US1459650A - Hand brake for railway cars - Google Patents

Description

June' E9, H923. w@

R. W. BURNETT HAND BRAKE E OR RAILWAY CARS Filed July 2l. 1919 5 Sheets-Shree?, l

Q 'g1 @a A k N g Ss Ig (Y) N;

L //n\\ I l@ lllll HHM? q, 2% m Q willi/111111114111114.VQ

`Fume 19, 1923. v 1,459,650

R. w. BURNETT HAND BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed July 21 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet, 2

June 19, 1923.

R. w. BURNETT HAND BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed July 2l 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented `lune 19, 1923.

UNTTF@ STATES RICHARD WEBB'B'UJRNETT, .0F CHICAG, ILJLNIS.

naam enana ron RAILWAY cans.

Application filed `l'uly 21J To Illu-710m it may concern.'

Bc it known that l, RICHARD Trim BUR- Nn'l'r, a citizen of the United States. residing at Chicago, in the count)7 of Cook and State oflllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hand Brakes for Railway Cars, of which the tollowing is a full, clear, concise. and exact description. reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part ot this specific-ation.

This invention relates to improvements in hand brakes for railway cars.

As is wcll known, the general practice in the art of hand brakes for railway cars is to employ a vertical brake stati with a'hand wheel at the top thereof and a ratchetwheel and locking dog. the latter heilig operated by thc brakemans foot while standing on the platform. Due to the heavier cars, heavier loading. and increased speed in handling of freight cars. thc old form of handv brake is proving inadequate for the reason that it is diflicult for the brakeman to obtain a suiiicient leverage in applying the brakes, to stop the cars quickly enough While spotting them in the yards.

Numerous attempts have, of course, been made to overcome this diiiicultyl and to abtain greater leverage ratio. in applying the brakes. `While increased leverage ratio vhas been obtained by some ol the later forms ot hand brakes, the same has generally been done .at the expense of speed in operation and particularly with respect to the taklng up ot the usual slack in the brake chains before the brakes are actually applied. Some of the later forms ot' brakes-for railway cars have involved the use of gearing so arranged that the slack of the chain is taken up at high s eed with a low leverage ratio and therea ter, either automaticallyor by the brakeman manipulating a shitting devlce, the brake is applied at a. slower speed but higher leverage ratio. 'The` later constructions are subject to criticism on the ground that the change `from the high speed low levorage ratio to the slow speed high leverage ratio is accomplished suddenly and oftentimes at a point in the application of the brake where the high leverage ratio application is not obtained quickly enough or occurs at too late a time in the setting of the brakes.

The object of my invention is to provide a -h igh speed low 1919. Seri-a1 No. 312,173.

hand'brake for'railway cars wherein the power applied by the brakeman'is gradually and automatically changed from an initial leverage ratio application of the -power to a higher leverage ratio application of the power at slower speed so as to thereby obtain the maximum speed in applying the brake with greatest efiiciency in the application thereof throughout the entire operation.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and inthe novel combination of the parts and devices herein shown, described and made the subject matter of the claims.

nthe drawings forming apart of this specification, Figure 1 is a broken end elevational view of a box car showing my improvements in connectiontherewith. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 2 2 ota Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionalview taken substan- 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional View corresponding substantially to the section line 4-4 of Fig. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating another embodiment ot my invention. Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view -taken substantially on the line 6-6 or" Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a View similar to Figs. 1 and 5 llustrating a still further embodiment of vthe invention. And Fig. 9 is a side elevational View, upon an enlarged scale of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 8.

Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 8.

fer-ring first to the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, 10 denotes the end wall of a box car, 11 the roof thereof and l2 the usual platform for the brakemans use when applying the brakes. In this form ot my invention, the brake chain 13 is brought around a pulley or sheave -Wheel 14 mounted in suitable brackets 15 applied tothe end wall of rthe car. The brakes are applied in the usual manner by means of a hand Wheel 16 secured to the upper end of a relatively short vertical brake statt 17. rThe latter is provided with the usual ratchet wheel 18 with which cooperates a foot controlled pivoted locking dog 19 located immediately above tlm YJatform 12 in the usual manner.

tiall)7 on the line detail horizontal gear 22 -.br'ale sta 17 is extended a short Idistance below the platform 12 and at its lower end'has secured thereto a bevel gear 20 disposed within a housing designated generally by the reference A. As-will be clear from an inspection of Fig. 2, the stati' 17 1s suitably journaled in anextension 21 of the housing A, said extension accommodating said bevel gear 20. Also mounted within the housing A is another bevel gear 22 loosely mounted on a suitable stud shaft 23 which extends horizontally and 4is mounted in any suitable bearings provided by the housing vRigid with the bevel gear 22 and yrotatable in unison with the latter is a spiral gear 24, the pitch of which gradually increases from its low point 1ndicated at 25 to the high point indicated at 26. Said spiral gear 24 will ordinarily extend through an arc of approximately 30()o and vin actual practice, I prefer that a portion vof said spiral gear ati the maximum pitch as mdicated at 27 shall be of uniform vpitch through an are of say approximately 90. It will be evident, however, that the pitch of the qsaid gear may 'be uniformly increased throughout the entire length of vsaid gear 'without in any wise/affecting the princlple-'of my invention.

Said spiral gear 24 meshes with a rack gear 28 formed on one edge-o a suitable block or casting 29. The'lattfer has one vertically arranged edge 3 0 in proximityto the corresponding vertical wall 31 of the housing A. The rack gear 28 has one section thereof, as for instance between the points 32 and 33 to cooperate with 'that portion of the spiral gear which is of uniform pitch. From' the, point 33 to the lower end of the block 29, as indicated at 34, the rack gear 28 is arranged inclined so as to make the lower end of said block 29 sub'- stantially Wedge shaped. VThe inclination of the rack gear between the points 33 and 34 is ofcourse designed so as to cooperate with the spiral gear 24 at all times. Tode- .crease the friction and facilitate operation of the brake, I preferably form the wall 31 of the housing and the opposed adjacent vertical edge of the block 29 with vertically alined grooves orraceways 35-35 to accom-. modate a plurality of anti-friction balls Sti- 36.

The housing A, preferab y in the form of a casting, is formed` with a semi-cylindrical extension 37 to accommodate the bevel and spiralv gear 24 as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. Said housing also has a spitable lower extension indicated at 38 to accommodate the rack block 29 andan upward extension 39 to accommodate, the upper end of said rack block 29 when it is elevated. The details of construction of said housing A may of course be varied as desired but for ease of application, Iprefis taken up,

erably form the VVsamek with av detachable inner plate 40 and the. main portion of the housing A with laterally extended perforated ears or ianges 41 so that the housing can be bolted to the end wall of the car. The lowerextension 38 of the housing A is perforated .as indicated at 141 to accommodate a vertically extending rod 42 which also passes through the ,lower end 43 of the rack block 29 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner as by the nut 44 accommodated in a suitable recess 45 in the block 29.- The rod 42 preferably has a turn buckle 46 included therein whereby to adjust the length of said rod and consequently take up slack in the brake chain 13 or let out the brake chain, it being understood that said rod 42v is' attached to the brake chain as indicated at 47.

The operation is as follows.

The lengthof brake chain or slack therein will be properly adjusted as by means of the turnbuckle 46 so that, when the brakes are oi and the brake chain is in its correspondingnormal position, the relationY of the rack gear 28 and spiral gear 24 will be as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. To apply the brakes, the brakeman turns the hand wheel 16 in the usual manner which motionY will of course be communicated through the bevel gears 20 and 22 to the spiral gear 24. As the latter rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, it is evident that the rack block 29 will be elevated and during the initial portion of the operation, said rack block 29 will be elevated at maximum speed due to the fact that that portion of the spiral gear in engagement with the. rack block is of maximum pitch. Consequently, the lslack in the chain will be taken up ra idly and asl the slack the spee of rotation and movement of the rack lblock 29 will be gradually lessened as the pitch of the spiral gear 24 gradually decreaseswhile in mesh with the inclined section of the rack gear 28 between loo the points 33 and 34. Inother words, while the later portions of the operationvwill be at `slower speed the leverage ratio of the yapplication of power will be correspondingly gradually increased so that the maximum leverage ratio inthe application of the power is obtained at the last end of the operation. When the brake chain has been suiciently tensioned the "brakemanwill of course lock the same in the usual manner by throwing in` the locking. dog 19. The brakes are released inthe usual manner by throwing out the locking dog 19. Referring tothe construction in Figs.- 5, 6 and "Z, the end walletp the boa car is indicated at 110, the ro'or" at `111., the platform at 112 and the brakechain at 113. In this construction, the brake 'chain winds about a drum 15 of relatively large diameter, theA diameter being such that the illustrated dll titl

full winding movements of the chain shall occur in approximately a one-halt -or slightly more than a one-halt revolution ot the vertical brake stall' 51 to which the drum 50 is of course rigidly secured at its lower end. Y Said stad1 51 is suitably journaled at its lower end in a depending; bracket 52 in a nell l-rnoivn manner. 'lhe hand Wheel 116 is ol the usual form and is secured to a` short stall1 11'? that passes through the platform 112 and has secured thereto the usual ratchet wheel 118 with which cooperates the toot controlled locking dog 119.

Beneath the platform 112 and preferably secured to its under side, is a housing castino; A of shallow rectangular formation. Said housing; casting A is provided with a suitable heuiin5-;r llange 53 lor the levier end 11?7 and `with another hearingq flange 5t for the upper end ot the stall' 51. Keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the stall 117 within the housing A' isan eccentrically mounted gear wheel 124i. rThe latter meshes with another gear wheel 128 eccentrically mounted on andpprelerably keyed to the upper end of the stall' 51. ln this arrangement, adjustment ot slaclr vin the bralre chain 113 may be obtained in any suitable manner, preferably' by including an adjustable tuinbuclrle or linlr' within the chain itself.

The operation of the construction illustrated in Figs 5, 6 and 7 is as follows. 'llie parts will he correlated so that the eccentric gears 1211 and 126 will occupy the position most clearly indicated in llig. 6 when the bralre ychain 113 is in its normal slaclr or untensioned position. lo apply the brakes, the bralreman turns the hand Wheel 116 in the usual manner' so as to rotate the gear wheel 1241 in the direction as indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 6. the gear wheels 124 and 128, at the. beginning ot the brake applying operation, are so disposed that the maximum distance fromthe axis ol the stad' 117 to the point of mesh ol the gear wheel 12d `with the ar wheel 128 obtains, and, reversely, the minimum distance from the anis oil the mad 51 to the point ot mesh ot the i ear Wheel 126 obtains. Consequently, as t e gear Wheel 12a is rotated the leverage ratio `will be at a minimum at the beginning but the speed ot rotation imparted to the gear wheel 126 will he at a maximum. LThis condition gradually uniformly changes as the gear wheel 126 is rotated until one-hall revolution has occurred at which point the leverage viously loe at a maximum and the speed of rotation ot the stati? 51 at a minimum. The bralre `will he loclred in the usual manner by tlnroninp7 in the loot controlled do 119.

ln the construction illustrated in liga. 6 and 9, the same general mechanisme io emratio ol the applied power will ob- Y 5,6 and 7, the

lare so termed as to provide suitable bearings for two vertically spaced shafts 62 and 63, said shafts extending horizontally. llrithin the housing the shalt 62 has keyed or otherwise rigidly secured thereto an eccentrically disposed ,gear wheel 22d and theu shalt 63 has another eccentrically disposed gear vrheel 226 he ed or otherwise rigidly secured thereto. glad shalt 63 also has secured thereto a chain Winding7 drum 250 ot relatively large diameter to which the upper end ol the bralre chain 213 is attached. Said brake chain is passed around a sheave wheel 21d in the same manner as shown and described with respect to Fig. 1. Anv suitable means lor adjusting the length uot the brake chain 213 will he emplo ed as `will be understood. Secured to the s att 62 outside of thehousing is a ratchet Wheel tit with which cooperates a reterably gravity controlled paal 65 pivote ly mounted on an o erating ever 66. 'lhe latter is oscillateb y mounted on the outer end ol the shalt 62 as clearly appears from the drawing. lior the safety ol the bralreman and to prevent the operating lever 66 being7 suddenly thrown around when the breites are released, as hereinalter described, l preferably employ a lug 67ion the outside ot the housingr so arranged in the ath ol the pavvl 65 that it will automatica ly throw the latter out ot engament with the ratchet Wheel 6d when the operating lever reaches a predetermined iosition as, lor instance, `when it is incline upwardly and away. trom the bralteman at an angle ol about 45 with the vertical, as indicated by the dotted position ot the lever in lig. 16. v

The shalt 6d has secured thereto preferably outside ot the housing a ratchet wheel 66 with which cooperates a gravity controlled loclrinig,r dop; 69 pivotally mounted on the housing. Said loclring dogg obviously can be disengaged by the braliemans loot in a manner similar to the method ot disensagement in the more common torni of locln ini;I dog.

lhe operation ot the construction shown in Figa. 8 and 6 will he understood from the previous description given el the construction shown in Figa. o. 6 and "l, it heine; observed that the relative positions ot the eccentric gear wheels 22d und 226 is the nume as ot the @ear Wheels in 12d und 128 when the parte are in normal or released condition.

lll)

lltl

-of a bracket adapted combination with ahousing In the structure shown in Figs. 8 and 9, thev brakes are of course applied step by step by aid of the pawl and ratchet device and under some conditions is preferable to the use of the hand wheel shown in the' other two forms of my invention.

Although I have herein shown and' de-v scribed what I nowA consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and vmodifications as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with the brakerigging proper;

to be secured .t0 a portion of the car; a rack slidably mounted on said bracket, said rack being operatively connected with said brake rigging proper, said rack having teeth extending at an angle to the line of movement of the rack; an eccentrically mounted gear cooperating with said rack; and manually operable means for effecting rotation of said gear, including a shaft extending parallel to said line of movement.

2. In a hand brake for railway cars, the bracket adapted to be secured to the end wall of a car; a rack gear verticaiiy slidably mounted within said housing bracket, said rack gear havi teeth on the operative face thereof exten ing at an incline to the vertical, the brake rigging proper adapted to be operatively connected with the lower end of said rack gear; an eecentrically mounted gear cooperable with said roch georg, and manuaiiy operabie inea for enacting rotation oi said eccen- Q Latviao tricgear including a shaft extending parallel to' said lineA of movement.

3. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with ahousing bracket adapted to be secured to the end wall of a car; a rack gear slidably mounted within said housing bracket, said rack gear having teeth on the operative face thereof extending for a part of their length in a line parallel to the line of .movement of the rack gear and for another part of their length at an incline to said line of movement, the brake rigging proper being adapted to be operatively connected with one end of said rack gear; an eccentrically mounted gear eooperable with lsaid rack gear; and manually operable means for effecting rotation of said eccentric gear, said means including a stai, a beveled gear mounted on the staff, and a second beveled gear cooperable therewith and rotatable in unison with the eccentric gear.

4. In a hand b'rake for railway cars, the combination with a housing bracketadapted to be secured to the end wall of a car; arack gear slidably mounted within said housing, said rack gear having teeth thereon arranged at an angle to the'line of movement of said rack gear, the brake rigging proper being adapted to be operatively connected to said rack gear; antifriction bearings between said rack gear and the housing; an eccentric gear rotatably mounted within said housing and cooperable with said rack gear; and manually loperable means for effecting rotation of said eccentric gear.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 14th day or? Juiy i919.

BMCHARD WEBB BURNETT.

Images