Improvements in Electro-Magnetic Brakes for Cars.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1898-Accepted, 19th Feb., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electro-Magnetic Brakes for Cars.
I, EDGAR PECKHAM, of No. 26, Cortlandt Street, New York, County and State of
New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to improvements in electro-magnetic brakes for cars; and
its object is to improve and increase the efficiency of this class of brakes, and to
produce a brake of great power and durability.
In the accompanying drawings and in the following description I present several
forms of brakes embracing the features of my invention.
Referring to the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car truck equipped with brake
mechanism embodying my invention, said mechanism being partly in section;
Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of same on the dotted line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the dotted
lines of Fig. 2 denoting the outline of the electro-magnet;
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of same on the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 1, the dotted
lines in Figure 3 indicating diagrammatically the lateral swing of the brake shoe
to reach the track rail at curves in the road;
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of brake mechanism embodying a portion of my inven-
tion, and in this form of the invention the magnet has connected to it two brake
shoes, one being adapted to bind upon the track rail and the other upon the car
wheel;
Fig. 5 is a top view of same;
Fig. 6 is an end view of same;
Fig. 7 is a detached side elevation showing a modified form of brake shoe for
same;
Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a portion of a car truck employing a further modified
the invention;
Fig. 9 is a top view, partly broken away, of same; and
Fig. 10 is a top view of a car truck provided with the form of brake mechanism
shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, A designates any suitable
or usual car truck frame, preferably of metal; 13 the wheels therefor, and C the
usual track rails.
The brake mechanism is in duplicate, one set of the mechanism being at each
side of and connected to the car frame.
The brake mechanism shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, comprises at each side of
the car frame the electro-magnet D having the usual core, the arms, lettered E, F,
connected with said magnet, and constituting the poles, and the brake shoe G,
pivotally secured to the arm or pole F and adapted for contact with the track rail C.
The electro-maguet D may be suspended from the truck frame A by means of
hangers H.
The lower end of the hanger H connected with the pole piece F will
be insulated from said pole piece; and insulation is not required between the lower
end of the left hand hanger and the pole piece E.
Fig. 9 is a top view, partly broken away, of same; and
Fig. 10 is a top view of a car truck provided with the form of brake mechanism
shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, A designates any suitable
or usual car truck frame, preferably of metal; 13 the wheels therefor, and C the
usual track rails.
The brake mechanism is in duplicate, one set of the mechanism being at each
side of and connected to the car frame.
The brake mechanism shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, comprises at each side of
the car frame the electro-magnet D having the usual core, the arms, lettered E, F,
connected with said magnet, and constituting the poles, and the brake shoe G,
pivotally secured to the arm or pole F and adapted for contact with the track rail C.
The electro-magnet D may be suspended from the truck frame A by means of
hangers H. The lower end of the hanger H connected with the pole piece F will
be insulated from said pole piece; and insulation is not required between the lower
end of the left hand hanger and the pole piece E.

page_text: to reach the rails. The joint or articulation Q in the arm O is of importance in
that when the shoe is upon the rail the rocking or jarring motion of the car is
prevented from affecting to any material extent the shoe G or its relation to the
rail, by reason of the fact that the member 6 of the arm O may move upward and
downward on the pivotal connections at both its outer and inner ends, and thus
yield with the jarring action of the car without disturbing the brake shoe G. In
order to permit of the vertical motion of the member b of the arm O the fork S
open at its upper end is provided. The inner end of the arm 0 is adapted to pass
between the arms of the fork J at the inner end of the pole piece E and said end
of the arm is adapted to come into proper relation to the inclined wall L of
the pole piece E to be attracted thereby. The inclination of the wall L is at a
tangent to the arc on which the inner end of the arm 0 has its movement and
hence the inner end of said arm 0 more closely approaches the wall L the further
downward it moves, and this is a feature of importance, since it permits of the
shoe G having a varying downward movement corresponding with the wear which
may take place upon the lower surface of the said shoe. For instance, when there
has been no wear upon the shoe G, the arm O will have a fixed downward move-
ment, but as wear takes place upon the lower surface of the shoe, the inner end
of the arm should be capable of being moved further downward in order that
the worn surfaces of the shoe shall reach the rail. The inclination of the wall L
of the pole piece E exerts a magnetic attraction to constantly draw the inner end
of the arm O downward to its fullest extent and hence as the surface of the shoe is
worn off, the arm O will be pulled downward to a correspondingly further degree
and preserve the contact of the shoe with the track rail. To illustrate this part of
the invention more fully, it may be assumed that the inclined wall L does not exist
and that the arm 0 might reach its horizontal position between the pole pieces
without the then worn surface of the shoe G reaching the rail, and under these
circumstances, the lines of magnetic force being directly between the vertical ends
of the pole pieces E and the arm O, the latter would have a tendency to be held
in its horizontal position and the shoe thus retained above the track rail, whereas,
with the inclined surface L there is a downward pulling action on the end of
the arm and this action increases the nearer the end surface of the arm O
approaches the wall L and hence, two results are accomplished by the inclined
wall L, the first being that the shoe will be drawn to the track rail at all times;
and the second, that the more nearly the end of the arm 0 approaches the lower
portion of the wall L, the stronger will be the magnetic action binding the shoe
upon the rail.
Upon the energizing of the coils D (referring to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive) the
magnetic circuit will be established through the truck frame, axles, wheels and
rails, and the shoe G at each side of the truck will become attracted to and bind
upon the rails C. The shoe G or the arm O carrying the same is first attracted
by the pole E and then by the track rail. The poles E, F, are connected with the
frame A and form with the frame, axles, wheels and rails a complete magnetic
field. The purpose of the plate or extension K on the pole E is to bring a part of
the pole E into close relation with the face of the car wheel so as to produce a more
intense magnetic influence intermediate the car truck and track rail.
The foregoing description applies to the form of mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1
to 3 inclusive, but since the present invention is not specifically limited in every
instance to the special form of devices illustrated in Fig. 1, I have presented several
other forms of brake mechanism embodying features of my invention in Figs. 4
to 10 inclusive.
I will now describe the form of brake mechanism illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7
inclusive.
Referring to Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, I suspend at each side of the car, as hereto-
fore, an electro-magnet C having heads at its opposite ends to which are pivotally
secured by means of horizontal pins, the brake arms G¹ which extend lengthwise
of the track rails H¹ and support in their outer ends the pivoted brake shoes J¹, J,

page_text: being jointed to prevent the jarring motion of the car from affecting the relation of
the brake shoe to the rail; substantially as set forth.
2. In a railway car brake, the electro magnet at each side of the car and the pole
piece extending from the end of said magnet, combined with the brake arm pivoted
thereto and the brake shoe for contact with the track rails, said shoe being capable
of lateral motion in addition to its vertical motion; substantially as set forth.
3. In a railway car brake, the electro-magnet at each side of the car and the pole
piece extending from the end of said magnet, combined with the brake arm
pivotally secured to said pole piece and the brake shoe carried by said arm, said
brake arm being jointed and said brake shoe having the sleeve and fork to engage
the members of said brake arm; substantially as set forth.
4. In a railway car brake, the electro magnet at each side of the car, the pole
piece extending from one end thereof, and the brake arm pivotally secured to said
pole piece, combined with the brake shoe carried by said brake arm and the pole
piece extending from the other end of said magnet toward said brake
substantially as set forth.
arm;
the pole
5. In a railway car brake, the electro-magnet at each side of the car,
piece extending downward from one end of said magnet, the brake arm pivotally
secured to said pole piece, and the brake shoe carried by said arm, combined with
the pole piece extending from the other end of said magnet and toward said brake
arm, the end of said latter pole piece facing the end of said brake arm being on a
line diverging from the are through which the end of the brake arm travels; sub-
stantially as set forth.
6. In a railway car brake, the electro-magnet secured in stationary position at
each side of the car, combined with the brake arms pivotally secured to the ends
of said magnets, and the brake shoes pivotally secured to said arms, one of said
brake shoes being arranged for contact with the track rail and the other with the
car wheel; substantially as set forth.
7. In a railway car brake, the electro-magnet secured in stationary position at
cach side of the car, combined with the pivoted brake arm at the end of each
magnet, the brake shoe pivotally secured to each of said brake arms for engaging
the track rails, and the pivoted plate or dog at the end of the magnets to be
attracted to the latter and for depressing the brake arms and shoes when the
magnets are energized; substantially as set forth.
8. In a railway car brake, the electro magnet, secured în stationary position at
cach side of the car and extending transversely of the car upon a core, combined
with the pivoted brake arm at the end of each magnet, and the brake shoe pivotally .
secured to each of said brake-arms; substantially as set forth.
9. In a railway-brake, the magnet carried by the car and at each side of the
latter, combined with a pivoted brake-arm carried from the end of each magnet
and turning inward in line with the length of the magnet, and a brake shoe for
contact with the rail carried by each of said brake-arms; substantially as set forth.
10. In a railway car brake, the electro-magnet, and the pole pieces at the ends of
said magnet, combined with the brake shoes supported from said pole pieces, sub-
stantially as set forth.