IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BUFFERS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake,
and Co Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BUFFERS communicated to him from
abroad by George Turton of Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street West-
Cl
"
uite maiding at Bouloons
minster in the County of
sur-mer France
e M:1alesex new
temporarily residing at Boulogne-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th May 1883.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings London "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BUFFERS" [a com-
munication to him from abroad by George Turton of Westminster Chambers,
Victoria Street Westminster in the County of Middlesex now temporarily residing
at Boulogne-sur-mer France]
My invention relates to railway buffers and is chiefly designed to improve the
construction of the buffers described in the Specification of former Letters Patent,
dated 28th March A.D. 1874 No. 1091; but my improvements may also be applied
to other kinds of buffers for which they may be suitable.
According to one part of my said invention, I combine, with the plunger, an
adjustable collar in such a manner that the said collar can be removed and the
plunger be readily withdrawn from the case when desired.
For this purpose
I
make the plunger with a shoulder against which the collar will bear, and near this
shoulder I form two projections on the spindle of the said plunger so as to make it
of somewhat oval form in transverse section. The collar is formed with an oval
aperture to enable it to pass over the projections on the spindle. The said collar is
so shaped, that, by turning the same half a revolution after it is passed over the
projections, it becomes locked upon, or engaged with, the said projections. A set-
screw, cotter, or other suitable device is then inserted in the said collar at one side
to prevent its turning out of the locking position.
I sometimes modify the construction of the buffer as follows, that is to say, I
provide the said adjustable collar with an internal screw thread fitting on to

page_text: corresponding external screw thread on the spindle of the plunger, and I cut, or
otherwise form, a circular groove in the screw-threaded portion of the spindle so
that the set screw for securing the collar will not injure the screw thread. Or I
make the screw-threaded part of the spindle flat, or cut it away at one or both
sides, so that the screw-thread will not be injured by the set-screw.
One advantageous mode of forming the plunger for this purpose consists in
forging the same with one or more flat surfaces on that portion of the spindle
which is to be screw-threaded or forging the said plunger and then cutting away
portions of the spindle to form the flat surfaces, before the screw thread is cut on
the spindle.
According to another part of my said invention I provide the buffer with a
device for checking the recoil of the plunger.
When the plunger is made in one piece and is held securely in the case by a
bushing, as described in the said former Specification, I insert a spring of india-
rubber or other suitable material between the bushing and the collar of the plunger,
so that when the buffer spring has been compressed and then suddenly released
the india-rubber or other spring will lessen the shock upon the said bushing caused
by the recoil of the plunger.
When I apply the said device to a buffer wherein the plunger is made with an
adjustable collar, as above described, I insert the india rubber or other spring
between the bushing and the adjustable collar and I usually place a metal washer
between the bushing and the said spring

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Harris Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th November 1883.
*
"
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BUFFERS a com-
munication to me from abroad by George Turton, of Westminster Chambers,
Victoria. Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, now temporarily
residing at Boulogne-sur-mer, France,
This invention relates to railway buffers, and is chiefly designed to improve the
construction of the buffers described in the specification of former Letters Patent
Dated the 28th day of March, A.D. 1874, N° 1091, but the present improvements
may also be applied to other kinds of railway buffers.
According to one part of the said invention I combine, with the buffer-plunger,
an adjustable and removable collar in such a manner that, when desired, the said
collar can be readily removed and the plunger can be withdrawn from the box or
case in which it is fitted.
According to another part of the said invention I provide the buffer with a
device for checking, or diminishing the effect of, the recoil of the plunger. The said
invention also comprises various modifications as hereinafter set forth.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, of one of the improved railway
buffers.
Figure 2 is a view of the same partly in side elevation and partly in section on
the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 2 is a similar view of a buffer made without a bushing.
Figure 3 is a face view of one form of the adjustable collar.
Figure 4 is a plan of this collar secured upon a buffer-plunger.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation shewing a modified form of adjustable collar.
Figure 6 is an end view of Figure 5, partly in section.
Figures 7 to 28 are views hereinafter described shewing various modifications of
the said invention.
Figures 29, 30 and 31 are sectional elevations shewing the improved means for
checking the recoil of the plunger.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.
a is the adjustable collar, b is the plunger, and c is the box or case enclosing the
same; c² is the bushing fixed in the said box or case and surrounding the rod of
the said plunger. The plunger b is made with a shoulder d against which the
adjustable collar a bears, when the latter is secured upon the plunger. Near the
said shoulder d I usually form projections e on the rod or spindle of the plunger,
so as to make it of somewhat oval or oblong form in transverse section, and I form
the collar a with a corresponding aperture of to enable it to pass over the pro-
jections e on the spindle. By passing the collar a over the projections e and turning
the said collar half a revolution, it will become locked upon, or engaged with, the
said projections, as shewn in Figure 6.
In order to secure the collar a in its locking position upon the plunger, I
sometimes provide a set-screw 9 which passes through the said collar and is
screwed tightly upon the flat part of the plunger-rod, as shewn in Figures 2, 2ª
and 6.
Figures 7, 8 and 9 are sectional elevations shewing modified forms of the
projections on the plunger.

page_text: Figure 10 is a sectional elevation shewing the set-screw g with its end fitting
into a recess in one of the projections e.
In some cases I secure the collar a in its locking position by inserting therein
one or more filling pieces on either or both sides of the plunger-rod.
Figure 11 is a sectional elevation and Figure 12 an end view of part of a
plunger-rod with an adjustable collar secured in its locking position thereon by
one filling piece h held in place by a screw i.
Figure 13 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, Figure 14 is an end view, and
Figure 14 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section on the line ¹¹
Figure 13, shewing the collar secured in its locking position on the plunger by two
filling pieces h held in place by screws i.
In Figure 15, which is a sectional elevation, I have shewn the collar secured in
its locking. position by a screw ; which is inserted in a screw-threaded aperture
formed partly in the collar a and partly in the projection e.
Figure 16 is a sectional elevation and Figure 16° a plan, partly in horizontal
section, of one form of buffer; Figure 17 is a sectional elevation; and Figure 17ª a
plan, partly in horizontal section, of another form of buffer, illustrating a modifi-
cation of the present invention wherein I employ a filling piece h made with a
hook h¹ to engage with the collar a as shewn, and hold the said piece in its place.
Figure 18 is a face view of the collar shewn in Figure 16, shewing also the filling
pieces and the plunger-rod. Figure 19 is an edge view of the collar shewing the
position of the hook while the filling piece is being introduced between the
plunger-rod and the collar. Figure 20 is a face view of the collar without the
filling pieces.
Instead of employing these filling pieces, I sometimes pour melted lead or other
metal into the space between the plunger-rod and the collar a, as shown in
Figure 22 which is a sectional elevation (Figure 21 being a plan, partly in hori-
zontal section) and in which k represents the said metal. Or I may pour the
melted metal between the adjustable collar and a fixed conical collar or projection c¹
as shewn, in sectional elevation, in Figure 23.
Figure 24 is a sectional elevation of part of a buffer in which the adjustable
collar, after it has been locked upon the projections e, is secured by a rivet m.
I sometimes modify the construction of the buffer as shewn in Figures 25 and 26,
that is to say, I make the adjustable collar a with an internal screw-thread which
fits a corresponding external screw-thread on the spindle or rod of the plunger b,
and I cut, or otherwise form, a circular groove b' in the screw-threaded portion of
the said spindle, so that the set-screw g, for securing the collar, will not injure the
screw-thread. And in some instances I make the screw-threaded part of the
spindle flat, or cut it away, at one or both sides, as shewn in Figures 27 and 28,
so that the screw-thread will not be injured by the set-screw g. The plunger inay
be advantageously formed for this purpose by forging the same with one or more
flat surfaces on that portion of the spindle which is to be screw-threaded, or by
first forging the said plunger and then cutting away portions of the spindle to
form the flat surfaces before the screw-thread is cut on the said spindle.
In Figures 29 to 31 I have illustrated that part of the present invention which
relates to the provision of means for checking the recoil of the plunger. When
the plunger has its head, its rod, and its collar forged, or otherwise formed, of one
piece of metal and is held securely in the case by a bushing as described in the
Baid former specification, I insert a spring n of india-rubber or other suitable
material, between the bushing c¹ and the collar a* of the plunger as shewn in
Figure 29, so that, when the buffer spring has been compressed and is suddenly
released, the india-rubber or other spring n will diminish the shock caused upon
the said bushing by the recoil of the plunger.
In some cases I make the box or case of the buffer in two parts to permit the
insertion of the plunger, and in this instance I dispense with the bushing, and
thicken the end of the box or case.
When I apply this part of the said invention to a buffer wherein the plunger is

page_text: made with an adjustable collar as herein described, I insert the india-rubber or
other spring n between the adjustable collar a and the bushing c as shewn in
Figure 30 and I usually place a metal washer o between the bushing and the
said spring, as shewn in Figure 31. When no bushing is employed I arrange the
spring n between the collar and the thickened end of the box or case. The india-
rubber spring is shewn with a confining ring p of metal, but this ring, may be
dispensed with, if desired.
It is obvious that the present improvenients may be applied, where practicable,
to other kinds of railway buffers, such, for example, as those described in the
specifications of former Letters Patent No 4310 of 1875, N° 3113 of 1879, Nº 1975
of 1880, and N° 4690 of 1881.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
Foreign Correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it
understood that I Claim -
First. In or for a railway buffer, the construction of the plunger and its collar
in such a manner that the said collar can be adjusted and fixed on the plunger to
retain the same in the box or case and can be readily removed to permit the
withdrawal of the plunger therefrom when desired, substantially as described with
reference to either of the forms or modifications shewn in Figures 1 to 28 of the
drawings.
Second. In a railway buffer provided with a fixed or adjustable and removable
collar substantially as above described, the employment of a spring or elastic body
arranged between the said collar and the bushing or the thickened end of the box
or case to check the recoil of the plunger.
In Witness whereof I the said Henry Harris Lake have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twenty-eighth day of November in the year of Our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.