An Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Backward Movement of Waggons and the like on Inclines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 13th July, 1899-Accepted, 19th Aug., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Backward Movement of
Waggons and the like on Inclines.
I, ALFRED DEBONS, of Fumay, Ardennes, France, Engineer, 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:-
The object of this invention is a brake apparatus which can be applied to
waggons running on inclines either above ground or underground and which
instantaneously stops the empty and full waggons immediately the haulage
cable breaks and retains them on the rails as the rupture of the cable at once
sets the apparatus in action.
The annexed drawing, shows, by way of example, a mode of carrying out the
invention.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a waggon moving on an incline and having the
apparatus, which is the object of this invention, applied to it.
Fig. 2 is a view, in elevation, of the apparatus in its normal position.
Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view.
The apparatus consists of a movable fork A having two arms bent at their
extremity to a certain angle and provided with teeth S at their undersides.
The rear end 6 of the above-named fork is, by means of a bolt E, jointed
between two arms d d at the end of a longitudinal bar C, which is, by means of
bolts, secured to the framework of the waggon. The rear end 6 of the fork A has
an extension U projecting downwards at a right angle to its plane. To this
extension U, the rear end of a rod G is jointed; the other end of this rod, which
has an eyehole L, receives a link to which the haulage cable K Fig. 1 is secured.
On each side of the rear end of the rod G a side rod Q is jointed at the point I
to the extension U and both these side rods are also jointed to one end of a
crank N which latter, at its other end, is keyed to a movable shaft M capable
of oscillating in two supports P fixed below the framework of the waggon; upon
this shaft two strong iron bars 0 are keyed at one of their ends and are pro-
vided at their other, free, ends with points V.
The apparatus works as follows:-
When the waggon is running normally the apparatus is, through the tension
of the cable K, retained in the position indicated in Fig. 1 by the full lines. If
the cable breaks, the different parts of the apparatus at once assume the positions
indicated by the dotted lines in the same illustration.
The rod G assumes the position G¹ guided as it is by the friction-roller, X,
in the groove of which it bears; the arms A fall down into the position A' and
the teeth S grip the sleeper T securely; the back piece U of the fork adopts the
position U; the rods Q move to the position Q¹ and cause the bars 0 to adopt
the position O¹, whilst the pointed ends V of these bars come to rest, at the
points V, against the underside of the sleeper T¹.
The described braking apparatus gives great security which is increased two-
fold by the fact that, when the cable snaps, the waggon is at once hooked to a

page_text: sleeper by the fork at the front whilst it is buttressed, behind, by means of the
bars O, against another sleeper.
This apparatus can be applied generally to waggons or rolling stock running
on inclines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I consider novel and desire to claim is:-
―
1. A brake apparatus which can be applied to waggons running on inclines
whether above or below ground so as to instantaneously stop the waggon and
keep it on the rails whenever the haulage cable breaks, the apparatus being
characterized by a fork, the ends of the arms of which are slightly bent and
provided with teeth; the fork being jointed at its back part to the forked end
of a longitudinal bar which is secured by bolts to the frame-work of the
waggon; by an extension of the rear end of said fork having a rod jointed to it,
to which the haulage cable is linked and also two side-rods whose opposite ends
are jointed to a crank keyed to a movable shaft capable of oscillating in supports
secured to the frame-work of the waggon, said shaft having two bars with pointed
ends secured to it; the rupture of the cable causing the ends of the fork in front
to move towards the ground and to hook themselves against a sleeper of the
railroad and, through the action of the above named side-rods, crank, and
movable shaft, to cause the bars behind to oscillate and buttress themselves
against another sleeper of the road, substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In a brake apparatus such as claimed in Claim 1, the arrangement of a
fork A having its front ends bent and provided with teeth S; of a longitudinal
bar C to the forked end of which is jointed, by means of a bolt E, the rear end
of the fork A to an extension of which latter is jointed a rod G, bearing against
a friction roller or slide X and at whose front end the cable K is linked, and
two side rods Q which are also jointed to a crank N keyed to the movable shaft M
on which two bars O provided with pointed ends V are keyed, substantially as
herein before described and shown on the drawing annexed.
Dated this 12th day of Tul 1800
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
100, Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.