IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE BRAKES OF THE ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Edwards at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
September 1875.
I, JOHN EDWARDS, of No. 6, Cassland Crescent, South Hackney, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE BRAKES OF
THE ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates mainly to improved apparatus for actuating the
brakes of the rolling stock of railways, whereby the brake blocks are
applied simultaneously to both sides of a wheel by fluid pressure through
a rod or rods. For this purpose according to one arrangement I fix
below the carriage a cylinder having a piston at each end, fluid pressure
being admitted to each end of the cylinder, so as to apply the power by
forcing the pistons inwards. Each piston is connected by a rod or rods
to the two ends of two levers that are pivotted on a transverse beam,
that carries the brake blocks for one side of a pair of wheels. The
other ends of the levers are connected by rods to a corresponding
transverse beam carrying the brake blocks for the other side of the

page_text: wheels. Thus a pull being exerted by the rod or rods from the brake
cylinder, such pull is transferred firstly to the transverse beam carrying
the levers so as to apply the brake blocks thereof, and secondly the pull
is transferred through the levers to the other transverse beam so as to
apply its blocks.
5
According to another modification I provide the first named transverse
beam with two pullies, and I pass two chains connected to the piston of
the brake cylinder, one round each pulley, and connect their other ends
to the other transverse beam, so that by the pull exerted on the chains
the beam carrying the pullies is first applied to the wheels, after which 1
the pull of the chain will apply the second transverse beam. In this
arrangement the transverse, beams may be articulated at their middle
and pivotted either to the under framing of the carriage or to a strut
extending from the one beam to the other.
'
५.
1
According to another arrangement I mount a lever on a fixed fulcrum 1
between the said transverse beams, and I connect the one end of the
lever to the pull rod from the brake cylinder, and also by a rod to the
one transverse beam, the other end of the lever being connected by a
rod to the other transverse beam, so that the motion of the pull rod is
transmitted directly to the one transverse beam, while it is transmitted
to the other transverse beam through the said lever..
It will be evident that any of the before, described apparatus for
applying the brake blocks can be operated by any other known means.
besides fluid pressure.
1
According to another improvement. I cause the before described or 2
any other known apparatus for applying the brake blocks to be operated
automatically on the occurrence of any accident by the following arrange-
ment: To the under framing_of_the_carriage-I-pivot-a-long-weighted
lever held up by a détent; this detent consists by preference of two bars
or rods placed side by side, of which one bar or. rod is fixed to the 3
carriage framing, while the other is capable of being made to slide in
guides past the fixed one. To the weighted lever is attached a stud
that passes up between the two bars, and rests upon their upper edges
by means of a head, so as to support the lever in its raised position.
The sliding bars of all the carriages are coupled together between the 3
carriages by means of a chain or cord, so that in the event of the

page_text: coupling of a carriage breaking the pull thus put upon the before
mentioned chain will cause the sliding bar to be drawn away from the
stud, and thus the weighted lever losing its support will fall down, and
by means of a short arm or other known contrivance will act on the
brake gear so as to apply the brakes.