US165008A - Improvement in car-brakes - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

S. P. LITTLYEFIE'LD.

Car-Brakes.

.Patented lune 29,1875.

No. l65,008.

THE GRAPHIC C0.PHOTDLITH.39&41 PARK PLACEJLY.

2 Sheets--Shet 2. S. P. LITTLEFIELD. Ca'r-Brakes,

Patented June 29,1875.

Enya. 0'

THE GRAPHIC CDPHOTO-LITHSBUH PARK PLAGE,N.Y.

' platform a and truck-frame b, is

- with two barrels, e f,

. chain, n. the barrel f and wound around such, extends narran Srafrns @nanna Grafen.

SILAS P. LITTLEFl-ELD, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 165,008-, dated J une 29, 1875 application filed May 22, 1875.

To all whom -ztmag/ concern Be it known that l, SILAs P. LITTLEFIELD, of Lynn, of the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, 'have invented a new and usefullmprovement in BrakeMechanism for Railway-Garriages; and do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings', of Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 an nnder-side view, Fig. 3 a longitudinal section, and Figs. 4and 5 inner end elevations, of two railway-cars provided with my invention.

My invention has for its object the setting up simultaneously of all the brakes of the carriages of a train; also, to prevent any car or cars of the train, on becoming accidentally detached from the rest of it, from 'running backward down a grade.

In the drawings, A denotes one carriage, and B the other, they being supposed to be provided with ordinary couplings for connecting them together end to endl Extending longitudinally of the car A, and

between its a shaft, C, duly supported in bearings c d, and provided and a male screw, g, all being arranged as shown. On the screw is a nut, h, jointed to a bifurcated arm, c', which at its rear end is jointed to the upper end of a lever, k, pivoted to one of the brake-bars ZZ, and connected to the other by a rod, m, all being as shown. By revolving the shaft C 011e Way the brakes will be set up to the wheels, and by turning it the opposite way they will be moved away from the wheels, the back revolution of the shaft being effected by a spring,

n, connected with the barrel by a rope or Another rope or chain, o, fixed to therefrom around a guide-wheel, p, and thence to and is fixed to anupright shaft, q, provided with a hand-wheel, r, and a ratchet-wheel, s. On revolving the shaft q, the shaft G will be turned so as to cause the brakes to be set up to the wheels. To the front end of the shaft C a pointed spindle, t, is connected by a universal joint, a, the said spindle having a grooved disk, u2, fixed on it. The spindle is held up by a stirrup o, which encompasses the disk. 'The stirrup projects downward from a horizontal rod, w, that goes loosely through supports or eyes x y, and two springs, z al, arranged on it, and with said supports, as shown. The said means of supporting the spindleviz., by the disk, the stirrup, the rod, and its springs-enable it to move laterally' or up or down, or accommodate itself to the lateral or vertical movements of the cars. There is jointed to the disk u2 and arranged with it, as shown, a catch-lever, bl,- between Whose rear arm and the spindle is a spring, c1, that operates to press upward the rear arm of the lever, in order to force the front arm thereof into a socket or groove, c2, made lengthwise in the upper part of the spindle. In rear of thelever b1, and applied to the spindle, so as to slide on it, is a cup, d1, provided with a system of levers, el fl, to move it on the spindle. While being moved forward or toward the Vpoint of the spindle, the cup so acts on the rear a-rin of the catch-lever b1 as to depress it, and consequently force upward the front arm of said lever. The said spindle is to co-operate with a tubular spindle, g', connected by anniversal joint, h1, with a shaft, O', arranged with the next ear, and applied thereto as the shaft C is to itscar. The tubular spindle isslotted lengthwise, as shown at 1, the slot being to receive the latch of 'the first-named spindle when thetwo spindles are in conjunction; The spindle g1 is upheld by means like those by which the fellow spindle is supported. The

shaft c1 is provided with three barrels, k1 Z1 m1, the first of which has a rope or chain, al, fixed to, wound around it, and led around a guidewheel to a hand-Wheel shaft, o1. The barrel m1 has a rope or chain, p, connecting it with a spring, q1, which serves to effect back revolution of the shaft O'.

Fig. 6 is an outer end elevation of the car.

To the middle barrel Z1 a rope or chain, r', is fixed, it being wound around the barrel, and thence led over a guide-roller, s', and down to a barrel, t', arrau ged upon the rear axle a3 of the truck of the car B. The barrel t turns freely on the axle, and it has at each of its ends a ratchet or catch wheel, o or w. To operate with these ratchets are two catch-pawls, w y', Figs. 7 and 8 representing sections of such pawls and ratchets.

Each pawl is pivoted to one of two short shafts, z a2, supported in arms b2 b2, projecting from the axle. rIhere is on each of such shafts an arm, c2, arranged as shown, and provided with a wedge-shaped tooth, cl2, extended into one of two tapering cups, e2 f2, arranged as represented and to slide on the axle.

A furcated slide, q2, projected into grooves in the cups, and arranged as shown, has a system of levers, h2 i2, applied to it and the truckframe, to enable it to be moved so as to carry either of the cups up the wedge-teeth of the pawl next to it.

Fixed to each of the short shafts z a2, and to one of the next contiguous arms, is a spring, .702, whose purpose is to throw the pawl out of action upon the ratchet-wheel.

Each pawl turns freely on its shaft, but is pressed toward the ratchet by an auxiliary spring, l2, fixed to the shaft or to a head, m2, attached thereto.

When the cars come together for being coupled, the spindles interlock, so as to couple the two shafts C C in such manner that when one is turned, both will revolve simultaneously. Now, if to each shaft and the brakes of its car, there be a screw, g, a nut, h, a furcated arm, i, a lever, k, abarrel, e, and spring n, the two latter being connected by a chain or rope, n', all as hereinbefore explained with reference to the car A, in setting up the brakes of one car, those of all the others of the train will be simultaneously and in like manner moved up to their wheels. On the cars being nncoupled and drawn apart, the spindles readily separate from each other.

rEhe object of the slide-cup cl and its levers el f1 is to move the catch-lever b outward, and so hold it as to enable the shaft c to revolve independently of the shaft cl, in order for the brakes of one car to be let off 7 while those -of the other are up to their wheel or off the same, as the case may be.

1n case of the rear car, or any car of the train, becoming accidentally uncoupled from that one next in advance, and running back down a grade, the wheels having their motion reversed, the rear axle will be revolved in a direction contrary to what it does when the car moves forward, in vwhich case the axle will canse one of the pawls to so act on its ratchet as to revolve the barrel at the middle of the axle, in a manner to wind the rope or chain thereon, and thereby cause the shaft cl to be revolved in a way to'effect the setting of the brakes up to the wheels, and thus stop the carriage from running down the grade. The other pawl and ratchet are to enablesuch effect to .take place in case the ear is being drawn in an opposite direction. The brakelnan, by means of the lever 112, moves the slide Q2, so as to set one or the other of the cups e2 f2 upto its pawl-arm, as may be required.

1, In combination with the shafts c c1 and their coupling-spindles t gf, provided with a catch-lever, and constructed'substantially as described, the spring cl, the slide-cup d1, and the system of levers el f1, applied to the spindle t and the truck, as set forth.

2. The spring n and its chain or cord n', in combination with the shaft c, provided with mechanism, as described, for setting the brakes up to the wheels, such mechanism consisting of the rod m, lever 7c, furcated arm i, nut h, screw g, barrel e, chain or rope o, barrel f, and the hand-wheel shaft q.

3. In combination with the shaft C and the car-wheel axle, the mechanism applied thereto for revolving the shaft c1, to ei'ect stopping the car ou a descending grade, such mechanism consisting of the barrel t', its ratchetso w', the pawls w y', and the mechanism, as described, for throwing either pawl into or out of action with its ratchet, this latter mechanism being the shafts z a2, arms c2, teeth d2, cups 62]2, slide q2, levers h2 2, and springs 7a2 l2, all being arranged and applied substantially as specified. y

- SILAS P. LITTLEFIELD. Witnesses:y

R. H. EDDY, J. R. Snow.

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