IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake of the firm of Haseltine Lake
& Co Patent Agents Southampton Buildings London for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES Communicated to him from abroad
by John Woods of Melbourne in the Colony of Victoria Australia Engineer
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th June 1882.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & C° Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings London IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES [A com-
munication to him from abroad by John Woods of Melbourne in the Colony
of Victoria Australia Engineer and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the
said Colony]
This invention consists in certain improvements in railway brakes, which
improvements are applicable to all kinds of railway rolling stock excepting
locomotives, but have been specially designed for railway trucks.
By my present invention I utilize the brakes now commonly in use on railway
trucks in which the brake-blocks are forced on the wheels by means of a weighted
lever and released therefrom by such lever being lifted and supported in a suitable
catch. Now according to this invention I allow the brake blocks and their
weighted levers to remain as heretofore but I dispense with the catches and sub-
stitute fluid pressure for the hand power in lifting off the brakes, thus, I convey
fluid pressure to a plunger or piston which is connected to said weighted levers so
that when necessary they may be lifted and when necessary allowed to fall. This
fluid pressure I convey to the brake levers on cach truck from a main line of
piping coupled together between each truck and receiving its pressure through an
accumulator on the engine in precisely the saine way as is described and represented
in the Specification and drawings of my former Letters Patent Numbered 270 and
dated 21st of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy eight.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Williain Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th December 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES."
A com-
munication to me from abroad by John Woods of Melbourne, in the Colony
of Victoria, Australia, Engineer and a member of the Legislative Assembly of the
said Colony.
This invention relates to improvements in railway brakes, which improvements
are applicable to all kinds of railway rolling stock excepting locomotives, but havo
been specially designed for railway trucks.
According to the said invention I utilize the brakes now commonly in use on
railway trucks in which the brake-blocks are forced on the wheels by means of a
weighted lever, and released therefrom by such lever being lifted and supported in
a suitable catch; and I allow the brake blocks and their weighted levers to remain
as heretofore, but I dispense with the catches and substitute a fluid pressure
(preferably hydraulic pressure) for hand power in lifting off the brakes, 1
transmit this fluid pressure to plungers or pistons within cylinders one of which is
connected to each of the weighted levers, so that the said levers may be lifted and
allowed to fall when necessary. This fluid pressure I transmit to the cylinders on
each truck, from a main line of piping coupled between the trucks; when hydraulic
pressure is used an accumulator is placed on the engine in the manner described in
the Specification of former Letters Patent dated the 21st day of January A.D 1878
N° 276.
In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a method of applying hydraulic
pressure for working the brakes as I believe that pressure to be the best although
any other fluid pressure such as air may be used if preferred
Figure 1. is a side elevation of the base-frame or sole plate of a railway truck
having brakes constructed according to the said invention
Figure 2 is a plan and
Figure 3 an end elevation, partly in section, thereof
Like letters indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
A. A are the brake-blocks, and A their weighted lever; B is a pressure cylinder,
and C its plunger or piston; D is a main pressure pipe which, when a train is
made up, is coupled with similar pipes on the trucks adjacent to it, which pipes
are connected with an accumulator as before set forth, and D¹ is a branch pipo
leading from the pipe D to the cylinder; B. B¹ are hangers supporting the cylinder,
and B and B³ are stays. The plunger C has a groove or slot C₁ in its upper end
with which to hold the weighted lever; the said lever is shown by dotted lines at
A² in Figure 1 in the lowest position it can occupy with the brake on the wheels
when the blocks are nearly worn out.
Brakes constructed according to this invention may be applied as freely as
continuous pressure brakes on railway carriages.
When the brakes are required to be taken off pressure is transmitted (as described
in the Specification of former Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to) through the
pipes D and D' to the cylinder B; this pressure raises the plunger C which
thereby lifts the weighted lever A¹ and thus takes tho brake-blocks A off the
wheels. When the brakes are required to be put on, the pressure in the pipe D is
released when the weight on the lever A¹ forces the blocks A on to the wheels in
the ordinary manner.
It will be seen that when the pipes D are coupled between the several vehicles
composing a train the above described brake becomes continuous. If, in case of an

page_text: accident, a part of the train becomes detached, or the pressure in the pipe D is
removed the lever A' will fall and the brake will thereby be applied to the
wheels.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
Foreign correspondent; and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I do not claim broadly brakes in which the blocks are forced upon the
wheels by a weighted lever neither do I confine myself to any particular arrange-
ment of mechanical parts for carrying the said invention into effect but I Claim
the above described improvements in railway brakes, that is to say.
First, Lifting and supporting the weighted levers by means of fluid pressure,
whereby the brake-blocks are taken off, and held from, the wheels, substantially in
the manner herein described.
Second, The combination and arrangement of a main pressure-pipe D, branch
pipe D, and cylinder B, with weighted levers which force the brake-blocks on the
wheels, substantially as herein described.
In Witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Nineteenth day of December in the year of our Lord Oue
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)