US727451A - Car-brake. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.

F. W. ROCK. GAR BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1a, 1902.

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No. 727,451. PATENTED MAY 5, 1903. F. w. ROCK. OAR BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.-18, 1902.

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' mm) STATE Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK W. ROCK, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDWARD H. PATTERSON AND JAMES A. M. MORETON, OF DETROIT,

MICHIGAN.

CAR- BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N 0. 727,451, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed August 18, 1902. Serial No. 120,026. KNO model.)

To aJ/Z whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. ROCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Brakes; and I do 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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to car-brakes designed for use on cars of street-railway systems; and it consists in the construction and.

arrangements of parts hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out particularly in the claims.

The primary object of the invention isto provide means in connection with a handoperated brake whereby the power applied may be automatically shifted from a direct application to an indirect application through a train of gears, whereby the power is increased to any desired degree.

A further object is to provide for quickly releasing the brakes after being set; and a still further object is to provide for aremoval of the hand-wheel of the brake-post from one end of the car to the other, where the car is of such a character as to provide for the application of the brakes from either end thereof.

The above objects are attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a central vertical section through a brake applying mechanism involving my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section as on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section as on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. at is a horizontal section through the hub of thehand-wheel and its connected parts as on line 4: 4c of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the hand-wheel and its spring-actu ated locking-plunger as on angular line 5 5 of Fig. 4:. Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 4, showing the hub of the hand-wheel disconnected from direct engagement with the brake-post. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail in sectiouthrough a portion of the hub of said hand-wheel and the socket containing the spring-actuated plunger, which latter and its spring appear in elevation.

Referring to the characters of reference, 1 designates the brake .-post, which projects vertically through the platform 2 of the car and upon the lower end of which is a spool 3 upon which the brake-chain 4 is adapted to wind and which leads to any suitable system of brake-levers. (Not shown.)

Upon the upper end of the brake-post 1 is keyed a ratchet-wheel 5. Loosely mounted upon said post and below the ratchet-wheel 5 is a disk 6, having an annular vertical flange 7, whose upper edge rises above the plane of the face of the pinion 5 and is adapted to receive the cap-plate 8, which fits thereon and conceals said ratchet-wheel within said disk. The hand-Wheel 9 has a hub 10, which embraces the flange f the disk 6 and when unlocked from said flange is adapted to have a limited rotary movement thereon.

Pivoted at 11 to the upper face of the disk 6 is a pawl 12, adapted to be normally heldin contact with the ratchet 5 by means of the spring 13. The pawl 12 is provided with a tail-piece l4,which projects through a slot 15 in the flange 7 of said disk and lies in the channel 15*,formed in the inner wall of th hub. The hub of the hand-wheel fits loosely upon the flange of the disk 6 and when unlocked from said flange is allowed ,a slight rotary movement limited to the length of the channel 15, in which the tail of the pawl lies. To look the hub of the hand-wheel to the flange of said disk, a spring-actuated plunger 16 is employed, which is seated to reciprocate in a socket 17, carried by said hub, and is normally held in position by spring 18, which surrounds the stem 19 of said plunger and is adapted to be compressed by the screwplug 20, which screws in the end of said 5 socket against said spring and through which the stem of the plunger passes freely. Seatof said plunger, whereby the hub of the hand- Wheel becomes locked to the disk 6, and a rotaticn of said wheel will cause a rotation of the brake-post through the medium of the pawl and ratchet.

The disk 6 is provided with a depending hub 21, which is threaded and in which is screwed the upper end of the hollow shaft22, which embraces the brake-post and has fast to the lower end thereof a pinion 23, free to turn upon the brake-post 1, which passes centrally therethrough. Meshing with the pinion 23 is a gear-wheel 24, carrying a pinion 25, which in turn meshes with the large wheel 26, through which the brake post passes and which is loose thereon. The said wheel 26 has a recess 27 in its upper face, in which lies a ratchet-wheel 28, that is keyed to the brake-post 1. Pivoted t0 the gearwheel 26 and within the recess 27 are the spring-actuated pawls 29, which engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 28, whereby the gear-wheel 26 and the brake-post may be driven through the pinion 25 and the connected gears.

The train of gears above described is located in an annular case 30, which prevents said gears from accumulating dirt and which is preferably mounted upon the platform 2 of the car, as shown in Fig. 1. Above the case 30 is a ratchet-wheel 31, fast to the hollow shaft 22 and engaged by a locking-dog 32, which is pivoted at 33 to the top of the case and is provided at its outer end with a depending arm 34, engaged by a spring 35, which normally holds said dog in engagement with said ratchet. The function of said dog is to prevent a backward turning of said brake-postin the operation of applying the brakes and to hold the brakes when set. When desiring to release the brakes, the foot may be pressed against the outer end of the dog, so as to free it from the ratchet-wheel 31, when the hollow shaft and brake-post will be allowed to turn backward.

Projecting laterally fromspool 3 is an arm 36, carrying an eye 37, in which the brakechain 4 is attached. The purpose of said .7 "arm is to allow the slack in the brake-chain to be quickly taken up before the point is reached where the application of any pressure is made to the brake-shoes. As the spool is rotated with the brake-post said arm swings in the arc of a horizontal circle, and because of. the sweep of said arm the chain is drawn upon to quickly take up the slack therein. Said arm is so positioned that a quarter-turn of the brake-post will cause the chain attached thereto to swing against the side of the spool at the time when the chain has been drawn sufficiently taut to begin to operate the brake-levers, so that a further rotation of the brake-post will cause the chain to wind upon the circumference of the spool, whose comparatively small diameter affords suflicient leverage to bring the shoes forcibly into contact with the Wheels. The

operation already described is accomplished by direct application of the power through the hand-wheel and brake-post and enables the brake-shoes to be brought quicklyinto action. 'It is only after the brake-shoes have been carried against the wheels that power is required in setting the brakes. The initial operation of taking up the slack in the chain and the lost motion in the connected parts requires but little power and should be done quickly to enable the motorman to get his car under control in the least possible time. After the shoes have been brought into contact with the wheels, so that considerable resistance is offered to the turning of the handwheel, the spring-actuated plunger 16, which locks the hub of said wheel to disk 6, will ride out of its seat 20 and permit the hub of the hand-wheel to turn upon the flange of said disk sufficiently to bring the terminal of the channel 15 against the tail of the pawl 12, thereby swinging said pawl upon its pivot and disengaging it from the ratchet 5, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby disconnecting the hand-wheel from direct engagement with the brakepost and allowing said post to be turned indirectly through the hollow shaft 22 and the interposed train of gears, whereby any desired leverage may be obtained over the brake-post and enabling the motorman to exert such power upon the brake-shoes as to easily and quickly stop the car. The change from the direct to the indirect application of the power is done without jerk or jar, for the reason that immediately the pawl 12 is disengaged from the ratchet 5 the power is applied through the hollow shaft and geartrain, but with greatly-increased leverage, so that the work required of the motorman is materially decreased and a great advantage is given him at a time when the most power is required. Upon the release of the brakes the hand-wheel is turned backward, so as to cause the plunger 16 to again engage in its seat to restore the parts for a succeeding operation.

To provide a quick release for the brakes, the spool 3, as before stated, is mounted loosely upon the brake-post and is made to rotate therewith through the engagement of the clutch-collar 38, which is splined upon a sleeve 39, made fast to the brake-post by the set-screw 40. Embracing the sleeve 39 and bearing against the lower end of the clutch-collar 38 is a coiled spring 41, whose lower end rests upon a nut 42, screwed upon the lower end of said sleeve and adapted to regulate the tension of the spring 41. Attached to the under face of the platform is a depending post 43, to which is pivoted a lever 44, that embraces the clutch-collar, but allows said collar to rotate therein. Pivoted at 45 to the outer end of said leveris a vertical movable rod 46, which passes through the platform of the car and carries upon its upper end the tread plate 47. By stepping upon said tread-plate the motorman may depress said rod and disengage the clutch-collar from the spool, thereby allowing said spool to freely unwind and quickly release the brakes. Upon removing the pressure from the tread-plate the spring 41 will lift the clutch --collar into engagement with said spool, and thereby restore said parts for a succeeding operation.

To provide for detaching the hand-wheel from the brake-post in order to change it from one end of the car to the other, a locking-pin 48 is employed, (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 7,) which is adapted to pass downwardly through an aperture 49 into the socket 17, containing the plungerlG, and engage in the channel 50, formed in the end of said plunger, and lock said plunger in its retracted position within said socket, which position is shown in Fig. 6, enabling the handwheel to be lifted off the flange 7 of the disk 6 and carried to the opposite end of the car and placed upon a similar disk carried by the brake-post, to which it is locked by withdrawing the pin 48 and allowing the plunger 16 to enter its seat 20. By this arrangement only one hand-wheel is necessary upon cars that are equipped to run in both directions, enabling the hand-wheel to be changed from end to end of the car as required.

By means of the screw-plug 20, which engages the spring 18, any desired tension may be applied thereto to hold the plunger in its seat until a predetermined force has been exerted upon the hand-wheel in setting the brakes through the direct operation of the brake-post.

Depending from the platform in the path of the arm 36 is stop 51, which is adapted to engage said arm and arrest it when the brakes are released, thereby preventing it from swinging backward too far and maintaining it in position to quickly take up the slack of the chain when the brakes are applied. Above the spool 3 is a collar 52, which is secured to the brake-post and maintains said spool in position.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--- 1. In a brake, the combination of the brakepost to which the brake-chain is connected, means for rotating said post to make a direct application of power to the brake chain, means for rotating the brake-post indirectly in the manner-to obtain an increase of leverage and mechanism for disconnecting from the brake-post, the means for rotatingit directly and connecting with the means for rotating it indirectly.

2. In a brake, the combination of a brakepost adapted to wind up the brake-chain, means for rotating said post by direct application of power thereto, a train of gears connected with said post whereby the power that is applied thereto may be compounded, and means for automatically shifting the application of power from the direct to the indirect means of rotating said post.

3. In a brake, the combination of a brakepost adapted to wind the brake-chain thereon, a lever for turning said post by direct application of power detachably connected therewith, means for rotating the brake-post indirectly also connected with said operatinglever, and means for automatically shifting the application of power, as applied through said lever, from the direct to the indirect means of rotating said brake-post.

4c. In a brake, the combination of the brakepost adapted to wind the brake-chain there on, a hand-wheel for rotating the brake-post detachably connected therewith, a train of gears also connected with the brake post adapted to exert an increased power thereon, means connecting said hand-wheel with said gear-train, and means operated byarotation of said hand-wheel for disconnecting the direct engagement between said wheel and post, and allowing a rotation of the post through the gear-train.

5. In a brake, the combination of a brakepost adapted to wind the brake-chain thereon, a train of gears adapted to rotate the brake-post indirectly, a hollow shaft embracing said brake-post and connected with said gear-train, a disk carried by the upper end of said shaft, a hand-wheel seated on said disk to have a slight rotary movement, a ratchet on the end of the brake-post, a springactuated pawl pivoted on said disk and engaging said ratchet, and means for disengaging said pawl from said ratchet to allow the handwheel to rotate the brake-post through said shaft and interposed gear-train.

6. In a brake, the combination of a brakepost adapted to wind the brake-chain thereon, a hollow shaft embracing said brake-post, a train of gears interposed between the brakepost and hollow shaft and connected to both, a disk fixed to the upper end of the hollow shaft, a ratchet upon the upper end of the brake-post, a spring-pawl upon the disk ongaging said ratchet, a hand-wheel loosely seated upon said disk carrying in its hub a spring-actuated plunger, a seat in the edge of said disk adapted to receive the end of the plunger to normally look the hand-wheel to the disk, the tension of the spring of said plunger being regulated to allow it to ride out of its seat upon the application of a predetermined pressure to the hand-wheel, means adapted to engage the pawl when said plun ger rides out of its seat, to disengage the pawl from said ratchet, and allow the brakepost to be driven through the hollow shaft and gear-train, whereby a shift from the direct to the indirect rotation of the brake-post is accomplished by a continued rotation of the hand-wheel in the same direction.

7. In a brake, the combination of a rotary brake-post adapted to wind the brake-chain thereon by a direct application of power, an

arm projecting from said post to which the chain is adapted to be attached, means for rotating the brake-post indirectly and compounding the power applied thereto, and mechanism for shifting from the direct to the indirect means of rotation, whereby the arm may be swung quickly in the initial application of power to take up the slack chain, and the brake-post subsequently rotated through the compounded driving power to forcibly apply the brakes.

8. In a brake, the combination of a rotary brake-post, means for applying power to said post to rotate it, an arm projecting from said post, the brake-chain attached to the outer end of said arm whereby, upon the turning of the brake-post, the chain is initially drawn upon to take up the slack of said chain and is carried against the brake-post so as to wind thereon as said post is further rotated.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK W. ROCK. Witnesses:

E. S. WHEELER, 0. E. DAVIS.

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