Improvements in Apparatus for Delivering or Transferring Mail Bags or other Parcels from or to Trains in Motion.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Sept., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 16th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Delivering or Transferring Mail
Bags or other Parcels from or to Trains in Motion.
I, EDWARD DAVIES of Whittington Hall Farm, near Stourbridge, in the
County of Worcester, Farmer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the apparatus for transferring mail
bags and other parcels to and from a railway train in motion, for which former
Letters Patent were granted to me dated the 26th day of August 1891
No. 14448.
The present improvements relate to that particular arrangement of apparatus
described in the Specification of my former Patent in which the motion of the
parcel is controlled during its transit to and from the train by two main members
acting conjointly as radius links whereby the curvilinear path described by the
parcel is determined, the centres of motion of the said radius links being situated
respectively on the carriage and on the roadside platform and their relative
arrangement being such that during their conjoint action on the parcel the one is
always approximately tangential to the curve described by the other. These
radius links will hereinafter be distinguished as the delivering and receiving links
respectively, irrespective of whether the delivery is effected to or from the train,
it being understood that the detaching or letting-go device is always connected to
the delivering link and the picking-up device to the receiving link. Theoretically,
the pull on the parcel exerted by the receiving link should commence when the
said link is at right angles to the direction of motion of the train, in order that the
setting of the parcel in motion may be gradual, but in practice this condition is not
fulfilled by the arrangements previously described and hence the parcel is liable to
be subjected to a sudden jerk which it is the object of one of the present improve-
ments to avoid.
In the previously described arrangements the disconnection of the delivering link
from the parcel after the transfer has been completed was forcibly effected by the
link on reaching the end of its course striking against a relatively fixed point, and
the object of another of the present improvements is to substitute for this forcible
means of disconnection one whereby the disconnection is effected automatically by
the motion of the radius link without necessarily arresting such motion.
The picking-up device by which the receiving link makes connection with the
parcel at the moment of transfer, consists of a hook on the former which engages in
a loop attached to the latter and held distended by a suitable appliance. It is
therefore necessary, before any pull can come on the parcel, that the slack of this
loop be taken up. To effect this and minimise the suddenness of the subsequent
pull on the parcel, the loop with which the hook engages is not attached to the
parcel in the direct line of pull but is so attached that when the pull commences to
take effect it acts indirectly on the parcel in such manner that the latter is swung
round upon itself under the control of the delivering link, the effect being that the
parcel does not swing on its centre of gravity but acquires a preliminary motion
which is partially rotatory and partially one of translation whereby its inertia is
partly overcome before it receives the complete motion of translation which it
acquires when the pull of the receiving link acts directly upon it.
The preferred mode of effecting this is as follows;-The connection both of the
delivering and receiving links is made with the parcel through the medium of a
V-shaped sling or connection, the ends of whose members are permanently attached
to the parcel at two points respectively situated towards the front and rear of the

page_text: -
parcel, the delivering link being connected to the apex of this sling whilst the
picking-up loop is attached to the member of the sling which is connected to the
front end of the parcel at a point intermediate between the apex and the point of
attachment to the parcel so that the first effect of the pull of the receiving link,
after taking up the slack of the picking-up loop, is to shorten the effective length
of that member of the sling and slew the parcel round. To permit of this slewing
motion of the parcel and maintain the delivering link in position to act when the
receiving link comes into action, the parcel is held against a pivoted fence acted on
by a spring which keeps the sling taut but yields when the pull of the receiving
link comes upon it.
The picking-up hook is held yieldingly in position to engage with the picking-up
loop and in the case of the hook on the carriage it is preferred that it should be
pivoted near the opposite side of the carriage to that at which it acts, in order that
the pull of the receiving link shall be in the direction most favorable for bringing
the parcel on board the carriage.
The delivering link and its automatic disconnecting device are as follows:-The
link itself is composed of two flexible members working about different centres and
connected at their other ends to the opposite ends of a rigid cross-member provided
with a hook with which engages a loop at the apex of the V-shaped sling before
referred to. The relative position of the centres of motion of the two members
composing the delivering link is such that at different points in the angular motion
of the said link the position of the hooked cross-member varies with regard to the
direction of the pull of the loop engaged on it. The initial position of the hook
is such that owing to the strain the loop is pulled into the hook but as the final
position of the delivering link is approached the mouth of the hook becomes so
directed that the loop slips out of it under the effect of the centrifugal force of the
parcel.
Dated this 05th day of Cratomha- 1902
E. DAVIES,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Delivering or Transferring Mail
Bags or other Parcels from or to Trains in Motion.
I, EDWARD DAVIES of Whittington Hall Farm, near Stourbridge, in the County
of Worcester, Farmer, 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 :--
My invention relates to improvements in the apparatus for transferring mail bags
and other parcels to and from a railway train in motion, for which former Letters
Patent were granted to me dated the 26th day of August 1891, No. 14,448.
The present improvements relate to that particular arrangement of apparatus
described in the Specification of my former Patent in which the motion of the
parcel is controlled during its transit to and from the train by two members acting
conjointly as radius links whereby the curvilinear path described by the parcel is
determined, the centres of motion of the said members being situated respectively
on the carriage and on the roadside platform and their relative arrangement being
such that during their conjoint action on the parcel the pull of the one member is
always approximately at right angles to that of the other. These members will
hereinafter be distinguished as the delivering and receiving members respectively,
irrespective of whether the delivery is effected to or from the train.
Theoretically, the pull of the receiving member should commence at the instant
when its connection with the parcel is effected which takes place when the said

page_text: member is at right angles to the direction of motion of the train but in practice
this condition is not fulfilled by the arrangements previously described and hence
the parcel is liable to be subjected to a sudden jerk which it is the object of one of
the present improvements to avoid.
In the previously described arrangements the disconnection of the delivering
member from the parcel after the transfer has been completed was forcibly effected
by the delivering member, on reaching the end of its course, striking against a
relatively fixed point, and the object of another of the present improvements is to
substitute for this forcible means of disconnection one whereby the disconnection is
effected automatically by the motion of the delivering member and not by arresting
Buch motion.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, wherein I have represented the mail van in two positions which it
successively occupies in travelling in the direction of the arrow past a parcel
receiving and delivering platform, both the operations of delivering and picking-up
a parcel by the mail van being illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 2 is a plan view, on a larger scale, of the connections with the parcel by
which the first pull is rendered gradual.
Figure 3 is a plan, Figure 4 an elevation, and Figure 5 an end view of the
device by which the loop of the parcel to be picked up by the van is held distended
and in position to be engaged by the hook of the receiving member on the van and
also by which the hook of the receiving member on the platform is held in position
to engage the loop on the parcel to be delivered by the van.
Figure 6 is a sectional elevation, on line 1-1, and Figure 7 is a section,
on line 2-2, of the parcel platform and fence on the van, drawn to a larger
scale.
I will describe the operations of picking up and delivering a parcel in the order
in which they occur, and will therefore first describe the means employed in
picking up a parcel from the roadside platform, and as in each operation the same
parts are shewn twice, namely in their initial and final positions, I will distinguish
the final positions of the parts by the addition of a numeral to the reference letters,
thus A A¹ is the mail van and B B¹ is the parcel to be picked up in their initial
and final positions and so on for the other parts.
The receiving member is composed of two parts C and D whereof the part C is
a rod or rope pivoted at one end to the floor of the van as near as possible
to the front end and offside thereof, whilst its other end terminates in a hook c
projecting from the side of the van in position to engage in the part D which is a
loop of rope attached to the parcel B and held distended by a suitable appliance
hereafter described, in position to be caught by the hook c, the two parts C and D
when thus connected acting as a radius link. The part C, if a rigid rod, is held.
yieldingly by a spring, but if a rope be used its hook c may be held by a clip
similar to that m hereafter described for the hook r. In any case it is preferred
that the part C should be pivoted near the opposite side of the van to that at
which the parcel enters, in order that the pull shall be in the direction_most
favorable for bringing the parcel into the van. It is necessary before any pull can
come on the parcel that the slack of the loop D be taken up, and, in order to effect
this and so minimise the suddenness of the subsequent pull on the parcel, the
loop D is not attached to the parcel in the direct line of pull but is so connected
thereto that when the pull cominences to take effect it acts indirectly on the parcel
in such manner that the latter is swung round upon itself under the control of the
delivering member, the effect being that the parcel does not swing on its centre of
gravity but acquires a preliminary motion which is partially rotatory and partially
one of translation whereby its inertia is to some extent overcome before it receives
the complete motion of translation which it acquires when the pull of the receiving
member acts directly upon it.
The delivering member is constituted by a pair of ropes E, a hooked cross-
piece H, a V-shaped sling F, and a connecting loop G. The ends of the sling F

page_text: are permanently attached to the parcel, so that this sling and the attached loops D
and G accompany the parcel in its flight. The one end of the sling is connected to
the parcel near the rear end thereof and the other to the front end, the connecting
loop G being at the apex of the sling whilst the loop D is connected to the part fƒ*.
of the sling at an intermediate point in its length, situated at a short distance from
the front end of the parcel. In the initial position of the sling the part ff* of the
sling is straight as shewn in dotted lines in Figure 2 and as the loop D is attached
at an intermediate point and the pull upon it is in a direction nearly at right angles
to the part ff the first effect of the pull after the slack of the loop D is taken up
is to shorten the effective length of the part ff* of the sling, as shewn in full lines
in Figure 2, and so cause the parcel to be slewed round. To permit of this slewing
motion of the parcel and keep the sling F taut and ready to act, the parcel is held
against a fence I pivoted at i and acted on by a spring in such manner as to allow
the fence to yield when the combined pull of the two radius links comes upon it.
This fence is pivoted upon a base plate fixed on the roadside platform P.
The delivering member and its automatic disconnecting device are as follows:
The part E of this member is composed of two ropes made fast to and working
about different centres e e and connected at their other ends to the opposite ends of
a cross-bar H provided with a hook with which engages the connecting loop G.
The relative position of the centres of motion e e is such that at different points in
the angular motion of the ropes E the position of the hook / varies with regard
to the direction of the pull of the loop G, the initial position being such that the
loop G is pulled into the hook h, the mouth of the hook h becoming so directed as
the final position of the delivering member is approached that the loop G slips out
of it. This occurs when the ropes E are about at right angles to the railway, and
the change of position of the hook is brought about by stops kk on the platform
against one of which the one rope E abuts when in its initial position so that this
rope is deflected from the straight line and its effective length thus shortened,
whilst when in the final position E₁ this rope is free from the stop and extended to
its full length at the same time that the other rope abuts against the other stop
and its effective length is shortened.
The device by which the loop D is held distended so as to be caught by the
hook c, consists of a Ɔ-shaped frame L, shewn in Figures 3, 4, 5, pivoted about a
vertical axis on a supporting frame M fixed on the platform P near its edge, the
ends of the arms of the distender L being notched for the loop D to lie in, the
loop D passing completely around the distender as shewn. The distender stands
normally at right angles to the railway in such a position that the hook c will pass
between its arms and so catch the part of the loop D which lies across the arms of
the distender. The distender is held in position by a spring applied against its
heel end, the position of the distender with regard to the parcel being such that the
loop D is extended at right angles to the railway, as shewn.
I will now describe the operation of delivering a parcel from the van and,
although the parts are similar in construction and operation to the foregoing, I will,
to avoid confusion, refer to them by different reference letters, the parts in their
initial and final positions being indicated by the same letters with a distinguishing
numeral.
N is the parcel to be delivered. The delivering member is constituted by a pair
of ropes O, a sling Q, and a connecting loop, whilst the receiving member is a
rope R terminating in a hook r which is held in a clip m in position to engage
with the loop attached to the parcel, the rope R being kept taut by a shoulder on
the hook rabutting against a notch in the clip m. The other end of the rope R is
made fast to a point on the platform about which the link works as a centre, the
rope in its initial position standing at right angles to the railway, as shewn. The
pair of ropes O work about two fixed points situated near the rear end and offside
of the van, the relative effective lengths of these ropes being varied at different
points in their angular motion by stops which deflect them as previously described
in respect of the ropes E on the platform, so that it is unnecessary to again describe

page_text: them in detail. The hooked cross-bar S connected to these ropes and the sling Q
are also similar in construction and operation to H and F before described, the
only differences being that whereas in the present case the length of the ropes O is
necessarily limited by the width of the van, a longer loop T is used to connect the
sling to the hook s. The loop U is held distended by a forked distender V
which is somewhat similar to the distender before described but is formed on the
end of the fence W against which the parcel rests. This fence is pivoted at w and
is acted on by a spring which tends to keep the ropes O, loop T, and sling Q, taut
but yields when the pull of the rope R acting on the sling through the loop U
causes the parcel N to move round upon itself, the loop U being attached to the
sling Qin the same position as the loop D was attached in the first described
arrangement. In practice the same loops are used both for picking-up and
delivering, the loops being shifted accordingly, D and T being the same loop
while G and U are also the same loop although lettered differently to distinguish
their different functions. The parcel N rests upon a raised platform X upon which
the fence W is pivoted, the platform X being at a higher level than the roadside
platform P which is in turn slightly higher than the floor of the van. Where the
two operations of delivering and picking-up are performed in close proximity, as
here represented, the hook is held at a higher level than the distender L so as to
pass clear over it, the relative positions of the various appliances being such that
the parcel B is drawn from the platform P before the parcel N is delivered to the
platform P.
It will be obvious that suitable apertures must be provided in the side of the
mail-van for the ingress and egress of the parcels and their connections, which
apertures would be closed by vertically-sliding shutters, and in order to avoid
danger to the attendants within the van the latter might have two floors, the parcels
being delivered from and received in the space between the floors to which access
would be had by trap doors in the upper floor on which the attendant stands.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described combination of mechanism arranged to operate in the
manner described for effecting the delivery of a parcel to a train in motion under
the control of two main members acting conjointly as radius links to determine the
motion of the parcel, the delivering member being formed mainly of a pair of
ropes adapted to swing about different centres on the roadside platform, and so
coupled to the same hook as to act as a means of automatic disconnection from the
parcel, and the receiving member being free to swing about a centre within the
mail van, means being provided for effecting connection of the receiving member
with the parcel, as specified.
2. The herein described combination of mechanism arranged to operate in the
manner described for effecting the delivery of a parcel from a train in motion under
the control of two main members acting conjointly as radius links to determine the
motion of the parcel, the delivering member being formed mainly of a pair of ropes
adapted to swing about different centres within the mail van and so coupled to the
same hook as to act as means of automatic disconnection from the parcel, and the
receiving member being free to swing about a centre on the roadside platform,
means being provided for effecting connection of the receiving member with the
parcel in the manner specified.
3. In apparatus for transferring parcels to and from trains in motion consisting
essentially of two main members acting conjointly as radius links to control the
motion of the parcel from points on the roadside platform and on the mail van
respectively, the combination in the delivering member of the herein described
means whereby the automatic disconnection of the parcel is effected at a given
point in its flight, substantially as specified.
4. In apparatus for transferring parcels to and from trains in motion, consisting

page_text: essentially of two main members acting conjointly as radius link to controls the
motion of the parcel from points on the roadside platform and on the mail van
respectively, the combination of means, substantially as described whereby the
initial pull of the receiving member is so transmitted to the parcel as to set it in
motion by a combined slewing and advancing motion, so as to minimise the suddenness
of the pull, as specified.
5. In apparatus for transferring parcels to and from trains in motion, consisting
essentially of two main members acting conjointly as radius links to control the
'motion of the parcel from points on the roadside platform and on the mail van
respectively, the combination with the parcel of an attached sling for connection
with the automatic disengaging hook of the delivering member, and of a looped
connection attached at an intermediate point in one limb of the sling for
engagement by the hook of the receiving member, as specified.
6. In apparatus for transferring parcels to and from trains in motion, consisting
essentially of two main members acting conjointly as radius links to control the
motion of the parcel from points on the roadside platform and on the mail van
respectively, the combination. with the parcel and its attached sling and with the
delivering member and its automatic disengaging hook, of a pivoted spring actuated
fence for holding the delivering member in readiness to act whilst yielding to
the combined pull of the receiving and delivering members, substantially as
specified.
Dated this 14th day of November 1893.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
E. DAVIES,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.