Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM A. MCGUIRE, of 122, North
Sangamon Street, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.]
Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, 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 :-
It further
This invention relates to an improved brake for railroad cars.
relates to an improved arrangement of brake beams and levers, and a novel brake
beam and its connection with the brake shoes or shoe backs. It consists of an
improved arrangement of brake shoes, brake beams, brake levers and connecting
rods, and is applicable to all kinds of car trucks, but it is more particularly
adapted for electric motor and cable grip trucks, all of which will be more fully
described hereafter and set forth in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this Specification,-
Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention as arranged for electric motor and cable
grip trucks;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;
Figures 3 and 4 are detail views of the brake levers;
Figures 5 and 6 are detail views of the brake shoes and backs;
Figures 7 and 8 are detail views of the brake cranks;
Figure 9 is a detail of the brake beam; and
Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the method of operating the brakes.
The object of this invention is to construct and arrange a system of brakes
which will bring the least practicable strain upon the center of the brake beam
with the greatest possible pressure on the brake shoes; be simple and efficient, and
leave the center of the truck clear for electric motors or cable grips, and have the
brake connections so arranged that if one of the brake rods becomes detached or is
broken the aggregate brake pressure will remain unchanged, thus making a
practically double connected brake and yet so constructed that it can be worked
from either or both ends of the car.
To accomplish this, a round hole is formed for a journal bearing in the brake
shoe or shoe back, d, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, in which the brake beam a,
Figure 9, is journaled. This brake beam a is formed preferably of square iron, but
other styles of bar may be used, and has journals formed at or near its ends which
A brake lever E
work in the bearings in the brake shoes or shoe backs d.
Figures 3 and 4, having a socket formed therein to conform to the shape of the
bar used for the brake beam, is rigidly attached to said bar a at or near one of its
ends and a crank arm F, Figures 7 and 8, having a similar socket formed therein,
The brake beams a
is rigidly attached at or near the opposite end of the bar a.
with the brake shoes are hung to the truck, preferably by links c, as shown in
Figures 1 and 2. When the brake beams and shoes are hung to the truck, the
rods G, Figures 1 and 2, are pivoted at one end to the lower end of the brake
lever E, on one brake beam, and at the opposite end to the crank F on the other
brake beam. Rods H are pivoted to the top or long end of the lever E and run to
the brake mast or other actuating device at each end of the car, upon which they
are wound by a chain connections in the usual manner; or, if desired, one of the
rods H may be dispensed with and an equivalent used to tie one lever when it is
only required to work the brakes from one end of the truck. If the proportions of
the long and short ends of the lever E are say 6 to 1, and the crank F is the same
length as the short end of E, a pull of 100 pounds on the rod H, the rods G, G

page_text: will receive together a strain of 600 pounds, and the brake beam a will be pressed
towards the wheel with a force equal to the sum of the forces, or 700 pounds,
giving a pressure of 350 pounds on each shoe for each 100 pounds of pull on the
rod H. This pull is resisted on the opposite beam in the same manner, and there-
fore the pressure is the same on all the shoes and with the leverage stated, the
pressure of each shoe against the wheel would be 350 pounds for each 100 pounds
exerted on either of the rods H. The rods G, Gare provided with turn
buckles to take up the wear on the brake shoes. It will also be seen that if one of
the rods were to become detached or broken, the brakes would still work only
the greater part of the pressure would be on the shoes on the side of the truck
where the rod G remained intact.
When the draw rod H is located midway between the ends of the brake beams,
it is not difficult to substantially equalize the pressure of all of the shoes, but it has
been found impracticable to so locate the rod for electric motor trucks, as it
interferes with the motor and prevents the formation of an open space in the middle
of the truck or frame. By pivoting the brake beam in the suspended shoes, and
firmly attaching the brake lever E and crank arms or bars F, and connecting the
ends together by the tie rods G located below the axles at the sides, and the draw
rods at the sides, and crossing draw rods over the truck, a brake system is
formed around the center of the truck which can be operated from either end of the
truck with substantially equal pressure on all of the shoes, and leave a clear central
space.
h
The frame A, B, and the axle and wheels C, D, are best made as shown in the
application filed by me on the 11th day of November 1891, No. 19,568 as a com-
munication from William A. McGuire; but they may be made in any suitable or
well known form and manner. The brake beams a are connected with return
springs so that the brake will release quicker and with more certainty than if the
incline of the links c was relied on solely, and when these springs are used it is not
important that the supporting links stand at an inclination when the shoes are
drawn into breaking contact with the wheels. The suspension links c are pivoted
to the end bars B of the frame by suitable blocks or castings attached thereto, and
to the shoes by the strengthening lugs e or other suitable means, and by pivoting
the brake beams a in these suspended shoes I am enabled to use a rocking brake
beam for setting the shoes against the wheels.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is,
1. In a car brake, the combination with the separately suspended brake shoes, of
two or more axially rocking brake beams pivoted in the brake shoes or shoe backs,
and means for rocking the brake beams, substantially as described.
2. The axially rocking brake beams journaled in the suspended brake shoes, or
brake shoe backs, and arranged to apply all the shoes with substantially equal
pressure, in combination with the brake shoes, and wheels, substantially as and for
the purposes described.
3. Two or more axially rocking brake beams journaled in the brake shoes or
shoe backs, and arranged to be all rocked on said journals to apply the brakes, in
combination with the car wheels, brake shoes, brake connections, and levers,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
4. In a car brake, two or more brake beams arranged to be rocked upon their
centers, in combination with the directly suspended brake shoes, brake connections,
and levers, substantially as described.
5. Two or more axially rocking brake beams to each truck journaled in suspended
brake shoes, or shoe backs, and arranged to force the shoes against the wheels with
practically equal pressure by being rocked on the centres of said journals, for the
purpose substantially as set forth
6. The combination of the brake beams journaled in the brake shoes, or shoe

page_text: backs, the brake levers attached to said beams at or near one end and projecting on
two sides thereof, the crank arms attached at or near the opposite ends of said
beams, the connecting rods, and brake shoes, whereby the brake beams are made to
act as the fulcrums of the brake levers and a maximum and practically equal
pressure on the shoes obtained with a minimum strain on the connecting rods, sub-
stantially as specified.
7. In a car brake, the combination of the axially rocking brake beams provided
at or near their ends with levers and journaled in the brake shoes or shoe backs,
with connecting rods located on each side of the truck and connected with the
levers for axially rocking the brake beams, whereby the brake is prevented from
losing its effectiveness in case either one of the connecting rods becomes detached
or broken, substantially as described.
8. A car or truck brake having axially rocking brake beams provided with two
or more lower connections for forcing all the brake shoes against the wheels with
practically equal pressure, substantially as described, whereby either one of the
lower connections can be broken or detached without decreasing the aggregate
brake pressure on the wheels, substantially as described.
9. The combination of the rocking brake beams a, levers E, crank arms F, and
tie rods G, with the suspended shoes d, and draw rods H, substantially as
described.
10. A brake operating mechanism, composed of one or more rock shafts provided
with actuating levers, said rock shafts having cylindrical end journals turning in
bearings in separately suspended brake shoes or shoe backs and intermediate the
end journals having any desired angular or oval section, except round, and said
actuating levers each having a socket formed therein to fit the section of the
rocking shaft between the cylindrical end journals, whereby the said levers can be
located at any desired point on said rock shaft without the aid of keys or set screws,
substantially as described.
Dated this out 3
T
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.