Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM MALIN ROSCOE, of Broad Plain Soap Works, in the City and County
of Bristol, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
-
The object of this invention is to provide automatic means for coupling up
railway vehicles, and means for uncoupling, from the side of the vehicle, when
desired.
The invention may be applied to either coupling hooks or to the links, and
the means for uncoupling may be adapted to raise the hooks out of the links, or
the links off the hooks.
In carrying out my invention, I provide hooks with inclined planes, to ride
up the sides of the links, when the vehicles are brought together, and drop into the
links. For this purpose, the hooks are pivotted to the frame of the vehicle, or it
may be the links, as before mentioned."
The links (or it may be the hooks) are rigidly attached to the draw-bars, and
when the vehicles are brought together, the links will be side by side.
To uncouple, I provide a shaft transversely of the vehicle, on which I secure,
in any convenient manner, lifting arms, one, a short one, to lift the hook of its
own vehicle, and the other a long one, to lift the hook of the adjacent vehicle
(or it may be the links, as above named) the shaft being rocked by a crank and
handle, or in any other convenient manner.
By these means, I obtain a double coupling, which adds security to the coup-
ling arrangement.
D1 10012
1000
Improvements in Automatic Couplings for Railway Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM MALIN ROSCOE, of Broad Plain Soap Works, in the City and County
of Bristol, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to provide means for automatically coupling up
railway vehicles, and for uncoupling, from the side of the vehicle, when required.
The invention may be applied either to the coupling hooks or to the links, and
CD R71

page_text: the means for uncoupling may be adapted to raise the books out of the links,
or the links off the hooks.
In carrying out my invention, I provide the hooks, which are to drop into the
links, with inclined planes on their front edges, to ride up the ends of the links,
when the vehicles are brought together, and before they drop into the links. To
permit of this, the hooks are pivotted to the vehicle, or it may be the links, as
before mentioned.
•
The links (or it may be the hooks or both) are attached to the draw-bars in
any convenient manner.
To uncouple, I provide a shaft transversely of the vehicle, on which I secure, in
any convenient manner, lifting cams, one acting to lift the hook of its own
vehicle, and the other to lift the hook of the adjacent vehicle (or it may be the
links, as above named), the shaft being rocked by any convenient means.
I obtain a double coupling, which adds security to the coupling
By these means,
arrangement.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a plan view, shewing the ends of two under-frames of a railway
vehicle, with my improved coupling and uncoupling arrangement adapted thereto.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 1-2 of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 3 is an end view of the under-frame with appliance.
W represents the under-frame of a vehicle, X the spring buffers, Y the usual
draw-bar and buffers spring, and Z the ordinary draw-hook, with the usual three
links of chain, for use in case of need, and which is conveniently connected to
the draw-bar.
The automatic coupling arrangement consists of a hook A, of the shape shown
in Fig. 2, with an inclined plane on its front edge, which may be conveniently
secured to the frame of the vehicle by being pivotted to a bar or rod A¹ sliding
through the frame W. This bar or rod A¹ may with advantage be pivotted to
one end of a cross bar H¹, pivotted at the centre of its length to a draw-bar H,
behind the spring Y, but the methods indicated of connecting the hook to the
carriage or draw-bar may be varied without departing from the nature of my
invention.
The hook A is formed with a tail piece A*, which projects downwards from the
pivot a suitable distance, for a purpose to be presently explained.
B is a link of a form somewhat like a staple, as shown at Fig. 1, the legs of
the staple projecting through the frame W, and sliding therein. These legs are
attached to a cross bar B', which is connected by a link B* with the other arm
of the cross-bar H¹ of the draw-bar H.
The connection of the link to the carriage in the manner above indicated is
one which, in practice, I have found most advantageous, but it will be of course
understood that the precise method of connecting the link to the vehicle may be
varied, without departing from the nature of my invention.
When two vehicles come together, the hook A of each will, on its inclined
face, strike the end of the link B of the other vehicle, ride up it, and catch into
the link, thereby effecting a double coupling.
To uncouple, I provide a plate C, which I pivot to the frame W, preferably
between the legs of the link B. This plate C has a tail piece C¹, which projects
downwards from the pivot, for a purpose to be presently explained.
Below the frame W, I provide, transversely of the vehicle, a shaft D, which
is carried in suitable bearings D¹ from the frame.
This shaft has, at each end, a wheel or crank E, by which it may be turned
in its bearings, as required.
Upon this shaft I key two excentrics or cams F, one of which is opposite the
tail piece A of the hook A, and the other opposite the tail piece C¹ of the plate C.
As the shaft is rotated, the cams F will be caused to bear against the respective
tail-pieces A and C, and force them outwards, the effect of which will be, in
one case, to raise the hook A of its own vehicle out of the link B of the other

page_text: vehicle, and, in the other case, to raise the plate C of its own vehicle, which will
push up the hook of the other vehicle clear of its link B, and thus the two vehicles
will be uncoupled.
The weight of the parts will cause them to return to the coupling position.
In order, however, to keep the parts in the uncoupling position, as is sometimes
necessary, I may form the shaft D with a square portion G, which, by laterally
sliding or shifting the shaft D in its bearings D', will be caused to engage in a
correspondingly shaped socket formed in one side of one of the bearings D. Thus,
the cams will be retained in the position to support the respective parts out of
engagement.
It is obvious, of course, that many other devices may be used to retain the
shaft and cams in the uncoupled position.
In the above description, the hooks are referred to and shown as pivotted, and
moveable vertically, which is perhaps the best arrangement, but it will be obvious
that the links may be made to move, the hooks being rigid, if desired, the parts
being the same practically, though modified slightly to suit the altered circum-
stances.
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―
1. The means as herein shown and described for automatically coupling up
railway vehicles, and for uncoupling from the side of the vehicle, as set forth.
2. In automatic couplings for railway vehicles, the combination of pivotted or
rigid hooks and rigid or pivotted links, with pivotted plates or arms adapted to be
operated by a cam or canis on a transverse rocking shaft, to throw the hook or the
link of the adjacent vehicle out of engagement, as herein shown and described.
Dated this 28th day of May 1900.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.