An Automatic Railway Coupling.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 25th Nov., 1890--Accepted, 24th Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Automatic Railway Coupling.
CHARLES JAMES OBERST, No. 15, Moor Street, Soho, London, W., Journeyman
Baker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
-
1st, An oblong box 21 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 7 inches deep, a hole to be
cut in the front of box 3 inches wide by 2 inches deep, cut with a sloping front. The
lid to be 12 inches wide, 2 inches thick the back of the lid to be continued out in the
form of three screw ends with nuts so as to be able to fasten the whole affair on to
back of carriage, the back of box & end of lid to be so formed as to be connected
together with a steel pin so as to form a hinge the pin to be driven through the lid &
top of back.
2nd, A pair of racks with 4 inch rack work, and 10 inch arms, the arms to be fitted
with
screw holes in each, racks to be 1 inches wide, and 1 inch thick.
3rd, A steel rod 3 ft. 6 inches long with a pair of toothed wheels 14 inches in
diameter, one wheel to be fastened at the end of rod, and the other 14 inches from end
of rod, two pairs of grooved blocks fitted with screws, and the end of rod to be made
with a hand hole.
4th, A pair of springs to be fitted on to lid and box, springs to be of just sufficient
strength to keep lid & box closed, so that the box can be easily opened by a half turn
of the wheels.
This completes the apparatus for one end of carriage, the end of other carriage to
be fitted with a rod 26 inches long 2 inches square, 21 inches of rod to project from
carriage, the other 5 inches to be fitted with screw holes so as to fasten it to bottom of
carriage, the end of rod to be formed with a tongue 3 inches deep tapering off to a
point.
Dand shim 19th Ontahan 1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Automatic Railway Coupling.
CHARLES JAMES OBERST, No. 15, Moor Street, Soho, London, W., Journeyman
Baker, 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:-
I do hereby declare the object of this invention to be to enable railway carriages to
be coupled & released without the necessity of the attendant getting between the
carriages, & to provide an automatic coupling, which will be put into operation on the
ends of the carriages coming together.
I will now describe my invention in the following lines.
It consists of an oblong box 21 inches long (more or less), 12 inches wide (more or
less), and 7 inches deep (more or less), a hole to be cut in the middle of the top of the
front of the box, 3 inches wide by 2 inches deep, (more or less) and the hole to be cut
with sides sloping outwards. The lid to be 2 inches thick (more or less) and the same
width as the box, the back end of lid to be continued out in the form of 3 screwends,
or may be blank. The back of lid and the end of box at the top, to be cut out &
fitted into each other, so that by passing a steel pin through them it will form a
hinge.
2nd, A pair of racks with 4 inches of rack work (more or less) & 10 inch arms
[D7

page_text: (more or less) racks & arms to be all one piece, the arms to be furnished with screw-
holes, the racks to be 1 inch wide (more or less) & 1 inch thick.
3rd, A steel rod 42 inches long (more or less) fitted with a pair of toothed wheels
1 inch diameter (more or less), one wheel to be fastened on the end of rod, & the
other wheel about 14 inches (more or less) from the same end, the other end to be
made either with ring or crosspiece for hand to grasp, 2 pair grooved blocks about
2 inches long & inch wide (more or less), blocks to be pierced for bolts or screws.
4th, A pair of springs, either steel or indiarubber, & of sufficient strength to hold
lid & box closed, when in position.
立
5th, An iron or steel drawbar 26 inches long (more or less) & 2 inches square in
the shaft (more or less), the lower side of one end of drawbar to be formed with a
vee shaped head about 3 inches deep (more or less) the other end to contain 3 or 4 holes
(more or less) for bolts or screws.
Having described the whole of the parts I will now show how they are to be applied
& worked, a reference to the drawings will enable any workman of average sense, to
understand the application & construction of this machine.
The box is to be fitted in the following manner. The racks & arms marked F are
to be fitted on to the box (as shown in the drawing), by means of screws or bolts
passed through the holes in the arms and through the side of box. The bottom halves
of each of the blocks marked K are then placed on top of lid, (as shown in drawing)
the rod marked G, with wheels marked J is then placed in the groove of blocks, one
wheel projecting over each side of the box, & fitting in to the rackwork, the top halves
of the blocks are then to be placed over the rod & on to the bottom halves & the
whole must then be fastened to the lid by means of screws or bolts. The springs
marked I are then to be fitted on to the lid and side of box (as shown in the
drawing).
The drawbar is to he fitted on to the carriage by means of pins or screws or bolts
passed through holes in bar.
The box is to be made either of iron, or it may be made out of suitable wood
strengthened by iron hands etc., the back of box is to be formed with 2 projections at
the top which will fit into 2 spaces in the back of lid, a steel pin is then passed
through the 5 projections (2 on back & 3 on lid) so as to form a hinge, the 3 projections
at end of lid to be continued out 4 inches (more or less) & to be finished off with or
without screwends. A hole is then to be cut out of the top, of the front of box
exactly in the centre, & of a size already stated. The box if made in metal can either
be made in one piece, or sides back & front, can be made separate, and afterwards
bolted together.
.
The box is to be fastened on the end of carriage midway between the sides, and at
a distance of 42 inches (more or less) from the top of rail, to be fixed by means of
passing the 3 projections through holes cut in the plank at end of carriage, and
fastened inside by means of screws or bolts, so that the lid must be a fixture, standing
out straight & firm from carriage, the bottom of the box moving down & away from
the lid, when the wheels are turned.
The drawbar must be fitted on the end of other carriage, as in Fig. 3 midway
between the sides of carriage and at a height of 42 inches (more or less) clear of the
rails, the bar to be fitted on with the vee shaped head pointing downwards, the bar to
be fitted on so as to be a fixture.
Figs. 3 and 4 show the machine in position on ends of carriages.
The invention will act as follows. On the ends of the carriages coming together,
the point A of the drawbar will enter the hole H and will force the springs I apart
thus opening the box, when the bar has entered past the point marked B the springs
will draw the box up, & the inside of the front of box will catch against the face of
the bar at the place marked C, thus effecting a complete, safe, and perfect coupling.
To uncouple the carriages the handle G is to be given a half turn (more or less)
which will cause the wheels J, to run up the racks marked F, & force the bottom of
the box downwards away from the lid, thus allowing the coupling rod or drawbar to
be free to be drawn away.

page_text: Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, & in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
(1) That I am the first person who has combined all the parts, above described, &
that the before mentioned parts when combined in manner as described by me do act
in manner as before stated and for the protection of said combination I do pray that
you grant me a Patent.
Dated this 25th day of November 1890.