Improvements in and relating to Railway Car Couplings.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 20th May, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Railway Car Couplings.
I, HERRMANN ROHDE, of 50, Swinemünderstrasse, Berlin, N., in the Empire of
ermany, Railway Employé, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
hat manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to couplings for railway cars and the like and its object is
o provide an improved form of coupling that obviates the risk of the accidents
which occur so frequently when shunting and like operations are performed.
The invention consists generally in providing a combination link coupling and
neans for operating the same whereby the coupling and uncoupling is effected from
he exterior of the wagons instead of between as at present, and further a novel
provision inside for contracting the connecting link when necessary.
The means for carrying the invention into effect are illustrated in the accom-
panying sheet of drawings as follows.―
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the coupling in position between two wagons
partly shown.
Figure 2 is an inverted plan.
Figures 3 and 4 are respectively side elevation and plan on an increased scale of
a detail of the coupling.
wagon
frame-
Referring to the drawings.-The coupling hook a is attached to the
work in the usual manner by a spring draw bar and the hook is thickened to receive
a spindle b upon which forks c c are attached and pivot. The inner ends of the
forks c are bent to form short crank levers d which are drilled at their ends to
receive a chain connecting them up to one end of an angle lever e placed under-
neath the wagon as shown. The angle lever e is pivotted at f and at its upper end
is connected by a short link g to a horizontal hand lever h pivotted at i in the
wagon framework and working in a radial adjusting plate near its outer or handle
end k as shown clearly in Figure 2.
The
The forks c c are attached to extensions m m and n n which contain and carry
an adjusting device and to the extremity of the extensions n n a half ring o is
pivotted, all the parts cc, m m, n n and o forming a combined coupling link.
pivotted joints which hinge the individual portions of this combination coupling
link together are arranged with suitable shoulders so that the link by its own
weight will assume a straight line by the hinges coming to a rest against the
shoulders when in such a position say as in Figure 1, but will still permit of being
5 folded or hinged together in an upward direction.
In order to shorten the entire coupling when in position the adjusting device
nn is employed. The sides n n slide in
carried by the parts m m and
suitable grooves within the sides m m and a screw spindle p is attached to a cross
bar integral with the sides nn and at its free end passes through a nut fixed to
wheel 9.
This crown wheel is carried on cross stays
0 and rotated by the crown gear
of the sides m m and short pinions 88 gear into it and are operated from the
exterior of the link by crank handles rr. By this arrangement it is evident tha
rotation of the crank handles r will traverse the screw p and draw together o
expand the combination coupling link as may be desired, and it is also evident tha

page_text: the nut could be arranged stationary and the spindle rotary to produce the same
effect.
The safety slide t is pulled into position after coupling and the swivel ring u
hinged over the noose of the hook a¹ and this is preferably employed only when
the wagons are in use for transit and not in shunting.
In coupling and uncoupling a wagon during shunting the operation of the
improved arrangement is as follows. By means of the hand lever h acting through
the link g angle levere and the chain coupling it to the crank ends d of the
combination link cm no; the link is placed in a nearly horizontal position as in
Figure 1. On the wagons coming together the half ring o hinges upwards and
drops into gear with the hook al, and as the setting of the combination link.in the
necessary position is from the sides of the trucks and not between them the danger
to the shunter is avoided. As the combination link is in the extended condition
during shunting and the wagons are together a movement of the hand lever ḥ in
the reverse direction will (owing to the combination link cm no being rigid in a
downward direction) lift the whole link radially upwards and thus uncouple.
When the cars or wagons are to be used in transit the link after coupling is
contracted in the usual manner by the improved adjusting device pqrs and
further rendered secure by the safety link n and all in the manner hereinbefore
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improved railway car coupling consisting of a combination link with its
constituent parts so arranged that the link assumes a straight and rigid condition
in a downward direction but folds or hinges together in an upward direction and
that two of these constituent parts telescope longitudinally when required so as to
shorten the coupling, the whole link operated through suitable gear from an
external hand lever placed at the side of the trucks, and all substantially as and for
the purposes herein before described.
2. The improved railway car coupling substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
3
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.