Improvements in the Manufacture of the Coupling Hooks of Loco- motives, Railway Carriages, Wagons and Trucks and Tram Cars.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 7th Oct., 1897--Accepted, 13th Nov., 1897
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Coupling Hooks of Loco-
motives, Railway Carriages, Wagons and Trucks and Tram Cars.
We, JABEZ LONES and EDWARD HOLDEN trading as Lones Vernon and Holden
of Saudwell Iron and Axle Works, Smethwick in the County of Stafford, Manu-
facturers do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:
Our invention consists of the process or combination of processes hereinafter
described for the manufacture of the unbent or partly made hook blanks or
"noulds" from which coupling hooks of locomotives, railway carriages, wagons
and trucks and tram cars are finally fashioned or made.
We effect the principal shaping of the said blanks or "moulds" of iron or
steel. by rolling operations effected in back action grooved rolls of the ordinary
kind, the said rolls having grooves or passes of progressively diminishing size so as
to effect both the breaking down and the fashioning of the bar. The said back
action rolls consist of segmental rolls or rolls with cutaway parts and a stop
at the front of the rolls for limiting the extent to which the bloom or bar under
operation can be passed through the gaps or cutaway parts of the rolls, the
shaped bloom or bar being returned by the rolls to the workman in front of
them.
In carrying our invention into effect we take a billet of iron or steel and roll
it by ordinary grooved rolls into a flat bar, say about three feet in length and two
inches in thickness; and we divide the bar at its middle by an oblique or inclined
cut into two bars each bar being square at one end and oblique or pointed at
the other end. From each of these divided bars a "mould or unbent coupling
hook blank is made by two back rolling stages effected in rolls of the kind herein-
before indicated, followed by a forging operation.
"
The first back rolling stage has for its object to reduce and fashion that half
of the bar having the square end, into the partly cylindrical nud partly angular
shank of the coupling hook blank, the augular part of the shank passing by a
shoulder into that half of the bar which has not been operated upon. The pro-
duction of the said shank is effected by operating upon the bar edgewise by the
required number of grooves of the rolls so as to reduce about half the bar to
the proper size and fashion it into the shank, each longitudinal half of the part
of the bar operated upon being fashioned in each roll. The second back rolling
stage has for its object to reduce and fashion the unoperated half of the bar,
having the oblique or inclined end, into that part of the blank or "mould" from
which the hook proper is to be made. This is effected by the workman at the
front of the rolls passing to the front stop of the rolls the pointed or oblique and
of the bar, the back or return motion of the rolls operating upon the edge of the
bar and giving to it a nearly pointed or long V shaped figure, the pointed end
of the bar extending nearly to the shank part already made. One half of the
point or hook part of the bar or blank is fashioned by one roll and the other half

page_text: by the other roll; or the greater part of the bar and one edge thereof may be
fashioned in one roll and the other edge of the bar fashioned in the other roll.
The edges of the hooked part of the bar or blank may either be flat or half
round.
The middle of the partly made "mould" or blank is next operated upon by a
steam hammer stamp or press so as to crank it and thereby bring the axial line
of the two parts into different but parallel planes, the cranked end being drawn
out into a taper or beak like figure.
The "mould" or blank thus made is finished in a pair of dies so as to give
the proper shape to the shank part and bend the beak part into the hook of the
coupling hook. These dies are of the kind ordinarily employed for converting
the hook mould" or blank into the finished hook and constitute no part of
our invention.
"
Dated thie Fourth day of February 1807
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Coupling Hooks of Loco-
motives, Railway Carriages, Wagons and Trucks and Tram Cars.
We, JABEZ LONES and EDWARD HOLDEN, trading as Lones, Vernon and Holden,
of Sandwell Iron and Axle Works, Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Manu-
facturers, do hereby declare the nature of our Invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:--
Our invention consists of the process or combination of processes hereinafter
described for the manufacture of the unbent or partlyt made hook blanks or
moulds" from which coupling hooks of locomotives, railway carriages, wagons
and trucks and tram cars are finally fashioned or made.
"
"
We effect the principal shaping of the said blanks or moulds of iron or
steel, by rolling operations effected in back action grooved rolls, the
said rolls having grooves or passes of progressively diminishing size so as to
effect both the breaking down and the fashioning of the bar. The said back
action rolls consist of segmental rolls or rolls with cut away parts and a stop
at the front of the rolls for limiting the extent to which the bloom or bar under
operation can be passed through the gaps or cut away parts of the rolls, the
shaped bloom or bar being returned by the rolls to the workman in front of
them.
In carrying our invention into effect we take a billet of iron or steel and roll
it by ordinary grooved rolls into a fiat bar, say about three feet in length, two
inchies in thickness; and five inches in breadth, and we divide the bar, at its
middle, by an oblique or inclined cut, into two bars, each bar being square at
que end and oblique or pointed at the other end. From each of these divided
"mould" or unbent coupling hook blank is made by two hack rolling
stages effected in rolls of the kind hereinbefore indicated, followed by forging
operations.
bars a
The first back rolling stage has for its object to reduce and fashion tha: half
of the bar having the square end, into the partly cylindrical and partly angular
shauk of the coupling hook blank, the angular part of the shank passing by a
shoulder into that half of the bar which has not been operated upon. The pro-

page_text: "
duction of the said shank is effected by operating upon the bar edgowise by the
required number of grooves of the rolls so as to reduce about half the bar to
the proper size and fashion it into the shank, each longitudinal half of the part
of the bar operated upon being fashioned in each roll. The second back rolling
stage has for its object to reduce and fashion the unoperated half of the bar,
having the oblique or inclined end, into that part of the blank or mould" "from
which the hook proper is to be made. This is effected by the workman at the
front of the rolls passing to the front stop of the rolls the pointed or oblique end
of the bar, the back or return motion of the rolls operating upon the edge of the
bar and giving to it a nearly pointed or long V shaped figure, the pointed end
of the bar extending nearly to the shank part already made. One half of the
point or hook part of the bar or blank is fashioned by one roll and the other half
by the other roll: or the greater part of the bar and one edge thereof may be
fashioned in one roll and the other edge of the bar fashioned in the other roll.
The edges of the hooked part of the bar or blank may either be flat or half
round.
The middle of the hook end of the partly made "mould" or blauk is next
operated upon by a steam hammer or press so as to crank it and thereby bring
the axial line of the two parts into different but parallel planes, the cranked ond
being shaped into a beak like figure.
"
The hook part of the "mould or blank is then bent either by a bending
machine or by tools carried by a steam hammer or stamp prior to placing it in
the dies by which the hook is shaped. These dies are of the kind ordinarily
employed for converting the hook "mould or blank into the finished hook and
constitute no part of our invention.
"
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which our invention is to be performed.
Figure represents in front elevation the pair of back action or segmental
rolls which we employ for effecting the rolling stages of the bar for the produc-
tion of a blank or mould or unbent bulb-ended coupling hook; Figure 2
represents a cross section of the same taken on the dotted line a, a Figure 1;
Figure 3 represents a cross section of the same taken on the dotted line h, b
Figure 1 Figure 4 represents a cross section of the same taken on the dotted
line c, c Figure 1, and Figure 5 represents a cross section of the same taken on
the dotted line d, d Figure 1. Bais rolled by the respective grooves are shown
in connection with the rolls Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The first rolling stage for fashioning the shauk and bulb end of the coupling
hook blank is effected in the grooves 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the rolls and the second
rolling stage for fashioning that half of the blank from which the hook proper
is bent is effected in either the grooves 5 or the grooves 6 of the rolls as herein-
after particularly described.
In carrying our invention into effect, we take a billet of iron or steel and by
a rolling operation produce the flat bar represented in Figure 6, and divide it
at its middle by an oblique or inclined cut as indicated at e, into two bars, each
bar being square at one end and oblique or pointed at the other end. We make
ก "mould" or unbent coupling hook blank from each of these divided parts or
bars in the following manner and by the use of the rolls herein after described.
In making the shank end or half of the hook blank the half of the bar having
the oblique end being gripped by the tongs of the workman at the dotted line
Figure 6, the said square ended half of the bar is passed edgewise through the
gap or cut away part of the rolls opposite the grooves 1, the distance to which
the bar is passed between the rolls being regulated by a stop at the front of
the rolls. By the advance of the rolls in the direction of the arrow the bar
is seized by the acting parts of the grooves 1 of the rolls by which acting parts
ic is shaped and returned to the workman at the front of the rolls as is well
understood. The partly rolled bar is next operated upon by the adjacent grooves 2
and then in succession by the grooves 1 and 2 as many times as are required to

page_text: perfect the shape of the shauk end of the bar. By the operation of the grooves 1
and 2 of the rolls the shank end of the bar is rolled without or practically
without fin.
Figure 7 represents the bar after the shank end has been rolled by the grooves 1
aud 2, the reduced or shank party joining the unoperated upon thicker part h
of the bar by a shoulder i.
The partly made blank or "mould" Figure 7 is next operated upon by the
grooves 3 and 4 of the back action rolls, so as to taper the shank party and
form a bulb on its end, and give the part between the bulb end and the
taper part, a polygonal figure in cross section as represented in side elevation
in Figure 8 and edge view and cross section in Figure 9, as well as to flatten
the angles of the taper part where it joins the polygonal part. The shape of
the grooves 3 and 4 for tapering and giving the angular figure to the bar and
producing the bulb is seen in Figure 3.
The shaped bar Figures 8 and 9 is passed alternately through the grooves 3
and 4 a sufficient number of times to perfect the figure of the bar, the bar pro-
duced being without fin or practically without fin.
The bulb part of the partly made blank is next twisted or turned at right
ongles by means of twisting tools, from the position indicated in dotted lines to
that shown in full lines in Figures 8 and 9 so as to bring the bulb into a plane
ut right angles to that of the side or broad face of the blank (see Figures 10
and 11). The shank part of the blank is now complete.
the
In fashioning the unoperated part of the partly made blank Figures 8 and 9
into the part from which the hook proper has to be made, we operate upon
said part so as to taper the bar either on both edges as represented in Figure 10:
or on one edge only as represented in Figure 11.
The double tapering of the bar Figure 10 is effected by the grooves 5 of the
rolls, as will be best seen by reference to the section Figure 4 and the single
edge tapering of the bar is effected by the grooves of the rolls, the shape of
which will be best seen by reference to the section Figure 5. In the last case,
the groove of the lower roll only has the configuration proper to effect the
tapering of the edge of the bar, the groove of the upper roll being cylindrical
but the tapering of the bar may be effected by the upper roll instead of by the
lower roll. The position of the small end of the hook part of the blank in the
grooves 5, 6 of the rolls is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1.
Should the part of the bar thicken during the rolling operation in the
grooves 5 or 6, the thickened bar may be restored to its original thickness by the
action of the plain grooves 7 of the rolls.
For the purpose of ensuring that the acting faces of the grooves in one roll
work exactly opposite or are coincident with the acting faces of corresponding
grooves in the other roll, we gear the pair of rolls together by the toothed
gearing, and m, m represented in Figure 1, at both ends of the pair of rolls,
the said toothed gearing, m being made solid with the barrel of the rolls and
inside the ordinary housings p, p, indicated in dotted lines. Or toothed gearing
in one piece with the barrels of the rolls at one end only of the said rolls may
be employed instead of toothed gearing at both ends as represented. The part h
of the blank Figure 10 or Figure 11 is next operated upon at its middle by a
steam hammer, stamp or press so as to crank the said hook part into the form
represented in Figure 12; that is to say, the pointed part of the blank is cranked
at its middle so as to bring the axial line of the two parts into different planes &
and the pointed part fashioned into a beak like figure.
The blank or mould" Figure 12 is finished in a pair of dies so as to bend
the beak part into the hook of the coupling hook and the hook is pierced as
represented in Figure 13.
When the shank end of the coupling hook is without a bulb the rolls are
without the depressions 4, 4 Figure 3 for the production of the bulb. Figure 14

page_text: represents a coupling hook for a railway carriage made according to our invontion,
the hook being without a bulb at its shank end.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we claim as
our invention of, "Improvements in the manufacture of the coupling hooks of
locomotives, railway cairiages, wagons and trucks and tram cars":
The process or combination of processes hereinbefore described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings for the manufacture of unbent or partly made
hook blanks or moulds" from which the said coupling hooks are fashioned
or made; that is to say, taking a rolled bar of iron or steel square at one end
and oblique or pointed at the other end and first subjecting that half of the bar
having the square end to a series of rolling operations so as to produce there-
from the shank end of the hook blank or 'mould" and afterwards subjecting
the other half of the bar, having the oblique or pointed end, to a series of rolling
operations for the formation therefrom of the part of the blank or
"mould
from which the hook proper is to be made and finally cranking the hook part of
the blank or "mould ready for the finishing process, the several rolling opera-
tions being effected in the manner and by the use of back action or segmental
rolls substantially as described and illustrated.
1
2008