US274144A - Car-brake - Google Patents

Description

" (No Model.)

AA. C. ROLAND 8v A. HARPER.

GAB. BRAKE. No. 274,144. Patented Ma.1.`20,1883.

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N UNiTED STATES PATENT eine" ALBERT C. ROLAND AND ADRIAN HARPER, OF ALBUQUERQUE, TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.

cARBRAKe.

SPECFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 274=,144, dated March 20,1883. Application flied January 4, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that we, ALBERT C. ROLAND and ADRIAN HARPER,- citizens of the United States, residing at Albuquerque, in the county of Bernalillo and Territory ol' New Mexico, have invented a new and useful Automatic Brake, ot' which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accom pan ying drawings. 1o This invention relates to automatic brakes Y for cars, &c., and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient brake that will instantly1 and automatically operate with any desired degree of power, and that is especially for use on trains ot' cars, when it will be under complete control of the engineer.

To this end it consists substantially in a system lof continuously-applied brakes that y are held from operation when desired, and have zo only to be releasedwhen they instantly and automatically apply.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view'ot' the under side ot' a car equipped with our improved system of automatically-applied brakes.

Fig. 2 is an end view ot' the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line a: x, Fig. l.

Referring tothe drawings, A designates the car. which is provided withitrucks B B at each 3o end, as usual. From under the bottom C of' the car are suspended the brake-beams D,

j which `carry the' ybrake-shoes E,`and to the bottom C, at about the center, is pivoted a transverse lever, F. To the leverF is pivoted a piston-rod, Gr,which works in a cylinder, H,

that is secured to the bottom of the car, the

said pistonr0d being provided with a head, I,

against which the tension ofl a coiled spring,

-J, is exerted to operate the pist-cured. To

`4o provide means for regulating the tension of 'the sprin g J ,so that thepressure of the brakes can be varied and regulated as desired, the headed end of the piston-rod G Ais screwthreaded, as shown at K, and on. this screwthreaded end worksanut, L,adjustable against the head of the piston, whereby the said head ofthe piston can bet'orced forward on the'latter to compress the spring J. This above-described cylinder and spring -actuated piston mechanism `may be appliedfto both ends of 5o the lever F, and it may be duplicated and applied at other points when great power is desired.

To the transverse lever F, at each side its fulcrum, is pivoted a rod, M, that is pivoted at V its other end to a lever, N, t'nlcrumed on the brake-beam at the end of the car, and to the other end oftheselevei's N Nis pivoted a rod, O, that extends to and'is pivotcd on the inner brake-beam, as shown. t Y

The spring-actuated piston above described serves to keep the brakes continuously applied with all their force; but to' enablelthe brakes to be held from operation when the car is in motion, the chain Pot' the usual hand 65 brake-wheel, Q, at the end of the car is connected by a pivoted rod, R, with the lever F. By means of this operating mechanism, when the hand-wheel is turned to wind its chain,. the lever F is drawn toward the hand-wheel, 7o which movement causes the spring J to be compressed bythe head of the piston-rod, and when the lever F is thus held against the tension ofthe spring the series oi' rods M and lever N operate to throw the different brakebeams from the wheels, so that the pressure ot' the shoes on the brake-beams is removed from all the wheels ot' the car. The position ofthe various levers and connecting-rods, when the brake is out of operation, is shown by 8o dotted lines, Fig. l of the drawings. t

The hand brake-wheels Q lare pruvided with the usual ratchet-disk, S, that is engaged by the pivoted dog or pawlT, by means of which mechanism the brakes may be drawn and held out of operation, so that the application of the brakes may be regulated and governed as desired by the brakcman.

`When the car is in motion the brakes are simply held outof operation by the hand brake- 9o wheel, so that when it is desired to apply ythe brakes it is only necessary to kick the dog 'I' out of engagement with the ratchet-disk of the hand-wheel, when all the brakes will instantly apply with all their force. It will be therefore seen that the application ot' the brake is effectt ed very much quicker, as they have only to be released, than it could possibly bedone where 2 l I, Y 274mm the brakesare .normally out of operation and have to be applied by force.

1n a train ot' cars that are equipped with this improved continuously-applied brake mechanism the brakes of the different cars aregconf nected together by coupling the release-rods (shown at U) together. These release-rods are pivoted to both ends ofthe transverse lever F,

land extend therefrom in both directions to the end of the car. The coupling by which the ends of these rods U ofthe different cars are connected may be ofany suitable construction, and is preferably weaker than the other portions of the release apparatus, so that should a break in the train occur the coupling will part, and this damage can be more readily replaced without delay by substituting a new coupling than could any damage to the brake mechanism itself.

When in a train of cars 'the brake mechanism of the different cars is thus connected together suitable releasing mechanism is provided on the locomotive, whereby the brake mechanism of the entire train is under control ofthe engineer. This mechanism is not shown in the drawings, but it preferably consists of a cylinder permanently secured to the locomotive or tender, and having a piston connected with the rods U and capableof sufficient power to draw the latter so as to hold the brakes of the entire train from operation. This piston may be operated by'steam or water power, the latter being preferred. The water is introduced to the cylinder, under pressure, through a suitable connecting-pipe entering the boiler under or below the water-1ine,this connectingpipe being connected with acock of suitable construction situated convenient to the engineer, by manipulating which the water-supply is governed to operate the brakes of the train.

Should the train part, which sometimes occurs on upgrade, the brakes ofthe reardisconnected portion instantlyapply as soon as their connection with the front portion of the train is broken,while the brakes ot' the front portion of the train are as much under the control of the engineer as before the disconnection.

By reference to the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages ofour inventionwillbereadilyunderstood. Theco'nstruction and system of the herein-described brake mechanism are very simple and inexpensive, and its operation is instantaneous and infallible.

We claim as our inventione As an improvement in car-brakes, the combination of the transverse lever F, fulcrumed about centrally under the car, the cylinder H, arranged under the car, the coiled spring J, retained in the cylinder, the piston-rods G, having a head, I, against which the tension ofthe spring is exerted, and screw-theaded head K, carrying nut L, adjustable against the head, said piston-rods being pivoted to the lever F at the side of its f'ulcrum, and connecting-rods M, N, and O, pivoted to the lever and brakebeams, as set forth.

In testimony that we claim-the foregoingfas our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in presence ot two witnesses.

ALBERT C. ROLAND. ADRIAN HARPER. Witnesses:

H. L. PIcKIN, WILLIAM B. GHILDERS.

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