Year: 1888

page_text: We, PATRICK BROWNLEY, of St. John, in the Province of New Brunswick, and
Dominion of Canada, Brass Finisher, and JAMES STRATON, of said St. John,
Barrister at Law do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to brake shoes for steam cars and the like.
It is well known that the brake-shoes of steam cars horse cars and the like as
ordinarily constructed present smooth, concave faces to the action of the wheels, and
that when the peripheries of the wheels are wet, or covered with ice or snow, the shoes
are very liable to slip and not perform their functions properly. Also that more or
less sand, dust and other detritus, adheres to the working surface of the wheels when
in use thereby interfering materially with the proper action of the brakes and causing
the shoes to be rapidly worn out.
Our invention is designed to obviate these and other objections and difficulties and
to that end we make use of means which will be readily understood by all conversant
with such matters from the following explanation.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective view of our improved brake-shoe detached.
Figure 2 a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3 a view showing a modification of the invention and
Figure 4 a diagram for explaining certain details of construction.
Like letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different
figures of the drawing.

page_text: A represents the shoe detached from the brake-head and beam, it not being deemed
necessary to show thoso parts in order to illustrate our improvement.
The shoe is provided in the usual mauner with a concave working or bearing face f
and is composed of metal, all of its parts being cast integral or formed in one piece.
One or more inclined recesses or grooves m arranged in parallelism with each other
are formed in the face said grooves extending diagonally across the face of the
shoe from side to side as best seen in Figure 1. In the present instance, the shoe
is represented as provided with three grooves, but more or less may be employed
if preferred.
In cross-section the groove is nearly square, being so constructed that its interior
walls stand at or approximately at an angle of 15 degrees to a right line drawn
from the centre of the opening through the face of the shoe to the rear of the
groove, as best shown in Figure 4, in which represents the opening through the
face of the shoe, a right line drawn through the centre of said opening and the rear
of the groove, and b, d, r, z the walls of the groove.
In the use of the improvement, when that portion of the wheel which is in
contact with the face of the shoe, is moving in the direction of the arrow, 12, the
water, ice, gravel, etc. on the periphery of the wheel will be caught by the lower
odgo
of the groove and thrown against the wall r in a direct line or nearly so, and
from thence will fall into the gutter e forme by the walls, and 2 and be carried
to the side of the shoe and discharged; and when it is moving in the direction of
the arrow 10, the water etc., will be caught by the upper edge of the groove and
thrown in like manner against the wall d from whence it will fall into said gutter and
be discharged as described.
When the groove is constructed with but ono rear wall which stands approximately
parallel with the face of the shoe, the water, ice, gravel, etc., removed from the
whorl and thrown against said wall will be deflected and a large portion of it returned
to the wheel to be again removed and precipitated against the wall; but by con-
structing the groove with two rear walls inclined in opposite directions, as shown
at d the impingement of the detritus etc., will be direct, thereby preventing it from
being deflected and returned to the wheel to interfere with the proper action of the
shoe thereon.
In Figure 3 the gutter e is shown as semicircular in cross section, a form which
may be employed if preferred.
It will be obvious that by inclining the groove to the longitudinal axial line of the
shoe, the substances removed from the wheel and falling into the gutter w, will he
carried by gravitation to the lower end thereof, and discharged onto the rond-bed
also that the friction between the shoe and wheel will be increased or the shoo have
a better "grip" on the wheel than when the grooves are not employod.
We do not confine ourselves to inclining the walls b, z inwardly at any special
angle to the face, as said walls may stand at or nearly at right angles thereto without
departing entirely from the spirit of our invention, neither do we confine ourselves
to constructing the walls d'at any special angle to the walls b, as the same may be
varied and yet porform their functions satisfactorily in some instancos.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is ;-
First. As an improved article of manufacture, a bruke-shoe provided with a groove
in its face as m, the rear wall of said groove being inclined to the face of the shou,

page_text: being lower than its lower outer edge to form a gutter, as 1 for receiving the sub-
stances removed from the wheel, substantially as set forth.
Third. A brake-shoe provided with a diagonally arranged groove in its face,
as m said groove having rear walls, as ed inclined to said face, substantially as
described.
Fourth. The brake-shoe A, provided with the groove m having the walls b, d, v, z,
inclined to the face of said shoe, substantially as set forth.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.