Year: 1886

page_text: I WILLIAM DANIEL, Secretary of the Lartigue Railway Company (Limited) of
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this Invention (a communication from abroad to me by Henri Carpentier
of 40 Rue des Marais, Paris, Engineer,) to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved coupling for carriages employed in
connection with the system of single line elevated railway forming the sub-
ject of former Letters Patent granted to Alexander Melville Clark, and dated
January 24th 1883, No. 402, and which is also applicable for coupling vehicles
generally.
The coupling consists of two stirrup shaped yokes made either of flat or of solid
or hollow half round iron, fixed one to the end framework or body of each vehicle
when employed for coupling a train of vehicles, or to the carrier frame when
employed in connection with the single rail elevated railway before referred to.
The yokes of every two adjoining carriages are tightly coupled together by
a strong spiral spring which only allows of very slight play between them. For
uncoupling, the yokes are both raised together and for coupling they are allowed
to fall upon a suitable support. The spring: becomes compressed when any strain
is brought to bear on the yokes, and the yokes are capable; of free lateral move-
ment, while possessing sufficient rigidity to prevent shocks, both at stopping and
starting.

page_text: r
An Improved Coupling for Elevated Single Rail Railway and
other Vehicles.
I WILLIAM DANIEL, Secretary of the Lartigue Railway Company (Limited) of
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention (a communication from abroad to me by Henri Carpentier
of 40 Rue des Marais, Paris, Engineer) 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 an improved coupling principally intended for carriages
employed in connection with the system of elevated single rail railway forming the
subject of former Letters Patent granted to Alexander Melville Clark, and dated
January 24th 1883 No. 402; the improved coupling being, however, applicable for
coupling other vehicles up, to form trains.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification, wherein figure 1 represents a plan and figure 2 an elevation of one
form of coupling; figure 3, is a section and figure 4 a plan of a similar coupling.
Figure 5 is a plan of the same coupling shewing the action of the spring when
under strain. Figure 6 is a longitudinal section and Figure 7 a plan of a modified
coupling. Figure 8 shews the mode of uncoupling the same. The same letters of
reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
The coupling consists of two bow shaped yokes a a. made either of flat or half
round solid or channel iron which are tightly coupled together by a strong spiral
spring b which encircles the oppositely curved adjacent portions of the two bows
so as to only allow of very slight play between them, and so as to become
compressed or closed together, as shewn in figure 5, when tractive strain comes on
the coupling whereby the yokes though closely coupled are capable of limited
lateral movement and sudden strains or shocks at starting or stopping are
prevented.
The yokes a are attached to the carrier frame when employed in connection
with the vehicles used on the elevated single rail railway before referred to, or to
the frame-work when applied to other vehicles. The yokes may be attached as
shewn in figures 3 and 4, in the manner of a padlock bow, one limb. of the bow
being pivoted at c to ears fixed to the frame of the vehicle and the other end being
detachably connected to other ears by a removable locking pin to permit of readily
coupling and uncoupling the yokes by slipping them out of the spring.
In figures 6, 7 and 8, one of the yokes is in the form of a complete ring and is
connected to the other which is bow shaped, as before by a spiral spring acting as
above described; the bow shaped yoke being horizontally pivoted to the carrier.
frame, so as to permit of the annular yoke hooking onto a draw-hook as shewn in
figure 8.

page_text: 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. A coupling for elevated single rail railway and other vehicles, consisting in
the combination with two bow-shaped yokes attached to the vehicles, of a spiral
spring connecting and encircling their oppositely curved adjacent portions and
acting as a draw spring in the manner specified.
2. The specific arrangements of coupling herein described and shewn in figures 3
to 8 of the drawings.