IMPROVE- MENTS IN BRAKES FOR WHEEL CARRIAGES
Year: 1885

page_text: We ROBERT JAMES CRAWFORD of N° 3 Wood Street Westminster Veterinary
Surgeon and ALFRED CHRISTOPHER BINNS of No 65 Millbank Street Westminster
Wheelwright do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BRAKES FOR WHEEL CARRIAGES" to be as follows:-
Our invention consists of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described of brakes for wheel carriages.
Our improved brake is especially applicable to two wheel carriages such for
example as dog carts but our improved brake may also be applied to four wheel
carriages.
We will describe our improved brake as applied to a dog cart.
On the innerside of each of the hubs of the wheels of the dog cart we make or
fix a pulley or flanged wheel over which a brake strap metallic by preference
works. The ends of each brake strap are connected to a nearly vertical arm and
the said arms are coupled together by a cross axis passing under the body of the
carriage and parallel with the axle. The ends of the brake straps are not
connected to the arms on the cross axis at the same level but one end of each
brake strap is connected below and the opposite end of the brake strap above the
centre on which the said arms turn.
The result of this arrangement is that when motion is given to the said arms for
putting on the brake the two ends of each brake strap are moved in opposite
directions and the said brake strap thereby tightened on the pulley.
The coupled brake arms to which the brake straps are connected in the manner
described are actuated by a hand lever preferably at the right hand side of the
carriage the said lever being connected by a link to the top of the brake arm at
the right hand side of the carriage the said right hand brake arm being prolonged
upwards. The said hand lever is fixed in its position by a rib near its top engaging
with a rack bar on the body of the carriage.
When the handle end of the hand lever is pressed forward that is towards the
horse the brake arms at opposite sides of the carriage are simultaneously moved
in the same direction and the two brake straps thereby simultaneously tightened
on the brake pulleys and the motion of the carriage is retarded or arrested.

page_text: In applying our invention to four wheel vehicles we prefer to connect the hand
lever to an arm formed on or secured to the coupling axis at or near its middle and
in the case of heavy vehicles we prefer to actuate the brake by means of a foot
lever or by means of an endless screw in place of the band lever which foot lever
or endless screw we connect to the middle arm on the coupling axis.
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7007
We ROBERT JAMES CRAWFORD of No 3 Wood Street Westminster Veterinary
Surgeon and ALFRED CHRISTOPHER BINNS of No 65 Millbank Street Westminster
Wheelwright 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 :—
Our invention consists of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described of brakes for wheel carriages.
Our improved brake is especially applicable to two wheel carriages such for
example as dog carts; but our improved brake may also be applied to four wheel
carriages.
We will describe our improved brake as applied to a dog cart.
On the inner side of each of the hubs of the wheels of the dog cart we make or
fix a pulley or flanged wheel over which a brake strap metallic by preference
works. The ends of each brake strap are connected to a nearly vertical arm and
the said arms are coupled together by a cross axis passing under the body of the
carriage and parallel with the axle. The ends of the brake straps are not connected
to the arms on the cross axis at the same level but one end of each brake strap is
connected below and the opposite end of the brake strap above the centre on which
the said arms turn.
The result of this arrangement is that when motion is given to the said arms for
putting on the brake the two ends of each brake strap are moved in opposite
directions and the said brake strap thereby tightened on the pulley.
The coupled brake arms to which the brake straps are connected in the manner
described are actuated by a hand lever preferably at the right hand side of the
carriage the said lever being connected by a link to the top of the brake arm at
the right hand side of the carriage the said right hand brake arm being prolonged
upwards. The said hand lever is fixed in its position by a rib near its top
engaging with a rack bar on the body of the carriage. When the handle end of

page_text: the hand lever is pressed forward that is towards the horse the brake arms at
opposite sides of the carriage are simultaneously moved in the same direction and
the two brake straps thereby simultaneously tightened on the brake pulleys and
the motion of the carriage is retarded or arrested.
In applying our invention to four wheel vehicles we prefer to connect the hand
lever to an arm formed on or secured to the coupling axis at or near its middle and
in the case of heavy vehicles we prefer to actuate the brake by means of a foot
lever or by means of an endless screw in place of the hand lever which foot lever
or endless screw we connect to the middle arm on the coupling axis.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in side elevation Figure 2 in
plan and Figure 3 in end elevation a dog cart to which our improved brake is
applied and Figure 4 represents in end elevation and Figure 5 in side elevation a
portion of the brake mechanism drawn to a larger scale than in Figures 1. 2
and 3.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawings.
We have represented in the same vehicle two arrangements for working the
brake namely one by hand and the other by the foot but we wish it to be under-
stood that the arrangements may be used separately or in combination according to
the kind of vehicle to which the brake is applied.
a, a are the wheels of the dog cart and b the axle. On the inner side of each of
the hubs of the wheels a, a a pulley or flanged wheel c is fixed over which pulleys
the metallic or other straps d, d work. The ends of one of the straps d,'d are
connected to the nearly vertical arm e at one side of the vehicle and the ends of the
other strap are connected to the arm e at the other side of the vehicle the two
arms e and e² being coupled together by the cross axis f passing under the body of
the vehicle and parallel with the axle b. It will be seen by reference to the
Drawings that the ends of the brake straps d, d are not connected to the arms e, e²
at the same level but one end of each brake strap is connected below the centre or
axis and the opposite end of the brake strap above the centre or axis f on which
the said arms e, e turn as best seen in Figures 4 and 5. When the nearly vertical
arms e, e are lifted into the position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5 the two
ends of each brake strap d are moved in opposite directions and the said brake
straps are thereby tightened on the pulleys c, c. The double brake consisting of
the coupled arms e, e² and their straps is either actuated by a hand lever at the side
of the vehicle or by a foot lever on the foot board of the vehicle or by a screw as
hereinafter explained.
The band lever at the side of the vehicle for actuating the brake is marked g and
turns on the centre the said hand lever g being connected by the link i to the
top of the brake arm e as seen in Figures 1 and 5 The hand lever g is fixed in its
position by means of the rib k on its side being made to engage with the teeth of
the rack bar m on the body of the vehicle.
When the handle end of the hand lever g is pressed forwards towards the horse
and made to take the position indicated in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 5 the
brake arms e, e² are simultaneously moved in the same direction as indicated in
dotted lines and the two brake straps d, d are thereby simultaneously tightened on
the brake pulleys c, c and the motion of the carriage is retarded or arrested.
Instead of arranging the coupling axis f above the axle b of the vehicle as before
described and represented it may be arranged in front of and at about the same
level as the said axle b as represented in Figure 6 of the Drawings so that the ends
of the brake strap d are situated at right angles to the position which they occupy
in Figure 5.
In the arrangement Figure 6 the coupling axis f has fixed on each end a tumbler
marked ea to the knuckles or short arms e', e of which the ends of the brake
strap d are secured. The arm e to which the handle lever g is connected by
the link i may either form a part of the tumbler e³ or be connected directly to the
coupling axis f.

page_text: In four wheel carriages the band lever g may be connected to a crank arm at or
about the middle of the coupling axis finstead of to the brake strap arm.
Or in place of the hand lever g the crank arm at the middle of the coupling axis
may be operated upon by a hand screw so as to put the brake into or take it out
of action Or the arrangement of foot lever represented in the drawings may be
used for actuating the brake. The said foot lever is marked n and is connected
by the chain p working upon the guide pulleys q, q on the underside of the vehicle
with an arm at the middle of the coupling axis f. By pressing on the foot end
of the foot lever n its opposite end is raised and the chain p tightened and the
brake put into action as described with respect to the operation of the brake by
the use of a hand lever or hand screw.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed we declare that
we claim as our invention of "Improvements in brakes for wheel carriages
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:-
Applying to each of the hubs of the wheels of a two wheel carriage or to each of
a pair of wheels in case of a carriage having more than two wheels a pulley or
flanged wheel over which a brake strap metallic by preference works and coupling
the said brake straps by means of nearly vertical arms and a cross connecting axis
the said coupled brake straps being operated substantially in the ways herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Dotal il
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C
ROB. J. CRAWFORD.
ALFRED C. BINNS.