Improvements connected with Couplings for Railway and similar Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 8th July, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 21st Mar., 1900-Accepted, 28th Apr., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION..
Improvements connected with Couplings for Railway and similar
Vehicles.
I, JOSEPH HARTILL, of No. 40, Tipton Street, Sedgley, near Dudley, in the
County of Worcester, Builder do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention consists of the herein described improvements in apparatus of
the kind described in the Specification of my prior Letters Patent No. 14906
of A.D. 1886 to be applied to the couplings of railway and similar vehicles to
enable the trucks to be coupled and uncoupled without requiring a man to go
between the buffers. My present invention comprises firstly, improvements in
the operating handles to cause them to automatically withdraw within the line
of the wagon side when the handles are not in use; secondly, improved means for
connecting each of the hand levers to its fulcrum to enable the hand levers to bo
readily removed from the truck when required without removing the fulcrum pin
and the bracket which carries the same; and thirdly, an improved construction
of joint pin for connecting the ends of the side levers of my said apparatus to
the bottom or third link of the coupling.
In carrying out the first part of my present invention the handle end of each
of the hand or operating levers is made as a separate bar arranged to slide. on the
operating lever and is properly guided by the inner end of the sliding part having
fixed to it a loop which embraces the operating lever and the latter has also at
its end two side plates between which the sliding part moves. I provide a counter-
balance weight which hangs under the operating lever and by inclined links is
connected thereto and to the sliding handle part so that after the latter has
been drawn out beyond the side of the truck to operate the coupling and is
released, the counter-balance weight automatically withdraws the handle part so
that it does not project beyond the side of the truck. The link which is con-
accted to the balance weight and to the sliding handle part passes between cars
formed on the end of the operating lever and through these cars a pin passes so
as to confine the link between the cars. If desired' a coiled wire spring may be
substituted for the balance weight and arranged underneath the sliding handle
part connected respectively to the sliding handle part and to the operating lever
so as to automatically withdraw the handle part when the latter is released. Or
the said coiled spring may be enclosed in the operating lover the end portion of
which will then be tubular and the handle part will slide therein.
In order to enable the operating lever to be readily removed from its fulcrum
and readily replaced, the operating lever is formed with a deep side slot to receive
the fulcrum pin and this slot is bell mouthed at each end so as to allow of the
operating lever swinging up and down and sideways about its fulcrum pin. Fixed
by bolts or cotters or other suitable means to the side of the hand lever there is
a cover plate which is by preference made with projections on its face to take into
corresponding slots in the hand or operating lever and assist in securing the two
together. By first removing the bolts or screws or cotters or other means which

page_text: secure this plate to this hand lever the said cover plate may be removed and then
the hand lever is free to be removed from the fulcrum pin.
In order to connect the lifting levers of my coupling apparatus to the third or
bottom link of the coupling, two joint pins are provided and secured to said link
at about the centre of the same so as to project from the side and pass through
the eyes of the nfting levers. According to my present invention each of these
joint pins is constructed as follows:-The joint pin is divided longitudinally into
Two parts and each part is shaped like a claw so as to partly surround and grip
the link and one of these claws is made with an inwardly projecting part which
takes into a corresponding hole in the link and prevents the pin from inoving up
the link. To secure the pin to the coupling link the two parts of the pin have to
be placed together so as to embrace the link between the claws and so that the
said projecting part of the claw will take into the corresponding hole in tho
link. A nut is then screwed on to the shank thus embracing both parts of the
pin and effectually securing the same to the link. The end of the lever is now
threaded on to the pin and is there secured by another nut or the like on the pin
which if desired is rivetted over.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements connected with Couplings for Railway and similar
Vehicles.
I, JOSEPH HARTILL, of No. 40; Tipton Street, Sedgley, near Dudley, in the
County of Worcester, Builder 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 consists of the herein described improvements in apparatus of
the kind described in the Specification of my prior Letters Patent No. 14906
of A.D. 1886 to be applied to the couplings of railway and similar vehicles to
enable the trucks to be coupled and uncoupled without requiring a man to go.
between the buffers. My present invention comprises firstly, improvements in
the operating handles to cause them to automatically withdraw within the line
of the wagon side when the handles are not in use; secondly, improved means for
connecting each of the hand levers to its fulcrum to enable the hand levers to be
readily removed from the truck when required without removing the fulcrum pin
and the bracket which carries the same; and thirdly, an improved construction
of joint pin for connecting the ends of the side levers of my said apparatus. to
the bottom or third link of the coupling.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on
which Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of my said apparatus constructed accord-
ing to my present invention and applied to a railway truck; Fig. 2 is a plan of
the same and Fig. 3 is an end elevation partly in section; Fig. 4 shews on an
enlarged scale the bottom link of the coupling and one of the joint pins which
secure the side levers thereto; and Fig. 5 shews the parts of the joint pin
separately.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
AA are some of the timbers of the wagon underframe. I will first describe the old
parts of the apparatus. B is the sliding bar which is supported below. the underframe
on the rollers carried in hangers C1 C2 and provided with rollers D 'D' at the

page_text: front end and rollers D3 D4 at the back end which bear against the plates E
fixed on the underside of the wagon; F1 F are the two levers which at fl are
pivotted to the bar B and at their outer ends. f are connected to the third or end
coupling link J by the joint pins HH, the peculiar construction of which forms
the third part of my invention; K is the bottom bar or link which at the end
is pivotted to the levers F F and at the other end is connected by the radius
links L L to the bar B; M is the carrier connected at to the bar B and
forming a sling in which the bar K can slide; N1 N2 are the two operating levers
to actuate the apparatus and coupling from either side of the wagon. These levera
are fulcrumed on the pins P P carried by the brackets 1 fixed to the underside
of the wagon. Each of the levers N N has a sliding handle part marked respec-
tively N³ N connected to the levers N' N2 in the particular manner in accordance
with the first part of my invention and provided with special means for auto-
matically withdrawing the handle part within the line of the wagon side when
the handles are not in use as hereinafter described. The operating levers N¹ N
are threaded on to the pin R which is fixed in ears on the underside of the bar K
so that by means of the operating levers the coupling can be manipulated from
either side of the truck as described in the Specification of my prior Patent above
reforred to. I will now proceed to describe my present improvements.
In carrying out the first part of my present invention the handle end
portion N N of each of the operating levers N' N2 is made as a separate bar
arranged to slide on the operating lever N1 N2 and is properly guided by the inner
end of the sliding bar N³ or N having fixed to it a metal loop n which embraces
the operating lever N¹ and the latter has also at its end two side plates n³ ³
between which the sliding part N³ moves. I also provide under each operating.
lever a counterbalance weight R which hangs under the said operating lever
and by inclined links ! is connected thereto and to the sliding part N so that
after the latter has been drawn out beyond the side of the truck as shewn on the
left hand side of Fig. 3 to operate the coupling and is released the counter-balance
weight R-automatically withdraws the handle bar (see right hand side of Fig. 3)
so that it does not project beyond the side of the truck. The link which is
connected to the balance weight R and to the sliding handle-part N³ passes between
the two ears n n formed on the end of the operating lever N₁ and through these
cars a pin n passes so as to confine the link between the ears.
The second part of my invention which refers to the connection of the operating
levers N¹ N³ to their fulcrum pins P P is carried out as follows, and as both
operating levers are similarly constructed and arranged the description of one
of them namely the right hand one N³ Fig. 3 will suffice. The operating lever Nº
is formed with a deep slot s to receive the fulcrum pin P2 and this slot (see Fig. 3)
is bell mouthed at each end so as to allow of the operating lever N swinging up
and down and sideways about the fulcrum pin P². Fixed 'by bolts or by
cotters or other suitable means to the said end lever there is a cover plate U
which covers the slots and secures the lever Na to its fulcrum pin P. By first
removing the bolts or screws t¹ 12 or cotters or other means which secure this
plate U to the hand lever N the said cover plate U can be removed and then the
hand lever N2 is free to be removed from the fulcrum pin P³.
The third part of my present invention is carried out as follows:-In order to
connect the lifting levers F1 F2 of my coupling apparatus to the third or bottom
link J of the coupling the two joint pins H H are provided and secured to the
link J at about the centre of the same so as to project from the sides and pass
through the eyes in the lifting levers F¹ F. According to my present invention
cach of these joint pins H H is constructed as follows:-Each joint pin is
divided longitudinally into two parts marked respectively h¹h (see Figs. 4 and 5)
and these parts are at h³h shaped like a claw so as to partly surround and grip
the link J and one of these claws is made with an inwardly projecting part h³
which takes into a corresponding hole in the link J and prevents the joint
pins H H from moving up or down the link J. To secure the two parts h¹ hª of

page_text: the joint pin to the coupling link J the said two parts are placed together so as to
embrace the link between the claws h h and so that the projecting part 5 of
the claw. will take into the corresponding hole in the link J as shewn in Fig. 4.
The nut is then screwed on to the shank thus embracing both parts h¹; h³ of
the pin and effectually securing the same to the link J. The ends of the
levers are now threaded on to the pins and there secured by the nuts 2 or
the like on the pine H H which latter if desired are rivetted over to make the
nuts secure.
* "
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my suid
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In apparatus of the kind herein referred to for coupling and uncoupling the
couplings of railway trucks, the combination with each of the operating levers of
a handle end portion arranged to slide thereon, a loop n embracing said operating
lever and fixed to the sliding part, side plates n³ ³ fixed to the end of the
operating lever and serving as guides for the sliding part, a counter-balance
weight R and links rª connecting said counter-balance weight to the outer
portion of the liandle end and to the operating lever respectively so as to draw
the handle end within the line of the truck side when the handle end is released,
the said operating lever being made with side ears n n between which the link i
passes and also a cross pin no to prevent the link from coming out of the jaws all
substantially as described and illustrated.
2. In apparatus of the kind herein referred to for coupling and uncoupling the
couplings of railway trucks, making the operating levers with deep side slots s
bell mouthed at each end to take on to the fulcrum pins and provided with cover
plates such as U bolted to the operating levers to secure the same on the fulcrum
pins and permit of the operating levers being readily removed when required
substantially as described and illustrated.
3. In apparatus of the kind herein referred to for coupling and uncoupling
the couplings of railway trucks, the construction of the lifting lever joint pins H¹
H2 made in halves and with claw like parts shaped to grip and engage with the
coupling link in combination with the nuts screwed on said joint pins and securing
the two parts of the same together and the lifting levers thereto substantially
as described and illustrated.
Dated this 17th day of March 1900.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the. Applicant.