Improvements in Air Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 18th Jan., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Air Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
We, EDWARD JOHN WESSELS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain
Manager and GEORGE SANFORD LEE, a citizen of the United States, Engineer
esiding respectively at Westfield, County of Union, and State of New Jersey,
nd Hawthorne County of Passaic, and State of New Jersey, do hereby declare
he nature of this invention 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 certain improvements in brakes which are intended
to be controlled by a motorman, brakeman or driver on a car platform.
A form of air brake for individual cars has been used in which a pump operated
by the rotation of the car axle supplies air to reservoirs whence it is led to the
jam cylinder of the brake.
The flow of the air to the reservoir and the jam cylinder has been governed
by a hand lever and valve on the platform and the air pressure has to act through
A loss of
pipes of considerable length in order to pass by way of said valve.
The form of pump employed is also
time and of pressure resulted from this.
imperfect. Operating a pump under a car involves the subjection of the apparatus
to very severe test because of the jarring motion and the dust and dirt and the
pumps heretofore employed have not been entirely equal to coping with these
difficulties.
This improvement therefore relates to an air brake system for individual cars
which possesses greater simplicity as to the circulation part of the system; greater
strength and durability of the pump and other parts of the system and has certain
other advantages which will be referred to more fully hereinafter in describing
the details of the improved apparatus.
Referring to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this Specifi-
cation:
Figure I is an under-side view of a car body and car wheels and axles showing
the improvements applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a partly sectioned side view of the improved flexible coupling.
Figure III is a side elevation of an eight wheel car to which this invention is
applied partly broken away to show the air reservoir and the connection therefrom
to the car platform.
Figure IV is a top view of the gauge and quadrant.
Figure V is a side elevation thereof.
Figure VI is a sectional elevation of the valve, the operating chain not being
shown.
Figure VII is a top view thereof showing the operating chain.
Figure VIII is a horizontal sectional view of the valve casing, the plane of
section being indicated by dotted line VIII-VIII, Figure V1.
Figure X is a top view of the valve.
Figures X and XI are views of the corresponding meeting faces of the two parts
of said valve.
Figure XII is a vertical sectional view of one form of the pump with its
casing.
Figure XIII is a horizontal sectional view of the same.
Figures XIV and XV are similar views illustrating another modification.
Figures XVI and XVII are similar views illustrating a further modification.

page_text: Figures XVIII and XIX are similar views illustrating still another form.
3 is an
Referring to Figure 1: 1 is a car body and 2 are the axles of the car.
air pump hung at one end from one of the axles 2 by means of its casing 4 which
is boxed on said axle and at the other end by link 5 (see Figure XII) from the
car body. 6 is the air reservoir located under the car body as in Figure I or
within the same as in Figure 111 and receiving air from pump 3 by pipe 7.
A pipe 8 leads from the reservoir 6 to the casing 9 of the controlling valve.
Another pipe 10 leads from said casing to the jam cylinder 11 which has the
piston 12 for actuating the brake beams (not shown). Another pipe 13 leads from
the valve casing into an exhaust cylinder 14 which has the wire netting or other
perforated ends 15 and has a pipe 16 communicating with the inlet of pump 3.
The structure of the valve is shown in Figures VI and XI. Within the casing 9
is arranged the valve 17 having a stem 18 on which is fixed the two sprocket or
other wheels 19 of operating chains or cables 20. The body of the valve 17 is
frustro-conical as shown to engage the correspondingly shaped walls of the
The upward
casing 9 so as to allow adjustment of the valve to take up wear.
taper of the valve and its seat also precludes the possibility of wedging of the
valve by reason of the jarring action of the car. The body of the valve is made
in two parts held together in any desired way and the parts have on their adjacent
faces the grooves 17 shown in Figures X and XI which when the two parts are
placed and fixed rigidly together form the passage shown in dotted lines in
Figure IX. A pin 21 on the casing engages a slot 22 or the upper half of the
valve body 17 to limit the motion of the valve.
The operating chains 20 are connected by rods 23 with chains 24 on sprocket
wheels 25 at the base of staffs 26 on the car platform having at their upper ends
hand levers 27 moving over quadrants 28. Sunk into the quadrant 28 in position
to be constantly observed by the gripman or motorman is a gauge 29 which has
connection by a small pipe 30 directly with the air reservoir 6.
The
3
By operating the hand lever 27 the valve 17 can be turned in its casing thus
causing the reservoir 6 to supply air to the jam cylinder 11 or causing the said
The
jam cylinder to exhaust through the valve into the exhaust cylinder 14.
purpose of the exhaust cylinder is to deaden the noise of the escaping air at the
pump
same time supplying an already strained body of air to the pump 3.
is constantly in action while the car is moving but by reason of the regulating
apparatus 31 well known in this class of apparatus, it only pumps air into the
cylinder 6 up to a certain pressure and then runs freely. The form of pipe
connection shown is adapted to secure the flow of air through the valve with the
least possible loss of time and pressure.
A great deal of trouble has been caused in these structures heretofore by the
To
shaking apart and loosening of the couplings owing to the jar of the car.
obviate this, we provide in each pipe a flexible coupling such as shown in
Figure 2: that is to say, each of the pipes 7, etc., are at some point coupled by
an armored rubber tube 32 securely fastened in place which not only allows of
considerable latitude of adjustment of the pipes to place but gives such a resilient
action to the pipes that they cannot jar loose from their connections.
The pump and the driving parts thereof are all thoroughly protected from the
dust. The cylinder 33 thereof is rigidly united with the casing 34; in fact, the
two form a single casing for the moving parts of the pump and the part 34 of
the casing. is boxed on the axle as already described. The casing may be put
together in any preferred way. In the drawings several different ways of
accomplishing this are shown. In Figure XII, the piston 35 of the pump is
shown driven by a pitman 36, strap 37 and eccentric 38 from the axle 2 all of
which parts are, as will be seen, thoroughly protected by casing 33, 34.
In Figures XIV and XV instead of an eccentric being arranged on the axle 2,
a pinion 39 is provided which drives a gear 40 mounted on a pin 41 on the
casing 34. The gear 40 carries a wrist 42 which operates a pitman 36 connected
to the piston 35. In Figures XVI and XVII the pinion 39 drives a gear 40 which

page_text: A
has instead of the wrist 42 a cam groove 43 in which travels a pin 44 on rod 45
which is guided to a right line by slot 46 and the pivot pin 47 of gear 40.
receptacle 48 for oil provided with a dripping aperture 49 and if desired a wick 50,
may be provided in the casing 34 in such position as to supply oil to the contact
faces of the pinions and gear 39, 40.
In
Another form of the pump is shown in Figures XVIII and XIX in which an
eccentric groove 51 is formed in a disc 52 placed directly upon the car axle 2.
the groove 51 travels the pin 44 on the piston rod 45 and the yoke 53 of the
piston rod is here enlarged, sufficiently to embrace the axle 3 which therefore
guides the rod to a right line.
The disc 52 is provided with a hole 54 and the casing 34 with a door 55 to allow
the pin 44 and the anti-friction roller 56 thereon to be inserted and replaced when
necessary.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven--
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In an air brake system, the combination of a brake cylinder, air pump and air
reservoir, a controlling valve located under the car and controlling staffs at the
car platform having mechanical connection with said valve, substantially as set
forth.
2. The combination of the air pump adapted to be driven by the axle, the air
reservoir 6, the brake cylinder 11, the valve 17, the controlling staffs 25 on the car
platforms and means for connecting the said staffs with said valve, substantially as.
set forth.
3. The combination of the air reservoir, the valve and valve casing, the brake
cylinder and the exhaust cylinder 14 connected to said valve casing substantially
as set forth.
4. In a brake system, the combination with the reservoir, the brake cylinder and
supply pipes of suitable elastic couplings in said pipes, substantially as set forth.
5. In an air brake valve, the combination of the casing 9 and the two-part.
valve 17 having the grooves 17", 17ª substantially as set forth.
6. In an air brake controlling valve, the combination of the valve casing 9 having
an upward tapering seat and the tapering valve occupying said seat and having
suitable air passage, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination of the air reservoir, the controlling staffs, the quadrant, the-
controlling lever and the pressure gauge fixed in said quadrant and having an air
pipe connected with said reservoir, substantially as set forth.
8. The air brake pump mounted in a casing 33, 34 supported at one end on the
axle and at the other end hung from the car body or other support, substantially
as set forth.
9. The combination of the casing 33 forming the pump cylinder casing 34 fixed
thereto and adapted to be boxed on to a car axle, a piston contained in the
casing 33 and suitable driving mechanism therefor contained in the casing 34,
substantially as set forth.
10. The combination of the casing 33, 34, the piston 35, the car axle 2 whereon
the casing 34 is boxed, the piston rod 45 having the yoke 53 and pin 44 and the
eccentric 52 having groove 51 substantially as set forth.
11. The combination of the casing 33, 34, the part 34 having the door 55, the
eccentric 52 having groove 51 and hole 54, the part 33 of the casing having
Opiston 35 and the piston rod 45 having yoke 53 and pin 44 all arranged and adapted
to operate, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
31, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicants.