Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 13th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 27th May, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
We, ENGELBERT WILHELM SCHMITZ, Merchant, of Annenstrasse 48, Berlin S.,
and JOHANNES WALLMANN, Engineer, of Oranienstrasse 173, Berlin S.O., in the
Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
:-
This invention relates to automatic conplings for railway vehicles and has for
object to provide a coupling which, unlike railway couplings as heretofore usually
constructed, which are complicated and consequently very expensive, is extremely
simple and such as can be easily applied to any railway carriage.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is an elevation of one part A of the coupling.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the other part B thereof.
Fig. 3 is a similar view shewing the two parts coupled.
Fig. 4 is a plan of a portion of the part A.
Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views of the parts A and B respectively, uncoupled.
Fig. 7 is a similar view shewing the parts coupled.
Fig. 8 is a view shewing a modification hereinafter described.
A coupling according to this invention comprises two main parts A and B which
are fixed to the adjacent ends of the vehicles to be coupled. The part A comprises
a bracket or support a to which is hinged or pivoted (at 1) a coupling piece b the
outer end e of which is curved downwardly and is provided at the sides with guide
flanges as shewn. The coupling piece 6 is furnished with ears or lugs d d
carrying a ping upon which a lever i is free to turn; this lever carries a weight k
and is also provided, at its other end, with an inclined surface h at its under side.
The part B of the coupling comprises a bracket or support n similar to the bracket
or support a of the other part A of the coupling, and to it is hinged or pivoted at m,
a coupling piece p. This coupling piece p is formed with inclined surfaces or wedge
like parts and r and with a finger or projection s. The arrangement of the
apparatus is such that when the vehicles are moved towards one another the outer
end of the coupling piece p will slide up the curved surface e of the coupling
piece between the guide flanges and the inclined surfaces q and r will act in
succession against the lever i and move it upwardly until it falls over into the
position shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Further movement of the coupling piece e
in the same direction will then cause the finger or projections to act against and
throw the lever i back into the position shewn in full lines in Fig. 3 in which
position the inclined surface h will rest upon the inclined surface and the two
parts of the coupling will be securely locked together, as the greater the effort to
draw the two vehicles asunder, the greater will be the grip between the two
surfaces h and r.
2'
To disengage the coupling it is only necessary to raise the free end of the lever i
which can be readily effected from the side of the carriage by means of a rod or
the like.
To compensate for any differences of height that may exist between the two
vehicles, the hinged coupling pieces bande are each supported by a spring o that
can yield and thus ensure the two parts of the coupling engaging with each other
when the vehicles to which they are attached, are moved together.
Each vehicle may be provided at each end with two coupling pieces similar to b
and p hinged to a common bracket or support a fixed to the vehicle as shown in
Fig. 8, these coupling pieces being arranged to engage with reversely arranged but

page_text: similar coupling pieces hinged to the adjacent end of another vehicle in a manner
that will be readily understood without further description.
Dated this 20th day of December 1892.
ENGELBERT WILHELM SCHMITZ.
JOHANNES WALLMANN.
'
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
We, ENGELBERT WILHELM SCHMITZ Merchant of Annenstrasse 48, Berlin S.,
in the Empire of Germany and JOHANNES WALLMANN, Engineer, of Oranien-
strasse 173 Berlin, S.O., aforesaid, 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 :-
This invention relates to automatic couplings for railway vehicles and has for
object to provide a coupling which, unlike railway couplings as heretofore usually
constructed which are complicated and consequently very expensive, is extremely
simple and such as can be easily applied to any railway carriage.
Referring to the drawings filed with my Provisional Specification,
Fig. 1 is an elevation of one part A of the coupling.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the other part B thereof.
Fig. 3 is a similar view shewing the two parts coupled.
Fig. 4 is a plan of a portion of the part A.
Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views of the parts A and B respectively, uncoupled.
Fig. 7 is a similar view shewing the parts coupled.
Fig. 8 is a view shewing a modification hereinafter described.
A coupling according to this invention comprises two main parts A and B which
are fixed to the adjacent ends of the vehicles to be coupled. The part A comprises
a bracket or support a to which is hinged or pivoted (at 7) a coupling piece b the
outer end e of which is curved downwardly and is provided at the sides with guide
flanges as shewn. The coupling piece b is furnished with ears or lugs dd
carrying a ping upon which a lever i is free to turn; this lever carries a weight k
and is also provided, at its other end, with an inclined surface h at its under-
side. The part B of the coupling comprises a bracket or support n similar to
the bracket or support a of the other part A of the coupling, and to it is hinged
or pivoted at m, a coupling piece p. This coupling piece p is formed with
inclined surfaces or wedge like parts q and r and with a finger or projections.
The arrangement of the apparatus is such that when the vehicles are moved towards
one another the outer end of the coupling piece p will slide up the curved surface e
of the coupling piece b between the guide flanges f and the inclined surfaces q
and will act in succession against the lever i and move it upwardly until it falls
over into the position shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Further movement of the
coupling piece e in the same direction will then cause the finger or projections to
act against and throw the lever i back into the position shewn in full lines in
Fig. 3 in which position the inclined surface will rest upon the inclined
surface and the two parts of the coupling will be securely locked together,
as the greater the effort to draw the two vehicles asunder, the greater will be
the grip between the two surfaces h and r.
To disengage the coupling it is only necessary to raise the free end of the lever i
which can be readily effected from the side of the carriage by means of a rod
or the like.
To compensate for any differences of height that may exist between the two
vehicles, the hinged coupling pieces bande are each supported by a spring o that
can yield and thus ensure the two parts of the coupling engaging with each other
when the vehicles to which they are attached, are moved together,

page_text: Each vehicle may be provided at each end with two coupling pieces similar
to b and p hinged to a common bracket or support a fixed to the vehicle as shown
in Fig. 8, these coupling pieces being arranged to engage with reversely arranged
but similar coupling pieces hinged to the adjacent end of another vehicle in
a manner that will be readily understood without further description.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. An automatic coupling for railway vehicles, capable of being uncoupled from
the side and comprising two coupling pieces one of which is provided with
a lever i formed with an inclined surface h and the other of which is provided
with an inclined surface or wedge like part adapted to engage with and become
firmly locked to the said surface when the two coupling pieces are moved
together these coupling pieces being adapted to be released by throwing over the
said lever i in a direction to move the said inclined surface h from the inclined
surface or part r substantially as herein described.
2. In the coupling referred to in the preceding Claim 1, the arrangement of
springs o to support the hinged coupling pieces and compensate for differences in
height of vehicles to be coupled substantially as herein described.
3. The improved railway coupling constructed arranged and operating substantially
as herein before described with reference to and shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive or
modified according to Fig. 8.
E. W. SCHMITZ,
By L. W., per F. B.
J. WALLMANN,
By L. W., per F. B.