in Working Railway Brakes, or for other similar Purposes.
Year: 1885

page_text: in Working Railway Brakes, or for other similar Purposes.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FLEXIBLE JOINTS OR CONNECTION PIPES EMPLOYED IN WORKING RAILWAY BRAKES
OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," which invention has been communicated to ne
from abroad by Messieurs Lecouteux and Garuier of Paris in the Republic of France,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention relates to improvements in joints or tubes which require to be
capable of turning upon the joint as upon a centre and it consists in the employ-
ment of an india rubber tube supported by rigid rings and entirely enclosed
within a combination of metallic sockets so arranged as to admit of the requisite
rotary motion of the pipes to which they are applied as hereinafter explained.
By reason of the extended surface of the improved joint the pressure per square
inch is enabled to be reduced as low as possible and the risk of premature wearing
away of the parts is thereby obviated.
The joint hereinafter described with reference to the drawings is specially
arranged for connecting the air pipes of Railway brakes, but the same principles
of construction are evidently equally applicable to other pipes whether employed
for conducting air steam, water or other fluid under similar conditions.
The pipes for working air breaks on Railway trains are usually connected
between the vehicles or carriages by means of flexible india rubber tubes which
are very liable to become injured. The pressure employed being considerable it
becomes necessary to strengthen these tubes by incorporating woven fabrics in the
materials to the great detriment of the elasticity of the tubes which require to be
capable of turning and twisting in all directions. In consequence of their excessive
stiffness they ultimately give way and crack, their deterioration being accelerated
by the exposure of the external covering of india rubber required to protect the
woven fabric being exposed to contact with grease, oil and to the inclemency of
the weather. Solar rays act most injuriously upon india rubber, the outer coating
cracks and gapes exposing the woven fabric underneath which is then rendered
rotten by rain water entering through these openings. The tube being thus
deprived at these points of the support of the woven fabric yields to the internal
pressure which bursts the inner layer of india rubber and renders the tube
useless.
It is consequently highly desirable to provide a metal joint or union which shall
be capable of connecting two adjacent vehicles; such a coupling will present the

page_text: same advantages in the case of either pressure or vacuum breaks when arranged as
hereinafter described.
The improved union joint constructed according to this Invention provides for
the occasional variations in the distance between the vehicles which occur when
the screw coupling is not properly tightened and also allows of a certain amount
of lateral oscillation of the vehicles relatively to one another.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to
the several figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a section of a union or flexible
joint constructed according to this Invention and figure 2 represents another section
taken at right angles to the section at figure 1.
Figure 3 shows the improved joint applied to the air pipes of a railway
break.
In the arrangement illustrated in figure 3. the pipes are provided with joints
at 1 to provide for lateral deviations in the relative position of the vehicles and
with other joints at 2 and 3 to provide for longitudinal displacements. The
swaying or twisting action which takes place in passing over curves is provided
for by other joints at 4. 5 is a pipe coupling such as is ordinarily employed for
Westinghouse breaks.
It is necessary to provide means for automatically disconnecting the parts of the
union 5 without damaging the parts in case the vehicles separate in consequence of
the giving way of the chain coupling, and for this purpose a small chain A is
connected to the axis of the pipe coupling, at 4 and to the tube at a so that
when the chain is extended, as indicated by the dotted line at A', the two parts
of the coupling become separated by traction. When not in use the joint 4 is
hooked on to a pin C by means of a ring B.
All the joints 1, 2, 3 and 4 are alike capable of allowing the intermediate rigid
sections of tube to partake of the requisite rotary motion by turning upon the
joints as upon centres and the arrangement as illustrated in figures 1 & 2 is merely
given as an example as it may evidently be modified in various ways without
affecting the principle of the invention. The joints at 1, 2, 3 and 4 figure 3
being all constructed in the same manner a description of one will suffice.
The joint illustrated in figures 2 and 3 is arranged for air pressure break and
⚫ consists of a socket A which is provided with slow pitched female screw which
engages with a corresponding male screw upon a socket B. The inclination of the
screw thread is so slight that the relative angular movement of A with regard
to B nearly resembles a more rotary motion, the axial displacement resulting from
the turning of two adjacent sections of pipe within the small limits that have to
be provided for in practice being so small that it need not be taken into account.
Each of the two sockets or parts A and B is provided with two openings or
orifices 1, 11, 2, 21. Assuming that air enters at the orifice 11 (1 being closed by
a plug F, figure 1) and escapes at 2 (2¹ being closed as in the case of the joint 4
figure 3) The socket A and the socket B are connected internally by a slight
tube C of pure or normal india rubber secured at its extremities by means of
flanges or collars c to seatings a and b by the intervention of india rubber
washers D which act as cushions and protect the tube C from direct contact with
the metal.
A tight joint is obtained at the junction of the tube C and the parts A and B by
means of grooved washers E which are caused to press the india rubber against
the seatings ab by turning screwed plugs or rings Fi F The india rubber tube C
is surrounded by metal (preferably brass) rings or washers G against which it is
forcibly pressed by the internal pressure so that it constitutes a species of
diaphragm in one with the rings G-The india rubber tube adheres in annular
sections to the rings G and when the socket A. turns upon its axis relatively to the
socket B the india rubber tube is subjected to a torsion and the sections impart an

page_text: angular motion to the rings G corresponding with a regular helix without pro-
ducing any friction between the india rubber and the metal-The tube Ĉ is
supported internally by the internal pressure of the air as by a mandril and the
india rubber being thus prevented from forming folds or wrinkles, acts by its
inherent elasticity alone-When at rest the weight of the rings G is not liable to
strain the tube C as they are supported by the socket B.
There is little strain on the india rubber, whether under pressure or not as the
joints which partake of the greatest extent of motion that is to say the joints 1
and 2 figure 3 are never turned beyond an angle of about ninety degrees even
when the coupling or uncoupling of the vehicles takes place.-In order to prevent
these joints from being accidentally turned beyond this limit in these operations
a screwed stop H is provided which confines the play of each joint within safe
limits.
The screwed plugs F are provided with three projections f¹ which bear upon the
washers E without interfering with the passage of the air from 11 to 2--These
screwed plugs Fare provided with an internal hollow or chamber and are formed
with a slight incline at M (figure 1) between the projections in order to facilitate
the circulation of the air-The screwed rings F2 are solid at the periphery or edge
at f2 and bear directly upon the washers E-These rings F2 are screwed externally
and internally and engage with the necessary connections or intermediate rigid
sections of pipe according to the position of the joint in the series 1. 2. 3. 4.
When the joint is exposed to external pressure the rings G are placed inside the
rubber tube C-The lateral orifices in the sockets A and B are closed by plugs K
when not in use, according to the position occupied by the joint relatively to the
other parts after connection.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what
I claim is
First In a flexible joint for pipes or tubes the employment of a thin india
rubber tube admitting of torsional motion and supported externally or internally
by metal rings which partake individually of the angular movement resulting
from the torsion substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Second In a flexible joint for pipes or tubes the employment of an india rubber
tube supported by metal rings and admitting of a torsional movement, and entirely
enclosed in a protecting chamber or case, whereby the rubber tube is effectually
preserved from injury resulting from exposure to the action of solar rays, rain,
grease, dust, gravel and other external influences, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Tbird In a flexible joint for pipes or tubes, the employment of a screw to form
the joint upon which the adjacent sections of pipes or tubes may turn within given
limits, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Fourth Connecting the pipes of a railway brake between the vehicles by the
employinent of a series of metallic or rigid tubes connected together by flexible
joints, constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.