Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 26th May, 1892-Accepted. 10th Dec., 1892

page_text: fastened to the upper cog-bar but not to the carriage or to the lower lip on the lower
bar, as it simply passes through the two mentioned parts.
In the downward movement of the upper bar D, a coiled spring y around a rod
fixed to the said bar, is compressed to assist in the raising of the bar; and a similar
spring y' and rod are located directly below the carriage to assist in lowering the
lower cog-bar D¹. By the foregoing arrangement it will be seen that when the
rock-shafts e are rocked, the beads e will move in and out of the lateral portions of
the L-shaped openings in the hangers, and in so doing have a cam-like action on
the walls of the openings, to raise and lower the hangers and hence the bars either
together or separately.
The rear hangers E, E³, which support and operate the rear ends of the cog-bars,
are actuated by the same rock-shafts e, which are provided with elbows or crank-
arms tt, moving in elongated horizontal slots t. Vertical slots V' permit the
hangers to move up and down independently of each other.
The ends of the shafts e and o are supported in bearings » on the extensions b
of the boxes bb', and the shafts are rocked by cranks g, attached to vertically
movable handles through the medium of links ¹. These handles are locked by
means of notches a³, the sides of which engage a bar secured to standards a, a¹
rising from the extensious 6, 6 of boxes b, b¹. Leaf-springs w¹ hold the handles
in engagement with the bar, and have sufficient elasticity to permit the handles to
be easily disengaged in the raising and lowering operation. Parallel to and prefer-
ably beneath the rods C, C are placed horizontal rods F, F', having their opposite
extremities bolted to the under side of the boxes, . Near one end of these bars
adjacent to the axle carrying the gear and rigidly attached to the rods F, F', is a
cross-bar G having pivots 9 on which the brake-actuating levers H, H' are
fulcrumed. The upper and lower arms of these levers are pin-joined or other-
wise attached to rods h h¹ which are in turn connected to brake-beams I, which
beams are suspended from the extensions 3, 6 of the axle boxes b, and are
provided with brake-shoes J. Between the sliding carriage c and box b, is placed a
cushioning spring K, to receive the shock of the release springs o³, and throw the
cog-bars back into position to be engaged. A runner L, having its opposite ends
attached to the levers H, H', slides on the reds C, C', and is interposed between
the springs and small springs K¹. These small springs serve to actuate the levers
and release the brakes upon the expansion of the large springs, and thereby hold the
brakes in released adjustment until they (the small springs) are overcome by the
pressure of the larger ones. In order to lock the large retractile springs in com-
pressed position, a pawl and ratchet mechanism is provided, consisting of a horizontal
ratchet bar M secured to the axles B between the rods C, C', or to any other suitable
part of the mechanism.
The spring pawl n is carried in standard n' on the carriage c, and can be released
by means of a horizontal rock-shaft O, similar to those for actuating the hangers E,
it being provided with a bead O¹, operating within an L-shaped opening P in the
upper end of the pawl, and passing through a quadrant-shaped opening in standard n'.
The opposite extremities of the rod O are provided with foot cranks R, extending
above the platform of the car in a position convenient to be operated by the foot of
the driver.
The modification shown in Figs. 9 and 10 is constructed to be placed on one side
of the vehicle and out of the way of the electric motor, when employed on an
electrically propelled vehicle. In this case it will be seen that the rods C, C¹ are
placed one above the other with ratchet M running parallel to and carried on
carriage c.
The runners L and c in this modification are substantially the same as in the
original, but somewhat shorter and bored differently. Levers H rock on cross-
bar G, and have their upper ends attached to the slidable runner L.
The operation of my mechanism is performed by grasping one of the hand-
levers or bars r and pulling it slightly to one side against the pressure of the
spring w¹, to release it from bar, thence downward, thereby rocking the shaft e

page_text: and lifting hanger E' and E' supporting the lower cog-bar D', and bringing it into
engagement with the pinion A¹. The revolution of the pinion moves the bars
and their connections backward, thereby compressing the retractile springs and
storing up power. As soon as said springs have been sufficiently compressed they
will overcome the tension of the buffer-springs K', push back runner L, and cause
the levers H, H' to apply the brake shoes.
The spring pawl having been previously thrown into engagement with the
ratchet, the retractile springs will remain compressed and the brakes locked.
The bar D' should now be released by raising handle r. The other handle which
operates the contiguous rock-shaft should be rocked to lower the hangers E, E',
which through the assistance of bead e' and crank-arm t will permit the cog-bar D
to engage the top of the pinion. If the pawl is now released, the force of the
retractile springs is brought upon the carriage c and communicated to the pinion
through bar D, thereby revolving the axle and its wheels in the starting
operation.
Just prior to the termination of the expansion of the large springs, the
carriage c is arrested by the cushion-springs K preventing a sudden shock to the
mechanism when the teeth of the cog-bar leave the pinion.
Dated this 19th day of April 1892.
PETER D. VAN
VRADENBURG,
By L. W., per F. B.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Starting and Stopping Vehicles.
I, PETER DUMONT VAN VRADENBURG of Binghamton, New York, United
States of America, Editor, 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:-
My invention relates to improvements upon my United States Patent No. 463,959,
wherein rock-shafts extending under the car floor are employed to raise and lower
cog-bars or racks to throw the latter in and out of gear with a pinion or pinions
fixed to and rotating with the axle of the traction wheels, together with retractile
springs, the compression and release of which start and stop the wheels. It is also
proposed in my present invention to utilize these features in combination with
means for applying brakes to the tread of the wheels simultaneously with the
compression of the springs, all of which will be more fully described hereinafter
and pointed out in the claims.
In the drawings filed with my Provisional Specification,
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of the running gear of a car
to which my improvements are applied.
Figure 2 a cross section through II-II of the preceding figure.
Fig. 3 an enlarged view of one of the axles, showing the position of parts when
the brakes are set.
Fig. 4 a cross section through line IV-IV of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 a detailed view of one of the frames through which rock-shafts pass.
Fig. 6 a detailed view of the hand and foot lever mechanism for operating the
cog-bars.
Figs. 7 and 8 views of details relating to said mechanism.
Fig. 9 a side elevation of a modified form adapted to be used on electric motor
cars.
Fig. 10 a top view of the same.
In the present instance my invention is shown applied to the running gear of a
street car, in which the reference letter A denotes the wheels of the car, and B the
axles fixed to the wheels in the ordinary manner. The axles are connected to each

page_text: other by rods C, C¹, secured to the axle boxes b, b². Retractile springs c³ encircle
the rods. A sliding carriage c moves on the rods C, (and supports two cog-
bars D, D' which are arranged to engage the top and bottom of a pinion A', fixed
to and revolving with the axle B, as will more fully appear hereinafter.
Parallelism of the cog-bars is maintained by means of vertically movable
hangers E, E, E, E, in which the cog-bars are suspended, and the latter are
thrown in and out of engagement with the pinion by means of rock-shafts e
extending under the car floor and provided with beads e, which pass through
quadrant shaped openings p in a frame n', rising from the carriage c, and L-shaped
openings in the bearings of the hangers.
Rods S', S¹ depend from the bearing portions of hangers E' and support one
end of the lower bar D', the other end being supported by hanger E³, which is
provided, with depending bars V, and a bearing U attached to their lower ends.
This bearing U is provided with a recess U³, in which the bar slides, and with
bosses U entering grooves in the sides of the bar D¹.
The upper cog-bar is supported and moved up and down by the hangers E, E³.
One end of the upper bar D is attached to hanger E by bolts S², passing through
holes S; and the other end by bosses t, which enter longitudinal grooves D
The cog-bars are secured against end wise movement on the carriage c and guided
in their vertical movement by a vertical guide-bolt S, which passes through the
lips D' on the end of said bars, and also through the carriage. This bolt is fastened
to the upper cog-bar but not, to the carriage or to the lower lip on the lower bar, as
it simply passes through the two last mentioned parts.
In the downward movement of the upper bar D, a coil-spring y around a rod fixed
to the said bar, is compressed to assist in the raising of the bar; and a similar spring y'
and rod are located directly below the carriage to assist in lowering the lower
cog-har D¹. By the foregoing arrangement it will be seen that when the rock-
shafts e are rocked, the beads e' will move in and out of the lateral portions of
the L-shaped openings in the hangers, and in so doing have a cam-like action on
the walls of the openings, to raise and lower the hangers and hence the bars either
together or separately.
The rear hangers E², E', which support and operate the rear ends of the cog-
bars, are actuated by the same rock-shafts e, which are provided with elbows or
crank-arms, t, moving in elongated horizontal slots t. Vertical slots V' permit
the hangers to move up and down independently of each other.
The ends of the shafts e and o are supported in bearings p¹ on the exten-
sions 6, of the boxes b, b', and the shafts are rocked by cranks q, attached
to vertically movable handles r, through the medium of links 7. These handles
are locked by means of notches a³, the sides of which engage a bar secured to
standards a, a rising from the extensions 63, 6' of boxes b, b¹. Leaf-springs w¹ hold
the handles in engagement with the bar, and have sufficient elasticity to permit the
handles to be easily disengaged in the raising and lowering operation. Parallel to
and preferably beneath the rods C, Care placed horizontal rods F, F', having
their opposite extremities bolted to the underside of the boxes b, b. Near one end
of these bars, adjacent to the axle carrying the gear and rigidly attached to the
rods F, F is a cross bar G, having pivots g, on which the brake-actuating
levers H, H' are fulcrummed. The upper and lower arms of these levers are pin-
joined or otherwise attached to rods h, h', which are in turn connected to brake-
beams I, which beams are suspended from the extensions 63, 6 of the axle boxes b, b¹
and are provided with brake-shoes J. Between the sliding carriage c and box b, is
placed a cushioning spring K, to receive the shock of the released springs c³, and
throw the cog-bars back into position to be engaged. A runner having its
opposite ends attached to the levers H, H', slides on rods C, C' and is interposed
between the springs and small springs K. These small springs serve to actuate
the levers and release the brakes upon the expansion of the large springs, and
thereby hold the brakes in released adjustment until they (the small springs) are
overcome by the pressure of the larger ones. In order to lock the large retractile

page_text: springs & in compressed position, a pawl and ratchet mechanism is provided, con-
sisting of a horizontal ratchet bar M secured to the axle B between the rods C, C³,
or to any other suitable part of the mechanism.
The spring pawl n is carried in standard n' on the carriage c, and can be released
by means of a horizontal rock-shaft O, similar to those for actuating the hangers E,
it being provided with a bead O', operating within an L-shaped opening in the
upper end of the pawl, and passing through a quadrant shaped opening in standard n'.
The opposite extremities of the rod O are provided with foot-cranks R, extending
abore the platform of the car in a position convenient to be operated by the foot
of the driver.
The modification shown in Figures 9 and 10 is constructed to be placed on
one side of the vehicle and out of the way of the electric motor, when employed
on an electrically propelled vehicle. In this case it will be seen that the rods C, C¹
are placed one above the other with ratchet M running parallel to and carried on
carriage c.
The runners L and c in this modification are substantially the same as in the
original, but somewhat shorter and bored differently. Levers H rock on cross-
bar G, and have their upper ends attached to the slidable runner L.
The operation of my mechanism is performed by grasping one of the hand-levers
or bars and pulling it slightly to one side against the pressure of the spring w', to
release it from bar r³, thence downward, thereby rocking the shaft and lifting
hanger E and E³ supporting the lower cog-bar D', and bringing it into engage-
ment with the pinion A¹. The revolution of the pinion moves the bars and their
connections backward, thereby compressing the retractile springs and storing up
power. As soon as said springs have been sufficiently compressed they will over-
come the tension of the buffer-springs K³, push back runner L, and cause the
levers H, H' to apply the brake shoes.
The spring pawl having been previously thrown into engagement with the
ratchet, the retractile springs will remain compressed and the brakes locked.
The bar D' should now be released by raising handle r. The other handle
which operates the contiguous rock-shaft should be rocked to lower the
hangers E, E, which through the assistance of bead e and crank arm t, will permit
the cog-bar D to engage the top of the pinion. If the pawl is now released, the
force of the retractile springs is brought upon the carriage c and communicated to
the pinion through bar D, thereby revolving the axle and its wheels in the starting
operation.
Just prior to the termination of the expansion of the large springs, the
carriage c is arrested by the cushion-springs K, preventing a sudden shock to the
mechanism when the teeth of the cog-bar leave the pinion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A brake mechanism having opposing springs of unequal power, substantially
as described.
2. A brake mechanism having opposing springs of unequal power, in combina-
tion with an automatic locking device, substantially as set forth.
3. A brake mechanism having opposing springs of unequal power, in com-
bination with a ratchet bar, a detent, pawl or dog adapted to engage said ratchet-
bar, and mechanism as described for throwing said detent into and out of engage-
ment.
4. A brake mechanism having opposing springs of unequal power, in combination
with a ratchet-bar, a detent, pawl or dog adapted to engage said ratchet-bar, a
rock-shaft provided with a bead, whereby said detent, pawl or dog is thrown into
or out of engagement with the ratchet-bar, substantially as set forth.
5. In a vehicle brake mechanism, the combination with the axle, a supporting
frame secured thereto, opposing springs, a cross-bar adapted to be controlled by

page_text: said springs, levers mounted upon said supporting frame and attached at one end
to the cross-bar whereby the brakes are operated, as set forth.
6. In a vehicle brake mechanism, the combination with the axles, a supporting
frame secured thereto, opposing springs, a cross-bar adapted to be controlled by
said springs, levers mounted upon said supporting-frame and attached at one end to
the cross bar whereby the brakes are operated, a ratchet-bar, a detent, pawl or
dog adapted to lock said bar and set the brakes, as described.
7. In a vehicle brake mechanism, the combination with the axles, a supporting-
frame secured to, opposing springs, a cross-bar adapted to be controlled by said
springs, levers mounted upon said supporting-frame and attached at one end to the
cross-bar, whereby the brakes are operated, a ratchet-bar, a detent, pawl or dog
adapted to engage said ratchet-bar, a rock-bar provided with a bead, whereby said
detent, pawl or dog is thrown into and out of engagement with said ratchet-bar,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
8. The herein described starting and stopping mechanism consisting of the
combination of a pair of rock-bars, a pinion secured to the vehicle axle and adapted
to engage the bars, and brake-levers attached to compressible springs arranged to
simultaneously store up power and apply the brakes, in the manner and for the
purpose specified.
9. The combination with the herein described starting springs and their
mechanism, a brake-lever actuated by said springs, whereby the starting energy is
stored simultaneously with the braking operation, substantially as described.
10. In a vehicle starter, the combination of a gear wheel fixed to the axle of the
vehicle, a pair of separate and independent cog-bars located upon opposite sides of
the gear, a pair of guide rods having springs coiled about them, a carriage adapted
to reciprocate upon the guide rods, hangers supporting the cog-bars, and a pair of
separate and independent beaded rock-shafts passing through angular slots in said
hangers, all arranged and adapted to operate in the manner and for the purpose
set forth.
1. In a vehicle starter, a gear wheel fixed to the axle of the vehicle, in com-
bination with a pair of separate and independent cog-bars located on opposite sides
of the gear, and means substantially as described, for raising and lowering said bars
in the manner and for the purpose specified.
1000