Year: 1885

page_text: I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention a communication to me
from abroad by the firm of "Maschinen-fabrik Esslingen" of Esslingen, through
their Agents Wirth and Company, of Frankfort-on-Main, both in Germany to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to a Self-acting speed regulator for Railway Carriages.
A centrifugal governer is connected with the axle, or the wheels, of the carriage
or, in the case of locomotives, with any part of the motion mechanism, and,
through the medium of a lever arrangement, or wheel gearing, or any other
suitable arrangement, the governor is caused to bring lever brakes slide brakes, or
continuous brakes, (Heberlein) into, or out of, operation, according to the speed of
the train.
In the case of steam, air, or vacuum brakes, the brakes are brought into, or out
of, operation, by actuating the valve, cock or slide, and in the case of electric-
brakes, by the closing, or interrupting of the circuit.
The brakes are caused to be applied as soon as the speed of the train reaches a
certain limit, and are taken off automatically as soon as the speed falls below that,
by a reverse motion of the lever arrangement or gearing or other suitable
arrangement.
The governor is made adjustable to enable the limit of speed at which the brakes
are put on to be varied at will.
The ordinary working of the brakes by hand is not affected by the use of this
Self-acting speed regulator.

page_text: An Improved Self-acting Speed Regulator for Railway Trains.
"
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK; of the firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication to me
from abroad by the firm of." Maschinen-fabrik Esslingen of Esslingen through
their Agents, Wirth and Company, of Frankfort on the Main, both in Germany),
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The regulation of the speed of railway vehicles is ordinarily effected by means
of brakes, the pipes of which are constantly under the control of the driver, guard
or brakes man, such control ceasing however, when a portion of a train provided
with an automatic brake breaks away..
When a certain speed of travelling is exceeded the safety of the train is.
endangered as the driver is not generally provided with means of indicating
the speed.
The arrangement hereinafter described is intended to remedy such defect by
automatically regulating the speed of a railway train, without in any way
interfering with the working of the brakes in the usual manner.
A centrifugal governor actuated from the axle or the wheels of a carriage, or in
the case of a locomotive by any portion of the motion mechanism, directly or
indirectly, operates by means of suitable levers, or gearing, either lever brakes,
sliding brakes or continuous brakes, the said brakes being brought into operation
immediately the limit of speed is reached.
"
i
In the case of steam, atmospheric or vacuum brakes, the governor would operate
a valve or cock, while in the case of electric brakes it would act as a contact maker
or breaker.
When the normal speed is regained, the brakes are released automatically by the
reverse motion of the levers, or gearing.
The speed regulator is capable of being adjusted, so as to automatically operate
the brakes at any desired limit of speed.
The accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example, the principle of this
automatic speed regulator.
Figure 1 shews the arrangement of a speed regulator as applied to a locomotive,
the governor being actuated by the piston cross heads and operating, the valve of a
pneumatic brake.
The centrifugal governor A is driven by the two cross-heads B of the locomotive
through the medium of the lever connecting rod and crank C and the bevel
gearing D:
"
When the limit of speed for which the governor has been adjusted is reached or
exceeded, the valve V on the brake pipe L is opened, and the brake is applied, the
valve being closed again as soon as the speed is reduced to its normal limit, the
brake being then taken off.
The governor may likewise serve as a speed indicator by actuating an index or
pointer travelling upon a graduated scale.

page_text: The limit of speed at which the governor actuates the brake may be varied by
varying the tension of the spring of the governor..
Figure 2 illustrates the application of the speed regulator to a railway goods
van, the said regulator operating directly the valve of a pneumatic brake. The
governor A is actuated through a belt R from the wheel axle W, and controls the
valve V on the brake pipe L through the lever connections m.
Figure 3 shews the application of the speed regulator to a locomotive provided
with spur-wheel gearing, the said regulator being actuated by the latter gearing,
and operating the valve of a steam brake. In this case the governor A is arranged
in a horizontal position and is actuated by the wheel axle W through cranks and
rods K; it operates the valve V through the lever connections m for controlling
the admission of steam to the cylinder M whose piston actuates the brakes through
the levers H and connecting rod P.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is :-
The use of a centrifugal governor for automatically controlling the brakes of
railway vehicles substantially as herein specified.