US3110020A

US3110020A - Track diagram panel for railway traffic controlling systems

Info

Publication number: US3110020A
Application number: US88996A
Authority: US
Inventors: Karl W Abendroth
Original assignee: General Signal Corp
Current assignee: SPX Technologies Inc
Priority date: 1961-02-13
Filing date: 1961-02-13
Publication date: 1963-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 1980-11-05

Description

K. W. ABENDROTH TRACK DIAGRAM PANEL F Nov. 5, 1963 OR RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEMS Filed Feb. 13, 1961 o 0 A n o O o o o o o \l Q /J f T o o o 0 o 0 5 0 o 0 IL IO o G o F 2 J O Q Q Q 0@@@ @Q Q U U @@o@0@o Q @7@@ o o a h JDNJD) 9 s 2 m m Q Q Wm b m. n/H2 7 HIS 'ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,110,620 TRACK ETAGRAM PANEL FUR RATLWAY TRAFFIC CGNTRGLLHZG SYSTEMS Karl W. Abendroth, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to General Signal Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 13, 1% Ser. No. 88,996 5 Claims. (til. 340225) This vinvention relates in general to railway traflic controlling systems and more particularly relates to a track diagram panel for such systems.

In railway signalling practice it is common procedure to control the traffic over a particular division or track section from a control machine in a central control tower. The particular track section to be controlled may consist of a plurality of tracks having crossovers, sidings and the like, over which traffic may be permitted in both directions over the same track at different times. The necessary light signals and switch machines are provided to route the trains in accordance with the operators controls.

The control tower is also usually provided with a track diagram panel on which is simulated the actual track diagram of the section of track which is being controlled. This track diagram panel is also provided with lights to indicate the position and progress of the train as well as lights to indicate the signal and switch movements. Also, other types of signal or indication ligh may be incorporated on the panel if desired.

Under present day practice where longer sections of 7 track are under the control of one operator, such track diagram panels become quite bulky and of considerable size and are usually constructed specially for a particular track layout. Thus, such panels are not universal in use and changes in a track layout can become quite costly.

With the above considerations in mind, the present invention proposes the assembly of a track diagram panel which is miniature in size and wherein the ront plate portion of the panel is separate and is individual insofar as the track diagram is concerned but the rear portion of the panel is made up of a plurality of miniature modular units which are easily and quickly assembled or disassembled on aback plate. Each modular unit is interchangeable with another so that any type of a track diagram may be assembled to the back plate as desired, it merely being necessary to furnish a front panel plate to correspond to the back plate assembly of the track diagram.

More specifically, each modular unit consists of a certain section of the track diagram and may be assembled to represent a straight section of track, a turnout, or a crossover or the like as desired. These modular units are assembled to the back plate in building block fashion, side by side and one above the other, to form the desired track layout indicated on the front panel plate. The back panel plate is of sheet metal material and is provided with rows of holes therein evenly spaced and may be cut to the exact size of the front panel plate. The front panel plate is provided with holes only to match the track diagram.

Each modular unit comprises a metallic block having lamp receptacle holes therein which are in alignment with the holes in the back plate. Associated with each receptacle block is a terminal board of approximately the same size which is provided with spring biased contact rods and wire terminals which are also in openings spaced in alignment with the holes in the back plate.

In assembly, each modular unit receptacle block is supplied with lamps in the lamp receptacle holes which match the holes in the front panel plate. The modular unit terminal boards are supplied with spring biased conice tact rods and wire terminals in the openings which match the lamps. The spring biased contact rods hold the lamps in their respective receptacles and furnish energy thereto through the wire terminals. Light is supplied from the lamps through the holes in the front panel plate to the track diagram. Clear or colored transparent inmrts are positioned in the holes in the back panel plate and in front of the lamps to project the desired color of light to the track diagram. A plate of non-glare glass is placed in front of the front panel plate and this glass plate, the front panel plate and the back panel plate are held together in a suitable frame or housing.

Other objects, purposes and characteristic features of the present invention will be apparent or pointed out as the detailed description progresses with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a portion of a track diagram panel of the present invention showing a section of typical track layout with the rear mounted modular units indicated by dotted rectangles;

FIG. 2 is a top elevation sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 as taken on the line 22 of PEG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation sectional view of part of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as taken on the lines 33 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows and shows the panel assembly with one of the modular units comprising a terminal board and lamp unit mounted thereon;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged back view of the panel assembly showing one complete and one partial adjoining modular unit with certain parts broken away for clearness, and

FIG. 5 is a further enlarged partial sectional view of one of the terminal board spring biased contact rods shown in FIG. 3 which hold the lamps in their receptacles and also shows an associated wire terminal connector.

Referring now more particularly to the track diagram panel assembly as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the complete panel structure is supported on a sheet metal back panel plate 11 which is the full size of the panel diagram. This back panel plate 11 is provided with rows of round holes 20 therethrough, which holes are equally spaced from one another both vertically and horizontally and extend over the entire surface thereof. The various sectional modular units are attached to the back of this back panel plate 11 in a particular order to form the desired track diagram, as will be explained in detail hereinafter.

The front panel plate 13 is of the same size as the back panel plate 11 and may be of metal, plastic or any other suitable material and is attached to the back plate 11 by cement or otherwise suitably fastened thereto. This front panel plate 13 has the track diagram suitably painted or imprinted thereon as shown in FIG. 1, and for the purpose of illustration indicates four single tracks T1, T2, T3 and T4, two single crossovers C1 and C2 and a double crossover C3. Small holes 14 are provided within the outlines of the tracks and crossovers. These holes 14 are spaced to match the spacing of the holes 20 in the back panel plate 11 and are in alignment therewith when assembled, the

plates

11 and 13 having register pins 40 passing therethrough to retain this alignment. The purpose of the holes 14 in the front panel plate 13 is to permit the passage of light beams therethrough from the modular units to the front of the panel. Similarly, small holes 15 are provided in the front panel plate to provide signal and switch indication lights and other purposes.

The front panel plate 13 is covered with a sheet of nonglare glass 15 and the complete panel structure including the glass 16, the front plate 13 and the back plate 11 is enclosed and held together by a channel shaped frame 17 or other type of suitable housing.

Referring now more particularly to the structure of the back panel plate 11 and the modular unit lamp receptacle blocks 12 and the means for fastening the receptacle blocks 12 to the back plate 11, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the back plate 11 is provided with rows of holes therethrough equally spaced apart both in vertical and horizontal directions. Certain of these holes, such as the countersunk holes 18, are for the purpose of anchoring stud bolts 19 therein. These st-ud bolts 19 extend horizontally away from the rear face of the back plate 11 and form a supporting means for the modular units. The other holes 20 in the back plate 11 are for the purpose of transmitting light therethrough to the (front of the panel.

Each of the lamp receptacle units 12 primarily comprises a metallic block which also has rows of transverse holes therethrough equally spaced to match the holes in the'back plate 11. The four corner holes 21 are sized to fit over the stud bolts 19 whereas the other holes 22 serve as receptacles for the lamps 23. These metallic blocks are preferably made of aluminum, nickel or the like to provide good light reflectivity and quick heat dissipation. Each lamp receptacle block 12 also has the edges of its four sides formed'with semicircular cut outs so that when two such blocks are positioned abutting each other, as shown in FIG. 4, another row of holes 22 is formed.

As previously mentioned, each modular unit is assembled to represent a certain track section part of the track diagram as indicated in FIG. 1 by the dotted lines. Referring now, for example, to the modular unit 12A in FIG. 1, there has been shown a typical crossover track section C3. This particular modular unit 12A has been chosen as the one shown in en arged detail in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

When the lamp receptacle block 12 is assembled to the back of plate 11, a lamp 23 is inserted into each of the holes 22 which are in alignment with the holes 14 located in the front plate 13 within the lines that indicate the track diagram. Also, a transparent roundel 24 is inserted into each of the holes 23 in the back plate 11 which are in alignment with the holes 14 in the front plate 13, so that a transparent roundel 24 is positioned in front of each lamp 23 and behind each hole 14 in the front plate 13. These transparent roundels 24 may be made of glass or any suitable type of thermo-plastic or the like.

Similarly, each of the holes 15 provided for the switch and signal indication lights are backed up by a transparent roundel 24 and a lamp 23 located in their

respective openings

26 and 22. With the lamp receptacle block 12 in position on the stud bolts 19, the transparent roundels 24 are held in position between the front plate 13 and the lamp receptacle block 12. The lamp receptacle block 12 is held in position by means of the bushing nuts 25 which are threaded onto the stud bolts 19.

The lamps 23 are provided with shouldered bases 26 which limit their inward position within their receptacle openings 22 in the lamp receptacle block 12. These 7 lamps 23 are held in position by means of spring biased contact rods 27 which are located on a terminal board 28 which is also mounted on the stud bolts 19 and held in position by the cap nuts 29.

The terminal board 28 is of sheet insulation board and is approximately the same size as the lamp receptacle block 12 and is provided with rows of holes 30 spaced similar to the holes 22 in the lamp receptacle block 12. However, in comparison to the location of the holes 22 in, the lamp receptacle block 12, these holes 39 in the terminal board23 are located one-half space to the left and one-half space to the bottom with respect to the edges of the terminal board 28, so that all holes 30 are wholly within the confines of the edges of the terminal board rather than having semicircular cutouts along the edges as have the lamp receptacle blocks 12. Thus, when the terminal board 28 is mounted on the four stud bolts 19 as shown in FIG. 4, its top and right-hand edges will extend over the edges of the lamp receptacle block 12 and overlap the edges of the adjacently mounted receptacle block 12. This procedure places a row of holes 31 over the row of holes 22 formed by two abutting lamp receptacle blocks 12. "Furthermore, the remaining holes 3% will be in alignment with the remaining holes 22 in the lamp receptacle block 12. This type of assembly permits each receptacle block 12 to have its own individual terminal board 28 assembled thereto, the terminal boards also abutting each other when assembled in a group. it also permits a spring biased contact rod 27 to be positioned over a lamp 23 when it is located in one of the holes 22 formed by two abutting lamp receptacle blocks 12.

As each terminal board 28 is also an individual sectional unit made up to correspond to the particular .track section receptacle block 12 to which it is attached, it is only necessary to provide contact rods 27 in each hole 30 which is located directlybehind a lamp 23 in such associated receptacle block 12. As shown in rather enlarged size in FIG. 5, each contact rod 27 is slidably mounted within an eyelet bushing 31 mounted in the terminal board 28. In assembly, a first eyelet bushing 32 is fastened into a hole 3%? in the terminal board 28 in-the usual Way. The eyelet bushing 31 is then pressed into the opening in the first eyelet bushing 32 and a wire terminal 33 is clamped between the outer turned over edges of the two

eyelet bushings

31 and 32. This type of structure provides a good electrical connection to a stationary wire terminal as compared to having a wire connection directly to the movable contact rod 27. The

contact rod 27 is provided with an enlarged head portion 34 at one end. A coil spring 35 is placed over the shank of the contact rod 27 before it is passed through the opening in the eyelet bushing 31, thus positioning said spring 35 between the head portion 34 and the eyelet bushing 31. The other end of the contact rod 27 is flared to provide a shoulder 36, thus retaining the spring biased contact rod 27 within the eyelet bushing 31.

With the terminal board 28 assembled on the stud bolts 19 and tightened down by the cap nuts 29 as shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that the head portion 34 of the contact rod 27 bears against the base of the lamp 23 and the contact rod 27 is forced to the rear against the bias of the compressed spring 35. Thus, the lamps 23 are securely held in their'respective receptacle openings 22 under spring bias and a good electrical connection is established between each contact rod 27 and its respective filament contact button 37 located in the base of the lamp. Energy is supplied to each lamp 23 through external wiring connected to its respective wire terminals 33, then through the eyelet bushings 31 mid 32, the spring 35 and the contact rod 27 to the contact button 37. The metallic lamp bases 26 are grounded through their respective modular block 12 to the back plate 11 which is connected to ground;

From the foregoing description with reference to the drawings, it can be seen and understood that the present invention provides a track diagram panel which is compact in size and versatile in use. Various types of miniature modular units representing certain parts of a track section may be prefabricated and fastened individually to the panel to complete the desired track layout indicated on the front of the panel. Lamps are provided only where necessary to give indications on the main front panel plate. The light from the lamps is projected through the transparent inserts which may be clear or colored as desired to transmit the proper color of light indication to the front of the panel.

Although the present invention has been shown and described in connection with a railway trailic controlling system, similar application of the invention could be made to airport ground control systems and the like, wherein the panel diagram in the control center simulated runways, roadways and such.

Having shown and described one complete form which the present invention could assume, it is desired to be understood that modifications could be made therein, all Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appending claims.

What I claim is:

1. A railway track diagram panel comprising, front and rear plates mounted one behind the other with a plurality of aligned openings in said front and rear plates, said front plate openings being determined by a selected one of a plurality of simulated track layouts on its exterior surface, a modular lamp unit containing a matrix of lamp receptacle blocks mounted behind said rear plate with a lamp inserted in selected receptacles of each of said blocks in accordance With the pattern of said selected one of said simulated track layouts for at times being energized to transmit light through said predetermined aligned openings in said front and rear plates and an insulated terminal board mounted to the rear of said modular lamp unit having a plurality of spring biased electrical conducting contact rods in registry with said lamps to establish an electrical connection and retain said lamps in their respective positions.

2. A railway track diagram panel according to claim 1 wherein a transparent roundel is provided in each of said openings in said rear plate behind which is disposed a lamp to distinctively display different areas of the track layout configuration.

3. A railway track diagram panel comprising front and rear plates disposed one behind the other with a plurality of aligned openings in said front and rear plates, said front plate openings being determined by a simulated track layout on its exterior surface and said rear plate being provided with rearwardly extending stud bolts, a modular lamp unit mounted on said rearwardly extending stud bolts, said modular unit comprising a plurality of lamp receptacle blocks, said lamps being selectively energized in accordance with the configuration of said track layout to transmit light through said aligned openings in said front and rear plates and an insulated terminal board mounted upon said stud bolts having a plurality of spring biased electrical conducting contact rods in registry with said lamps to establish an electrical connection and retain said lamps in their respective positions, said lamp receptacle blocks being secured in place and separated from said terminal board by means of spacer nuts threaded on said bolts, said terminal board being secured in place by cap nuts threaded in said bolts.

4. The combination with a railway track diagram panel having front and rear plates mounted one behind the other with a plurality of aligned openings in said front and rear plates, said front plate openings being determined by a selected one of a plurality of simulated track layouts on its exterior surface and a modular lamp unit containing a matrix of lamp receptacle blocks mounted behind said rear plate with a lamp inserted in predetermined receptacles of each said block in accordance with the pattern of a selected one of said track diagrams for at times being energized to transmit light through predetermined aligned openings in said front and rear plates of, an insulated terminal board mounted to the rear of said modular lamp unit having a plurality of spring biased electrical conducting Contact rods in registry with said lamps to establish an electrical connection and retain said lamps in their respective positions, each said spring biased electrical conducting contact rod comprising a round rod slidably mounted within a first eyelet bushing which is mounted within a second eyelet bushing mounted Within an opening in said insulated terminal board, said eyelet bushing having turned-over shoulders on each end to secure them to said terminal board, a wire terminal clamped between the outer shoulders of said eyelet bushings, said rod having shoulders on each end thereof to retain it within said first eyelet bushing, and a coil spring mounted on said rod and positioned between the inner shoulder thereon and the inner shoulder of said first eyelet bushing to bias said rod to an inner position.

5. A railway track diagram panel comprising, front and rear plates mounted one behind the other with a plurality of aligned openings in said front and rear plates said front plate openings being determined by a selected one of a plurality of simulated tracl: layouts on its exterior surface, a modular lamp unit containing a matrix of lamp receptacle blocks mounted behind said rear plate with a lamp insert in predetermined receptacles of said blocks in accordance With the pattern of one of said simulated track layouts for at times being energized to transmit light through said predetermined aligned openings in said front and rear plate, each of said lamp receptacle blocks having semicircular grooves formed on its side edges to form an additional row of lamp receptacles With an abutting block and an insulated ten linal board mounted to the rear of each said lamp receptacle block having a plurality of spring biased electrical conducting contact rods in registry with said lamps to establish an electrical connection and retain said lamps in their respective positions, said terminal boards being mounted over said lamp receptacle blocks in offset relationship thereto to position a spring biased contact rod over a lamp located in one of said additional rows of lamp receptacle openings established by said two abutting receptacle blocks.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,591,865 Peter Apr. 8, 1952 2,764,751 Gnadlre Sept. 25, 1956 2,804,607 Nalle Aug. 27, 1957