US1427212A - Door-controlled locking mechanism for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

E. KELLER. I DOOR CONTROLLED [.OGKING MECHA-NlSMfOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1919. LALQKQIQL Pat ntedA11g29,11922.

2 $HEETS-SHEET I.

E, KELLER.

DOOR CONTROLLED LOCKING MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION men JUNE 13. 1919.

1 ,427, 2 1 2 Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7 v fizz 6262??" than ERNEST KELLER, O13 NOODHAVEN, NENV YORK, ASSIGNOR 170 NATIONAL PNEUMATIC COMPANY, OI NE /V YORK, N. 321, A GORPOEATION OF VIEST VIRGINIA.

DOOR-CONTROLLED LOCKING Application filed. June 13,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Enxns'r KELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVoodhaven, county of Queens, State of New York, have made a certain new and useful Invention in Door-Controlled Locking Mechanism for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to door controlled locking mechanism for vehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide a locking mechanism which is simple in construction, etlicient in operation for preventing a vehicle such as a car, bus, or the like, from being started until all the doors or exits are closed.

A. further object of the invention is to provide means of the character referred to for locking the car controller in its otl position when a door or exit on the car is open and maintaining the controller looked as long as the door or exit remains open, thereby preventing injury or accident to passengers due to premature starting of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door controlled locking mechanism of the character referred to in which power consumption in the control circuits continues only so long as one or more of the doors of a car or train of cars remains open, and is cut off during the time the motor circuit is in operation.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location, and relative arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set torth, as shown in the accompanying drawing, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. l is a view in elevation, and partly diagrammatic, showing a door controller lock mechanism embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a View in section on the line 2. 2, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified locking structure embodying the principles of my invention.

In the practical and safe operation of elevated and subway trains, surface cars, buses, and other passenger vehicles, and in rd r to avoid danger of accident to board- .Spccification of Letters latent.

MECHANISM FOR VEHICLES.

Patented Aug. E9, 1922.

1919. Serial No. 304 031.

ing and alighting pasengers through the premature starting of the car or train, it has been found desirable to insure that all the doors on the car or throughout the train of cars are closed before the car or train is started. The structures and arrangements at present employed for accomplishing this purpose are not only complicated and expensive to construct and install but they are also expensive to maintain in that, generally, there is a large amount of power consumption in the control system due, largely, to the series circuit arrangement employed in connection with such systems.

t is among the special purposes of my present invention to provide a control sys tem which is exceedingly simple in structure, capable of being economically manufactured and quickly and easily applied or installed, and which is inexpensive to maintain, and wherein the operating power consumption required in the system is reduced to a minimum.

In carrying out my invention in its broad scope I propose to provide a lock constructed and arranged when in operative position to lock the propelling motor or motors of the car or train against operation, and to control such lock either electrically, pneumatically, electro-pneum atically or otherwise, by the opening and closing movements of the door or doors of the car or train. In practice, and in one form of embodiment of my invention, to which, however, I do not desire to be limited or restricted, I propose to apply the lock to the propelling motor controller, and so relatively position the parts that the controller is locked when in its off position, the lock becoming operative to restrain the controller from operation from its off position only so long as any door or exit on the car or train remains open.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown an electrically operating control system wherein 5 designates the plate or disk carried by the shaft 6 of the usual ordinary propelling motor controller. The plate 5 is formed with a socket or seat 7 with which cooperates a dog 8 of a rock lever 9 pivoted at 10, its opposite end being suitably weighted as indicated at 11, the weight either constituting the armature of an electromagnet 12 or adapted to be attracted by the core of said magnet when said magnet is energized, so as to carry the locking nose or dog 8 into engagement with the seat 7 to lock the plate '5 and hence the controller againstoperation. When the electromagnet becomes deener izedthe weighted end of the lever 9 rocks said lever and retracts the locking dog or nose 8 thereby releasing the controller and permitt ng the same to be manipulated in its normal manner.-

The circuit of the electromagnet 12 includesswitches 13, 14, 15, 16, which I will .refer to as door switches, there being as many of such switches as there aredoors on the car or throughout a train of cars, saidswitchesoperating to be opened when the doors are closed, it being understood, of course, that a switch is associated with each door. In the illustrative example shown the switches 13, 15, 16, are shown open, indicating that the doors associated therewith areclosed, while the switch '14 is shown closed, thereby indicating that the door as not disturbed except in case of emergency.

This affords a convenient arrangement for normally maintaining the circuit of the lock control magnet 12 closed to ground, or re turn, at least so far as the switch 17, 18, is concerned, it being understood that said switch 17, 18, is normally closed when the reversing controller is in its normal position,

Power for thecircuit of the lock control magnet 1.2 maybe derived from the overhead or underground trolley,.contact rails,

or other source, or from a storage battery.

In accordance with my invention various door control switches 13, 141-, 15, 16, are

coupled up in parallel and this constitutes an important and valuable feature of my invention, as I thereby avoid the disadvantages and obyectlons attend ng the employment of series circuits forthe control loclr 1 2.

lteferring to. the circuitdiagram illustration of Fig. 1 the current for the circuit control magnet 12, derived from any source as above indicated, is delivered through the following circuit, assuming, as shown, that the. switch 11- is closed and all of the other door switches of; the system are open, there "by indicating. that all the doors of the car train are. closed except the door controllingthe. contacts 14.:-.fro m conductor a,

- conductor through switchlle, conductor 0,

conductor 6, magnet- 12, conductor f, switch 17 (or 18), which are supposed to be closed,

by locking the controller against operation.

'When. the door which controls switch 14: is closed said switch is opened and the above circuit is opened, the magnet 12 deenergized and. the controller lock is released, thereby permitting the normal manipulation and operation of the controller. Suppose, however, instead of the door which controls switch 1 1 being open, that the door controlling switch 15, for example, is open, thereby closing switch'15, thereupon the circuit of magnet 12 is completed as follows: through conductor a, conductor 9, switch 15, con ductor h, conductor 6, and on through the magnet 12 to ground at 19 as before. If, for example, switch 13 is closed the circuit of magnet 12 will be completed as follows from supply conductor a, through switch 13, conductor 7', conductor h, conductor 6, and on through magnet 12 to ground at 19 as before. If the door switch 16 is closed then the circuit of magnet 12 is completed as follows :-from current source, through conductor (a, conductor 6, conductor 76., switch 16, conductor Z, conductor 6, and on through magnet 12 to ground at 19 as before. Thus it will be seen that when any door of the car or throughout the train is open the circuit of magnet 12 is closed and the locking device is effective to lock the controller in its oil" position. This lock is maintained as long as any door switch throughout the system is closed, that is, so long as any door remains open. lVhen, however, all of the door switches are opened, that is, when all of the doors are closed, the circuit of the magnet is opened and the lock is released.

While I have shown in Fig. 1, and have above described a particular construction of magnet controlledv locking device for the propelling motor controller, it is obvious that other forms of locks may be employed, for example, a locking dog 20 is shown in Fig. 3 which is connected to a piston 21 operating in a cylinder 22 and normally held raised out of engagement withthe disk 501' other part of the controller tobe locked by means of a spring 23. When a pressure medium is admitted to the cylinder 22 the piston 21 is shifted in the cylinder against the action of spring 23 and in a direction to cause the dog 20 to engage controller member 5; This is the arrangement of parts shown in Fig. 3.v The supply or eX- haust of pressure medium to and fromthe cylinder 4t is controlled by the valve device 24- Wl11Cl1 111.13 .1 31; is connected to the core of solenoid, the coil of which is indicated at 25. The circuit of this coil corresponds exactly with the circuit of magnet 12 in the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. The operation is identically the same so far as the circuit arrangement is concerned, the magnet 25 operating to control the supply and exhaust of pressure medium to the lock cylinder 22, thereby controlling the locking dog 20; It is obvious that other forms of locking mechanism may be substituted for that shown in Figs. 1 and 3. When a pres sure operatedloclring dog is employed the supply of pressure medium may be obtained from the brake system or from any other suitable or convenient source.

By including the reverse controller-switches I of the loclr should the lock at the moment of the emergency be in looking position by opening the circuit of the loclr controlling electrical device, thereby permitting the operator or motorman to manipulate a controller in reverse operations.

A door control locking mechanism of the character above described prevents the motorman from advancing the controller from its off position until all the doors or exits of the car or throughout a train of cars are closed, therefore the car is not permitted to move so long as a door remains open, thereby preventing accidents through premature starting of the car or train. It will also be seen that the locking structure is exceedingly simple. The member 5 of the controller with which the locking dc vice cooperatesmay be any suitable or de sired part of the controller connected to move with the controller handle or controller shaft and the ordinary star wheel employed in connection with controllers may well answer the purpose. The cost of manufacture of the locking apparatus is therefore very small as compared with structures at present in use for accomplishingthe same purpose. Moreover, the consumption of current for operating the lock device is reduced to a minimum. Current flows in the circuit of the control device only so long as a door remains open. Since for the greater part of the travel of a car or a train of cars, that is, during the time of travel between stations or stopping points, the doors remain closed and consequently there is no current consumption in the circuit of the locking device. Since the structure is exceedingly simple and only a few parts are required which may be of rugged structure and capable of easily withstanding the usage to which the locking devices are subjected the cost of maintenance of the equipment is reduced to a minimum. Likewise the cost of installation is exceedingly small. The parts of the locking mechanism in no way interfere with the operation of the car nor of the door or doors. Moreover, in the ordinary series system of control for locking devices the troubles arising from the resistance of contacts on low voltage systems are multiplied because of the large number of contacts employed in the series circuit. This trouble is reduced and practically eliminated by the system of coupling up the door switches in parallel relation to each other so-that even if all of the doors are open and their corresponding switches are closed the resistanceotfered by one pair of contacts is not objectionable since the current path for completing .the circuit of the door lock magnet is completed through some other pair of contacts. Consequently greater reliability is secured in service. Again, with present locking systems it is the custom to provide a switch in the propelling motor circuit which shunts the loclr controlling system. In this case when an open circuit in-the lock system occurs at the door switches in the contactor, slip rings, or other portions of the present devices, the danger is incurred of a premature starting of the car or train with a door remaining open, current supply to the motor being obtained through the shunt circuit. Such a possibility is eliminated in the system above described because it is unnecessary to employ such a shunt switch.

Having now set forth the objects and nature of my invention and a construction embodying the principles thereof what I claim as new and useful and of my own invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a locking mechanism for vehicles, a controller for the propelling power thereof, a lock for said controller operating when in action to lock said controller in 0H position, electrical devices for controlling said lock, and switches controlled by the doors on the vehicle, said switches being arranged in parallel and associated in the circuit of said electrical devices for independently operating the same.

2. In a locking mechanism for vehicles, a controller for the propelling power of the vehicle, a lock therefor, electrical devices for operating a lock to maintain the controller in its off position, a plurality of switches, each switch associated with a door on the vehicle, said switches being connected up in parallel relation to each other in the circuit of said electrical devices.

3. In a locking mechanism for vehicles, a controller for the propelling power of the vehicle, a lock therefor, electrical devices controlling said look, a circuit for said eleciiifor controlling said-lock, a circuit for said,

electrical devices, a series of door controlled switches arranged in said circuit, said door switches arranged in parallel circuit relation with respectto each other and operating Wlienany door is open to close said circuit to apply the lock.

5. In a locking mechanism forvvehicles, a controller for the motive power thereof, a

locking member carried by said controller,

a cooperatinglock to engage said locking vmember to lock the controller in its off positlon, a magnet for controlling said lock, a

- circuit for said magnet, and door controlledswitches arranged in parallel for controlling the circuit of said magnet.

6. Ina system of locking mechanism for vehicles, arcontroller, a lock operating to retain the controller in its off position, an electrical devicetocontrol said lock,v and means controlled by all the doors of the system for controlling the circuit of said electrical device and operating when any door is open to complete said circuit to apply said lock.

7 In a system of lock control mechanism for vehicles, a controller for the propelling power: ofthe vehicle, a locking device for locking said controller, means for operating said locking device, and a plurality'of door operated switches arranged'in parallel for rendering effective said lock operating means whenever any one of said switches is closed by its door being open.

8; In a door controlled locking mechanism for vehlcles, a plurality of control switches arranged in parallel, a controller, means for locking said controller in oif position, and

means-for rendering effective said locking mechanism through the agency of any one of said switches being closed. 7

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 10th day of June A. D.,

Banner KELLER.

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