US2773662A - Fusee or flare holder - Google Patents

Description

Dec. H, 3956 A, D ROSE FUsEE oR FLARE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. '15, 1953 lvlUN l .M '--I-F- 4 ATTE! R N EYE Dec il, 195% A. D. ROSE 2,773,662

FUSEE OR 'llLARE HOLDER Filed Jan. l5, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

FUSEE R FLARE HOLDER Archie D. Rose, Laramie, Wyo.

Application .lanuary 15, 1953, Serial No. 331,339

4 Claims. (Cl. 246-488) This invention relates to devices for holding a fusee or flare, particularly on a trainmans or switchmans lantern.

It not infrequently happens that a traininans signal is required to be given through the use of a fusee. In the past the trainman who carries one or more fusees has ignited the fusee and held it in his hand while giving the required signal. A great many men have been seriously burned in signaling with a fusee; furthermore, because of the danger of being burned thereby, a burning fusee is sometimes dropped, occasioning a severe tire hazard.

lt is the general purpose and object of this invention to eliminate the necessity for a trainman holding in his hand a tusee when required to give a signal therewith and to provide means by which he may employ a conventional traininans lantern equipped with means for holding a fusee in signaling position for giving signals with the fusee.

The conventional type of usee is provided with a pin having a point on the extended end extended from the base thereof and whereas this pin is adapted to be inserted in the ground at the side of a road bed, or in a wood tie, it is often necessary to hold the fusee by a hand and in such instances there is danger of burning the hand. With this thought in mind this invention contemplates a bracket having an elongated barrel with pin gripping elements therein extended from a base with the base adapted to be secured, preferably by welding or braising, to the outer surface of the housing of a lantern whereby with the barrel extended over the end opposite to the end from which the handle extends a fusee may be supported in an extended .position in relation to the housing of the lantern.

The yobject of this invention is, therefore, to provide means on the housing of a trainmans or switchmans lantern for releasably holding a fusee or flare with the fusee or flare in a position extended from the lantern.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bracket for retaining a fusee or flare -on a lantern in which the bracket may be attached to the housing of a lantern without changing the housing or other part of the lantern.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bracket for retaining a fusee or the like in position on a lantern in which the bracket is lof a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages-in view the invention embodies a bracket having an elongated barrel with clamping means therein and having a cam with a handle extended therefrom pivotally mounted in the barrel and positioned to actuate the clamping means thereof, and an offset base extended from one end of the barrel and providing means for mounting the bracket on the housing of a lantern or the like.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing a 'trainmans or switchmans lantern with a fusee, part of which nited States PatentO 2,773,662 Patented Dec. 1l, 1956 ICC is broken away, carried by a bracket positioned on the side of the lantern.

Figure 2 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 1 taken at a point at a right angle to the view shown in Fig. 1 and showing a side elevational view of the bracket.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the bracket with the parts thereof in released position, and with the end of the handle of the cam broken away.

Figure 4 is a sectional plan through the cam mounting of the bracket taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and with part of the barrel of the bracket broken away.

Figure 5 is a cross section through the outer end of the barrel of the bracket taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showing the gripping end of the clamping lever.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through the bracket similar to that shown in Fig. 3 showing the parts in the position wherein a pin of a fusee is clamped in the barrel of the bracket.

Figure 7 is a plan view of a fusee holding bracket illustrating a modification wherein the end of the body of the fusee is gripped between threaded jaws with a nut having an eccentrically positioned opening therein, the gripping jaws and nut being shown in section.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section through the bracket shown in Fig. 7 showing the parts with the body of the fusee omitted.

Figure 9 is a cross section through the gripping end of the bracket shown in Fig. 7 illustrating the position of the eccentrically positioned opening in relation to the jaws of the bracket.

Figure 10 is a section similar to that shown in Fig. 9 showing the nut turned to degrees.

Figure 11 is an end elevational view of the bracket shown in Fig. 7.

Figure 12 is a side elevational view of a bracket illustrating another modification wherein a plurality of threaded gripping jaws are clamped by a nut against the end of the body of a fusee.

Figure 13 is an end elevational view of the bracket shown in Fig. 12.

Figure 14 is a plan view of a bracket similar to that shown in Figs. l to 6 with a plurality of cam actuated gripping jaws positioned in a tubular casing, the casing and jaw mounting elements being shown in section.

Figure 15 is a longitudinal section through the bracket shown in Fig. 14.

Figure 16 is a cross section through the bracket shown in Fig. 14 being taken on line 16--16 thereof.

Figure 17 is a longitudinal section through a fusee holding bracket, also somewhat similar to the bracket shown in Figs. 1 to 6 and illustrating a further modification wherein a pin of the fusee is gripped by a plurality of balls adapted to be actuated by a toggle action.

Figure 18 is a longitudinal section similar to that shown in Fig. 17 showing the center of the toggle moved across the center to the position in which the .pin of the fusee is locked in the barrel of the bracket.

Figure 19 is a cross section through the barrel shown in Figs` 17 and '18 being taken on line 19-19 of Fig. 17.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the fusee holding bracket of this invention includes a barrel 11B having an offset base 11, a clamping lever 12 pivot-ally mounted in a slot 13 in the barrel with a pin 14 and having a gripping jaw 15 on one end and a cam 16 pivotally mounted in a slot 17 in the barrel with -a pin 18 and having a handle 19 extended from one side whereby the cam is adapted to be actuated to move the lever 12 from the position shown in Fig. `3 to that shown in Fig. 6.

The extended end of the barrel 1'0 -is provided with a bore 20 that is positioned to receive a pin 21 on the end of a fusee for flare, as Aindicated by the numeral 22 and,

Traces as illustrated in Fig. 6, the jaw of the lever 12 is adapted to exten-d into the bore to grip the pin 21, as shown in Fig. 6.

The base 11 of the bracket may be secured to the outer surface of a housing 23 of a lantern by welding, braising, or other suitable means, `or the base may be provided with openings 24 and 25 by which it may be secured to the housing with bolts, rivets, or the like. A handle 23a is provided on the lantern housing 23 to facilitate transporting and manipulation of such lantern and a fusee or are supported thereon.

With the parts arranged in this manner the bracket is mounted on the housing of a trainmans or switchmans lantern with the pin receiving end of the barrel extended beyond the end of the housing whereby a pin of a fusee may readily be inserted in the bore 2i) thereof and with the pin in the bore the cam 16 is actuated by the lever 19 to rock the lever 12 whereby the jaw 15 grips the pin and thereby retains the fusee in position on the housing of the lantern.

ln the design shown in Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive, a bracket having a base 26 with openings 27 and 28 therein is provided with spaced offset jaws 29 and 30, on the ends or" which an externally threaded ring 31 is positioned. The ring 31 is provided with an eccentrically positioned opening 32 that coacts with a similar eccentrioally positioned opening 34 in a nut 33 which is threaded on the ring. With the parts Iarranged in this manner the end 35 of the body of a fusee is placed through the openings 32 and 34 and positioned with the end between the inner surfaces of the ring and nut whereby upon turning the nut the fusee is gripped between one side of the eccentrically positioned opening 34 and the -ring 31, and the inner surface of the nut, as illustrated in Fig. 7 whereby the fusee is gripped in the end of the bracket.

lin the design illustrated in Figs. 12 and` 13 an externally threaded -section of a tubular casing` 38 is provided with slits 39 providing a plurality of gripping jaws 40 and a nut 41 threaded on the outer surfaces of the jaws forces the jaws inwardly into gripping relation with the end of a fusee positioned therein. The tubular casing 38 extends yfrom a base 42, similar tothe base 11 with a cylindrical section 43 connecting the base to the tubular section.

In the design illustrated in Figs. 14, 15, and 16 a plurality of split jaws 44 having ends with tapering surfaces 45 and carried by a cylindrical base 46 are slidably mounted in a tube 47, similar to the barrel 1.0 and the beveled surfaces 45 are positioned to coact with a tapering surface 48 at the end of the bore 49 of the tube whereby with the jaws drawn inwardly by cams 50 and 51 of a lever 52 the jaws are forced inwardly gripping a pin, such as the pin 21 of a fusee ZZV/ith the pin eX- tended inwardly from the end of the barrel or tube. The member 46 is provided with a tongue 53 that extends between the cams 50 and 51 and the tongue is pivotally mounted in the cams with a pin 54.

The cams 5t) and 51 bear against the end of the tube 47 for drawing the jaws into gripping relation with a pin of a fusee and upon moving the lever 52 outwardly the jaws may be moved in the opposite direction to release the pin.

The tube 47 extends from -a base 55 which may be similar to the base 11.

In the design illustrated in Figs. 17, 18 and 19 a barrel 56, which extends from a base 57 is provided with a bore 58 into which a pin 59 of a fusee, similar to the fusee 22 is gripped with balls 60 actuated by a bar 61 extended from toggle levers 62 and 63 -in a cavity 64 at the end of the barrel, the levers being actuated by a button 65. The button 65 is provided with a stem 66, y, the extended end of which is pivotally connected by a pin 67 to the levers 62 and 63am! with the lever 63 pivotally mounted by a pin 68 in the end of the barrel the opposite side of the toggle drives the bar 61 against the balls 60 as the buton 65 is moved inwardly with the pin 67 moving across the center between the pin 68 and the pin 69 by which the lever 63 is pivotally connected to the bar 61. The button 65 may be drawn outwardly to release the toggle levers whereby the pin of the fusee may also be released. The cavity 64 in the end of the barrel may beV provided with a cover plate, as indicated by the numeral 70 and the plate may be provided with a slot 71 through which the stem 66 of the button extends.

With the parts formed as disclosed a bracket, such as illustrated in the diierent designs is mounted on one side of the housing of a trainmans or switchmans lantern with the open end of the barrel or tubular casing extended beyond the end of the lantern housing whereby with the bore or opening in the extended end of the barrel open pin of a fusee or Hare, or the base of a fusee or flare may be inserted and clamped in the end of the barrel. By this means the fusee may be held by hand without danger of burning the hand or the lantern with the iiare extended therefrom may be positioned on a railroad or other roadway. The used fusee or flare may readily be removed and replaced as desired.

It will be understood, that other modiiications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A lantern .and fusee holder comprising a portable lante-rn having a housing and a carrying handle to facilitate transporting and manipulation of said lantern and a fusee for signalling while supported thereon, a base secured' to said housing and having au open-ended casing member directed outwardly away from said housing and from said handle to receive the end of a fusee placed within said casing member, releasable gripping means carried by said casing member and engageable with the end of the fusee to retain same within said casing member with the fusee projecting outwardly away from and beyond said housing and also away from said handle so that the lantern and fusee during burning for signalling purposes may be manipulated by grasping the handle without the operator being burned by the fusee flame, and actuating means operatively connected with said releasable gripping means to enable rapid release of said gripping means from engagement with the fusee and thereby free the usee after use without necessitating direct manual contact with the spent usee.

2. A lantern and fusee holder as recited in claim l wherein said actuating means includes a lever for operating said releasable gripping means,

3. A lantern and fusee holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes a toggle linkage for operating said releasable gripping means.

4. A lantern and fusee holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes threaded means for operating said releasable gripping means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Broshears Nov. 14, 1950

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