Improvements in or relating to Obstruction-removers for Tramway Vehicles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 25th Jan.. 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Obstruction-removers for Tramway
Vehicles.
We HERMANN WINKELMANN Merchant of 34, Hohelust-Chaussée-strasse,..
Hamburg, and EDUARD CLAASSEN Manufacturer of 3 Ohldorferstrasse, both in
Hamburg in the Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to obstruction-removers for tramway vehicles.
An apparatus constructed according to our said invention differs advantageously
from those heretofore employed by the perfect adaptation of the catching device
which is designed to protect persons who may have got underneath the vehicle and
which moreover adapts itself to any unevenness in the tramway, thereby ensuring
an absolutely certain operation.
In the accompanying drawing we have represented an obstruction-remover
forming the subject of our invention.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the front part of the carriage frame to which
our apparatus is applied.
Fig. 2 shows a front view of this apparatus and
Fig. 3 is a plan of the same.
In carrying our invention into practice we arrange at the ends of the longitudinal
beams a forming part of the frame of the tramway vehicle a plate 6 held in suitable
brackets and adapted to turn easily so that its upper end will be turned forwards
when its lower end is kept back by a person or object lying on the tramway.
The plate bis connected with arms n which are guided in cylinders o containing
springs whereby their lower extremities p are pressed against the rails. The
aforesaid plate may be provided at its lower end with a cushion c or the like in
order to obviate injury.
The movement of the plate b is transmitted by draw-rods d to the catching
device. This device is suspended from the aforesaid longitudinal beams a by means
of frames & and consists of a bar g connected at its two ends with the draw-rods d
and of levers which are supported on a common shaft i and have rollers k at the
extremities of their lower arms and at their short upper arms knee-shaped parts h¹
to the extremities of which are attached springs firmly connected with a bar m.
The tendency of the springs is such that the rollers k will be pressed firmly
against the tramway when the levers h are released.
In order to throw the catching device out of action the plate bis placed in a
vertical position, thereby pressing the bar g into the position shown in Fig. 1 so
that it will pass below the knee-shaped parts h¹ and prevent the downward move-
ment of the levers h.
On the plate being turned the draw-rods d are pulled in which movement the
bar y must take part, the levers h being thus pressed against the tramway by their
own weight aided by the springs l. As the levers are independent of each other
their action is not interfered with by any unevenness in the tramway.
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. Au obstruction-remover for tramway vehicles comprising levers / supported

page_text: independently of each other in front of the wheels of the vehicle which levers are
held in a raised position by a common bar g and after the release of this bar are
lowered by means of a plate 6 pivotted below the vehicle so that they will be
pressed independently of each other against the tramway substantially as set
forth.
2. An obstruction-remover in which the plate 6 is secured to arms n which are
guided in cylinders o and elastically forced by spring pressure against the ground
substantially as and for the purposes set forth with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 6th dow of Namaka. 1007
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
31 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.