US177604A - Improvement in car-starters - Google Patents

Description

UNITED AS'rzrrns PATENT OFFICE?.

AMOS WHITTEMORE, OF GAMBRIDGEPORT, MASSACHUSETTS.

VuvIPRovElvu-:NT 1N cAR-sTARTERs.

v :Specification forming part of ,Letters Patent No. 177,604, dated May 16,1876; application filed i November 20, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMos WHITTEMORE, of

Cambridgeport, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Car-Starters;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, Vand to the letters and -figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a plan view of my mechanism for starting cars, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view thereof, and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views.

This invention has relation to improvements in car-starters, wherein the momentum ofthe car is employed for storin g up a reserve force,

which, when expended, will start the car after after a halt, will start the car, independent of any power exercised by the draft-animals, thereby relieving them of great strain andlabor. It also consists in combining with the operating eccentric gear-wheel an eccentric wheel keyed upon the shaft of the former at each side of the car, which wheels will bear upon the axle of the car when its end is raised by the eccentric gear-wheel, thereby preventing it from tilting or swaying from side to side. It also consists in combining with the supporting-eccentrics and the lifting-eccentric a lever or levers, whereby the said raising-eccentric is. thrown into gear with the axle, and thereby causes the momentum. of the car to raise its end, whereby a reserve force is stored up for starting the car. It also consists in,

means, substantially as hereinafter explained,

whereby, at the starting of the car, this reserve force may be expended and the car moved forward without effort on the part of the draft-animals, as will be fully understood `from the following description.

In the annexed drawings, A designates-the body of a street railway car, which is mounted on Wheels B, applied on axles B', the axleboxes a of which are allowed free vertical play in the brackets C by being guided in vertical slots b formed therein. This play I take advantage of for keeping the wheels on the track while using the starting device, as will be hereinafter explained. C. represents a second shaft, rotating in bearings in hangers c, and arranged directly over shaftB, upon which shaft U is eccentrically keyed a gear-wheel, D, and at each side thereof an eccentric wheel, E.

Gear-wheel D and eccentrics E are each provided with a peripheral notch, d, which overhangs shaft B', so that under ordinary circumstances the said wheel will not be in contact therewith. As shown in Fig. 1, shaft B is provided with a gear-Wheel, e, keyed thereon or cast therewith, with which the eccentric gear-wheel D will engage under circumstances hereinafter explained.` Eccentrics E are provided with 4pins f projecting therefrom, with which vertically-vibrating angular levers F F are adapted to engage. Lever F has its fulcrum at' g in a hanger, g', on the front end of the car, and it extends upward within convenient reachbf the driver, its rear end being under pin f. When lever Fis thrust to the front it will,through the medium of pin f and i eccentric E, bring the eccentric gear-wheel D into engagement with gear-wheel e, when the rotation of the axle will cause the eccentric wheel toturn, and thereby raise the front end of the car, as shown in Fig. 5, when a cam, G, on shaft C', will be brought forcibly into con,` tact with a vertically-vibrating rod or bar, H, pivoted to the underside of the car, and pivotally connected, by means of jointed lockingrods h h', the latter being pivoted to bar H at i, to one end of na horizontall'y-vibrating bar, I, pivoted to the lower end of a hanger,j, rigidlyTV secured to the car-bottom. Bar I is connected,'by means of rods la k', to brake-rods l of brake-shoes l consequently, when bar H is vibrated -by the force applied by cam G, it will actuate bar I and operate the brakes automatically, thus arresting the car and holding it in the raised position shown in Fig. 5.

a umso-1 brakes,7 by means of connecting-rods c' d',

which extend front and rear from lever J, and

' are rigidly secured to one-.end lof avertically-5k vibratin g angular lever, K, having its fulcrum at o in an arm, a', extending downward fromy the bottom of the car. Levers K are operated by means of the'ordinary brake-rods L,`having' a worm, p, working in a screw-threaded sleeve,- q, rigidly secured in the front and rear endsof the car, with which the said levers are con-z nected in Aany suitable manner, but preferablyf rigidly'secured Ato ,the said rod, and confining the bifurcated end of` by means of aV disk, r,

the said levers thereto. When vrods L are caused to rotate by any suitable manner, so

as `to raise'the power-arms* of levers K,the

trigger m will unlock rods It 11.','and thus take` Voff brakes. Ii' the slightest start be now given to the car its weight and that of its contents will actuate eccentric D, causing it to rotate` the car-axle B'throughthe medium of gearwheel e thereon, thereby turning Nthe wheels;

and starting the car, 'thus-doing away'with the immense strain put upon lthe draft-animals lwhen overcoming the. inertia of thecar.

Lever F', before'alluded tto, is vof angular form,'and'l1as its fulcrum in va hanger, t, de-

-pending from and rigidly secured Vto the carbottom, its weight end being in engagement 4with pin f on the other eccentric wheel'E,

and its power end connected by'means of a rod, u, to a vertically-vibrating lever, M', on 'therear end of the car. thrust outward it will bring eccentric gear- `wheel-D into engagement wit-hgear-wheel e on axle B', thus raising g the rear end 4of the car, and enabling meto give the said car van independent start in whichever direction itl may be going. Y

Inpractice, operating-levers M and F' will lbe returned, after being actuated, to their normal positions by means of a spring, S, one

end of which is secured to the'car-bottom, and

the other connected by means of arod, u', to the upper end of angular lever F', thus placing or setting them ready for a subsequent actuation. Lever F, on the front vend ofthe car, will also be returned to its pos'ition'by means of a similar spring, S','wl1ich is secured to the'car-bottom'and connected to thejpower-` 'arm of the said lever, as shown in Fig. l.

In practice, eccentric wheels E will be suffi- When this .'lever is ciently large, not only to prevent the car from tilting, but `also to. prevent the-eccentric gearwheel Dfrom binding when in engagement with gear-wheel e on the shaft, the e'ect of Whichis that the starter is rendered far more sensitive, and all unnecessary wear of the said gear-wheels isnprevented.

'In practice,`brakerods L .will 'be utilized, independently of any other function heretofore explain ed,.for operating the brakes, by connecting the latter with the said rods by means of rods, ropes, or chains o.

It will be vreadily understood from the above explanation that the powerv exercised by eccentric gear-wheel D will increase with the weight of the passengers in the car-in other words, will be proportionate tothe inertia ,to be overcome. .Trigger m, ,above explained, ,will also beretracte'd from" jointed ro'ds h h' Yby means o'f va similar spring, S2, `one end `of which lis secured tothe car-bottom, and the Iother .connected by avrod,z.r'to the lever J, thusleaving them free to ,gravitateito a locking position, as above set forth.

`The starting devices above described may be -coveredin or not, as I` may elect, to protect them fromaccumulations of snow, ice, and other clogging substances.

What Ivclaim as new, and desiretosecure by LettersPatent, is-

1. In combination with the vertically-movable axle B', Vhaving gear-Wheel-athe eccentric gear-wheel D, adapted to 'he thrown into engagement with gear-wheele, substantially as specified. v

2. In combination with-,the eccentric gearwheel lD and the vertically-movable yaxle B', havin gy gear-wheel e, the supporting-eccentrics E, substantially asl specified.

'3. In combination Awith shaft 'G',`having eccentric gear-wheel D and leccentric Wheels E, land the shaft B', having l:gear e, the operating-levers F F', engaging with the said eccentric wheels, substantially as specified, and .for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with' the shaft C', having cam G, the vertically-vibratin g lever H, jointed locking-rods h h','lever I, rodsfk 7a', and .the brakes Z l', substantially 'as specified.

-5. In combination withlthe upwardly-ilexing joint-rods h h', the trigger m, operated `substantially as set forth.

In testimony that'I Yclaim the above I have hereunto-subscribed my'name in the presenceof two witnesses.

p YAMOS WHI-TTEMORE. Witnessesz WALTER A. MASI, EMoRY H. BATES.

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