IMPROVEMENTS IN SIDE COUPLINGS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 26th Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 27th May, 1887
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SIDE COUPLINGS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in side couplings for railway carriages the
object of which is to enable the railway servants to couple and uncouple the said
railway carriages without having to creep between the buffers as heretofore thus
preventing danger to life.
A plate is screwed or bolted to each side of the end beams of the framework of the
carriage which said plates carry the entire coupling device and the connecting rods.
The outer or exterior plate carries four bolts with suitable heads to which said bolts an
angular plate is attached by suitable collars or muffs which said angular plate
carries the coupling hook and is constantly held in contact with the outer plate
fixed to the frame by means of an appropriate powerful leaf, carriage or other
spring.
This spring is attached to an angle iron bolted or screwed onto the outer plate and
presses against two bearings on the angular plate so that the two said plates are held
in springy contact.
A frame is screwed to the horizontal part of the angular plate and serves as guide for
the main coupling hook.
The said frame acts in a horizontal direction and is provided with a slot in which
the stud or pin of a bell crank lever operates.
This bell crank lever is movably attached to the angular plate by means of an
appropriate bolt and carries at its one end a'stud or pin which gears into a slot in a

page_text: screw nut arranged on the worm or endless screw of a hand wheel spindle which is
operated from the side of the carriage by means of a suitable hand wheel or crank or
handwheels or cranks.
If this said handwheel is rotated the bell crank lever will be so operated on by
means of the screw nut on the endless screw or worm of the handwheel spindle that
the main coupling hook will bo moved backwards or forwards and the coupling locked
or unlocked.
On the upper side of the angular plate are two guides in which a slide rod is guided
to which a small angle iron is fixed which catches behind the angular plate and carries
a stud or pin which gears into a hooklike part of the main coupling hook when the
slide rod is appropriately operated.
A safety coupling hook is further movably attached to the angular plate by means
of a suitable bolt the rear part of which said hook is provided with a stud or pin
protruding downwards and gearing into a suitable recess in the slide rod so that it
moves with the same.
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page_text: Figure 2 is a side view of the same.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of Figure 1 on the line. A-B, and
Figure 4 is a top view representing a car or carriage coupled with this improved
device, and
Figure 5 represents this improved coupling mechanism in top view and horizontal
section, in uncoupled position.
A plate is screwed or bolted by means of the screw c to each side of the end
beams of the framework a of the car or carriage, which said plate b carries the entire
coupling device and the connecting rod. The outer or exterior plate b carries four
bolts which are provided with suitable heads to which said bolts an angular plate h
is attached by means of the collars or muffs k' which said angular plate carries the
coupling hook and is constantly held in contact with the outer plate b fixed to the
frame by means of the appropriate powerful leaf, carriage or other spring i. This
spring i is attached to an angle iron which is bolted or screwed onto the outer
plate band presses against two bearings on the angular plate so, that the
two said plates and 6 are held in springy contact by means of the spring i. A
frame m is screwed or otherwise attached to the horizontal part of the angular plate
and. serves as guide for the main coupling hook n.. This frame m is so arranged as to
act in horizontal direction and is provided with a slot in which the stud or pin o of a
bell crank lever operates. This bell crank lever p is movably attached to the
angular plato by means of an appropriate bolt g and carries at its one end a stud or
pin which gears into a slot in a screw nuts arranged on the worm or endless
Screw t of a hand wheel spindle u which is operated from the side of the carriage by
means of one or more hand wheels or cranks. If this said hand wheel u is rotated the
bell crank lever will be so operated on by means of the screw nuts on the endless
screw or worm t of the hand wheel spindle u that the main coupling hook n will be
moved backward or forwards and the coupling locked or unlocked.
The upper side of the angular plate h is provided with two guides v in which
a slide rod w is guided to which a small angle iron is fixed which catches behind the
angular plate and carries a stud or pin y which gears into the hooklike part of the
main coupling hook n when the slide rod w is appropriately operated.
A safety coupling hook a' is further movably attached to the angular plate h by

page_text: means of a suitable bolt 1, the rear part of which said hook a¹ is provided with a stud
or pin c¹ protruding downwards and gearing into a recess in the slide rod t so that it
moves with the same.
In order that this invention may be more plainly understood I will now proceed to
describe the manipulations necessary to couple two cars or carriages together.
When the coupling is in the position represented in Figure 5, the two cars or
carriages are moved towards each other, whereby the safety coupling hook a¹ is
disengaged. At the moment when the cars or carriages are brought together, the
coupling hook a¹ is closed by means of appropriately operating the slide rod w so that
in this manner a temporary coupling of the safety hook is attained. The two main
coupling hooks n are now at their extreme position, exteriorily of the same m, and are
perfectly independent of each other.
If now the bell crank lever p is operated by rotating the two endless screws_t,
the said endless screws will be so operated by means of the screw nuts that the
coupling hooks n take up the position represented in Figure 4 and thereby lock the
coupling.....
The peculiar movement made by the main coupling hooks n when returning to their
former position, has the effect of opening or uncoupling the safety hooks a but the
latter are again closed by appropriately operating the slide rod w, whereby the stud or
piny is brought in close proximity to the hood like part of the main coupling hook n.
If the main coupling is now partly opened, the stud or pin y gears into the part z of
the said main coupling hook and so completing the locking of the safety coupling,
whereas the tension of the main hooks n is simultaneously transferred to the angular
plates h. The spring is attached to the angle iron k for the purpose of avoiding
sudden jerks when the train is started as the tension of the whole device is directed
towards the said spring when the train is set in motion. When it is desired to
uncouple the cars, the safety coupling hooks a' must first be opened or released and
then a lateral movement imparted to the main hooks n, whereby the part z is released
from the stud or pin y.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the same
is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In side couplings for railway cars and carriages such as herein described, the
construction application and employment of the laterally operated main coupling
hooks n, which are opened and closed by means of the endless screw or worm t, hand
wheel spindle u, screw nuts and bell crank lever p, and in which the complete
coupling device or mechanism is held in springy contact on the bolt g by means of the
angular plate and spring i, in order to avoid sudden jerks when tension is exerted on
the said coupling, substantially as described and shown.
2. In side couplings for railway cars or carriages, the construction application and
employment of the safety coupling hooks a¹, which are movably attached on the plate h
and slide rod w, which are rigidly held by the hood like part and stud or piny, when
the coupling is under tension, substantially as described in the foregoing specification
and shown in the accompanying drawings.
3. The construction application and employment of the parts of my improved
coupling, substantially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the
accompanying drawing.