US777090A - SAND-HOPPER MECHANISM FOR TRAMWAY-VEHICLES, &c. - Google Patents

Description

No. 777,000. I PATENTED DB0. 10, 1904.

J. GRIFPITHS.

SAND HOPPER MEGHANISM P00 TRAMWAY VEHICLES, am.

` APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNE 1.1000. N0 MODEL- 2 sHBETssHEBT 1.

FIG l 170.777,0'90. PATENTBD DEG. 13, 1904.

J. GRIPFITHS.

SAND HOPPER MEGHANISM FOR TRAMWAY VEHICLES, 6m.

A APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1.1903.

N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

fr f* YIo Patented December 13, 1904. i

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES GRIFFITHS, OIT LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

SAND-HOPPER wlEeHANlswl Fon rnAwlwAY-VEHICLES. ae.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,090, dated December 13, 1904.

Application filed .Tune 1,1903. Serial No. 159,676. (No model.)

To @ZZ whmnt Tlv/tty concern:

Be it known that I, J Anus GRIFFIN-Is, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in Old Swan, Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand -Hopper Mechanisms for Tramway, Railway, and the Like Vehicles, of which vthe followingA is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved sandhopper mechanism for use in connection with tramway, railway, or similar vehicles, where on account of the greasy condition of the rails under certain conditions it is found desirable to provide a ready means of directing a stream oi' sand onto the rail, so as to give the vehiclewheels a better grip thereon.

In the sand-hoppers as at present in use I find that it is only by using special kinds of sand that satisfactory results are obtained and that in damp weather the sand clogs in theh mouth of the sand-hopper, and so renders the apparatus inoperative or unreliable.

The object of my invention is to provide the hopper with a positive feed motion whereby the cheaper kinds of sand may be used with certainty even when in a moist condition.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure I is an elevation or' the general arrangement; Fig. II, a plan oi the same; Figs. III and IV, an elevation and a section or' the ratchet-gear; Fig. V, a section on the line A A, of Fig. II, to an enlarged scale, of the hopper; and Fig. VI, a sectional elevation on the line B B of Eig. I.

Throughout the drawings the saine parte are indicated by the same reference-iigures, and in the ease of sections the direction in which they are viewed is indicated by the small arrows placed adjacent to the letters denoting the plane of section.

The hopper is preferably formed oi a sheetmetal container l, mounted on a cast-metal base 2, in which is housed the pocket-wheel 3 and below which the outlet 4 is formed. The pocket-wheel 3 is located below the opening in the container l, and the contour or' the base 2 is so formed that on one side it follows the contour of the pocket-wheel, while on the other side a space is left opposite the opening in the container by which the wheel 3 is fed with sand. A spring 5 bridges across this space and makes Contact with the periphery of the teeth of the wheel. Thus as the latter is caused to rotate it carries past the spring and delivers positively to the outlet 4: a quantity of sand which depends upon its rotation and upon the capacity of its pockets. I prer'er to use a wheel with teeth oi the shape shown; but of course the shape of the pockets may be varied to suit the requirements of particular eases. The wheel is operated through a shaft 6, which is preferably made square and is carried on journals formed in the prolongations of its boss 3'. These journalsrotate in bushes 7, formed in the sides of the base 2, which is split across the line C C in order that the wheel and bushes may be inserted in place.

The shaft 6 is operated by the foot-rod 8, the lever9, the rod l0, ratchet-lever 11, ratchet 12, and pawl 13, and the lever 9 is controlled by the tensile spring 1&1, connected by the adjustable rod 15 to the L-plate 16, carried from the car-frame 17, to which also the hopperbase 2 and the lever 9 are attached.

The ratchet 12 has a square hole which lits the shaft 6, and the end 11 ot' the lever 11 is made in the form or' a split casing, which almost completely houses the ratchet and in which the pawl 13is pivoted. The pawl 13 is pressed into engagement with the teeth by the plate-springs 18.

It will be seen then that as the' ratchet-lever is oscillated by the depression of the drivers foot through the gear described it rotates the pocket-wheel through a definite angle and feeds the sand. The return stroke effected by the spring 14 is inoperative to rotate the pocket-wheel, so that the latter is intermittently rotated each time the foot-rod 8 is depressed, and the amount by which it rotates may be regulated according to the distance of the point of attachment between the rod 10 and the lever 11 from the center of the pocketwheel, and a series of holes 19 may be provided i'or this regulation.

I iind that a tube 20, formed of spring-steel or other wire wound into a close spiral, is best IOO adapted to guide the sand from the outlet 4 onto the rails.

I usually provide one hopper for each wheel, and I operate the hoppers for a pair of wheels on the same axle by a common shaft 4, actuated by the one ratchet and gear. In the case of, say, a tram-car there would be two pairs of hoppers and two sets of operating-gear, one at each end of the car. If desired, of course the four hoppers could be operated by the one gear by connecting the shafts 6 together by sprocket-wheels and chain.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a rail-sanding device, in combination; a hopper the lower part of which is shaped to house a pocket-wheel on one side thereof and provided with a plate making' contact with the periphery of the pocket-wheel and extending to the other side of the hopper; a pocket-wheel and means for rotating the pocket-wheel; substantially as described.

2. In a rail-sanding device, in combination; a hopper the lower part of which is shaped to house a pocket-wheel on one side thereof and which is provided with a plate making contact with the periphery of the pocket-wheel and extending to the other side of the hopper, said hopper being divided across a plane containing the axis of the pocket-wheel; a pocket-wheel; and means to rotate the pocketwheel; substantially as described.

3. In a rail-sanding device; in combination with the hopper and the pocket-wheel; the

means for rotating the pocket-wheel consisting of a ratchet-wheel on the pocket-wheel shaft, a lever provided with a pawl adapted to oscillate about the center of the said shaft, a foot-rod and mechanism to convey the movement of the said foot-rod to the ratchet-lever;

substantially as described.

4. In a rail-sanding device in combination with the hopper and the pocket-wheel;. the ratchet-wheel on the pocket-wheel shaft; alever, provided with a pawl, adapted to oscilllate about the center of the said shaft and the divided across a plane containing the axis of the pocket-wheel and provided with a plate making contact with the periphery of the pocket-wheel, and with bushes to form bearings for the pocket-wheels; a pocket-wheel the boss of which is journaled in said bushes, and means operated by a foot-rod for rotating the pocket-wheel; substantially as described.

6.- In a rail-sanding device a series of hoppers, a series of pocket-wheels, and means for rotating the pocket-wheels consisting of shafts connecting opposite pairs of pocket-wheels, and connected togetherand operated by a ratchet-wheel, pawl, lever and foot-rod connected to the latter lever; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES GRIFFITHS.

Witnesses:

J. E. LLOYD BARNES, JOSEPH E. HIRsT.

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