US1217476A - Gong mechanism for automatic signals. - Google Patents

Description

s. c. MARTIN. GONG MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC SIGNALS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1913- 1,217,476. Patented Feb. 27,1917. I

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GEORGE C. MARTIN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNGR TO JOHN M. CARSON, OF

4 130$ ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

GONG MECHANISM FOR AUTOIVIATIC SIGNALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed May 5, 1913. Serial No. 765,4 I6.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. MARTIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los 'Angeles, in the county'of Los Angeles and State of'California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gong Mechanisms for Automatic Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in electrically operated warning signals and especially such as are useful in connection with railway crossings and the like.

It is an object of the invention to pro- Vide a "signaling mechanism for railway purposes and particularly for railway crossings that shall have a simple and effective sounding device and one in which a gong is employed, the hammer of which is operated from mechanism within the signaling device and yet without unprotected'openings in the signaling device and the casing which incloses the same, through which rain, snow or sleet may enterand affect the said mechanism. i

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1, is a vertical sectional view taken through a signal mechanism, and showing the same provided with-the, improved gong mechanism of the present invention.

Fig. 2, is a detail sectional View" taken upon the line 22' of Fig. .l, but showing the parts upon an enlarged scale.

a Fig. 3, is a similar detail sectional view, but showing a modified form of hammer Y operating mechanism.

Fig. 4, is a detail sectional view take upon the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. y

The mechanism forming the subject mat ter of the present invention'is designed to afford an efficient gong or sounding mechanism adapted for use upon signalingdevices, and it is especially adapted for use 'in connection with -a signaling device like that shown and described by me in a copending application for patent upon an au tomatic signal device, said application bearing Serial Number 758,294, andfiled April 2, 1913. This invention involves the use of a shaft moving or oscillating about its axis, for operating the hammer or clapper of a gong, and while such a shaft is illustrated in the application above rc ferred to, the broad claims for the inven' tion involving the sounding mechanism are made in the present application.

Since the device of the present application is especially adapted for use in' connection with the mechanism of a signal device like that disclosed in the prior application referred to, the said device has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing as incorporated in such a signal mechanism, and the details and features of the invention will now be more particularly described, reference being had thereto.

In the drawing 5 indicates the casing of a signal apparatus, 6 a rock shaft, journaled therein, and 7 a signal arm carried by said rock shaft. The arm 7 is provided with a signal target 8 adapted to attract the attention as the arm? is oscillated by the movement of the rock shaft 6. A motor 9 is mounted within the casing.5 and is ar ranged to'rock the said shaft 6 through the agency of intermediate gearing as indicated at 10. v This portion'of mechanism is preferably made substantially like the mechanism shown and described in my copending application above referred vto, and therefore'needs no further description here.

The sounding mechanism preferably comprises a gong 11 mounted upon the top plate 12 of the casing 5 ,as clearly shown in Fig. l of the drawing. A vertically arranged shaft 13 is mounted in the casing 5, its lower end resting in a bearing 14, usually carried by the cap plate of one of the j ournal bearings as 15, of the rock shaft 6. The upper.v end of shaft 13 extends through a bearing 16 in the top plate 12 and projects sufiiciently above the same to receive a hammer or clapper 17. The shaft 13 is thus adapted to be oscillated for moving the hammer. back and forth and "thus sounding the'gong. v f

The sai shaft may be oscillated in various ways but is preferably 'actuatedby be operated by the gearing 10 above referred to. I V

The shaft 13 preferably carries an ac-' tuating arm 23 loosely mounted upon the said shaft and normally held in proper p0 sition with relation to the said shaft 13 by means of a light spring 24. One end of the spring 2% is secured to the shaft 13, while the other end is secured to the said arm 23. In order to enable the arm 23 to move the shaft 13 in one direction, the said arm 23 is provided with a projecting pin 25, which projects into the path of a projection 26, carried by a collar 27 rigidly secured to the shaft 13. The structure is such that when the arm 23 is moved in one direction, the pin 25 will engage the projection 26 and oscillate the said shaft 13, but when the arm 23 is moved in the other direction, the pin 25 will move away from the projection 26 and not actuate said shaft 13.

The arm 23 projects into the path of a lug 28 carried by the arm 18, so that the said arm 23 is struck and moved by the said lug 28 at each oscillation of the arm 18.

he shaft 13 is normally held in such a position that the hammer 17 will be close to the edge of the gong 11, but will not quite touch the same. This is accomplished by the use of a coiled spring 30, surrounding the shaft 13 and having one end secured thereto, as by insertion in a hole made in the shaft, while the other end of the spring is inserted in an aperture in the cap plate 12 of the casing. The spring is so adjusted that the hammer will normally stand in the relation mentioned with respect to the gong. The hammer can however be swung away from the gong when the arm 23 is moved so as to engage the projection 26 carried by the shaft 13. As soon as the arm 23 slips off the lug 28, the spring 30 will tend to return the hammer to its normal position, but the momentum of the hammer will of course cause it to strike the gong before springing away from it, thus securing a clear sounding of the said gong.

at will be understood that the hammer shaft 13 may be moved about its axis or oscillated in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus as shown in Figs. 3 and d of the drawing, the said shaft may be provided with an actuating arm 31 rigidly secured thereto and adapted to bear with its outer free end upon one face of the crank-disk 21. The said crank-disk is provided with one or more projections, or lugs 32 arranged to strike and move the free end of the arm 31. A spring 33 is coiled about the shaft 13 and one end engages the arm 31 so as to press it against the crank-disk 21, while the other end of the spring engages a stud or screw 3% depending from the top plate 12 of casing. With this form of the device the rotation of the crankdisk 21 causes the lugs 32 to move the arm 31 and oscillate the shaft 13 so as to carry the hammer away from the gong, the spring 33 operating to immediately throw the hammer back again as the arm 31 passes each of said lugs 32. The gong is thus repeatedly sounded whenever the signal mechanism is operated and whenever the target 8 is moved.

It will be evident that the mechanism for oscillating the hammer carrying shaft may be modified within the scope and spirit of the invention. It is an important feature of the invention that the hammer may be carried by means which extend through he casing of the signal operating mechanism in such a way as to require only a single bearing hole or aperture in the cover of the casing and such an aperture so located as to be protected and practically closed to the weather. Heretofore in devices of this kind it has been necessary to provide elongated openings or slots for the hammer to move in and it is found practically impossible to prevent rain, snow or sleet from driving into said openings and injuring or stopping the mechanism inside the casing and in some instances from short-circuiting the electric current or currents employed in operating the parts of the signaling device.

What is claimed is:

1. A gong mechanism for signaling devices comprising a gong, a hammer, a shaft carrying said hammer, a spring for rotating said shaft normally holding the hammer adjacent the gong, a means for rotating the shaft against the action of said spring whereby upon release of the shaft the hammer will be returned by the spring with sufficient force to carry it past its normal position for striking the gong, said means comprising a driving member acting alternately in two directions and a spring device acted upon by said driving member and turning the shaft when the driving member acts in one direction but not when it acts in the other.

2. The combination with the signaling mechanism having a motor driven shaft of a sounding mechanism having a gong, a vertical rock shaft journaled adjacent to the motor driven shaft, and extending to a point adjacent to said gong, a hammer, carried by the said shaft and arranged to strike said gong, a spring controlling the said shaft to normally hold the hammer yieldingly in position near the gong, means j ournaled upon the said vertical shaft and adap ed to be operated in conjunctionwith the movement of the said motor driven shaft, an abutment means upon said vertical shaft adapted to be struck by said latter means whereby the hammer will be operated for sounding the gong. V

3. In combination with a signaling device having a motor driven rock shaft and gong actuating means projecting therefrom, of a sounding mechanism comprising a gong, a rock shaft, a spring held hammer for sounding the gong, a shaft carrying the hammer, a member journaled upon said shaft for turning the same and extending in the path of said gong actuating means, and an abutment member fixed to the hammer shaft and engaging said journaled member whereby the hammer is caused to sound the gong.

4:. A gong mechanism for a signaling device, comprising a rock shaft,ra gong hammer carried thereby, an actuating member loosely mounted on said shaft and yieldingly connected therewith, said member having an arm projecting into the path of a moving part of the signaling device whereby it will be swung about the said shaft,'

a collar secured to the said shaft and a pin projecting from the movable member and engaging said collar, the structure being such that the collar will be caused to actuate the shaft carrying the gong hammer when the movable member is moved in one direction, and not in the other.

5. In a signaling device, a sounding mechanism comprising a gong, a hammer a shaft carrying the same, a spring controlled arm upon said shaft, means for imparting movement from said arm to said shaft, a crankdisk having projections thereon adapted to engage said spring controlled arm and mechanism in the signaling device for actuating said crank-disk and causing the movement of the hammer carrying shaft in sounding the gong.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. C. MARTIN. Witnesses:

CASSELL SEVERANOE, E. L. WILLIAMS.

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

' Washington, D. 0.

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