US1299383A - Railway-crossing signal. - Google Patents

Description

c; c. REID.

RAILWAY CROSSING SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16. 1911 1 299,383, Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR BY @afim ATTORNEY WITNESSES C. .-REID.

RAILWAYCROSSING SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16. I917 Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES UNI ED STATES PATE T ornicn.

CALEB 0.1mm, or NEW BURNSIDE, ILLINOIS.

- RAILWAY-CROSSING SIGNAL.

1 "0 all "whom it maycmwei'n: i Be it known that LiOA LE B C. REID, a c1t1- zen of the United States, residing at New Burnside, in the" county ofJohnson and- State of Illinois, have invented ne and useful Improvements in Railway-Crosslng Signals, of which the followingis' a speclfication. I I I p This invention "relates to railway signals, and more especially to track instruments by means of which acircuit is closed by aflpassing train, so as to actuate a signal. In,the present case this signal closes'across a hlghway or other crossing, but it .isobvious that the closing of the circuit could set or. trip any kind of a signal or perform other necessary work. I

Details appear in the following specliication, reference being had to the drawings wherein:a i J Figure 1 is a plan view ofa section of single-track railway, with this invention applied at a point where the highway crosses the same.

Fig. 2 isa section through a pit ad acent the highway crossing, and an elevatlon of the mechanism therein for closing the gate orsignal. I I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail of one rail of the track, showing the'two members of the trackinstrument which .becomes a circuit closer when depressed by the wheels of a passing engine or train. I

' Fig. a is an enlarged cross-section through one of the members and the clrcuit closer proper carried thereby, showingit in dotted linesas depressed so that thejcircuit closer contacts with the two wires. I l I Fig. 5 is a plan in diagram showing the action which takes place when the flange of a wheel passes the tongue at the inner end of one member and in between therail and the tongue atthe inner endof the companion member; I I

i Fig. 6 is-a perspectiveview 0f the wheel engaging shoe and I Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the electric circuit in which 'my device is arranged. I i

The primary object of the pecullarform of track instrument employed in this invention is to cause the closure of a circuit by a train approaching a given po nt. Hereln said point is a highwaycross'ing, and the closure of the circuitis employed to energize a motor which sets a gate or signal I Specificationof Letters Patent.

, Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application filed November 16, 19 17. Serial No. 202,394.

across the highway, but it is obvious that the closed circuit could perform other work although doubtless it will be in the nature of setting a signal of some kind. After the train has passed said given point, or in other words when it passes off of one member of the track instrument and into engagen'ient with the next, it rides outside the latter or between it and the rail and does not close the circuit because it does'not depress the second member. Therefore so long as any wheel of the train which is approaching is engaged with the first member, the track instrument closes the circuit, but as soon as the last wheel has passed off the first member and onto the second member the circuit is broken and in the present case the signal starts to assume its clear position, but in any case the work performed by the closed circuit is over. Therefore this track instrument is serviceable with an engine or long train, moving in either direction. I I

In the accompanying drawings the letters R designate the rails of a track laid on ties T, andC is the highway crossing. The signal shown is a swinging armor gate G which at night will carry lamps or lights L and which when it is depressed actuates a bell or alarm diagrammaticallyindicated by the letter A and connected up. in some I manner (not necessary to illustrate) with a source of power so that it will ring whenever the gate is lowered. The action of said gateis controlled by a motor M connected along a considerable stretch of thetrack to 1 both sides of the highway crossing O, and the constructlon 1s such that when. a circuit is closed through these two wires, as by the actuation of the track instrument by a passing train, the battery drives the motor and the latter in turn closes the gate; whereas, when the circuit is again broken, a spring S .-(or it might be 'a weight. orother device) again opens the gate and sets the signal at clear? With the signal and its operating mechanism as described above, I make use of an improved form of track instrument or circuit closer best illustrated in Figs. 3, l, 5. Adjacent one rail R stands two'members or shoes 1 which are practical duplicatw of and complementary to each other, and a description of one will suffice for both. Their contiguous ends are spaced from each other in what I will call a break which in the present instance occurs adjacent the highway crossing C but preferably a little to one side of the same so that passing vehicles will not run'over the break to the injury of the parts yet to be, described. In general, however, each member extends for a considerable distance from the highway alongside one rail, and it is immaterial which rail although in a two-track railway it mightbe well to lead these members alongside the outermost rails. Each member or shoe 1 is of angle iron, and preferably L-shaped in cross-section as shown, its upright leaf 3 lying close to'the inner face of the rail R and rising about flushwith the tread thereof, and preferably being lined on its outer face with insulation as at 4 so that it will not in any event come into contact with such. rail and permit the charging of said shoe with a possible current in the rail or the escape from the shoe to the rail of a current within the shoe. The horizontal leaf 5 of the shoe projects inward or away from the rail, and is disposed at such height that it will be struck and the shoe depressed by the flange of a passing wheel which rides over this leaf. The shoe is supported at at least three points by springs 6, and for at least a portion of its length it carries on its under side an inverted T-rail 7 whose shank is attached to the shoe in any suitable manner and whose head overlies the two wires V where the latter are bare. It follows that when the shoe is depressed said head is thrown into contact with the wires and the latter are connected electrically so as to close a circuit through the battery and actuate the signal in the manner above described. By the word depressed I mean, however, that the shoe must be decidedly depressed as would result from the pressure of the wheelflange upon it when traveling over its horiz'ontal leaf. I would have the springs so strong that cattle or malicious persons may findit impossible to depress the shoe sulficiently to close the circuit. The upright leaf of each shoe carries at its outer end an outwardly deflected spring tongue 8 projecting toward the head of the rail and lined on its outer face with insulation which normally contacts with said rail, and said leaf carries at its inner extremity an inwardly bent spring tongue 9 deflected away from the rail and not necessarily covered with the insulation, the inner tongues 9 standing of course at opposite sides of the break in the track instrument which is the space between its two members.

WVith this construction, the action of the forward wheel on the locomotive of an approaching train is as follows: The face of the wheel travels 011 the ball of the rail and its flange along the inner edge thereof, and when the flange reaches the outer end of either member of the track instrument it passes inside the outwardly projecting tongue 8 and travels along the inner face of the upright leaf of the member, the edg of the flange meanwhile traveling upon the horizontal leaf thereof and depressing the shoe so that its Trail 7 makes contact with its wires WV and closes the circuit to set the signal in the manner described. This action is duplicated by every succeeding wheel of the approaching engine or train, and the member is of sufficient length to bridge the trucks in the longest car, and therefore the circuit is kept closed continuously during the approach of the train. Reaching the break or space in the instrument, the flange of the foremost wheel rides past the inwardly proj ecting tongue 9 which yields to permit, then travels across the breaks, and passes between the corresponding tongue of the other member and the inner side of the rail, so that as it continues on its course it moves this entire member slightly inward away from the rail, rather than depressing it, and yet it does not close electrical connection between the rail and the member because the latter is insulated as described. Finally it passes the spring tongue 8 at the remote end of the second member, and onward along its way; and this action is followed by all succeeding wheels throughout the length of the train. Thus it will be seen that as long as any truck overlies the member on the approaching side of the track instrument, the circuit is closed, but as soon as the last wheel has passedfthe break the circuit is again opened and the spring S or other device may reset the signal to a clear position as it may well do, because at this time the last car is about passing the crossing C. Obviously the same action would follow if the train were passing in the other direction. Obviously also the signal would remain setat danger, or closed if it be a gateas indicated at Gr, if the train should stop across the highway, provided only that at least one truck or one wheel remained upon and depressed that member of the track instrument which may be said to be on the approaching side. Finally it is also obvious that the closure of the circuit may actuate any kind of a signal or gate without departing from the principle of my invention.

What is claimed as new is 1.. The herein described track instrument for 'ailvay signals and the like, the same comprising two metallic members of L-iron spaced from each other at their contiguous ends, their upright leaves lying along the inner side of a rail and their horizontal leaves projecting inwardly and adapted to be depressed by the flange of a wheel passing over them, circuit-closing devices carried by said members and actuated by the depression thereof, and outwardly and inwardly deflected spring tongues at the respectively outer and inner ends of each member whereby the flange on the forward wheel of an approaching train passes over the first member reached and depresses it to close the circuit through said wires, and is directed between the rail and the second member reached so that the latter is not depressed.

2. A circuit closer for track instruments comprising a shoe of L-shaped cross-section whose upright leaf lies along the inner side of a rail and whose horizontal leaf projects inwardly and is adapted to be depressed by the flange of a passing wheel, insulation on the outer face of said upright leaf, circuitclosing devices proper carried by said horizontal leaf, and sprin tongues at the extremities of the uprig t leaf, one deflected inward into normal contact with the rail and the other deflected in the opposite direction, for the purpose set forth.

3. A circuit closer for track instruments comprisin a shoe of L-shaped cross-section whose uprlght leaf lies along the inner side of a rail and whose horizontal leaf projects inwardly and is adapted to be depressed by the flange of a passing wheel, insulation on the outer face of said upright leaf, circuitclosing devices proper carried by said horizontal leaf, spring tongues at the opposite ends of said upright leaf, one deflected in- Ward toward the edge of the head of said rail and covered with insulation, and the other deflected in the opposite direction, for the purpose set forth.

4:. A circuit-closing track instrument for railway signals and the like, the same comprising an inverted T-iron overlyin a pair of spaced wires, a shoe of L-shape crosssection Whose upright leaf lies alongside a rail and is insulated on that face adjacent such rail and whose horizontal leaf projects inwardly away from the rail and carries the stem of said T-iron, springs yieldingly supporting said shoe with the T-iron normally out of contact with said wires, and spring tongues at the extremities of such upright leaf, one bent toward the rail and the other bent away from it, for the purpose set forth.

In testlmony whereof I aflix my signature.

CALEB C. REID.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

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