US1238375A

US1238375A - Air-brake attachment.

Info

Publication number: US1238375A
Application number: US5194715A
Authority: US
Inventors: Abbott L Wright
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1915-09-22
Filing date: 1915-09-22
Publication date: 1917-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 1934-08-28

Description

A. L. WRIGHT.

MR BRAKE ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION man sEPT.22. 1915.

1,238,375; PatentedAug. 28,1917.

T T 25\ T 1 T V H 765 n-mmn ur 76 ABBOTT L. WRIGHT, OF CHICAGO ILLIN'OIS.

AIR-BRAKE AT'IAGHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11 28, 1917.

Application filed September 22, 1915 Serial No. 51,947.,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ABBOTT L. \VRIGHT, a citizen of the United States,- residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State-of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Brake Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

IVIy invention relates to an attachment for use in connection with an air-brake system, and refers particularly to a readily portable device which may be connected with the airbrake system of one or more cars when desired.

My invention is particularly useful for the gravity switching of freight, cars, although it may be advantageously employed in any circumstances in which it is desired to operate the, air-brakesystem of one or more cars when a locomotive carryingthe usual air-pump and main reservoir isnot connected with such cars.

It is the object of my invention, to provide means by which the air-brakesystem of a car or a series of connected cars isolated from a locomotive may be readilyv operated so that the cars may at all times be under the superior control which is afforded by air-brakes in distinction to hand-operated brakes.

One of the greatest advantages of my invention is in connection withthe gravity switching of freight cars. According to the practice which has heretofore been employed, when a car has been sent over the hump of the gravity switch abrakeman stationed on top of the car has controlled the brake system of the. latter solely by means of the hand-operated mechanism connected with the brakes. This entails great labor on the part of the brakeman and the control has been very imperfect resulting in many cases in violent collisions between cars and consequent danger to the brakeman. In cold weather when the cars have been covered with ice these conditions have been aggravated to such an extent that it has beenimpossible to operatethe gravity system of switching.

By the provisions of my. invention compressed air may be suppliedto the train pipe of the car-from areadily portable device, which consists, in brief, of a h ghpressure reservoir which serves to charge a lowpressure reservoir, which, in turn, may be brought into communicationwith the train pipe upon suitable operation of a brakevalve. In this way the ear is at all times under the perfect and easy control of the brakeman, who isnot obliged to encounter the great risks attendant upon' hand-brak- 1ng, and by means of which violent collisions betweencarawith consequent damage to the carsand their contents, are avoided.

I These and other advantages of my inventlon will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of my invention, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved air-brake attachment;

Fig. 2 is a. side elevation and partial sectional view ofthe attachment shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. Bis an. end elevation of a freight car, showing my attachment as applied thereto.

The high-pressure reservoir 10 is provided at its end with the automatically acting valve -11.through which the reservoir may becharged with air to any convenient pressure, as, for example, three to four hundred pounds; Extending from the opposite-end of the high-pressure reservoir 10 is the pipe 12, which communicates with the low-pressure reservoirtl8, a pressure-reducing valve 14: being located in the pipe 12. The pressure-reducing; valve His set to admit air to the low-pressure reservoir I3 only up to azpredetermined maximum, this maximum ordinarily being approximately seventy pounds. Thehanger rod 15 is attached to the high-pressure reservoir 10 and the lowpressure reservoir 13 by means of the straps 16 so that these reservoirs are firmly attached to each other. The lower end of the hanger rod 15 is preferably bent around the lower; edge of the low-pressure reservoir 13, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and its upper "end is provided with the hookl'? by means of whichthe air-brake attachment may be supported from one, of the rungs 18 of the usual ladder 19 located at the end of a car 20.;

The pipe 21 leads from the low-pressure reservoir13 to the brake-valve 22 controlled by. the brake-handle 23. In pipe 21 is placed the safety-valve 24, which is set to allow air to escape when the pressure within the lowpressure reservoir 13 exceeds the predetermined maximum, and thus acts as a safety device if thereducing-valve 14 should fail to operate. The pipe 25 leads from the 25 to the duplex pressure gage.

brake-valve 22 to the elbow member 26, which is preferably provided with a thread ed end 27 by which it is attached to the boss 28 on the lower end of the low-pressure reservoir 13. The flexible pipe 29, of rubber or the like, leads to the coupling member 30, which may be readily attached to the coupling member 31 carried by the airbrake hose of the car 20, this air-brake hose'32 being in direct communication with the train pipe, of well-known construction.

A pipe 33 leads from the highpressure reservoir 10 to the duplex pressure gage 34, and the pipe 35 also leads from the pipe The gage 34 has a pair of indicating

hands

36 and 37, one of which, as, for example, 36, indicates the pressure within the pipe 33, and thus within the high-pressure reservoir 10, and the other of which, as, for example, 37, indicates the pressure within the pipe 35, and thus within the pipe 25 and the train pipe with which the pipe 25 is connected.

The

pipes

21 and 25 are preferably provided with the

valves

38 and 39, respectively, which may be closed when my airbrake attachment is not in use in order to prevent leakage it the brake-valve 22 should be accidentally moved.

The brake-valve 22 may be operated by means of its handle 23 in order to assume three significant positions, which will be designated as A, B and C, respectively. In position A the brake-valve establishes communication between the

pipes

21 and 25. In position B communication between

pipes

21 and 25 is interrupted, but communication between pipe 25 and the atmosphere is established through the aperture $0. In position C communication between

pipes

21 and 25 and between either of these pipes and the atmosphere is interrupted. The latter position is what is ordinarily known as the lap position.

Having thus described the various parts used in connection with my invention, the operation of the same may readily be understood: hen it is desired to operate one car or a series of connected cars, the attachment is hung on one of the cars, as, for example, by applying the hook 17 to one of the rungs 18 of the ladder 19, as indicated in Fig. 3. The

couplings

30 and 31 are connected, and communication is thereby established from the pipe 25 to the train pipe, which, of course, is closed at the opposite end of the car or series of connected cars. The indicating hand 37 of the duplex pressure gage 34 will indicate the pressure of air in the train pipe, and if this pressure is too low the brake-valve is moved to position A, whereupon air flows from lowpressure reservoir 13 through

pipes

21, 25 and 29 to the train pipe, thereby increasing the pressure within the latter to the desired amount, and thus causing the auxiliary reservoir on the car to be charged and releasing the brakes.

WVhen it is desired to make an application of the brakes, the brake-valve is moved to position B, whereby air flows from the train pipe through

pipes

29 and 25 and aperture 10 to the atmosphere, thus reducing the pressure in the train pipe and causing the triple-valve to operate to cause air to flow from the auxiliary reservoir to the brake cylinder to apply the brakes. 1 prefer to have the aperture 40 in the brakevalve comparatively small in order to avo d too sudden application of the brakes which might result from operation of my attachment by a comparatively unskilled brakeman. When it is desired to hold the brakes in the position. to which they have been moved, the brake-valve is held in position C, which, as previously explained, is the lap or neutral position.

When air is allowed to flow from the low-pressure cylinder 13 to the train pipe, as just described, the pressure in this reservoir is maintained by the flow of air from the high-pressure cylinder 10 to the lowpressure cylinder 13 through the pipe 12 and reducing-valve 1 1. When the pressure within the high-pressure cylinder 10 has been reduced so that it approaches the normal pressure within the low-pressure reservoir 13, the high-pressure reservoir 10 is recharged from a suitable source of compressed air.

It will be apparent that by means of my invention the air'brake system of one or more cars may be quickly and easily controlled, and that many changes could be made in the detailed construction of the various parts which I have described without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim'is:

1. An air-brake attachment, comprising a unitary structure consisting of a reservoir adapted to contain air under pressure, means for removably supporting said reservoir on a car, means carried by said reservoir for connecting said reservoir with a train pipe, andv a brake-valve in said connecting means.

2. An air-brake attachment, comprising the combination of a high-pressure reservoir, a low-pressure reservoir communicating with said high-pressure reservoir, means for mechanically supporting said low-pressure reservoir on said high-pressure reservoir, means for connecting said low-pressure reservoir with a train pipe, a brakevalve in said connecting means, and means for removably supporting said attachment on a car.

3. An air-brake attachment, comprising the combination of a high-pressure reservoir, a low-pressure reservoir communicat ing with said high-pressure reservoir, a reducing-valve between said high and lowpressure reservoirs, means for connecting said low-pressure reservoir with a train pipe, and a hook for removably suspending said attachment on a car.

i. In an air-brake attachment, a unitary structure comprising the combination with a high-pressure reservoir, of a low-pressure reservoir communicating with said high-pressure reservoir, means for mechanically supporting said low-pressure reservoir on said high-pressure reservoir, a pressureredueing valve between said high-pressure and low-pressure reservoirs, a brake-valve, means connecting said low-pressure reservoir with said brake-valve, means for connecting said brake-valve with a train pipe, a safety valve in the means connecting said low-pressi'n'e reservoir and said brake-valve, a duplex pressure gage, means connecting said pressure gage with said high-pressure reservoir, means connecting said pressure gage with the means for connecting said brake-valve with the train pipe, and means for removably supporting said attachment on a car.

5. An air-brake attachment, comprising the combination of a high-pressure reservoir, a low-pressure reservoir communicating with said high-pressure reservoir, a brake-valve, means connecting said brakevalve with said low-pressure reservoir, an elbow carried by one of said reservoirs, means connecting said brake-valve with said elbow, and a flexible pipe carried by said elbow and adapted to be connected with a train pipe,

6. An air-brake attachment, comprising a unitary structure consisting of a reservoir adapted to contain air under pressure, means carried by said reservoir for connecting the same with a train pipe, a brake valve in said connecting means, and a hook for removablv suspending said attachment on a car.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this th day of September, A. D., 1915.

ABBOTT L. WVRIGHT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.