Patent GB-144340-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in elevated railway systems with cable traction
IPC: B61B10/02
Filed: 1919-01-31
Abstract: 144,340. Hanak, E. Jan. 31,1919. Elevated railways; rope railways; buffer stops.-In a cable-driven conveyer system using single elevated rails, the carriages have cable grips which are released at a switch when passing on to a selected branch line where the load is released at a determined point, and when the car passes on to the return line, approaching cars on the main line are disengaged from the cable and brought to rest, any car if stopped causing succeeding cars when close to release the cable. Track equipment. The track comprises a rail 5, Fig. 3, carried by lateral brackets, and an elevated guide rail 28 which is normally flanged, but has its flange removed at corners to facilitate bending. The endless cable 6 is continuously driven and diverted to the power house by pulleys 20, 21, the outgoing cable passing over a tension pulley 18. Fixed sheaves are provided at corners, where the cable grip is released and re-set by stops 12, 13 carried by the rail 5. Intermediate sheaves 66, Fig. 15, are carried by pivoted arms, the sheaves being moved aside by an approaching car and returned by a spring 67. Points and switches. The switches are selected and operated by a cam 70 sliding on a shaft 73 and set by a handle so that its nose engages the notch 69 corresponding to the selected branch. This cam engages a roller 78, Fig. 16, carried on a shaft 79 adjacent to the track. This shaft operates a release stop 80 and also a lever 90 pivoted at 92 and carrying the main switch-rail 7. The lever 90 is connected at one end to an arm 98 on a shaft 99 coupled to the branch switch-rail 8, and at the other end to a toggle 95 serving to retain the switch in set position. The toggle is broken by a lever 102 coupled to a lever 104 on the branch 9, the lever 104 having an arm 106 engaged by a lug on the carriage, so that the spring 93 re-sets the switch into its main-line position. When the carriage passes from the branch to the return line, it engages a roller 122, Fig. 20, on a lever 121 connected to a lever 124 carrying a switch and its mechanism similar to the lever 90 and switch of Fig. 16. A car passing along the return line will re-set this switch through an arm 129 on a lever 130 which is coupled to the lever 132 used to break the toggle 134. Stopping and starting arrangements. An approaching car on the return line is brought to rest while a car is passing from the branch line by a lever 152 set in advance of the roller 122 and coupled to a shaft 145. This shaft, when operated, projects a stop 143 to release the cable grip of the main-line car, and also projects a flat spring band-brake 138, fixed at one end and coupled at its other end to the shaft, into the path of a cam shoe 65 on the carriage. The shaft 145 also carries a positive stop 154, Fig. 26, and a pivoted pawl 153 to present forward and backward movement respectively. When the branch car has passed beyond the switch, it operates a lever coupled to a bar 157 which is connected to a plate 160 provided with a lug 162 which engages the roller 88 on the disk 38 and so re-sets the cable grip. At the same time, a cam 163 on the bar 157 engages an arm 164 on the shaft 145 so as to rotate the shaft 145 to withdraw the brake 138 and the stop 154 and allow the car to proceed. When a car is stopped, it will also stop succeeding cars by engaging a rod 178, Fig. 9, which projects from the front of each car when the cable grip engages the cable. Impact with a car in front causes rotation of the disk 38 and release of the grip from the cable.