IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLINGS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: We, FRANCIS KEELING, Deputy Underviewer, and ROBERT RIGLEY, Engine
Driver, both of Bulwell, in the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COUPLINGS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES," to be as follows that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the improvement of the construction and action
of couplings for railway vehicles whereby the coupling or connecting together of
trains of vehicles may be performed with more expedition and also with greater
safety to the workman performing the operation than has been hitherto possible.
The arrangements for carrying out the Invention comprise a draw-hook piece
attached to the vehicle with a spring in a well known manner, and this book
piece is formed with a downwardly projecting curved part in which there is a
curved slot. This curved part projects slightly under the vehicle and one end of
an elongated link piece is inserted in the curved slot, in which it is free to slide to
and fro, the other end of the link piece being arranged for passing over another
draw hook similar to that already described and fitted to the other vehicle it is
intended to connect. The link piece is formed of such a length that when two
vehicles are coupled together one end of the link is at the upper part of the curved
slot and the other end is in the opposite draw hook so that when the vehicles are
When
being drawn, the buffers are sufficiently apart to allow for turning curves.
the buffers are compressed the end of the link piece slides down the curved slot
which is formed of a length sufficient to allow of this action. The link piece is
formed with handles or projectious on it for the workman to use when coupling or
uncoupling and when uncoupled the link piece may be turned up backwards and
hung upon a hook or projection on the vehicle above the draw hook piece.
great advantage of the Invention is that vehicles fitted with the improvel coupling
arrangement are capable of being coupled to other vehicles fitted with only the
ordinary draw-hook and chain at present commonly in use, whilst another
important advantage is that the workmen when coupling or une supling can
stand at the side of the train and is thus saved the loss of time and risk attending
the present method of getting between the vehicles.
One

page_text: We FRANCIS KEELING, Deputy Underviewer and ROBERT RIGLEY, Engine
Driver, both of Bulwell in the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham
do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLINGS
FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES," and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement in
writing that is to say :-
Our Invention has for its object the improvement of the construction and action
of couplings for railway vehicles whereby the coupling or connecting together of
trains of vehicles may be performed with more expedition and also with greater
safety to the workman performing the operation than has hitherto been possible.
The arrangements for carrying out our Invention comprise a draw-hook attached
to the vehicle with a spring in a well known manner and this hook-piece is formed
with a downwardly projecting curved part in which there is a curved slot. This
curved slot projects backwards towards the vehicle and one end of a link piece is
inserted in the curved slot in which it is free to slide to and fro the other end of
the link-piece being arranged for passing over another draw-hook preferably similar
to that already described and fitted to the other vehicle it is intended to connect.
The link-piece is formed of such a length that when two vehicles are coupled
together one end of the link is at the upper part of the slot and the other end is
in the opposite draw-hook so that when the vehicles are being drawn the buffers
are sufficiently apart to allow for turning curves. When the buffers are compressed
the end of the link-piece slides down the curved slot which is formed of a length
sufficient to allow of this action. The link piece is formed with handles or projec-
tions or it may have holes for a lever to be inserted into it for the workman to use
when coupling or uncoupling and when uncoupled the link-piece may be turned up
backwards and hung upon a hook or projection on the vehicle above the draw-
hook piece but preferably it is hung on a part formed on the draw-hook piece
itself. One great advantage of our Invention is that vehicles fitted with the
improved coupling arrangement are capable of being coupled to other vehicles
fitted with only the ordinary draw-hook and chain at present commonly in use
whilst another important advantage is that the workman when coupling or
uncoupling can stand at the side of the train and is thus saved the loss of time
and risk attending the present method of getting between the vehicles.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be fully understood we hereunto append a Sheet of explanatory Drawings to
be hereinafter referred to and representing our improved draw-hook piece and
link-piece. In these Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the
same or like parts wherever they are repeated.
Figure 1 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is a plan, and Figure 2 a side
elevation of our improved coupling. Our improved draw-hook piece 3 is formed
with a hook 4 to receive the end of a link piece or a link of the chains at present
commonly in use. This link piece is formed as it were of two link-like parts 5, 6
the first link like part 5 being formed of two parallel rods of wrought iron held
together at each of their ends by wrought iron pins 7, 8. One of these pins 7, is
passed through a slot 9. formed in the body of the draw-hook piece 3 and the pin 7
is passed through holes formed in the ends of the parallel rods which are thus
connected together one on each side of the draw-hook leaving sufficient room for
clearance. The pin 8 is passed through holes formed in the other ends of the rods
and also through holes formed in the ends of the link-like part 6. This part 6 is
formed by a rod of wrought iron bent into a loop and having its two ends brought

page_text: close together side by side and placed between the ends of the rods of the part 5.
The loop of the part 6 is formed nearly oval in shape so as to admit of its being
passed either over the hook 4 for coupling purposes or over the hook-piece 3 for
hanging on a small curved projection 10 when the link piece is not in use. When
the part 6 is hanging on the curved projection 10 the pin 7 in the curved slot 9
falls to the bottom and backward end of the slot. The slot 9 is so formed that
when the link-piece is coupled to another vehicle and the distance between the two
drawhooks of the vehicles is lessened by any cause the link-piece 5, 6 will by its
own weight tend to bend at the joint formed by the pin 8 whilst the pin 7 at the
end of the part
will fall downwards towards the lower end of the slot 9 thus
effectually preventing any chance of the link-piece jamming. At the widest part
of the oval or looped end of the part 6 there is formed at each side a short handle
or projection 11 for the use of the workman when coupling or uncoupling. Or if
preferred instead of the handles 11 a hole or slot may be formed in the metal to
receive the end of a lever or stick similar to that at present in use in some cases.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed. We declare that what
we claim is:-
The draw-hook piece (3) with a curved slot (9) wherein one end of a link-
piece (5, 6) can slide the whole forming our improved coupling for railway vehicles
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying
Drawings.
FRANCIS KEELING.
ROBERT RIGLEY.
Dated this 18 day of March 1884.
Witness,
LOCK MOORE,
Nottingham,
Patent Agent.
FRANCIS KEELING.
ROBERT RIGLEY.