US456762A - Car-starter - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

P' FLOOD. 2 SheetsSheets 1. GAR STARTER.

56,762. Patented July 28, 1891..

(No Model.) l 2 Shets-Sheeb 2 P. FLOOD.

GAB. STARTER.

No. 456,762. Patnted July'28, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OiuucEa PATRICK FLOOD, OF ALBANY, NEWT` YORK.

CAR-STARTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,762,dated July 28, 1891.

Application filed February 20, 1891. Serial No. 382,171. (No model.)

To all whom, Z715 may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK FLOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, county of Albany, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im- `Jrovements in Oar-Starters of which the foll lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to such improvements; and it consists `of the novel construction and combination of parts, hereinafter described and subsequently claimed.

Reference may be had tothe accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several iigures therein.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a bottom plan view of a street-railway car with my improved starter mechanism attached. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of same, taken on the broken line 2 2 in Fig. 1. plan view of an end platform, showing footlever for lifting starterdog. Fig. 4t is a centlal longitudinal section ot' a portion of the starterdog shank and its supporting-socket. Fig. 5 is a View in front elevation ot' one of the cast-ings having the roller and slide-rod bearings. Fig. G is a top plan viewof a stopplate for the starter-dog.

To the bottom of car A, I attach a bedplate A preferably fastened to the crossbeams A2. To the bed-plate nearits rear and forward ends I attach the castings A3, which castings contain the bearings or slideways A4 for the slide-bar Ai", and the bearings Ai for the journals AT of rollers AS. The slide-bar bears upon the rollers and is movable longitudinally thereon. The starter-dog B is pivoted at its upper end upon the slide-rod and tapered at its lowerl end to engage with the ground or pavement. The swinging end of the dog is connected by cable B', running over pulley B2, fixed to the bottom of the car with the foot-lever O on the front platform, by means of which the driver is able to lift the dog from engagement with the ground by means of his foot. Inclosing the slide-bar are the coil-springs L3 and B4, which, acting as a single spring, bearing at one end upon cast.- ing A3 and at the other end upon collar Af', tend to force the slide-rod backward or the Fig. 3 is a top car forward when the dog is in engagement with the ground. The mechanism thus described in function and operation is similar to that shown and described in Letters Patent No. 415,835, issued to me November 26, 1889. Since applying for such patent I have ascertained that when the ground is soft the tapered end of the dog` will be forced into the ground too easily, and I provide the same with a stop-plate B5, having a central aperture B, adapted to loosely receive the dog, and the ears B7, through which the pivot B8 is inserted passing through an aperture formed in the dog at the desired distance from the tapered end, whereby the dog is prevented from entering the ground beyond a certain depth. The plate thus pivoted upon the dog is free to change its angular position relatively to the dog to conform to the surface of the ground. I have also ascertained that by attaching the forward end of the cable B to the lower end of a foot-lever pivoted upon the bottom of the car-platform and projecting the upper end of the lever tov which foot-restC2 is attached obliquely up through a mortise C3 in the floor of the platform the foot -rest and lever can be pushed down upon the ioor of the platform in a position to be out of the way-and leave the platform free and clear of all obstructions. The position of the foot-lever when thus pushed down upon the platform-Hoor is indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. After the lever has been thus pushed down by the foot and the dog lifted thereby, the parts may be retained in such position, which is that indicated by the dotted lines, by means of the link C4, pivoted to the short arm C, secured to or forming a part of the the main lever O, the upper end of the link being provided with an eye O6, adapted to be supported by the hook OT, as indicated by dotted lines and solid lines inFig. 2.

It frequently happens that itis desirable to connect two or more streetcars togetheras, for example, when the common car is towed by an electric-motor car. I therefore provide a draw-bar D, which is connected by the arms D and connecting cross-barD2 with theslide-ba1A5,thecross-barD2being provided with an aperture adapted to receive the slidebar, longitudinally of which the cross-bar is IOC free to slide. The cross-bar D2 is so located on the slide-bar that one end of the spring B4 bears upon one side of the cioss-bai',yvl1ile the other end of such spring bears upon the casting A3, and one end of thespring B3 bears upon the opposite side of the cross-bar and the other end of such spring bears upon the collar A. The rearward movement of the slidebar is limited by the enlargement A10, when it engages with the rear casting A3. It will thus be seen that a rearward movement of the draw-bar, such as would be induced by drawing another car, would be resisted by the resilient force of spring Bwhile the forward movement of the draw-bar, such as would be induced by pushing another car, would be resisted by the resilient force of spring B4 bearing against the forward casting. It is likewise apparent from an inspection of Fig. 2 that the starter-dog when in use acts upon and utilizes both springs B3 and B4. Then starting a car from the position shown in Fig. 2, the resilient force of the springs acting upon the dog balances the car, so that the force required to start the car up the grade would be no greater than would be required to start the car on a level. I am thus able to utilize the same set of springs to assist in starting the car and to control the movements of the draw-bar, which is of no little importance `in electric-railway cars, in which very little available space is left beneath the trucks after providing room for the motor. By providing the ears A12 of the casting A3 with open bearings, opening downward, for the roller journals A7, and the bridge part of the casting with the open bearing, opening upward, for the slide-bar, I am able to cast the parts complete and provide them with all necessary apertures, thus saving the expense of drilling` and fitting up the castings.

I prefer to make the starter-dog in two parts, the upper end consisting of a malleable casting comprising the ears B, adapted to receive the pivot B10, by which they are secured to the slide-bar, and the socket B12, adapted to receive the upper end of the shank of the dog. The shank is secured in the socket by means of the set-screw B13, as shown in Fig. 4. I am thus able to provide a means for cheaply and conveniently attaching the dog to the slidebar and for changing the shank or point of the dog in case of breakage without disconnecting the ears from the slide-bar.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a street-car, the combination, with a spring-controlled slide-bar, of a starter-dog pivotally secured to such bar, means for swinging such dog to and from engagement with the ground, and a drawbar movably connected with the slide-bar and controlled in its movements by the slide-bar-controlling springs, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a malleable castiron socket pivoted upon a spring-controlled slide-bar, of a detachable starter-dog shank and point, substantially as described.

3. Thecombination,withaspring-controlled slide-bar and starter-dog pivoted upon such bar, of bar-supporting rollers and a pair of castings cast with open roller-journal bearings opening downward and an open slidebar bearing opening upward, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a car-platform mortised to receive a foot-lever, of a foot-lever pivoted to the under side of the platform and projecting through such mortise, and a foot-rest projecting obliquely from the upper end of the lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of February, 1891.

PATRICK FLOOD.-

Witnesses:

FRANK C. CURTIS, OHAs. L. ALBEN.

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