A NEW OR IMPROVED ELASTIC SPRING HOOK OR FASTENING ADAPTED FOR THE TRACES OF HORSES, COUPLINGS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Frederick Schwanck, of the City of
London, Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED ELASTIC
SPRING HOOK OR FASTENING ADAPTED FOR THE TRACES OF HORSES, COUPLINGS
OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES."
Sealed the 10th August 1875, and dated the 20th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Frederick
Schwanck at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 20th February 1875.
I, CHARLES FREDERICK SCHWANCK, of the City of London, Engineer, .
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED ELASTIC SPRING HOOK OR FASTENING ADAPTED FOR THE TRACES OF
HORSES, COUPLINGS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," to be
as follows:-
:
This Invention relates to a new or improved elastic spring hook or
fastening adapted for the traces of horses, couplings of railway carriages,
and other purposes, the object being that the traces, couplings, or other

page_text: thing held may be liberated at any moment even if a great strain be on
the hook or fastening at the moment when it is required to open it, as
for instance, when applied to the traces or pole chains of horses, the
object being to enable the horse to be easily and quickly liberated in case
of running away, falling, or kicking over the traces.
According to my Invention I form the hook or fastening of two sides,
jointed together at one end after the fashion of a pair of calipers, the pin
uniting the two also, attaching thereto a spindle, which spindle passes
into a cylindrical box or case containing a spring or springs of india-
rubber, spiral or other form, so connected with the said spindle as always
to have the tendency to draw it in.. One of the said sides of the said
hook carries a pin fixed to it, and the other has an eye of corresponding
size, so that when the two sides are brought near enough to one another,
the said pin will enter the said eye, and thus lock in anything which the
said pin may be encircled by. The said sides have placed between them
a spring, the tendency of which is to press them outwards, and encircling
them exteriorly is a link of such size that when drawn towards the
extended or open ends of the sides of the hook it will p compress them
sufficiently to cause the said pin to enter the said eye as already
described. Each of the said sides has formed on its exterior side and
near its outer end a shoulder, so that when the said link is drawn past
them and the sides expand by reason of the spring between them, the
shoulders will prevent the link from returning, and thus the two sides
will be locked in position. To liberate or open the hook the two sides
must be compressed together, and whilst in that position the link be
slipped back.
The side holding the pin should be placed uppermost, so that the
trace, coupling, or other thing held, may be slid off under the pin.
Or instead of the said link for locking the hook this may be
accomplished by having instead of the said solid pin a split pin with
exterior shoulders near its outer end, so that having passed through the
hole in the other side of the hook the pin will expand and so lock
itself in position by means of the said shoulders. To liberate the pin
and
open the hook it is only necessary to compress the open ends of the
pin, when the spring between the two sides will force them open; or a
movable pin may be used for locking together the opposite sides of the
hook, the said pin having oval or other shaped head to pass through
corresponding holes in the two sides of the hook when brought towards

page_text: one another, the pin being also provided when desired with an eye in
such a position that any strain put on to the pin will turn and keep the
heads in such a position that they cannot be withdrawn by accident
through the holes in the sides of the hook.
This Invention applied to couplings of railway carriages has a two-
fold advantage, as the longitudinal spring action takes off the sudden
jerk occasioned by the pull of the engine, as the buffers do when the
carriages are impelled together, at the same time any carriage could be
instantaneously liberated in case of emergency.
This Invention may be used in connection with the ordinary
tightening up arrangement with which it will in no way interfere.
The Invention may also be employed for mooring vessels and many
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Frederick Schwanck in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 20th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
FREDERICK SCHWANCK, of the City of London, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Charles Frederick Schwanck, Her special license
that I, the said Charles Frederick Schwanck, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Frederick Schwanck, 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, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A
NEW OR IMPROVED ELASTIC SPRING HOOK OR FASTENING ADAPTED FOR THE TRACES
OF HORSES, COUPLINGS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND OTHER USEFUL Purposes,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Frederick

page_text: Schwanck, 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 Charles Frederick Schwanck, do
hereby declare the nature of the 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, that (is to say) :—
This Invention relates to a new or improved elastic spring hook or
fastening adapted for the traces of horses, the couplings of railway
carriages, trucks, &c., and for other useful purposes, the object being
that sudden jerks or strains may be eased or modified, and that the 1
trace, coupling, or other thing held may be liberated at any moment
even if a great strain be on the hook or fastening at the moment when it
is desired to open it, as, for example, when applied to the traces or pole
chains of horses, when the horses may be easily and quickly liberated in
case of running away, falling, or kicking over the traces.
And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same with the
aid of the accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the letters.
and figures marked thereon, and in which,-
Figures 1, 2, and 3, illustrate one form of my Invention.
2
O

page_text: another, the pin C will enter the eye D, and thus lock in anything
which the pin C may be encircled by. The jaws A have placed between
them a blade or other shaped spring Ẹ, the tendency of which is to force
them asunder, and encircling the jaws A exteriorly is a link F of such
size that when drawn towards the extended or open ends of the jaws A,
it will contract them sufficiently to cause the pin C to enter the eye D
(see Figure 3). The jaws A have each formed on its exterior side a
shoulder a of such form (as shewn) that when the link F is drawn past
them towards the open ends of the jaws A, and the jaws expand by
reason of the action of the spring between them, the shoulders a will
prevent the link from returning or being forced back, and thus the
jaws A will be locked in position and anything encircling the pin C be
securely held. To liberate or open the jaws they must be pressed
towards one another, and whilst in that position the link F be slipped
back.
The jaw holding the pin should as a rule be placed uppermost when
the hook is in use, so that the trace, coupling, or other thing held may
be slid off the pin downwards when the jaws of the hook are opened.
Attached to or forming part of the said hook is a shank or spindle G,
which passes into a cylindrical or other shaped box or casing H,
containing a spring or springs I, I, of spiral or helical or other
form.
In the illustration (see Figure 1) two springs are shewn with a disc or
plate between them. These springs are so connected with and act upon
the shank or spindle G, that the tendency is always to draw it and the
hook inwards. The shank or spindle passes through one end J of the
box H, on the other end plate of which an eye J¹ is formed. These end
plates J, J', are attached to or fixed in the case H as follows:-They
have each a groove formed round the periphery, and into this groove the
substance of the case is compressed, as shewn in the illustration (see
Figure 1), in a lathe or by any other suitable means, the ends being
thereby firmly fixed in the body of the box. Thus constructed the hook
or appliance being attached at one end by the eye J', and at the other
by the pin C and jaws A as described, any sudden strain put on the hook
is eased by the action of the spring or springs I. In Figure 1 the
jaws A are shewn extended and the box or casing H in section, whilst in
Figure 3 the jaws are shewn closed and locked in position by the link F;
Figure 2 is an edge view...

page_text: The above form of my Invention is adapted for the traces and pole
chains of draft horses and for general purposes, as, for example, the
mooring vessels riding at anchor, the coupling of railway carriages or
trucks, and for many other useful purposes too numerous to mention.
Sometimes and especially in cases where very heavy strains are to be
resisted I form the springs of discs of india-rubber having plates of
metal between them, but I do not claim any particular form of
spring.
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate my Invention as adapted for one-horse
carriages, Figure 4 being a side view, and Figure 5 a back view. The
box H is in this case provided with a flange H' for attachment to the
shaft. The form shewn is designed to be attached to the inner side of
the shaft, but it may instead be so formed as to be fastened to the upper
or under side thereof or be otherwise attached. The spindle G may be
either round or square, and when square will pass through a corre-
sponding square hole in the box end J. This will enable the hook to be
so placed that the jaws A will open and close either in a up and down or
sideway direction as may be required.
Figures 6, 7, and 8, illustrate my Invention adapted for pair horse
carriages, Figure 6 being a side view; Figure 7 a top view; and Figure 8
a back view. The box H is in this case thickened at one end with a
collar h, and is provided with a screw h¹ for attaching the appliance to
the splinter bar or other part of the carriage. In this form the
hook should generally be so placed that the movable jaw will open
downwards.
Figures 9 to 13 illustrate modifications of the hook arrangement in
which the link F is dispensed with and the locking of the jaws is effected
in a different manner.
In the method illustrated at Figures 9 and 10, a split pin K is used,
the method of locking being shewn at Figure 10. When it is desired to
open the jaws the expanded point of the pin K must be compressed,
when the spring between the jaws will cause them to open, drawing the
head of the pin through the eye.
In the method illustrated at Figures 11, 12, and 13, the locking of
the jaws is accomplished by a pin with an elongated head at each end.
These elongated heads pass through slots of corresponding form in the

page_text: two jaws, and the pin is then turned round one-fourth of a circle so as
to bring the heads across the apertures, and thus prevent them passing
through, the heads being kept in this position by the eye to which the
trace or other thing is to be attached, being formed at right angles to
the length of the heads of the pin.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to or may be
performed, I claim as my Invention to be secured by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent, the new or improved elastic spring hook
or fastening adapted for the traces of horses, couplings of railway
carriages, and other useful purposes, substantially as herein-before set
forth and described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Frederick Schwanck, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.