provements in Brakes for Wheel Carriages.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Sept., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 27th May, 1897-Accepted, 3rd July, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Brakes for Wheel Carriages.
I, ROBERT PRICE, of No. 85 Hagley Road Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Ironfounder do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:
My invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of brakes for
wheel carriages in the manner hereinafter described whereby a brake is produced
simple in construction and efficient in action. Brakes made according to my
invention are particularly suited for wheel carriages the wheels of which have
elastic or inflated tyres but are also suited for use with inelastic or rigid tyres.
I will describe my invention in connection with two wheels of a four wheel
carriage. Near to and parallel with the axle of the carriage is an axis turning
in fixed bearings which axis I will hereinafter call the brake axis. Each end of
the brake axis carries mechanism of the kind I am about to describe, but the said
mechanism may be applied to one wheel only of the carriage, in which case the
said brake axis is dispensed with, and the operating lever instead of being fixed
at one end of and turning the said brake axis turns on a joint fixed to the carriage.
The lever by which the driver operates the brake is fixed to one end of
the brake axis, the carriage being provided with the ordinary rack for fixing the
lever in the desired position. The lower end of the brake lever carries a short
fixed arm to which is jointed the curved metallic plate constituting the brake
block. The said plate has a curvature corresponding to that of the wheel with
which it is used and its acting face is preferably flat. In its normal position,
that is, when the brake is not in use the upper end of the said plate is at a greater
distance from the wheel than its lower end, the said plate when at liberty to
move being brought into this position by a coiled spring, one end of which is con-
nected to the upper end of the said plate and the other end to a light arm on the
lower end of the brake lever which light arm constitutes a stop to limit the return
motion of the brake plate when the brake is thrown out of action.
The action of the parts is as follows:-To bring the brake into action the driver
pushes forward the upper end of the brake lever and if necessary fixes its position
by means of the rack referred to. The lower end of the lever approaches the
periphery of the carriage wheel and the lower end of the brake plate comes into
contact with the tyre of the wheel, the contact of the brake plate with the tyre
progressing from the lower to the upper end of the said brake plate When the
whole of the acting face of the brake plate is in contact with the tyre the retard-
ing effect of the brake on the carriage is determined by the position of the brake
lever either fixed by the rack or by the pressure of the driver on the lever. The
spring is put into tension as the upper part of the brake plate approaches the tyre,
and on throwing the brake cut of action the spring restores the brake plate to
its normal position.
The brake plate may be made of iron or steel but I do not limit myself to any
particular materials.

page_text: Improvements in Brakes for Wheel Carriages.
I, ROBERT PRICE, of No. 85 Hagley Road, Birminham, in the County of
Warwick, Ironfounder do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of the brakes
for wheel carriages in the manner hereinafter described, whereby a brake is pro-
duced simple in construction and efficient in action. Brakes made according to
my invention are particularly suited for wheel carriages the wheels of which have
elastic or inflated tyres; but are also suited for use with inelastic or rigid tyres.
I will describe my invention in connection with two wheels of a four, wheel
carriage. Parallel with the axle of the carriage is an axis turning in fixed lear-
ings which axis I will hereinafter call the brake axis. Each end of the brake
axis carries mechanism of the kind I am about to describe, but the said mechanism
may be applied to one wheel only of the carriage in which case the said brake
axis is dispensed with and the operating lever instead of being fixed at one end
of and turning the said brake axis turns on a joint fixed to the carriage. The
lever by which the driver operates the brake may be fixed to one end of the brake
axis, the carriage being provided with the ordinary rack or other usual arrange-
ment for fixing the lever in the desired position. On the brake axis are fixed two
levers, each of which carries a short forked arm to which is jointed the curved
metallic plate constituting the brake block. The said plate has a curvature cor-
responding to that of the wheel with which it is used and its acting face is pre-
ferably flat. In its normal position, that is, when the brake is not in use, the
upper end of the said plate is at a greater distance from the wheel than its lower
end, the said plate when at liberty to move being brought into this position by a
coiled spring, one end of which is connected to the upper end of the said plate and
the other end to a lug on the forked arm described which lug constitutes a stop to
limit the return motion of the brake plate when the brake is thrown out of action.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in side elevation the front
portion of a carriage wheel to which a brake containing my improvements is
applied; Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same and Figure 3 a plan.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures
of the Drawing.
a, a is the brake lever turning on the fixed axis 6 the said axis being
attached to the body of the vehicle. The said lever a has at its lower end
the light forked arm or termination a¹, a¹. To the said forked arm a¹, a¹ the
curved brake plate or brake proper c is jointed by the cross bolt d the upper end
of the said brake plate c in the normal or non-acting position of the brake being
kept at a greater distance from the periphery of the wheel than the lower end
by the coiled spring e (omitted in Figure 3) one end of which is connected to the
hook on the brake plate c and the other end to the hook f¹ fixed by the set screw g
to the lug of the forked arm a¹. The end of the set screw g bears against a
knuckle or projection c¹ on the brake plate c and determines the position of the
said brake plate with respect to the wheel when the said brake is out of action.
The action of the parts is as follows:-To bring the brake into action the
driver pushes forward the upper or handle end of the brake lever by which action
the light forked arm a¹, a¹ approaches the periphery of the carriage wheel and the
lower end of the brake plate c comes into contact with the tyre of the wheel,
the contact of the brake plate c with the tyre progressing from the lower to the
upper end of the said brake plate c. When the whole of the acting face of

page_text: the brake plate c is in contact with the tyre the retarding effect of the brake on the
carriage is determined by the position of the brake lever which is either fixed
by the rack or held by the hand of the driver. The spring e is put into tension
as the upper part of the brake plate approaches the tyre, and on throwing the
brake out of action the spring e restores the brake plate c to its normal position.
The brake plate may be made of iron or steel but I do not limit myself to any
particular materials.
Although I have described and represented the improved brake as applied to
the front of the carriage wheel yet I wish it to be understood that it may be
applied to the back of the said wheel with the same or nearly the same effect,
the brake plate c being in this case inverted; that is to say, the spring e is
arranged to act on the lower end of the brake plate c so as to hold the said lower
end, when the brake is in its normal or non-acting position, at a greater distance
from the tyre of the wheel than the upper end of the said brake plate the upper
end of the brake plate coming first into action on the operation of the brake
lever.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention:
The improvements in brakes for wheel carriages herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, the said improvements consisting in
providing the end of the lever on the brake axis with a forked arm or termina-
tion to which the curved brake plate or brake proper is jointed, one end of the
said brake plate being preserved, in the normal or non-acting position of the said
brake, at a greater distance from the periphery of the wheel than the other end
of the brake plate by a spring, the brake plate being brought gradually into action
on operating the brake lever substantially as herein before described.
Dated the Twenty-fifth day of May 1897.