AN IMPROVED SAIL BRAKE FOR USE ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Unsworth, of No. 6, Rue des Filles du
Calvaire, Paris, in the Empire of France, Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED SAIL BRAKE FOR USE ON RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 27th November 1868, and dated the 11th June 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Unsworth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 11th June 1868.
I, WILLIAM UNSWORTH, of No. 6, Rue des Filles du Calvaire, Paris,
in the Empire of France, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SAIL BRAKE FOR USE ON RAILWAYS,"
to be as follows:-
The principle of the present Invention is the utilization of the
resisting power or force of the wind acting on the surface of a sail fixed
on the top of a carriage for the purpose of checking the speed or
impetus of the train. This sail brake is manoeuvred from the guard's
carriage by exposing more or less of its surface to the wind, by which
means a proportionate amount of resistance is produced, which is

page_text: naturally augmented by the speed of the train. As already mentioned
this system of brake is adapted to the top of a carriage, and con-
sequently there is no necessity of changing the brakes already existing
on the wheels, as it may be used either independently or in conjunction
with the latter, but it is considered that the sail brake alone will be
sufficient, the train being gradually brought to a stand by the
gradual development of the sail till it reaches the maximum; the train
therefore is stopped without a jolt, and the sail may be raised as rapidly
as desired, should it be necessary to stop the train quickly. The sail is
fastened to a rectangular frame moving on hinges fixed to the roof of a
carriage, and is raised or lowered by means of ropes and pullies, the
ends of the ropes passing over a drum, the axis of which turns in
supports fixed on the roof of the next carriage, and is set in motion by
means of a handle, the shaft of which is furnished with an angle-
toothed pinion gearing with a similar wheel mounted on the axis of the
drum, and causing the latter to revolve either tightens or slackens the
ropes. When the sail is lowered the uprights of the frame rest on
supports fixed to the carriage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Unsworth in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th December 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
UNSWORTH, of No. 6, Rue des Filles du Calvaire, Paris, in the Empire
of France, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the of
year
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-first
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Unsworth, Her special licence, that I,
the said William Unsworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Unsworth, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED SAIL BRAKE FOR
USE ON RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Unsworth, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing, under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Unsworth, do hereby
declare the nature of my said 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:-
The fundamental principle of the present Invention is the utilization
of wind as a resisting power as opposed to the impetus of a train
when it is desired to stop the latter. The wind acts on the surface of a
sail fixed on the top of a carriage and manoeuvred at will from the
guard's van in such a manner as to offer more or less resistance to the
air by exposing a proportionate amount of the surface of the sail to
the wind. The resistance offered by the sail would naturally be
augmented by the speed of the train, while at the same time it is not
sudden but is gradually increased as the sail is developed till it reaches
its maximum, which brings the train to a standstill without jolt; this
may be effected as rapidly as desired by raising the sail accordingly.
As already mentioned this system of brake is adapted to the top of a
carriage, and consequently there is no necessity of interfering with the
brakes already existing, as the sail may be used either singly or in
conjunction with them, but it is considered that the sail brake alone
will be sufficient without having recourse to those on the carriages.
The accompanying Drawing will at once show the principle of my
Invention. The sail a is attached to a rectangular or other shaped frame
b moving backwards and forwards on the axis c, which latter is fixed to
the roof of a carriage. At the top of the frame are two hooks or rings
d, d, to each of which a cord or chain e, e, is fastened; the other ends
of these chains are attached to the ears of a nut which is mounted on
the next carriage. This nut fis moved in a guide frame i by means of
the screw g; this screw g is turned in the plumber blocks o, o, at each
end by means of the handle K close to the guard's box. Thus in turn-

page_text: ing the screw by aid of the handle either one way or the other the
winged nut is made to recede or advance, thus raising or lowering the
sail as desired. Or in lieu of fixing the cords or chains by means of
hooks or rings I employ a couple of pullies over which the cords pass,
the lower ends of which pass over two other pullies fixed on the next
carriage to that bearing the sail; after passing over these four pullies
they are wound round a drum borne on an axis turning in supports
fixed to the roof of the carriage, the sail being spread or furled by means
of a handle at one end of which is an angle-toothed pinion gearing with a
similar wheel mounted on the same axis as the drum. In lowering the
sail in either case the cords or chains being slackened, by turning the
handle the uprights descend and rest on two supports 8, 8, fixed behind
the sail at the opposite end of the carriage. A ratchet 1 furnished with
a pawl checks the traction produced in setting the sail. The pawl is
removed from the ratchet previous to turning the screw in the opposite
direction for lowering the sail. The rectilinear motion of the winged
nut takes place without any great friction, being provided with two
small rollers m, m, which run on the guide frame i and beneath it.
The sail may consist of canvass, leather, pitched canvass, or coated with
india-rubber, or it may be made of copper, zinc, or sheet iron, and one
or two screws for raising and lowering the sail, should such be deemed
expedient, may be employed.
Having now described my Invention, what I claim and desired to
secure by Letters Patent is, the employment of a sail brake for stopping
trains, either to be used singly or in conjunction with those now existing,
such sail being raised and lowered by means of chains or cords, either
by aid of one or more screws and winged nuts, as herein-before described,
or by means of a drum and angle-toothed pinions in the manner and
for the purposes precisely as herein set forth and illustrated by the
accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Unsworth, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.