IMPROVE- MENTS IN CARRIAGE BRAKES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Henry Clapp at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th November
1866.
I, WILLIAM HENRY CLAPP, of 243, Ball's Pond, Islington, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CARRIAGE BRAKES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvenients in carriage brakes. For
this purpose I employ a hollow disc of metal with notches or cogs rising from
its outer rim or edge, and made to fit upon the inner stock of a wheel; the
cogs are reversed as required for acting either when going up or down hill;
the disc is fastened to the box of the wheel, and strongly secured to prevent it
turning by means of caulkings entering into the stock of the wheel. Discs
may be made with either one or more cogs, the smaller number being suitable
for small vehicles such as perambulators. In conjunction with the disc there
is employed a rod or bar of metal, the one end thereof having a hinge, and
being fastened by bolts and clips, or otherwise, to the axle or any part of the
vehicle; the other end of the said rod or bar is shaped so as to fit in between
the cogs on disc. If necessary the piece of metal at the end of the rod or
bar, and which fits the cogs, may have leather or india-rubber attached to it
so as to prevent the scratching of any paint that may be placed upon the disc.
Also in conjunction with and attached to the rod or bar is employed a metal
spring, which when at liberty presses the end of the rod or bar into the
notches or cogs made for its reception. When the weight of the metal end
of the bar entering the cogs is sufficient, and when its course is downwards

page_text: the spring may be dispensed with. If required, the rod or bar with its end
fitted to the cogs of the disc is made to pass between, and to be guided by
means of a staple of metal fixed with bolts or clips upon a suitable part of the
axle or of the vehicles; this staple is made very strong, and is so fixed that
the pressure caused by the action of the brake is principally received by it.
In conjunction with and attached to the rod or bar is a chain or other con-
venient connection fastened at the other end to another spring, the said
connection if necessary running over or between pulleys or rollers placed at
convenient distances on the vehicle; this second spring is fixed at a part of
the vehicle most convenient for the brake to be used either by the driver
or other person, the said spring being further attached to a handle or foot
piece; or a lever or long handle working upon a centre pin may be used
with one end fitting the cogs on the disc, in which case the springs with
the chain or connection may be dispensed with. The last-mentioned spring
should be stronger than the first, and its action or pressure the reverse. The
way in which the brake is put in action is as follows:-By either using the
handle or pressing the foot piece as may be required the chain or connection.
is slackened, and the first-mentioned spring being liberated forces the end of
the rod or bar upon the cogs of the disc attached to the stock of the
wheel, and thus causes the wheel to be at once stopped either in its forward
or backward course as the case might be, upon releasing the handle or removing
the pressure the brake is removed, and the wheel allowed to revolve. The
brake can be kept on by means (as long as desired) of a metal rack or notch
for that purpose.