coupling is closed the hooks and loops occupy their relative position as
shown in Figure 1, but with the hooks apart from one another. The hook a which
has a tendency to descend, owing to its own weight, and that of the rods g
connected to the pin h, is held in position by the pin resting on the fork z.
regards the hook b, the same effect is produced by the projection k of the loop b¹.
The rod g' is connected to the pin which passes through the hook b. On both
sides of the pin h are pivotted rods Il, the descent of which is limited by a transverse
bolt m which rests itself on the hook a. The rods are connected at the top by a
bolt n.
A similar arrangement may be provided on the pin i so that the hooks and
loops may also be used in an inverse manner by simply turning them over in an
opposite sense to that shown in the drawings.
The device acts in the following manner :-
The vehicles are pushed against one another. As soon as the hook 6 comes into
contact with the loop a' it ascends on the latter, and falls afterwards, during the
continued motion of the vehicles, into the loop. The bolt n lays itself against the
projection of the hook 6 and the vehicles are now coupled, Figure 1.
For uncoupling the vehicles, the rod g is lifted; whereby the loop a is lowered.
At the same time the rods press against the projection by means of the bolt n
and thus unhook the hook b. This movement may be assisted by lifting the
rod g¹.
The coupling is now disconnected, (Figure 2) and the vehicles can be pushed
apart, the hooks and loops being then returned to their former position by lowering
the rods g and g¹. The rods are operated from the side of the vehicle by cog
wheel or lever mechanism.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the device may be constructed so that the hook
engages with the loop from below, like letters thereon referring to similar parts
as in the above described figures.
As the coupling is effected automatically, while the uncoupling is effected from
the side of the vehicle, this coupling avoids the necessity of stepping between the
vehicles for either purpose.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
An automatic coupling for railway vehicles, which is uncoupled from the side of
the vehicle and consists of a draw hook, a, or b respectively, pivotted on a pin c,
or d respectively, and formed at the rear as a loop a', or 61 respectively, which at
the contact of the vehicles lifts the corresponding hook, so that the latter falls into
the loop automatically, at the closer approach of the vehicles, while the uncoupling
is effected by the hook being lifted out of the loop by means of rods g g¹ operated
from the side of the vehicle.
Dated this 18th day of October 1894.
FELL & WILDING,
Agents for the Applicant.