Improvements in Brake Gear for Carriages, Carts, and other Road Vehicles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June; 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 19th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brake Gear for Carriages, Carts, and other Road
Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM HAWKINS, of Barton, Saint Mary Church, in the county of Devon,
Coach-builder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists in improved brake gear for carriages, carts and other road
vehicles which gear is so designed that the brake blocks act against the wheels by the
backward strain exerted by the horse in descending a hill.
The blocks are withdrawn from the wheels by the pull exerted by the horse and
are thereby maintained out of contact with the wheels while travelling on the level or
ascending hills.
The brake blocks are carried at the extremities of levers pivotted under the floor of
the vehicle towards the front thereof. To the ends of the levers opposite to those
carrying the blocks are attached chains which are passed around pulleys situated at
each end of a transverse shaft-bar from which is suspended a whipple-tree to which
the traces are connected.
The chains of the brake levers are conducted forward along the shafts to pulleys
fitted thereto and, after being returned towards the vehicle, are linked to eyes or
hooks to which the breeching straps of the horse's harness are connected.
Consequently, ander the influence of the backward strain exerted by the horse in
descending a hill, the forward ends of the chains are forced towards the vehicle and
the brake levers are thereby turned on their pivot and the brakes applied to the
wheels. The back of the horse is relieved of a greater proportion of weight, and the
strain upon the breeching straps is greatly reduced.
Towards each extremity of the axle is attached one end of a chain. These chains
are carried. forward and coupled to a ring secured midway on the whipple-tree
and connected to a swivel from which a single chain is extended backward below
the vehicle to a point where it is joined to another chain. From the point. of
junction the said chains are conducted still backwards and after having been passed
around pulleys fitted to the underside of the floor and equidistant from the longi-
tudinal axis of the vehicle they are extended forward and attached to the brake
levers. By this arrangement the horse pulls direct from the axle, the strain being
first exerted upon the whipple-tree, and by virtue of the arrangement of chains,
pullies and connections, the brake blocks are, when the horse is pulling, withdrawn
from and kept clear of the peripheries of the wheels. Stop guides are provided
to govern the range of motion of the brake levers about their common pivot. The
swivel of the releasing chains is adjustable by means of a nut to compensate for
wear of the brake blocks.
Dand thin 19th dow of Tum 1000
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Applicant's Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brake Gear for Carriages, Carts, and other Road
Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM HAWKINS, of Barton, Saint Mary Church, in the county of Devon,
Coach-builder, do hereby declare the 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 consists in improved brake gear for carriages, carts and other road
vehicles.
The improved brake gear is so arranged that the brake blocks are applied to
the wheels through the effort exerted backwards by the horse in descending a
gradient.
The blocks are withdrawn from the wheels by the forward pull of the horse and
they are thereby maintained out of contact with the wheels while the vehicle is
travelling on level ground or ascending a gradient. The brake blocks are carried at
the extremities of levers pivotted to the floor of the vehicle.
To the levers are attached chains which, after having been passed around pulleys
situated below the floor of the vehicle, are attached to rods extending forwards to the
front of the vehicle and connected thereat to chains carried further forward and
passed around pulleys situated under the shafts. The forward ends of the chains are
returned towards the vehicle body and are attached to the breeching straps or other
convenient part of the horse's harness. Under the strain exerted in a backward
direction by the borse when descending a gradient the front ends of the forward
chains are forced back towards the body of the vehicle. The brake levers are thereby
so turned on their pivots that the blocks are applied to the wheels and thus control the
descent of the vehicle.
The traces through which the vehicle is drawn forward are connected to a whipple-
tree depending from a bar fixed between the shafts. To each end of the whipple-tree
is attached one end of a chain, the other end being attached to the axle. Con-
sequently, the draught of the vehicle is direct from the axle. The whipple-tree is
connected also by a central chain and two branch chains to the brake levers the
I connection being so arranged that when the vehicle is being drawn on the level or
down a gradient the forward pull exerted by the horse causes the brake blocks to be
withdrawn from the wheels.
The accompanying drawing, partly in diagram, illustrates one arrangement of my
improved brake gear as applied to a two-wheeled vehicle.
The brake blocks a are carried at the ends of the levers 6 pivotted at a below the
floor of the vehicle. To the brake levers bare connected one end of each of the
chains d which, after having been passed round the pulleys e carried in bearings
secured to the floor, are attached to rods d' extending forwards to the front of the
· vehicle. To the front ends of the rods d' are connected the chains d which are con-
ducted further forward and after having been passed round pulleys f carried in
bearings below the shafts of the vehicle are returned towards the body of the vehicle.
By the rings 9, or other means, the chains are connected to the breeching straps
or other suitable part of the horse's harness.
At the front of the body of the vehicle is a whipple-tree h suspended either from
the body of the vehicle or from a shaft-bar extending across the shafts. The traces t
are attached to the whipple-tree which is connected to the axle u by chains v. The
brake levers b are connected to the whipple-tree h by the central chain i and branch
chains i¹.
When descending a gradient the horse exerts a strain backwards and, consequently,
the front ends of the chains & are thereby forced backwards towards the body of the
vehicle, the rods d¹ and chains are drawn forward and the brake levers 6 turning on
their pivots cause the brake blocks a to be brought into contact with the wheels w

page_text: with a pressure which increases with the strain exerted by the horse, that is to say,
with the steepness of the gradient.
Nearly the entire pressure is taken by the wheels and the weight is not applied to
the shoulders of the horse.
When travelling on a level surface or ascending a gradient, the brake blocks a are
held withdrawn from contact with the wheels by the forward strain exerted by the
horse acting through the chains i, and the brake levers b. The tractive force of
the horse is applied to the axle u through the traces t, whipple-tree and the
Instead of applying the brakes to the wheels at the rear of the vehicle, the levers,
chains and other gear may be adapted so as to apply the brakes at the front.
chains v.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The improved brake gear for road vehicles consisting of the pivotted brake levers b,
chains d, d, i, i¹ and v, rods d³, pulleys e, f, and whipple-tree h, combined and
arranged so to operate that by its natural backward effort the horse applies the brakes
to the wheels in descending a gradient and withdraws them by its forward pull when
on the level or ascending a gradient, substantially as herein before described with
reference to the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 11th day of March 1890.
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Bristol Bank Buildings, Bristol, Agent.