Improvements in Railway Brakes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Feb., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 11th Mar., 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by JACOB LORENZO BROWN, of Rahway, in the County
of Union, and State of New Jersey, United States of America, Dentist.]
Improvements in Railway Brakes.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the county of Middlesox,
M.I.M.E. 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 :—
This invention relates to that class of car brakes commonly known as continuous or
train brakes, in which the braking power is conveyed from car to car throughout the
train and operated from some point (generally the engine) in its length. In this
invention the braking power is derived from the rotation of the car axles and applied
to one or more of the cars, so that by manipulating the apparatus from any desired
point, the brakes may be applied or released throughout the train.
Heretofore the apparatus used for producing the results reached by this invention,
have been so complicated and difficult to operate, that it has prevented their general
introduction upon the rolling stock of railways.
The object of this invention is therefore to simplify and reduce the cost of the
apparatus, while still retaining its efficiency to such an extent as to make it not only
the cheapest but among the best braking mechanisms of its class offered to railway
And the invention consists in the means employed for converting the
power gained from the rotation of the axles into direct pressure upon the peripherics
managers.
of the wheels of all the brake shoes.
Also in the means used for conveying the power required to put the braking
mechanism in operation on one car to all the other cars of the train.
And further in certain details of construction which will be hereinafter fully
described.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a bottom plan view showing the general arrangement of the braking
apparatus and its means of connection, with similar devices upon the adjoining car of
the train.
Figure 2 is a vertical and longitudinal section on line 2, 2, of figure 1, illustrating
upon an enlarged scale, the power mechanisin applied to the axle, and the devices for
operating it.
Figure 3 is a rear elevation in perspective of one of the car axles and the gearing
by which the brakes are applied.
Figure 4, is a transverse section, showing the truck beam, the axle, the brake
operating friction cone and the operating lever.
Figure 5 is a sectional view of the cone and the wheel having a conical bore for the
reception of the cone.
In these several figures, A, denotes the car floor under each end of which is placed

page_text: .
a truck B. These trucks may be of the ordinary construction as the brake operating
mechanism is readily attached to them without material change, thus making it
applicable to the cars now in general use, without material change in their
construction. In describing the brake operating mechanism, it will be understood as
applied to one truck of a car, although it is evident that if desired it may be attached
to both trucks of every car in the train, but experience shows that this will be
unnecessary except in special cases where trains are worked on heavy grades.
C, represents the truck beam and I), the axles on one of which is placed the pinion E,
conically bored as shown by which the braking power is transmitted to the brake
shoes by sliding the pinion upon the cone E', which forms a frictional contact.
This pinion E, slides on the axle, and is provided with projecting lugs d, of a clutch
which may be made to engage with the projecting arms of a cross bar a¹, firmly
secured to the axle so that when the lugs a, engage with said arms, the pinion
revolves with the axle. Upon the opposite side of the pinion from the lugs is formed
a collar a", having a grooved periphery, which receives a clutch or the forked end of
an operating lever F, actuated by means to be herein-after described.
Secured to the truck beam by suitable bolts is a bracket G, provided with journal
bearings in which revolves the winding shaft or drum H, upon which is secured the
fixed collar, and against this collar is placed the gear wheel I, upon the opposite
side of which from the collar b, is placed a loose collar ', held in contact with the
gear wheel by the spring, coiled around the shaft H, and having its tension upon
the loose collar regulated by a nut or other suitable device upon the end of said
shaft. It will thus be seen that when the pinion E, is in gear with the wheel I, the
latter will be rotated by said pinion, but the winding shaft will not be rotated if the
resistance is greater than the friction of the cone E, in the gear wheel. By this
arrangement, the power applied to the brake shoes may be so adjusted as to prevent
skidding the wheels and injuring them by the formation of the Hat spots upon their
treads.
Attached to the winding shaft H, is the chain K, which passes around a sheave C, in
the outer end of equalizing lever L, pivoted at a suitable point between the two
trucks to the car bottom A. This chain is then carried hack to the end of the car
where if the car be the first or the last in the train it may be secured so as to form a
fulcrum point for the action of the brakes; but if the car occupy an intermediate
position in the train, it is connected by a suitable coupling with the brake mechanism
of the adjoining car or cars.
To each truck beam is secured a bar M, at the opposite end of which are pivoted
the brake levers d, d', one of which d', carries at its free end a sheave d¹. The brake
chain Nached at its opposite ends to the free ends of levers d, passing around
the sheaves, and around the sheaves c', and c", in the equalizing lever L. It will
therefore be apparent that any movement imparted to the equalizing lever L, by the
chain K, will be transferred through the brake chain N, to the brake levers, and by
them through suitable connections to the brake beams O, by which the brake shoes
are applied to the wheels.
In order to set the hereinbefore described mechanism in operation, and to
automatically throw them out of connection, and retain them in that condition
when the brake is no longer required the devices hereinafter described are employed.
To the upper end of the forked lever F, is attached one end of a spring e, the other
end of which may be secured to the car bottom or other suitable point of attachment.
The tendency of this spring is to hold the lever in such a position as to keep the
pinion E, out of gear with the wheel I, thus preventing the brake shoes from being
brought into contact with the wheels until the position of the lever F, and pinion is
changed or shifted so as to bring the pinion into gear with the wheel and on to the
cone wheel E¹.
-
To accomplish this result, a chain P, is attached to the upper end of the lever F,
passes thence around the sheave el, attached to the car bottoin and to one end of the
car, where
may be connected with a winding shaft or other suitable operating device,
or with a corresponding chain, carried by the next adjoining car.

page_text: It will be apparent that power applied to this chain P, will cause the lever F, to
throw the pinion on the axle into engagement with the wheel upon the winding shaft
and on the cone, and that the rotation of the latter will through the chain K, and its
connections, apply the brakes, which will be retained in contact with the wheels until
the tension upon chain P, is relaxed, when the spring e, will instantly reverse the
position of lever F, throwing the pinion out of engagement with the gear wheel and .
cone E, upon the winding shaft thus releasing the brakes.
As it is desirable to provide means for controlling the operation of the brakes from
either end of the same car or from any car in the train, the following devices are
employed for that purpose.
A lever R, is pivoted to the bottom of the car as shown in figure 1, to one end of
which lever is attached the chain or rod P1, which rod extends to the opposite end of
the car from that reached by the rod or chain P, said connection P¹, being provided
with the same means for operating it from the end of the car or attaching to the
adjacent car as the connection P. By these means it will be obvious that the action of
the braking mechanism may be controlled from either end of a car or from any car
provided with this apparatus in a train.
As it is sometimes desirable to connect the brake power of one car to the brake
apparatus of the next car in the same train, which may or may not be provided with
the mechanism hereinhefore described, for taking braking power from the axle, I pivot
to the bottom of the car, a lever S, one end of which is connected with the chain K,
and its opposite end with a chain K', which extends to the opposite end of the car
from that reached by the chain K, and like that may be connected to the braking
apparatus of an adjoining car, thus conveying the brake power generated upon one
car to its neighbor either in front or rear.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
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
1st. In a mechanism for operating car brakes the combination of a sliding pinion
upon a car axle with a frictionally held cone thereon, gear wheel mounted upon a
shaft, a winding chain upon said shaft and suitable mechanism for connecting winding
said chain with the car brake as set forth.
2nd. The combination in mechanism for operating car brakes of the sliding pinion
upon the axle, the friction held cone on said axle, gear wheel upon the winding shaft,
the lever by which such pinion is operated, the springs acting upon said lever to hold
the pinion normally out of engagement with the winding shaft gear and the chains
and appliances by which the position of the pinion is shifted to or from the cone to
apply or disengage the brakes, substantially as specified.
3rd. In a car brake, the bracket C, secured to the truck beam winding shaft H,
revolving in journal bearings in said bracket, fixed collar b, loose collar b¹, and
adjusting spring b", in combination with the loose gear wheel I, and sliding pinion E,
having a connical bore arranged to wind up the power applying chain K, in applying
the brakes as specified.
4th. In a continuous or train brake mechanism, the combination of the power
devices with the equalizing lever L, lever S, chains K, and K³, and brake chain N,
all arranged and operating, substantially as specified.
5th. In a continuous or train brake, the combination with the power mechanism of
the lever F, spring e, chains P, and P, and lever R, said chains being arranged to
connect with the brake operating devices of an adjoining car in the manner set forth.
רד
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