IMPROVEMENTS IN BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES OR LIKE PURPOSES to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALFRED SLATER of Gloucester in the County of Gloucester Assistant Manager
to the Gloucester Wagon Company Limited do hereby declare the nature of said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES OR LIKE
PURPOSES to be as follows:-
"
The object of my Invention is to provide a buffer which is light strong and
inexpensive and possesses other advantages as hereinafter indicated.
In constructing a buffer according to my Invention the plunger of the buffer is
secured to the cylinder by means of a gib and wedge passing through slots in the
cylinder and plunger those in the latter being long to allow of the necessary
movement of the plunger-The gib and the wedge both have a shoulder or stop at
one end to prevent that end passing through the slots and means for attaching a
split pin, cotter nut or other suitable fastening at the other end which projects
from the cylinder but the gib and wedge are reversely placed---The wedge being
driven in after the gib has been placed in position is guided through the buffer by
a slot in the interior of the base of the plunger which slot is introduced for this
special purpose-By means of the wedge the requisite amount of compression can
be given to the buffer spring and when necessary the plunger can be readily
separated from the cylinder for the removal of the spring-Moreover there is no
weakening of the buffer beam by cutting holes therein as is the case with ordinary
buffers
The buffer is securely held in place and should by any accident the wedge or Gib
become displaced the other still retains the parts in position. The plunger cannot
twist round in the cylinder-This is an advantage as twisting is injurious to the
springs.

page_text: I ALFRED SLATER of Gloucester in the County of Gloucester Assistant Manager
to the Gloucester Wagon Company Limited do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES OR LIKE
PURPOSES and in what manner the same to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
33
The object of my Invention is to provide a buffer which is light, strong, and
inexpensive, and possesses other advantages as hereinafter indicated.
With buffers as ordinarily constructed it is found in practice that when the
buffer heads or plungers are secured to the shell, case or cylinder, by means of a
bolt or pin, either with a nut or cotter, or nut and cotter combined, the timber of
which the head stock is composed is very subject to injury and decay, caused by
the recess or hole that must of necessity be made in it to receive the nut or cotter;
besides this there is a probability of the aforesaid nut and cotter and of the head
of the bolt or pin which is within the plunger or head of the buffer breaking off
and causing it to fall upon the railway rails thus endangering life and property-
There is also a great difficulty experienced in replacing a spring in such a buffer,
as the buffer must be taken off and the cotter or nut removed, the workman having
therefore to lift and handle a very heavy mass. A great difficulty is also
experienced in giving the necessary compression to the spring. To secure the
buffer head and also to facilitate the exchange of a damaged spring, different
methods have been tried, but they have not enabled the compression of the spring
to be effected by means of the fastenings.
The accompanying drawing illustrates a buffer constructed according to my
Invention with the object of overcoming the hereinbefore mentioned disadvantages.
Figures 1 and 2 are exterior views at right angles to each other. Figures 3
and 4 are longitudinal sections respectively taken on the lines A A Figure 1 and
BB Figure 2. Figure 5 is a front view. Figure 6 a transverse section taken on
the line CC Figure 3 and Figure 7 is a section of the base of the plunger
separately.
In constructing a buffer according to my Invention the plunger or moving part D
of the buffer is secured to the cylinder or stationary part E by means of a gib F
and wedge G passing through slots in the cylinder E and plunger D, the slots in
the plunger D being long, as shewn at d. Figures 1 and 4, to allow of the necessary
movement of the said plunger D in the cylinder E. The gib F and the wedge G
are both provided with a shoulder or stop at one end (marked respectively ƒ and g)
to prevent that end from passing through the slots, and at the other end which
projects from the said cylinder, with a split pin or cotter or a nut screwed on the
said end or with other suitable fastening. These means are shewn in the drawing
as consisting of a hole through which a split pin is passed. The gib F and wedge G
are reversely placed. The wedge G being driven in after the gib F has been
placed in position is guided through the buffer by a slot ds in the interior of the
base of the plunger D, which slot d' is made for this special purpose. By means
of the wedge G the requisite amount of compression can be given to the buffer
spring, (which is not shewn in Figures 3 and 4 but it may be of any suitable kind)
and when necessary the plunger D can be readily separated from the cylinder E for
the removal of the spring. In the arrangement according to this Invention there
is provided a plain base, avoiding any weakening of the headstock by cutting the
holes therein, necessary with ordinary buffers. There is also a clear space for the
spring.

page_text: The buffer is securely held in place and should, by any accident, either the wedge
or the gib become displaced the other of them will still retain the parts in
position. The plunger cannot twist or turn round in the cylinder. This is an
advantage as twisting or turning is injurious to the springs.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
First. Buffers for railway vehicles or for other purposes wherein the plunger or
moving part is secured to the cylinder or stationary part by a wedge and gib passed
through slots in the said plunger and cylinder and so formed at one end that they
cannot pass through the said slots, and secured at their other end by a split pin,
cotter, screw nut or other equivalent fastening, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Second. In Buffers for railway vehicles or for other purposes wherein the
cylinder and plunger are secured together substantially as hereinbefore described,
providing the interior of the base of the plunger with a groove for the guidance
of the wedge as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Third. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
buffer for railway vehicles or for other purposes the said parts being constructed
and arranged as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
T
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