IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF Buffers FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Bright Matthows, of the Firm of Turton Brothers
and Matthews, of Sheffield, in the County of York, and Illius Augustus
Timmis, of No. 17, Parliament Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF Buffers
FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Bright Matthews
and Illius Augustus Timmis at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 29th November 1879.
THOMAS BRIGHT MATTHEWS, of the Firm of Turton Brothers and Matthews, of
Sheffield, in the County of York, and ILLIUS AUGUSTUS TIMMIS, of No. 17,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
Parliament Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
The object of this Invention is to make a buffer for railway vehicles and for
other purposes, which has the following advantages
1. The plungers have solid projections which prevent them from coming out of
their cases.
2. The plungers can be easily taken out if required.
In the solid plunger buffer the plunger is all one piece of metal, and has two or
more solid projections which extend only partially round the plunger neck, and
these solid projections are made in any number of convenient divisions.
The neck of the buffer case has in the inside longitudinal grooves which
correspond in number and position to the said projections on the plunger neck, and
are just large enough to allow these projections to slide down them.
When the plunger is inserted in the case, and the projections have passed through
the grooves in the buffer case neck, the plunger is turned partially round, and is
prevented from coming out by the said projections fitting against the buffer case
neck.
The plunger is kept from turning out of this position by the rear end being
planed on one or more sides, or made any convenient shape, so that when it is
passed through a similarly shaped hole in the back plate or other material to which
the buffer case is fastened it cannot turn, hence the plunger is secure in the case.

page_text: Behind the solid collar projections is a washer which fits against the spring on
one side, and on the other against the collar projections. It has also projections on
this side which fit between the collar projections and press against the buffer case
neck covering the longitudinal holes.
By this means the washer strengthens the plunger and takes up part of the
recoil of the spring from the plunger collar; the latter may however, if desired, be
made without this washer.
In the hollow plunger buffer the plunger has similar projections at its base (or in
any convenient part) to those on the solid plunger. These projections are of any
suitable size and number, and they fit, as in the solid plunger buffer, into
corresponding grooves in the buffer case neck when the plunger is first placed in its
case.
When the plunger is inserted in its case far enough to be turned partially round,
as previously described, it is held in that position by means of a spindle passing
through the back plate, as in the case of the solid plunger buffer, or by means of a
spindle fastened in the back plate and passing through the spring into a suitable
hole in the wood or other material in the front end of the buffer plunger, the spindle
end and hole into which it goes being of such a shape as to prevent it from being
turned round. Hence, as before, the plunger cannot come out; but in both buffers
they can be easily taken to pieces when desired and the plungers taken out and
replaced.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Bright Matthews and Illius Augustus Timmis in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th May 1880.
THOMAS BRIGHT MATTHEWS, of the Firm of Turton Brothers and Matthews, of
Sheffield, in the County of York, and ILLIUS AUGUSTUS TIMMIS, of No. 17, Parliament
Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF BUFFERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
The object of this Invention is to manufacture a buffer for railway vehicles and
for other purposes, which has the following advantages :-
1. The plungers have solid projections which prevent them from coming out of
their cases.
2. The plungers can easily be taken out when required.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention, we will now proceed to
describe the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, and in order that the same may be readily understood we have
annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the
same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :--
Fig. 1 is a partial sectional elevation of a solid plunger buffer constructed
aç ding to our Invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line A, B, and Fig. 3 is a
sel on on the line C, D.
In the solid plunger buffer the plunger a, a, is all one piece of metal, and has
solid projections b, b, which extend only partially round the plunger neck, and these
projections are made in any convenient number of divisions.
The neck c, c, of the buffer case c, d, has in the inside longitudinal grooves e, e,
which correspond in number and position to the projections b, b, on the plunger
neck, and are just large enough to allow these projections to slide down them.
When the plunger a, a, is inserted in the case d, d, and the projections b, b, have
passed through the grooves e, e, in the buffer case neck c, c, the plunger a, a, is
turned partially round, and is prevented from coming out by the projections b, b,
fitting against the solid parts of the buffer case neck c, c.
The plunger a, a, is kept from turning out of this position by its rear end being
planed on one or more sides, or made of convenient shape (a parallelogram being
preferred) so that when it is passed through a similarly shaped hole in the back
plate ff (or other material to which the buffer case is fastened) it cannot turn.
Hence, the plunger is perfectly secured in the case.
Behind the solid projections b, b, is a washer g,g, which fits against the
spring h, h, on one side, and on the other against the projections b, b. It has also
projections or horns i, i, on this side which fit between the projections b, b, and
press against the buffer case neck c, c.
These horns i, i, extend through the grooves e, e, in the buffer case neck and
thus prevent the plunger from turning round and coming out. They work thus:-
If the action or range of the buffer plunger is two and a half inches, the horns i, i,
are made to extend through the grooves e, e, for about three and a half inches, so
that when the plunger is driven home they are still in the grooves and prevent the
plunger turning and coming out. This is the principal feature of the Invention,
and enables us to use a round plunger through the back plate. The washer g, g,
strengthens the plunger and takes off part of the recoil of the spring h, h, from the
plunger collar.
The hollow plunger buffer is represented in partial sectional elevation at Fig. 4,
and partial transverse section through the line E, F, at Fig. 5.
In this buffer the plunger a, a, has similar projections b, b, (at its base or at any
convenient part) to those on the solid plunger. These projections are of any

page_text: suitable size and number, and they fit (as in the solid plunger buffer) into
corresponding grooves in the buffer case neck when the plunger is first placed in its
case.
When the plunger a, a, has been inserted in its case far enough to be turned
partially round, as previously described, it is held in that position by means of a
spindle passing through the back plate ff, as in the case of the solid plunger
buffer, or by means of a fixed spindle k, l, fastened in the back plate ff, and
passing through the spring h, k, into a suitable hole in the wood or other material I, I,
in the front end of the buffer plunger a, a, the spindle end and the hole into which
it goes being of such a shape as to prevent it from being turned round. Hence, as
before, the plunger a, a, cannot come out, but in both. buffers the plungers can bo
easily taken to pieces when desired by removing the back plate, when they can
be readily taken out and replaced.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, we would remark in conclusion that we claim as our Invention,
the construction or manufacture of solid and hollow plunger buffers, as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the Drawings annexed, and more especially we claim
the devices described and shown for preventing the plunger from partially turning
and coming out of its case when it has once been inserted and properly fixed
therein, as before mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said Illius Augustus Timmis (on behalf of myself
and the said Thomas Bright Matthews), have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
ILLIUS A. TIMMIS. (L.S.)