A NEW OR IMPROVED STEAM BRAKE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Wright, of Dudley, in the County of
Worcester, Manufacturer, and Hugh Wright, of Dudley, aforesaid,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED STEAM BRAKE."
Sealed the 26th September 1861, and dated the 3rd April 1861.
Hugh Wright at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with.
their Petition, on the 3rd April 1861.
We, THOMAS WRIGHT, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, Manufacturer,
and HUGH WRIGHT, of Dudley, aforesaid, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED STEAM BRAKE," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention consists of a steam brake for retarding or stopping colliery
or other stationary engines, and for retarding or stopping revolving machinery
in general.
Our said new or improved brake consists of a cylinder having a piston
working in it by the use of steam introduced between the cylinder and piston,
the said piston is made to descend in the cylinder, that is to say, to recede
from the end of the cylinder through which the piston rod passes. The cylinder
is thus made to move in one direction and the piston in another. The
cylinder is connected with one end of an ordinary brake strap upon a brake
wheel, and the piston rod is connected with one end of another brake

page_text: strap. The said brake straps are thereby tightened on the brake wheel, and
the engine or machine brought to rest. Or the cylinder may be made to press
a block against the periphery of the brake wheel, and connecting rods from
the piston be made at the same time to press a block against the opposite
point of the periphery of the brake wheel.
In applying our Invention to colliery engines, we connect the cylinder to the
steam boiler and place the valve, by which steam is admitted into the cylinder
in the engine house, near to the hand leyer of the engine. We also attach a
wire, chain, or cord to the said valve, which said wire, chain, or cord passes to
the mouth of the pit and enables the banksman to open the valve and put the
brake in operation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Wright and Hugh Wright in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wе, THOMAS
WRIGHT, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, Manufacturer, and HUGп
WRIGHT, of Dudley, aforesaid, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Thomas Wright and Hugh Wright, Her special licence that we, the
said Thomas Wright and Hugh Wright, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Wright and Hugh Wright,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED STEAM BRAKE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Wright and Hugh
Wright, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one us or them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Wright, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:
Our Invention consists of a steam brake for retarding or stopping colliery
or other stationary steam engines, and for retarding or stopping revolving
machinery in general, constructed in the manner herein-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Our said new or improved steam brake consists essentially of a cylinder
having a piston working in it. By introducing steam between the cylinder
and piston, the said piston is made to move in one direction, and the cylinder
in the opposite direction. The said cylinder and piston are respectively con-
nected to the ends of the brake straps, or to brake blocks on the brake wheel,
so that on the motions of the said cylinder and piston, the said brake straps or
blocks are pressed simultaneously on the periphery of the brake wheel and the
engine or machine brought to rest.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in side elevation (partly
in section) our new or improved steam brake applied to the wheel of a winding
or hoisting engine. a is the brake wheel of the winding or hoisting engine,
made and keyed to the main shaft of the engine in the ordinary manner; b, c,
are the brake blocks made to press in the manner herein-after explained
upon opposite points of the periphery of the brake wheel a, the said blocks b, c,
are curved to the periphery of the wheel a, and are secured to curved
metal straps 2, c, respectively, the lower ends of which straps turn upon
joints, c', carried by the carriages or fixed blocks d, d. The said carriages d, d,
are stayed or connected together by two connecting rods, one only, marked e,
being shown in the Drawing on opposite sides of the wheel a.
The car-
riages d, d, and the brake mechanism are supported on the framing or wooden
cross pieces ff, which may either be built in the wall of the engine house, or be
stayed to the frame, by which the wheel a is supported; 9 is the steam cylinder
of the brake, and h is the piston working therein. The said cylinder and piston
are shown partly in elevation and partly in section in the Drawing. The
cylinder g is connected through the box i, bolted on the upper end of the strap c²
with the brake block c. The end of the neck or contracted part of the
cylinder has a spherical collar, as indicated by the dotted lines, which said
spherical collar fits in the conical box i, and the said cylinder is thereby con-
nected to the brake block c; the said block c being also capable of a slight
motion in a vertical plane upon the joint c; his the piston rod of the piston h,
extending on both sides of the said piston. One end of the piston rod h² works

page_text: in a socket in the contracted end of the cylinder, and the other end of the
piston rod passes through the open end of the cylinder, and is connected to the
cross bar k, which cross bar carries two side connecting rods, one only of which
marked, is shown in the Drawing. The said connecting rods / pass on either
side of the brake wheel a, and are connected through metal eyes 6 of the curved
strap b, with the brake block b. The brake blocks b and c are thus supported
at opposite points of the periphery of the brake wheel a. The cylinder g is sup-
plied with steam by the steam pipe m, the said pipe m being connected by the
pipe with the engine's steam pipe o immediately above the throttle valve P
in the said pipe o; q is the exhaust pipe by which the exhaust steam is con-
veyed from the cylinder g. At the junction of the pipes m, n, and g, a three-way
cock r is situated, provided with a quadrant lever s. The upper arm of the
lever s is connected by the rod t, having a slot in one end, with the hand lever u
of the throttle valve p. The lower arm of the quadrant levers has a wire or
chain a secured to it, which wire or chain extends to the mouth of the pit.
The action of the brake is as follows:-When it is wished to put the brake
in operation, in order to retard or stop the engine's motion, the attendant moves
the upper arm of the quadrant lever 's to the left, and thereby close the throttle
valve P,
and shuts off the steam from the engine, and admits steam through the
three-way cock to the brake cylinder g. The steam being admitted between
the piston h and cylinder g, forces the said piston towards the open end of the
cylinder, the motion of the said piston drawing or tightening the curved strap b²
of the block b, through the connecting rods 7, and forcing the said block into
close contact with the brake wheel a. As the piston h moves in one direction,
the cylinder g at the same time moves in the opposite direction, namely, from
the piston, and forces the end of the cylinder against the upper end i of the
curved strap of the block c, and thereby presses the said block c into close
contact with the brake wheel a. The said brake blocks b and c are thus
pressed simultaneously on opposite points of the brake wheel a, and the engine
brought to rest. By reversing the quadrant lever s the communication
between the exhaust pipe q and the cylinder g is opened, and the communication
between the steam pipe o and the said cylinder g closed, and the steam from
the cylinder escapes through the said exhaust pipe q. The pressure of the
brake block b is now relieved by the balance weight v, carried by rod w, the
said rod w being connected to the curved strap b² of the said block b. The
pressure of the other brake block c is relieved by the weight of the cylinder g,
to which it is connected, the said brake block tending when the pressure of
the steam is taken off the cylinder, to turn upon its joint c³, and to recede
slightly from the periphery of the brake wheel a. By the arrangement of the

page_text: levers s and u, and parts connected with them, the hand lever u of the throttle'
valve p can be moved to shut off the steam from the engine without bringing,
into action our improved brake, and the steam can be shut off from the brake
cylinder without opening the throttle valve p, as will be understood by an
inspection of the Drawing. When, from accident or otherwise, the engine is
required to be stopped in the absence of the attendant, the wire or chain a
passing to the mouth of the pit is simply pulled by the banksman, the steam,
to the engine is thereby cut off, the brake put in operation, and the engine
brought to rest in the manner herein-before explained.
Figure 2 represents in side elevation (partly in section) our improved brake
as applied to the brake wheel of a winding or hoisting engine.
The arrangement represented in Figure 2 is especially applicable where,
the brake wheel is small, and that represented in Figure 1 is applicable where
the brake wheel is large. y is the brake wheel of the engine, made and
mounted in the usual manner. The timber z, carrying the axis of the wheel y,,
is mounted upon the masonry or brickwork 1. The fixed carriage or block 2.
is fitted with a stud pin, to which the curved metal straps 3, 3, rivetted to the
ends of the leather brake straps 4 and 5 are secured. Hard wood may be.
used in place of the leather straps 4 and 5. 6 is the steam cylinder, and 7.
the piston of the same. The open end of the cylinder is covered with a.
perforated cover 8, to prevent the entrance of dirt into the said cylinder. The
air escapes by the perforations in the cover 8 as the piston rises in the cylinder.;
The piston rod 10 passes through the stuffing box 11, and is connected by:
means of the eye 12 to the brake strap 5. The lower end of the cylinder 6 is,
made with a spherical collar, as indicated by dotted lines, and fits in a conical-
socket turned in the box 13, the said collar being cast on the stuffing box 11.
The end of the box 13 is connected to the free end of the brake strap 4, as,
represented. The opposite end of the box 13 carries an eye 14, connected by
means of the rod 15 with the balance lever 16, by which lever the cylinder 6
is raised to its normal position when the steam is shut off from the said
cylinder. Steam is admitted to the cylinder 6 by the steam pipes 17 and 18.
20 is the exhaust pipe, and 21 the three-way cock, fitted with a quadrant
lever 22, to which lever a chain or wire 23 is connected, as herein-before more
particularly explained with reference.to Figure 1. The three-way cock should
be lower than any point of the cylinder, in order to allow condensed water to
escape.
The action of the steam brake, Figure 2, is essentially the same as that
described with reference to Figure 1, that is to say, on admitting steam to the
cylinder 6, the piston 7 rises in the cylinder, and the said cylinder descends.

page_text: The brake straps 4, 5, are thereby tightened on the brake wheel y, and the
engine brought to rest. On cutting off the steam from the cylinder 6, the
waste steam escapes by the exhaust pipe 20, and the action of the balance
lever 16, and the pressure of the atmosphere on the upper side of the piston
bring the parts of the brake into the position represented in the Drawing, and
the brake straps are loosened on the brake wheel y. We surround the bottom
of the cylinder 6 with a hollow jacket or casing 6°, perforated at its top edge.
The said jacket 6ª is connected by means of a pipe 24 and cock 25 with the
exhaust pipe of the engine, so that in frosty weather steam may be allowed to
pass into and escape from the said jacket, and thereby keep the bottom of the
cylinder warm. The said jacket 6 is especially applicable where the winding
or hoisting shaft is outside the engine house.
Figure 3 represents in side elevation (partly in section) our improved brake
applied in a direct manner to the brake wheel of an ordinary stationary engine,
or applied to a brake wheel for retarding or stopping revolving machinery in
general. To the end of the steam cylinder 26 a brake block 27 is connected; the
face of the said block 27 bearing on the periphery of the brake wheel 28, being
covered with leather or hard wood. The said cylinder and block slide in the
standard or upright 30. The end of the piston rod 31 of the piston 32 is con-
nected to the cross bar 33, and through the connecting rods 34, 34, and cross
bar 35 to the brake block 36 at the opposite point of the brake wheel 28. The
brake block 36 slides in the standard 37. The pressure of the brake block 36
is relieved from the wheel 28 by the action of the weighted lever 38, and parts
connected with it. The action of the said lever 38 will be readily understood
by an inspection of the Drawing. The pressure of the other block 27 is
relieved from the wheel 28 as soon as the exhaust steam escapes from the
cylinder 26.
As the action of the brake, Figure 3, is essentially the same as that of the
brakes Figures 1 and 2, we do not consider a further description necessary.
The diameter of the steam cylinder of our improved brake varies according to
the amount of brake power required for retarding or stopping the engine or
machine to which the brake is applied.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the precise details herein described and represented in the
Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our
Invention; but we claim as our Invention the new or improved steam brake
for retarding or stopping colliery or other stationary engines, and for retarding
or stopping revolving machinery in general, constructed in the manner herein-

page_text: before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say,
a steam brake, consisting essentially of a cylinder having a piston working in
it, the said cylinder and piston being made by the pressure of steam to move
in opposite directions, and to operate simultaneously on brake blocks or straps
on the periphery of the brake wheel and thereby to retard or stop the engine
or machine to which the said brake is applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Wright, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
JAMES WRIGHT.
THOMAS WRIGHT. (L.S.)