US452910A - Lius wustbnhopee - Google Patents

Description

'(No Model.)

F. H. J. W'USTENHUPER.

GAR BUFFER.

No. 452,910. Patnted May 26, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANZ HEINRICH JULIUS WIISTENHOFER, OF ARNSBERG, GERMANY.

CAR-BUFFER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,910, dated May 26, 1891.

Application filed February 16, 1891. Serial No. 381,653. (No model.) Patented in France December 15, 1890, No. 197,025, and in Germany December 28,1890,No.7,054.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANZ HEINRICH J U- LIUS Wiis'rENHoFER, a subject of His Majesty the Emperor of Germany, and residing at Arn sberg, in the Province of Vestphalia, Germany, have invented certain new and useful improvements for preventing or reducing the damaging effects of two railway-trains running against or into each other, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Germany, No. 7,054, provisional, final number not yet out, dated December 23, 1890, and in France, No. 197,025, dated December 15, 1890,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to such improvements in railway-cars which will prevent the dangerous effects caused by two trains which, by accident, are on the same line and run into each other, and it is based on the principle of consuming and checking the force of the shock of the two trains meeting at a greater or less speed by transforming this force into useful or at any rate positive work, which has to be done before the rolling material can be injured. I use for the purpose iron or steel plates, which are arranged in a sort of a slotting or punching machine in such a manner that they are punched through successively in consequence of the shock. The framework of the carriage forms the main machine-frame, the carriage itself being, so to speak, the workshop where the machine-tool is set to work, the buffer-bar, forming the gearing, transmitting the power to the punching-tool. The machine-tool remaining m aterially the same, the manner of transmitting the power will have to be accommodated to the carriage to which the apparatus will have to be fitted. Thus a passenger-carriage of the American system, with end doors, will require a somewhat different arrangement of the gear from the buffer-bar to the punching tool than that of a car of the European system, with separate compartments and side doors for each compartment; and a goods or luggage car may require, again, a somewhat different design than a passenger-car of either construction. I attain the objectdesired by means of the mechanisms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my shock-reducer in normal condition. Fig. 2 is ing taken place. Fig. 3 is a cross-section along line II of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross-section along line II II of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 shows the punch and matrix box by itself. Fig. 0 is a detailed sectional view in an enlarged scale showing the arrangement of the plates, matrices, and the punch in the apparatus. Figs. 7 and 8 are two drawings on a reduced scale, the first one showing the apparatus in position after a shock has occurred, the other one showing it turned out of its normal place.

Similar throughout the several views.

Behind the cross-beam A of the carriageframe, directly behind it, as shown in the figure, or at some distance from it, as may be found most convenient according to the construction and system of the carriage, I fix a guide-block B. Closely fitting to it and centrally to it is placed the punch and matrix box, forming a sort of a casing, composed of two pieces G and D, which are jointed together by bolts and ears, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8. The back part D is suspended or mounted on a round bar E, running across the car and being supported thereon by brackets underneath the frame-work A, the eyes or hinges F of the punch-box allowing it to be turned on the bar E, as is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and shown by Fig. 7. For this reason the front side of the box is shaped in form of a circle, having its center in the center of the eye F. The part Obeing that piece which contains the punch-tool G, it is only bored to that width, so as to take in the punch and guide it freely. The piece D, which contains the matrices H and the punching-plates II, is of course bored wide enough to be able to receive these pieces. Its bottom is left open only wide enough to allow the counter matrix L to enter into the box so far as to reach the inner bottom line of the box or the last punching-plate, respectively. The

letters refer to similar parts.

a similar View after a supposed collision havgitudinal frame A of the carriage.

counter matrix L is fitted into a separate piece M, forming the counterpart of the ap paratus, and which is firmly fixed to the lon- The matrices H form rings of hardened steel of a slightly-conical shape, so as to give always a sharp edge at the top side, as best seen from Fig. 6. The counterpart M is bored out to the same width as the matrices, in order to take up the punched-out pieces and also the spiral spring N and a piston O. This has for its object to push back in its normal position again the punch G after it has been thrust inward, and cut the plates in consequence of a collision. The punch therefore can be provided with a thin projecting part B, and the plates are then cut out so that this part B can pass through the plates, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2. Now the punch G itself is actuated upon and set in motion by action of the buffer-bar S, either direct or by the use of some intermediate mechanism. The buffer-bar S, which in the buffer-box T bears against the buffer spring, is prolongated at the back side and projects through the girder A, and its direct or indirect prolongation S reaches into the guide-block B so far as to meet the face of the punch G when the buffer-spring has been compressed nearly completely, so that a further advance can only take place by cutting or punching through the plates K, as shown in Fig. 2; and it will now be clearly understood that when two cars run against each other with such a force that the shock will compress the buffersprings beyond the maximum of ordinary use (such amaximum compression being provided for the shocks occurring in railway-stations and when carriages are ranged) this can only be done after the plates K have been successively punched througlnwhich of course requires a considerable amount of power, and as there are four buffers to each carriage, and each one may be made to act upon a punch and matrix box containing, say, six plates, twentyfour plates have to be punched through in each carriage before other parts of it can be injured, and thus the power of the shock will be most likely so much reduced that no further serious damage can be done, even if the whole force were not consumed by the punching work.

In order to be able to set the punch and matrix box conveniently out of gear for the time when a carriage is not in actual use or is only ranged aboutin a goods-station, for instance-and to prevent unnecessary wear and tear of the punch and the matrices and waste of punching-plates, I mount it under the carriage in such a manner that it can be turned out of reach of the bar S. (See Fig. 8.) In the figures shown this is done by providing the apparatus at one side with eyes F. These are keyed upon a round bar E, running across the bottom of the carriage, so that it can serve for two boxes at opposite sides of the same. To the bar E, which is carried in suitable brackets fixed against the frame of the carriage, is fixed alever U, with a sort of a latch and handleVfixed to it, similar to the starting-lever and reversing-gear of locomotives. The prolongation of the eye F forms a small bracket serving as fulcrum for a lever WV, connected to the latch V at its outer end, and with this lever is connected, by being put on the same pin with it, a lever X, which takes hold of a bolt Y. The belt Y can he made to enter into a recess Z in the block B, thus locking the apparatus fast in its normal position or undoing it when withdrawn from the piece'B by the action of the latch and handle V. A reserve latch Z may be arranged at the top side of the punch-box, which falls into the recess at the bottom of the piece B and prevents the box 0 D falling farther down, when this is not desired, but keeps it in the position shownin dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 7.

Recapitulating shortly the main points of my invention and the manner of its working, it is this: When two trains run against each other, the buffer-springs are first compressed. As usually, the buffer-bars are pressed back into the buffer-box. In my case these bars project beyond the cross-beam to which the buffer-boxes are fixed, and their projection, either direct or by the intervention of some suitable intermediate mechanism, as may be required by the system of carriage to which the apparatus is to applied, can be brought in contact with a punching apparatus of peculiar design, when, in consequence of the great force exerted by the shock, the buffersprings are further compressed, and now the buffer-bar or its connecting-piece presses upon the punch, and this punches through in succession several steel or iron plates-fixed alternately between matrices in a specially-arranged machine-tool, the punch and matrix box secured in suitable manner to the carriage-frame behind each bufier. The force of the shock therefore, which otherwise destroys the material of the carriage, is now consumed by the punching work, and as it is done gradually and successively, so to say, by summing up by degrees the work to be overcome by all the buffers of the whole train, the damaging effects of the shock will be avoided.

Having now particularly described the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, What Iclaim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In railway-cars, the arrangement of the punch and matrix box 0 D behind the bufiers, containing a punching-tool G, punching-plates K, and matrices H.

2. The combination of the box 0 D, containing the tool G, plates K, and matrices H, with the counterpart M, holding the counter matrix L, andwith or without the spring N and piston O.

3. The box 0 D on hinges or eyes F and a bar E for putting it out of its normal position and securing it therein by means of a lever U, latch V, levers W and X, and a bolt Y, in combination with a bolt Z and a 5 block B.

4:. In combination with the counterpart M, holding the counter matrix L, and with the box 0 D, containing the matrices H, the

plates K, and the punch G, the prolongated buffer-bar S S forcing the punch G either IO direct or by the intervention of any suitable intermediate mechanism into the box C D.

FRANZ HEINRICH JULIUS WUSTENHUFER.

Witnesses:

ALVESTO S. HoeUE, J EAN GRUND.

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