IMPROVE- MENTS IN MEANS & APPLIANCES FOR WORKING TRAM CARS PROPELLED BY MEANS OF ROPES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Hinksman of 117 Great Russell Street Bedford
Square Bloomsbury County of Middlesex for an Invention of IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MEANS & APPLIANCES FOR WORKING TRAM CARS PROPELLED BY
MEANS OF ROPES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Hinksman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th September 1882.
CHARLES HINKSMAN of 117 Great Russell Street Bedford Square County of
Middlesex IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPLIANCES FOR WORKING TRAM CARS
PROPELLED BY MEANS OF ROPES
This invention relates to Street and other rail or Tramways, on which the Tram
Cars are propelled by means of endless or other ropes or rope cables arranged and
travelling in hollow tubes under the Roadway. The connection between the Car
and the rope being effected by means of a suitable gripping apparatus
The object of my said Invention is to provide improved means of gripping and
releasing the rope applying the brake and (in case of obstruction upon the track)
of severing the connection of a portion of the apparatus from the Car.
Under the body of the tram car I attach thereto a suitable vertical bar, the lower
end of which bar enters the tube below the level of the Roadway. The lower end
of this bar is fitted with a gripping apparatus which grips the rope above and
below, the under portion of the rope being gripped by a channel shaped appendage
or jaw sustained by the bar, and the upper side of the rope being in like manner
gripped by a channel shaped appendage or jaw, which can be raised or depressed
by the means hereinafter described. This gripping apparatus is made of sufficient
length and of suitable sectional form to produce the necessary hold upon the rope,
and the two ends are bevelled off externally to a fine edge in order to allow it to
pass with ease, under or over the pulley wheels which guide and sustain the ropes.
The upper portion of the gripper is connected with a vertical bar before mentioned.
This latter bar or connecting link with the upper portion of the gripper is carried
upwards and attached to a crank, eccentric, kneejoint, lever, or other mechanical
equivalent for imparting vertical motion thereto. This latter device is attached to
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or forms part of a longitudinal shaft fitted under the floor of the car and extending
to both platforms. By a partial rotation of this shaft the gripping apparatus is
caused to grip or release the rope as desired. The shaft is actuated by means of a
hand lever, or levers, guided by a notched radius bar with locking gear similar to
the reversing lever of locomotive engines When this lever is moved in one
direction the rope is gripped and the lever is locked in position. When it is
desired to release the rope, the hand lever is unlocked and moved in the opposite
direction whereby the upper jaw of the gripper is raised and the rope is free
Suitable antifriction pullies or rollers may be fitted to the grippers in order to
facilitate the passage of the rope through or between the grippers, when the car is
at rest.
I also arrange and connect the longitudinal shaft with the ordinary brake gear,
in such a manner, that when the rope is released the brake is put on in order to
stop the car, and when the gripping apparatus is operating in order to grip the rope,
the brake apparatus is simultaneously released
In case of an obstruction taking place upon the line of rails, I provide means of
detaching the vertical bar from the under side of the car. For this purpose the
attachment of the vertical bar is effected by fitting the saine into one or more
sockets firmly attached to the under side of the car-The bar being kept in position
by means of keys or bolts, by the removal of which keys or bolts the removal of
the bar is readily effected.
I also provide a temporary short line of rail, suitably curved to form a siding, in
. order to enable the tramcar to pass a temporary obstruction upon the line of rail

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Hinksman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th March 1883.
CHARLES HINKSMAN of 117 Great Russell Street Bloomsbury in the County of
Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPLIANCES FOR WORKING TRAM
CARS PROPELLED BY MEANS OF ROPES
"
This invention relates to Street and other rail or tramways, in which the tram
cars are propelled by means of endless or other ropes or rope cables, arranged and
travelling in hollow tubes under the roadway. The connection between the car
and the rope being effected by means of suitable gripping apparatus.
The object of my said invention is to provide improved means of gripping and
releasing the rope, and, in case of obstruction upon the track, of severing the con-
nection of a portion of the apparatus from the car, or instead thereof the car may
be backed to a box and the gripper raised on a set of hinges.
Under the body, or under one or both of the platforms of the car, I attach my
vertical gripping apparatus, the lower end of which enters, through the slot, into
the tube below the level of the roadway.
Two channel or semicircular grippers are fitted to the apparatus. One or both
of these grippers or jaws are capable of being raised or lowered by the means.
hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawings filed herewith, in which
drawings similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
Figure 1 is an elevation (partly in section) of a portion of the road and a tram
car. a is a longitudinal tubular shaft, sustained by the attachments a¹ upon the
axles of the wheels, and firmly fixed to the gripping frame. Inside this shaft is a
crank shaft which actuates the crank.b and connecting rod b¹. This connecting rod
is in connection with the sliding link c, and this sliding link actuates the upper
jaw of the gripping apparatus. The lower jaw d is connected to the two side
frames c c. e is a box in the cable tube. f is a pulley which sustains the cable g
when the same is not held up by the grip. h h are the levers by which the crank
shaft bis actuated.
In some cases the frame itself with the lower jaw is also made capable of vertical
motion, by means of additional cranks or eccentrics; suitable joints being provided,
if necessary, and in such a case the throw of the crank b may be made smaller, in
order to divide the travel of the jaws between the two cranks, or the grip may be
effected by the throw of c¹ alone, the bar c being fixed. In such case vertical
guides may be affixed to the car, if found desirable, to keep the lower part of the
rod that actuates the lower jaw vertical, or the bar c which is fixed in this.
arrangement may itself be made to act in this manner.
Figure 2 is another longitudinal elevation (partly in section), in which the
tubular shaft is shortened and the crank shaft is actuated by the shafts a² a².
These shafts a² a² are connected to the crank shaft by universal joints a³ a³. i is
a lever fixed to the shaft a. The use of this lever i is to enable a man to raise the
grip clear of the road, as shewn in Figure 3, which is an end elevation of the car.
The levers and i partially balance the weight of the grip, until the latter is
hooked up to a link or chain as shewn, after which the levers hh may be removed
from their sockets.
details, which will be readily
It will be observed that there
Figure 41, the cable being held
Figures 4, 41, 42, 43 and 44 are diagrams of the
understood with the aid of the letters of reference.
is a certain amount of play in the jaws shewn in
at d. Also that the double jaws are for gripping one of two cables when there
are two cables in one tube, as sometimes is the case. Figures 5 and 5¹ are plan
views of Figures 4 and 4³.
L

page_text: Figure 6 is a back view of the lever h and notched radius bar with the locking
and releasing gear.
And the
Figure 7 represents, in elevation, one modification of my said invention. This
arrangement does not require a continuous shaft under the car, but is fixed at each
end under the platforms. k is the platforin. h are the hand levers which actuate
the sleeve m and internal shaft n. The sleeve m has two cranks m¹ affixed thereto
and connected by rods (not shewn in the diagram) with the links c¹ c¹
inner shaft n, by means of the crank n', actuates the link c. These links
respectively operate the jaws which grip the rope. The upper ends of this frame
are fitted to sliding bars, which work in guides, and allow the grip to radiate
to any curve of the tube, and also to guide the same to a central position when the
road is straight. Figures 8 and 9 shew two of the methods of guiding the gripping
apparatus. In Figure 8 the sliding bars are shewn without a radius bar, and in
Figure 9 a radius bar is added. Other forms of guide bars may be used for
effecting this object. The centre q is placed at or near the line of one of
the axles.
The frame and links of the gripping apparatus shewn in Figure 7 are all fitted
with hinges o o, and at the side (or the same may be at the back or front) of each
hinge are two sockets fitted with moveable pins p p. When these pins are in the
sockets (as shewn in Figure 7) each bar is rigid, but when the pins are removed
the jaws can be raised out of the tube, the hinges acting as joints for that purpose
and the jaws may then be hung by a chain as in Figure 3, or the pins of the
hinges may be removed and the portion of the apparatus detached. By this.
arrangement the grip at the forward end of the car may be lowered into the tube,
and that at the rear end may be raised clear of the tube and road. The hinges are
so arranged that they are all in line when the rope is released. In Figure 7 the
details of the grip inside the tube are not fully shewn, as the scale is too small for
the purpose, and these details are hereinafter described.
The apparatus shewn in Figure 7 may be boxed in with a light metallic box,
down to the dotted liner, r, in order to afford increased rigidity, and to protect the
same from dirt.
Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the cable-way and a portion of the
gripping apparatus shewing the lower jaw let down, and the upper jaw raised, the
cable resting on the pulley.
Figure 11 shews the lower jaw raised and the cable also raised thereby in which
position the cable can slide on the jaw.
Figure 12 shews both jaws gripping the cable.
Figure 13 shews another modification, in which the two jaws sweep the position
of the cable whether above or below the centre.
In Figures 14, 15 and 16 the brackets which hold the jaw pivots are shewn and
the successive operations are clearly seen-Figure 14 shewing the cable clear,
Figure 15 sustained by the lower jaw, and Figure 16 gripped.
This mode of picking up and gripping the cable will prevent the necessity of
"fishing" for the cable, as in former plans, and the cable cannot escape from the
radius of the jaws.
The devices above described may with obvious modifications be made to apply
to the cases where the lower jaw is fixed and the upper jaw is moveable or vice
versa, or where both the jaws are moveable
The jaws may be lined with alternate linings of hard wood and intermediate
unlined spaces as shewn in Figure 17, or the wood lining may be continuous.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed and carried into effect,
I declare that what I consider novel in the above and what I claim as my
invention, is as follows:-
1 The manufacture and use of gripping apparatus fitted under the body of the
car substantially as and for the purpose herein before described and shewn on the
drawings Figures 1 to 6, or any mere modification thereof..

page_text: 2 The manufacture and use of gripping apparatus fitted under the platform at
both ends or at one end of the car, substantially as herein before described and
shewn in Figures 7 to 17, or any mere modification thereof.
3 The manufacture and use of gripping apparatus for tramcars propelled by
ropes in which the grip is made by channelled jaws closing on the rope from above
and below substantially as and for the purposes described whether such closing is
effected by the movement of one or both jaws.
4 The several methods of actuating the grips hereinbefore described and shewn
on the drawings
5 The methods or means of raising or detaching the gripping apparatus, or a
portion thereof, as herein before described and shewn in Figures 2, 3 and 7.
6 The application of radial guides substantially as hereinbefore described in
reference to Figures 7, 8 and 9, or any mere modification thereof.
7 The use and manufacture as and for the purposes described of the several
arrangements hererein before described and shewn on the drawings, together forming
my improvements in means and appliances for working tram-cars propelled by
means of ropes or cables.
In witness whereof I the said Charles Hinksman have hereunto set my hand
and seal this twentieth day of March in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty three
CHARLES HINKSMAN (L.S.)