Improvements in Brakes for Carriages and other Vehicles
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Carriages and other Vehicles.
A communication to me from abroad by ADOLF JEENEL, of Breslau, in the Empire of
Germany.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the Firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 35, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
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 and accompanying drawings that is to say :-
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in brakes for carriages and
other vehicles, and it has for its object to provide a self acting brake which may be
worked by hand either from the driving box or from the hind carriage, as desired.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the braking device mounted upon the forecarriage,
Figure 2 is a plan view of the device connected to the carriage frame,
Figure 3 is a front view of the carriage with the improved braking device com-
pletely mounted,
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the driving box, shewing a modification of its
position relative to the forecarriage frame,
Figure 5 is a side elevation of the brake lover supporting-block or arm, connected
to the wheel-axle,
Figure 6 is a plan of said block or arm,
Figure 7 is a front elevation of the apparatus for working the brake by hand,
Figure S is a side elevation of the spring connected with the said apparatus, and
Figure 9 is a side elevation of the ratchet wheel and pawl relating to the same
apparatus.
The self acting brake is actuated or put in operation by means of the force which
checks or stops the motion of the carriage, and it is withdrawn again or released by
the force of traction applied to the vehicle to continue its course.
The brake mechanism is actuated and released by means of the carriage pole, which
has a sliding motion in the direction of its length. When the forward motion of the
carriage or vehicle is checked the pole will be forced backward and by its said back-
ward motion it bears against the brake lever which actuates the brake blocks and
causes them to bear against the wheels. The carriage pole a is carried by the portion I
and II of the carriage frame, which being firmly secured to each other, are supported
by the carriage springs as at III.
The fore part of the pole a consists of a rod or bar which enters into a box a¹
carried by the frame, the said pole is secured within the box a' by means of a bolt a².
The said bolt a has formed upon it at one end a head or knob and at the other end a
slot, through which a pin is passed to secure it. In front of the cross bar I of the
frame, by which the said box a' is carried, a bolt a projects downward, the said bolt a³
serving to attach the swingle tree. The box a' with the backward extension of the
pole a is arranged to slide in the direction of its length within the guides b and ¹
secured to the cross bars I and II of the frame.
On the wheel axle IV of the carriage an arm c is secured, as shown in Figures 5
and 6 upon an enlarged scale; the said arm c has a horizontal slot within which
the pivot of the lever d is guided, and a vertical slot 2 through which the lever d
extends upwards. The pivot d is adjustable within the slot c' by means of a screw
spindle and a slide block cinside the arm c, which slide block bears against the
lower end of the lever d.
At the upper end the said lover d is forked as shewn at d³, Figure 3, and the

page_text: said fork embraces the extension of the pole a; at the upper end of the fork the two
sides of the same are connected by a cross bar d³.
The extension piece of the pole a carries secured to it two bolts or pins a projecting
laterally and carrying anti-friction rollers which act against the fork of the lever d
when the pole is forced backward;,the lever d, by this means, is also forced back-
ward by the rearward motion of the pole a.
On the arm ca bare loosely rests behind the lever d, the said bare embracing the
leverd, which enters into a recess in the bar, to prevent lateral displacement. The
other end of the said bar e is pivoted to the brake blocks f, Figure 1, the said blocks
being secured each to the lower end of an elastic bar g secured to the cross bar I of
the frame. The said elastic.brake block supporting bars have a tendency to draw
the brake blocks f and the bar e away froin the axle IV and wheels. Instead of
arranging the cross piece of the said bar e behind the lever d, the said cross piece
may with the same result be arranged in front of the lever d and coupled to the latter
by a slotted connecting link or by bolts or other suitable equivalent means.
The screw spindle serves to adjust the lever d and bar e to compensate for the loss
of bearing surface of the brake blocks by wear and tear.
If a pair of shafts be employed instead of a pole, they are attached in like manner
by an extension piece within the box a' and secured therein so as to slide forward
and backward in the guides and as already described.
The brake blocks are automatically applied to the wheels whenever the horse or
horses harnessed to the carriage are checked or stopped in their speed, the checking
or stopping having the effect of causing the carriage to slide forward upon the exten-
sion piece of the pole, the said pole being thereby forced backward to the frame; by
such backward motion the laterally projecting pins or bolts a will hear against the
fork of leverd which being driven backward carries the bar e backward and
forces the brake blocks against the wheels, thus braking the carriage. If, after-
wards, the pole or shafts are again drawn forward by the traction of the horse or
horses, the box a' is drawn forward again in its guides, until the bolt a² bears against
the guide hoop b and carries the vehicle along. The lever d then returns into its
norinal position, the return motion being partially assisted by the elastic bars g
which have a tendency to draw the bar e connected to the lever d in the same
direction, which corresponds to the normal position of the said lever d. The brake
blocks are also released from the wheels by the said elastic supporting bars g,
while the lever & returns.
The device by which the brake is made self acting as before described, may be
locked, if desired in order to prevent its automatic operation.
The locking device consists of an elastic catch secured to the cross bar 1 of the
frame and guided as at h¹ at both sides of the extension piece a of the pole.
The said catch has a tendency to bear downwards and engage with the rack a
formed on the upper surface of the extension a of the pole. To the free end of the
said catch a strap is secured which passes upwards through the hollow box i
which forms the centre of motion, of the fore-carriage frame, thence through an
aperture in the frame and up to the driving box, where the said strap 72 is fixed or
hung to a knob or pin h³.
The said box is secured to the lower bed V of the fore-carriage, the upper bed VI
being loosely fitted over the said box by a corresponding lug. Above the lug the said
box is surrounded by a ring or hoop to hold the two beds V and VI together, allowing
them to turn in either direction. The said hollow box therefore forms the joint
between the lower frame of the fore-carriage and the body of the carriage.
When it is desired to lock the self acting braking apparatus, the coachman releases
the strap from its holding pin, book or knob 3 and the elastic catch h engages with
the rack a formed upon the pole a, thus preventing the same from being shifted back-
ward in its guides bb, the lever d, accordingly, is not reversed by the bolts a' of the
pole, the latter keeping its locked position independently of any checking or stopping of
the forward motion of the carriage. If however the coachman draws the strap h² and
secures the same to its pin or knob, the catch his lifted from the rack as and the pole

page_text: is again, free to slide backwards in its guides and operate the self acting brake, as
before described.
The braking apparatus may be also worked by hand, as hereinafter described, and
the brake blocks may be locked in any desired position so as to continue the degree
of pressure existing at the time when the locking is effected.
may be
The improved apparatus for working the brake mechanism by hand
operated from the driving box or from the bind carriage or body of the carriage of
the vehicle.
The said hand braking apparatus consists of a strap one end of which is secured
to the lever d before described the other end being passed over a guide pulley I and
up through the hollow box i where it is secured to a sheave or pulley n below the
driving box.
Where the said strap k is arranged above the centre of motion of the forecarriage,
as in Figure 1, it may pass down directly through the box i, but where it is arranged
behind the said box i, as in Figure 4, the strap is guided by pullies m and m³, a
similar arrangement of guide pullies being employed should the strap be arranged in
front of the box i.
The sheave or pulley n, to which the upper end of the said strap is secured is
mounted upon a shaft o arranged to turn in standards p below the coachman's box.
Upon the same shaft o are mounted the sheaves or pulleys q, and r, and a ratchet
wheels, all fixed upon the shaft o. To the sheave or pulley a strap is attached
which leads upwards through an aperture to the coachman's seat, where it ends in a
handle q. To the sheave or pulley r another strap is attached, which leads through
an aperture in the rear of the driving box and thence extends to the rear carriage or
body of the car or vehicle, where it may be pulled by a handle attached to it.
The cross bar p' of the standards p carries a pawl t arranged to engage with the
ratchet wheel s. To the said pawlt a strap t¹ is attached leading through an aperture
in the box up to the coachman's seat, where it may be pulled by a handle t².
Round
the shaft o a spring u is coiled, one end of which is fastened to the adjacent standard p,
while the other end is fixed to the shaft o, as at u². The said spring when in its
normal position, has a suitable tension.
Now, if the coachman desires to apply the brake, he draws the handle 2 of the
strap upward, thereby coiling the said strap from its sheave or pulley q, and
turning the said sheave, which being mounted on the same shaft with the sheave or
pulley n, causes the latter to roll the strap k up.
The pull applied to the strap q' accordingly operates to draw the strap k up, and
thereby the lever d, to which the said strap is attached, is forced back in the same
way as if pushed by the bolts a' of the pole a in the automatic braking apparatus
already hereinbefore described. The backward motion of the lever operates to apply
the brake blocks to the wheels as already described.
The ratchet wheels on the shaft o follows the rotary motion of the sheaves or
pulleys and n, and the pawl t slips over the teeth and engages with the wheel as
soon as the rotary motion stops, thus preventing the wheels and the sheaves or
pulleys and n from turning in the opposite direction by the force of the spring u,
the tension of which has been increased during the winding up of the strap & upon
the sheaven. The brake accordingly is locked in any convenient position or degree
of pressure by the pawlt and ratchet wheel s. When the coachman desires to release
the brake again, he draws the strap t¹ upwards by its handle t², thereby lifting the
pawl t out of gear with the wheels, and the spring u now acts by its tension to return
the shaft o with the sheaves or pulleys y and n, and the strap k becomes unrolled from
its sheave, thus allowing the lever d to return to its normal position, the return motion
being assisted by the force of the elastic supports g, which draw the brake blocks off
from the wheels and carry the bar e along together with the lever d coupled to the
said bar, as before described.
When it is desired that the brake apparatus should be operated from the hind
carriage, or by a person or persons inside the carriage, the pull is applied to the
strap, instead of to the strap q', and the sheave or pulley r acts in the same manner

page_text: as before described with reference to the sheave or pulley 7, the sheaven receiving
the strap which becoming wound up, brings the lever back and applies the brake
blocks.
The locking pawl acts exactly in the same manner as already described to lock the
brake in any desired position.
The straps may be replaced by any other suitable or equivalent means of traction,
such as chains, cords, or the like.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A self-acting carriage brake, constructed substantially as described, in combina-
tion with the apparatus to work the brake by hand from the driving box or from the
carriage, as desired, substantially as described and shewn.
2. A self acting carriage brake having a pole or shafts a arranged to slido in guides
in a longitudinal direction, and bolts a projecting from the sides of the said pole or
shafts, in combination with a lever d having its fulcrum in an arm c on the wheel
axle IV, the said lever being connected to a bar e pivotally connected to the brake
blocks carried by elastic bars a secured to the carriage frame, substantially as aud
for the purpose described and shewn.
3. A self acting carriage brake having a pole or shafts a arranged to slide in guides
in a longitudinal direction, in combination with a locking catch engaging with a
rack upon the said pole or shafts for the purpose of preventing the brake when
desired from being automatically actuated substantially as and for the purpose
described and shewn.
4. A self acting carriage brake having a pole or shafts a arranged to slide longi-
tudinally in suitable guides, a lever & connected to the brake blocks and actuating the
said blocks by the backward motion of the pole or shafts, a locking catch to prevent
the brake from being actuated automatically, and apparatus for working the said
brake by hand, the said apparatus consisting of a strap k or equivalent means con-
nected to the brake lever d, a sheave or pulley n to wind up the strap, a pulley or
pullies to turn the said sheaven from the driving box or carriage, a locking ratchet
wheels and pawl t to lock the brake in any desired position, and a spring u for
returning the sheave or pulley n to its normal position and for releasing the brake,
when the locking wheel is set free, all constructed and operating substantially as
described and shewn.
Dated thin 12th day of August 1890
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.