IMPROVEMENTS IN CAR STARTERS OR APPARATUS FOR STARTING TRAM CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of N° 46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CAR STARTERS OR APPARATUS FOR STARTING
TRAM CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES" (a communication to me from abroad by Adolf
Krüzner and Florian Tentschert both of N° 8 Maximilian Strasse, Vienna, Austria,
Engineers) to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to mechanism, to be arranged in connection with
tram-cars and similar vehicles, and having for its object to transmit the first effort
of the draught animal or animals (hereinafter referred to as horses) when starting,
to the axle-tree in such a way that the inertia of the car is more easily overcome
and consequently the horses are subject to less strain. The said mechanism consists
essentially in a catch or pawl, acting directly or by any suitable gear upon a point
rigidly connected to the axle-tree, which in this way is partly rotated, before the
wheels begin to rotate in consequence of the pull of the horses on the car.
In the annexed sheet of drawings, Fig 1 is a sectional side-elevation of a car-
frame provided with a starter according to this invention and Fig 2 is a plan view
of the said frame.
Either axle-tree a of the carriage carries a one-armed lever b, the boss b¹ of which
is loosely mounted upon said axle. This lever carries the pawl or catch c, having
the form of an eccentric sector and movable round a pivot c¹. The acting part
proper of this eccentric c is its curved edge c², c³, eccentrical with respect to the
pivot c¹ and having its longest radius at its end c³. When the car is at rest, the
lever b is lowered and the eccentric c is supported by a curved bar c' secured to
the frame; the eccentric is thus somewhat raised on its pivot and its part of the
longest radius is maintained out of contact with the rim of the wheel.
When, for starting the car, traction is exerted upon the fork d, carrying the
splinter-bar, the free end of the lever b is raised by the chain or rope el, connecting
the fork & to the eye b' formed at the back end of the lever b; the said chain or
rope el running over several rollers e. As soon as the eccentric c is deprived of its

page_text: support, it tilts forward and as the lever b continues to rise, the said eccentric, the
curved edge c², c³, of which has a profile corresponding to that of the rim of the
wheel, is wedged between said rim and its pivot. In consequence thereof, the
eccentric has a tendency to carry along the rim of the wheel, and as the lever-
arm on which the power acts is a long one, the wheel is turned.
The inertia of the car being thus overcome, the starting device automatically
ceases to operate. This is effected by an arm or tail piece c³, projecting from the
back portion of the eccentric and extending crosswise over the lever b; the said
arm c³ strikes against a tappet e fixed to the frame of the carriage and thereby the
eccentric c is raised again and withdrawn from the rim of the wheel, while the
lever b is instantly stopped. Moreover, the arm c³ prevents the eccentric c from
being reversed.
If the car should be provided with double brakes, and consequently there should
be no space free on the rim of the wheel for applying to it the described starting
apparatus, a special disc is keyed onto the axle-tree and the starting device is
adapted to act upon the circumference of the said disc. To ensure effective
adherence between the circumference of the disc and the curved edge of the
eccentric, these two surfaces may be furrowed or toothed; the wedging of the
eccentric between the rim of the wheel and its own pivot may moreover be assisted
by a spring or its equivalent acting upon the eccentric.
Obviously, the kinematic connection between the point of application of the force
on the lever and the point of application of the force of the horses may be
varied at will without departing from the principle of the above described
invention.
When the car moves in the opposite direction, the analogous device mounted
upon the other axle-tree is acted upon and fulfills the same office.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. A car-starter, consisting of (or comprising) a catch or pawl, which is acted
upon by the initial effort of the horses (or other animals or animal) and acts on the
circumference of a wheel of the car or on some point rigidly connected to the
axle-tree, which thus is partly rotated in a sense answering to the intended
direction of advance, before the rotation of the wheels, caused by the pull of the
horses, or other animals or animal, on the car itself has taken place.
2. In a car-starter, the combination with a wheel of a one-armed lever b,
movable on the axle-tree, and carrying a pivotted eccentric c, which is deprived of
support, when the lever b is raised in consequence of the car being started, and then
tilts forward and is wedged between its pivot and the rim of the wheel, this latter
thus being carried along by the rising lever b.
3. In a car-starter consisting of a lever b and an eccentric c pivoted thereon, a
sidewise projecting arm e, extending from the back-portion of the eccentric cover
the lever b and preventing said eccentric from being reversed.
1
T