Abstract: A railroad vehicle brake system in which a four-way valve is used to control air flow in brake pipe sections and to the control valve which controls the air supplied to a brake cylinder. The four-way valve includes a housing and a rotatable operating member in the form of a truncated bolt with air channels therein which member can be rotated so as to selectively interconnect or cut-off the brake pipe sections and the control valve. The member has operating shafts integral with the bolt which extend from opposite sides of the housing. Multi-part seals are disposed in openings in the housing to which the brake pipe sections and the control valve are connected and have portions urged into contact with the bolt.

Abstract: Truck mounted brake apparatus comprising a saddle which clamps onto the bolster of a railway car truck and which carries a fluid actuable, piston and cylinder assembly at one side of the bolster. A first lever connected at one end to the piston rod and at the opposite end to a standard brake beam is also connected intermediate its ends to one end of an automatic slack adjuster which passes through the bolster. A second lever is connected at one end to the saddle at the side thereof opposite to the side on which the piston and cylinder assembly is mounted, is connected at its opposite end to another standard brake beam and is connected intermediate its ends to the opposite end of the slack adjuster. The first lever has an extension to which a hand brake may be connected.

Abstract: A latch assembly for a closure, particularly a vehicle emergency exit window, comprising a pivotally mounted latch bar engageable with a cam or a pair of cams for providing the force which holds the closure against the structure surrounding the opening closed by the closure. In the preferred embodiment, both the latch bar and a pair of cams are pivotally mounted on the closure so that the cams are engageable with the structure. In other embodiments, the latch bar is pivotally mounted on the closure or on the structure and the cam or cams are either pivotally mounted or mounted in a fixed position on the structure.

Abstract: A latch assembly for use on a closure, e.g. a sash, the assembly comprising a housing from which a slidable, spring-biased latch bolt extends, an actuating handle pivotally mounted at one end in the housing for pivotal movement in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of the bolt and having an opposite end portion extending from a portion of the housing spaced from the portion of the housing from which the bolt extends and a pair of bolt-lifting levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends within the housing, one end of each lever being engagable with the bolt and the opposite end of each lever being engagable by a projection on the handle intermediate its ends for withdrawing the bolt. When the handle is pivoted in one direction, one lever is engaged and lifts the bolt whereas when the handle is oppositely pivoted, the other lever is engaged and lifts the bolt. The levers are free to pivot when the bolt is pushed inwardly from externally of the housing.

Abstract: A compensating air reservoir for changing the braking force of the brakes of a car, such as a railway car intended to transport particulate material, is connected to the air line which supplies air to the brake cylinder and piston assembly of the car. The air reservoir has a movable wall forming a portion of the car wall and directly engageable by said material. The movable wall controls a valve on a wall of the reservoir so that when the car is empty, the valve is open permitting air to flow into the reservoir, thereby reducing the braking force, and so that when the car is loaded, the valve is closed, thereby permitting maximum braking force. The maximum pressure in the reservoir is limited by a limiting valve, and in modified embodiments, the valve which controls the admission of air to the reservoir does not open until the braking air pressure reaches a predetermined level. Two or more reservoirs are used to provide more than two braking force levels.