IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED, IN COUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Chippindale, of Harrogate, in the County
of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED,
IN COUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 5th May 1868, and dated the 8th November 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Chippindale at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th November 1867.
I, WILLIAM CHIPPINDALE, of Harrogate, in the, County of York, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN COUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me on the 3rd January
1867 (No. 18) was described apparatus for acting on the coupling links of
railway carriages by levers or handles placed at the sides of the carriages, in
order to render it unnecessary for men to stand between the carriages or
between the rails when coupling up or uncoupling railway carriages.
- My present Invention has for its object the, so, constructing apparatus of
this description that it may be made at a less cost, and also that it may allow
of using the old coupling chains. .
In order to hook the coupling chain or link carried at the centre of the
end of one carriage over the draw hook at the centre of the end of the
carriage next to it I now propose to construct the apparatus in the following
manner :-The coupling chain or link is carried by the draw bar at the centre.
of the end of the carriage, as is usual; below the draw bar is carried a slide.
capable of sliding lengthwise of the carriage; the end of this, slide projects
beyond the carriage and carries a short horizontal axis, on which are formed
two arms which ordinarily hang down below the carriage; the lower ends of

page_text: the arms are suitably formed for taking hold of the end link of the coupling
chain. At a short distance below the horizontal axis above mentioned each
of the armus has pin-jointed to it one end of a horizontal lever, and these
levers pass respectively the one to one side, and the other to the other side of
the end of the carriage near the side of the carriage. Each lever is carried by
a bearing which forms the vertical pivot upon which the lever turns; these
bearings are also so formed as to allow of the levers being turned on their
own longitudinal axis, and the levers at their outer ends are each formed with
a cranked arm by which they can be thus turned. When either one or
other of the levers is thus turned on its longitudinal axis the arms hanging
down from the central slide and to which the levers are jointed are raised to a
horizontal position, and their ends carry with them the end link of the
coupling chain; if the levers are then caused to turn on their pivots the slide
to which the inner end of the lever is jointed is slid forward and caused to
project further from the end of the carriage, the arms carrying the end of the
coupling chain are thus also moved away from the end of the carriage and
carry the end of the coupling chain over and beyond the draw hook at the
end of the next carriage, by then allowing the arms to turn downwards the
coupling chain will be hooked on to the draw hook, and the coupling may
afterwards be tightened by shortening the length of the draw bars of the
carriages, as described in the Specification before mentioned. The bearings
which form the pivots of the levers are connected by links to the ends of the
carriage, or are otherwise formed to permit of the levers being caused to move
forward the slide to which their ends are jointed.
To allow of the arms hanging down from this slide taking hold of the
end coupling link and depositing it on to a draw hook, as above described, I
form them at their lower ends with a fork, the outer prongs of which come on
the two sides of the upper end of the lowest link of the coupling chain when
the chain is hanging down below the end of the carriage; the fork is also
formed with a central prong to pass through this link; the link has welded to
each of its sides a pin which projects out from the link, and when the
coupling chain is hanging down the fork above mentioned embraces it just
above these pins, so that when the arms which carry the fork are turned
upwards the pins bear upon the fork, and the end of the link will always
project beyond the fork and be ready to be hooked over a draw hook.
In place of the arms and link being thus formed other arrangements might
be adopted for causing the ends of the arms to take hold of and lift the end
of the couping chain, or it might be a coupling link.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
-
by the said William Chippindale in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th May 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHIPPINDALE, of Harrogate, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Chippindale, Her special licence that I, the said William
Chippindale, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others.as I, the
said William Chippindale, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during, the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands,. and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN COUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES,". upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Chippindale, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain, the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal, Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.:
'
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Chippindale, do hereby declare
the natire of the said Invention, .and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me on, the, 3rd January.
1867 (No. 18) was described apparatus for acting on the coupling links of
railway carriages by levers or handles placed at the sides of the carriages in
order to render it unnecessary for men to stand between the carriages or
between the rails when coupling up or uncoupling railway carriages.
My present Invention has for its object the so constructing apparatus of
this description that it may be made at a less cost, and also that it may allow
of using the old coupling chains.
.
In order to hook the coupling chain or link carried at the centre of the
end of one carriage over the draw hook at the centre of the end of the carriage

page_text: .next to it I now propose to construct the apparatus in the following
manner: The coupling chain or link is carried by the draw bar at the centre
of the end of the carriage as is usual; below the draw bar is carried a slide
'capable of sliding lengthwise of the carriage; the end of this slide projects
beyond the carriage and carries a short horizontal axis, on which are formed
two arms which ordinarily hang down below the carriage; the lower ends of
the arms are suitably formed for taking hold of the end link of the coupling
chain. At a short distance below the horizontal axis above mentioned each
of the arms has pin-jointed to it one end of a horizontal lever, and these
levers pass respectively the one to one side and the other to the other side of
the end of the carriage. Near the side of the carriage each lever is carried
by a bearing which forms the vertical pivot upon which the lever turns; these
bearings are also so formed as to allow of the levers being turned on their
own longitudinal axis, and the levers at their outer ends are each formed with
a cranked arm by which they can be thus turned. When either one or other
of the levers is thus turned on its longitudinal axis the arms hanging down
from the central slide and to which the levers are jointed are raised. to. a
horizontal position, and their ends carry with them the end link of the
coupling chain; if the levers are then caused to turn on their pivots the slido
to which the inner end of the lever is jointed is slid forward and caused to
project further from the end of the carriage, the arms carrying the end of the
coupling chain are thus also moved away from the end of the carriage, and carry
the end of the coupling chain over and beyond the draw hook at the end-of
the next carriage; by-then allowing the arms to turn downwards the coupling
chain will be hooked on to the draw hook, and the coupling may afterwards
be tightened by shortening the length of the draw bars of the carriages, as
described in the Specification before mentioned. The bearings which form the
pivots of the levers are connected by links to the ends of the carriage, or are
otherwise formed to permit of the levers being caused to move forward the
slide to which their ends are jointerl.
Any suitable arrangements may be adopted for causing the ends of the arms
which hang down from the slide to take hold of and lift the end of the coupling
chain, or it might be a coupling link.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 an
and view (with the coupling chain removed) of and and of the frame of a

page_text: railway carriage having a coupling apparatus, such as is above described,
applied to it.
In these Figures a is the ordinary draw bar furnished at its end with a draw
hook a', as is usual, and also with an ordinary coupling chain a'; b is the
slide capable of sliding lengthwise of the carriage; the end of this slide
carries the short axis c, to which are fixed two arms c¹ which hang downwards
below the axis; the lower ends of the arms are bent upwards, as shown, so as
to form a forked point to enter into the lowest link of the coupling chain a².
At a short distance from the axis c each arm c¹ has pin-jointed to it the end
of a horizontal lever d, and these levers pass respectively the one to one side
and the other to the opposite side of the end of the carriage. Each
lever near the side of the carriage passes very loosely through a bearing e, and
at the side of the carriage; it also plays to and fro in.a horizontal guide
slot f, and outside these guide slots each lever is formed with a crank arm
by which the lever can be turned. When either one or other of the levers d
is thus turned on its longitudinal axis the fork c³ will raise the lowest link of
the coupling chain; if the lever be then turned horizontally about its bearing 6,
which then serves as a fulcrum to the lever, the slide 6 is moved forwards, and
thus the end link of the coupling chain is moved away from the end of the
carriage and is brought over the draw hook at the end of the next carriage to
which it is to be coupled, if the book is then allowed to move downwards the
coupling chain will be hooked over the draw hook, and as before stated the
coupling may afterwards be tightened by shortening the length of the draw bars
of the carriages as described in the before-mentioned Specification. When three
draw chains are employed instead of one central chain, then the axis c is made
longer so as to carry three forks, which when the axis is turned lift simul-
taneously the ends of the three chains. In this case the axis c is by preference
carried by two slides b, one at each of its ends, and at each side of the carriage
there is a lever, by either of which these slides can simultaneously be moved
forwards.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Chippindale, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
WILLIAM CHIPPINDALE. (L.S.)