US123718A - Improvement in railway-car brakes - Google Patents

Description

I 2Sheets--Sheet1. G. H. MERRIAM.

Railroad Car Brakes.

N0. 123,718. Patented Feb. 13, 1872.,

W a ll LITI lnaezztor. i. m M

2 Sheets- -Sheet2.

G. H. MERRIAM.

Railroad Car Brakes. No. 123,7i8 Patented Feb.13,1872.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. MERRIAM, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALFHIS RIGHT TO ABNER O. SHAW, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN RA ILWAY CAR BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,718, dated February 13, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. MERRIAM,

of Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented an Improved Gar-Brake; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a-p1an,showing the under side of a car with the improved brake. Fig. 2 is side elevation, and Figs. 3 and 4 are end elevations, one representing-the brake as operated by a screw-rod and the other as operated by a lever.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing indicate the same parts.

i The object of this invention is to improve the means for operating railroad-car brakes; and to this end the invention consists, first, in a simple and practical device for drawing the brakes against the wheels of a single truck; secondly, in an improved means for connecting together thebrakes belonging to the different trucks on the same car; and thirdly, in an improved device for connecting the brakes attached to the difi'erent cars so that a person stationed on any car can apply all the brakes throughout the train, or they can be applied bythe engineer, either by steam or hand power.

In the drawing, A A are the wheels; B B, the brake-beams; b b, the brake-heads O, the body of the car and D D, the trucks. All these parts may, if preferred, be constructed in the old way, or they may be modified to adapt them to any improvements upon the old style of construction. The brakes, it will be observed, are so arranged that each pair, applied to a single truck, incloses the wheels of the truck between them, so that as the brakes are drawn together they act upon the wheels, and when allowed to drop back to a vertical position they cease to act. The two brakebeams attached to a truck are connected by longitudinalrods or chains E E, attached by means of adjustable screw-bolts or staples and nuts 0 to adapt them to be tightened up as the brake-heads wear away. When chains are employed to connect the brake-bars they are provided with an eye or made in two parts,

connected by a ring, 0', at the center. From this ring a chain, f, passes over a groove-pullcy or sheave, m, at or near the center of the truck and thence up to a grooved pulley, n, securely fastened upon a stout iron bar, N, which extends the whole length of the car, projecting slightly beyond either end, as shown in the drawing. All the chains f f are attached to the pulleys n in such a manner as to wind up or unwind simultaneously by the turning of the bar N in its bearings, and they are so arranged up on the pulleys m m that when Wound up they draw both rods E E inward at their middle, thus causing them to draw upon the brake-beam and apply thebrakes to the wheels. The force whichis thus applied laterally to the rods E is, of course, multiplied many times before it is applied at the brake-heads, the whole apparatus operating somewhat on the principle of a toggle-joint lever. It will be particularly observed, however, that although an immense force is thus applied to the brakesin fact suflicient to stop the wheels and slide them on the track unless care is taken to prevent ityet there is perhaps less danger of fracturing the brakebeams than in any other apparatus for the purpose now in use, for the reason that the draft upon the beams is not applied at their center, where they will break easily, but is divided in two and applied close to the brake-head at each end, where it is almost impossible to fracture the beams by the application of any draught, however, great. The details of construction may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from theproperlimits of the invention. The sheaves or pulleys m may be supported in any proper manner, but preferably I construct frames 0, of cast or wrought-iron, to hold them, said frames being bolted to the bed-logs through flanges 0 0, which embrace one or more faces of the bed-logs. The two frames necessary to a single truck may be cast in a single piece if preferred, the lateral fiangesbeing connected together so as to extend entirely across the under side of the bed-logs, and being bolted thereto in any suitable manner. The part 0 may be grooved, in order to guide chains f f and prevent them-from working out of place. The bar N is made of iron one and a half inches in diameter, so as to stand any torsional strain upon it, and is supported in suitable hangers, staples, brackets, orbcarin gs attached to the bottom of the car. At its ends it'is enlarged and an open slot made in it to accommodate a slotted link, L, which is secured therein by a pin, as. shown in Fig. 1. This arrangement connects the bars E attached to the several cars in such a manner that whenever one of said bars is turned in its bearings it communicates the same motion to all the others throughout the train, and thereby applies or releases all the brakes simultaneously. At the same time the slot in the link allows the ends of the bars to approach or recede from each other as the cars change position. So, too, the link itself, working freely in the slotted ends of the bars, forms a flexible, although not a universal joint, which allows them to accommodate themselves to the joltin g and swaying of thecars on a rough road. They should properly be arranged so that this joint will allow a lateral movement, and the vertical movements of the cars should be provided for by hanging the ends of the bars in flexible or elastic bearings, which will allow the extrem ities of the rods to rise and fall afew inches. For the purpose of winding up or unwinding the chains that apply the brakes almost any kind of apparatus may be employed to rock the bar or shaft E in its bearings. For example, a portion of the shaft may be squared 011' and a lever fitted upon it at the; end of the car; or a ratchet-wheel may be fitted upon the shaft and a ratchet-lever and pawl employed to turn and hold it or a cog-wheel may be fitted upon the shaft and a cog-wheel or worm-screw fitted upon the lower end of the brake-handle to turn it; or any other suitable means may be employed for the purpose. While this apparatus operates upon the principle of a toggle-joint lever,'bein g simply the lever reversed, so as to draw inward instead of pushing outward with its arms, yet the change from an outward thrust to an inward draft obviates grave diificulties, which attend the use of thetoggl'ejoint as heretofore employedfor'the purpose. The rods E E can be nearly doubled in length and thereby their power proportionately increased, while their diameter can be reduced to seven-eighths. of an inch. The apparatus is as simple as it is possible to-construct. The Y draught. upon the chains and rods E is direct,

so that their whole tensile strength is utilized the power is practically unlimited; the apparatus is adapted to all kinds of cars, trucks, platforms, and couplings, being capable of easy modification to suit the Miller platform and other novel styles of construction; and lastly, its cost is only about one-half the cost of the brakes now in general use, so that an immense saving in cost of original construction would be efl'ected, and this saving; wouldiberincreased from year to year by at least the cost of the five brake-beams which, on an average, are annually broken or. injured: upon each can so as to have to be renewed.

Having thus fully described: my invention, what I claim as new, and desiretosecureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination; of the shaft N, arranged above the trucks,.with the pulleysm nand chains f f, arranged as described,tc bring the line of draught horizontal. with the brakehead, and the jointed rods or chains-Eettached by an adjustable connection to the brake-bars, substantially as described, for the purposes specified. 7

2. The combination v of the difierent' sections of the rocking-shaft N,adapted tobe usedfor the purpose described, with the removable slotted links or plates L, applied. in: the manner and for the purposes specified;

GEO. H. MERRIAM.

Witnesses:

0. F. BRQWN, L. HILL.

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