Improvements in Brakes for Vehicles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1859-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Vehicles.
Communicated to me from abroad by ADOLF JEENEL, of Breslau, in the Empire
of Germany, Engineer.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS of the firm of Edwards and Co. Patent Agents and Engineers,
of 35 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex 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 and accompanying drawing (that is to say) :-
:-
This invention relates to improvements in brakes, to be applied to vehicles of any
kind, and it has for its object to provide a brake which may be either put in operation
gradually by hand, or in case of need, may be suddenly freed, so as to fall down and
apply the brake to the wheels almost instantaneously.
In the accompanying drawing, which is in illustration of the invention, Figure 1
is a side elevation of part of a carriage with the iniproved brake apparatus applied to
it, Figure 2 is a plan of the same. Figure 3 is a side view, and Figure 4 a cross
section of the mechanism for working the brake by hand.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures.
The improved brake apparatus comprises mechanism for gradually applying
the brake blocks, and in combination with the said mechanism, a device for
disengaging the brake, and causing the same to fall down so as to apply the brake to
the wheels instantaneously.
In the drawing a, a are the brake blocks arranged to press against the circum-
ference of both wheels upon one of the axles. The blocks a are connected together
by a crossbar arranged to slide upon two guide rods c, which pass through trans-
verse slots or holes in the cross bar 6, and are suspended to the under side of the
carriage by means of two rods d, the upper ends of which are provided with loops
or eyes, which are hung upon hooks t, the said hooks t being arranged so that they
can be withdrawn or disengaged from the loops or eyes of the rods d, as will
hereinafter be more fully described. The lower ends of the rods d are hinged to
the crossbar b.
The guide rods c may be rigidly connected to the excentric rings or straps e¹ which
turn freely upon the excentrics e upon the wheel axle ; but according to the modifica-
tion shewn in the drawing, each of the guide rods e carries at its free end a piston or
plate c¹ sliding in a cylinder or box f¹ rigidly attached to the excentric strap e¹. In
the cylinder or box fi a helical spring or india rubber cushion c² is arranged round
the rod c so as to provide an elastic joint or connection between the excentric e¹ and
the crossbar b.
The guide rods c are connected to each other by stays g which prevent the brake
blocks from being shifted or displaced laterally. Between a collar upon the rod c to
which the stay or crossbar g is connected, and the crossbar b, springs are coiled
round the rods c, such springs tending to force the crossbar 6 and brake blocks a
away from the wheels when the brake is taken off, the crossbar being then pushed
back by the springs c³ against the stops at the ends of the rods c. At or about
the centre of the crossbar ba cylinder or box f2 is arranged similar to those f¹
already described, and to the piston and rod sliding in the box f2a chain his con-
nected which passes round a loose chainwheel i upon the axle, its other end being
fastened to a chainwheel m keyed upon a shaft which forms part of the mechanism
for applying the brake gradually by hand. The shaft / turns in bearings k on each
side of the carriage frame, and to its outer end a worm wheel n is fixed gearing with
an endless screw o, carried by a bracket k¹, shewn in figures 3 and 4. The bracket k
is screwed or otherwise fixed to a disc k upon the front of the bearing k, the disc k³
Pine Q1

page_text: being provided with a series of slots arranged in a circle, by means of which slots the
bracket k¹ may be secured in any convenient position, thereby allowing the brake
mechanism to be applied to carriages or vehicles of any kind.
The endless screw o carried by the bracket k¹ has a square hole completely through
it, through which passes freely a rod p of corresponding section, which can be with-
drawn from the screw o when desired. The rod p projects through both ends of the
hollow screw o and to its lower end a handle q is fitted. The rod p is provided
with a universal joint p³ which allows the upper end of the rod and the handle q
fixed upon it to take any desired position. A sleeve or bearing p³ which carries the
upper end of the rod p is fixed to any convenient part of the carriage, its position
being determined by that of the bracket k¹ carried by the disc ³ and by the position
of the universal joint p³. The rod may be secured in the hollow endless screw,
by means of a set screw at p¹, and, the latter being unscrewed, the rod may be
removed for the purpose of giving better access to the carriage or vehicle, whilst
loading or unloading it. The handles q may also be fixed in any desired position by
means of set screws.
บ
For the purpose of using the brake apparatus as a falling or instantaneous brake
the following device is provided. To the under side of the carriage, bearings are
fixed, which carry a transverse shaft s upon which two semicircular hooks t are fixed
which hooks pass through guide forks carried by the bearing r, and within the said
forks the hooks t engage with the loops or eyes at the upper ends of the rods d, by
which the crossbar b is suspended as already described. At one end of the shaft s a
lever u is fixed, to the outer end of which a chain, cord, or strap w is connected, the
other end of which is provided with a ring or loop a carried by a stop or rest, formed
upon or attached to the guide or sleeve pin which the rod p turns. By pulling the
said loop or ring up, the lever u will be turned, together with the shafts and the
hooks t secured to it. The hooks will accordingly be drawn out of the loops or eyes
of the rods d, leaving the latter to fall by the weight of the cross-bar b and the blocks a,
and in falling the brake blocks a will come into contact with the wheels. To each of
the rods da chain y is attached the upper end of which is fastened at z to the carriage
frame. The chains y serve to hold the crossbar band brake blocks a in their proper
position when they have fallen sufficiently far.
The operation of the brake, when gradually applied, is as follows :—The coachman
or other person in charge, when applying or releasing the brake from the wheels, need
only turn one of the handles q in one or the other direction; the rod p upon which
the handles are fixed will turn the endless screw o, and the latter imparts motion to
the worinwheel n and chainwheel m upon the shaft 1. Accordingly the chain h will
be wound upon the chainwheel m and after passing round the pulley i will draw the
crossbar band brake blocks a toward the wheels, pressing the blocks against the
circumference of the wheels, and braking the latter to the required extent. The
crossbar b, whilst being drawn toward the wheels, slides upon the guide rods c and
compresses the springs ; and the said springs will afterwards return the crossbar b
to its original position, and remove the blocks a from the wheels, when the handle o̟
is released or turned in the opposite direction.
To work the brake instantaneously as a falling brake, the person in charge need only
draw up the ring or loop x of the chain or cord w, whereby the lever u is raised, as
already described, and the hooks t upon the shaft s are withdrawn from the loops or
eyes of the rods d, leaving the rods free to fall down at once, together with the
crossbar b and the brake blocks a, which are prevented from moving too far by the
chains y.
The blocks a falling into contact with the circumference of the wheels, are
further forced against the wheels whilst descending, by means of the excentrics e
upon the axle, and the excentric straps el connected with the rods c, so that the brake
blocks a will describe the circle indicated by the dotted line in figure 1. The brake
blocks a will first come into contact with the wheels by their own weight, and they
will then be carried down by the wheels, the pressure against which will increase the
further the blocks move. The pressure is advantageously made somewhat yielding or
elastic by means of the cylinders f¹ and pistons e', but it gradually increases until

page_text: the wheels are prevented from turning and the carriage will be stopped even before
the brake blocks actually reach the ground. Should they however be carried
further down, owing to the wear and tear of the working parts or from any other
cause, they could not move further after reaching the ground, as the wheels would
run upon them as upon ordinary wheel drags, and as they are held in position by
the chains y and rods d, the wheels would be absolutely stopped. The length of
the chains y and rods d is properly arranged to allow the blocks a only the required
movement.
The spring boxes or cylinders f¹ are not absolutely necessary. If omitted the
pressure will not be yielding or elastic, but the brake blocks will stop the wheels
suddenly by rigid pressure, whilst if the springs and cylinders f¹ are used, the
wheels may still continue to turn for about one quarter of a revolution.
The coachiman or person in charge may attend to the gradually operating brake
as well as to the suddenly falling one, either from his seat or whilst walking beside
the vehicle. In the former case he will turn the upper handle q, in the latter
case the lower handle g of the rod p; whilst for the falling brake he may either
draw up from his seat the ring x of the chain w, or he may lift by hand, one of the
hooks from its loop or eye, the other hook t upon the shaft s being simultaneously
disengaged from the loop or eye of the other rod d.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1
1. A brake apparatus to be worked by hand, consisting of a wormwheel n, an
endless screw o
gearing with the said worm wheel, and capable of being turned in
either direction by a handle q and rod p, a chainwheel m fixed upon the shaft of the
wormwheel, a chain h secured to the said chain wheel, and passing round a pulley or
wheel i to a cross bar 6 provided with brake blocks a, the said crossbar and brake
blocks being forced or drawn toward the wheels by turning the handle q, and
returned to their original position by springs c³ upon the guide rods c, substantially
as set forth and shewn in the drawing
2. A brake apparatus to be worked by hand, substantially as described and claimed
in the first claim, in combination with mechanism for applying the brake
instantaneously by its own weight, the said mechanism consisting:
-
(a) Of a shaft s carrying hooks t, which engage with loops or eyes upon the rodsd,
the said hooks t being disengaged or withdrawn from the loops or eyes by a lever u
and cord or chain w, thus permitting the crossbar b and blocks a to fall down and act
upon the wheels, additional yielding or elastic pressure being obtained if desired by
connecting the rods c to the excentrics e by means of spring cylinders f¹ and
pistons c¹.
(b) Of the chains y attached to the carriage and holding the rods d with crossbar b
and brake blocks a, the said chains serving to hold the brake blocks, should they have
reached the ground, thus preventing any further revolution of the wheels;
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and shewn in the drawing.
TL: tha of Tuna 1889
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Patentee.