New or Improved Coupling for Railway Carriages.
Year: 1895

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Coupling for Railway Carriages.
We, LOUIS BUTSCHBACH and HERMANN BUTSCHBACH both of, Altenkirchen
in the Empire of Germany, Merchants, 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 a novel coupling for railway carriages in which the
necessity for the shunter going on to the line in order to couple or uncouple two
carriages is avoided. This coupling has also the advantages of great simplicity
and safety, the latter quality arising from the fact that two draw hooks are
brought into action at the same time on each carriage.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a plan showing two couplings in gear or connected,
Figure 1 a plan showing the same couplings disconnected,
Figure 2 a vertical section, Figure 3 a sectional elevation of the locking
apparatus to a larger scale, Figure 4 a plan of same, and Figure 5 a part of the
same shown in perspective.
In the middle of the buffer beam is fitted a U-shaped draw bar or shackle bon
the two branches of which are secured collars c, aud between these and the buffer
beams are placed the draw springs ₫ which effect an elastic connection of the
carriages.
On vertical pins e on the draw bars bare pivotted the draw-hooks f; and in
front of these draw hooks are backwardly curved hooks or lugs g fast to the
draw bars into which gear the aforesaid draw hooks f of the opposite carriage, as
seen in Figures 1 and 2.
Near the ends of the buffer beams a are secured bearings h which carry the
horizontal shafts . On these latter are secured. collars which take into the
forks of the lever arms which form continuations of the drawhooks f. The
shafts are movable longitudinally as well as rotatable on their axes in the
bearings h and are so moved by means of the handles i¹.
:-
At the middle or some other convenient part of each shaft i is fixed a hook m
which can be hooked on to a lug secured to the buffer beam, by turning the
shaft i when the draw hooks fare in gear with the lugs g. By this means the
shaft is prevented from moving longitudinally when not required to do so. The
rotation of the shaft is limited by a stop pin o, as shown in Figure 5.
The action of, and method of operating this coupling are as follows:
First the shafts i of the two adjacent ends of the carriages to be connected are
turned into the position shown in Figure 5 so that the locking hooks m are raised
out of gear with the lugs n. The shafts are then moved in the direction of the
arrows whereby the collars & turn the draw-hooks into the position shown in
Figure 14, the carriages are now pushed together and the shafts i are drawn back
in the direction of the arrows y, whereby the draw hooks fare turned so as to
engage with the lugs g as shown in Figure 1 and the shafts i are then turned by
means of the handles so that the hooks m take into the lugs n as shown in
Figure 4, in order to lock the shafts i and consequently to retain the hooks fin
the coupled position. When it is required to uncouple it is only necessary to turn
the shafts i so as to raise the hooks m out of gear with the lugs n and then to slide
them longitudinally in the direction of the arrows whereby the draw hooks fare
disengaged from the lugs.g, as shown in Figure 14, and the carriages can then be
separated.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
f
First. A coupling for railway carriages which consists of a U-shaped draw
bar b having draw hooks pivotted thereon, and lugs with which the draw
hooks of the next carriage, engage, and, a sliding shaft i for operating the
draw hooks, combined, and operating substantially as described:
3
Second. In a coupling of the kind herein. described, the shaft, mounted in
bearings on the buffer beam a so that it can be rotated therein, and provided with
a book adapted to engage in a fixed lug n when the draw hooks are engaged.
in the lugs g of the next carriage, substantially, as described, and for the purpose
*specified..
Dated th18, 12th day, or November 1895:,
L. BUTSCHBACH,.
H. BUTSCHBACH,
Per, W. H. Beck,.
115 Cannon Street, London, E.G., Agent...