Improvements in Central Buffers for Railway and other Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 10th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 11th Feb., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Central Buffers for Railway and other Vehicles.
A communication from abroad by WILLIAM RICHARD SUMPTION JONES,
Carriage and Waggon Superintendent, Rajputana State Railway, of Ajmere,
Rajputana, India.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE of No. 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows :-
:-
This invention of improvements in central buffers for railway, and other vehicles
has for its object to dispense with the usual buffer or shank guides thereby obviating
friction and wear of the buffer shanks or cases occasioned by the abrasion of contact
surfaces.
For this purpose in central buffers according to this invention the draw or the
push spring or both, or a combined draw and push spring, is or are by suitable
means connected to a convenient part of the buffer or its shank and also to the
headstock, or spring socket secured to the head stock, in such manner as to prevent
the spring turning in its socket, or the buffer shank turning in the spring.
The invention may be carried out in various ways.
Dated this 3rd day of May 1892
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Central Buffers for Railway and other Vehicles.
A communication from abroad by WILLIAM RICHARD SUMPTION JONES,
Carriage and Waggon Superintendent, Rajputana State Railway, of Ajmere,
Rajputana, India.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE of No. 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
London, Consulting Engineer, and Chartered Patent Agent, 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 of improvements in central buffers for railway and other vehicles
has for its object to dispense with the usual buffer or shank guides thereby obviating
friction and wear of the buffer shanks or cases occasioned by the abrasion of contact
surfaces.
For this purpose in central buffers according to this invention the draw or the
push spring or both, or a combined draw and push spring, is or are by suitable
means connected to a convenient part of the buffer or its shank and also to the
headstock, or spring socket secured to the headstock, in such manner as to prevent
the spring turning in its socket, or on the headstock, or the buffer shank turning
in the spring.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section, partly in elevation; and
Fig. 2 is a plan of a central buffer constructed according to this invention.
Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are cross sections, to a larger scale, taken on the lines xxy y
and z zrespectively of Fig. 2, the volute draw and push springs being removed.
1 is a volute push-spring mounted at one end within a spring socket 2 that is

page_text: secured to the headstock 3, of the vehicle to which the buffer is applied. This
spring is prevented from turning within its socket by projections or keys 4, 4", that
are fixed to, or formed in one with the base portion of the spring and engage in
corresponding slots or recesses 5, 5", formed in the inner side of the spring socket.
1 is a volute draw spring mounted within a spring socket 2 also fixed to the
head stock 8.
6 is the buffer head in which a coupling hook 7 is pivotted in the ordinary
manner so as to work in a vertical plane during coupling and uncoupling as well
understood.
6 is the shank of the buffer head arranged to extend through the push and draw
springs within which it is retained by a bearing plate 8 that is set by nuts 9 on the
screw threaded inner end of the shank. To prevent this shank turning within the
spring 1 it has formed in one there with a projection or key 10 arranged to enter a
corresponding slot or opening in the spring 1. 11 is a renewable wearing piece in the
form of a metal washer interposed between the spring 1 and the buffer head 6 and
formed with a slot 11 to permit of its being moved past the projection or key 10
into the position shown. As will be seen the hole 12 in the head stock through
which the buffer shank passes is of such a size that the said shank cannot touch
the edge or wall thereof and become worn at this part as has heretofore been usual.
By the construction described it will be seen that wear of the buffer shank due
to friction is practically obviated and that any tendency of the spring or buffer
head to turn will be effectually prevented, so that the coupling hook 7 will at all
times be maintained in a vertical plane and in proper position to couple and
uncouple. Furthermore by mounting the buffer head in the manner described the
buffer is made flexible in a transverse direction so that when the vehicle, to which it
is applied is pressing around a curve, the spring 1 will yield slightly in a transverse
direction and permit the buffer head to automatically adjust itself thereby preventing
or considerably lessening friction, and consequent wear between its end face and
that of the corresponding buffer on an adjacent vehicle. For this reason the end
faces of buffers constructed as described may be made flat as shewn.
As will be evident the invention can be carried out in various ways. Thus to
prevent the spring turning, the projections or keys 4, 4* instead of being carried by
the spring may be carried by the inner side of the spring socket and engage with
corresponding slots in the end of the spring, or the spring may be formed at the
base with a flange as indicated at 13 by which it can be fixed direct to the head
stock, the spring socket being then dispensed with.
Also to prevent the head or shank of the buffer turning in the spring the projection
or key 10 might be formed on the spring and be arranged to enter a groove or
recess in the adjacent part of the head or shank of the buffer as indicated in dotted
lines at 14. Or the spring and its socket and the buffer shank and the outer end of
the spring, instead of being each of circular form in cross section as shown, may be
of such a shape as for example oval, square or polygonal that the spring could not
turn in its socket, and the buffer shank could not turn in the spring.
It will also be evident that the shank of the buffer head instead of being fixed, in
a rotary sense, in the push spring 1, may be similarly fixed in the draw spring 1*
which in this case would need to be fixed so that it could not turn; the former
arrangement however is considered most advantageous in practice.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A central buffer for railway and other vehicles in which the buffer head or
its shank is carried by and secured to a spring that is also secured to a fixed part
of the vehicle such as the headstock or to a spring socket, the arrangement being
such that the buffer head and its shank cannot turn relatively to the spring and the
spring cannot turn relatively to the part of the vehicle to which it is connected
substantially as herein described for the purpose specified.

page_text: 2. The improved central buffer for railway and other vehicles constructed
substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 9th day of November 1809
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.