US1095868A - Railway safety and recording device. - Google Patents

Description

-P. F. HUDSON.

RAILWAY SAFETY AND RECORDING DEVICE.

' APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1912. 1.095,868. Patented May 5, 1914.

' s SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOH WITNESSES momym V F. F. HUDSON. RAILWAY SAFETY AND RECORDING DEVIGE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1912.

1,095,8680 Patented May 5; 1914.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

II/IIII/IIIA WITNESSES I Z INVENTOR By M L4,,

ATTORNEYS I P. F. HUDSON. RAILWAY SAFETY AND RECORDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1912.

- Patented May 5, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Ill/MENTOR FREDERICK F. HUDSON, OF MEMIHIS, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR T RECORDING DEVICE COMPANY, OF YHOEN'IX, ARIZONA.

RAILWAY- SAFETY AND RECORDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

To all whom it may, concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK F. HUD- SON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Safety and Recording Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in railway safety and recording devices to be used in connection with block signaling systems, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An objectof my invention is to provide a safety system that will prevent collisions between trains in the same block, and acci' dents due to the breaking of a rail, or the washing out of a portion of the track.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel form of train stopping mechanism which is controlled by a closed track circuit, and which, when actuated, will cause the stopping of the train by the applica tion of brakes, and will also give a preliminary warning in the cab of the engine so as to notify the engineer or fireman of the impending danger. v

A further objectof my invention is to provide a recording device that will accurately record the ,pressurein the train pipe atall times,the time at which the train stopping device begins to work, the length of time consumed by the train stopping mechanism in the operation of setting the brakes, and finally the obedience to or disobedience of signals by the engineer.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which- Figure l is a side view of a locomotive equipped with my improved train stopping mechanism, a portion of the view being shown in section, Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the track and electric circuits which control the engine relays, Fig. 3 is'a transverse sectional view of the track rails, Fig.

etis a longitudinal view of the engine review of a cam-operated rock shaft, Fig. 9

is a diagram of the electrical circuits on the engine, Fig. 10 is a view (partly in section) of the assembled train stopping and recording mechanism, Fig. 11 is a side view of the knife switch and the means for recording the time of opening the same, Fig. 12 is a sectional view along the line 12l2 of Fig. ll), certain parts of the recording device being omitted for the sake of clear ness, Fig. 13 is a section along the line 13-43 of Fig. 10, certain parts of the recording device being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 14: is a view of a modified form of air valve which is automatically returned to its normal position, and, Fig. 15 is a view, at right angles, ofthe valve shown in Fig. ll.

As stat-ed above, one ofthe purposes of this invention to prevent the collision of two t'ains in a block by causing the operation of train stoppingdevices when the trains enter the same block. This is accomplished by means of relays on each engine that are normally controlled by a closed electric track circuit, but wh ch, when two trains are in the same bloclnlor when a portion of the trackis broken, iwillfbecome dcenergized thereby closing .locfilu circuits which subsequently cause the ration of the train stopping mechanism. it will be apparent, thereforethat any track circuit which will operate in the manner described might be employed with the train stopping mechanism and the recording mechanism,

which forms the subject of the present invention. In the following specification I will describe a track circuit which may be employed with my improved train stopping mechanism, but it will be understood that it is merely for the purposes of illustrating the operation of the train stopping.mcchanism and the recording mechanism, and that any system which will cause the simultaneous'operation of the relays of the engine might' be employed.

f Consider then In this figure I Patented Zita- y 5, 193%. Application filed July 20, 1912. Serial No; 710,705. I

lOO

have shown a pair of track rails 1 and 2 and between them a third rail 3. The third rail is divided into sections by the insulated joints 4. That portion of the track between one insulated joint and the other may be regarded as a block in the block signaling system. In Fig. 2 I have shown two of these blocks, to wit; A and B with portions of blocks on either side. The third rail 3 serves as a conductor. 'It is connected to the track rail 1 at one end of the block A, through a resistance R, and to the track rail 2 through a resistance B. At the other end of the block A it is connected to the track rail 1 through a resistance R while the resistance R is between the track rail 2 and the third rail 3. Similarly in the block B the third rail -.3 is connected to the track rail 1 through the resistance R at one end, and the resistance R at the other end, while it is connected to the track rail 2 through the resistances R and R.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown therein one of the engine relays. It comprises an insulating plate 4 bearing an insulating base 5, upon which is mounted the magnet 6, of the relay. A pivoted armature 7 is mounted on a standard 8. One end of the base 5 is provided with a pair of arms 9 and 10 whose ends are bent inwardly toward each other, leaving a V-- shaped opening 11 at the upper side. On one end ofthe armature 7 is an insulatingoylinder 12 which is secured by means of a set screw 13 to the armature, The cylinder is provided with a split collar 14 of conducting material having an extension which bears a wedge-shaped contact 15 arranged to enter the V-shaped opening between the arms 9 and 10 so as to cause an electrical connection between tre arms 9 and 10. As long as the armature 7 is attracted by the magnet 6, the contact 15 will be held out of engagement with the arms 9 and 10, but as soon as the magnet 6 is deenergized, the spring 16 will cause the armature to retract or one side of its pivot, and this will bring the contact 15 into engagement with the arms 9 and 10 on the opposite side. Set screws 17 and 18 are provided for regulating the movement of the armature in either direction.

In Fig. 6 I have shown the valve mechanism for controlling the train pipe. It consists of a cylindrical casing 19 which is closed at one end by means of a cap 20 provided with a small opening 21' and arranged to receive a pipe 22. A piston 23 isdisposed within 'the. cylinder 19 and is pro-,

'vided with packing rings 24. The piston rod 25 is surrounded by a spiral spring 26-which bears at one end upon the piston and at the other end upon a shoulder formed bythe'reduced portion 19 of the cylinder. A second piston27 is secured to the piston i rod 25 and is arranged to fit the reduced portion 19*; At the top of the reduced portion 19 of the cylinder is a pipe 28 which leads to the main air reservoir 29 (see Fig. 1). A pipe 30 communicates with the train pipe while the pipe 32 is an exhaust pipe.

The mechanism which is controlled by the engine relay is shown in detail in- Fig. 10. In this figure I have shown this mechanism as being mounted within a casing 33, but obviously it may be mounted. in other ways without departing from the invention. Within the casing is a cylinder 34 which contams a piston 35. A valve 36 is carried by the piston head and has its seat in the end of a pipe 37 which leads to the main airreservoir. N ear the bottom of the cylinder 34 is a small cylinder 38, in which is a piston 39, whose piston rod extends through the end of the cylinder, and has a pivotal connection at 40 with a'slotted arm 41. This arm is arranged to engage a contact 42 when the piston is moved. outwardly. Just above the piston 35 is a pipe 43 which communicates with the pipe 22 leading into the bottom of the cylinder 19. A pipe 44 also communicates with the pipe 43 and leads to the sand-pipe 45 (see Fig. 1).

Referring again to Fig. 10 it will be seen "that I have provided a base 46 u on which is mounted a shaft 47 hearing a arge gear 48 and a small loose gear 49. The latter is in mesh with a rack 50 carried at the upper end ofa piston rod 5] which extends through the top of the cylinder 34 and which is attached to the piston The gear 49 bears a pawl 49 which engages a ratchet 49 carried on the shaft 47. A spring 52 which surrounds the rod 51 returns valve 36 to its seat when the piston is I'Gllt 'cd from air pressure, as will be explained later. Disposed .upon the base 46 is a shaft 53 hearing a series of arms 54 which are arranged to engage a. spring bufi'er 55. The latter may be adjusted toward and away from the arms by means of the thumb screw 56 and the position of the buffer may be permanently secured by means of the lock-nut 57. The

shaft 53 bears a gear 58 which is in mesh with the gear 48.

' In F igs. '10 fid 7 I have shown a stop member 59 which is arranged to engage the teeth of the gear 58. This stop member is at 'the laterally extending end of a rock shaft 60. The latter is supported in bearings 61 and is provided at itsopposite end with a crank arm o'ltwhich engages the armature 7 of the engine relay.

The recording device ispreferably that of the duplex. type in which there are two recording arms, one on each side of the revolving diaL' It will be understood that this recording device may be actuated by any suitable mechanism, such as clock work, or the like. Theviews here n shown. are inmenses tended to be in a measure diagrammatic and I will therefore explain only such parts of the recording mechanism as come within the scope of the invention. It consists in general of a casing 63 having an outwardly extending flange (J4. Mounted upon the was in; are two dials such that shown at 65 and 65. -These dials have upon them concentric lines 66 to indicate the air pressure in pounds. They also have a series of curved lines 67 to indicate time, there being twenty-four of these curved lines one for each hour of the day. In Fig. 13 I have shown an arm 68 as pivotelly mounted on :1 shaft 6%) which extends through a portion of the casing. This shaft 69- may be act-uated in any suitable manner by means of air pressure as in the ordinary air or steam by mechanism carried within the one ing. A similar arm 69 is provided on the opposite side of the casing for the other dial 65 so as to have a duplicate record. J

On the edges or" the flange (34 are pivotally mounted two levers 70 and 7 The lever 70 is in engagement with the armature 7 of the engine'relay, while the lever 71 is engaged by an arm 72 on a rock shaft 73 which is mounted in bearings 74. The rock shaft is provided with acam 75 which is arranged to be engaged by the upper end of the rack 50 for rotating the rock shaft. Each of the arms 68 and 69 is provided with a markingpencil as are also the levers 70 and 71- Referring now to Fig. 11 I have shown therein a knife switch S which is provided with a handle 77 and which hasa cam memher 7 8. The latter is in normal engagement with a weighted lever 79 which is pivoted at 80. The lever 79 is in turn connected with a bell-crank lever 81 by means of a link 82. One arm of the bell-crank lever engages a lever 83 which is mounted on the flange 3% of the casing andwhich is provided with a pencil 83 arranged to engage the dial.

The electric circuit arrangements may be best explained by a statement of the operation of the device, Consider now Fig. 2. I have shown therein two blocks A and B. Let us suppose an engine ortrain X is enterinc oris within the block A. Current will flow from the battery B through the magnet 6,- theuce to the trolley wheel T to the third rail 3. Here the current will divide, part of it proceeding to the right along the third rail to'the resistances R and R", and thence. back by the track rails 1 and 2 to the wheels W thence'through the axle andhy wire to through the signal lamp L and back to battery. the circuit is along the third rail toward the resistances }R and R thence to the wheels and back to battery. There are thus four paths by which the current The other part ofv may flow from the third rail 3 to the track rails. These resistances are such that if any of them should be cut out, thereby decreasing the number of paths of the conductivity oi the circuit, the current will be so cut down in the magnet 6 that it can no longer hold down the armature 7 against the tension of the spring 16. This is what will happen if any of the track rails are broken or if the third rail is'broken anywherein the block A. Thus if there is a washout on the track, some of the paths will be cutout and since the resistances are in parallel the effect will be to increase the resistance of the circuit through the magnet 6,

thereby causing the latter to let go of its armature. Vvhen this happens the spring 16 (see Fig". i) will pull one end of the armature 7 upwardly and the' other end downwardly, thereby bringing the wedge shaped member 15 into the slot 11 between the conducting members 9 and. 10 so as to close the circuit between these two conductors. When this occurs current will flow from the battery 13* (see Fin'. 9) through the con ductor 9, 15, 10, through the lamp L back to battery. Now the lamp Lv may be a white light to indicate that the circuit through the magnet Bis closed, but when additional resistance is introduced in the circuit as by the breaking" of a rail thelamp L will be dimmed, but if a portion of the track should be washed away and the circuit is'brohen the white light will go out.

The circuitthrough the danger lamp L,

which is preferably a red lamp will be closed in the manner stated whenever the magnet 6 is deenergized.

The upward movement of the armature 7 raises the crank arm. 62. which causes a 1'0- tary movement of the rock shaft 60, so as to bring the stop member 59 out of engagement with the gear 58 (see Figs. 7 and 10). The piston 35 in the cylinder 34 is under pressure from the air in the main air reseryoir, and therefore tends to turn the gear 49, through the medium of the rack 50, and also the gear 4 8, which is in mesh with the gear 58; As soon as the stop 59 is withdrawn from the gear 58, then the piston 35 is free to move, since the air in the main air reservoir is suificient to overcome the tension of the spring 52.

The-movement of the piston 35 permits the air to enter through the end-of the pipe 37 into the cylinder 34 by the retraction of the valve 36. Immediately on the entrance of the air in the cylinder 34, the piston 39 in the small auxiliary cylinder 38 at the bottom of the cylinder 34: is moved outwardly and closes the switch 41 against its contact 40. This permits the current to fiow from the battery B through the conductor Sim-through the signal bell .91, and back by. conductor 92 to the other side of its the battery B. Thus an audible as well as avisible danger signal is given. On the further movement ot' the piston 35 the pipe 43 is uncovered, thus allowing the air from the mainreservoir to pass directly to ,,the sand blower pipe through the pipe 4%, (which is provided with a check valve 448),

on one side, and through the pipe 22 to the bottom of the cylindeflt) on the other side. Referring now to Fig. 6 it will be seen that the air will force the piston 23 in the cylinder 19 upwardly against the tension of the spring 26. The piston 27 will also be forced upwardly, and will uncover the train pipe 30, thereby permitting the immediate escape of the air from the train pipe 30 through the exhaust opening 32, while at the same time shutting Oil the air from the main air reservoir by the seating of the valve 27 (which is attached to the' piston 7) on its seat 27". The escape of the air from the train pipe results in the setting of the brakes and the bringing of the train to a standstill. This will be true even if the throttle should remain open, but obviously the en gineer will close the throttle as soon as the automatic train stopping mechanism begins to act.

Referring now again to Fig. 10 it will be seen that as the piston 35 moves upwardly the rack 50 gradually nears the cam 75. The movement of the piston 35 may be regulated by the arms or buffers 54 which are on the shaft- 53 hearing the gear 58. These arms strike the spring 55 and push it aside. Thus the spring 55 acts as a retarding member which may be adjusted by means of a screw- 56 as explainedlVhen'the end of the rack 50 strikesthe cam 75 the rock shaft 73 is rotated to bring the arm 72 into engagement with the lever 71, thereby forcing the pencil 71 into contact with the rotating dial so as to record the time at which the piston 35 has reached its upper limit.

Normally the pressure of the air in the train pipe which is connected with the duplex recording gage, will cause the arms 68 and (39'to swing outwardly so that their pencils register the maximum pressure in the train pipe. If an accident should happen, however, so that the automatic apparatus should let the pressure out of the train pipe these arms will immediately swing inwardly and the exact time at which the pressure goes out of the train pipe will be recorded on both sides of the recording gage. Furthermore, n hen the armature 7 first rises, 6., when thecircuit through the magnet- (5 becomes too weak to hold the armature- 7, the upward movement of the latter will raise the arm-70, thereby bringing its pencil 70 into contact with the revolving dial so as to indicate the precise time. -that the automatic stopping mechanism is firsthr'ought into play.

'An engineer, of course, couldprevent the automatic train stopping mechanism of an englne approaching 1n the same block from operating by cutting oil the current from the magnet U by openlng the swltch S, smce;

whenever a battery on'oneengine is cut out the battery on the approaching trainhas nothing to oppose it and will therefore continue to energize its magnet. The momentthis isdone, however, the. weighted lever 79 will drop downwardly thereby bringing the pencil 83 into contact with the revolving dial through the medium of the link 82 and lever 81, and this will show the precise time at which the switch was 0 ened. On closing the switch the cam 78 Wlll raise the lever 7 9 when the spring 83 will move the pencil from the dial. A- complete record, therefore, of the time-the current is cut off the magnet 6 will be made.v

The engine having been brought to a standstill, the handle 95 of the three-way valve 96 in the pipe 37 may be turned so as.

to bring the passage 97 in alinement with the pipe proper, while the main passage through the valve 96 is'brought into alinement withthe pipe 98, thereby permitting the air to escape from the cylinder 34 through'the pipe 98. The piston will then be returned to its normal position by means of the spring 52, and the valve 36 will reseat itself in the end of the pipe 37.v

As the rack rod goes down the pawl 49 rides idly over the teeth of the ratchet 49 On the upward movement of the rack again, however, the engagement of the pawl with the ratchet 49 will rotate the shaft 47 as explained, the pressure from the main reservoir having been cut off by turning the valve 96 as described above the spring 26 and the cylinder 19 gradually forces the piston 23 into its original position, the air escaping through the small vent 21.

I have taken the case of a broken rail or a washout to illustrate the operation of .the

train stopping mechanism, and the record-' ing mechanism. Let us now consider the situation when two trains enter the same block. This is the case in block B of Fig. 2 where the two engines or trains Y and Z are in the same block. The current will tend to flow from the battery B through the magnet 6 on the engine Y, thence to the wheel or trolley T. It cannot flow along the third rail 3 to the opposite end of the block. because it is opposed by the current of the engine Z which flows from its battery B to its magnet 6 and to the trolley rail T. The

tive batteries will be through the resistances near the ends of, the block. Thus all the cur-.

rent. which returns to the battery B must Y fore theconductivity of the circuit is cut down to such an extent that the current will not energize either magnet suiticiently to hold down its armature, and therefore both of the magnets 6 Willrelease their armatmes thereby causing the automatic stopping mechanism to operate in the manner stated.

in this description I have shown a track circuit including a third rail, but as stated before, the invention lies in the train stopping mechanism and in the recording mechanism. and any track circuit might be used which will operate, when portionsof it. are broken to cause a normally closed circuit on an engine to decrease to such an extent as to permit a relay to retract or any circuit which would cause the simultaneous retraction of relays of any two engines in the same block. might be used successfully with myimproved train stopping and recording mechanism, and would. therefore, come within the purvue and scope of the invention.

In Figs. 14. and 15 I have shown a modified form of air 'alve in which the latter is returned to its normal position automatially. in this form of the device If provided the lever 7 with an. insulating collar 150 which is secured to the lever by means of a set screw 151. Extending from the collar 170 is an arm 152. The valve 96 is provided with a coiled spring, 153, one end of which is secured to a pin 154 on the valve casing, the other end being arranged to bear on the operating handle 95. in this form of the device when the magnet (S is deciiergizwl, the end of the lever bearing the collar 150 drops downwardly until it strikes the stop pin 15.3, bringing the arm 152 in the path of the handle 97 Now when the latter is turned so as to permit the air to escape from the cylinder through the pipe 9R. (see Fig. 10). the arm 152 will prevent the return of the handle 95. Tl'hen, however, the track is again clear and the magnet 6 is energized in the manner already described, the arm 1:)? will be drawn out of the way of the handle 95 and the I spring 153 willcause the return oi the valve W3 to its normal position, thus restoring communication between the main reservoir and the train stopping mechanism, and rendering the latter ready for service.

I claim 1- 1. ln a railway safety and recording devi e, a magnet. an armature therefor. an air brake control device. means controlled by said armature for admitting air into said air brake control device, means operated si multancously by the armature for recording the time. at which said air admitting means begins to operate, and means operated by the air admitting means For recording the time at whi h the air admitting means ceases to operate.

2. In a railway safety and recording device, a magnet, an armature therefor, a

and a locking marking surface, an air-brake control device, means controlled by said armature for admitting air into said air brake control de vice, said means comprising a. cylinder normally connected with a source of compressed air, a piston in said cylinder. connections between said cylinder and said air brake control device, a rack connected with said piston. earing operated by said rack, and a locking device for said gearing arranged to be moved by said armature for releasing said gearing, a leve arranged to be engaged by said armature, carried by said lever and arranged to engage said marking surface.

3. In a railway sat ety and recording device. a magnet, an armature therefor, a marking surface, an air brake control device, means controlled by said armature for admitting air into said air brake control device, said means comprising a cylinder normally connected with a source of compressed air, a piston in said cylinder. connections between said cylinde' and said air brake control device, a rack connected with said piston, gearing operated by said rack,

device for said gearing arranged to be moved by said :u'mature for releasing said gearing, a lever arranged to be engaged by said armature. a marking device carried by said lever and arranged to engage said marking surface, and a second leve arranged to be engaged by the move ment of said rack. said second lever also being provided with a marking device arranged to engage said marking surface.

4. In a railway safety and recording device, a cylinder, a piston therein, mcans'for admitting air pressure oi. one side of said piston, a piston rod. a rack carried thereby,

gearing arranged to be engaged by said rack. a magnet, an armature therefor, and means for locking the gearing against movement, said last named means being arranged to be engaged by the armature of the magnet for releasing the gearing.

In a railway safety and recording device. a cylinder, a piston therein. means for admitting air pressure on one side of said piston, a piston rod. a rack carried thereby, gearing arranged to be engaged by said rack. a magnet, an armature therefor, means for locking the gearing against movement, said last named means being arranged to be engaged by'the armature of the magnet for releasing the gearing, .a marking surface.

and a lever arranged to be engaged by the movement of the armature for recording the time of the movement of the armature on the recording surface.

6. Tn a railway safety and recording device, a cylinder, a piston therein, means for admitting air pressure on, one side of said piston, a piston rod, a rack carried thereby.

gearing arranged to be engaged lay-said and a marking device rack, a magnet, an armature therefor, means named means for engaging the marking S111 for locking the gearing against movement, face te record the stopping of the rack.

'said last named means being arranged to FREDERICK F. HUDSON.

be engaged by the armature of the magnet for releasing the gearing, a marking sur- VVitness'es:

face, means; for limiting the movement of Tnos. E. ACKLEN,

"the rack, and means operated by said last I JOHN S. CRAWFORD.

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