Improved Car Coupling.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
Improved Car Coupling.
I, ALBERT SILBERMANN, Metal Worker of 74 Blumen Strasse Berlin in the
Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The present invention relates to a car coupling, and its object is to enable the
coupling of the cars to take place to a certain extent automatically, thus avoiding
the necessity of the officials getting between the cars in order to couple them, and
the danger accruing therefrom.
And in order to make this Specification more easily intelligible reference is had
to the accompanying drawings in which similar letters denote similar parts
throughout the several views:
Fig. 1 representing a plan view of the coupling,
Fig. 2 an end elevation,
Fig. 3 a perspective view of the same.
Fig. 4 shows in sectional side elevation means for preventing an inadvertent
uncoupling of the hook,
.
Fig. 5 is a similar sectional elevation showing the hook in position about to
engage with the link of the opposite car,
Fig. 6 a side elevation of the coupling when the cars are coupled and lastly,
Fig. 7 a half plan view of Fig. 4.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, A. A' is a rigid frame attached to each end of the car
on the bolts G G and hooks EE on which the same is free to slide a short distance
in the horizontal plane. In the part A' of the said frame is pivoted the coupling
hook B having downwardly extending arm with counter balance weight F.
Underneath the horizontal part of the said hook is pivoted at C' to the part A' of
the frame A A' a lever arm C, which may be moved to describe a path as shown
in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The hook B is provided with an inclined surface a
underneath whilst on the upper part of the frame A' a rest block D is arranged for
the purpose of enabling the coupling-hook B to be operated by means of a rod from
the lever C as hereinafter more particularly described.
The coupling is manipulated in the following manner :-On running the cars
together the hook B of the frame-part A' will engage in the link A of the
frame A A' on the other car by reason of the rigidly guided front bar of the said
link pressing against the slanting front end of the said hook B and depressing the
same, which on having passed the said front bar will rise through the action of its
counter balance weight F behind the said bar. The hook may then be prevented
from inadvertently becoming uncoupled, by pushing the lever arm C under the
hook in the position shown in the upper part of Fig. 3. This may be done by
means of a rod, from the side, by using the block D as a fulcrum and pressing the
lever over by means of its upwardly extending end. The said lever arm may
retained in this position either by means of an inclined plane on the under side of
the hook as shown at b (Fig. 3) behind which the said lever may be adapted to
spring, or by means of a pin H (see upper part of Fig. 3) which may be inserted in
the frame A' to retain the lever C, said pin may also be inserted by the aid of a
rod S as shown.
C
be
Figs. 4 to 7 represent a device for securing the hook B, consisting of a fork d
mounted on a vertical armf, having backwardly extending guide rod g, supported
in the front bar of the link A' and in a rearwardly extending guide h, and having
a spring i to normally press the said fork d forward. The action of the device is

page_text: as follows:—When the cars are coupled the upper part of the hook B passes into
the fork d as shown in Fig. 6 so that the latter will prevent the link A from
inadvertently rising out of the hook owing to the jolting of the cars. The spring i
allows a backward play of the fork d in case the carriages run against each other
rather sharply.
In order to uncouple the cars it is only necessary to push the lever back in the
opposite direction to that shown in Fig. 3, by means of the rod S, when the said
lever will contact with the inclined surface a, raising the rear part of the hook B
with the counter balance weight and disengaging the same from the link A.
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. In a car coupling the combination of the rigid frames A A' mounted to have
slight horizontal play at each end of the car, hook B pivotally suspended in the
part A of said frame, and having counter balance weight F and slanting front part
adapted to be depressed by the front bar of the opposite link A on running the cars
together substantially as described.
2. The combination of the rigid frame A A¹, attached to the end of the car and
having slight horizontal play, a hook B pivotally suspended in the part A¹ of said
frame and having counter balance weight as specified, and inclined surface a, a
lever arm C pivotally attached at C¹ to the under side of the part A' of said frame
and means of retaining said lever in position under the hook B substantially as
described.
3. The combination of a rigid frame A A' attached to the end of the car and
having slight horizontal play, a hook B pivotally suspended in the part A' thereof,
a counter balance weight to said hook, a lever C pivoted underneath the frame
link A'; an inclined plane a underneath said hook B, a securing fork d having
spring and horizontal guide h substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 23rd day of February 1894.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.