Apparatus for Locking the Wheels of Vehicles such as Trucks.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Locking the Wheels of Vehicles such as Trucks.
I, HENRY SHADRACK THOMAS WILDMAN, of 28, Mount Street, Mountpottinger,
Belfast, Ireland, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Accidents are liable to occur in consequence of vehicles, such as trucks, left
standing, being set in motion whilst unattended. Such accidents have happened
for example at railway stations where trucks left standing on platforms have
got into motion whilst unattended and have run off the platforms on to the
lines with disastrous results.
Now this invention is designed to obviate such occurrences.
For this purpose the vehicle is provided with a bolt or bolts adapted to engage
with one or more of the wheels of the vehicle and having combined therewith
means for operating such bolt or bolts in such-wise that, when in engagement
with the wheel or wheels, the bolt or bolts will be locked in position, but can
be unlocked by a key, such as an ordinary railway carriage door key, and after-
wards withdrawn and held clear of the wheel or wheels until released and allowed
to re-engage therewith.
An arrangement of apparatus according to this invention as above set forth
and comprising two bolts adapted each to engage with one of two wheels on a
common axle is as follows:-
In suitable brackets or bearings attached to the vehicle body or frame the
two bolts are arranged to slide.
With each is combined a spring of any
suitable kind adapted to cause the bolt, when clear of the wheel it is arranged to
lock, to move endwise towards such wheel, if not restrained by the means to be
presently described or the equivalent thereof. If the wheels have spokes the
bolts when shot enter each between two spokes, or if either of them
should strike a spoke or part of the wheel, then should the wheel afterwards
commence to rotate the bolt will, as the wheel turns, promptly be forced by the
spring into the space between two spokes; or into the equivalent, namely, one
of several suitable holes formed for the purpose in the case of a solid wheel
body.
By suitable joints, such as slots and pins, the two bolts are, at or near their
inner ends, connected to a rod or lever extending to the one end of the vehicle
or to some conveniently accessible position for being actuated when required.
The one extreme position of this rod or lever corresponds to the shot positions
of the bolts; the other, to their withdrawn positions.
The rod or lever works in a slot or an opening in a plate or frame provided at
one end with a recess adapted to hold the rod or lever and consequently also
the bolts in the out-of-use positions. If the rod or lever be released, as it may
be by the hand or the foot, the springs will shoot the bolts, simultaneously
carrying over the rod or lever, which, as it approaches the end of its stroke,
passes a spring-held catch and so becomes in an automatic way locked, thereby
locking the wheel bolts in their shot positions.
To release the rod or lever and bolts, a key has to be used for operating the
catch, the arrangement for controlling which resembles (or may do so) an ordinary

page_text: railway carriage door lock, operated by what is known as a railway carriage
key.
As will be evident the number of bolts and other details may be varied to
suit particular cases.
Dated this 25th day of N
1000
Cities such as TruCKS.
I, HENRY SHADRACK THOMAS WILDMAN, of 28, Mount Street, Mountpottinger,
Belfast, Ireland, Engineer, 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:-
Accidents are liable to occur in consequence of vehicles, such as trucks, left
standing, being set in motion whilst unattended. Such accidents have happened
for example at railway stations where trucks left standing on platforms have
got into motion whilst unattended and have run off the platforms on to the
lines with disastrous results.
Now this invention is designed to obviate such occurrences.
For this purpose the vehicle is provided with a bolt or bolts adapted to engage
with one or more of the wheels of the vehicle and having combined therewith
means for operating such bolt or bolts in such-wise that when in engagement
with the wheel or wheels, the bolt or bolts will be locked in position, but can
be unlocked by a key, such as an ordinary railway carriage door key, and after-
wards withdrawn and held clear of the wheel or wheels until released and allowed
to re-engage therewith.
An arrangement of apparatus according to this invention as above set forth
and comprising two bolts adapted each to engage with one of two wheels on a
common axle is represented by way of example in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accom-
panying drawings, Fig. 1 being an underside view of a truck fitted with such
apparatus and Fig. 2 an end elevation thereof.
A, A are the two bolts arranged to slide in suitable brackets or bearings B, B
attached to the vehicle body or frame C. With each bolt is combined a spring D
of any suitable kind, coiled springs are shown, adapted to cause the bolt, when
clear of the adjacent wheel E it is arranged to lock, to move endwise towards
such wheel, if not restrained by the means to be presently described or the
equivalent thereof. If the wheels E have spokes, the bolts A when shot
enter each between two spokes, or if either of them should strike
spoke or part of the wheel, then should the wheel afterwards
to rotate the bolt will, as the wheel turns, promptly be forced by its spring D
into the space between two spokes; or into the equivalent, namely, one of
several suitable holes El formed for the purpose in the case of a solid wheel
body.
a
commence
By suitable joints, such as slots F' and pins G, the two bolts A are, at or near
their inner ends, connected to a rod or lever H that is pivotted at H¹ and extends
to the one end of the vehicle, or to some conveniently accessible position for
being actuated when required. The one extreme position of this rod or lever,
indicated by the dotted line I, I (Fig. 1), corresponds to the shot position of
the bolts, the other, shown in full lines in Fig. 1, to their withdrawn position.

page_text: The rod or lever H works in a slot or opening J in a plate or frame K
provided at one end with a recess K¹ adapted to hold the said rod or lever H
and consequently also the bolts A in the out-of-use position. If the rod or
lever be released, as it may be by the hand or the foot; the springs D will
shoot the bolts A, simultaneously carrying over the rod or lever H, which, as
it approaches the end of its stroke, passes a spring held catch L, and so
becomes in an automatic way locked, thereby locking the wheel bolts A in their
shot position.
To release the rod or lever H and bolts A, a key has to be used for operating
the catch L, the arrangement for controlling which resembles (or may do so)
an ordinary railway carriage door lock, operated by what is known as a railway
carriage key. In the example shown, the catch L is in the form of a detent
pivotted within a box M secured in the frame K and provided with a key
hole M. The said detent is normally held in its lowered or locking position by
gravity assisted it may be by a spring N, and its pivotted end is formed with
a square hole L' designed to receive an ordinary railway carriage key by which
the said detent can be raised when it is desired to release the rod or lever H and
enable the bolts A to be moved back to unlock the wheels E of the vehicle.
As will be evident the number of bolts and other details may be varied to
suit particular cases.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. Apparatus for locking the wheels of vehicles such as trucks comprising a
bolt or bolts adapted to engage with one or more of the wheels of the vehicle
and means for operating such bolt or bolts in suchwise that when in engagement
with the wheel or wheels the bolt or bolts will be locked in position but can be
unlocked by a key and afterwards withdrawn and held clear of the wheel or
wheels until released and allowed to re-engage therewith, substantially as-
described.
2. Apparatus for locking the wheels of vehicles such as trucks arranged so
that upon releasing a rod or lever a bolt or bolts will be caused to automatically
engage with and hold one or more of the wheels of the vehicle and will become
locked in position but can be afterwards unlocked by a key and withdrawn by
the rod or lever and held clear of the wheel or wheels, substantially as described.
3. In apparatus for locking the wheels of a vehicle such as a truck, the com-
bination with one or more of the wheels of the vehicle of one or more spring
bolts having a constant tendency to engage and hold such wheel or wheels, a
rod or lever jointed to the said bolt or bolts and by which the same can be moved
into the inoperative position, a holding device for holding the rod or lever and
spring bolt or bolts in the withdrawn and inoperative position, and a locking
device adapted to automatically lock the rod or lever and spring bolt or bolts in
the locked or operative position but capable of being moved by a key to release
the said parts, substantially as described.
4. Apparatus for locking the wheels of vehicles such as trucks, constructed
arranged and operating substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
the drawings.