Year: 1886

page_text: I, GEORGE WASHINGTON MOON of 16, New Burlington Street, W. London,
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain and Ireland
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
I attach to the bottom or end, or to both bottom and end, of the carriage one or
more shafts with somewhat barbed points projecting beyond each end of the
carriage, the said barbs being made to slope at an angle of about 45 degrees, more
or less; the barb or barbs at the one end slope to the left; and the barb or barbs
at the other end slope to the right; and though the shafts are free to turn in their
sockets, the barbed points are kept at about the same angle by a spring or by a
weight attached to each, so that when two carriages thus fitted are brought together,
the force of their meeting causes the barbed ends of the shafts to strike against
each other; and under the pressure of that impact, they momentarily assume a
nearly vertical position till they have passed each other, when the springs or the
weights cause them to fall across each other, to their previous angle; or thereabouts,
and so the ends interlock and hold the carriages together.
For the purpose of unfastening the carriages from the sides, and thus doing away
with the necessity for the dangerous practice of men göing between the carriages,
whereby many lives are lost, I fix an arm, projecting upwards, to each shaft; and
a rod, or a chain, or other attachment, is fastened to the said arm, and by it the barb
at the end of the shaft is brought over about 90 degrees towards the side, so that
it is at the same slope as the corresponding one at the adjacent end of the next
carriage; and thus the carriages become unlocked. Or the rod or chain, or other
attachment may be fastened to the weight or weights underneath, and by that
means the barb may be brought over to the angle requisite to free the carriages
from each other.
Deted this twenty-ninth day of January One thousand eight hundred and

page_text: .
from the Sides.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON MOON, of No. 16 New Burlington Street in the Parish of
Saint James, Westminster in the County of Middlesex, honorary Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain and Ireland 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:-
I attach to the bottom of a carriage one or more shafts each having a hooked end
projecting beyond the end of the carriage, the said hook or hooks being made to
slope to the left at one end of the carriage, and a similar hook or hooks being made
to slope to the right at the other end of the carriage; and though the shafts are
free to turn in their sockets, each hooked end respectively is, when at rest, kept in
its position beneath the level of the bottom of the carriage by a spring or by a
weight attached to the shaft connected with it, or by both combined, so that when
two carriages thus fitted are brought together, the force of their meeting causes the
projecting hooked ends of the shafts to strike against each other, and, under the
pressure of that impact, the shafts turn in their sockets, and the hooked ends, which
although when at rest slope in opposite directions, momentarily assume a position
nearly coincident, with each other till they have passed each other, when the springs
or the weights or both combined cause the hooked, ends to fall across each other to
about their previous angles, and so the ends interlock and hold the carriages
together. The hooks may have their ends or points sloping either upwards or
downwards, the action is the same; I therefore make them either way, but prefer
the latter. The hooks may have curved or notched or straight faces. I prefer
the last.
For the purpose of unfastening the carriages from the sides, and so altogether
doing away with the necessity for the dangerous practice of men going between
the carriages, whereby many lives are lost, I fix to each shaft, or to the spring or
weight or other appliance attached to each shaft, a chain or rod or other device by
means of which the shaft is turned in its socket, and the hooked end of the shaft
assumes the same slope or nearly the same slope as the corresponding one at the
adjacent end of the next carriage; and thus the carriages become unlocked.
The following letters, corresponding to those on the accompanying drawings,
indicate the different parts of the invention.
A. The revolving shaft with hooked end.
A 1. The position occupied by A when under pressure.
B. End of shaft A, but with notched face.
C. End of shaft A, but with curved face.
D. The weight, side view.
D 1. The weight, front view.

page_text: F. Stop to prevent shaft turning too far
G. Spring to keep F against H.
H. Front beam of carriage.
I.
Tunnel containing springs.
J. Drawing spring.
K. Nut to keep springs in their places.
L. Percussion spring.
M. Top of Tunnel I with bolts holding it to bottom beam of carriage.
N. Front end of Tunnel L.
O. Side view of carriage end.
.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1st. My improved carriage coupling, consisting of a pair of shafts to revolve in
sockets, and each shaft to have a hooked end with a curved, or a notched, or a
straight inner face, substantially as described and as shown in the accompanying
drawings.
2nd. The arrangement of weights and springs for keeping the said couplings in
their sloping position beneath the level of the bottom of the carriages, substan-
tially as described and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
دمو
1
1000