Improvements in Buffering Devices, applicable for Softening, Deflecting, or Deadening Heavy Shocks, and in the Applications thereof.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 3rd July, 1891-Accepted, 8th Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Buffering Devices, applicable for Softening,
Deflecting, or Deadening Heavy Shocks, and in the Applications
thereof.
I, ABRAM ABRAMOFF of 44 Seymour Street in the City of Liverpool, Operatic
Singer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the saving of life and property by the deadening
of excessive shocks such as occur through collisions, also to assist acrobats to
descend from a great heighth without injury. My invention consists essentially of
a base plate in whole or part of indiarubber (or kindred material) and surmounted
by tall truncated cones or pyramids of indiarubber placed as near together as
practicable.
For preventing collisions at sea and for use in war vessels I form these cushion
plates and pillars of great size and strength and arrange this plate so that it may
be quickly brought along the skin of the ship to any point where ramming or
collision is likely.
For modifying the injurious effects of collisions on railways I form buffers on
this principle the spring portion of the buffet being a solid cake of indiarubber
surmounted by a series of these pyramidal or conical columns, intense pressure
presses down the columns until they become a solid block while a pressure in any
way oblique to them causes them to deflect and to assist in deflecting the blow to
one side. In using the apparatus in theatres and places of diversion a mat formed
of this rubber can be laid on the ground and the acrobat can then jump from a
great height on to it, the buffering action of the columns breaking the force of his
fall in such a way that no other apparatus known to me will effect. In buffers
applied to railway trains I may use one of my patent buffers inside the frame and
the one buffer will take up the extraordinary shocks that are not sufficiently
deadened by the ordinary buffer.
Dated this 5th day of January 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Buffering Devices, applicable for Softening,
Deflecting, or Deadening Heavy Shocks, and in the Applications
thereof.
I, ABRAM ABRAMOFF, of 7 Bow Street, in the County of Middlesex, Operatic
Singer, 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 has for its object the saving of life and property by the deadening
of excessive shocks, such as occur through collisions, to persons jumping from
buildings on fire, to assist acrobats to descend from a great height without injury,
and the like.
My invention consists essentially of a base plate in whole or part of indiarubber
(or kindred material) and surmounted by tall truncated cones or pyramids of
indiarubber placed as near together as practicable. For neutralizing the effects of
collisions at sea and for use on war vessels as a protection against shot and shell, I
form these cushion plates and pillars of great size and strength an? arrange this

page_text: plate so that it may be quickly brought along the skin of the ship to any point
where ramming or collision is likely. For modifying the injurious effects of
collisions on railways, I form buffers on this principle, the spring portion of the
buffer consisting of a series of these pyramidal or conical columns, intense pressure
presses down the columns until they become a solid block while a pressure in any
way oblique to them causes them to deflect and to assist in deflecting the blow to
one side. In using the apparatus in theatres and places of diversion, a mat formed
of this rubber can be laid on the ground and the acrobat can then jump from a
height on to it, the buffering action of the columns breaking the force of his fall
in such a way that no other apparatus known to me will effect. In buffers applied
to railway trains I may use one of my patent buffers inside the frame and the one
buffer will take up the extraordinary shocks that are not sufficiently deadened by
the ordinary buffer.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a front elevation and Fig. 2 a section of one arrangement of the buffering
device constructed according to this invention, and which in this form is applicable
for use on ships or as a target.
Fig. 2 shows end and side elevations of one of the triangular pieces employed
when the apparatus is to be used as a target or protection covering.
Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively a longitudinal and a transverse section of the device
as applied to a railway buffer and of which Fig. 5 is an end elevation with a portion
removed.
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the device as applied to the draw-bar of a
railway wagon.
Fig. 7 is a section of portion of a gymnast's or acrobat's mat constructed according
to this invention.
Fig. 8 is a section showing my invention applied to apparatus for anchor or other
holding chains and cables of vessels and the like.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
Bare
In Fig. 1 & 2, A is the base-plate which may be composed of indiarubber or like
material but which in the accompanying drawings is represented as of wood.
the truncated cones each of which at one end has a tenon 13' adapted to fit into one
of the holes A' in the base-plate A these holes being preferably taper as shown.
The conical shape of B provides for free expansion when the pressure is applied.
The tenons B' are preferably formed tubular for a portion or the whole of their
length so that after each said tenon has been inserted into one of the holes A' a
taper peg C may be driven into the recess thereof and the surrounding flexible wall
of the tenon thereby expanded and completely fill up the hole A' so as to prevent
the cones B being separated from the base plate A. D is a plate which according
to the uses to which the apparatus is to be put may be of indiarubber, wood, metal
or other suitable material, and which may be secured by screws D' or other means
to the back of the base plate A so as to prevent the pegs C from working out of
the tenons B'. E is a strong preferably indiarubber band which holds all the cones
tightly together in one compact mass and which may be of any desired shape in
cross section but not such as to interfere with the resiliency of the whole.
The before described device may be constructed of any desired size and when
adapted for neutralizing the effects of collisions at sea it is preferably constructed
with its base wholly of flexible material and any suitable number of such devices
are so mounted on the vessel that one or more of them may be raised or lowered or
otherwise moved to the part at which it is evident the vessel would be struck in an
impending collision. These buffers would then receive and absorb the shock which
would otherwise be given with disastrous results to the unyielding frame of the
ship. If the blow be direct the pressure will tend to press the several cones B
into practically a solid block of indiarubber whereas if the blow be in any way
oblique to the cones they will be deflected and assist in deflecting the blow to one
side.
When the before described device is intended to be used as a targe its base is

page_text: preferably formed of wood or other comparatively inelastic material and it may
either be arranged as an integral part of the butts structure or so that it may be
suspended or otherwise attached to the butts. Each of the spaces between the
cones B may moreover be filled in with a piece L of indiarubber of triangular cross
section such as is shown in Fig. 2ª.
In the railway buffer arrangement shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the holes or
mortises A are formed in the base F' of the buffer box F in which the buffer G is
guided. The buffer stem G¹ passes centrally through the base F' and through the
buffer beam H at the inner side of which it is provided with a cotter G² or
equivalent means for preventing it from moving out of position. The buffer box F
is secured to the buffer beam H by four bolts and nuts I or by other suitable means.
The cones B in this example bear against the rear face G³ of the buffer head and
the action will be sufficiently well understood to render further description in this
respect unnecessary.
In this railway buffer as shown in Fig. 4 there are represented seven of the
cones B but it will be obvious that this number may be increased or decreased
according to requirements and that if desired they may be arranged in one, two or
more circles concentric with the buffer stem G. The inner end of the stem G¹
may be provided with a head or piston the face of which like the before mentioned
face G³ may be pressed upon by a series of cones B and this modification may either
be used as an alternative of the example shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 or as a supplement
to it.
Fig. 6 illustrates how the cones B may be employed in the place of the ordinary
draw-bar springs. In this figure J is the draw-bar the inner end of which is
provided with a head or plunger J¹. As the action of this is similar to that of the
railway buffer device shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 further description of it is not
considered necessary.
In applying this invention to the anchor or other holding chains or cables of
vessels I prefer to employ apparatus such as shown in Fig. 8 which resembles the
apparatus shown in Fig. 6, except that it is preferably very much longer, so as to
afford great accommodation to the play of the vessel as it rises and falls with the
sea. The outer end of the draw-bar J in this example may be provided with an
eye J2 to which the anchor chain, cable, hawser or the like M may be connected by
a double hook N which admits of ready disconnection of the parts.
In the examples shown in Figs. 3 to 6 and Fig. 8 of the accompanying drawings
the cones B may be replaced by a conical indiarubber tube.
In applying my present improvements to a gymnast's mat as shown in Fig. 7 one
set of the cones B may be secured to the base-plate A with the larger ends upper-
most and to counteract the tendency to deflect or shoot the gymnast off the mat
should he strike it obliquely, another set may be secured to the base plate with the
smaller ends uppermost.
Over the upper ends of all the cones is secured a sheet K of cloth, indiarubber
or other suitable material.
The base plate A. when not itself constructed of metal may be provided with
metal sockets for receiving the tenons B.
The proportions of the cones B as also their distance apart may be modified to
suit requirements and if desired they may be formed in part with the indiarubber
base plates or be secured to the base whether flexible or rigid by means other than
those already described.
Besides these and other modifications it will be obvious that if desired the effect
of the buffering device may be increased by using two or more tiers or layers of
the cones B.
In the case of persons jumping from the upper floors of buildings on fire these
mats or buffers may be spread upon the ground, the necessity for holding up a sheet
or mattress being thus done away with.
It would be difficult to enumerate all the uses to which the before described

page_text: buffering device may be applied but among them, its advantageous application for
use as vehicle springs and furniture springs is manifest.
Instead of providing for the expansion of the indiarubber by tapering it or using
it in the form of cones it may be made parallel and room for the necessary
expansion left in the casing which surrounds it said casing for this purpose being
made conical.
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 buffering device the employment of an elastic or compressible cone such
as B substantially as described.
2. In a buffering device the combination of two or more elastic or compressible
cones such as B substantially as described.
3. In a buffering device the combination with a base plate A of a number of
compressible cones such as B and band such as E substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
4. In a buffering device the combination with a compressible cone such as B of a
recessed or tubular tenon such as B¹ substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
5. In a railway buffer the combination with the buffer box F and parts G G¹ G³
of a series of compressible cones such as B substantially as described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
6. In a draw-bar anchor chain or similar checking or controlling device the
combination with the draw-bar J of a head or piston such as J box F and
compressible cones such as B substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 6
of the accompanying drawings.
7. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete fall-
breaking mat substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 7 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of July 1891
A. ABRAMOFF.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.