New or Improved Apparatus or Means for Coupling and Uncoupling Railway Rolling Stock.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Jan., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 27th Mar., 1899-Accepted. 10th June. 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Apparatus or Means for Coupling and Uncoupling
Railway Rolling Stock.
I, JAMES JENKINS, of 44, Richard Street, Cathays, Cardiff, Millwright and
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus or means whereby railway rolling stock
may be coupled and uncoupled from outside the buffers, said apparatus acting
automatically when impact takes place between the vehicles to be coupled. My
invention calls for no alteration in existing coupling gear and can readily be
applied to any truck or waggon.
According to my invention, I arrange in suitable bearings, transversely of the
truck and beneath the body thereof, a mock shaft to which are keyed a pair of
levers. These levers extend on each side of said rock shaft, one end of each
lever being slotted whilst the other or rear end is provided with a counterweight.
Through the slots aforesaid a spindle is passed to which is keyed a forked lever
(hereinafter called the coupling lever) the free end of said lever being so shaped
or constructed as to be adapted to engage with and hold the front link of the
coupling. Normally the slotted ends of the rock shaft levers are slightly elevated
and the coupling lever spindle rests in the ends of the slots nearest the rock
shaft whilst the coupling lever hangs vertically just behind the dependent
coupling.
Coupling is performed as follows:
1
To each end of the coupling lever spindle is secured a hand lever. One of these
levers is turned so as to cause the end of the coupling lever to approach and
engage the end link of the dependent coupling; the turning movement being
continued, the end of the coupling lever is lifted and with it the end of the
coupling, at the same time the weighted ends of the rock shaft levers are raised
and the coupling lever spindle slips down the slots till it reaches the opposite
extremities thereof, where it drops into semicircular recesses formed for its
reception. The turning of the hand lever is continued until the end link of the
coupling passes over and rests upon the nose of its own drawbar hook, whilst
the middle link of the coupling bears against the underside of the hook neck. The
shock caused by the impact of the meeting buffers causes the coupling link to slip
forward from off the hook when the counterweights of the rock shaft levers at
once fall and cause the latter, by a toggle joint action, to shoot forward the
coupling lever which drops the end link of the coupling over the hook of the
truck to be coupled. As the coupling and rock shaft levers come into line
the spindle of the former leaves the recesses in the slot ends of the latter and
slides back to its original position at the opposite ends of the slots the coupling
lever at the same time dropping out of the way to its first position.
When no impact takes place between the trucks to be coupled the hand levera
are used to slip the link from off the nose of the drawbar hook. To uncouple, the
coupling lever is lifted by the hand levers until it engages the end link of the
[Prise 8d1

page_text: coupling and frees it from the hook, the hand lever is then turned in the reverse
direction when the coupling lever will slide back clear of the hook, carrying with
it the coupling.
Springs may be substituted for the counterweights above described if desired.
Teted this 11th day of January 1899.
New or Improved Apparatus or Means for Coupling and Uncoupling
Railway Rolling Stock,
I, JAMES JENKINS, of 44, Richard Street, Cathays, Cardiff, Millwright and
Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to apparatus or means for coupling and uncoupling
railway rolling stock, said apparatus being manipulated entirely from outside
the buffers and being adapted to perform the coupling operation automatically.
My invention calls for no alteration in existing coupling gear and can readily
be applied to any truck or waggon at a small cost.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood I will now fully describe
the same having reference to the annexed explanatory drawings forming a part of
this specification, wherein :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of automatic coupling apparatus constructed
according to my invention.
Figures 2 and 3 are respectively an end elevation and an inverted plan of
Figure 1.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 shew in side elevation various methods of "setting" the
apparatus ready for automatically performing the coupling operation.
Figures 7 and 8 are details.
Similar letters refer to like parts in all the figures.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3 a is a rock shaft mounted beneath and
transversely of the body frame A of the truck in bracket bearings b. Keyed
onto this shaft a is a pair of leverse provided each. with a counterweight at one
end, and with a slot e extending from its other end towards the shaft a or
fulcrum. At the outer end of each slot e a recess or notch e¹ is formed for the
purpose which will hereinafter appear. When in their normal position the front
ends of the levers are maintained slightly elevated by the counterweights & so
that the slots e slope downwards towards the shaft a. f is a shaft which passes
through the slots e aforesaid, and has keyed thereto a forked lever arm (herein-
after termed the "coupling lifter") adapted to engage with and hold the end
link h of the coupling. For this purpose the inner faces of the fork blades are
provided or formed with ledges g' upon which the link rests whilst its rear end
abuts against stops which project upwards from the inner ends of said ledges.
ii are hand levers at either end of the shaft f, which latter normally rests in that
end of the slots e nearest the rock shaft a, whilst the coupling lifter
vertically therefrom just behind the dependent coupling.
g hangs
I will now describe the various methods of "setting" the apparatus ready for
effecting automatic coupling, as illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6.

page_text: E
Referring to Figure 4:-The apparatus being in its normal position, Figure 1,
the hand levers are turned upwards as indicated by the dotted curve (Figure 1)
thus causing the coupling lifter 9 to approach the dependent coupling and
engage the end link thereof in the manner before described. The turning of
the hand levers is continued, and when the coupling lifter has passed the position
in which it comes into line with the levers the shaft f is drawn forwards along
the slots e by the hand levers till it drops into the recesses e¹ in said slots. Down-
ward pressure is then applied to the hand levers i so as to depress the ends of the
levers and by further turning said hand levers the link his passed over the
nose of the draw bar hook the underside of which the middle link of the coupling
is caused to bear by the action of the counterweights d. The apparatus is now
set" and will remain just balanced in this position as shown in Figure 4. The
slight shock due to the impact of the buffers of the truck to be coupled will
cause the coupling lifter g to tip forwards carrying with it the coupling, and
immediately the latter clears the drawbar hook the counterweights & will
descend, thus raising the front ends of the levers c, and, by a toggle action, shoot-
ing forward the coupling lifter 9 and extending the coupling in a horizontal
direction, after the manner illustrated in Figure 5, so that as the coupling lifter
sweeps downwards it drops the end link h of the coupling over the drawbar hook
of the truck to be coupled. Immediately coupling is effected the coupling lifter
drops to a vertical position, disengaging, as it falls, the shaft f from the recesses e²,
the said shaft then slides down the inclined slots e and takes up its normal
position again, out of the way beneath the truck body. The apparatus should be
so designed and constructed that a coupling of standard length will be fully
extended thereby just before, or at the moment when, the coupling lifter g and
the levers come into line, when the apparatus is automatically acting as above
described.
Referring to Figure 5, the end link h of the coupling is engaged and raised
by the coupling lifter, as before explained, past the position where the latter and
the levers o come into line, the shaft is then drawn forwards along the slots e
until it enters the recesses thereof, when the hand levers are turned in the
reverse direction till the coupling is stretched taught in a horizontal direction by
the toggle action of the apparatus which assumes and will remain set in the
position shewn. As the drawbar hook of the approaching truck passes beneath
the link hit bears against the underside thereof and raises it just sufficiently to
free it from the coupling lifter, the said link immediately drops over the hook to
be coupled and the released coupling lifter g at once falls, disengaging, as it
drops, its shaft f from the slots e, and returning again to its normal position as
before explained. It will of course be understood that in order to be able to set
the device as just described the coupling must be fully extended horizontally as
shewn before the coupling lifter g and the levers come into line, otherwise the
shaft will leave the recesses e and the apparatus will collapse. This method
of setting the device is therefore particularly suitable where the coupling happens
to be slightly under the standard length for which the apparatus has been
designed.
Referring to Figure 6, the coupling lifter 9 is raised by the hand levers i until
it assumes the position shewn when the link h rests against the truck end. The
shock due to the impact of the buffers of the truck to be coupled causes the
coupling lifter 9 to swing forwards on its axis and deposit the link h over the
hook to be coupled, the coupling lifter then returning to its normal position as
before explained. This method of setting the apparatus is especially suitable
where the coupling is somewhat over the standard length for which the apparatus
has been planned.
When the device is set, as in Figure 4 it is just possible that the impact of the
truck to be coupled may cause the link to tip backwards from the coupling
lifter. To avoid risk of this I may provide a cranked bar 7 (Figures 7 and 8),
which bar when tilted forwards, as shewn in Figure 7, will bear against the end

page_text: link (when the latter is adjusted in the position Figure 4) and prevent the
same from tipping backwards from the coupling lifter g.
When trucks standing with their buffers in contact are to be coupled, the
apparatus after being "set" may be caused to act by a slight movement of the
hand. levers i.
The apparatus may be used for uncoupling by moving the shaft f along
the slots e till it engages with the recesses e and then turning the hand levers
until the coupling lifter g engages the end link of the coupling and lifts it from
off the hook. On releasing the hand levers the apparatus reassumes its normal
position.
It is obvious that in lieu of the counterweights & springs may be employed
for raising the slotted ends of the levers c.
•
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1
•
Apparatus for the purpose set forth, comprising the slotted levers a mounted on
the rock shaft a, counterweights or springs tending to raise the slotted ends of
said levers, and a shaft f passed through the slots e of the latter and carrying a
coupling lifter g and hand levers i, the whole constructed, arranged and adapted
to operate substantially as and in the manner described.
Tand th: 7th
1900
E. P. ALEXANDER & SON,
Chartered Patent Agents,
19, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.