US1307087A - A cobr - Google Patents

Description

i?, H. 60mm/M4. DRAW BAR SLACK ADjUS P. H. DONOVAN. DRAW BAR sLAcK ADJUSTER. APPucATmN'mm Moy. a. 191e.

Patented une 17, 1919.

mvEN'ron l nl Y ID euren sin s Parana onirica.

PAI'RICK H. DONOVAE, OFPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVAlN-IA, ASSIG- NQR Tt) THE WEST- ENGHOUSE AE BRAKE CMPANY, 01E WILMERDING, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- i rcnariou or rnnnsrnvama.

BEAJiT-AESLCK AUJ'USTER.

i Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 17, 1919.

Application led November 8, 1916. Serial No. 130,59. Y

To all lwwm t may concern Be it known that I, PATRICE; H. Donovan, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and ,State of Pennsylvania, have invented 'new and useful Improvements in Draw-Ban Slack Adjusters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus "stopping trains, and more particularly connection with the use of brakes on long trains. y I

With the usual brakes employed for stopping trains, such as the well known Huid pressure brake, a certain amount of time is required to transmit the braking action from the point of initiation at the head end Fig. i,

of the train* to the rear end and as a consequence, the brakes are applied at the front end o the trainlbefore any braking action takes place at the rear end.

There is always a certain amount of slack in the draw-bar and coupler at each car and thi" permits the unbraked cars at the rear of the train to run in on the braked tra ins.

--cars at the liead end of the train, thus causing damaging shocks particularly on long According to the principal `feature of my;

inventionit is therefore proposed to provide lmeans for taking up the slack when an application ot the brakes is to be made, so that g the train being substantially rigid, the train can be-'stopped 'as a unit, to a large extent, regardless of the fact that the brakes are applied at one part of the train before they are applied at another part.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a car brake and draw-bar equipment embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a similar diagrammatic View, showing a modified form of my invention; Fig. 3 an elevational view of an apparatus embodying my invention, which is adapted to be controlled manually; Fig. 4 a plan View of still another form of my invention; and Fig. 5 an elevationaiview thereof.

According to the. construction shown. in

` the drawings'l indicates a duid for pressure brake apparatus connected to the usual brake rigging 2. The usual car cow pier 3 1s lconnected-by a draw-bar 4 with a draft vgear 5-and` according to oneform of y my invention there is interposed between the end sill 6 of the car and the coupler 3 a pair of wedge blocks '7, adapted when forced in- 'wardly to take up the slack betweenthe couipler and thevend' sill.

The wedge blocks 7 maybe operated through leveis 8, pivot-cd to the sill 6 and connected to toggle-links 9. The toggle links 9 are connected together by a link 10 which" is operatively connected to a rod' l1 having a pivoted connection with the brake rigging 2. y

SpringslZ, applied to the end sill 6 and acting on `levers 8 may be employed to assist in the release movement of the parts and aspring 13, may be interposed inthe rod l1 to provide elasticity and prevent undue strainron the parts. l

ln operation, the parts being in release, as

shown in Fig. l, upon applying the brakes,-

tlie movement of the brake rigging exerts a pull on the rod ll which tends to straighten the toggle links 9 and thereby force the wedge blocks together, 'so as to take up any siack which may exist between the coupler 3 and the end sill 6.

Since the slack is thus taken up when the brakes are applied, the slack cannot run in by Vreason ci the fact that the brakes are applied at the head end of the trainbefore they are applied at the rear end and consequently damaging shocks are prevented.

In releasing. ihetogglelinks 9 return to release position :and the Wedge blocks 7, assisted by the springs 12, will be moved outwardly, vso that the usual slack will exist while the train is running and can be utilized to assist in starting the train, as heretofore.

Instead of operating the slack take-up device through the movement of the brake rigging, a separate operating cylinder may bc employed, such as the cylinder 14, shown in Fig. i of the drawings.

The piston rod l5 of said cylinder may be connected to floating lever 1G having a pivoted connection with the rods 11 extending to the slad( take-up devices at opposite ends of the 1l, so that the wedge blocks 7 are actuated` as in the case of the Fig. l construction.

According to another form ot my 1nven- `tion, as.sli.own in Fig. 3 of the drawings,

the slack may be taken up manually before the train is started, by providing pivoted levers 1S for operating the wedge blocks 7. The other ends of the levers 18 are connected i'o chains 19 having a common connecting link 20 to which is connected a chain 21 adapted to be wound on a drum carried by a horizontally arranged shaft 23. At opposite yends of the shaft 23 are secured hand wheels 2l and ratchet wheels 25 may be provided on said shaft having engaging pawls 26 for Alocking 'the shaft 23 in its adjusted position. A hand operated shaft 27 may be provided for lifting the pawls 26 when it is desired to release the wedge lblocks 7.

mln operation, before the train is started, one of the hand wheels 24 is operated to rotate the shaft 27 and wind up chain 21, so as toefi'ect the closing in of the levers 18 and the .inward movement of the .wedge blocks 7, suflieient slack being left to insure the ready starting of the train. if it is desired to release the Wedge blocks 7, the shaft'27 is operatedto lift the ratchet pawls 26 and thus permit the release movement o1" the parts, assisted by the release springs l2.

In Figs. fl and 5 of the drawings, is shown another construction, in which the slack is taken up by providing teeth 28 en a push ,rod 32 mounted below the draw-bar and a pawl 29 adapted to be actuated by means of .a bell crank 30 connected to the rod l1.

A downwardly extending lug 33 is pro vided on the vcoupler head 3 and a spring 34 acts on Jthe push rod 32 and tends to maintain saine in engagement with the lug In operation, when the train is running, the stretch or slack is followed up by the push rod 32 maintaining engagement With the coupler lug 33 through the action of spring and upon applying the brakes, the bell crank 30 being fulcrumed at 3l, the pull exerted on the rod ll when the brakes are applied, as hereinbefore described, causes the bell crank to throw thepawl 29 into engagement with one of theteeth 28 and thus lock the push rod 32, so that the coupler headlis held out and the train slack is prevented from running in.

Having noW described my invention, what I claim as ne\v.and desire to secure b Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a draw-bar and means for applying the brakes, of mechanism. operatively connected t0 said means and operating upon applying the brakes to take up draw-bar slack.

.2. The combination with a car coupler and the end sill of a car, of Wedge blocks and means operated upon applying the brakes for wedging said blocks between the coupler and the end sill to take up the drawbar slack.

3. The combination with a draw-bar, of a device for taking up the draw-bar slack and means operated by applying the brakes for actuating said device.

d@The combination `with a car coupler, of Loperating wedge blocks interposed between the coupler andthe end sill of the car and a lever` mechanismoperated upon applying the brakes for actuating said Wedge blocks to take up the draw-bar slack. In testimony whereof I hereunto set my iand.

PATRICK H. DONOVAN.

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