IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR INDICATING WHEN THE PROPER LOAD HAS BEEN PLACED UPON RAILWAY TRUCKS OR THE LIKE
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR INDICATING WHEN THE PROPER LOAD HAS BEEN PLACED UPON
RAILWAY TRUCKS OR THE LIKE which Invention has been communicated to me
from abroad by Frederic William Minck of Teplitz, Austria to be as follows:-
"
This Invention relates to an improved Apparatus for indicating when the proper
load has been placed upon railway trucks or the like for the purpose of preventing
overloading and undue strain upon the springs of the said trucks or the like and
overloading thereof.
I will describe the Invention as applied to a railway truck.
The constituent parts of an Apparatus constructed according to this Invention
are a box or support in the interior of which slides vertically a rack which may be
prolonged by a piece forming virtually part thereof and extending outside the said
casing and capable of being adjusted telescopically and fixed at the desired length
as may be required.
The box has a guide for the rack which rack gears with a pinion fixed upon the
Bame shaft with a second pinion which gears with a third pinion upon another
axis which in turn gears with a fourth pinion keyed to the shaft in the centre of
the apparatus which carries the pointer.
The aforesaid rack is provided with a stop which bears against the box or other
fixed part when the pointer is at zero.
The said rack also carries a stud or pin with a small pointer head for the purpose
of indicating the deflection of the spring upon a graduated scale on the dial-plate of
the apparatus in which latter a semi-circular slot is made for receiving an indicating
screw stud which can be adjusted in the said slot so that when the pointer stands
in front to this indicating stud the truck has its normal load, the position of the
said stud in the said slot has been previously determined by charging the truck
with the weight corresponding to its normal load.

page_text: When the rack is not in operation it is maintained in an elevated position by
a binding screw. The apparatus is closed by a cover which may be of glass and is
fastened to the longitudinal beam of the frame of the truck so that the extension
of the rack rests directly upon the upper surface of the spring or spring hoop.
The apparatus acts as follows-When it is desired to load the truck the binding
screw is released and the rack falls and the pointer stands at zero, then a screw
which affixes the prolongation to the rack is released and the said prolongation
rests upon the spring or spring-hoop. This having been done the last named screw
is covered by a ring provided with a projecting eye. A similar eye is made on the
lower end of the rack and through these two eyes is passed a cord the ends of
which are sealed or the said parts may be secured in any other desired way in
order to prevent the screw being tampered with by any non-authorised person.
The truck is then loaded until by the depression of the body of the truck the
rack is raised and the pointer is brought into coincidence with the aforesaid stud
in the semi-circular groove in the dial when the proper load has been put on the
truck. Simultaneously the small pointer head has been raised in the vertical slit
of the graduated scale and indicates the amount of deflection of the springs corre-
sponding to the weight of the load. The loading being finished the rack is pushed
back into the box and fastened by the binding screw in order to prevent injury to
the parts.
The stud can be adjusted in the semi-circular slot in the dial plate in order to
regulate and to adjust the Apparatus in accordance with the degree of elasticity
of the springs.

page_text: I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR INDICATING WHEN THE PROPER LOAD HAS BEEN PLACED UPON
RAILWAY TRUCKS OR THE LIKE " which Invention has been communicated to me
from abroad by Frederic William Minck, of Teplitz, Austria Engineer and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention relates to an improved apparatus for indicating when the proper
load has been placed upon Railway trucks or the like for the purpose of preventing
overloading and undue strain upon the springs of the said trucks or the like. I
will describe with reference to the accompanying drawings an apparatus constructed
according to this Invention as applied to a railway truck.
Figure 1 shews in elevation partly in section the internal arrangement of the
apparatus. Figure 2 is a front view of the apparatus. Figure 3 is a transverse
section taken on the line A¹ B¹ of Figure 2 and Figure 4 shews the apparatus
applied to the longitudinal frame of a Waggon. A box or support A of cast iron
or other suitable material carries in its interior and sliding vertically therein a
rack B which may be prolonged by a piece D forming virtually part thereof and
extending outside the casing A and capable of being adjusted telescopically therein
and fixed at the desired length as may be desired.
C. is a guide for the rack B which rack gears with a pinion E made in one piece
with, or fixed on the same shaft as the toothed wheel F which latter gears with a
similar toothed wheel G upon another axis which wheel transmits movement to
the wheel keyed to the shaft H in the centre of the apparatus the fore end of
which shaft is supported by a bracket J and carries the indicator or pointer K.
which is fastened in position by means of the screw L
The other wheels are supported by the brackets J¹ Ju.
The rack B is provided with a stop M which bears against the box A or other
fixed part when the pointer K is at zero.
On the rack B above the stop M is a stud or pin N with a small pointer head O
for the purpose of indicating the degree of deflection of the spring upon a graduated
scale P on the dial plate Q
In the dial plate is a semi circular slot S for receiving an indicating screw or
stud T which can be adjusted in the said slot so that when the pointer K stands
opposite the said screw or stud the truck has its normal load.
The position of the said screw or stud T in the slot S is previously determined
by loading the truck with the weight corresponding to its normal load.
When the rack B is not in operation it is maintained in an elevated position by
a binding screw V.
The apparatus is closed by a cover U which may be of glass and is fastened to
the longitudinal beam of the frame of the truck (preferably of T or U shaped iron)
by means of bolts, so that the extension piece D of the rack B rests directly upon
the upper surface of the spring or spring hoop R,

page_text: The apparatus acts as follows-When it is desired to load the truck the screw V
is released and the rack B falls and the pointer K stands at zero, then the screw
which fixes the part D to the rack is released and the piece D is drawn down until
its lower end rests upon the spring or spring-hoop R (Figure 4).
This having been done the screw is screwed home and covered by a ring W
provided with a projecting eye X-A similar eye Y is made on the lower end of
the rack B and through these two eyes is passed a cord the ends of which are
united and sealed or the said parts may be secured in other desired way in order
to prevent the screw being tampered with by non-authorised persons.
The truck is then loaded until by the depression of the body of the truck the
rack B is raised and the pointer K is brought to coincide with the screw or stud T
as soon as the proper load has been put on the truck-Simultaneously the pointer
head N has been raised in the vertical slit of the graduated scale P and the
-pointer O indicates the amount of deflection of the springs corresponding to
the weight of the load-The loading being finished, the rack B. is pushed back
into the box A and fastened by the binding screw V in order to prevent injury
to the parts.
The screw or stud T giving the mark of normal loading can be adjusted in the
semi circular slot S in order to regulate and to adjust the apparatus in accordance
with the degree of elasticity of the springs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
.Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the apparatus
herein before described and represented in the accompanying drawings for the
purpose of preventing overloading of railway trucks or vehicles.
2nd In apparatus for indicating the weight placed on railway trucks or other
vehicles the employment of a graduated scale P on the dial plate and a pointer
operated substantially as described for indicating the flexure of the springs
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
3rd In apparatus for indicating the weight placed on Railway trucks or other
vehicles the employment of a guide in combination with the rack B and the pinion
and toothed wheels E. F. G. G. for transmitting the necessary movement to the
.finger or pointer K substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.