Improvements in Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 21st Jan., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JOSEPH WILLIAM KLINGLER, of Beaver Springs,
in the County of Snyder, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Gentleman.]
Improvements in Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
My invention relates to improvements in automatic car couplers, and the object
in view is to provide a simple and reliable contrivance which, when the cars come
together, will be automatically operated and form a rigidly locked connection to
obviate the liability of the parts becoming accidentally disconnected.
With these and such other ends in view as pertain to my invention, it consists in
a pair of drawheads each having a horizontal transverse slot about midway of its
height and a vertical slot and recess at the inner end of the transverse slot,
combined with a swinging jaw pivoted in each drawhead and provided with an arm
which is adapted to work in the transverse slot in said drawhead, and a gravity
latch fitted in the vertical slot and recess in the rear part of the drawhead and
arranged to engage with the arm or extension of the swinging jaw when the latter
is interlocked with the corresponding jaw on the other drawhead, whereby both
jaws are immovably locked when the coupling is completed.
The invention further consists in the peculiar construction and arrangements
of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the
claims.
The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part
of this Specification, and in which :
Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved coupling;
Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view thereof, showing the jaws in their open
positions ;
Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view, on the line x-x of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the jaws, and
Figure 5 is a like view of the latch adapted to lock the swinging jaw.
Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denote corresponding
parts in all the figures,
A, B, designate the two drawheads of a car coupling embodying my invention.
Each drawhead is provided with a horizontal slot C which extends transversely
through the same and from the front end thereof to a suitable line near the draw-
bar a provided on the rear part of the drawhead, said slot C opening through the
front end and both sides of the head. At the rear part of the horizontal slot C,
each drawhead is further provided with a vertical slot D which intersects with the
horizontal slot, the lower part of said vertical slot extending through to the lower
side of the drawhead and the upper end of said slot extending into, but not through,
the upper part of the drawhead. Above the horizontal slot C the drawheads are
each further provided with a longitudinal recess or groove, E, which communicates
with the slot C and with the vertical slot D, for a purpose to be explained here-
after.
F, G, are the laterally swinging jaws, one to each drawhead.
is shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, and it is made in a single
with an arm which extends nearly parallel with the jaw but at
One of the jaws
piece of casting
one side of the

page_text: The operation of my invention will be readily understood by those skilled in
the art from the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings.
It is evident that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of
construction of the mechanism herein shown and described as an embodiment of
my invention can be made by skilled mechanics without departing from the spirit
or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right
to make such modifications and alterations as fairly fall within the scope thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :
A car coupling comprising the drawhead provided with the intersecting horizontal
and transverse slots, the angular swinging jaw G pivoted in the horizontal slotted
part of the drawhead and having the notched inner arm and the transverse
apertures g, g, on opposite sides of its pivot, the right handled latch pivoted in
the vertically slotted part of the drawhead and having the beak i adapted to
take over the notched arm of the swinging jaw, and the auxiliary locking bolt L
fitted in openings in the drawhead and adapted to fit in either aperture g, or g", of
the swinging jaw, substantially as described.
Dated this 6th dox of
AD 1000
HASELINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.