IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COUPLING AND UNCOUPLING RAILWAY VEHICLES WITHOUT THE NECESSITY OF GOING INSIDE THE BUFFERS
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Johann Wilhelm Pick and Bernhardt
Lang at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st January 1878.
JOHANN WILHELM PICK, of Dortmund, and BERNHARDT LANG, of Dortmund,
Westphalia, in the Kingdom of Prussia. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COUPLING
AND UNCOUPLING RAILWAY VEHICLES WITHOUT THE NECESSITY OF GOING INSIDE
THE BUFFERS."
The object of our Invention is to render useless the passing between the
buffers, which is so dangerous, and which has cost the life of so many persons, when
two railway carriages or waggons are to be coupled, and thereby to greatly lessen
the responsability which in this case weighs upon railway companies.
The system of coupling invented by us is composed of three principal parts.
1°. The hand levers.
2°. The mechanical coupling apparatus, combined with a safety coupling recently
adopted by the Berg-Mark Railway.
3. The tension or stretching arrangements.
The accompanying six Sheets of Drawing represent our Invention :-
In Sheet I., Figures 1, 2, and 3 show respectively a front view, a side view, and
a section following the line A, B, (Fig. 1) of the apparatus without the safety
coupling or the tension gear. All these Figures are drawn to a scale of 1 the
ordinary size.
Sheets II and III. show details of the apparatus. In Sheet IL, Figures 1, 2,
and 3 on the one hand, and Figures 4, 5, and 6 on the other hand, show
respectively a side view, a front view, and a plan of the trapezoidal outer
lever F, and of the inner trapezoidal lever G (Sheet I.); Figures 7 and 8 show side
and plan views of the brackets C, which serve as bearings for the rod A. These
Figures are to a scale of 1/6th. In Sheet III. Figures 1 and 2 show plan and side
view of the link H, to which is attached the shackle or ring I, Figures 3 and 4;
Figures 5 and 6 show the fork K; Figures 7 and 8 the rocking lever M ; and
Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12, the connecting rods N and L. All these Figures are
drawn half size.
Sheets IV. and V. show '/ size side views of the novel system of coupling apparatus

page_text: of this Invention, combined with the safety apparatus used on the Berg-Mark
Railway, and placed in different positions; and Sheet VI. shows, drawn to a scale
ofoth, plan and side views of the complete apparatus, with tension gear.
The working apparatus is composed of two iron tubes B traversed by a rod A,
which is fixed to the buffer beam by means of 4 brackets C serving as bearings,
and which keep the rod A parallel with the beam at a distance of 0.115 meters.
At the two ends of the rod A, and after the two outer ends of the tubes B, are
respectively the 4 levers D, E, which are fixed upon the rod and the tubes by pins
or cotters.
In the middle of the rod A, and at the two ends of the tubes B, B, situate within
the way, are arranged trapezoidal levers F, G, also fixed by pins or bolts. The
outer trapeze F has at its base and in front a projection or lug f, which serves to
set at work the inner mechanism of the coupling apparatus. The inner trapeze G
is also provided with a projection g having an eyelet; but this projection is here
directed backwards, and its object is to connect by means of a ring O (Sheet IV.)
the trapeze G with the safety coupling apparatus, so as to be able to work this
also from the exterior laterally to the waggon or carriage.
The mechanical coupling apparatus is composed of a link H, of a fastening ring I,
and of the mechanism. The size and shape of the link and. of the ring are re-
presented in Sheet III. Within this link H is the mechanism which actuates the
ring I, and which is composed of a fork K, of a rocking lever M, and of two con-
necting rods L, N, with appendages, and which are united by bolts (see Sheets I.
and III.).
The safety coupling herein mentioned has latterly been adopted by the Berg-
Mark and several other railway companies, and therefore we have applied it
here.
The tension gear is constituted with a view to economy by the screw rod R,
similar to those in ordinary use.
The apparatus consists of 2 nuts, 8 connecting links S, and 2 cross heads T (see
Sheet VI.). The links and the cross heads are joined together and to the rod of the
traction hook by bolts and cottars. When the arrangement is in tension, the links
form an octagon. When on the contrary it is released, the links form a rectangle.
Also with a view to simplicity there are placed upon the two rods U and V, which
cause the screw shaft K to turn, two studs guided between two plates W furnished
with grooves to replace the ball-and-socket joint required when a rotary movement
is to take place at different angles.
In order that when a movement to the right is given, the tightening up shall
always be effected, and that on the contrary a movement to the left shall slacken
the apparatus. One of the cranks or handles X is arranged to impart its motion
through the toothed wheels Y, Y, to the rod U in lieu of direct movement of
rotation.
Working of the Apparatus.-A. One of the waggons or carriages being stationary,
the other is pushed towards it, and they are to be coupled: Grasp the outside lever E,
which is joined to the inner trapeze G, and by the aid of this lever lift the coupling
apparatus. The effect of this uplifting is that the link H and the shackle or ring I
form between them an obtuse angle of about 165 degrees, produced by the interior
mechanism. Directly the carriage which is in motion comes near enough the lever Ę is
permitted to lower again, and the simple coupling takes place of itself, because the
ring I then falls into the traction hook quite automatically.
In order to uncouple,
it is only necessary to perform the same operation in the opposite direction.
Observation In consequence of the link and the ring formning an obtuse angle
the ring falls over towards the hook or towards the buffer beam.
B. Coupling of Carriages or Waggons in Contact.-If the two vebicles to be coupled
are so close to each other that our coupling apparatus with obtuse angle of 165
degrees cannot be raised in front of the traction hook, the coupling apparatus is
lifted by the inside lever D, which actuates the outer trapezium F. The appendage
f fixed to this trapezium seizes the fork from beneath, and the rocking lever M. by

page_text: means of the lever connecting rod N brings the ring I to an acute angle of about
83 degrees to the link H, and thus shortens the coupling apparatus about 0-32
ineters, so that this latter may then be raised in front of the traction hooks, let
these latter be as close to each other as it is possible to imagine them.
If afterwards it is desired to bring back the ring I from the acute angle to the
obtuse angle in order to hook on in ordinary cases, lift by the aid of the outer
lever D, and at the same time keep the inner lever E fixed; the ring I then im-
mediately places itself at an obtuse angle, and by permitting the two levers D, E,
to lower, it falls back into the traction hook. Therefore as the ring I may be
brought to an obtuse angle by means of the outer lever E, and to an acute angle
by means of the inner lever D, it is possible by lifting or lowering the lever to
place the ring at any angle (between the two above-mentioned limits of 165 and
83 degrees), and to easily effect the coupling or uncoupling with every kind of
traction hooks.
It is possible to couple and uncouple upon curves or when the traction hooks are
bent, because a come-and-go movement may be given to the working levers in the
bearing C, and the ring I be consequently pushed about 0.10 meters to the right or
left.
y
Hooking on and Unhooking of the Safety Coupling Apparatus.-The hooking on
of the safety coupling apparatus is effected by means of the outer levers E
raising the safety coupling a little higher than the ordinary coupling; thus the ring
Q of the safety coupling is pushed backward, and by then permitting the safety.
coupling to lower, the hooking-on takes place.
To unhook the safety coupling the above operation is reversed.