USRE231E - Improvement in the mode of operating brakes for cars - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

r NEFIEMIATI ITODGE, 0F NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE OF OPERATING BRAKES FOR CARS.

Spceileniion forming part nf Letters Patent No. 6,762, lated October?, 1R49; Reissue No. 23|, dated March l, 1853. b To all ulioin lit man concern: otherwise properly arranged, the rod c and the Be it known that I, NEHEMIAH HODGE, of;l lever being jontedtogethen North Adams, in the county of Berkshire and The rods and levers connecting the brakes State ot' Massachusetts, have invented a new of the two trucks should be suspended to thel and useful Improvement in Operating the under side of the car-frame by hangers or rakes ofRailway-Carriages Gonstructedwith 1 other suitable contrivances, such as will ad twoTruck-Frames; and Idoherebydeclare the mit o' their free longitudinal or lateral move following to be a full, clear, and exact descripments, such as may be necessaryto insure their tion of the same, and otl the characteristics correct operation. To the other truck, B, which distinguish it from others heretofore i there is to be applied an arrangement and known for such purpose, reference being had combination ot' the bralY s c j", and to the accompanying drawings, making a part link-rods d e', precisely or essentially simila r of this specification. f to that before described as belonging to the the said drawings, Figure l represents a truck B, such contrivanees being' applied to perspective view of a car-frame constructed such trucks B B as seen in the drawings, or with tw-o trucks or truck-frames, and with iny f in any other suitable manner. improved mechanism for, or means of operat- The fulcra of the equal and opposite transing the brakes applied to it. Fig. 2 is aplan verse levers f jl are connected with each of the two 'trucks and the brakeoperating other by the rod li, or its equivalent, which is mechanism. j jointed to both levers. The free ends ot the My invention consists in a combination ot'j transverse levers are respectively connectmechanism which, when applied to or couj ed with the windlasses m m at the opposite nected with the brakes of two trucks or truckt ends ofthe car frame by the rods -i li and con- ,t'raines of a railway-car and two windlasses, necting chairs or mechanical equivalents. respectively situated at the two ends of the j Under such circumstances, if' the windlass nl. :floor-frame of a car, shall, when either wind- I, is turned so as to wind up its chain, and there chain, bring down at the same time the brakes lass m, the brakes of the truck B will be forced against their respective wheels. As the sevwith the same degree of force, andwhether eral levers ofthe second truck, Bf, are respectequal to those corresponding to them on axles ot' the wheels ofV one truck are thrown f' the truck B, and as the two sets are connected by the two levers fj" and the rod h, which other truck or the rubbers or brakes become j are free to move toward either truck-frame, unequally worn or are ofan unequal thickness. J it is evident that when power is applied to In Fig. l of the drawings, A denotes the l operate on the windlass and depress the tioorframe of a car as supported on two fourg brakes of the truck B, power by the connect wheeled trucks, B C Each wheel of the ing levers and rod will be simultaneously truck B has a brake, ci, hung from the end of transferred to the brake-lever of the other the truck-frame, and so as to act against the truck-frame, so as to bring its brakes down periphery of the wheel. The two brakes of f aga-inst the peripheries-of the wheels thereof', each pair of wheels of each axle are connected and with a like degree or amount of force. by a cross-bar, A lever, c, is hinged or liichever wiudlassis'operated the resultwill jointed by one of its extremities to the midf be the saine. dle of the innercrossbar of the brakes of one By this combination it is plain that the truck-frame, and its fulcrum is connected by a brakes of a car with two trucks, or the doublelink-rod, d, with the outer crossbar of the i truck car, or the long ear,7 as it is usually other brakes of said frame. The free or other j termed, are brought down simultaneously u i extremity of this lever c is connected by a j on the wheels of both trucks whenever either l' second link-rod, e, extended toward the midf windlass is operated or wound up.

dle of the car-frame, with one extremity of a j As the brakes ot' the truck B are brought second lever, j; extending across the frame, or l down upon the wheels thereof by a force equal to that exerted by the windlass on the lever f, the fulcrum of the said lever receives a drat't torce equal to double the force on the windl lass, supposing the i'ulcruni to be at the middle of the lever. This double force acting on y the said fulcrum is communicated through the rod h to the fulcrum ot" the other lever j", and i, by it equally divided between the rod 'i' and l the brake-lever c. rIhe rod i being checked i by its windlass, or prevented from being l drawn toward the middle of the car, all the motion imparted to the lever j" will be em- 'i ployed to operate the brake-lever of the truck i B' and bring down the brakes thereof upon their wheels, and with a like force to what is t exerted on the other truck B, or on the brakes 1 thereof. Either lever,f or j", when pulled upon by its windlass, not only performs the office l of putting in action the brake-lever connected i with it, so as to cause it to bring down upon the wheels the brakes ot' its truck, but it also, lhroughthe connection rod h, sets in action l the corresponding lever and the brake-lever ot the other truck. l As the fulcra of the several levers are not i made stationary, but left free to accommodate i themselves and the corresponding levers and brake levers to any departure from parallelism ot' the axles of one truck with those ofthe other i truck, or any wear or inequality ot thickness of the brakes, brake-rubbers, or linings, the bringing down of the brakes ot both trucks simultaneously and with a like degree of force when either windlass is actuated as described is completely secured. In the arrangement ot' the parts represented 'i in the drawings it will be seen that by the i inclination ot' the levers c c in opposite direcl tions the force acting upon the brakes at any time when applied is neither increased nori diminished in running from a straight track onto a curve, or vice versa, or on a curve. It i will therefore be perceived what an important'part the two levers ff', and the rod h perform in connection with the two brakelevers c c and the rods (l d. It is not essenl, tial to my invention that the exact arrange- E nient ot any one or more of its parts, as exl hibited in the drawings, be always preserved, l as the same may be changed so long as the combination or principle constituting lthe invention be maintained and its parts disposed and connected so as to produce the effect of bringing down upon the wheels when either windlass is turned up the brakes ot' the tow trucks simultaneously, and with a like degree of force, practically speaking, not only while -running on a straight track or on a curve, or

under an inequality of the thickness of the rubbers or linings of the brakes, as stated.

I am aware that the brakes of a car made with trucks or truck-frames have before thc date of my invention been connected in dit ferent ways, so that the brakes of both trucks could be brought down simultaneously upon the wheels by the action of either windlass. I therefore do not claim any machinery for doing merely this; but when this has been done the machinery applied to the windlass and brakes ot' the trucks has not been such as to cause, under all or nearly all circumstances, while the car is in operation or running on a railway-track in which there may be curves or deiiections from straight lines in the laying ot' its rails, and when either may be brought to act upon the brakelever of one truck to act (through the movable rod or connecting mechanism) upon the brakes oi' the opposite truck.

I therefore claim- My improvement in actuating the brakes of a car having two trucksthat is to say, a combination of two levers, ff', a rod, h, two levers, c c', and rods d d', as applied to the brakes and two windlasses of the car, and operated by either of the windlasses so as to bring down at the same time the brakes of both trucks upon the wheels thereof with the same, or practically the same, degree of force, and whether when the car is running on the railway the axles of one truck, or of the wheels ot' one truck, are thrown or moved out of parallelism with those of the other truck, or the rubbers or brakes become unequally worn or ot' an unequal thi kness, as above stated.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 28th day of December, A. D. 1852.

NEEIEMIAH HODGE.

Witnesses: E. D. WHITAKER E. NURMAN.

windlass is put Y i in operation, the like amount of force which

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