IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAILWAY TRAINS AND TRAMWAY CARS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Imray, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAILWAY TRAINS
AND TRAMWAY CARS." - A communication from abroad by Jacob
Heberlein of Munich in the Kingdom of Bavaria.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Imray at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th June 1872.
I, JOHN IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lanc,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAIL-
WAY TRAINS AND TRAMWAY CARS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to farther improvements on brake apparatus of
the kind described in a Provisional Specification filed on the 11th April
1872 by Jacob Heberlein, who now residing abroad has communicated

page_text: these farther improvements to me. In that Specification were described
certain arrangements of and modes of working brakes wherein a drum
fixed upon the axle of a carriage acts by frictional contact on a second
drum causing it to wind up a chain and thereby to apply the brakes,
and the second or brake drum being mounted on a loaded lever was
described as being brought into action by withdrawing a catch which
held the lever up and thereby kept the brake drum out of contact with
the axle drum. Means were also described of withdrawing the catch
or several catches of a train by cords, chains, or rods extending along
the train so that from any part of the train the brakes could be brought
into action.
This Invention also relates to farther improvements in apparatus
described in a Provisional Specification filed by me on the 17th of May
1872, of an Invention communicated to me from abroad by the said
Jacob Heberlein, in which Provisional Specification were described
means of putting the brake apparatus into action and taking it out of
action by successive pulls of a cord, chain, or rod communicating through-
out the train, one of the objects of the present improvements being a
more compact, simple, and effective construction and arrangement of
apparatus for this purpose which I will now describe.
Under the framing of a carriage at one end of it is mounted freely on
a horizontal axis a lever from the end of which a rod extends upwards,
to which is attached a chain or cord forming part of the line of com-
munication throughout the train, such as were described in the Pro-
visional Specifications referred to. The lever and rod are pressed down-
wards by a spring or weight and can be pulled upwards by the cord
or chain. The axis on which the lever works has fixed on it a ratchet
wheel of four teeth with which a spring pawl on the lever engages so
that when the lever is pulled up the ratchet wheel is turned round one
tooth or one quarter of a revolution. Another pawl mounted on the
framing of the carriage engages with the ratchet teeth and prevents
the ratchet wheel from turning back when the lever descends. On the
same axis with the ratchet wheel is fixed an oval or elliptical toothed
pinion which gears with. another equal oval or elliptical pinion fixed on
another horizontal axis, the gearing of those two pinions being so :
arranged that the teeth of the one which have the greater radius or are
farthest from the axis engage with those of the other which have the
less radius or are nearest the axis. On the axis of the second pinion

page_text: are fixed two arms or wipers opposite to one another having friction
rollers mounted on their ends, and. these arc arranged to pass imme-
diately under the lever which carries the brake drum, as was described
in the former Provisional Specification referred to. On the under side
of this lever is formed a hollow for the reception of one of those rollers
when the arm which carries it is in a vertical position. In this condition
the brake apparatus is out of gear, and as the roller rests in the hollow
of the lever there is no tendency of the apparatus coming into gear by
vibration throwing the roller and arm out of place. When, however,
by pulling the communicating chain, cord, or rod a little way the lever
is raised a few inches and the ratchet wheel and pinion are turned a
little round the second pinion is also turned a little round as well as
the arms on its axis, and the roller is drawn out of the hollow to face
a plain part of the brake drum lever which still rests on it. In this
condition should an axle break or a carriage run off the line the com-
municating chain, cord, or rod is farther pulled as described in the
Provisional Specification referred to, and the brake apparatus is thrown
automatically into action by the farther turning of the pinions and the
consequent movement of the arm and roller from under the brake
drum lever. If in the first instance the cord, chain, or rod be pulled
sufficiently far the brake apparatus is brought into action by the pull.
For taking the brake apparatus out of action a pull of the communi-
cating chain, cord, or rod to such an extent as to raise the pawl lever
through an arc of 90° or a little more causes the ratchet to turn onc tootli
or a quarter of a revolution round, and this acting through the gearing
of the pinions brings the other arm with its roller under the brake
drum lever, which it lifts and which it retains lifted by its roller entering
the hollow of the lever as already described. The pinions are by pre-
ference made oval or elliptical, as above described, in order that the
speed with which the arms and rollers are made to act on the lever and
the power with which they act may be better adjusted to the pull of the
line of communication.
The present improvements relate also to the application to tramway
cars of such brake apparatus as has been described in the said Provisional
Specifications, and to the special construction and arrangement of the
various parts for that purpose, having specially in view their adaptation
1
1

page_text: in conjunction with the other set. For this purpose one of the axles of
the car is provided with a drum having a wooden periphery, and under
the car is mounted a lever carrying a friction drum which by the
lowering of the lever can be brought into contact with the axle drum
and caused to revolve by frictional contact therewith. On the axle of
this friction drum are fixed pullies to which are attached chains which
at their other ends are attached to the brake lever so that when the
friction drum revolves in either direction the chains are wound on the
pullies so as to put on the brakes.
So far the apparatus substantially resembles that previously described
in the Provisional Specifications referred to for railway carriages. It
is chiefly to the means of bringing the apparatus into action and taking it
out of action in the case of tramway cars that the present improvements
apply.
These means are as follows:-The lever which carries the friction
drum is connected by rods and bell cranks to two upright rods one at
each end of the car, which pass through guides and terminate in handles,
by means of which they can be raised or lowered respectively by the
driver or the conductor. When either raised or lowered these rods can
be held up or down as the case may be by means of a set screw in their
The connections of these rods and
guides or other convenient catch.
the bell cranks by which they operate on the lever of the friction drum
are made with slots in such a manner that either may be moved up or
down independently of the other, and when both are down or have
their set screws or catches let go the brake drum lever descends and
causes the brakes to be put on, but if either rod be pulled up and held
up the brakes are taken off, the brake drum lever being then raised.
Also there are similar slots in the rods by which the hand screws for
working the brakes in the ordinary way are connected to the brake lever.
These slots permit the brake lever to be acted on by the hand screws
so as to put on the brakes without the friction apparatus, but not to
take them off unless the friction apparatus be taken out of action by
either of the catch rods as above described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Imray in the Great Scal Patent Office on
the 10th December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Imray, Her special license that
I, the said John Imray, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns.
or such others as I, the said John Imray, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAILWAY TRAINS AND TRAMWAY CARS," a communica-
tion to me from abroad by Jacob Heberlein, of Munich, in the Kingdom
of Bavaria, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Imray, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Imray, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:
-
The Invention relates to farther improvements on brake apparatus of
the kind described in the Specification of a Patent dated the 11th April
1872, No. 1071, granted to Jacob Heberlein, who now residing abroad
has communicated these farther improvements to me. In that Specifi-

page_text: cation were described certain arrangements of and modes of working
brakes, wherein a drum fixed upon the axle of a carriage acts by
frictional contact on a second drum causing it to wind up a chain
and thereby to apply the brakes, and the second or brake drum being
mounted on a loaded lever was described as being brought into action
by withdrawing a catch which held the lever up and thereby kept the
brake drum out of contact with the axle drum. Means were also
described of withdrawing the catch or several catches of a train by cords,
chains, or rods extending along the train so that from any part of the
train the brakes oɔuld be brought into action.
This Invention also relates to farther improvements on brake apparatus
described in the Specification of a Patent dated 17th May 1872, No. 1508,
for an Invention communicated to me from abroad by the said Jacob
Heberlein. In that Specification were described means of putting the
brake apparatus into action and taking it out of action by successive
pulls of a cord, chain, or rod communicating throughout the train.
One of the objects of the present improvements is a more compact,
simple, and effective construction and arrangement of apparatus for
this purpose, which I will now describe, referring to Fig. 1 of the
accompanying Drawings, which represents a side view, and to Fig. 2,
which represents an end view of the improved apparatus.
C is part of the under framing of the carriage, to which is attached
the frame D of the apparatus. In this frame is mounted a shaft S, and
on it is loosely mounted a lever V, which is loaded by a weight or
pressed downwards by a spring against a fixed stop D¹; i is a rod or
cord forming part of a line of communication throughout the train (as
described in the Specification above referred to), by pulling which the
lever V can be raised, and on releasing which the lever is caused to
descend by the weight or spring. On the lever V is mounted a spring
pawl V¹, which engages with the teeth of a four toothed ratchet wheel S¹
fixed on the shaft S; and W is a pawl mounted on the frame, which
prevents the wheel S₁ from turning backwards; Z is another shaft
mounted on the frame D, and having fixed on it an oval or elliptical
wheel Y, which gears with a corresponding wheel X fixed on the shaft S.
On the shaft Z are fixed two arms T and T', at the ends of which are
mounted rollers. These arms come immediately under the lever E on
which the friction drum is mounted, as described in the Specification
aLove referred to, in such manner that when the lever E is raised to the

page_text: position slicwn in Figs. 1 and 2 the friction drum brake apparatus is
out of action, but when the lever E descends to the position indicated
by the dotted lines E¹ (Fig. 1) the brake apparatus is brought into
action. The lever E is supported in its higher position by one of the
arms T, the roller of which, when it is in the vertical attitude shown in
Fig. 1, projects into a slight hollow formed on the under side of the
lever E, and is thus maintained steadily in that attitude notwithstanding
the shaking of the carriage. By pulling the line of communication i
so as to raise the lever V a little, the ratchet wheel S¹ is turned a little
round, and this movement communicated through the gearing X and Y
causes the shaft Z also to turn a little and to bring the roller of the
arm Tout of the hollow in the lever E. In this condition should an
axle break or should a carriage become detached or run off the rails,
the line of communication i is farther pulled, as described in the Speci-
fication above referred to, and the shafts S and Z being thus turned
farther round the roller of the arm T is moved rapidly from under the
lever E, which thereupon descends and brings the friction drum brake
apparatus into action. If in the first instance the line of communica-
tion i be pulled sufficiently far to turn the ratchet wheel S¹ one tooth
the arm T is at once moved one quarter of a revolution round, and the
lover E descends and brings the brake apparatus into action. When the
line is slacked the lever V descends, and its pawl V' slips one tooth
of the ratchet wheel. When the line i is pulled again so as to turn the
ratchet wheel another tooth the arm T with its roller coming under the
lever E raises it, and thereby takes the brake apparatus out of action.
Thus by successive pulls of the line of communication i the brake
apparatus is alternately brought into and taken out of action.
The wheels X and Y are by preference made oval or elliptical, as
above described, in order that the speed and power with which the arms
T, T', are made to act on the lever E at different parts of their revolution
may be better adjusted to the pull of the line of communication i, the
speed of these arms being thus made greatest while the brakes are being
put on by the descent of the lever E, and the power with which they
act being greatest while they are lifting the lever E so as to take off the
brakes.
The gearing shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 may, however, be dispensed with
by modifying the apparatus, as shewn in the side view Fig. 3. In this
Figure C is part of the under_framing of the carriage, and D the frame

page_text: of the engaging and disengaging apparatus, in which frame is mounted
a shaft S with a four toothed ratchet wheel S¹ worked by a pawl V'
on a lever V, in the manner above described with reference to the
Figs. 1 and 2 by the pull of the line of communication i. On the
shaft S are fixed two snail-shaped arms U and U', constituting a double
cam, which revolves immediately under a roller e mounted on the brake
drum lever E. When this lever is in its raised position, as shewn in
Fig. 3, the roller e lies in a slight hollow formed on the top part of the
arm U, thus keeping the latter steady. When the lever V is pulled
upwards by a pull of the line, the arm U being turned back allows the
lever E to drop and thereby to bring the brake apparatus into action.
The lever V having been raised sufficiently to turn the ratchet wheel S¹
one tooth when the line i is slacked the lever V is caused to descend
by the action of the spring e, the pawl V¹ slipping one tooth of the
ratchet. When the lever i is next pulled the ratchet wheel S' is turned
another tooth, and the arm U¹ being thus brought under the roller e
raises the lever E and takes the brake apparatus out of action. The
cam-shaped periphery of the arms U and U' is so formed as to let the
lever E descend rapidly and to get power for raising it easily when the
line i is pulled. This line may be attached directly to the lever V, as
shewn in Fig. 1, when there is only one apparatus to be worked by it.
Or, when there are several such apparatus throughout the train the line i
may be passed round guide pullies c, c, and round a pulley f mounted
on the lever V, as shewn in Fig. 3. By this latter arrangement it is
possible to raise the lever V by pulling the line i in either direction, and
to raise not only the one lever V but several such levers throughout
the train, the stroke of each of the levers V being limited by stops n, n.
The present Invention also relates to the application to tramway cars
of such brake apparatus as has been described in the Specifications above
referred to, and to the special construction and arrangement of the
various parts for that purpose, having specially in view their adaptation
to cars already provided with brakes worked by hand, in such a manner
that the one set of brake apparatus can be worked independently of or
conjointly with the other set.
For this purpose the friction drum brake apparatus is constructed and
arranged as shewn in Fig. 4, which represents a longitudinal section of
part of a tramway car with the apparatus applied to it. On A one of
the running axles is fixed a drum B having a wooden
periphery, as

page_text: described in the Specifications above referred to, which drives by friction
the drum D when it is brought in contact with it, and thereby winds
on pullies D chains F, which pull the lever G so as to put on the
brakes. The drum D is mounted in the fork of the bent lever E, which
is loaded with a weight E* that can be slid along it, and fixed by a set
screw where desired to give the necessary frictional pressure.
The
lever E is connected by a rod H to a bell-crank lever I, from one arm
of which a rod K extends upwards through a guide ² provided with a
set screw or catch within reach of the driver or conductor. A similar
rod K with its guide and catch at the other end of the car is connected
through a bell crank I' and rod H' with another arm of the lever I.
The holes at L³ in which the pins of the lever I work are slotted so
that either of the rods K can be moved up or down without moving
the other. The ordinary hand screw brake gcar L at each end of the
carriage is connected to the brake lever G by bent levers, the pins of
which work in slotted holes at L', so that cither hand screw may be
worked without the other. The brakes can be thus applied by means of
either of the hand screws in the usual way without the action of the
friction drum apparatus, the action of the brake lever G in pulling on
the brakes merely slacking the chain F. Also by lowering the rods K
the lever E is allowed to take such a position as to bring the drums D
and B into contact with a pressure depending on the weight E' and its
position on the lever E. The drum D being thus caused to revolve
turns the pullies D' on its axis and winds up the chains F drawing up
the lever G and putting on the brakes, the slotted holes at L' permitting
the movement of the brake levers. Either of the rods K being raised
can be secured by the set screw or catch, and the friction drum brake
apparatus can thereby be held out of action by the withdrawal of the
drum D from contact with the drum B.
The rods K instead of being extended upwards so as to be within
reach of the hand of the driver or conductor may be made to terminate
in treadles for being depressed by his foot, a spring being provided to
raise the treadles and take the brake apparatus out of action when they
are relieved of the pressure of the foot. By giving greater or less
pressure the frictional power of the apparatus may be regulated at
pleasure.
It is to be understood that the construction, arrangement, and action

page_text: '
chains F, and brake lever G, are not here described for the purpose of
claiming them as part of the present Invention, these having been
described in the Specification above referred to.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I claim,—
First. The use of mechanism for alternately engaging and disengaging
friction drum brake apparatus by successive pulls of a line of com-
munication throughout a railway train, substantially as described with
reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Second. The mode, substantially as described with reference to Fig. 4,
of combining friction drum brake apparatus with the ordinary hand
screw brake gear on tramway cars in such a manner that the brakes
can be applied from either end of the car, either by the friction drum
apparatus or by the hand screw gear, or by both.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Imray, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
TATTY TATT