IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Turton, of Westminster Chambers, Victoria
Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Turton at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th October 1881.
GEORGE TURTON, of Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, in
the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY
VEHICLES.
My said Invention relates to buffers of the class described in the Specifications of
my former Letters Patent, No. 3113, A.D. 1879, and No. 1975, A.D. 1880, and is
chiefly designed to increase the convenience and efficiency of such buffers in respect
of the coupling or connection of the vehicles, and the taking up of the "slack" of
the coupling books.
"
By reference to the first of the above named Specifications it will be seen that I
have therein described a slotted buffer-head provided with a transverse bar
carrying an excentric or excentrics whereby the adjustment of the hook to take up
the "slack is effected. I have described in the said Specification various
modifications of this apparatus, but that to which I now particularly refer has
short spiral springs arranged in combination with the excentrics to serve for taking
up the "slack" and forming an elastic connection, which facilitates the movements
of the vehicles in passing over curves.
This apparatus has been found thoroughly efficient on railways where it is
practicable to always arrange the vehicles, so that the buffer provided with a hook
and excentric device on one carriage shall be presented to another carriage, whereon
the buffer has a plain transverse bar or other means for engaging with the said
hook.
By my present Invention however I improve these buffers, and render them
generally useful by so modifying their construction that in whatever position the
carriages may be presented to each other the safe coupling or connection of the
same may be expeditiously accomplished.

page_text: For this purpose I form longitudinal grooves and slots in the buffer-head, and I
fit in each groove a plate capable of sliding endwise therein. In each of these
plates I form two or more holes, and so arrange the said plates that the holes in
one plate will be exactly opposite to the corresponding holes in the other plate;
these holes are designed to form the bearings for the transverse bar, which in this
arrangement may serve to carry the coupling hook, or (if the latter is removed)
to receive the hook of the buffer of the adjacent vehicle.
"
At the rear of the said slots I arrange the excentric shaft. This shaft has two
excentrics, which form its journal bearings in two T-shaped cross-heads, whose
vertical portions bear against the springs which assist in taking up the "slack
and maintaining an elastic connection between the vehicles, as above described.
Portions of the shaft between the excentric fit in holes or bearings formed through
the rear portions of the said plates. The hook is placed within the head on the
transverse bar, which as above specified has its bearings in the said plates. There-
fore by turning the said excentric shaft on its axis in one direction it will force the
hook outward, at the same time permitting the springs to expand and relax their
tension so that the said hook can easily engage with the bar of the other buffer,
and by turning it in the opposite direction the said excentric shaft will draw back
the hook to take up the slack, and will compress the springs, thereby giving
to the coupling the required elasticity to permit the easy passage of vehicles over
curves.
The above described improvements are applicable in substantially the same
manner and for the same purpose to the apparatus described in the Specification of
my said former Patent, No. 1975, wherein the excentric transverse bar has the
draw bars connected thereto, and the springs are all arranged within or behind the
head-stock of the carriage. I may modify this part of my Invention by arranging
the draw-bars close to or in contact with the central buffer-rod.
Another part of my said Invention relates to the combination of the devices
for taking up the slack, as described in my aforesaid former Specifications, with
coupling buffers of that class in which a link in one buffer is so arranged in
relation to a hook in another buffer that when the two buffers are brought
together for coupling, the exterior or forward end of the said link will enter the
buffer head containing the hook, and will automatically effect the coupling or
connection of the vehicles.
For this purpose I form the interior of the head which carries the hook with
sloping or inclined upper and lower sides, so that the mouth of the aperture or
cavity in the head is its widest portion. The hook, which is pivoted near the
back or inner end of this cavity, is formed with its front end slightly curved, and
presents itself to the opposite buffer head at such an angle to the horizontal axis
of the buffers as to allow the said hook to be easily raised by the end of the link
of the said opposite buffer when the said link is forced forward under the said
hook as the buffer heads come together. And as soon as the end of the link
has passed behind the point of the hook the latter falls and engages therewith, the
coupling being thereby automatically effected, the "slack" being taken up by the
means above specified. The buffer head may be slotted above and below the point
or outer end of the hook, to afford free space for the movement thereof. The
said hook may be arranged to be pressed either upward or downward by the
link as the latter enters the buffer head, and in some instances I may employ a
device termed a tumbling hook, which is held by a lever or pawl till the link
disengages it,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Turton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th April
1882.
GEORGE TURTON, of Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, in
the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY
VEHICLES."
My said Invention relates to buffers of the class described in the Specification of
iny former Letters Patent, No. 3113, A.D. 1879, and No. 1975, A.D. 1880, and is
chiefly designed to increase the convenience and efficiency of such buffers in respect
of the coupling or connection of the vehicles and the taking up of the slack of the
coupling hooks.
By reference to the first of the above named Specifications it will be seen
that I have therein described a slotted buffor-head provided with a transverse bar,
carrying an excentric or excentrics, whereby the adjustment of the hook to take
up the slack" is effected. I have described in the said Specification various
modifications of this apparatus, but that to which I now particularly refer has
short spiral springs arranged in combination with the excentrics to serve for taking
up the "slack," and forming an elastic connection which facilitatos the movements
of the vehicles in passing around curves.
This apparatus has been found thoroughly efficient on railways where it is
practicable to always arrange the vehicles, so that a carriago having a buffer
provided with a hook and excentric device shall be presented to another carriage
whercon the buffer has a plain transverse pin or other provision for engaging with
the said hook.
By my present Inventiou, however, I improve these buffers and render them
generally useful by so modifying their construction that in whatever position the
vehicles may be presented to each other the safe coupling or connection of the
samo may be expeditiously accomplished.
One part of my said Invention consists in the combination for this purpose of
the coupling hook, springs, and excentric, described in the said prior Specification,
with novel devices which, without impairing the action and efficiency of the said
apparatus in respect of its adjustability and elasticity, provide for the further
adjustment of the parts so that the hook of any buffer can be moved from one
position to another and the parts can be so adjusted as to permit either this hook
or the hook of the other buffer to make tho connection between two buffers to be
coupled.
One form of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 of the Drawing,
in which
1:
1

page_text: $
cross-heads h, whose vertical portions or extensions h¹ are acted upon by the
springs c, and are thereby forced backward for taking up the "slack," the said
springs maintaining an elastic connection between the vehicles, as above described
and as set forth in my said former Specification. Portions of the shaft d¹ between
the excentrics & fit in holes or bearings formed through the rear portions of the
side plates e. The hook bis placed within the buffer-head on the transverse pin
which is then supported and has its bearings in the holes f in the plates e. Now
it is obvious that, as the excentrics have their bearings in the cross heads h and
the intermediate portions of the shaft d' have their bearings in the plates e, the
turning of the said excentric shaft d' on its axis in one direction will force the
hook b outward, the springs c at the same time will expand to some extent and
relax their tension, so that the said hook can easily engage with the transverse
pin of the other buffer, and by turning the said excentric shaft d' in the opposite
direction it will draw back the hook b to take up the slack, and will slightly
compress the springs c; the buffers are thus locked together or kept in contact,
and the chief use of the springs c is to give to the coupling the required elasticity
to permit the easy passage of vehicles around curves. Assuming the parts to be
in the position shewn in Figure 1, the turning of the excentrics d on their axis in
the direction of arrow 1 will cause the plates e to slide forward in their grooves,
and as the transverse pin is held by these plates the hook also moves forward with
them. Then by continuing the movement of the excentrics or by turning them
backward the said plates and the hook will be drawn back.
The same adjustments and elastic action are obtained when the hook is removed
from the transverse pin, and the latter is placed in the holes f¹ to engage with the
hook of another buffer.
Figure 5 is a side elevation partly in section, and
Figure 6 is a plan partly in horizontal section of a modification of the above
described apparatus.
In this modification the springs c do not bear on the flange at the front of the
buffer-head, but are made shorter than those above described, and act between the
vertical parts a³ of the plates e and the flanges h¹ of the cross heads h. The
excentric shaft d¹ is journalled in the buffer-head, and the excentrics d are arranged
in the apertures h³ of the cross heads and act on the sides of these apertures when
turned to adjust the hook b. The arrangement with regard to the holes f, f', in
the plates e and the placing of the transverse pin g therein, are the same as above
described, but the said plates are formed with slots at e*, so that the said shaft
may extend through these plates e without impeding or obstructing their sliding
action.
Figures 7 and 8 are similar views to Figures 5 and 6, showing a further slight
modification, consisting in placing the excentric d on the central portion of the
shaft d and forming the bearings of the said shaft in the cross heads h.
The above described improvements are applicable in substantially the same
manner and for the same purpose to the apparatus described in the Specification of
my said former Patent, No. 1975, wherein the excentric transverse bar, the draw
bars connected thereto, and the springs, are all arranged within or behind the
head-stock of the carriage. I may modify this part of my Invention by arranging
the draw-bars close to or in contact with the central buffer rod, as shewn in
Figure 9.
According to another modification instead of arranging the hook b, side plates e,
and transverse pin g, in the manner hereinbefore described, I construct them in
one piece, as shewn in Figures 10 to 14, or they may be connected to each other
in any suitable manner.
Figure 10 is a sectional elevation showing the hook thrown up and the transverse
pin engaged by the hook of the adjacent vehicle.
Figure 11 is a plan of the same partly in horizontal section,
Figure 12 is a similar view to Figure 10, shewing the position of the hook when
engaged with the transverse pin of another buffer.

page_text: Figure 13 is a sectional elevation of another arrangement shewing the hook
thrown up and the transverse pin engaged by the hook of the adjacent vehicle.
Figure 14 is a plan of the same partly in horizontal section.
It will be seen that by this arrangement when the hook b is thrown up the
transverse pin g is in position to be engaged by the hook 61 of the adjacent vehicle,
and the slack may then be taken up by the means above specified and the
transverse pin may be moved thereby instead of the hook b¹.
Figure 15 is a sectional elevation, and
Figure 16, a plan partly in section shewing an arrangement, according to which
the transverse ping is inserted through slots i in the sides of the buffer-head a,
and through holes in the side plates e, so as to retain the said pin in position for
the hook 61 of the adjacent vehicle to engage with it, as shewn. In the arrange-
ments shewn in Figures 14 and 16, I employ bearing pieces h³ for the springs c in
place of the cross heads above described. These bearing pieces are formed with
studs h which pass through the flanges a* and upon which the springs care
placed.
Figure 17 is a sectional elevation, and
Figure 18, a plan partly in section of a modified form of coupling buffer, in
which I dispense with the side plates and insert the transverse pin g after the
book 6 has been thrown up into holes k provided for it in the sides of the buffer-
head a.
In this case the excentric d is arranged to act directly upon the hook b,
and the excentric shaft d' has its bearings in side pieces 7 attached to springs
either at the side of the buffer, as shewn in Figures 1 to 4, or behind the headstock
of the vehicle, as shewn in Figure 9, or they may be arranged, as shewn in my
said former Specification, No. 1975.
In Figures 18, m is a pawl pivoted on a pin n carried in lugs on the hand-
lever p; this pawl is arranged to drop into a notch. in one of the side pieces 780
as to lock the said lever.
Figure 19 is a side elevation, and
Figure 20 a plan partly in section shewing the springs c arranged within the
buffer-head a, which is made of suitable shape and dimensions to receive them.
Another part of my said Invention relates to the combination of the devices for
taking up the slack, as described in my aforesaid former Specifications, with coupling-
buffers of that class in which a link in one buffer is so arranged in relation to a
hook in another buffer that when the two buffers are brought together for
coupling, the exterior or forward end of the said link will enter the buffer-head
containing the hook, and will automatically effect the coupling or connection of the
vehicles.
This part of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 21 to 23.
Figure 21 is a vertical sectional elevation, and
Figure 22 a sectional plan of the same.
Figure 23 is a sectional elevation shewing a modified construction of the hook
and excentric.
The interior of the buffer-head a, which is provided with the hook b, is formed
with sloping or inclined portions at the front, so that the mouth of the aperture or
cavity in the head is its widest portion, as clearly shewn in Figures 21 and 22.
The hook b, which is journalled upon the excentric d or otherwise pivoted near
the back or inner end of this cavity, is formed with its front end curved, as shewn,
and presents itself to the opposite buffer-head at such an angle to the horizontal
axis of the buffer as to allow the said hook to be easily raised by the end of the
link engaged with the look of the said opposite buffer when the link is forced
forward under the said hook as the buffer-heads come together; and as soon as the
end of the link has passed behind the point b* of the hook, the latter falls and
engages with the link, as clearly shewn in Figure 21, the coupling being thereby
automatically effected, and the "slack" being afterwards taken up by the means
above specified. The buffer-head a may be slotted above and below the point or
outer end of the hook to afford free space for the movement thereof. The hook b,

page_text: as shewn, is arranged to be pressed upward by the link as the latter enters the
buffer-head. If desired, the said hook may be arranged to be pressed downward
by the link, the hook in this case being provided with a counterbalance weight.
According to a modified construction of the hook and excentric I provide a pro-
jection on the excentric and a slot 62 in the hook b, as shewn in Figure 23; the
object of this arrangement is to enable the hook to be lifted after the same has
been released, and the same operation, that is to say, by the latter part of the half
revolution of the excentric shaft, which causes the hook to become slack.
A modification of this part of my said Invention consists in the employment of
a tumbling hook and its operating mechanism, similar to that described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to W. P. Alexander, dated 19th November
1880, No. 4771, in combination with the devices hereinbefore described and referred
to for taking up the slack.
Figure 24 is a central longitudinal vertical section.
Figure 25 is a central horizontal section, and
Figure 26 is a side elevation shewing one method of combining the said devices.
The tumbling hook 62 is pivotted upon the pin g¹, which is free to slide in slots in
the buffer-head a, and is (connected to the excentric shaft d' by the connecting
rod d. The back or top of this hook forms a continuation of the sloping portion
of the buffer-head, and when two buffers are brought together with a link in one
of them, as shewn in Figure 26, the said link rises up the inclined surfaces of the
buffer head a and tumbling hook 6 until it engages with the said hook, as shewn
in Figure 24, thus automatically coupling the two vehicles. I may however
employ other methods of combining the said tumbling hook with my devices for
taking up the slack. The arrangement of the mechanism for locking and disengaging
the tumbling hook will be well understood from the Drawings and by referring to
the said Specification of W. P. Alexander, and therefore it is not deemed necessary
to further describe it.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. The improvements in coupling buffers comprising the combination with
the coupling hook and the excentric and spring devices for taking up the "slack"
of the same of the novel features of construction and arrangement, substantially as
set forth with reference to either of the forms or modifications illustrated in Figures
1 to 8 or in Figures 15 to 18 of the Drawings in such a manner that by the aid of
the adjustable transverse pin or bolt either of the said buffers may be adapted to
couple or connect with any other of such buffers, in the manner above set forth.
Second. The modifications of my Invention wherein the transverse pin or bolt is
attached to or forms part of the coupling hook, substantially as described with
reference to Figures 10, 11, 12, or to Figures 13 and 14 of the Drawings.
Third. The improvements in coupling buffers comprising the combination with
the above described excentric and spring devices for taking up the "slack" of the
novel features of construction and arrangement whereby provision is made for con-
necting a hook in one buffer with a link projecting from another buffer, substantially
as described with reference to either of the forms or modifications illustrated in
Figures 21 to 26 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Turton, have hereunto set my hand.
and seal, this Twenty sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.