Railway Car-trucks.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Apr., 1890-Accepted, 24th May, 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Railway Car-trucks.
*I, WILLIAM SEBASTIAN GROFF BAKER, Mechanical Engineer, a citizen of the
United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, U.S.A.,/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 :-
My invention relates more especially to the organization of electric car-trucks.
According to my invention, the main frame of the car-truck is supported on
springs, and the axle-boxes are free to move vertically in pedestals secured to the
truck-frame; wheel-brakes are each mounted independently on the side-beams of a
depending-frame, which is supported from the axle-boxes by brackets or down-hangers
rosting thereon. The wheel-brakes are connected to a transverse rock-shaft by
adjustable rods provided at their inner ends with curved toothed heads or racks
engaging with toothed wheels or pinions on the rock-shaft. The rock-shaft is operated
by a rocking-lever and the wheel-brakes are normally held withdrawn from the wheels
by a weighted lever or a spring connected with the rock-shaft. The brake-shoes have
dove-tailed sockets in which fit dove-tailed blocks which are held in place by vertical
bolts. Arched beams extend from one side-beam of the depending-frame to the
other, and to these beams are secured the devices which support the electric motor
mechanism.
The details of construction and the subject-matter claimed are hereinafter
designated.
In the accompanying drawings-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a car-truck embodying my invention;
Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a detail view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, of the brake-
mechanism;
Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the inner ends of the rods which connect the wheel-
brakes to the rock-shaft ;
Fig. 5 is a detail view, in section, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.
The depending frame of the truck may be constructed with side-beams A, and life-
guards B, and suspended from the axle-boxes C, by brackets or down-hangers D.
The axle-boxes C, are free to move vertically in pedestals E, the lower ends of which
are connected by cross-bolts F, carrying spacing-sleeves F. Frame-bars G, and
braces H connect with the pedestals, and hold them rigidly in place. The car-frame
is supported on springs I which rest in seats or sockets formed in the upper part of
the brackets D.
By removing the bolts F and sleeves F¹, the axle, axle-boxes and wheels may be
removed from their position in the pedestals. When the axles, &c., are thus removed,
the depending-frame, the brackets or hangers D, and the springs I are not materially
dislocated, as, when the axle-boxes are out of the way, the brackets drop into seats f,
formed in the pedestals E, through which they extend. This is a very simple and
efficient organization, as the axle-boxes, wheels, and axles may be quickly removed by
simply withdrawing the bolts F and sleeves F¹, as above stated, and then raising the
car-body with the truck-frame.
The wheel-brakes J, are independently mounted on the side-beams A, by vertical
pivoted links K. The lower ends of these links are pivoted to the side-beams by
bolts K, and their upper ends are pivoted to blocks L, on cross-bolts L'. The end
of each block L next to the wheel is provided with a dove-tailed tongue 1, which fits
in a corresponding recess 1, in the outer face of the brake-shoe. A bolt 1, extends
vertically through the backwardly extending arms 13 of the shoe and through the
Price 81

page_text: dove-tailed block L. The end of the bolt projecting through the lower end of the
brake-shoe is provided with a suitable key or linch-pin .
By this construction, it will be observed, the brake-shoe may be easily removed by
withdrawing the bolt 12, and sliding the shoe laterally relatively to the block I. The
blocks L, are formed with inwardly projecting arms M, which are screw-threaded
internally and receive the screw-threaded ends of the connecting-rods N. The opposite
ends of the rods enter the internally screw-threaded shanks O', of the toothed rods or
racks O. These racks are each formed with a curved toothed portion o, and with an
annular guide-piece o¹. The guide-piece o¹ of each toothed bead embraces the shank
of the opposite rack-bar, and on each side of the car one rack-bar is arranged over the
rock-shaft, and the other beneath it. The rock-shaft P is mounted in suitable bearings
in brackets or standards Q, secured to the side-beams A, to which are also secured
the channelled arch-beams R, which extend across the truck and support the devices S,
to which the electric motors are secured. At each end of the rock-shaft is secured
a pinion or toothed-wheel p, provided with teeth p', on opposite sides, adapted to
engage with the teeth in the rack-bars O. An operating-lever T, secured to the
rock-shaft may also be provided with an operating-rod T', extending to the end of
the truck to be operated in the usual way. The brakes are normally held out of
engagement with the wheels by a weighted counterbalancing arm U, secured to the
rock-shaft, preferably immediately below the operating-lever, or a spring may be
provided for the same purpose.
In the drawings, the brakes are shown as withdrawn from the wheels. By turning
the lover T to the right, the rock-shaft is revolved and pushes the rack-bars,
connecting-rods, and brakes in opposite directions to apply the brakes to the wheels.
The construction shown is strong and powerful. The brakes may be readily adjusted
by the rods N, which are provided with opposite screw-threads on their opposite
. ends; to compensate for wear, each brake being independently adjustable as it is
independently mounted on the depending-frame of the truck and independently
connected with the rock-shaft.
The brake operating mechanism is mainly confined to the sides of the car, the only
cross-connection being the rock-shaft which does not interfere materially with the
..electric motor mechanism.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is―
1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the car-truck, the
depending-frame, the wheel-brakes, each mounted independently on the depending-
frame, the rock-shaft having pinions or toothed wheels thereon, the toothed-heads
or rack-bars engaging therewith, and the rods connecting them with the wheel-
brakes.
2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the car-truck, the
wheel-brakes, the rock-shaft extending across the truck, and having pinions or
toothed-wheels on its opposite ends, the toothed-heads or rack-bars engaging with the
pinions on the rock-shaft and the connecting-rods extending through guides on the
rack-bars.
3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the car-truck, the
axle-boxes, the side-beams of the depending-frame, the brackets or down-hangers
resting on the axle-boxes and supporting the side-beams, the brake-shoes, the dove-
.tailed blocks fitting in the brake-shoes, the vertical bolts securing the blocks to the
shoes, the links connecting them to the side-beams of the frame, and means for
operating the brakes.
4. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of the car-truck, the
depending-frame, the brackets secured to the frame and resting on the axle-boxes,
the arched connecting beams extending across the truck, the transverse rock-shaft,
the wheel-brakes and connections between the wheel-brakes and the rock-shaft.
5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the axle-boxes, the

page_text: side-Deams, the brackets resting on the axle-boxes and supporting the side-beams, the
brake-shoes each mounted independently on the side-beams, the rock-shaft, the weighted
lever thereon, and connections between the rock-shaft and the wheel-brakes, for
operating them.
6. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the wheel-brakes, the
rock-shaft, the rack-bars engaging with pinions on the rock-shaft and the connecting-
rods provided with opposite screw-threads on their opposite ends, and connecting the
rack-bars with the shoes.
Dated this 5th day of March 1890.
WILLIAM SEBASTIAN GROFF BAKER.