US574656A

US574656A - Automatic air-brake-operating device

Info

Publication number: US574656A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1897-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 1914-01-05

Description

(No-Model.) I

D. BENTLEY.

AUTOMATIC AIR'BRAKE OPERATING DEVICE.

No; 574,656, Patented Jan. 5, 1897..

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DAVID BENTLEY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC AlR-BRAKE-OPERATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 574,656, dated January 5,1897.

Application filed May 23, 1896.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, DAVID BENTLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Air-Brake-Operating Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in safety attachments for railway-locomotives and the like; and it consists in the novel devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same parts are indicated by the same letters throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive provided with my improved guard-rail for the cow-catcher and the connection with the main drum of air-brake system. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

A represents the locomotive, which is provided with the usual air-pumps A and air drum or reservoir B, connected by a pipe at, as shown in Fig. 1. A pipe 0 leads from the air reservoir through the cab of the locomotive, where it is provided with a valve for operation by the engineer, and leading backward from the locomotive is provided with a suitable coupling for connection with pipes leading to the brake-cylinders of the cars, as in the well-known Westinghouse system of air-brakes.

I make no claim to the air-brake system as described above, it being shown in the drawings and herein referred to simply in order that a clear understanding of my invention may be had.

My invention consists as follows:

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, D represents a pipe leading from the airreservoir B forward beneath the locomotive to a point under the front thereof immediately in rear of cow-catcher F, where it connects with one or a pair of branch pipes E, which lead backward and connect at their rear ends with the air-pipe O, or, if preferred, these Serial No. 592,801. (No model.)

pipes E may lead by means of independent connections to the brake-cylinders beneath the cars of the train. A valve 01 is provided in the pipe D near its junction with the pipes E, andalever or arm d extends laterally from said valve for operating the same.

The cow-catcher F may be of any suitable construction and attached to the front of the locomotive in any suitable manner. The base F of the cow-catcher is provided withafender or guard composed of two sections H and H, as seen in Fig. 2. One section, II, of this guard is shorter than the other and straight, while the other one, H, is made long enough to extend over the point of the cow-catcher and is bent backward, as at h, toward the forward end h of the shorter section II. The two sections of this guard are connected to the base of the cow-catcher by means of bolts h adapted to slide backward and forward through the base-timbers F, and coil-springs h surrounding these sliding bolts, normally hold the two sections of the guard forward. Rods h are connected to each of these sections II and 1-1 and are pivotally connected at their rear ends to the two sliding bars I and I, the rods from each section to its corresponding sliding bar being separate and independent of the other section and its corresponding sliding bar. The rear ends of these two sliding bars I and I areslotted, as shown in Fig. 3, forming elongated links adapted to receive the arm d of the valve cl. The end of the arm d is preferably made T- shaped, as shown at d for preventing the disengagement of the'links v1 and '11 therefrom, but any other suitable means may be provided for this purpose. The sliding bars I and I rest upon the cross-piece F of the cow-catcher, and are adapted to slide freely backward or forward with the sections of the guard.

The object of having the slots in the rear ends of the sliding bars elongated, as shown, is to prevent the yielding guard from turning the arm cl back to its original position, and thus closing the valve when the said guard rebounds, as it is likely to do after an object has been struck and thrown off from it. 'By having these links made long enough the bars may slide back to their normal position after opening the valve without moving the arm d,

which may be thrown to the closed position by hand or in any other suitable manner after the train has come to a standstill.

The operation of my devices is as follows: When an obstruction is struck by either one of the sections II or II of the cow-catcher guard, the corresponding sliding bar I or I will be thrown backward and will turn the arm (1 of the valve cl to the open position, allowing the compressed air to escape from the pipeD to the branch pipes E, and thence back to the main supply-pipe 0, leading to the brake-cylinders on the cars, and thus applying the brakes automatically. Upon the rebound of the guard the sliding bar will be drawn forward again, but the length of the link on its rear end will allow it to return to its full forward position without throwing the arm d to the closed position. The pressure will thus be maintained in the brake system until the train comes to a standstill, independently of whether the engineer opens his valve in the cab or not. After the train has come to a standstill the valve 01 can readily be closed and the pressure from the auxiliary pipes be removed.

It will be seen that I provide a very simple and efficient means for applying the airbrakes and stopping the forward motion of a train automatically upon its striking an obstruction on the track.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination with a locomotive carrying an air pump and reservoir, and connections for operating a system of air-brakes from the cab thereof, of a pipe leading from the air-reservoir forward beneath the locomotive, to the front end thereof; a valve in said pipe at or near its forward end; an arm on said valve for operating the same; branch pipes leading from the front end of said pipe backward and connected to the main air-pipe to the brake system, a yielding guard composed of two independent sections carried by the front of the cow-catcher; a pair of sliding bars connected to the arm on said valve, and a plurality of rods pivoted to each of said sliding bars and connected to each section of said yielding guards, whereby the said valve may be opened when either of said sections strikes an obstruction, independently of the other, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a locomotive carrying an air pump and reservoir, and connections for operating a system of air-brakes from the cab thereof, of a pipe leading from the air-reservoir forward beneath the locomotive to the front end thereof; a valve in said pipe at or near its forward end; an arm on said valve for operating the same; branch pipes leading from the front end of said pipe backward and connected to the main air-pipe to the brake system, a yielding guard composed of two independent sections carried by the front of the cow-catcher; a pair of sliding bars each having an elongated link at its rear end engaging the arm on said valve; and a plurality of rods independently connected to each section of said yielding guard and independently pivoted to the forward end of each said sliding arms, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a locomotive carrying an air pump and reservoir, and pipes leading from said reservoir to a system of airbrakes; of the pipe D leading forward beneath the locomotive to the front end thereof and having a valve 61 therein; the arm d on said valve; branch pipes E leading from the forward end of said pipeD backward and connected to the main supply-pipe to the brake system; a yielding guard composed of the two independent sections II and II, the latter having the curved end h; the sliding bars I and I provided with elongated links 2' and t" at their rear ends engaging the arm d on said valve d; rods pivoted to sliding bar I and connected to said section H, and rods pivoted to said sliding bar I and connected to said section 11, each section adapted to open the valve when an obstruction is struck thereby, independently of the other section, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID BENTLEY.

Witnesses:

XVILLIAM K. BENTLEY, J NO. B. BENTLEY.