IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR ARRESTING LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS
Year: 1884

page_text: I MAXIMILIAN FERDINAND BONZANO of Ninth Street and Columbia Avenue
Philadelphia Pennsylvania U.S.A. Engineer do hereby declare the nature of said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR ARRESTING LOCOMOTIVES AND
CARS" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My present Invention consists of an improvement as hereafter described in the
device for arresting Locomotives and Cars set forth in the Specification of my
application for Letters Patent No 5121 of 19th March 1884 (conjointly with
Adolphus Bonzano).
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the device for which the aforesaid Letters
Patent were applied for.
Figure 2 a sectional elevation of the device with my improvement.
Figure 3 an end view of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrow 1. and
Figure 4a vertical section on the line 1-2, Figure 2.
Referring in the first instance to Figure 1 which as before remarked illustrates
the Invention forming the subject matter of my previous application for a Patent,
A is one of the rails of a track and B a shoe which has on the under side a groove
adapted to the rail so that while the shoe is at liberty to be moved freely on the
rail it can have no other movement independent of the said rail.
To lugs on the shoe is pivoted a lever D one arm d of which extends upwards,
the other arm e of the lever being above a block i resting on the rail and arranged
to slide thereon with the shoe.
When the wheel or any other part of a locomotive or car strikes the arm & of the
lever D the latter together with the shoe and block i will yield and slide along the
rail but at the same time such pressure will be exerted on the rail through
the medium of the block as will cause friction enough to absorb the momentum of
the locomotive or car.
The object of my present Invention is to so restrict this friction that it cannot
be in excess of that required for the gradual stoppage of the Locomotive or car
and this object I prefer to carry.into effect by the devices illustrated in Figures 2
3 and 4.

page_text: There is the same shoe B adapted to the rail A as in my former Invention and
there are lugs b b on the shoe to which the lever D' is pivoted.
The arm e¹ of the lever however instead of being arranged to bear directly on
the block i is arranged to bear on a spring W interposed between the arm and the
block.
°
In connection with the spring and lever there must be a device for restricting
the downward movement of the arm e¹ and the compression of the spring, and
different appliances for this purpose will readily suggest themselves to skilled
mechanics In the present instance the arresting device consists of a strong
screw Y passing through an extension of the arm e¹ of the lever and secured thereto
by nuts tt.
If when a Locomotive or car comes into contact with the arm d of the lever D
the shock is a comparatively slight one, the spring may be sufficient to resist that
shock before the lever is arrested by the contact of the screw Y with the shoe B,
and the friction of the block on the rail tending to retard the movement of the
shoe, and finally to arrest the locomotive or car, will be proportionate to the force
exerted on the arm d of the lever.
.
Should the shock be a violent one. however the spring will be compressed only
so far as the screw will permit, and hence the friction will be restricted by the
screw, and cannot, if a proper spring is used, be so excessive as to arrest the
locomotive or car too abruptly.
It will be understood that the spring must be such, as regards its rigidity and
resiliency, that it will be the medium under all circumstances through which a
proper friction of the block against the rail will be assured.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The combination of a shoe B adapted to a rail, a lever D¹ pivoted to the shoe, a
spring interposed between an,arm on the lever and a block on the rail, and a
device for restricting the movement of the lever, all substantially as and for the
purpose herein before set forth.