Tramcars or other Vehicles.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Apr., 1886.
Complete Left, 13th Jan., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 15th Feb., 1887.
Tramcars or other Vehicles.
I HARRY THOMAS UNDERWOOD of Brentford Docks Brentford in the County of.
Middlesex Hay and Straw Salesman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention
to be as follows:-.
My Invention has for its object to provide an apparatus for facilitating the starting
of tramcars or other vehicles which shall be simple in construction and noiseless in
action.
An apparatus constructed according to my Invention consists of a counterweighted
wheel or lever fitted loosely on the axle and provided with a gripping device which on
the pull being brought upon the said wheel or lever by a chain or rope attached to the
horses or other tractive power is caused to grip against and bear upon other discs or
levers fast upon the axle and thus the tractive power acts most advantageously in
starting the car or vehicle which afterwards is drawn by the tractive power in the
usual way. When the horses stop or the other tractive force is discontinued the
counterweight takes the wheel or lever carrying the gripping device back to its
normal position ready to again act in starting the vehicle. I prefer to arrange the
apparatus on the centre of the length of the axle the counterweighted wheel or lever
carrying the gripping device being mounted between two discs which are fixed to the
axle and which are grooved on their periphery with a V groove into which similarly
shaped cam surfaces of short levers engage these short levers being centered to the
counterweighted wheel or lever and constituting the gripping device. They are
normally kept out of contact with the grooved dises by springs but when the tractive
force is applied they are moved so that their cam shaped portions grip on the grooved
discs and start the car or vehicle as before described.
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., ..
Agent for the said Harry Thomas Underwood..

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Facilitating the Starting of
Tramoars or other Vehicles.
I, HARRY THOMAS UNDERWOOD of Brentford Docks Brentford in the County of
Middlesex Hay & Straw Salesman 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 --
My Invention has for its object to provide improved apparatus or means for facili-
tating the starting of tramcars or other vehicles which shall be simple in construction
and noiseless in action. An apparatus constructed according to my invention consists
of a counterweighted wheel or lever fitted loosely on the axle and provided with a
gripping device which on the pull being brought upon the said wheel or lever by a
chain or rope attached to the horses or other tractive power is caused to grip against
and bear upon other.discs or levers fast upon the axle and thus the tractive power acts
most advantageously in starting the car or vehicle which afterwards is drawn by the
tractive power in the usual way. When the horses stop or the other tractive force is
discontinued the counterweight takes the wheel or lever carrying the gripping device
back to its normal position ready to again act in starting the vehicle. I prefer to
arrange the apparatus on the centre of the length of the axle the counterweighted
wheel or lever carrying the gripping device being mounted between two discs which
are fixed to the axle and which are grooved on their periphery with a V groove into
which similarly shaped cam surfaces of short levers engage these short levers being
centered to the counterweighted wheel or lever and constituting the gripping device.
They are normally kept out of contact with the grooved discs by springs but when the
tractive force is applied they are moved so that their cam shaped portions grip on the
grooved discs and start the car or vehicle as before described Or instead of employing
two cams to act upon the friction discs as described, a single cam carried by a lever or,
levers may be made to act upon a single friction disc or drum fixed upon the axle of
the vehicle as hereinafter described.
And in order that my said invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a car wheel and axle fitted with my improved
starting device according to my Invention and Figure 2 is a sectional view of the
gripping device Figure 3 illustrates a slight modification.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 A represents one of a pair of car wheels and B the
axle upon which they are mounted. At or near the centre of the length of this axle
is fitted to turn thereon a disc C provided with a balance weight C² tending to pre-
vent the said disc from rotating with the axle. On each side of this disc is fixed on
the axle B. a disc D each having a V groove on the periphery in which a cam shaped
lever E is caused to engage as hereinafter described. The cam levers E are mounted
on a pin or bolt F carried by the disc C and the arms G of the said cam levers are
connected to a chain H or its equivalent passing over a guide pulley or guide pulleys I
and attached at its outer end to the draw bar or other traction device to which the

page_text: motive power is connected When the tractive force is applied for drawing the
vehicle it first acts upon the chain H to draw it in the direction of the arrow thereby
turning the cam levers E upon the bolt F causing the cam portion K of the said
levers to grip the discs D and thus by the continued strain upon the chain H, to impart
to the said discs together with the axle upon which they are fixed a partial rotation to
start the vehicle after which the tractive force is caused to act upon the vehicle to
propel it in the usual way. By the time that the power comes in to action to propel
the vehicle the the disc C will have carried the cam lever into the position shewn on
doted lines in Fig. 1 in which, position the cam surfaces K will be removed out of
contact with the discs D by a spring L, and when the vehicle is stopped the disc C
will resume its normal position under the action of the weight C2 bringing the
cam surfaces K in position to act again for starting the vehicle. If desired the
vehicle may be provided with a similar starting device at each end of the vehicle
for propelling it in either direction.
Instead of employing two discs D and two cam shaped levers E as hereinbefore
described a single friction disc may be employed upon which a single cam lever is
caused to bear as shewn in Figure 3. According to this arrangement the cam shaped
lever E is carried between two counterbalanced levers CC mounted loosely upon the
axle B and upon the said axle is fixed between these levers the friction disc D The
hauling chain H passing over the guide pulley I is connected to one end of these
levers to which is also connected one end of a spring I the opposite end thereof being
attached to the body of the vehicle. The friction disc D and also the bearings of the
levers C are preferably made in two parts bolted together to facilitate their being fitted
to and removed from the axle B. The action is similar to that described with reference
to Figures 1 and 2 the motive power first acting upon the chain H in the direction of
the arrow causing the levers C to turn on the axle and thereby causing the cam K to
engage the periphery of the disc D and this imparts rotary motion to the axle B and
wheels A to start the vehicle; after which the vehicle is drawn by the motive power
in the ordinary way then the cam K will release its pressure from the disc D and
when the vehicle is stopped the levers will return to their normal position by the
action of the spring L ready to act again for starting the vehicle.
M is a cover or
casing for protecting the starting device from dirt or injury. The spindle of the cam K
projects outside this cover and is there provided with an arin N which under the action
of the spring L is brought in contact with a suitable stop O fixed to the body of the
vehicle so as to prevent the cam K from rubbing against the friction disc D when the
horse or other motive power is not in action to propel the vehicle or when the vehicle
moves in the reverse direction.
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 claim is
1st. In apparatus for facilitating the starting of tramcars and other vehicles, the
combination of cam or cams acted upon by the motive power employed to propel the
vehicle so as to cause the said cam or cams to engage with and impart motion to a disc
or dises fast on one of the axles of the vehicle substantially as herein before described
and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2nd. The general construction combination and arrangement of parts constituting
apparatus for facilitating the starting of vehicles substantially as herein before described
and illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
3rd. The general construction combination and arrangement of parts constituting
improved apparatus or means for facilitating the starting of vehicles substantially as
herein before described and illustrated by Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
HARRY THOMAS UNDERWOOD.