Starting of Tram Cars.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1887.
Complete Left, 18th Feb., 1888
Complete Accepted, 29th Mar., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Starting of Tram Cars.
I JOSEPH HENRY WILSON Clerk in Holy Orders of Dundrum Rectory Cashel
in the County of Tipperary do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The draw bar to which horses or other other motive power is attached, moves
forward on starting for a short distance, and this motion by means of a peculiar
arrangement of pawls, ratchet, and levers turns or spokes the wheels at the outset
with considerable leverage thereby assisting the motive power when starting.
The peculiar arrangement of pawls and ratchet above referred to, consists of the
use of more than one pawl fixed side by side on the same pinion, the ratchet wheel
fixed on centre of axle being sufficiently wide to admit of three or more pawls resting
on the same tooth, each pawl is a third or fourth, of the length of tooth, according to
the number of pawls, shorter or longer than the one immediately next to it, so that in.
this manner the grip is obtained much sooner than if only one pawl were used, this
subdivision of the ratchet is necessary and advisable, as the ratchet wheel must'
be of small diameter, and comparatively few teeth of sufficient strength can be cut in
it, and it moreover distributes the work over three or more pawls.
The horses or other motive power is attached to a lever of the 2nd order outside.
the car the fulcrum of lever being fixed at a point about 8 inches from the ground.
The rod which moves forward the pawls is fixed to the lever bar about mid-way
between the fulcrum and the point where the horses or other motive power is
attached.
The lever works in a strong iron slot on a level with the floor of the car thus giving.
it rigidity. The pawls are furnished with tapering tails, and these when the rod draws
the pawls forward press against a spring fixed at the top of a surrounding case, which

page_text: latter is pivoted on the axle, and hindered from any rotary movement by a pin fixed
in floor of car and working in a slot attached to this case. The spring thus pressing
on the tails of the pawls tips them up from the ratchet when the bar is fully drawn,
and the pawls remain so, as long as the lever is kept in that position.
The draw rod from lever enters the surrounding case through a longitudinal hole.
The lever bar is drawn back by driver when the car stops and is then ready for the
start. This gear is of course to be applied to both ends of car.
JOSEPH HENRY WILSON, M.A.,
Clerk in Holy Orders.
Starting of Tram Cars.
1, JOSEPH HENRY WILSON of Dundrum Rectory, Cashel in the County of
Tipperary, Clerk in Holy Orders, 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:-
The draw bar to which horses or other motive power is attached, moves forward on
starting for a short distance, and this motion by means of a peculiar arrangement of
pawls and ratchets and levers turns or spokes the wheels at the outset, with
considerable leverage thereby assisting the motive power when starting.
The peculiar arrangement of pawls and ratchets above referred to consists in the
use of more than one pawl fixed side by side on the same spindle, the ratchet wheel
fixed on centre of axle being sufficiently wide to admit of three or more pawls resting
on the same tooth, each pawl is a third or fourth of the length of tooth according to
the number of pawls, shorter or longer than the one immediately next to it so that
in this manner the grip is obtained much sooner than if only one pawl were used,
this subdivision of the ratchet is necessary and advisable, as the ratchet wheel must be
of small diameter, and comparatively few teeth of sufficient strength can be cut
in it, and it moreover distributes the work over a greater number of pawls.
The horses or other motive power is attached to a lever of the second order outside
the car, the fulcrum of lever being fixed at a point about 8 inches from the ground.
The rod which moves forward the pawls, is fixed to the lever bar about mid way
between the fulcrum and the point where the horses or other motive power is
attached.
The lever works in a strong iron slot on a level with the floor of the car, thus
giving it rigidity. The pawls are furnished with tapering tails and these when the

page_text: rod draws the pawls forward press against a spring fixed at the top of a surrounding
case, which latter is pivotted on the axle, and hindered from any rotatory movement,
by a pin fixed in floor of car and working in a slot attached to this case. The spring
thus pressing on the tails of the pawls, tips them up from contact with the ratchet
wheel, when the bar is fully drawn.
Tho draw rod from lever enters the surrounding case through a longitudinal hole.
The lever bar is drawn back by driver when the car stops and is then ready for
the start.
This gear is of course to be applied to both ends of car.
In order that my said invention may be more fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car starting gear constructed in accordance with
this invention.
line
Figure 2 is a plan the top of the casing being removed.
Figure 3 is a section on the line x. x. Figure 2 and Figure 4 is a section on the
Y y Figure 2.
a is a lever pivotted at a³, it carries a pin b to which the horses or other motive
power are attached. c is a rod pivotted at c¹ to the lever a.
This rod passes
horizontally backwards beneath the car and its other end is pivotted to the plates d d
to which three pawls e e e are pivotted by the pin e-these pawls enter the teeth of the
ratchet which is keyed to the axle g of the vehicle. The parts d, e and fare
surrounded by a casing which is mounted on a sleeve ¹ surrounding the shaft.
The casing is prevented from turning by the pin k on the underside of the car,
which enters a hole k¹ in it. The casing has fixed to it a spring / bearing upon the
pawls e.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
Before starting, the driver or attendant pulls back the lever a until the parts
assume the position shown in figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 one or other of the pawls e dropping
into a tooth of the ratchet f. Upon starting the lever a is drawn forward carrying
with it the rod c and pawls e causing the ratchet f and axle g to make a partial
revolution; then the lever a is arrested by the stop a² and the vehicle is now drawn
forward independently of the starting apparatus; the parts will now have assumed
the position shown in figure 5 and the spring I will be pressing upon the tail ends of
the pawls e.
When the forward motion of the lever a and bar care arrested by the
stop a² the ratchet of continuing to revolve, will free the pawls e which will then
be pressed by the spring out of gear with the ratchet. Upon the next stoppage
taking place the attendant again pulls back the lever a to the position shown in
Figure 1 so as to be ready for a fresh start.
Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 show a modified apparatus similar parts being marked with
the same letters as in Figures 1 to 5. In this case the lever a instead of being pulled
back by a handle is pressed back by the pedal lover a pivoted at a to the frame of
the car, and at a to the bar c. In this arrangement four pawls e are shown, these
are all of the same length in place of being of unequal lengths as in the former
arrangement. The ratchet instead of having a single set of teeth for all the pawls, is
provided with a separate ring of teeth for each pawl, set one in advance of the
other.
In the drawings the ratchet is shown made in four pieces, all keyed to the shaft g,
but it might be made in a single piece. The spring is prolonged forward as shown
in figures 8 and 9. In starting the bar c coines against the forward end l¹ of the
spring as shown in figure 9, and thereby ensures the spring tripping the pawls.
In order to prevent the pawl by any accident dropping into gear when the car
is running I provide a shelf or box m pivoted at m to the case d which is free
to rotate instead of being fixed. The axis m² las fixed to it a lever n carrying at its
extremity a pin n¹. When the lever a and bar c are drawn back, this pin comes

page_text: against a bracket o on the underside of the frame of the car, as shown in Figure 6,
and the shelf m is thereby thrown forward and the pawls are free to drop into gear.
After starting, when the pawls are pressed up by the spring 1, they push the shelf m
still further forward but as soon as its edge has cleared the points of the pawls, it is
brought back either by spring or balance weight and holds the pawls in their raised
position as shown in figure 9.
Figure 10 is a plan of the guides for the lever a. As is shown they are recessed at
the centre so that a wedge can be inserted to lock the gear.
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. Car starting gear consisting of a lever and a bar pivoted to the lever and
carrying a pawl or pawls engaging with a ratchet wheel or wheels upon the axle, the
whole being so arranged that after starting the lever is drawn forward by the horses
or other motive power and is drawn back again by the attendant before re-starting,
substantially as described.
2. The combination of a spring fixed relatively to the car and a pawl or pawls
provided with projecting tails so arranged that, in starting, the pawl or pawls
are drawn under the spring, which then tends to lift them out of the ratchet teeth
immediately the axle commences to rotate independently of the starting gear
substantially as described.
3. The modified arrangement of spring substantially as described in reference
to Figures 6 to 10.
4. The car starting gear substantially as described in reference to Figures 1 to 5.
5. The car starting gear substantially as described in reference to Figures 6 to 10.
Dated this 14th day of February 1888.