Improvements in Brakes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Aug., 1887
Complete Left, 16th May, 1888
Complete Accepted, 22nd June, 1888
Improvements in Brakes.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
(a communication to me from abroad by Adolph Argo, of Chemnitz, in the Kingdom
of Saxony, German Empire) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improved apparatus for stopping vehicles or machinery
by means of friction applied by ropes, which apparatus may be set in operation either
by hand, or, automatically in case of accident.
In carrying out this invention in relation to vehicles, one or more brake pulleys
having the same or nearly the same diameter as the track wheels, may be mounted
on one or more or all the axles of the vehicle, and the periphery of the said brake
pulleys may be wound round with a rope common to all of them in such a manner
that when the rope is drawn or tightened from one of the ends of the vehicle, the
rope will grip all the brake pulleys in successive order (counting from the rear axle)
so firmly as to arrest the motion of the vehicle.
When several vehicles so provided are coupled together so as to form a train, the
rope may be tightened from each separate vehicle; but when applied to railway
trains the foot plate of the engine forms a convenient place for its general
application.
In case the train should run off the line, or come into collision or meet with similar
accident, devices are provided for enabling the brake to be applied automatically, so
that the whole train can be brought to a standstill.
The rope may conveniently pass one or more times round each brake pulley, and
stays or loops provided with holes for guiding the rope may be fixed to the tender
and to each vehicle of a complete train of carriages, The front stay or loop may be
fixed, whilst the rear stay or loop and the stays on the other vehicles are preferably
made adjustable.
The rope is provided with knots or the like, whereby, when pulled in one or the
other direction, it can bear against one of the stays.
In order to be able to apply the brake to the tender or to a single vehicle, the rope
is connected with a draw bar or rod supported in bearings underneath the tender or

page_text: vehicle, in such a manner that, by means of ropes passing round horizontal pulleys
suitably mounted on the underside of the framing of the tender or vehicle, when one
of these pulleys is rotated in a suitable direction (which may conveniently be accom-
plished by means of a brake spindle actuating toothed or worm gear connected with
one of the said horizontal wheels) the rope will be tightened in the front or at the
rear.
When the brake is to be applied, one of the above mentioned horizontal wheels
must be slightly rotated by means of the brake spindle. This rotation will tighten
the loop of the rope round the nearest brake pulley, in such a manner that the
periphery of the pulley will draw or carry the rope along with it.
This drawing or pulling of the rope is continued in succession by the other brake
pulleys until the movement of the rope is arrested by a knot or its equivalent coming
against one of the stays, whereupon the rope exerts its braking action by tightening
itself first round the hindmost brake pulley and in a similar manner consecutively
round the others, tightening round the front brake pulley last in order. This
tightening of the rope, and the braking action is effected so quickly that the brake is
applied almost simultaneously with the rotation of the brake spindle, and com-
municates itself to all the brake pulleys without any appreciable interval.
On the stoppage of the vehicle and when the brake handle has been released, the
rope is drawn back in the opposite direction to its former position so as loosely to
surround the brake pulleys, by means of springs which are placed in a state of tension
by the working of the brakes.
In order to effect the braking of a complete train from one point, the rope of one
vehicle is connected to the rope of the next, and so on in succession throughout the
train. In this case no stays or loops are used on the intermediate vehicles; the
intermediate stays are drawn up out of the way, and only those at the ends of the train
remain in operation.
In trains in which there are some vehicles that are not provided with the improved
brake apparatus, these vehicles may be connected by means of a rod, supported in
suitable bearings underneath the vehicle, this rod being connected to the draw springs
of the vehicle before referred to, which springs serve to restore the rod to its former
position when the brakes are released.
In order to enable the brake to operate automatically in accidents such as
collisions etc., in which there is a violent motion of the buffers, a weight is suspended
from a pivot to the under framing of the tender. The front end of this weight is
provided with a projection or nose and is held by a pawl which is pivotted to the
tender frame and is acted upon by a spring. A ring or loop projects upwards near
the front end of the weight through which passes the brake rope. On each side of
the locomotive axially to the buffers, a bar is carried in supports fixed to the engine
frame, so that the said bar is capable of a sliding movement.
Each bar is attached by stays to another bar which projects upwards behind the
buffer discs, and downwards in an oblique direction towards the lower part of the
wheel guard or track clearer, but on one side of the same.
To each bar is attached a chain or rope which is carried over suitable pulleys and
brought into connection with the above mentioned pawl in such a manner that should
a violent motion of either or of both buffers, take place this motion will be transmitted
by the bar or bars and rope or ropes to the pawl, which will thereby be released.
The pawl being released the pivoted weight will fall and tighten the brake rope, so
that the brake will be applied automatically:
When the brake is to be removed springs come into action which bring the bars
back into their normal position; and a separate spring is arranged to put the pawl
into gear again.
In order to bring the weight readily into its normal position, a cord may be
attached to the ring and passed over guide pulleys, this cord may be wound up on a
suitably placed drum, whereby the nose of the weight is caused to engage with the
spring pawl ready to be released anew.
In case of the train running off the rails the brake is applied automatically in like

page_text: manner, the bars being shifted, and consequently the pawl thrown out of gear, by
the resistance offered to the lower end of the bars by the rails of the track or by the
ground.
A pull or other device connected with the pawl, may be arranged above or under-
neath each carriage so as to communicate with the interior of the same, by means of
which the brakes can be directly and instantly operated from each compartment so
provided.
It is clear that separate carriages, or the complete train may be provided with an
arrangement such as is described above and comprising a pivoted weight with pawl
and the releasing device. In this case the arrangement of brake operating apparatus
in the interior of the carriages is greatly simplified.
An apparatus similar to the above described vehicle brake may be advantageously
employed in factories and work-rooms where power is used. In this case one or more
brake pulleys may be mounted upon a convenient portion of the shafting, and the same
may be operated, in case of accident, so as to stop the machinery.
According to another modification a brake pulley may be fixed upon the main shaft
of each work room, and the brake ropes may be pulled up by weights which can be
released from each machine so as to stop the whole machinery in a moment.
More than one brake pulley may be employed according to the extent of the
shafting, the releasing device being so arranged that the whole of the weights can be
released by pulling a cord from each machine. The releasing device and the weights
can be arranged according to various modifications to suit the special requirements of
the locality in which it is placed.
It is evident that brake apparatus similar in action to that described above may be
constructed according to various modifications to suit the requirements of different
cases without departing from the essential characteristics of the herein before described
invention.
DL: 10th 1... SA1007
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham.

page_text: Improvements in Brakes.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincolns Inn Fields in the county of Middlesex,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improved apparatus for stopping vehicles and machinery
by means of friction applied by ropes and the like (hereinafter called ropes) which
apparatus may be set in operation either by hand or automatically in case of
accident. In carrying out this invention in relation to a vehicle, one or more brake
pulleys or wheels (hereinafter called pulleys) having the same or nearly the same
diameter as the track wheels, is or are mounted on one or more or all the axles of
the vehicle and the periphery of each brake pulley is wound round with a rope
common to all of them, in such a manner that when the rope is drawn or tightened
from one of the ends of the vehicle, it will grip all the brake pulleys in successive
order (counting from the rear axle) so firmly as to arrest or reduce the motion of
the vehicle in a short time.
When several vehicles so provided, are coupled together to form a train, the rope
may be tightened from each separate vehicle or from a single point such as the
foot plate of the engine.
In case the train should run off the line or come into collision or meet with
similar accident devices are provided for enabling the brake to be applied automati-
cally so that the whole train can be brought to a standstill.
Referring to the accompanying two sheets of illustrative drawings Figs. 1 to 4.
shew the application of the improved braking apparatus to a locomotive coupled to
its tender.
.
The rope a passes one or more times round each brake pulley b and stops or
loops c c¹ provided with holes for guiding the rope are fixed to the tender and to
each vehicle of a complete train of carriages. The front stop or loop c on the tender
may be fixed, whilst the rear stop or loop c' and the stops or loops on the other
vehicles are preferably made adjustable.
The rope is provided with knots or their equivalent, whereby, when pulled in
one or the other direction, it can bear against one of the stops or loops.
In order to be able to apply the brake to the tender or to a single vehicle, the
rope a is connected with a draw bar or rod supported in bearings underneath
the tender or vehicle, in such a manner that by means of ropes passing round hori-
zontal pulleys d and e suitably mounted on the underside of the framing of the tender
or vehicle, when one of these pulleys e is rotated in a suitable direction according to
the direction of movement of the vehicle, the rope a will be tightened in the front or
at the rear. When as shown in the drawings the brake is operated from the engine
footplate, the pulley e is suitably arranged in bearings on the underside of the engine

page_text: framing, and can be rotated by means of a brake spindle f, actuating toothed or
worm gearing, g, h.
When the brake is to be operated from the tender or certain other carriages, the
pulley e, spindlof, and gearing g, h, must of course be provided on the said vehicles.
Assuming that the engine is travelling with the tender in front, in order to apply
the brake the pulley e must be slightly rotated by means of the brake spindle f, in a
direction to pull the rope a and tighten the loop of rope round the nearest brake
pulley 63, in such a manner that the periphery of the pulley will draw or carry the
rope along with it.
This drawing or pulling of the rope is continued in succession by the other brake
pulleys and until the movement of the rope is arrested by a knot or its equivalent
coming against the stop or loop c', whereupon the rope exerts its braking action by
tightening itself first round the hindmost brake pulley b' and in a similar manner
consecutively round the others, tightening round the front brake pulley last in
order.
This tightening of the rope, and the braking action is effected so quickly that the
brake is applied almost simultaneously with the rotation of the brake spindle, and
communicates itself to all the brake pulleys without any appreciable interval.
On the stoppage of the vehicle, and when the brake handle has been released, the
springs i or, which had been put into tension by the draught of the rope, draw the
rope back in the opposite direction to its former position so as loosely to surround
the brake pulleys.
In order to effect the braking of a complete train from one point, the rope of one
vehicle is connected to the rope of the next and so on in succession throughout the
train. In this case no stops or loops are used on the intermediate vehicles; the inter-
mediate stops are drawn up out of the way, and only those at the ends of the train
remain in use.
In trains in which there are some vehicles that are not provided with the improved
brake apparatus, these vehicles may be connected by means of a rod, such as 1,
supported in suitable bearings underneath the vehicle, this rod being connected to the
draw springs of the vehicle before referred to, which springs serve to restore the rod
to its former position, when the brakes are released.
In order to enable the brake to operate automatically in accidents such as collisions
etc., in which there is a violent motion of the buffers, a weight m is suspended from a
pivot at to the under framing of the tender. The front end of this weight is
provided with a projection or nose n and is held by a pawl o which is pivotted at ! to
the tender frame and is acted upon by a spring.
A ring or loop m' projects upwards near the front end of the weight m, and through
it there passes the brake rope a.
On each side of the locomotive parallel to the buffers, a bar is carried in supports p¹
fixed to the engine frame so that the said bar is capable of a sliding movement.
Each bar p is attached by stays q¹ to another bar q which projects upwards behind the
buffer discs, and downwards in an oblique direction towards the lower part of the
track clearer, but on one side of the same.
To each bar p is attached a chain or rope t, one chain or rope t being led over
pulleys u, u, the other chain or rope t being led over pulleys u³, u'. The other ends
of these chains or ropes t are fastened to the free end of the pawl o in such a manner
that should a violent motion of either or of both buffers occur, this motion will be
transmitted by the bar q to the bar or bars p and thence to the rope t, whereby the
pawl o will be released. The pivotted weight m will fall and tighten the brake rope a,
so that the brake will be applied automatically. When the brake is to be removed
springs s come into action and bring the bars p and q back into their normal positions ;
and a separate spring o' is arranged to put the pawl o into gear again.
In order to bring the weight m readily into its normal position, a cord r may be
attached to the ring m¹ and passed over guide pulleys; this cord may be wound upon
a suitably placed drum w whereby the nose n of the weight is caused to engage with
the spring pawl o ready to be released again.

page_text: In case of the train running off the rails the brake is applied automatically in like
manner, the bars p being shifted, and consequently the pawl o thrown out of gear, by
the resistance offered to the lower ends of the bars q by the rails of the track or
by the ground.
A pull or other device connected with the pawl o, may be arranged above or under-
neath each carriage so as to communicate with the interior of the same by means of
which the brakes can be directly and instantly operated from each compartment so
provided.
It is clear that separate carriages, or the complete train may be provided with an
arrangement such as is described above and comprising a pivotted weight m with
pawl o and the releasing device p, q, s, t, u. In this case the arrangement of brake
operating apparatus in the interior of the carriages is greatly simplified.
An apparatus similar to the above described vehicle brake may be advantageously
employed in factories and work rooms where power is used. In this case, one or
more pulleys may be mounted upon a convenient portion of the shafting, and the
same may be operated, in case of accident, so as to stop the machinery. According
to one arrangement a brake pulley or pulleys is or are fixed upon the main shaft of
each shop or work room and the brake ropes can be pulled up by weights which
can be released from each machine so as to stop the whole machinery with great
rapidity.
An arrangement for this purpose according to this invention is illustrated in
Figs. 5, 6 and 7.
The brake pulley b is fixed to or cast with the belt pulley z on the main shaft y.
The rope a is wound upon the brake pulley b, and is fixed at the points c and c¹. The
brake pulley b may also be mounted separately from the belt pulley.
brake rope a.
The weight m is pivotted at and is provided with a ring m¹ through which passes the
The weight m is retained by the spring pawl o which is pivotted at r¹.
To the free end of the pawl o are fastened the chains or cords t which lead from
the pulley u over suitably placed guide pulleys to the several machines, so that in case
of accident, the weight m can be released by each workman standing at his machine.
The rope a is thereby tightened, and consequently the whole machinery is speedily
stopped.
The cord serves to replace the weight m into its normal position, and when this
has been done the spring i loosens the rope a upon the pulley b. More than one
brake pulley may be employed according to the extent of the shafting, the releasing
device being so arranged that the whole of the weights can be released by pulling a
cord from each machine.
The releasing device and the weights can be arranged according to various
modifications to suit the special requirements of the locality in which the apparatus is
placed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
In rope brakes for railway vehicles and shafting, the use of weights such as m by
the release of which, either by hand or as the result of accident, the rope or ropes a
is or are drawn tight so as to exert a braking action, substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of Mov 1000
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham.