US2610239A - Traffic signal and street light control system - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 9, 1952 J. O'D. SHEPHERD 72,610,239

TRAFFIC SIGNAL AND STREET LIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Sept. 7, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l MASTER CONTROLLER l2 O :t

- SECONDARY CONTROLLER NTR.

0 OIL 42 E-W N-S p 1952 J. O'D. SHEPHERD 2,610,239

TRAFFIC SIGNAL AND STREET LIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Sept. 7, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 so! 1102 MASTER CONTROLLER NO.l OFF NO. 2 HR OFF SET TO OTHER SECONDARY SECONDARY CONTROLLERS TRO ER l O 9 INVEN TOR.

P 1952 J. OD. SHEPHERD 2,610,239

TRAFFIC SIGNAL AND STREET LIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Sept. 7, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q4405 F|G 3 I4O I J I LIGHTS 1 RESET NO. I I406 |420\ NO. x OFFET @MZI l40l MASTER CONTROLLER k TO OTHER SECONDARY CONTROLLERS CR SET SECONDARY CONTROLLER 1 I403 v I409 fi l4|8 CONTROL CIRCUIT NO. I I

OFF /ON IIso, I I

14160 I413 I4I4 INVENTOR.

P 1952 J. O'D. SHEPHERD 2,610,239

TRAFFIC SIGNAL AND STREET LIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Sept. 7, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

MASTER CONTROLLER SECONDARY CONTROLLER CONTROL CIRCUIT 8| LIGHTS Patented Sept. 9, 1952 TRAFFIC SIGNAL AND STREET LIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM Judson OD. Shepherd, Atlanta, Ga.

Application September 7, 1948, Serial No. 48,045

8 Claims.

'This invention relates to street traflic signal control systems and, in particular, the turning on and oil of street illumination lights from a central point as a part of such systems. This application is a continuation in part of my pending application Serial No. 357,022 filed September 16, 1940, now Patent No. 2,451,457, October 12, 1948.

The turning on and off of street illumination lights, including so-called White-way lights, is presently generally effected by one of several means. One arrangement is to extend the various light circuits back to a power station or substation where each circuit may be manually closed. This is employed particularly with light circuits in which the various lamps are connected in series, or individual lamps (or groups thereof) are supplied from the secondary of transformers, the primaries of which are connected in the series circuit from the power station. This arrangement requires a separate circuit for each group of independently controlled lights, which extends back to the power station.

A second commonly used arrangement, particularly for white-way lights, is to have such lamps in limited areas, such as one side of a street for one or more blocks, connected in multiple with a switch (usually in the base of one of the light standards) which is manually operable. This requires that each such switch be visited in the early evening by an operator to turn on the lights, and subsequently visited in order to turn off the lights, or two trips a day, seven days a week. This is costly from the standpoint of the salary of the operator and due to wastage of electricity, since it takes an operator some time-to make his rounds and if the lights at the end of his tour are turned on at precisely the right time (as frequently designated by local law), it is inevitaole that'the remainder of the lights-of the system will have been turned on too early.

A third arrangement employsa pilot or control circuit to actuate electro-magnetic circuit closers at the various points where power is supplied the lights of several circuits. This nerally requires a plurality of such circuits extended from a central control point to the widely distributed circuit closers.

Still another scheme in use involves employment of a carrier current arrangement in which a relatively high carrier frequency is transmitted over-the primary of the power distribution system; At each point where a street light circuit is supplied, there is provided a detector responsive to receipt of the carrier current to actuate a circuit closer for the light circuit. This arrangement is relatively costly and results in a l lights served by each primary circuit being turned on simultaneously with the result of a sudden substantial load being added to the circuit, whichmay adversely afiect the regulation of that circuit. 7

The present invention discloses a new and improved means for administering city streets by providing street illumination light control by employment Of a street traffic signal controlsys-' tem for this purpose, or certain of the elements of such a system. I

Street; trafiic control systems with centralized control employ intersection or secondary control lers (frequently referred to as secondary timers) which control the signal lamps at the correspond ing intersections. These secondary controllers; as they generally will be referred to, are connected in multiple to a master controller, or timer, by a few trunk conductors. These trunk conductors are employed to maintain the intersection controllers in synchronism and predetermined phase relation with respect to the master controller and, therefore, with respect to each other. In some systems, these trunk conductors provide for other functions, including total period control of the trafiic cycle.

It is a general requirement of such centrallycontrolled systems that there shall be a shaft, dial or other element at each secondary control ler which rotates or otherwise operates'in synchronism with a corresponding element at the- It is the common practice master controller. that such an element rotates once each trafiic cycle and that at a certain point or time during each cycle, the phase relation of the element of to establish a synchronous distributor system for the selective operation of street' illumination lights. Such a distributor system recognizes and makes use of the fact that a traflic'cycle m'ay be divided into a plurality of separate tim'e intervals. At the master controller are provided (for illustration) two pairs of contacts for each street; light circuit controlled, which are "separately closed for a short interval at different particular the corresponding pair of contacts (lights off) at.

the master controller. At the secondary controller are two relays (or functionally similar elements), each connected to a corresponding one of the contact pairs, the first one adapted to close the street lighting circuit and the second adapted to open it. A conductor connects the contacts (through appropriate switch means) at the master controller with the aforesaid contacts at the intersection controllers. If it is desired tol turn. the street lights on, the first mentioned contacts at the master controller are connected to theaforementioned trunk conductor. When these contacts. are closed, current is transmitted forashort interval t the secondary controllers,v where the on contacts are coincidentally closed. This results in the relay operating which turns on th'estreet lights, and this relay locks up, either electrically or by mechanical means, to maintain thelightson. When it is desired to turn the lights 6n, the second set of contacts at the master controller are connected to th trunk conductor. Subsequently, an impulse is transmitted to the secondary controllers to actuate the second (01f) relay or magnet to release the operated on relay to out 01f the street lights coincident with theclosure of the second pair of contacts at the secondary controller.

. Since there is a relatively long time interval lira trafiic. cycle (in. the general order of a minute or longer) thetime of the cycle may be divided up into a plurality of controlintervals, with contacts; closed at such separate intervals to provide the selective turning on and ofi of a plurality of different street lighting circuits.

.eltwill'be seen that the above described principle permits the selective operation of one or mom-street" lighting circuits in conjunction with theqstreettraflic' control system by minor provisions; The cost and. other dimculties involved withcurrently employed arrangements are there by," traversed in. a simple and wholly practical Itzis a; feature of; this invention to provide meansat the master controller to indicate visually the status;(whether' on or off) of remote street light-circuits; and of the reset in which the traffic signal; control system is operating.

Itis; also a feature to provide remote street light controlwith traffic control systems in which variable offset of the secondary controllers is effected'from the master controller by changing the pointat which the secondary controllers; are resynchronized.

A still further feature is means to provide two short; impulses or other circuit condition spaced at predetermined times or points during the trafiic cycle in order to effect street light or sigreset control, with the portion of the cycle intervening between said impulses determining the street light circuit. to be controlled and whether it is turned on or off, or. the resetv of thesecondary controllers whichiseffected. By suchuse'of two impulses, false operation of a street light circuit or reset is greatly minimized, particularly since itis disclosed that the points during the cycle of said impulses have such relationship with each other as practically to preclude accidental impulse conditions at the secondary controller having such relationship.

These and other features of the invention will be understood from the drawings and specification Which follows. I

In describing this invention, it will beunderstood that reference to street light circuit No. l (or No. 2), for example, may indicate either a circuit individual to a particular secondary controller orit may represent a class of circuits. By class of circuits is meant, for example, the circuits for street intersection illumination lights which burn all night and which may be controlled" bya plurality of secondary controllers throughout the system, but which may be referred to herein as circuit No. 1, notwithstanding there being separatelindividual circuits with power supplied from a plurality of points.

Mention hereinof reset may indicate I any, secondary controller function such as change ofis'et, discontinuance of traffic signal light display, and other functions as set out in my afore' said prior patent.

This invention is Set out by four figures. ofv drawings which are essentially circuit schematics with the inclusion of representations of certain of the mechanical elements employed in connect tion therewith. The mechanical arrangements generally are" expanded better to: show their: tune" tional relationships. V

Figure 1 shows the'basic arrangement forse? lecting and controlling from;amaster'controller either of two separate. street li'ght' circuits? through the agency of secondary controllers.

Figure 2 discloses streetlight control ast'emi ployed in connection. with the traflic signal'con' trol systemof my aforesaid prior" patent;v

Figure 3 shows arrangements" for controlling street lights and resetting traific signals. fromflia: master controller with means at the latter to give indication of the statu'sof operation of the secondary controllers; and means toprotectth'e sys= tem from false operation.

Figure? 4 discloses application of street light operation. to secondary controllers of"a"trafiiic' control system havin'g'arrangements' forvari'a'ble offset by changing the resynchronizingpointsidf thesecondarycontrollers:

FIGURE 1 Figure I isva-a general disclosure ofthis invent-p tion asempIOye'd with a trafiic signala contror system employing a shaft at the master'con=-. troller and one at each: secondary controller for actuating the signal lamps. for maintaining the. controllers in synchronism, for total period control, and for other features of a-tralficcone-- trol system are well understood. by -;those prac ticed in this art. Reference will be made laten however, to certain prior patents. disclosing certain of the arrangements mentioned-immediately above. w

The master controller elements'lrelated tkithe 1 functioning of the traffic; signal control. and maintenance of the intersection controllers in; synchronism are. generally designated I l. This includes a driving motor supplied from power terminals [2 and 13. Once each traflic cycle the synchronism of the intersection controllers is checked by a circuit over trunk conductors RS (resynchronizing) actuated by controller elements H. A common return trunk conductor CR (which may be the ground of the power system) is provided. Conductor PC (period control) is representative of one or more conductors which may be employed to control the total period of the traffic cycle by means included in representationll.

A shaft i4 is provided upon which is mounted a master controller dial represented by IE to provide trafllc control functions or other purpose which is usually found in systems of this character. Shaft I4 is driven (at an adjustable speed, if desired) by the aforesaid motor once each cycle of the traffic system. Attached also to this shaft are four contact actuators represented by discs or dials l6, H, 18 and [9. Each of these discs has an actuating shoulder or cam I6, [1, I8 and I9, respectively. Each of these cams is adapted to close an associated pair of contacts 26, 21, 28 and 29, respectively, each revolution of shaft 14. It is to be noted that the cams are displaced with respect to each other, so that contact pairs 26, 21, 28 and 29 are closed in sequence, and it is to be further observed that only one pair of contacts is closed at any time.

Figure 1 provides for the independent centre of two separate street lighting circuits, generally designated No. l and No. 2. One of these circuits is controlled by cams l6 and I1 and their associated contact pairs 26 and 2'1, with cam l6 and contacts 26 being efiective to control the turning oif of the lights of circuit No. 1, and cam I1 and contacts 21 function to control the turning on of the lights of this circuit. Cams l8 and [9 with their associated contacts similarly control the lights of circuit No. 2.

The upper contacts of each pair of master controller contacts are connected to power terminal l2. The lower contacts 26 and 21 are connected to contacts of manually operable switch 30, and lower contacts 28 and 29 are similarly connected to switch 3|. Each of these switches has a neutral position (as shown), and each may be actuated manually to close either of its associated switch contacts, and will remain in either of its three operative positions. The moving member of each of these switches is connected to trunk conductor SL (street light) "which extends to the secondary controllers.

At each secondary controller are elements related to the functioning of the controller to actuate the lamp circuits for signals 42, maintenance of these controllers in synchronism with the master controller and provision of total period control, and these elements are generally desig nated 41. This representation includes a driving motor which may be supplied from local power terminals 43 and 44. A shaft 40 is driven by latter said motor in synchronism with, and predetermined fixed phase relation to, shaft 14 at the master controller. Attached to this shaft is dial 46, usually employed with controllers of this class to effect various control operations such as the establishment of the relative displays of go to the main and side streets. Since these functions may be variously provided as known to the art and since the particular method of providing them is not significant to the understanding of this invention, merely the dial 46 and the control elements 4| are generally designated.

Ailixed to shaft 40 are four contactaeoiators represented by discs or dials 46, 41, 48 and 49. These have actuating cams 46', 41', 48 and 49" for contact pairs 56, 51, 58 and 59, respectively. This arrangement of discs, cams and contacts may be identical with those at the master con-- troller. The upper one of each contact pair is connected to trunk conductor SL. The lower contact of pair 51 is connected to the winding of relay 6?. With this relay operated, a circuit may be traced from power terminal 43, the armature and contact of relay 6'! to street lighting circuit No. 1 having one or more street illumination lamps l l, to the other power terminal 44, causing the lamps of circuit No. 1 to be lighted. When relay 6! operates, it is mechanically locked operated with its contacts closed by means or latch 66'. This latch may be withdrawn to release relay 6'! by energizing magnet 65, one side of the winding of which is connected to the lower' contact of pair 56.

A corresponding arrangement is provided for lighting circuit No. 2, and includes an operating relay 69 which looks up when operated under control of a latch which may be withdrawn to release it by energizing magnet 68. One end of the winding of relay 69 is connected to the lower contact of pair 59 and an end of the winding of magnet 58 is connected to the lower contact of pair 58. The opposite ends of the windings of the two relays and the two magnets are connected to the common return conductor CR.

Street lighting circuits frequently carry relatively high currents or high voltages, and it may not be desirable or economical to control such circuits directly by means of small relays in the secondary controller housing, as is contemplated for relays 6'! and 69. Lighting circuit No. 2 is shown controlled indirectly by relay 69 by employment of contactor 69 connected to the contacts of this relay. Thiscontactor may be separately housed, as in the base of a street lighting standard or pole, and may be operated to complete an obvious circuit from separate power supply terminals 14 and 15 to a plurality of lamps 12. It is obvious that a series instead of a parallel lighting circuit may be similarly controlled. A separately manually operable switch 73 may be provided to turn on the street lamps by operating contactor 69' over an obvious circuit for testing Operation of Figure 1 Let it be assumed that it is desired to turn on the lights of lighting circuit No. 1. At the master controller, switch 30 is manually thrown to the right or on position. When cam l1 causes closure of contacts'2l, a circuit may be traced from power terminal [2, contacts 21, switch 30 over trunk conductor SL. At each secondary controller, contacts 51 will be closed simultaneously with the closure of contacts 21 at the master controller, so the circuit extended over conductor SL may now be traced through closed contacts 51, the winding of relay 67, the common return trunk conductor CR. to the other power terminal I3, thereby causing relay 6'! to operate and to other of the various elements of my aforesaid prior patent, including the drum controller for actuating the signal lamps with its associated elements, the reset shaft with its associated elements, the clutch with its control arrangements for changing the controller ofiset, means for effooting group control whereby the signals may be controlled independently in either of three separate groups, and other elements the purposes of which, and the arrangements for accomplishing these purposes, will be understood by reference to my aforesaid patent. Some of the detail elements and mechanism have, however, been separately shown in Fig. 2 for a better understanding of the relation between street light and trailic signal control.

The group in which a particular secondary controller will function is predetermined by the position of lever I04, which is shown in position G2, indicating that the particular controller now being considered is functionin in group 2. Lever I04 may be manually positioned and locked for group 1 or group 3, if it is desired to change the functioning of this controller to those groups. This lever controls circuit elements of I402 by means of a rod extending through shaft 20I, which is hollow.

Each, or certain selected, secondary controllers may be specially reset by means of a key I located in either of three radial slots of dial I02. This key has an actuating shoulder 223 adapted to engage and close either one of contact pairs 224, 225 or 226 depending upon the longitudinal position of said key. It is shown in position to close contacts 225 once each trafiic cycle, 1. e., once each rotation of shaft 20I and dial I02, at a time during the rotation of the dial determined by the particular slot which it is in. This provides special resets as brought out in my aforesaid patent.

Four other pairs of contacts are provided for control of two separate street lighting circuits, and the upper contacts of these pairs are connected in multiple to conductor I I50 which is also connected to the upper contacts of pairs 224, 225 and 226. Contacts I I00 are employed in a circuit to turn on the lights I I I0 of lighting circuit No. 2, while contacts H05 are employed in a circuit to turn them off. Likewise, contacts IIIE are in a circuit to turn on lights I I20 of circuit No l, and contacts Hi5 are in a circuit to turn them off. The interrelation of relay H01 and its unlatching magnet H08, and the local street lighting circuit, are similar to those shown for corresponding elements of Fig. 1. A separate conta ctor and separate power supply may be used as with Fig. 1 instead of the direct operation of the lights as shown by Fig. 2.

It is Well known in this and related arts that relays may be mechanically latched in their operated position or they may be electrically locked up. The control of street lighting circuit No. 1 is shown, for illustration, as being effected through the agency of an electrical look-up circuit. Relay I I2! in its operated position completes street lighting circuit No. 1. This relay has two windings, the upper of which is connected to contacts I I I6 to operate the relay while the lower winding is connected to its lower front contact. If this relay is operated, a circuit may be traced from power terminal T03, which is assumed to be the ungrounded side of an A. C. power source, rectifier H29, the lower'winding of relay H21, its

' lower front contact and armature, the back contact and armature of relay I I20 to grounded prevents relay H21 acting as a transformer but,

by proper design of this relay, the rectifier may be omitted. Should relay H28 be operated with relay H21 in its operated position, the locking circuit for the latter relay will be opened and it will be released. Relay I I28, consequently, pro vides electrically the functional equivalent of a latching magnet such as H08.

At the master controller are the various elements required for effecting the various operations at the secondary controllers, controlling the total period of the cycle, driving the master controller, synchronism control and other functions set out in my aforesaid patent, and these elements have been generally designated H40. A shaft I401 (driven by the master controller driving arrangements) rotates in synchronism with, and in predetermined phase relation to, the shafts 20I at the secondary controllers, and has aifixed to it disc 5I2 to control special resets and disc I IN for street light control. Other discs, or the like, are also mounted on this shaft but are included in representation H40. In order to simplify the drawing, the master controller is shown out of phase with the secondary controller but both controllers are shown in phase from a control actuating standpoint.

Three holes are provided in disc 6I2, and a contact actuator 529 may be manually positioned and locked in either of said holes. This actuator is adapted to open contacts 626 momentarily once each traific cycle; that is, once each rotation of disc (H2 at a time during the cycle predetermined by the position of actuator 629. These contacts are normally short circuited by manual switch 021, so the cyclical opening of contacts 626 is normally ineffective.

Operation of Fig. 2

If it is desired to efiect a special reset as controlled by actuator 629 in position 1 (as shown), switch 621 is opened for at least the interval during which actuator 62!) will open contacts 620. A normally completed circuit may be traced from power terminal 60I, switch 603, contacts 625, switch I I I I, a normally closed circuit (indicated by a dashed line) through H40, conductor SET, winding of relay I06, common return conductor CR to the other power terminal 602, and this circuit is momentarily opened When contacts 620 open. This results in the momentary release of normally operated relay I06 at each secondary controller. A circuit may now be traced at the particular controller under consideration from power terminal I03, armature and front contacts of normally operated relay I05, the back contact of relay I05 (now released), switch 'I2I, and conductor H50 to the upper contact of pair 225. Due to the position of key I09 in slot No. 1 of dial I02, contacts 225 are closed coincident witih the release of relay 106, since actuator 629 at the master controller and key I09 at the secondary controller are in the same relative positions (No. 1). Consequently, the aforesaid circuit traced to contacts 225 is extended through representation I402, including electro-responsive means, to the other local power terminal I04. This results in a special operation or reset of the secondary controller as predetermined by arrangements included in representation I402. It is evident that had key I09 been in its inner poilil .;sition. of slot :No.-.1,.conta'cts :225 wouldhave bee --clos eds upon release "of relay 10:3, and :a .difierent :special operation or .reset .of thesecondary .con- 'rfil'OHfil' would have been. .efi'ected. .A third .su h

eselection controlled :by :key I I in its outer posi- 3 -that When-contacts 1.103 are opened by actuator slalflll,ithelcircuitthrough trunkeconductor SET-is ainterrupted emomentarily :to :release relay $7.06. {miS;I.BS1l1l7S,iaS}haS been described, in power from tr-terminal: Hi3. :being extended via conductor 115,0 atoeupperccontacts .-of pair. Hi6. :Key I [40in (street light position :No.. l .of dial .ilflzrhaslan :actuating shoulder :L'Ml ..-which .closes contacts Hf lcoincident zWith :this c release .of relay 3.106, 550 -.the latter .tracedicircuit islextendedrthroughqconetacts 11:] t6, the upper winding :ofy-relay H21 :to the other power :terminal 'i'fflLfiMiSiIlg saidi-relay -;-to;operateand :lockupas has been described. results street lights ,I. I .of. circuit .No. 1 slicing-turned on .by an obvious circuit through -ithauppencontactsioferelay let-21.

Whemit isidesired :to turn-off theilights. of .cirmun -2N0, 1, actuator 11:02 aismoved-to position fofihaiorzlighting circuiteNoglondial H0]. :The subsequent openinglofucontacts H03 with switch 4 H21 iopen willlcause. relay 10.6. to :release .at the moment contacts :Islrlli -are.-c1osed;by: theishoulder H 4| of key I I40. It is to Joe noted that contacts II l5 are arrangedtmbeclosed and opened subsecue i o co t cts 1 H 6 b in c se a d o en air sga singlerbroad shoulder 1.1.4.1 is-efiective to oaratc vc o c tacts H16 and H 5 inseglucos and .the e o ie performs rthe effective 'zliunctions of two .keys .by virtue ,of the .contact .design. A circuit .can now be traced through g-haekr-contactslof momentarily released relay 106 16in a ;manner similar .tolthat described) closed contact n15, the winding .of locking relay H 23 .to the othe power te mi a 1 Th r su s vin e a s r i fieooerat n to ei ecteleasebfr y H21 Quit No.1.

. 111. senerall si a manne th stree l s t an t0 of .ci1it.;.NQ- 2 a be-turned on and 0 i themes ac ua o lQ i rnQ dt t ron .tPQ HJQE s o c rcuit No- 2 an s itch H l l hooped so that the circui thr ugh n c o 555 mo entar ly o e :to momen ri C illea eir ey mi hBre ea o zre aY l is oincident h the clo ure o contact 1. by shoul er 3 :lcey 11 to o erate re a 1 1.01 o on the igh s 1 I flzo 'circu tN .2- ;'i ar atu e .of :rel 1| 0 :i latched mneraied- 1. en zi :i L QSiT d tto turned the :l t li h .raotuator Jim i mo e to "-oi fo the N ci cuit and sw tc .l ds-onened. Elb -resu in result th tur ing of of he .st e li hts 931 1111 hole -.th idia ,,.it wil a s car y the four holes. [or the Separate Ed .41 :E l and I "I :t provide special reset an s eet li ht c ntrol. respectively. hav

beenshown to si p i y the p ana ion. .I is apparent that asingl d ma be employed to .accomp shb th ctionsucha alm vshav i etuatorifiww thasseciated.contacts 626 and .8 swi ch-r621. In addition to havingthree ..or-.t e.-l ke;.1fo positioning actuator-Maor li e, in I proper -,relative positions (as shown. .;-on dial Hil for effe tin stre t l shtco t ol. Th

three special reset h les may be approp i tel designated on 1 the dial and the four street light holes may-also be appropriately designated asto their on and. il funct ons, and e ch :pair. as .to

the street light circuit which they control. Itis ,furthereyidentthatthese special resets and street light control .may be provided :with an actuator located on er uoreset di l-0| l .of myaforesaid patentso that all selective signal and street light control -may be effected ,from the master controller by meansof actuators on a single dialand a single set of. .normally closed contacts -s11 ,ch,. as

,groupsdependi g upon which of the three slots of dial 102 of the. secondary controllers-a key I09isplaced. Furthermore, the particular function ofeachsecondar controller for any special et may benredetermined by the distan e key .109 .iscinsertedso that it mayactuate either its contacts 224, 220M325. It is mo ove dis osed herein'that two separate st e t l ht circ i s t each secondary controller may be independently turnedon oroffas desired, and such turning on or off maybe effected without resetting or other- Wise alflecting thepperation of thetraific signal system- It is tobe recognized that these arrangement are not limited to turning on and off two street lighting Circuits since it will be understood that FIGURE 3 "The general arrangementshown by Fig. 2may be improved effectively to eliminate accidental operation of street light circuits or signal operation resets by providing arrangements .requiring a-plurality o1 properly; spaced circuit conditions to be transmitted from a master controller, and such anarrangement is shown byrFig. 3. Some alternative arrangements of those previously described and additional features are disclosed by @Fig. .2, including visual indication at the ,master .controller of thestatusof the street light circuits and the resetsin which the system is operating. Only ;those elements necessary for the understanding ofthepresent arrangement are shown .by Fig. 3. 1.;Ihe controller drivingarrangements,

s ;s-. 1a il eht :c c contro and other ar an ements have been omitted, but will be understood 'as being provided.

cuit therefor being traceable from power terminal I404, the armature and front contact of relay I402, conductor SET, the winding of relay I403, common return conductor CR (which may be the neutral of the power system) to the other power terminal I405.

To illustrate the fundamental operation of the arrangement are shown conductors extended from bank contacts Nos. 2 and 4 to contacts of switch I406, which has two positions to which it may be manually adjusted and in which it will remain- Switch I406 is illustrating the control of street light circuit No. l. A pair of indicating lights I40! are arranged to indicate the'status of circuit No. 1, which is assumed to be open, so the off light is burning by a circuit which can be traced from power terminal I404, the left hand member of switch I406, the oil lamp of I40! to the other power terminal I405. A switch similar to I406 with its associated lamps will be provided for each street light circuit which is controlled, with the right hand member of said switch arranged selectively to complete circuits to either of a predetermined pair of bank contacts. With switch I406 in the position shown, the wiper of bank I40I will be momentarily connected to power terminal I405 once each cycle as it encounters bank terminal No. 2.

A switch I408, which is common to the master controller, is provided to condition the secondary controllers for a street light circuit change or a traffic signal reset. When this switch is operated, it connects power terminal I405 with bank terminal No. 1, so that this power connection will be encountered by the wiper once each cycle, it being recalled that a cycle with reference to the wiper is one-half cycle of the system. The resynchronizing moment during the traffic cycle is when the wiper is on bank terminal No. 24.

At the secondary controller is a circuit conditioning relay I409 which latches operated under control of magnet I4I0. Four circuit actuators or contact closers are shown schematically as are mounted on a shaft which constantly rotates discs or dials I4! I, I4I2, I4I3 and I414, and these in synchronism with, and in predetermined phase relation to, a corresponding shaft in each of the other secondary controllers and the wiper of bank I40I, it being recognized that 180 of rotation of the wiper is equivalent to 360 of the secondary controller contact actuators. Means not shown drives the shaft on which these actuators are mounted and maintains it in proper phase relation, as is disclosed in the street traffic control art. Each actuator closes its associated contacts momentarily once each cycle at a predetermined time as effected by the position of a cam such as MI I' on actuator MI I. More than four actuators with associated contacts may be provided.

Actuator dial I4II with its cam MI I and contacts are provided primarily to maintain the sec- 'ondary controller in proper synchronous relation with respect to the master controller, and the upper set of contacts of dial I4II are merely shown to indicate this function, and the familiar means for accomplishing it are omitted since they are well understood and are disclosed by patents which will be subsequently cited. The resynchronizing point in the cycle is when the master controller wiper is on bank terminal No. 24 as has been mentioned, and the designation 24 on actuator I4II so indicates.

Dial I4I2 with its cam and contacts is employed for conditioning the secondary controller for a street light operation or a signal reset. If relay I403 is operated at the moment the contacts of dial I4I2 are closed, a circuit may be traced from local power terminal I4 I 5, the armature and contacts of relay I403, the now closed contacts of I4I2, the winding of relay I409 to the other power terminal MI 6, thereby operating relay I409, which latches operated under control of release magnet I4I. With relay I409 latched operated, subsequent operations of relay I403 will cause a circuit to be extended from power terminal IMF), the armature and contacts of relay I403, the lower armature and front contact of relay I409 to conductor [I50 (which corresponds to conductor H50 of Fig. 2) and thence to one contact of each pair actuated by dials or the like I4I3 and I4I4, and such other similar contacts which may be provided. Contacts associated with dial I4I3 are closed in position No. 2 as indicated by the designation beside the cam of this dial for street lights off, and this occurs coincident with the wiper of the master controller being on bank terminal No. 2. Likewise, the contacts of dial I4I4 are closed coincident with the wiper being on bank terminal No. 4 for street lights on.

Operation of Fig. 3

Let it be assumed that the street lights of circuit No. l are to be turned on. Switch I408 is closed and switch I406 is moved to its right hand position. When the wiper reaches bank terminal No. l, relay 1402 and, consequently, relay I403 will be operated while the contacts of dial I4I2 are closed. It will be recalled that this will result in relay I409 operating and being latched up. When the wiper reaches bank terminal No. 4, relay I402 and then relay I403 will be operated, and this will occur coincident with closure of the contacts of dial I4i4. The previously traced circuit to conductor I I50 will be extended through the contacts of I4I4 to the control circuit designated I4II to result in the lights I4I8 of circuit No. 1 being turned on by means described in connection with the prior figures of the drawings.

As the wiper traverses successive bank terminals, relays I402 and. I403 will operate for each terminal connected to power terminal I405- through a switch such as I406. It will be recalled from what has been set out with respect to prior figures of the drawing, the condition of each of the street lighting and reset circuits will be checked. Let it be assumed that after the wiper has passed bank terminal No. 4 and street lighting circuit No. 1 has been turned on, switch I408 is restored to its normal open position. This will stop transmittal of the control impulses to the secondary controllers. When each controller reaches its resynchronizing point (No. 24), the lower contacts of dial I4II will then be closed (as shown). A circuit may now be traced from local power terminal I4I5, the lower contacts of "will not be used. tzagainstaa secondary controller falling out of step xduringia .cycle when street light or reset oper-.

.. occur.

the, eenthatsthe .secpndarycontroller conditionay l 40,9.. is releasedeach time the secondary controlle reaches ther svn r nizing p ntabove, arrangement requires that the sec- .endary controllers be conditioned for a street light control operation or a resetat the beginning o; f n y leand .thattheactual operation is seplitmtelyleftected. subsequently during the same ycle, The cflnditioning function occurs. imme- -diatelyafter .resynchronizing occurs, which is the time.durirxg the cycle when all .secondary controllers be expected to be. in synchronism. 111: also will be noted that conditioning relay I 409 isreleased at the end .of each cycle, so that upon npening-of switch-I408, the secondary controllers will-be disabled for street light or reset operation after theresynchronizing point is reached. Subsequent operations .of relay I403 from any cause, such as 'reclosure of switch I408, during the next zcycle willxnot affect the secodary controllers.

Ihefiisclosed arrangements provide for a secmndil oliection against inadvertent street light hrresetpperation. This may be provided .by emvployi-ngposition :No. .1 .for conditioning the secondary xzontrollers .and effecting the control operations i;n.only the even numbered positions albankterminals); the odd numbered terminals This provides protection ationis beingefiected. Under this condition, the

xcontactsof I.4;I2;might be closed while relay I403 r-is'operated for one of the street light or reset operations to operate the conditioning relay I409. With the secondary controller now rotating in synchronism, but improper phase relation, relay I403 will operate at various .times as long as switch 1408 is closed. .But the impulse which .falsely operated relay I403, andtherefore relay I 409, came froman evennumbered bank terminal .andI4I4 .wbeingclosed for .odd numbered imp-nlsesirom the master controller. master. controller only transmits even numbered .But the operatingimpulses, so a .false operation will ,not As soon as the secondary controller reachfis the .resynchronizing point, conditioning .:re1:ay. I409 will be .released, .asdescribed, and the secondary controller may he expected to function norma ly- In :orderto provide even further assurance against false operation, I may provide a separate .dial with actuators adapted to complete .a .cirsuit from conductor Il-50of the-secondary con- -troller tooperate release magnet I4I0 for every odd :numbered position (except No. 1) thereof.

.As .:a resultof this arrangement, receipt by a proper operation should never receive an odd numbered impulseexcept in position No. .1, and

the receipt of such an impulse resultsin disabling ;(-by release of relay I403) the secondary control- .ler.for lightonreset control. Even should conductor SE'IAbe crossed with poweror relay I403 be stuckpperated, the .light and. reset .con-

vtrols-will.Ioedisabled-as soon (as the first odd numlbered position .('No, L3,)..is reachediby, thesecond- .arycontroller after relay I409 Qperatedin position No. 1. zF'or still. further. protection, the first effective control position to .be usedmay .be No. .4 (instead of No. 2, as shown), orderto give the secondary controllers opportunity .to release relay I409 in position :No..3,if the-circuit. through the contacts of elay EMU-34s v-.c o ed hat 11 ;051- tion.

The selecting and effecting of various group -or special resets are illustrated :by. Fig. 3, :in which switch I420 controls reset No, X. There maybe one such switch for each. resellito be selected at :the secondary controller, or P21137101 them, A signal lamp I42I-indicates, when lighted, that resetNo. X has been selected. The operation of this arrangement is quite similar to. that previously described with respect to 3 iorstreet :light; control. -When,it. is desired to effect reset .N0.IX, switches -I-408 and I420 ,areclosed, When the wiper. of bank I:40I encounters terminal ,No. 1, each secondary controller conditioning relay I409 is operated. When the wiperencounters bank terminal No. 2;2,,relay I402. is operated by .a circuit from power terminal I405, the. left hand member of switch I420, bank terminal No. 22, the wiper, the lower member of switch I400, the winding of relay I 402 to the other power terminal I404. Theoperation of relay I402 results in the operation. of. relay I403, as previously described,

which "connects power tothe selective control conductor H50. Contacts (not shown) .atthe secondary controller-are closed in positionNo. 22 to extend the :circuit .-from conductor I I50 to effect reset No. X as set out in connection with .Fig. .2 .andxas shown in detail :in myaforesaid prior patent. ylndicating lamp I42I will :be

.lighted over anobvious circuit. Aiteracomplete cycle, switch I408 maybe released and-conditioning relay I 40.9 at :each secondary controller will be released when the resynchronizing point 'is reached.

While a separate switch. I 420 :is indicated "-for each reset, 'it is :apparent that any .convenient vided so "that any secondary controller may be specially reset .in anyof a plurality of predeterminedmanners-without affecting other secondary controllers in their functioning. in their'respective control groups. Thisisaccomplished from the master controller by'transmitting a signal to the secondary controller'at a time when either contacts 224, 225 or 226 .of. Fig. 2 are closed, de-

pendent upon the desired "reset. operation. ..It is further indicated, in accordance with my aforesaid prior patentthat if a regular group reset signal is transmitted while a controller in that groupis functioning for. a special reset, the lattercontrollerwill be reset to'the operationof its group. That is, when any special. reset is effective, it is desirable notto transmit normal group reset signals to the secondary controllers. In order to prevent such' signals and assuming that switch I420 is for a special reset selection, the latter switch (and other, special reset switches) may be provided with another contact member to operate a relay which will disconnect from the bank terminals the conductors for the group resets. This'will prevent the transmission of impulses for the regular group resets as the wipers are rotating while either a special reset is being selected or a street lighting circuit is being controlled. V I

While a single bank with a double wiper is shown by Fig. 3, and one cycle of the secondary controllers corresponds to one-half revolution of the wiper, it will be understood that two banks with single wipers onthe same shaft may be used as is common with automatic telephony and other arts. With such an arrangement, the two wipers are 180? apart and only one wiper engages its bank contacts at a time. This doubles the number of separate bank terminals of a given size which are available for selective purposes, and enables the master 'controllerwiper shaft to rotate at-the same speed as the secondary controller selecting (synchronous) shaft. It is to be understood that the disclosure of a bank and wiper, ordouble bank and Wipers, is illustrative of any suitable means for sequentially effecting circuit operations at predetermined times during a cycle. A drum controller for this purpose is an obvious alternative.

It is recognized that the master controller lamp signal indications as shown by Fig. 3 arise from operations to effect the remote functions in contradistinction to the result of such oper-' ations. It is to be understood in practicing this invention, a replica, -or replicas,'of a secondary controller may be provided at the master controller and connected to the trunk conductors, and this replica provided with indicating lamps to show what street lighting circuit is on and the reset which is in effect. Such an arrangement will provide indications to disclose the result of the selective operations.

FIGURE 4 Some traiiic signal control systems in commercial use provide for the offset of the individual secondary controllers to beadjusted from the master controller. Thisienables a plurality of traffic fiow plans (say :three,;for illustration, to

be provided to facilitate the handling of the varying amounts of traffic in different directions which may occur at various times during the day. One familiar arrangement to effect this is to provide facilities whereby the secondary controllers may be resynchronized at any one of which a secondary controller may operate with respect to the master controller may be adjustably predetermined for each individual secondary controller. Leonard No. 2,328,473, August 31, 1943, is illustrative of such a system. It will be recalled that a fundamental require- The patent to Vincent W.

18 ment of the present invention is to have an element at the master and each secondary controller which operate in predetermined phase relation as well as Synchronism with each other so that light control contacts at both. the master and all secondary controllers employed for street light control shall be concurrently operated momentarily during each trafiic cycle. But with three different adjustable offsets of controllers of the general type of that disclosed in the Leonard patent, supra, such necessary predetermined phase relation is normally not provided, so special means may be employed with such a system to adapt it to street light control in accordance with the present invention. One

such means is disclosed by Fig. 4. The basic principle involved in the disclosure of this figure is to effect street light control while all secondary controllers are operating in the same reset, and to arrange the secondary street light control contacts so that they will be operated in proper phase relationship with respect to the corresponding contacts of the master controller irrespective of the offset of the secondary controller for that reset.

Each secondary controller is provided with a driving motor included in representation I501 to drive controller shaft I502 one revolution each traffic cycle. The speed of shaft I502 may be varied under control of the master controller by known means including circuit conditions over one or more trunk conductors represented by designation PC. Affixed to this shaft is dial I5II having two rows of radial slots I5I2 and I 5I3 (indicated by dashed lines) with, say, 100 slots per row. This dial may be similar to that of the aforesaid L'eonardpatent, and will carry six' keys (not shown) in the outer row of slots I512, five of these keys actuating momentarily contacts I5! I at times during the cycle predetermined by the slots in which said keys are located, and contacts I5I8 are operated momentarily once each cycle. Connected to these contacts is a six-position drum controller with its contacts and stepping magnet generally designated I5I9 arranged to actuate signal lamps I560 in accordance with the desired type of traffic cycle for which the drum controller is arranged. Since such arrangements are generally known and shown in the aforesaid Leonard patent, the detail description of them and their functions is unnecessary; Contacts I5I8 maintain the drum controller in proper operating relation with dial I5II. Contacts I5I'I and l5I8 are shown out of their proper relation for operation by the keys in the outer row of slots in order to simplify the drawing, but such relation and the mechanical design will be understood by the skilled in this art.

In the arrangement used for illustration, the shaft I582 is driven by the motor of I50I through a normally closed electromagnetic clutch I503, which may be of conventional design. This clutch is opened upon energization of its Winding to result in stopping the rotation of shaft I502. Known means may be provided to hold shaft 1502 when it is disconnected from the motor by the clutch. Three pairs of normally opened contacts I504, I505 and I506 are provided for offset selection, with one contact of each pair connected in multiple to the winding of clutch I503. The other side of the clutch windingf is'connected to grounded power terminal I50'I'at the secondary controller. To simplify this disclosure, it is assumed that the grounded side of the power system. isl'used as a,comm on.re-. turn for the controlsystem,

The upper. contacts. ofieachcontactpair. .I 50.4,. I 50; 5; and I 506. are connectedlto..trunkconductors. RSI RS2; and RS3; respectively, which correspond to...resets (offsets)- No; 1', No.2 .andNo. 3.. In the. inner row of slotsloffdial" I5'I I ,three keys. I5jI14; I 5I5 and. I510 may be. inserted; That. is,. any? keyv may. be, inserted in. any slot. Each. of these keys. has anactuating shoulder for one pair of reset contacts .Key. I 514 hasshouder I5I4' toactuate contacts. I 504 atla1time during the cycle. dependin unon the slotindial. I 5| I in which-it is located. Likewise, shoulder; I5I5 of. key. I5I,5. will. close. contacts... I 505,. and. shoulder I5 I 6. of 'key I5'I'5 will actuate contacts I506. Itwill be seen. that. the contactpairs. I50II, I505 and I 506 may, be closed individually at. any time. during the. cycle as determinedby thelocationiof their.

correspondingkeysin the dial, and-these keys. at

eachsecond'aryi controller may-be located indif ferent slotsasrequiredforthe controllersto funce 1 tionto provide the three .trafific flow-plans-desired. since, as will be described-, these-three.- keys de-' termine the three resynchronizing points ofieach secondary controller and,- thereiore', theoifset of each such controller.

Atthe, master controllen'is dial I52-I.- with :contact actuator. I 522 adapted: momentarily to open normally closed resynchronizing, contact pair I523=once eachtrafilce-cycle. Aswith Fig.2, the master and secondary.v controllers are drawn. 180 mechanically out ofi-phase but are inphase-electrically; One. contact; of this pair is: connected to. powerv terminal I50 9 -andtheother. contact is connected to. the arm; t; manuallyadjustable;

switch I524, which-may; be positioned;0n either"of three. contacts or-terminals connected respec tivelyto thethreereset trunk conductors: RSI, RSt and. RS3.- The-switch is shown; connected to the..-con.tact for conductor-RS3: It.will 118186811 that power is normally: connected to thesecondary controllers over the latter: conductor: and. once; cycle thiscircuitismomentarily. interrupted by the openingiof contactsrl 52 by: actuatorrl 522; It. will. be assumed; that'the. secondary con: trollers: are: operating; in :the third reset-r as cone.

trolled by the. circuitacondition over: conductorr RS3: At the. resynchronizing petition-this reset: (asdeterminedbst, the positionoitkey =.I;5,I fizintdial current opening..- of: contacts 1523;: so the. clutch I503 will. remain deenergizedxand the; secondary; ontrollerwill. continue toibe; driven. Should :the. secondary controller get :out oiproper Dhase -rela-. tion with the master controller, contacts I506: Willbfl. closed; without .theconcllrrent. opening of contacts I 523; andgunder-this condition av circuit; may-be traced from powerterminal Ii509,.contacts. I 523; switch- I524,;. conductor R539 now closed contacts I 06, the winding 0f :clutch;. I50 3; to.;..the rounded: powerterminal' [501; which willresult in; the clutch, beingzenergizedto. stop-the. secondary controller withcontacts. I 505 closed." ithesecondev ary controller will remain'stoppedauntil contacts I523 are opened, whereupon the clutch willbe deenergized and: the secondam controller; :willagain .be; driven in proper phasezrelati'onrmth the; master controller;- Iffiitgisdesired; to change: the operation; ofi'the.v

systemito reset No. 1, switch; I524 isimovedito'it's terminalconnecteditoconductor RSI Uporrtlia next. closure of. contacts; I504 by, the shoulder I 5L4? on keyl .ll.51.4,itfie clutchlmaghet will be Ten.-

ergizeditostop ,the, dial Withcontacts I 504 closed, and Lthey, remaihclosedand'. the magnet en ergized until contacts. I523 are 'opened, whereuponthe.secondaryccontroller will again bedriven in thelphase:relationtdetermined by the location oikey,l5l=4finithediall It Willbe understood that each secondary controller-of the system will similarlybe reset; the time oftstopping and the duration thereoiofieach controll'er'bcing determined by. the. location. of. its=key l 5.I.4'.in itsv dial.

Ina mannersimilar to that described above,re-

set No. 2 may be selected by moving switch'l525 to. its middlecontact, and the offset of each secondary, controller will. be established as determined-by, the location of its-key I5I 5 in itsv dial.

Itis .tovbe understood that the showing of av normally closed electromagnetic clutch is merely indicative of-knownmeans for. effecting resynchronizationbetween a zsecondary and a master controller.andalternative.means with contact arrangements or other. facilities for such means, which maybe different from contacts I504, I505 and. .I505 anditheir. actuators, may be employed.

The-alternatiye-meansmay include arrangements forstallingthe drive motor, stopping it by means shai't- I 5-33eis dial- I535 containing a single slot.

in whichzthe end ofkey I5I0 isinserted so that dial I5 34.-and actuator-dials- I 53I and I532 will rotate with shaft-I502zand dial I 5I I in the phase relation-thereto. as .determined'by the location of key I5I6 in diaL=I5I I-.

The streetelightsxand the controlcircuit therefor "may be similar to-the-disclosure of previous figures of the drawings; and these are indicated by representation I543. Contact pair I54I controls the turning ofi andpair. I 542 the turning on of the street lights. A second light circuit may be separately controlled by two othercontact pairs closed byactuatondialssimilarto I53I and I532 aswill be undertscoda-from what has been previ'ously'setoun and the-breaks in shaft I 502 and hollow-shaft I533 indicate that; such additional dials etc., are contemplated;

Streetlight control of Fig. 4

The fundamentalj arrangement. for. selectivelyturning; onrandoffmtthe street. lights is similar tozthatdisclosediby Figa'l, and. need not be again describeolinzdetail; Contactpairs I55Iand [552 at; thezrmasterr controllercontrol the turning 01f and. on of. thestreetlights, as selected by manual.

, the lamp control contacts at the various secondary controllers are closed at the same time as corresponding master controller contacts. The disclosed solution to this problem is to effect streetlight control while the system is operating in a particular one of its three resets, of which No. 3 is shown for illustration. This is accomplished by having the drive of the street light contact actuators effected by means of extension of key I5 I 6, which determines the resynchronizing point for reset No. 3. Key I5I6 may be located in any desired slot of dial I5II as determined by the desired offset of a secondary controller for this reset. to another slot from that shown for a different offset, the dial I534 with its' associated street light control actuator dials may be rotated to the proper position so that the single slot in dial I534 will be located opposite the end of key I5I6 in its new location so that the latter key may then be pushed'through said slot to cause dial I 534 and its connected assembly to be driven in the relation to dial I5I I as determined by the slot therein in which key I5I5 is located. It is to be noted that with the secondary controller operating in reset No. 3, the closure of contacts I536 will be concurrent with the opening of master controller contacts I523, and cams I553 and I554 have fixed relationship with respect to actuator I522-on dial I52 I. It is .to be further noted that irrespective of the slot in dial 1 5I I in which key I5I6 is located, the street light contact actuatingdials I53I and I532'will have a fixed relation with respect to the latter key. It will be seen, therefore, that in reset No. 3, there is concurrent closure of contact pairs I54I and I542 at the secondary controllerand contact pairs I55I and I552, respectively, at the. master controller.- This situation prevails-at all secondary controllers irrespective of the offset in which they operate for reset No. 3. i

It is to be understood that hollow. shaft I533 (or its equivalent) may be manually shifted to its proper position for reset No. 3, and locked in such position. by any suitable means. Any suitable arrangement for positioning dials l53l and I532 in proper relation with respect to the resynchronizing point for reset No. 3 may be employed within the scope ofv this invention.

Since it is necessary for the. system to be operating in reset N0. 3 for street light control to be effected, means are provided to assure that the system is functioning in this, reset and to prevent effort to control street lights while other resets are effective. This is accomplished by having a switch arm I525 on the'same shaft with reset selector switch I524. When switch arm I524 is in the position shown to effect resynchronizing for reset No. 3, switch arm I525 is in contact with terminal I526 connected to power terminal I509. Arm I525 is connected to the lower contacts of street light control contact pairs I55I and I552. is connected to the latter contacts for street light control only while the system is operating in reset No. 3. Movement of switch arm I524 to one of its other contacts will result in the power supply to the street light control contacts being broken at contact I526, and the street light control arrangements are disabled except for reset No. 3.

It is to be recognized that the fundamental arrangement shown by Fig. 4 of shifting contact If key'I5lS is changed It will be seen that power 22, actuators, such as dials I53I and I532, to bear a predetermined relation to the resynchronizing point for reset No. 3 irrespective of the offset of that reset, provides means for effecting special resets with controllers of this general type. The special resets may be selected by additional contact actuators on hollow shaft I533, so these contact actuators will always bear predetermined relationship to the resynchronizing point of the secondary controller for reset No. 3 and will, therefore, bear predetermined relationship with respect to special reset contact actuators on the shaft of the master controller, so that special reset contact pairs at both the master and each secondary controller may be concurrently closed (or opened) as required for special reset operation in accordance with the principle set out in my aforesaid prior patent and indicated by Fig. 2, hereof.

GENERAL While two relays or a relay and a latch magnet are shown to control the lighting circuit, these are representative of any suitable contact closing and opening means for this purpose. Ratchet operated devices employing a single magnet are well known and may be employed for this purpose, and my aforesaid Patent No. 2,451,457 shows a principle which is available. Drum controller (D) of the latter patent'is maintained in proper operating relation with respect to dial I03 by having the operating circuit for stepping magnet 'IOI controlled through contacts 138- of the drum controller. Application of this principie to the present invention will require provision of a pair of street lighting contacts which are closed, in say, odd numbered positions of the drum and opened in the even numbered ones. Contacts corresponding to 138 will be transferred for each position of the drum. The upper one of the latter contacts will be connected to contacts 51 of the present Fig. l, and the lower ones connected to contacts 56. An impulse received over conductor SL while contacts 51 are closed will operate and release the stepping magnet to advance the drum to close the street'lighting circuit and also to transfer the magnet circuit to contacts 56. An impulse subsequently received while contacts 56 are closed will result in the drum being stepped to its next position to open the street lighting circuit and to transfer the stepping magnet circuit to contacts 51. In practicing this invention, this principle may be more simply applied than by using a 6-position drum controller, and a two-position arrangement may obviously be employed.

It has been mentioned above that the present invention is applicable to various known trafiic signal control systems and it has been further stated that certain elements appearing in certain of the figures are well known and therefore have not been shown in detail. Certain of the systems contemplated in the above include that disclosed in the patent to Bissell No. 1,929,378, October 3, 1933, which shows a resynchronizing system for a plurality of secondary controllers and total period control by means of a bucking coil arrangement. A step-by-step system is disclosed by Leonard No. 2,044,617, June 16, 1936. The Reid Patent No. 2,236,299, March 25, 1941, shows a drum controller actuating arrangement employing adjustable keys in a dial and a bucking coil to stop the secondary controller at the resynchronizing point should it fall out of proper phase relation with the master controller. Campbell et al. No. 2,050,039 shows a system in which the total 25. at said master controller to control the variation of energy transmitted to said remote station.

5. In a control system, a circuit controller, a motor to drive said controller in recurrent cycles, trafiic control signalling devices connected to and operated by said controller, a. circuit distributor driven cyclically by said motor to partially complete individual electrical control circuits at predetermined parts of each of said cycles, electroresponsive control means connected to certain of said circuits to variably control said controller to correspondingly control the operation of said signalling devices dependent upon the completion to said electro-responsive means of circuits through said distributor, electro-responsive street light control means connected to other of said control circuits and variably operated dependent upon the completion of circuits thereto through said distributor, street lights connected to and controlled by latter said means, a cyclically operated master controller, circuit means interconnecting said master controller and said circuit controller, means including said circuit means for causing said circuit controller to operate in synchronism with and predetermined phase relation to said master controller, and means operable at said master controller and functioning over said interconnecting circuit means to selectively complete said control circuits through said distributor.

6. A control system for municipal streets including a master controller provided with a motor to drive it in recurrent cycles, a secondary controller provided with a motor to drive it in recurrent cycles, circuit means interconnecting said controllers, means including said circuit means to operate said secondary controller in synchronism and predetermined phase relation with said master controller, trafiic signalling devices connected to and operated cyclically by said secondary controller, an electrical circuit operatively connected to said secondary controller, electrical impulse responsive means in said secondary controller to selectively control the operation of said signalling devices and said electrical circuit, means in said secondary controller to operatively connect said impulse responsive means to said circuit means at predetermined parts of the cycle of said secondary controller, and means in said master controller to selectively transmit electrical impulses over said circuit means to said secondary controller at any of said predetermined parts of the cycle thereof.

7. A control system for municipal streets including a master controller provided with a motor to drive it in recurrent cycles, a secondary controller provided with a motor to drive it in recurrent cycles, circuit means interconnecting said controllers, means including said circuit means to operate said master controller and said secondary controller cyclically in synchronism and predetermined phase relation with each other, traffic signalling devices connected to and operated cyclically by said secondary controller,

a first electro-responsive device at said secondary controller to control the operation of said trafiic signalling devices, an electrical circuit to be controlled, a second electro-responsive device at said secondary controller to complete said electrical circuit upon operation of latter said device, means to lock latter said device operated under control of a third electro-responsive device, circuit closing means to operatively connect said electroresponsive devices to said circuit means at individual predetermined parts of the cycle of said controllers, and means at the master controller to selectively transmit over said circuit means electrical impulses at any one of said predetermined parts of the cycle of operation of said controllers.

8. A control system for municipal streets including a master controller driven cyclically by a motor, a secondary controller driven cyclically by a motor, circuit means interconnecting said controllers, means including said circuit means to operate said secondary controller in synchronism and predetermined phase relation with said master controller, trafiic signalling devices connected to and operated cyclically by said secondary controller, an electrical circuit operatively connected to said secondary controller, electrical impulse responsive means in said secondary controller to selectively control the operation of said electrical circuit, means in said secondary controller to operatively connect said impulse responsive means to said circuit means at predetermined parts of the cycle of said secondary controller, and means in said master controller to selectively transmit electrical impulses over said circuit means to said secondary controller at any of said predetermined parts of the cycle thereof.

JUDSON OD. SHEPHERD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date "1,587,122 Harlow June 1, 1926 1,645,956 Keyl Oct. 18, 1927 1,699,759 Shepherd Jan. 22, 1929 1,714,967 Wensley May 28, 1929 1,871,636 Trogner Aug. 16, 1932 1,941,377 Woodworth Dec. 26, 1933 2,195,642 De Larm Apr. 2, 1940 2,203,358 Koenig June 4, 1940 2,229,097 Koenig Jan. 21, 1941 2,236,298 Reid Mar. 25, 1941 2,309,040 Boemle Jan. 19, 1943 2,451,457 Shepherd Oct. 12, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,094 Australia Dec. 7, 1926 of 1926

Images