IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLINGS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Albert Fry, of the City of Bristol, Mechanical
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COUPLINGS."
RAILWAY
Sealed the 30th December 1873, and dated the 12th November 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Albert Fry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th November 1873.
I, ALBERT FRY, of the City of Bristol, Mechanical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY COUPLINGS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to construct a self-acting railway
coupling, that is to say, a coupling which shall become connected by the
simple meeting of the ends of two wagons or carriages. For this
purpose I fit at one end of each wagon or carriage a coupling link, and
at the other end a spring bolt so arranged that when the ends of two
wagons meet the outer end of the coupling link of the one wagon shall
strike against the spring bolt of the other wagon, which bolt will move

page_text: aside or yield to allow the end of the link to pass, and will then
immediately shoot out into its normal position, and by thus entering the
opening of the link will securely lock the same, and thereby couple the
wagons together.
One manner in which my Invention may be carried into effect is as
follows: At that end of the wagon to which the spring bolt is fitted
I provide a bell-mouthed receiver for the coupling link on the end of
another wagon. In the side or top of this receiver (which may be
formed in the buffer) is an aperture to give passage to the bolt. The
bolt is carried on the end of a thrust rod (by preference of steel), and its
spring or springs may either be at the end of the thrust rod or be
immediately attached to the bolt. The end of the bolt against which
the coupling link of the wagon to be coupled strikes is beveled or
chamfered to allow of the link pushing aside and passing it, and I prefer
to employ a double bolt or two bolts placed at opposite sides of the bell-
mouthed receiver, and meeting each other so that their beveled or
chamfered ends form a sort of V shaped recess to receive and guide the link.
The second bolt may be connected with the thrust rod by means of a
connecting rod and lever so that the two bolts may work simultaneously.
I make the coupling link of
shape in section, so that when it :
is held by the bolts which are flat or square at the back it shall have a
greater bearing surface.
For the purpose of uncoupling the wagons any convenient appliance
may be provided to enable the bolt or bolts to be temporarily withdrawn
from the link, for instance, a lever or a handle may be fitted to the
thrust rod or a chain may be carried from the thrust rod to the guard's
van to allow the coupling to be used as a slip coupling. One or more of
these couplings may be fitted to the ends of the wagons as considered
necessary.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Albert Fry, Her special
licence that I, the said Albert Fry, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Albert Fry, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, exercise use, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY COUPLINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Albert Fry, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Albert Fry, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say :--
The object of my Invention is to construct a self-acting railway
coupling, that is to say, a coupling which shall become connected by the
simple meeting of the ends of two wagons or carriages. For this
purpose I fit at one end of each wagon or carriage a coupling link, and at
the other end a spring bolt so arranged that when the ends of two wagons
meet, the outer end of the coupling link of the one wagon shall strike
against the spring bolt of the other wagon, which bolt will move aside
or yield to allow the end of the link to pass, and will then immediately
shoot out into its normal position, and by thus entering the opening of
the link will securely lock the same, and thereby couple the wagons
together.
One manner in which my Invention may be carried into effect is as
follows-At that end of the wagon to which the spring bolt is fitted I

page_text: provide a bell-mouthed receiver for the coupling link on the end of
another wagon.
In the side or top of this receiver (which may be
formed in the buffer) is an aperture to give passage to the bolt. The
bolt is carried on the end of a thrust rod (by preference of steel), and its
spring or springs may either be at the end of the thrust rod or be
immediately attached to the bolt. The end of the bolt against which
the coupling link of the wagon to be coupled strikes is beveled or
chamfered to allow of the link pushing aside and passing it, and I
prefer to employ a double bolt or two bolts placed at opposite sides of
the bell mouthed receiver, and meeting each other so that their beveled
or chamfered ends form a sort of V shaped recess to receiver and guide
the link.
The second bolt may be connected with the thrust rod by means of a
connecting rod and lever, so that the two bolts may work simultaneously.
I make the coupling link of
shape in section, so that when
it is held by the bolts which are flat or square at the back it shall have
a greater bearing surface.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a plan; Figure 2, an end
elevation; Figure 3, an elevation at X; and Figure 4, an elevation at Y
of a self-acting coupling constructed according to my Invention.
a, a, is the frame of the wagon or carriage; 6 is a central draw and
buffer bar. The buffer head c is formed with a bell-mouthed opening as
shewn, and with apertures to give passage to two bolts d, d, one at each
side. The bolt d is carried on the end of a rod e; the opposite end of
which is attached to a rod f furnished with a spring at i. The other
bolt d' is carried by a lever g centred at h, and the opposite end of which
is connected by a rod / to the rod e at l; m represents the coupling link
carried by the next adjoining wagon. It will be seen on reference to
Figure 1 that the portions of the bolts against which the link m strikes
when the two wagons meet are beveled or chamfered, forming a sort
of V shaped recess against which the end of the link comes, and which
receives and guides the link as has been already explained. The action
of the coupling is readily understood. The spring i acting upon the rod f
keeps the bolts d, d, in their normal position as seen in the Drawing;
but when the link of another wagon strikes against the beveled portions 3
of the bolts the bolts move aside to allow the link to pass, the spring i

page_text: permitting of this movement, and [as soon as the link has passed the
action of the spring returns the bolts to position.
For the purpose of uncoupling the wagons any convenient appliance
may be provided to enable the bolt or bolts to be temporarily withdrawn
from the link, for instance, a lever or a handle may be fitted to the
rod for a chain may be carried from this rod to the guard's van to
allow the coupling to be used as a slip coupling.
In the Drawings I shew a lever n, centred at o, and carrying a pin p
which takes into a slot in the rod f. By moving this lever to the right
the rod h will also be moved to the right, and the bolts d, d³, will thus
be withdrawn from the link.
By moving the lever to the left so that the pin p may come to the
left-hand end of the slot, and by then fixing the lever by a pin or
otherwise the bolts may be securely locked independently of the springs i.
These springs may if desired be dispensed with, the coupling becoming
then a lever coupling.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,
constructing railway couplings, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Albert Fry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-four.