Improvements in Brakes for Vehicles.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Vehicles.
I, ALBERT PAUL, of No. 4 Steglitzer Strasse, in the City of Berlin, in the German
Empire, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the.
following statement
My invention relates to improvements in brakes for vehicles, the object of the same
being to avoid the customary hand cranks and brake spindles which require
considerable time to operate, and to enable the driver or other person to apply the
brake by simply operating a lever or rod by means of a suitable handle so as to
transmit the power employed to a system of levers, and thus attain a rapid and
powerful braking of the vehicle.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents my improved brake applied to
an ordinary cart in elevation with the rear axle in section,
Figure 2 is a representation of the vehicle shown in Figure 1 seen from beneath
with the front axle omitted,
Figure 3 is an elevation of the guide rail,
Figure 4 is a rear view of the lever g,
Figure 5 represents the brake applied to the front portion of a carriage or cab,
Figure 6 is a rear view of Figure 5 with the spring z and the coachman's seat
removed, as indicated by the lines A, B.
This
a, (Figure 1), is a guide rail attached to the driver's seat and provided at its upper
surface with ratchet teeth and a longitudinal slot b, in which the rod c runs.
said rod c is, at its forward end, provided with a handle and a pawl, which latter
gears into the ratchet teeth of the guide rail a, the rear end of the rod c being
bifurcated to receive the end of a lever arm d arranged to turn on the shaft or
spindle e, and to which the said rod is bolted. The shaft e is arranged in two
bearings fixed to the body of the vehicle, and carries beneath the said body a lever g,
which is bifurcated at h, Figure 4, to receive the roller i. The end of the long arm k
of the bell crank lever k, l, is inserted in the fork beneath the roller i, said bell
crank lever being applied to the axle m of the vehicle aud is prevented from making
any lateral movement on the said axle by means of two collars or rings.
The short arm of the bell crank lever k, l, is provided with an eye in which the one
end of a connecting rod n is hooked, whilst the other end is connected to a chain p
which runs over a roller o. The chain p after running over the roller o is connected
to a second connecting rod q, the other hooked end of which is hooked into a boring
of the long lever arm k. The rotary roller o is arranged in a fork r, which is
provided with a screw bolt, which runs through the brake beam t carrying the brake
blocks s and is firmly connected to the same by suitable nuts.
The suspended rods u,
to which the brake beams are movably attached, permit the
said brake beams to make sufficient movement in the horizontal plane. If the rod c,
which, when the brake is not applied, Figure 1, is at the lower part of the guide slot
at an angle of about 45°, is moved upwards by the driver, the small roller v on the
rod c glides along the surface of the guide slot and causes the rod c to move to the
rear. In this manner the levers d and g on the shaft e are turned in the direction of
the arrow w, into the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1, and the roller i
in the fork of the lever g presses from above on the long arm k of the double
lever k, l, and turns the same on the rear axle of the vehicle downwards.
r
The lever arm l, which is short in proportion to the arm k, turns to the rear and by
means of the rod n and chain p draws the roller or pulley o, fork and brake beams t
with the brake blocks s against the rear wheel of the vehicle.
In order that the said rod c may not be driven down by the pressure in the brake
rods the same is provided with a pawl x, which is pressed into the ratchet teeth of the

page_text: guide rail a by means of a suitable spring. If the brake is to be released the pawl is
freed from its gear with the guide and the rod c simultaneously pressed downwards.
At the same time the levers and g are turned to the front and the bolt or part
connecting the prongs of the lever lifts the lever arm h, whereby the lever arm lis
simultaneously turned to the front and the chain p attached to the brake block is
loosened. The brake blocks s are, by means of the pendulum like suspension of the
beams t, automatically removed from the wheels. The somewhat modified arrangement
represented in Figures 5 and 6 is specially adapted for lighter vehicles.
An angle lever a', b', is arranged near the driver's seat, the longer arm of the same
being provided with a suitable handle. The short arm b¹ is, at the one end, bifurcated,
and the sides of the same provided with slotted guides in which the bolt d' of a vertical
pressure rod e¹ glides. The rod e runs through the floor of the driver's seat and
centrally through the main pin k¹, and carries at its lower end two small rollers f¹,
which gear into the slotted fork g¹ of the angle lever h³, ¹, arranged between two
rings or collars on the round cross bar u¹, to the ends of which the brake blocks m¹ are
attached. The cross bar is suspended from the carriage springs and the short arm i¹
of the two-armed lever ¹, ¹ carries a connecting rod m¹ provided at its rear end with
a nut and jamb nut, which press against a disc m², the half cylindrical trunnions of
which gear into small bearings in the lever arm and turn lightly in the same.
forward end of the rod m is provided with an eye, into which a chain p' which runs
over the roller o¹ is hooked, the other end being hooked into the eye or boring of a
connecting rod q', which gears into an eye or boring in the lever arm h¹. The
roller o rests easily on a bolt in a pulley frame r¹ attached to the forward axle s'
of the vehicle, so as to readily move on the same.
The
If the lever a¹ is moved into the position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 5,
the lever will move the angle lever 1, ¹ by means of the rod e¹ in the direction
of the arrow t¹, Figure 5, whereby the rod m, the chain p¹ running over the
roller o and the rod q¹, are drawn forward. As the roller o' in the frame r¹ cannot
make any movement to the rear, the brake blocks m¹ on the cross rod u¹ are
moved towards the wheels. The lever a' is slotted near its fulcrum and carries a
pawl on the pin v¹, which, when the brake is applied, will gear into the ratchet
teeth of the segment y¹ with which the pawl is held in gear by means of a suitable
spring.
The brake is automatically released by the spring z¹ which operates on the lever h¹
when the pawl is released. The brake described with reference to Fig. 5 can
be simplified by omitting the lever a, b, with its ratchet device and placing a
small foot plate on the upper end of the rod e¹, Figure 5, so that the brake
mechanism can be operated by the foot.
The aforedescribed brake construction differs from the arrangements at present
known for braking vehicles by a lever movably arranged on the axle, by my
improved lever being made in the form of an angle lever, one arm of which occupies
an almost vertical position. I hereby attain the advantage that the frame of the
vehicle with its load can move on the springs independent of the brake, while the
vertical arm of the angle lever follows the movement of the carriage frame simul-
taneously with the brake blocks and springs without hereby causing the brake blocks
to be applied, which can only be operated for braking the vehicle by means of the
angle lever.
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
claim is :-
1-A brake for vehicles, in which the force exercised on the brake lever ci
transmitted by the rotary lever d, g, to the long arm of an angle lever k, l, arrange
to turn on the axle of the vehicle, the rods which press the brake beams & suspende
from the framework or body of the vehicle and the brake blocks & being connected t
the same without in any way hindering the free movement of the body of the vehicl
on the springs, the lever combination of the brake and the brake blocks followin

page_text: the movement of the body of the vehicle when the brake is not applied, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth, and shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
2: A modification of the brake construction claimed in the foregoing claim
whereby the angle lever h¹, operated by the spring z¹, is movably arranged on the
cross bar u', which carries the brake blocks, is pendulatingly suspended from the
springs of the vehicle, and receives its movement from the pressure rod e¹ running
through the hollow main pin, whilst the rods attached to the angle lever are connected
to the axle, substantially as set forth, and illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the
accompanying drawings.
3: The construction and combination of the parts together forming my improved
brake for vehicles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth in the foregoing
specification, and illustrated by Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th day of December 1880
A. PAUL.
Per W. H. Beck,
Agent.