AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING THE POWER SPENT IN STOPPING OR RETARDING THE MOTION OF CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES AND MACHINERY, AS ALSO THE POWER PRODUCED BY CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES WHEN MOVING DOWN INCLINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of No. 20, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING THE POWER
SPENT IN STOPPING OR RETARDING THE MOTION OF CARRIAGES AND OTHER
VEHICLES AND MACHINERY, AS ALSO THE POWER PRODUCED BY CARRIAGES AND
OTHER VEHICLES WHEN MOVING DOWN INCLINES." -A communication from
abroad by Jules Péan, of Sillé le Guillaume, in the Empire of France,
Merchant.
Sealed the 6th December 1867, and dated the 17th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Denton Abel at,
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the.
17th June 1867.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING THE
POWER SPENT IN STOPPING OR RETARDING THE MOTION OF CARRIAGES AND OTHER
VEHICLES AND MACHINERY, AS ALSO THE POWER PRODUCED BY CARRIAGES AND OTHER
VEHICLES WHEN MOVING DOWN INCLINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of a peculiar arrangement of apparatus for stopping
or retarding the motion of vehicles or machinery, and for storing up the excess
of power produced by vehicles when moving down inclines by causing such
motion or excess of power to compress air in strong receptacles, which
compressed air is afterwards usefully employed in starting or accelerating the
motion of vehicles or machinery. For this purpose the axle or driving shaft

page_text: of the carriage, machine, or engine is provided with a crank, to which is
attached a connecting rod, the other end of which is formed forked and works
on a pin passing through slots formed in the looped end of the piston rod to
an air pump, the pin and connecting rod head being capable of sliding
backwards and forwards in the said slots without imparting motion to the
piston rod.
Inside the loop of the latter is a lever working on a pin at the
end of the loop, and connected to a rod actuated by a handle carried by
the framework of the carriage or machine, so that the lever can thereby be
moved up and down in the loop of the piston rod. If it be required to impart
the motion of the before-mentioned crank and connecting rod to the piston
rod, and the sliding pin of the latter is situated at the end of the loop nearest
the piston, then by raising the lever and rod connected thereto the pin of the
connecting rod will be held firmly in this position by the lever, and the piston
rod will consequently be made to travel backwards and forwards with the
connecting rod. If on the other hand the lever and rod are depressed the
connecting rod will slide free in the loop of the piston rod, as described. The
cylinder of the pump is provided with valves, through which, when motion is
imparted to the piston, air is drawn in, which air is then forced through a
pipe also provided with a valve into one or more strong receptacles carried by
the framing of the carriage or engine. The pump cylinder is also provided
with a slide valve box, slide valve, and ports similar to those of a steam engine,
and the slide valve box is put in communication with the compressed air
receptacle by means of a pipe also provided with a valve or cock. The slide
valve rod is connected by a detachable coupling to the before-mentioned rod
connected to the lever in the loop of the piston rod, so that when motion is
imparted to the latter the requisite motion is also imparted to the slide valve.
From the above arrangement it will be seen that if it be desired to stop or
retard the motion of the carriage or engine, then by coupling the axle or
driving shaft with the piston of the air cylinder, as described, the motion
or surplus power of the carriage or engine will be spent in compressing air in
the receptacles, while when it is required to start or accelerate the motion of
the carriage or engine again, then by opening the cock establishing the com-
munication between the air receptacles and the slide valve box the compressed
air will actuate the piston, the motion of which will be transmitted to the axle
or driving shaft by means of the connecting rod.
The receptacles for compressed air may also be made portable, so that the
power stored up therein may be usefully employed for other purposes than for
starting, and accelerating the motion of the carriage or engine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filod
by the said Charles Denton Abel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign, did
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles
Denton Abel, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Denton Abel,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Denton Abel, my executors, administrators, 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 "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
UTILIZING THE POWER SPENT IN STOPPING OR RETARDING THE MOTION OF CARRIAGES
AND OTHER VEHICLES AND MACHINERY, AS ALSO THE POWER PRODUCED BY CARRIAGES
AND OTHER VEHICLES WHEN MOVING DOWN INCLINES," (a communication to me
from abroad by Jules Péan, of Sillé le Guillaume, in the Empire of France,
Merchant, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Denton Abel, 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 Charles Denton Abel, do hereby declare
the nature of the said. Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of a peculiar arrangement of apparatus for stopping
or retarding the motion of vehicles or machinery, and for storing up the excess
of power produced by vehicles when moving down inclines, by causing. such
motion or excess of power to compress air in strong receptacles, which com-.
pressed air is afterwards usefully employed in starting or accelerating the

page_text: motion of vehicles or machinery. For this purpose the axle or driving shaft
of the carriage, machine, or engine is provided with a crank to which is
attached a connecting rod, the other end of which is formed forked and works
on a pin passing through slots formed in the looped end of the piston rod to
an air pump, the pin and connecting rod head being capable of sliding back-
wards and forwards in the said slots without imparting motion to the piston
rod. Inside the loop of the latter is a lever working on a pin at the end
of the loop and connected to a rod actuated by a handle carried by the
framework of the carriage or machine, so that the lever can thereby be moved
up and down in the loop of the piston rod. If it be required to impart the
motion of the before-mentioned crank and connecting rod to the piston rod,
and the sliding pin of the latter is situated at the end of the loop nearest
the piston, then by raising the lever and rod connected thereto the pin of the
connecting rod will be held firmly in this position by the lever, and the piston
rod will consequently be made to travel backwards and forwards with the
connecting rod. If on the other hand the lever and rod are depressed the
connecting rod will slide free in the loop of the piston rod, as described. The
cylinder of the pump is provided with valves, through which, when motion is
imparted to the piston, air is drawn in, which air is then forced through a
pipe also provided with a valve into one or more strong receptacles carried by
the framing of the carriage or engine. The pump cylinder is also provided
with a slide valve box, slide valve, and ports similar to those of a steam engine,
and the slide valve box is put in communication with the compressed air
receptacle by means of a pipe also provided with a valve or cock. The slide
valve rod is connected by a detachable coupling to the before-mentioned rod
connected to the lever in the loop of the piston rod, so that when motion is
imparted to the latter the requisite motion is also imparted to the slide valve.
From the above arrangement it will be seen that if it be desired to stop
or retard the motion of the carriage or engine, then by coupling the axle or
driving shaft with the piston of the air cylinder, as described, the motion or
surplus power of the carriage or engine will be spent in compressing air in the
receptacles, while when it is required to start or accelerate the motion of the
carriage or engine again, then by opening the cock establishing the communi-
cation between the air receptacles and the slide valve box the compressed air
will actuate the piston, the motion of which will be transmitted to the axle or
driving shaft by means of the connecting rod.
The receptacles for compressed air may also be made portable, so that the
power stored up therein may be usefully employed for other purposes than for
starting and accelerating the motion of the carriage or engine.

page_text: Figures 1 and 2 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings show the applica-
tion of this apparatus to a railway carriage or truck; Figure 1 shows a
longitudinal section through the carriage framing and the apparatus, and
Figure 2 shows a plan of the same. Similar letters of reference indicate
similar parts in both Figures.
a is a pumping cylinder fixed beneath the carriage framing b between the
axles c, c', of the wheels d, d. In the cylinder a is a piston e of which the
piston rod e' is connected in a peculiar manner to a forked connecting rod f
connected to the crank f¹ on the axle c; this cylinder serves both as a suction
and force pump, and as a motive-power engine worked by compressed air. A
suction valve g admits the external air into the cylinder during the forward
stroke of the piston; which air is during the back stroke forced through a
stop back valve in the pipe i into the strong closed recipients k, k¹, k³, which
are made to intercommunicate with each other by means of pipes j, and which
are successively filled with compressed air till the required pressure has been
obtained. The cylinder a is provided with ports and a slide valve box l, in which
is a slide valve p worked by the rod p¹; this rod is connected in a detachable
manner to the long link m actuated at its upper extremity by the hand lever n.
The object of this link is to effect the rapid connection and disconnection of the
piston rod e and the connecting rod f. The end of the piston rod e¹ is formed
with a double loop, as shown, in which loop the pin of the forked end of the
connecting rod f works backwards and forwards as the crank f¹ revolves. To
the end r of the double loop is also hinged the arm q, to the other end of
which is connected the before-mentioned link m passing between the two
parts of the loop. If therefore the hand lever n actuating the link mis
depressed the connecting rod head will be pressed against the inner end of
the piston rod loop, and thus the connection of the piston rod to the connecting.
rod will be effected. If the hand lever n is moved in the reverse direction
the two parts will be disconnected.
The apparatus acts in the following manner :-If the carriage is going
down an incline the cylinder a is made to act as a pump by coupling the
piston rod to the connecting rod f actuated by the crank f, as before
described, in which case air will be forced into the receptacles k.
As soon
as the carriage has arrived at the bottom of the incline the communication
between the cylinder and the receptacles k through the pipe i is cut off, and
a communication is established between these receptacles and the slide valve
box, the slide valve rod p¹ being at the same time connected to the link m;
the cylinder a will then work as a motive-power engine, actuated by the
compressed air in the reservoirs, which will thus be made to propel the

page_text: carriage. When the carriage runs upon level ground this apparatus will not
require to be employed, in which case the link m and arm q are moved so as
to uncouple the piston rod from the connecting rod, the head of which then
works freely backwards and forwards in the loop as it is actuated by the
crank. Carriages, trucks, or other vehicles provided with the before-described
apparatus will be of great use wherever there are inclines to ascend and
descend, as, for instance, in mines, quarries, and forests. The apparatus may
as before stated also be readily and advantageously adapted to other motive-
power engines which have at certain times to overcome only very feeble
resistances as compared with the power of the engine.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and in what manner
it is to be performed, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of
the before-described apparatus as shown on the accompanying Drawing, as this
merely indicates one particular application of the Invention, neither do I claim
generally the storing up and utilization of either the power expended in
stopping or retarding engines and carriages, or the excess of power produced
at certain times in machines or vehicles, as I am well aware that this has.
been proposed before;, but what I claim is,-
First, the before-described apparatus for storing up and utilizing such
surplus or waste power wherein a cylinder provided with valve gear is first
made to act as a pump for compressing air for storing up the excess of power,
and is subsequently when required caused to act as a motive-power engine for
giving out the power so stored up.
Second, the peculiar before-described arrangement for readily connecting
and disconnecting the piston rod of the cylinder to and from the machine or
vehicle.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, in the year of
our Loid One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
CHARLES D. ABEL. (L.s.)