Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Mar., 1886.
Complete Left, 20th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 21st Jan., 1887.
HENRY JAMES LEVER Builder & Engineer High Street Tisbury Wiltshire do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of an improved apparatus for railway carriage or waggon
couplings, operated on from the side, thereby obviating the necessity for passing
between the buffers.
A main bar or shaft for operating passes from side to side of the waggon or
carriage, having a wide crank formed in the middle, and it is situated sufficiently
below the level of the draw bar for the crank to turn back under the framing of the
waggon--the ends are shaped to take winches either fixed or movable. The crank is
ordinarily turned downwards, and to the outer sides or angles of it, are hinged two rods,
connected to each other, for lifting the end of the coupling chain to which they are
attached by ears or clips fastened on the sides of end link. With the chain hanging
freely disengaged, the crank and lifting rods are at a considerable angle to one another
the former held back under the framing of the waggon. As the cranked bar is turned
by the winch, the thrust on the lifting bars elevates the chain to the requisite height
for coupling, and the weight of the middle links gives the proper inclination to the
last one. Slightly below the buffers, and attached to them from the back face, is a
turning catch or hook with a stop to prevent its falling below the horizontal, and fast
with the main cranked bar, and at right angles to it is a rod lever or winch so bent at
the end as to be caught by the hook on the buffer when the chain is elevated, thus
holding the lifting rods and chain up at that height, but to be disengaged when the
buffer is driven in by the opposite waggon, allowing the chain to drop and couple the
cars. In the case of dead buffers the catch or hook referred to would be connected to
a sliding rod arranged to strike the opposite buffer. The uncoupling is effected by
lifting the chain by means of the winch, so that the hook again catches it,

page_text: To enable the chain to rise clear of the opposite draw bar hook when the waggons
are close the following arrangement is provided:-Hanging under the draw bar
hook from a point on the axle line of the main cranked bar, is a hook of exactly
sufficient length to catch the bend of the stay connecting the lifting rods, and so
placed as to engage the said hook when the chain is freely hanging; by this means
when the cranked bar is turned the sharp angle between the crank and lifting rods is
maintained throughout the rise, the chain is prevented from stretching its length
droops in the middle, and misses the opposite coupling hook, but when clear above
this, the hook holding the stay comes in contact with the under side of the draw bar
hook above, and is knocked back, releasing the chain, and lifting bars and instantly
bringing the end link over the opposite coupling hook. The hanging hook is formed
with a stop behind to ensure its catching the stay at every fall of the chain.
Additional coupling or safety chains may be worked side by side on the above
principle, by widening the crank in the main bar, or making additional ones.

page_text: I, HENRY JAMES LEVER, High Street Tisbury, Wilts Builder, & 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:
In order to show clearly the nature of this invention, I proceed to describe it with
reference to the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the coupling.
A is a bar or shaft passing from side to side of the waggon or car, with a crank
formed in the middle, and held to the car by brackets in which it revolves, B
the coupling chain suspended from the draw-bar hook C, and D two lifting rods
connected together by a bend E, and turning loosely on the central crank A, and
pinned or otherwise fastened at F to the outer sides of the end link B¹ of the coupling
chain. It is plain that by turning the crank shaft A by means of a side winch L³,
the thrust on the rods D elevates the chain B as required, the whole chain turning on
the pin in the hook C. In order, however, that the last link shall not describe so
large a radius in rising as to fail to miss the opposite coupling hook C¹ when the cars
are adjacent, a hook H swings underneath the draw-bar from a point in or near the
axis of the shaft A, of exactly such a length as to engage the bend E when the chain
drops down to the vertical position; on turning the winch L', the hook H retains its
hold, the. distance of F from the shaft A remains constant, and the last link describes
the are J round the latter, misses the hook C₁, and when at sufficient elevation J',
the hook H is disengaged from the bend E by its coming in contact with the hook C,
the lifting rods and chain thereby fall back through the arc K to K', when a slight
additional turn of the winch brings the chain into the hook C₁ and effects the
coupling.
For the coupling to be automatically performed by the colliding of the buffers, the
following arrangement is made:-Near the buffer is an arm L at right angles to the
shaft A, and fastened to it. The end L' is bent round so as to raise a stop catch M
when the chain is brought by means of the winch to the position N; the stop catch M
is conveniently fastened to the back face of the buffer, and will evidently hold the
chain in that position N, until the buffers are driven in by the colliding of the cars,
when, the catch sliding off the bent end I', the chain drops into its coupling hook.
Figure 2 is a representation of the central part of the crank shaft A, together with
the lifting rods D, and their connection with the end link B¹ of the coupling chain.
The advantages of this system are ;-that it utilises the ordinary coupling chains
found on cars and waggons; it allows the whole operation to be performed with the
cars in close contact; it is automatically effected by the striking of the cars, the chains
previously having been merely raised; and it requires no passing between the cars,
as it is controlled entirely by a winch at either side, the same being fixed or movable.

page_text: 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 :-
I. The combination of an ordinary coupling chain, the crank shaft as shown, and
the lifting bars hinged to the same, and to the end link, thereby raising the chain by
a thrust on the rods.
II. The combination of the swinging hook H with the lifting rods, the former
retaining the latter, until the hook strikes a stationary part.
III. The combination of the foregoing with the arm L and the catch on the buffer,
to retain an release the coupling chain substantially as shown.
IV. The general arrangement and combination of parts above claimed as shown on
the drawing.