IMPROVEMENTS IN CABLE LIFTING-MECHANISM FOR CABLE- RAILWAY CARS
Year: 1886

page_text: I, JOHN JACOB ENDRES, of 482 Fourth Avenue, in the City, County and State
of New York, United States of America, Engineer, do solemnly, declare the nature
of this invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN CABLE LIFTING-MECHANISM FOR CABLE-
RAILWAY CARS, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the mechanism used on cable-road cars, by which the
cable may be grasped and lifted from its normal position on its carrying pulleys
and brought between the jaws of the cable-grip on the car, by the operation of a
suitably arranged hand-operating mechanism.
The mechanism embodying the invention will be explained by the following
description, and the features considered as new will be specially indicated in the
claims.
In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of a car truck, the wheels on
one side being removed, and provided with my improved cable lifting mechanism
mounted thereon; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a cross-section on
plane of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a detail side-view of the cable clutching jaws.
Referring to these views in detail, A represents the frame of the truck, which
frame may be of any suitable construction, it being preferably a frame rigidly
connecting the axles BB of the track and adapted to carrying thereon a cable
gripping mechanism. Such gripping mechanism is designed to be attached midway
between the axles to the cross bars D. At each end of the truck is a cross bar E
constructed with a vertical guide bearing F, through which passes the cylindrical
plunger G, to the lower end of which are hinged the cable jaws .H which are
provided with friction plates I shaped and secured to said arms so as to jointly
form a grasp about the size of, or a little larger than, the cable J. This hollow
plunger is pivotally suspended, by connecting rods K, from the weighted levers Ļ
loosely hung on the crank shaft M journaled on the frame of the truck. Through
these levers M the plunger is counterbalanced by the movable weights N, or by.
springs or any like means, and is thus held up so that the jaws H are sufficiently
above the normal position of the cable to clear it and its carrying pulleys. Pivoted
to each of the jaws H is a toggle link O, and those links are at their other ends

page_text: pivoted to the lower end of the crank rod P which is at its upper end pivoted to
the arm Q, this arm being rigidly attached to the crank shaft M, and the cranks R
of the shafts at each end of the truck being connected, so as to operate together,
by the rods S, which is attached to any suitable hand-operating mechanism—such
as a hand-wheel or hand-lever, and usually located on the car body within
convenient reach of the conductor of the car. Such a lever is shown at s¹, it being
pivotally supported on the platform of the car and being provided with a dog or
lock S specially constructed with catches S* and S to hold the lever in ita forward
positions. T indicates (in dotted lines in Fig. 1) a form of gripping mechanism by
which the cable may be attached to the car truck. This grip may be of any
suitable form; but in the present case it consists generally of a fixed upper jaw Ū
and a movable lower jaw V, W indicating levers at each end of the grip for
raising and lowering the movable jaw-this mechanism being of the kind that
takes the cable laterally.
The operation of the mechanism is as follows:-the position of the parts being
as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 but with the jaws open, and the position of the
cable when running on its carrying pulleys being as indicated in broken lines:
The conductor bears his hand levor down to the limit of its slot in the platform,
and thereby turns the crank shafts, first forcing down the crank rods attached to
the toggle arms until the links O striķo the stops HP. When the cable jaws are
extended, these crank rods can be pushed no further through the cylindrical
plungers, and the further revolution of the crank shafts causes the plungers to be
pushed down through their bearings, so as to bring the cable jaws on either side
of the cable-as seen in the lower dotted lines of Fig. 3. This downward move-
ment of the hollow plungers lifts its weights so that, in this position of the parts,
they do not counterbalance the plungers, and the plungers will remain as placed
when the conductors hand-lever is reversed. Upon reversing the hand-lever it is
swung behind catch S of the dog S, and the backward revolution of the
crank shafts causes the cable jaws to first close together under the cable, and then
to lift the plungers with the engaged cable to a line with the open jaws of the
cable gripping mechanism as seen in full lines in Fig. 8. The gripping mechanism
may now be closed, and then the hand-lever of the cable lifting devices will be
released so as to fall back upon the catch S of the dog, when the cable jaws will
fall apart, as seen in the upper dotted lines of Fig. 3, but the. plunger carrying
these jaws will be held up, by their weights being in such position as to more than
counterbalanco, the plunger.
By the use of a lifting mechanism at each end of the truck, or near both ends of
the gripping devices, the cable is held evenly between the gripping jaws. In some
cases, however, a single lifting mechanism might suffice; but generally it is, better
to have the cable lifted at two points, so that that portion of the cable passing
through the grip may be along a straight line parallel with the clamping faces of
the grip.
The parts of these mechanisms may be changed, as to shape and construction,
without essentially altering their purpose and operation; and I do not, therefore,
confine myself, to the exact, construction here shown.
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:-
1. In combination, in the herein described cable-lifting mechanism, the cable
gripping jaws H pivoted to the counterbalanced plunger, and the, crank rod P
attached to said jaws and to connections extending to hand operating mechanism,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. In combination, the jaws H, the counterbalanced plunger G carrying the
same, the crank rod P for operating said jaws and attached to the crank shaft M,
and the connecting rod S, all substantially as set forth,

page_text: 3. In combination, the plunger G suspended from the weighted levers Land
carrying the jaws H, the links O and crank rod P, the crank shaft M, and
connecting rod S.
4. In combination, the two cable-lifting mechanisms arranged to engage the
cable at points on both sides of the gripping mechanism, each. consisting of a
vertically moving counterbalanced plunger carrying cable gripping jaws and a
crank rod connection arranged to move said plunger and operate said jaws, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
5. In combination with the cable-lifting mechanism, the operating lever S', and
) the dog S2 having the stops S³ and S', substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Dand this 10th of Au 1984
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