A NEW OR IMPROVED AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Lorentz Albert Groth at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th May 1883. a communication
to him from abroad by Dirk van der Linden, resident at Hoorn, in the .
Kingdom of Holland,
LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH K.G.V. Civil Engineer and Managing Director of The
Universal Inventors and Patentees Financial Company Limited, 30 Finsbury
Pavement London E.C. "A NEW OR IMPROVED AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS BRAKE
FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES a communication to me from
abroad by Dirk van der Linden, resident at Hoorn, in the Kingdom of Holland,
"
In the brake forming the subject of the present invention the vis-viva of the
moving train is utilized for producing the brake action The arrangements are of
the following character The carriages besides being coupled together by means
of the usual loose hanging couplings are coupled together by brake couplings which
come together at the plane of the Buffers. The brake coupling consists in each
carriage of a tube like shell or socket which is hung by a chain to a suitable part
of the carriage frame. The corresponding coupling sockets of two adjacent
carriages are connected by screws.
Each socket serves at its other end as a guide to a cylindrical rod which is
surrounded by a spiral spring.
This rod is fixed to the brake lever which turns on a suitable axis and is
arranged to act on a bell crank lever so that according to the direction of motion
of the brake lever the bell crank lever is raised or lowered.
The bell crank lever is held in the normal position by a powerful blade spring.
On the brake lever is fixed one brake block which is applied to one side of the
wheel and on the bell crank lever is fixed the other brake block which is applied
to the opposite side of the wheel
The action of the brake is as follows:-So long as each carriage of the train is
moved by the traction of the Locomotive, a certain distance is maintained between
each two of them (as the couplings are only loosely drawn together) which distance
must be so regulated. that the beforementioned coupled sockets and springs leave a
play between. the brake blocks and the wheel of about say 30 millimetres.
As
soon as the steam is shut off in the Locomotive the carriages over run one another

page_text: whereby the distance between their end wheels is reduced, the spiral springs are
thereby contracted and they press the brake block on the brake lever against the
wheel.
By the action of the brake lever on the bell crank lever the latter is also turned
and the brake block on it is likewise pressed against the wheel but in the opposite
direction When the train is again moved by the Locomotive the blade springs
bring the brake blocks back again into their normal position.
In order to enable the train to be moved backwards without the brake being
applied, the brake blocks are held off position by eccentrics or other suitable
devices adapted to act on the brake levers. The various eccentrics or other devices
for holding off the brake blocks are connected together by a rope, chain, rods or
otherwise so that they can all be moved together when required.