IMPROVEMENTS IN BRAKES
Year: 1885

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BRAKES" (a communication from Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Müller of Berlin in
the German Empire) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved construction of brake chiefly designed for
use on tramway cars but applicable to other vehicles, also, particullary to railway
carriages.
The essential feature of this invention is that brakes embodying the same will
be capable of rapidly exerting a very powerful action upon the wheels of a vehicle
fitted with the same.
As applied to a Tramway car the brake may be constructed as follows. On the
under side of the carriage and in front of each wheel is placed a brake block This
brake block is suspended by means of a jointed lever and can be raised out of
contact with the wheel by means of a chain worked as will presently appear The
brake blocks belonging to each pair of wheels are connected by a rod-Pivotted to
these brake blocks in front of the wheels or to the rods which support them are
levers acting upon another set of brake blocks at the rear of the wheels each pair
of the latter blocks (belonging to the same pair of wheels) are also united.
The chain which has been above referred to as supporting the front brake blocks
is guided by pulleys to a rod on the foot board of the car which can be pulled up
and then held in position by a pawl or the like.
The whole is so arranged that when the chain is released by disengaging the
pawl the front brake block falls upon the wheel and by the rotation of the latter
is forced forward this not only has a retarding effect in itself but the lever
connections are so arranged that the brake blocks at the back of the wheels are
also applied.
If desired the blocks at the rear may be not only connected with the front blocks
(which are applied by their own weight in the first instance as stated) but also
with Independent means for applying the same say with a screw spindle and chain
as is usual in hand brakes.
It is obvious that the relative position of the several parts and the arrangement
of the levers can be modified in different ways.

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Müller of Berlin, German Empire,) and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The rapidly acting brake to which this invention relates, has for its object to
enable vehicles and more especially tramway and railway cars to be rapidly stopped
in cases of emergency where the usual brakes would not act with sufficient
promptness without however interfering with the use of the brakes to be operated
by hand; the construction of this brake is such that, say on a tramcar, the driver
may instantaneously stop the car by throwing a pawl of the brake device out of
engagement by a movement of his foot.
The said brake gear may be so connected with a brake spindle or a brake lever
that the ordinary brake may be applied independently of the emergency brake or
the vehicle may be partly or wholly stopped by the brake.
The construction of this brake is represented in the accompanying drawings
in which
Figure 1 is an elevation showing this brake with an ordinary hand brake.
Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1.
Figure 2 a disengaging mechanism for the rapidly acting or emergency brake.
Figure 3 plan of Figure 1.
Figure 4 a modified form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3.
Figure 5 a modification of the construction shown in Figure 4 the brake block
acting from below.
Figure 5a plan of Figure 5.
This brake consists substantially of a brake block A which, when the brake
lever is released falls upon the front and top part of the periphery of the wheel, is
driven forward by friction and, by a suitable arrangement of levers and connecting
rods causes the brake block B very rapidly and with great force to be pressed
against the rear part of the wheel thus stopping the vehicle.
The dotted lines show the position, of the levers, brake blocks, and connecting
rods when the apparatus is released.
The falling brake block A is suspended in the bearing E suitably placed on the
underside of the vehicle body on a lever C (as in Figures 1, 2, 3) or by a pair of
levers C2C (Figure 5ª) and by means of the rod D, the rod D being pivotted in d
and the lever C on pin c the arrangement being such (as indicated in figures 1 and 2)
that when the brake is "off" the lever is nearly horizontal.
The checks of the brake blocks B which may be of beach, are fitted with a
wrought iron brake shoe b. A connecting rod F Figures 1 to 3 (or a pair of such
rods 2 F2 as shown in Figure 5ª) serves to connect the brake block A with the
brake block B. and the coupling rod f connects the block A of one wheel R with
the corresponding block of the second wheel R¹ in the same pair, whilst a coupling

page_text: rod f' connects the block B of one wheel R with the corresponding block of the
other wheel R¹ of the pair.
By the pivotted link or rod G (Figures 1 to 3) or by a pair of such links G¹ G¹
(Figure 5a) connected with the coupling rod or rods f¹ and hung on pivots h in
bearings H the brake blocks B are suspended from the underside of the carriage.
At the centre of the coupling rod f the brake chain K is attached; the chain
passes between k. . and and is connected with the operating bar or rod J. the
latter receiving the end of the chain K.
The mechanism for working the brake may be of any suitable construction; for
tramcars it may be the following.
The operating rod J has at the lower part a recess i with which the pawl **
engages. This rod is at the centre of the front plate L of the platform P of the car
and held by straps so as to be moveable.
A shoulder or projection 3 on the rod J limits the movement of the latter.
To release the brake or "to put it on" the driver pushes the pawl i² aside by
means of his foot and the weight of the blocks A. A. will cause the same to descend
upon the wheel R. R. In consequence of frictional effect the brake blocks A. A
are driven forward by the wheels R. R¹ together with the lever C and bar D.
The brake blocks B. B. impelled by the connecting rods F. F. together with the
coupling bars f¹f' follow this motion and thus are rapidly and forcibly applied to
the wheels R. R¹ whereby the car is stopped.
If now the falling block is raised off the wheel by rod J and chain K then the
blocks B. B. will by their own weight and that of the rods G. G. fall away from
the wheels R. R¹.
The length of the rods F. F. is so chosen that the brakes are rapidly put on but
all unpleasant or injurious jar or concussion may be avoided.
With slight alteration this principle can be applied to railway brakes also.
The construction of this emergency brake is such that it may be directly
connected with a hand brake spindle so that either the blocks A and B may be
simultaneously "put in" by one mechanism or the blocks B may be independently
applied. To this end it is only necessary to key or fasten a lever Z on an
extension G of the brake bar a, of the brake blocks B and to actuate said lever
say by a bell-crank m. n. connected with brake operating mechanism B' of the .
usual construction.
Thus instead of the double emergency brake, the blocks B may be worked by
themselves by drawing the same against the wheels R. R¹ by the aid of the rod Z
aud parts connected therewith.
In the same manner the emergency brake device can be put into operation by
releasing the lever J the chain O between the brake spindle B¹ and the rod Z will
not transmit the motion of the brake blocks to the spindle B¹. Or even in the
case whilst applying the hand-brake, it should be found that more rapid action is
required for arresting the vehicle in time, it will only be requisite to release the
falling blocks A to cause quick action as above explained.
In Figures 4, 5 and 5ª is shown a modification of the rod connections for the
brake illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 means being shown for working the falling
brake block either from above or from below.
The connecting link F is not directly connected with the brake block A as shown
n Figures 1 to 3 but grasps rod f whilst the link C is attached to the block A and
the rod f
The action of the brake block B2 on the rod G2 is substantially the same as that
explained with reference to Figures 1-3. In the modification shown in Figure 5
he intermediary rod C² exerts additional pressure on the block A thus increasing
he effect.
The brake may be made to act by a brake spindle or an adjustable lever and
lock B2 will be applied in a degree corresponding to the adjustment of A². It
vill be obvious from the drawings that one operating gear and one lever or spindle
uffice to cause partial or entire application of the brake.

page_text: In the modification shown in Figures 5 and 5ª the brake block A2 is made to
act from below the chain and other parts being arranged to suit the motion of the
wheel in the direction of the arrow.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
1. A rapidly acting brake consisting of the brake block A carried by the guide
rod C the latter being supported by the link D suspended on the underside of the
vehicle, in combination with the brake block B connected with the link G pivotted
in a bearing H on the vehicle body at one end and at the other connected with the
block A by the rod F so that when A descends, it will by reason of its friction
against the periphery of the wheel actuate the block B also substantially as
specified.
2. In combination with the brake referred to in claim 1 and shown in Figures 1
to 3 the employment of the rod Z in combination with the lever G₁ attached to
the coupling bar f¹ and with a brake spindle of known construction to enable the
quickly acting brake to be applied gradually, each motion being independent of
the other substantially as specified.
3. In combination with the subject matter of claims 1 and 2 the modified
construction of the brake block A² which is not connected with the draw bar F2
but with the intermediate rod C2 the latter and rod F2 being connected with the
rod D2 so as to increase the effect of the brake by the pressure of the rod C² upon
the block A2 and to enable very rapid or gradual action to be effected by means of
a single brake lever or brake spindle substantially as specified.
4. In combination with the subject matter of claim 3 an arrangement for
actuating the block A² from below.
100-