Year: 1899

page_text: We, JOHN BOULTBEE BROOKS, Managing Director, and Joux HOLT, Works
Manager, both of Great Charles Street, in the City of Birmingham, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention has relation to brake mechanism for cycles, motor-cars and
other road vehicles.
The improved brake, as applied to a bicycle, comprises a drum or plate secured
to the hub of a wheel and having an annular flange against the inner periphery
or other suitable part of which a series of radially sliding brake blocks, carried
in a frame or support secured to the fixed spindle or to the chain stays of the
machine, are caused to impinge and set up a braking action when forced outwards
by means of a rotatable cam device mounted upon the said spindle, or upon a
separate bearing, and being provided with a lever, arm or other means by which
motion is communicated, either from ordinary hand brake mechanism or from a
back-pedalling clutch arranged in conjunction with the crank-axle. The brake
slides are guided in suitable grooves in their fixed carrier, and each has a separate
rise or lift upon the operating cams by which it is forced outwards, or the out-
ward movement may be imparted by an inwardly sliding cone, travelling by a
quick-screw motion upon the fixed spindle, or instead of a single cone
operating in common upon the whole of the brake slides (whose acting ends may
be faced with felt, leather or other material to render them silent in their action)
a separate inclined plane block may be provided for each slide. These slides may
be self releasing by means of springs, immediately the operating power is with-
drawn.
Instead of forcing the slides into contact with the inner periphery of the
rotating drum or contact on the hub, they may be applied to the outer periphery,
which we propose to effect by making the ends of the slides work in the channels
of a rotatable channel or box cam.
As another form of brake, the braking contacts may be made constituted of a
series of rollers, suitably faced, and adapted to be forced against the inner
periphery or outer face of an annularly flanged drum or the like carried on the
hub of the wheel to be braked. The axis of the braking rollers are carried within
blocks sliding in grooves or other guides of a carrier made fast to the cycle
frame, the rollers being operated by a star shaped, scolloped or other plurally
faced cam, having a number of acting faces or lifts corresponding to the number
of rollers to be taken into contact with the rotating element on the hub, when
the cam is actuated by a lever or the like, and by this action the roller effects

page_text: their purpose by being braked upon the wheel part of the hub also the faced
plurally cam.
As a still further form, the slides, or the slides carrying the rollers, may be
worked within tangentally-inclined slots formed in the face of the fixed carrier,
so that the braking rollers or shoes move upon inclined or out-running planes
when brought up to the inner or outer periphery of rotating element secured to
the wheel hub. Also these rollers may be self-releasing by means of springs
immediately the operating power is withdrawn.
Dated this 16th day of October 1899.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brake Mechanism for Cycles and other Road
Vehicles.
We, Joux BOULTBEE BROOKS, Managing Director, and JOHN HOLT, Works
Manager, both of Great Charles Street, in the City of Birmingham, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:—
This invention has relation to brake mechanism, for cycles, motor-cars and
other road vehicles.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents an elevation of a cycle fitted
or provided with brake mechanism constructed and arranged in accordance with
one form of our invention, which said brake is operated by back pedalling through
the medium of a clutch on the crank axle, and is adapted to act upon the hub of
the "free" driving wheel of the machine, although the improved brake is also
adapted to be applied by hand for retarding the rotation of either a
driving or an ordinary fixed wheel.
"
free"
Figure 2 represents, upon an enlarged scale a transverse vertical section of the
brake showing clearly its application to the hub (which is shown in elevation) of
the driving wheel.
Figure 3 represents a vertical section of Figure 2 upon the dotted line &,
and shows the parts of the brake in the several positions which they assume
when out of action.
Figure 4 is a similar sectional view to that shown in Figure 3, but represents
the parts in the operative position, with the friction blocks or slides thereof
acting upon the periphery of a flanged plate or drum carried on the hub of the
wheel.
Figure 5 represents an elevation of the said flanged impingement plate or drum
separately.
Figure 6 shows an elevation of the sliding blocks and the means by which the
same are radially traversed, separately.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of Figure 6 upon the dotted line a².
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures
of the drawings.

page_text: This form of our improved brake comprises a shallow drum or flanged plate a,
secured by screwing (or otherwise) to, and rotating with, an end of the hub b',
of the wheel b to be braked; and a series of radially-sliding and slotted brake
blocks c, carried upon, and directed in their movenient by, guide pieces d, secured
by means of screws d', to the inner side of a stationary supporting plate e, which
is made a fixture relative to the rotating drum by connecting it either to the
chain stays f, of the bicycle frame as shown in the drawings, or to the non-
rotating spindle of the hub. These brake slides, whose slots e', take over the
stationary guide blocks d, have their outer edges c, curved to the same radius
as the inner periphery of the annular flange a', of the rotating drum on the
wheel hub, and are caused to impinge against the said flange, and so set up
frictional contact for exercising the required braking action, when forced outwards
or expanded by means of a rotatable cam device g, disposed centrally within the
drum and mounted upon a suitable bearing, such, for instance, as the collar h³,
of the stationary hub spindle h, upon which it is caused to make a partial
rotatory movement by means of a lever or arm i, whose motion is communicated
through the medium of a rod i', from a clutch j, in connection with the crank
axle j, of the machine, in the case of the free wheel" bicycle represented in
the drawings, but the lever i may be actuated (and be equally effective) through
the medium of hand levers.
The central cam device y, acts in common upon the whole of the braking slides,
and has a series of rises gl, corresponding to the number of slides, whose inner
ends are preferably formed with inclined planes ³, against which the said cam-
rises impinge, whilst when the power which applies the brake is relieved, the said
slides are taken out of frictional contact with the flange of the rotating drum
and returned to their normal inoperative positions, as represented in Figure 3,
by means of springs 'k, which may either be disposed between and connected to
the several slides as represented, or between the slides and a suitable fixed part
of the brake. Suitable means of lubrication may be used if desirable.
Instead of guiding the slides in their radial or expansion movement by slots
within them working over fixed guide pieces as herein before described, they may
be provided with feathers or their equivalent adapted to traverse radial grooves
or slots cut within the stationary carrier plate, whilst instead of acting upon the
slides by a centrally-disposed rotating cam device, the outward movement may be
imparted to them by an inwardly sliding cone, traversed inwards, when rotated,
through the medium of a screw thread or helix on the stationary spindle.
The brake mechanism herein described may be applied to the hub of the front
wheel of a bicycle; the same, in such case, being operated from a hand-lever on
the handle bars, whilst the application of our invention to brakes for motor cycles,
motor cars and other common road vehicles differs in no essential respect from
its application to the rear or driving wheel of a bicycle, as herein described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
:
First Brake mechanism for cycles and other road vehicles, consisting of a
series of radially-sliding brake blocks, carried by a fixed support, and adapted to
be expanded or forced into frictional contact with a rotating surface made fast to
the wheel or object to be braked, by means of a rotatable cam device, or a laterally
sliding cone, or their equivalent, whilst the return movement is effected by
suitable means, substantially as herein described, and also as set forth in the
accompanying drawings.
Secondly-Brake mechanism for cycles and other road vehicles, comprising a
series of radially-sliding brake blocks, having curved contact ends or surfaces,
and carried by, and guided in, a relatively-fixed support; which blocks are forced
or expanded into contact with the inner periphery of a rotating drum or flanged
plate, made fast to the wheel or object to be braked, by means of a centrally-

page_text: disposed rotatable cam device, sliding cone or their equivalent, whilst their return
movement is effected by springs, substantially as herein described, and also as
set forth in the accompanying drawings.
1000
JOHN BOULTBEE BROOKS,
JOHN HOLT.
By Henry Skerrett,
24, Temple Row, Birmingham,
Agent for Applicants.