US787691A - Car-brake. - Google Patents

Description

5 O 9 1 8 l, R P A D E T N E T .A P

m. L P. P B P W TH.

UAR BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGA, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W/TNESSES:

No. 787,691. PATENTED APR. 18, 1905.

' J. W. PEPPLE.

GAR BRAKE.

I APPIQIUATION FILED AUG. 4, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 787,691. PATENTED APR. 18,1905. J. W. PEPPLE.

GAR BRAKE.

APPLIOATION FILED AUGA, 1904.

s SHEETS-SHEEN.

W/T/YESSES: IIVVE/VTOR w No. 787,69i.

UNITED STATES Patented April is, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W'. PEPPLE, OF HILLSBORO, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO THE PEPPLE BRAKE COMPANY, OF HILLSBORO, TEXAS, A CORPORATION.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,691, dated April 18, 1905.

' Application filed August 4, 1904. Serial No. 219,424.

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN WV. PEPPLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hillsboro, in the county of Hill, in the State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Brakes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

, My invention relates to improvements in car-brakes.

It is well known that a large proportion of railway-wrecks,particularly of freight-trains, is caused by the dropping of one end of the heavy brake-beams on which the brake-shoes are mounted.

One of the primary objects of my present invention is to provide a simple, efficient, and reliable car-brake inwhich the objectionable and dangerous brake-beam is eliminated by the employment of light quick-acting brakelevers.

It is also well known that when an engineer applies the air-brakes to along train of cars the same amount of braking power is unavoidably applied to the empty cars as to the loaded and heavier cars of the train, therebycausing the wheels of the empty cars to slide on the rails when the friction of the brake is sufiicient to overcome the traction of the wheels, thereby ruining the wheels by forming flat places on the tread thereof.

Another object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a car-brake mechanism in which the power of the brakes when applied is automatically exerted in direct proportion to the load or weight of the car.

A third and secondary object of my invention is to provide reliable means for permitting this automatic regulation of the brakepower by the weight of .the car when the brakes have been previously. set by hand without danger of derangement of the mech anism.

My invention consists of a pair of brake levers carrying the brake-shoes upon their outer ends and pivotally connected at their 5 inner ends to the air-brake mechanism, a yield ingly-mounted bolster having a vertical adjustment under the weight of the car, slidable fulcrums for the said brake-levers adapted to be actuated by the said bolster, and means for 5 5 permitting a yielding movementof the bolster when the fulcrums are locked without deranging the mechanism.

The principal novel features of my invention are the brake-levers, the yielding bolster, the sliding brake-lever fulcrums, and the means for aflfording a vertical play of the bolster under a load without actuating the said fulcrums.

Similar reference-numerals indicate like 5 parts throughout the several views, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a car-truck of the usual or other proper form, showing my invention in position thereon. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with the car-bolster partly broken away and showing the relative arrangement of the operative parts. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2 looking from the right with the adjacent axle partly broken away and the actuating mechanism omitted. Fig. i is an enlarged detail of the means for permitting a yielding movement of the bolster under a superimposed load without actuating the movable fulcrums. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of Fig. 2, taken on the line a: m. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of one of the adjustable fulcrums, showing its arrangement relative to the brake-levers and to its connection with the actuating means.

The car-truck upon which my invention is mounted consists of proper forward and rear wheels 1 and 2, respectively, rigidly connected by theaxles 3 and 4, suitable bearings 5 for the ends of the axles, proper brackets or hangers 6 for the ends of the car-bolster and secured to the said bearings in any proper manner, and a bolster 7, yieldingly mounted at its opposite ends upon the coil-springs 8 in the usual or other proper manner. The lower ends of the springs are supported upon the 5 bolster base-plate 9, whose opposite ends are rigidly fixed in the hangers 6. To the opposite sides of the hangers 6 are rigidly secured the opposite ends of the upright standards 10, between which the opposite ends of the bolster 7 are slidably mounted and adapted for a limited vertical adjustment against the tension of the said coiled springs under the weight of the load thereon.

In approximately parallel arrangement with the bolster base-plate 9 and adjacent to its opposite edges are arranged the brake-levers 11, whose outer ends are pivotally connected with the rear face of the respective brake-shoes 12 of any proper form and pivotally suspended from a suitable hanger 13 by means of a link 14 or other proper means, Fig. 6. These hangers 13 are rigidly fixed to the base-plate 9. The inner ends of each pair of these brakelevers 11 are pivotally connected to the opposite end of a short compensating lever 15, respectively, Fig. 2, whose function will later be described. The means for actuating these brake-levers is described as follows: To the lower face of the base-plate 9 is rigidly secured the rearwardly-extended plate or bar 16, Figs. 2 and 5, on whose rear is fixed a short post 17 on which is pivotally mounted midway of its ends a plate 18, to whose opposite ends are pivotally connected the forwardly-extended rods 19 and 20. The operating-rod 21 passes loosely through an opening in the post 17, has its free end pivotally connected to the forward compensating lever at the center of its length, and has its free end pivotally connected to the actuating mechanism. (Not shown.) The rod 19 has its front end pivotally connected to the rear lever 15 midway of its ends, and the rod has its forward end pivotally connected to the rod 21, approximately adjacent to the rear lever 15, as shown.

To the lower face of the bolster 7 and midway of its ends and sides is fixed a pendent post 38, in whose bifurcated lower end is arranged a pin 22, on which the slotted upper ends of the companion bell-crank levers 23 are arranged. The levers 23 are pivotally mounted on the opposite sides of the upright standard 24, which is fixed in proper relation to said levers on the base-plate 9 and have their lower ends pivotally connected to the respective adjacent ends of the tubular rods 25, on which are arranged the inner ends of the coiled springs 26, Fig. 4. In the open outer ends of these tubular rods 25 are mounted by a telescoping connection the inner ends of the respective rods 27, whose outer ends have a bifurcated head 28, in which is mounted the means for connecting and actuating the movable fulcrum about to be described. This means consists of a rod 29, having angular looped portions and outwardly-extended ends 31, having a series of vertical perforations 32 therein.

The base-plate 9 hasits ends thickened, as shown in Fig. 6, recessed, as shown at 33, and

provided with the lugs 34 in cooperative relation with the loops 30 for the purpose about to be described.

The outer ends of the brake-levers 11 are wedge-shaped upon their inner face at that portion adjacent to the brake-shoes and are loosely mounted in a proper casing 35. On the said ends 31 are rigidly fixed the fulcrums 36 by means of a pin 37, which is adapted for a holding engagement with the perforations 32. Thesefulcrums are identical in construction and arrangement and preferably having an angular outer face adapted for a sliding engagement with the adjacent face of the brakelevers 11 and within the casing when actuated by the vertically-yielding bolster through the mediumof the said bell-crank levers and their spring-pressed connections.

The operation of my invention thus described is obvious and briefly stated is as fol-' lows: When power is applied to the operatingrod 21, the brake-levers 11 will all obviously be so actuated as to simultaneously bring the brake-shoes 12 into engagement with the tread of the respective wheels. Where one of the shoes is worn thin and its companion is a new or thicker one, the equalizing-lever 15 will permit the application of the brakes with equal braking power in an obvious manner. When a load is applied to the bolster 7, it will evidently be depressed against the tension of the supporting springs 9 in proportion to the weight of the load, thereby adjusting the fulcrums 36 outwardly through the medium of the bell-crank levers 23, rods 25, 27 and 29, and the coil-spring 26 on the rods 25 and 27, and which spring is of suflicient tension to prevent the telescoping of the rods in ordinary use. Evidently this outward adjustment of the slidable fulcrums will be in proportion to the load upon the bolster until they reach their outer limit by the contact of the loops 30 with the lugs 34. Adjusting the fulcrums outwardly not only necessarily proportionately increases the braking power of the brake-le- ,vers, but ordinarily would require a correspondingly greater movement of the inner ends of these levers to effect the application of this increased power; but in my invention I have compensated for this increase travel of the brake-levers by making the inner face thereof wedge-shaped, as shown.

In case my brakes in use should be set or locked by hand and while in that condition the car were to be heavily loaded any derangement of the braking mechanism is avoided by the telescoping of the rods 25 and 27, the weight of the load readily overcoming the resistance of the coil-spring 26 when the brakes are set and the movable fulcrums locked.

By actuating the four fulcrums of each cartruck from the same point and midway of the ends of the vertically-yieldable bolster the movements of all the fulcrums are equalized under an unequally-balanced load or one more heavily loaded upon one side than upon the other.

It is thus evident that by the use of my invention the employment of the usual brakebeams is obviated, the brakes can be applied with a power proportional to the load of the car by the adjustable ful-crums, and the actuating mechanism of the fulcrums can be operated to its limit when the fulcrums are locked without danger of derangement or injury thereto.

Obviously the various features of construction of my invention can be variously modified without departing from the generic scope of my inventionas, for example, the plate 16 may be omitted and the plate 18 may be supported by a hanger or other proper manner. The form of the movable fulcrums and the specific means for operating-them may be indefinitely-varied.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In car-brake mechanism, a plurality of coacting brake-levers in cooperation with the brake-shoes; movable fulcrums for the said levers automatically adjustable by the gravity of the car; means for compensating for the movement of the fulcrums; and means for actuating the said levers.

2. Car-brake mechanism consisting of a plurality of pivoted, wedge-shaped brake-levers provided with brake-shoes; movable fulcrums for said levers automatically adjustable by the gravity of the car; a yielding bolster adapted to actuate the said fulcrums in proportion to the gravity of the car; means for compensating for the movement of the fulcrums; and means for actuating the said levers.

3. In car-brake mechanism a plurality of pivoted brake-levers provided with brakeshoes, and having their outer ends wedgeshaped to equalize the travel of their inner ends under variations of gravity of the car for the purpose specified; movable fulcrums for the said levers automatically adjustable by the gravity of the car; means for actuating the fulcrums from the same point and proportional to the weight of the car; means for'compensating for the movement of the fulcrums; and means for actuating the said levers.

4. In car-brake mechanism a plurality of pivoted brake-levers having their outer ends wedge-shaped and provided with brake-shoes; movable fulcrums for the said levers; means for actuating the movable fulcrums from the same point with a power proportional to the weight of the car; means for compensating for the movement of the fulcrums; means for actuating the said levers; and means for compensating in a loaded car, for the locked fulcrums when the brakes had been previously set by hand; and means for actuating the said brake-levers.

- 5. In car-brake mechanism a plurality of wedge-shaped pivoted brake-levers carrying brake-shoes; longithdinally-adjustable fulcrums for the said levers; a vertically-yielding bolster adapted to actuate the fulcrums with a power proportional to the load; means for actuating the said brake-levers; means for equalizing the power exerted upon the said 1evers in use; means for enabling the fulcrums to resist their actuating means; and means for equalizing the movement of the fulcrums under an unequally distributed or balanced load.

Signed by me at Fort Wayne, Allen county, State of Indiana, this 2d day of August, 1904.

JOHN W. PEPPLE.

Witnesses:

WATTS P. DENNY, AUGUSTA VIBERG.

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