Safety Coupling Device for Railway Waggons or Carriages.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct., 1893-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Safety Coupling Device for Railway Waggons or Carriages.
We ALBERT Jooss of 29 Kronenstrasse, Stuttgart, and CARL FRIEDRICH
WAGNER of 2 Mahsgasse, Graz, Steiermark, Engineers, both in the Empire of
Germany, 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 :-
The device for coupling and uncoupling railway waggons or carriages which
forms the subject of the present application for Patent can be adapted to ordinary
railway waggons or carriages without requiring any alterations to be made therein.
It can also be fixed to any carriage or waggon in a comparatively short time and
with but little expense.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 is a plan of the coupling attached to the
draw bars,
Figures 3 to 7 are details of the same,
Figures 8 and 9 represent a modification of the coupling in side and front
elevation respectively, some of the parts being shown in section and Figure 10 is a
detail of the same.
The two arms forming the links or eyes of the coupling are provided with
bridge or saddle pieces A and B, shown more clearly in Figures 3 to 6 which
bridge pieces pass over the top only and leave the underside of the links open.
They may vary in form so as to adapt themselves to the special form of link and
they are made so as to yield in a downward direction to the movement of the train,
while any tendency to move upward is prevented through the screw spindle
coming into contact with the saddle pieces and thereby causing the whole coupling
to become as one solid piece.
The saddle pieces B are rigidly fixed to their coupling links while on the contrary
the saddle pieces A of the other coupling links are adapted to slide up and down
so as to enable the links to be hung loose when not in use as shown at Figure 1.
The coupling is effected by means of a special lever C consisting mainly of a
light bar of suitable length and strength to one end of which is hinged a hook a
which latter is only allowed a partial movement. The bar is moreover provided
at a suitable distance with a sliding sleeve d.
The movement of the said sleeve is limited between two rings d' d' see Figure 7.
The sleeve d is provided with a convex peripheral surface so as to serve as a
pivotting point to the lever C on the buffer spindle for the purpose of uncoupling
the wagons.
The operation of coupling or uncoupling is effected in the following manner.
The hook a of the lever C lifts the screw spindle of the coupling somewhere
about E see Figures 1 and 2. The two links conuected to the screw spindle and
forming the coupling being provided with. saddle pieces A and B as before stated,
form so to speak one rigid piece when lifted up by means of the hook a of the
lever C but during the journey they are enabled to yield to the jolting of the
carriages.
In the modified form shown in Figures 8 to 10 the coupling is thrown out of
engagement by means of a curved toothed rack C¹ see Figure 8 the curvature of
the latter being made to suit the movement of the rollers E.
The curved rack may be actuated from either side of the wagon by means of a
crank handle which is only loosely fitted on a spindle F see Figure 9 situated
underneath the framing and passing right across so as to allow the crank handle
to be applied to either side of the wagon.

page_text: In order to facilitate the lifting of the coupling an intermediate toothed
wheel H may be used in conjunction with the pinion G and rack C¹.
Another toothed wheel I of the same size as the wheel H is only brought into
action when the toothed' rack C' is moved outward and bears the weight of the
coupling resting on the rollers E'. The toothed wheel I here takes some of
the strain off the wheel H and helps in conjunction with the roller K to guide the
rack C¹. A second roller L situated at a short distance from the roller K forms
a rest for the rack C₁ when drawn inward and prevents the latter from moving
outward under the influence of gravity.
It has been assumed in the case illustrated in the drawings that the secondary
or safety coupling is to be lifted together with the eye link but where this is not to
be done the rack C' has to be made correspondingly longer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A safety coupling for railway wagons to guard against accidents having the
coupling links provided with loose and fixed saddle pieces A and B to cause the
links to form one rigid piece with the screw spindle in the one direction only but
being independently moveable in the other direction for the purpose of enabling
the coupling to be lifted up out of engagement with the drawbars without
requiring any one to pass between the carriages substantially as herein shown and
described.
2. The combination with coupling links having loose and fixed saddle pieces A B,
of a lever C provided at one end with a hook a of limited movement by means of
which the coupling may be lifted as described the said lever being moreover
provided with a loose sleeve d having a limited movement between two rings d¹ d³
and serving as a pivotting point for the lever C; the latter being also provided
with a fixed hook f by means of which the pivotted handle of the screw spindle may
be manipulated for the purpose of tightening or loosening the coupling substantially
as herein shown and described.
3. The combination with coupling hooks of the character herein described of the
arrangement of a curved toothed rack C₁ which is guided by means of rollers K
and and toothed wheels H and I and is of such a form as to enable the coupling
or uncoupling of the wagons to be effected by means of a loose crank handle from
either side of the wagons substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated Octobe
1000
ALBERT JOOSS,
CARL FRIEDRICH WAGNER,
By Harris & Mills,
, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.
ALBERT JOOSS,
CARL FRIEDRICH WAGNER,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.