Improvements in the Automatic Coupling of Railway and other Vehicles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 31st July, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 7th Apr., 1896-Accepted, 9th May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Automatic Coupling of Railway and other
Vehicles.
1, GEORGE WASHINGTON MOON; of 16 New Burlington Street, in the Parish
of Saint James', Westminster, in the County of London, Honorary Fellow of
the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain and Ireland, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention for improvements in the automatic coupling of railway and other
vehicles has for its object to provide an automatic coupling simple in construction,
readily applicable to the present rolling stock, not liable to crash into the end of
the adjacent vehicle on the vehicles coming together, and independent of springs
and of the different heights of the carriages to be coupled; and consists in
attaching to the draw bar a binged or pivoted arm carrying a coupling hook, the
hinge or pivot being at an angle of about 45° to the horizontal or vertical.
When two vehicles fitted with my improved coupling come together, the hooks
come in contact, and under the influence of the pressure, rise upward on
inclined plane until they have crossed. when they automatically fall into
engagement.
The tendency of the hook is always to assume the lowermost position by reason
of its own weight, consequently no spring is required to keep the parts coupled.
They are uncoupled by drawing aside one of the hooks by means of a chain or
other suitable connection.
Thin 21st 1 TL 100%
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.
Improvements in the Automatic Coupling of Railway and other
Vehicles.
I GEORGE WASHINGTON MOON, of 16 New Burlington Street, St. James',
Westminster, in the County of London, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society
of Literature of Great Britain and Ireland, 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 for improvements in the automatic coupling of railway and
other vehicles has for its object to provide an automatic coupling simple in
construction, readily applicable to the present rolling stock, not liable to crash
into the end of the adjacent vehicle on the vehicles coming together and
independent of springs and of the different heights of the carriages to be coupled ;
and consists in attaching to the draw bar a hinged or pivoted arm carrying a
coupling hook, the hinge or pivot being at an angle of about 45° to the horizontal
or vertical.

page_text: In the accompanying sheet of drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of the shank end of a coupling hook and draw
bar end, and Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of the same.
Figs. 3 and 4 show perspective elevations of vehicles coupled together by two
different shaped coupling hooks constructed according to this invention.
The draw bar of a vehicle to which this invention is applied is provided with a
bifurcated head a whose jaws band connecting pin care inclined at an angle of
about 45 degrees to the horizontal or vertical. The coupling hook end d fits
between the said jaws and is secured by the connecting pin c about which it is
free to rotate to a limited extent but is prevented from falling beyond a
horizontal position by a projecting pin or screw e on the arm which abuts against
the jaw.
A chain fis connected to each hook and led to the side or end of the vehicle,
in order to allow of its withdrawal from the outside when uncoupling.
The hook may be made in various forms. That shown in Fig. 3 is vertical
while Fig. 4, shows a hook having its point sloped backwards towards the
carriage.
When two vehicles fitted with my improved coupling come together, the hooks
come in contact and under the influence of the pressure rise upward on an
inclined plane until they have crossed when they automatically fall into
engagement.
The tendency of the book is always to assume the lowermost position by reason
of its own weight consequently no spring is required to keep the parts coupled.
They are uncoupled by drawing aside one of the hooks by means of a chain or
other suitable connection.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In apparatus for automatically coupling railway vehicles hinging the
coupling book arm to the draw bar at an angle of about 45 degrees to the
borizontal or vertical substantially in the manner hereinbefore described.
2. The arrangement and construction of automatic coupling apparatus for
railway vehicles substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 7th day of April 1896.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.