Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 20th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 14th Feb., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
I, CHARLES LOCK, of 5, Peckham Terrace, Prestbury Road, Upton Park, in
the County of Essex, Pianoforte Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to railway brakes, and has for its object to provide a brake
which can be applied from either side of a wagon or other vehicle to which it is
adapted.
According to my invention I provide a shaft extending from one side of the truck
to the other and having at each end a lever by means of which the shaft can be
moved to apply the brake.
On this shaft are fitted levers which act upon rods or bars connected with the
brake blocks, so that when the shaft is rotated the brake blocks will be forced
against the wheel.
In order to hold the brake blocks in or out of contact with the wheel, the said
shaft provided with a roller or rollers is carried in spring bearings, which normally
press it towards the bottom of the wagon, and on the said shaft is a lever or levers
carrying a roller or rollers at the end or ends and bearing against the bottom of the
wagon.
The spring or springs also assists or assist in the working of the brake by raising
the operating lever after the lever or levers carrying the roller or rollers is moved
past the vertical position.
Dated the 20th day of Woh 1800
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
I, CHARLES LOCK, of 5, Peckham Terrace, Prestbury Road, Upton Park, in
the County of Essex, Pianoforte Maker, 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 relates to brakes for railway vehicles, and consists in the arrange-
ment of a spring or springs in combination therewith in such a manner that the
brake may be operated from either side of a wagon or other vehicle to which it is
adapted, and held automatically in or out of contact with the wheels.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will shew how it may be carried
into practice by reference to the accompanying drawing which represents in side
elevation so much of a railway wagon as is necessary to shew the application of my
invention thereto.
a indicates the under-frame of the said wagon, and b, b the wheels. c, c are brake-
blocks of ordinary construction suspended from the under-frame a by bars d, d;
e is a shaft extending from one side of the wagon to the other and carried in
suitable bearings, and f, fare levers secured upon or formed integral with the said
shaft and connected by rods g, g with the bars d. d.
is a lever, on one end of the shaft e, for applying and taking off the brakes, a
corresponding lever being arranged on the other end of the shaft e when the brake
is to be capable of application from either side.
is the spring which serves to hold the brake-blocks in or out of contact with

page_text: the wheels. In the drawing I have shewn a semi-elliptic spring secured to the
under-frame of the wagon while its free end is connected by a link with one of the
levers for with an independent lever upon the shaft e. The link with the lever /
constitute a kind of toggle, and the spring is so much compressed that if its free
end were disengaged from the link j it would occupy the position indicated, say, by
the dotted lines 1. The normal tendency of the said spring therefore, when the
levers and the link are in the position shewn in full lines, is to draw the
brake-blocks still further away from the wheels. In order, however, to prevent
the blocks from being moved too far from the wheels, the lever his arranged to
abut against a stop, which, as shewn, is at the upper end of a guide k in which the
lever slides. It will be understood that, when the brakes are away from the wheels,
the pressure of the spring is more than sufficient to counterbalance the weight of
the lever which is thus held forcibly against the stop. When the lever is moved
downwards in the guide for instance as indicated by dotted lines, the position of
the levers, and the link j is reversed, so that the blocks are forced against the
wheels also as indicated by dotted lines, the compression of the spring being
sufficient to hold the blocks in forcible contact with the wheels. The pressure of
the said blocks upon the wheels is further increased by the weight of the lever h
which should in no case touch the bottom of the guide k.
It will be understood that in applying or removing the brake it is only necessary
to overcome the pressure of the spring until the three centres of the levers constituting
the toggle are in a line or slightly beyond the same when the spring serves to
complete the movement.
Instead of employing semi-elliptic springs as hereinbefore described I may employ
other suitable forms of springs and may cause them to act upon the brake in any
desirable manner, for instance, the same result would be produced if the link were
connected at its upper end to the under-frame a and the bearings for the shaft e
carried upon springs.
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 :-
1. A brake for railway vehicles having a spring designed to hold the brake-
blocks in or out of contact with the wheels, substantially as described.
2. The combination with a brake of the kind hereinbefore referred to of a spring
adapted to hold the brake-blocks in or out of contact with the wheels, substantially
in the manner hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing.
Dated the 20th day of December 1890.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.