An Hydraulic Apparatus for Starting Tramway Cars and other Wheeled Vehicles.
Year: 1888

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Hydraulic Apparatus for Starting Tramway Cars and other
Wheeled Vehicles.
JAMES STARK 1 Stafford Street, Liverpool Lancashire Blacksmith I do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
A vertical cylinder placed at one end of the vehicle, with a piston & piston rod
working in the cylinder, a foot lever or some suitable lever attached to the top of the
piston rod, jointed with a fulcrum to lower the piston by pressing with the foot, or
some suitable arrangement, leading from the bottom of the vertical cylinder, is a pipe,
carried underneath the vehicle, to an horizontal cylinder which has a piston & piston
rod attached the outside portion of the rod is formed into a rack, with suitable teeth
thereon, this rack gears into a toothed wheel which revolves upon the axle of the
vehicle upon the same axle, is keyed a ratchet wheel working by the side of the
toothed wheel, a pawl is attached to the vehicle which works into ratchet wheel &
prevents the geared wheel from revolving only in the one direction. The working of
the apparatus is as follows, the vertical cylinder at the one end of the vehicle being
filled with water & also the pipe leading to the horizontal cylinder, the lever being
applied by the foot or some other suitable arrangement forces down the piston &
compresses the water contained therein which in turn forces along the piston of the
horizontal cylinder which carrys the rack on the end of its piston & actuates motion
on to the geared wheel which being held by the ratchet wheel & pawl moves the
vehicle the length of the toothed rack which is fixed to the piston rod, placed in the
horizontal cylinder between the front cover & the piston is a spiral spring, as soon as
the pressure is taken off from the foot-lever or suitable arrangement; the spring in
the horizontal cylinder brings back the piston to its normal position & forces the
water back through the pipe into the vertical cylinder ready to restart-the ratchet
wheel on the axle allows the toothed wheel to return with the rack & piston by the
pawl slipping over the ratchet wheel which allows the vehicle to procede in one
direction whilst the rack & piston are returning ready to restart.
T
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Hydraulic Apparatus for Starting Tramway Cars and other
Wheeled Vehicles.
I, JAMES STARK, of 1 Stafford Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
commission agent 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 :-
According to this invention a tramway car or other wheeled vehicle is started or
'assisted to start from a state of rest by hydraulic pressure applied to a piston or ram
which is connected to one of the axles through a piston rod and suitable gearing.
The pressure is applied to the water or other liquid medium by dead weight as in
a loaded accumulator or by an elastic force such as compressed air or a piston loaded
with springs.
The arrangement of gearing between the hydraulic piston or ram and the axle is
such that when the piston or ram moves outward the axle must rotate in the direction
in which the car is set to travel while it permits the piston or ram to move inwards
without rotating the axle in the opposite or backward direction.
By means of a clutch the hydraulic piston or ram can be entirely disconnected
from the axle.
Suitable valves are provided for distributing the water under pressure to the
hydraulic piston or ram.
Referring to the accompanying two sheets of illustrative drawings.
Fig. 1. is a plan or top view shewing a hydraulic apparatus according to this
invention applied to the framing of a tramcar the body being removed.
Fig. 2. is a side elevation the wheels being removed on the front side so as to
clearly shew the general arrangement.
Fig. 3. is also a side elevation shewing part of the apparatus in section.
Fig. 4. is an end elevation.
Fig. 5. is a sectional end elevation taken on line 6. 7. of Fig. 1.
Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the drawings.
A. A. Figs. 1. 3. 5 are a pair of compressing pumps fixed in a small supply tank B.
secured firmly to the frames or body of the car.
The pumps A. A. are worked by eccentrics and rods C. C. preferably placed on the
trailing axle D. of the car as shewn in Figs. 1. to 4.
The object of the pumps A. A. is to charge with water a vessel which is partially
filled with air.
As the vessel becomes charged the air is compressed and exerts an elastic pressure.
on the water.
These pumps A. A. are so arranged that whilst the car is in motion the pumping
will be automatically regulated or stopped when the desired or normal pressure is
attained.

page_text: Ims result is attained by the following means; a sman piston is arranged on
the delivery side of the pumps as shewn in Fig. 3. with the fluid pressure acting on
its upper side. This piston E. is provided with a piston rod E¹ pivotted to levers F. F.
carried on the fulcrum F. On one side of the fulcrum the shorter arms of the
levers F. F. stand beneath the projecting spindles of the foot valves G. G. of the
pumps A. A. while the longer arms of the levers F. F. are coupled together and are
provided with a connecting spindle H. furnished with regulating nuts.
This spindle is encircled by a spring H¹ adjusted to hold up the piston E. until a
certain hydraulic pressure has been reached.
The action of the automatic arrangement is as follows: when the fluid pressure
rises above its determined or normal amount the piston E. is forced downwards
simultaneously moving one end of the lever and compressing the spiral balancing
spring, whilst the other ends of the levers F. F. lift the two suction valves G. G. from
off their seats, thus allowing the pumps to work idly until the pressure is again
reduced by restarting the car.
The piston E. then again rises by the action of the compressed spring H¹ and
allows the foot valves G. G. to beat in their seats thereby setting the pumps to
work again.
Thus by this arrangement the pumps A. A. are only actually at work when the
pressure is below its normal or determined amount.
As soon as the determined pressure is attained they go out of action.
The pumps A. A. deliver the fluid through the pipe J. into a tubular reservoir K.
This reservoir K is connected by a pipe J¹ to another similar tubular reservoir N.
plac. d on a higher level than the first say for example beneath one of the seats inside
the car.
It is intended to act as a compressed air reservoir as the liquid is forced or
pumped into the reservoir K. which may be about double the capacity of the restarting
cylinder.
The reservoir K_ communicates by a pipe J. with a valve chamber L' on the
hydraulic cylinder L.
The admission and emittion of the fluid to either side of the piston in the hydraulic
cylinder L is controlled by a slide valve.
This valve is connected to a spindle P, passing through a stuffing box and coupled
by a rod P¹ to a hand lever Q placed near to and conveniently for the driver of the
car. By moving this lever in one direction the fluid will force the piston in the
hydraulic cylinder L, forward as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and restart the car,
whilst by moving it in the opposite direction the piston is forced the reverse way.
The fluid on the exhausting side of the piston flows or exhausts into the tank B,
ready to be again repumped into the reservoir K.
The piston has double cupped leather packings such as are usually employed in
double acting pumps for raising water. It is provided with a piston rod that projects
through a stuffing box and pivotted to a toothed rack R¹. This method of connection
allows of the oscillation of the car when travelling over rough tracks.
The toothed rack R' is provided with a guard R² secured thereto to prevent the
rack teeth becoming disengaged from the teeth of the wheel R, which is shrouded on
each side and up to the points of the teeth to form a roller.
The toothed wheel R, runs loosly on a bush secured to the axle S, to guide it
lengthwise.
One side of this toothed wheel has ratchet teeth formed on it to act as a clutch
coupling.
A similar toothed coupling S¹ with ratchet teeth to correspond is provided on the
axle on which it slides lengthwise on two driving keys fixed therein. It is held in
gear by an encircling spiral spring S².
The boss of the driving coupling S' is formed with a groove to admit of a forked
lever T, taking therein.
This lever is attached to a rocking shaft T' and is of sufficient length to carry a foot
lever T2 placed conveniently for the driver.
The arrangement of the ratchet coupling S' is such that when the spur wheel R, is

page_text: rotated by the rack bar R¹ in the starting direction as indicated by arrows in Fig. 2'
the ratchet teeth will remain in gear, thus driving the coupling and axle S. When
the toothed wheel R is rotated by the rack in the opposite direction the coupling S¹
will be forced out of gear and the spiral spring S2 compressed thereby allowing the
spur wheel R, to revolve freely in one direction only.
When it is required to back the car the foot lever T2 is pressed down to throw-the
coupling S¹ out of gear with the spur wheel R.
This
By the use of a second coupling on the opposite side of the wheel the same
apparatus may be used when the car is drawn in the opposite direction.
coupling is held out of gear when the car is moving in the direction herein above
referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed what is claimed in hydraulic
apparatus for starting tramway cars or other wheeled vehicles, is ;
1. A ram or piston subject to hydraulic pressure and connected to the axle of the
vehicle by gearing so arranged that the notion of the piston in one direction is
transmitted to said axle and motion in the other direction takes place idly substantially
as described.
2. The combination with a hydraulic ram or piston connected to a rack of a pinion
gearing, with the said rack and coupled to the axle of the vehicle by a ratchet wheel or
pawl, or by a pair of ratchet clutches, substantially as described. .
3. The combination with a hydraulic ram or cylinder connected to the axle by
gearing of a hydraulic pump or hydraulic pumps fitted with an automatic regulating
device substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
4. The hydraulic apparatus for starting a tramway car constructed arranged and
operating substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 15th day of November 1888
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.