US599656A - Mechanical railway-signal - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Shets She et' 1'. B. A. KARR, L. KOENIG 81: L. A. WOODS.

MECHANICAL RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 599,656. Patented Feb. 22,1898.

F J A BY A TTORNEY.

THE mums PEYE! w. PHOYO-LITHD.. WASNXNGYGN, o. o.

UNITED STATES BURTON A. KARR, LORENZ KOENIG, AND LEWIS A. WOODS, OF OMAHA rrrcE.

NEBRASKA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'599,656, dated. February 22, 1898. Application filed. March 16, 1897. Serial no. 627,892. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, BURTON A. KARE, LORENZ KOENIG, and LEWIS A. 'WooDs, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain useful Improvements in Mechanical Railway- Signals; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,re ference being had to the accompanying drawings,'which form a.

part of this specification.

This invention has relation to a novel improvement in mechanical railway-signals.

The object of this invention is to provide a mechanical railway-signal so arranged that the device Will be practically continuously operating as well as automatic in its operation, as will be described more fully hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a View disclosing the arrangement of the track-levers in conjunction with the op eration of the alarm or signal. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show, respectively, a top, side, and end view of the operating mechanism as employed in our invention. Fig. 5 shows an enlarged view,partly in'section,with portions removed, of the clock mechanism used in our alarm. Fig. 6 shows a side elevation, with portions a removed, of one of the boxes, disclosing the anisms, so arranged that the alarm will be actuated by one of said releasing mechanisms if the train goes in one direction and by the other releasing mechanism if the train passes the track in the opposite direction, and being further provided with an operating device by means of which the alarm is wound whenever a single engine, car, or coach passes over the same. a

In furtherance of the aim of our invention we employ two systems of releasing mechanisms which are identical in construction with the exception that one is made to actuate from the right side and the other from the left side. A central winding mechanism in position is shown in Fig. 1, where at A and B two releasing mechanisms are shown in position, while centrally and at O the location of the winding mechanism is disclosed.

In referring to Fig. 1 it will be noticed that we have shown a system of supporting-bars ff, which for the sake of convenience represent telegraph poles along the railway right of way, and to one of which we secure 'at or near the crossing our alarm mechanism. This mechanism comprises a train of gearing which can be made to operate any suitable audible alarm or visual signal, such as a gong or semaphore or the two combined. This operating mechanism would comprise a preferably gravity-actuated train of gearing comprising the main gear 14 upon a suitable shaft 16, which gear is provided with a ratchet 17, a spring-operated pawl 18,secured to said gear 14, a suitable weight K being secured to a drum '19, secured to the ratchet 17, so that the weight K has a tendency normally to unwind and'actuate the train of gearing until said weight should meet some obstruction to check its path.

In order to provide a proper controlling mechanism, we connect the gears 13 and 14, the 'gear 12 being in shaft connection with said gear 13, a gear 11, meshing with said gear 12, said gear 11 being in shaft connection with a gear 10, a gear 9, meshing with said gear 10, a gear 8 in shaft connection with said gear 9, and an ordinary governor-fan 5 in gear connection with said gear 8. This would embody the train of gearing practically; but to stop this train of gearing and normally hold the same in a wound condition we use (now re- IOO into the path of a projecting arm 4, forming part of a coil-spring secured to the gear 6, so as to compensate the shock of the spring-arm when coming in collision with the upwardlyextending stub 3' to stop the train of gearing. The gear ll is further provided with one or more pins 1.5, which are placed in the path of the laterally-reciprocatin g spring-bar 3, (still referring to Fig. 8,) so that a second check is imparted to the train of gearing by virtue of this spring-lever 3 holding and preventing the revolution of the gear 14.

Now in starting the train of gearing we employ a strand or bar 19, which is secured to a suitable bell-crank 50, as is shown in Fig. 8, which bell -crank is provided with a slot through which the bar 19 passes and which is provided with a stop 82, upon which the bar of the bell-crank works, a spring 51 normally drawing said bell-crank in an upward direction, said bell-crank being secured within the housing 52 by means of a shaft 86, and a suitable operating-strand 79 being adj ustably secured to said bell-crank in such a manner that when said bell-crank is drawn outward said bell-crank carries down the bar 19 to draw up the weight K, which is permitted by means of the pawl and ratchet 17 and 18, so that said train of gearing is wound at a single tilting of the bell-crank, which would be accomplished in the collision of the first wheel with a suitable track-bar, and all subsequent wheels passing over the same would simply tilt the bell-crank without winding the same unless the alarm mechanism were running, as but one movement of this bell-crank, as has been stated, is necessary to wind the train of gearing sufiieiently.

To provide a system of alarms fora suitable number of separate and distinct signals, in Fig. 8 we have shown an ordinary gong 18, which is actuated by a suitable clapper 17, pivoted within the clock-housing and provided with an upwardly-extending arm 16, engaged by series of pins 12 to sound said alarm.

Now the mechanism we use to release the alarm, which is supposed during its use at the first time to be wound mechanically or by manual power, comprises twoilevers I) and c, which are pivoted adjoining the track by means of the shackles 58, and which tracklevers are held at one end slightly above the level of the track, so that the tread of the wheels of the vehicles in passing over the same will depress these levers.

Now referrin g to Fig. 2, should a train come from a direction so as to engage first the lever marked 1) this lever would be depressed by the first wheel-flange to actuate the pivoted bar H, which is pivotally supported by the shaft I in the saddle-block 51, to raise upward the rearward end 1) of this lever, this lever H being normally forced downward at its rear end bymeans of a spring M, (shown in Fig. 3,) working about a guide N and pressing above against the stop 0, so as to normally tilt the rear end of the lever b to force upward the free end of the lever. Pivoted in line with the lever H is a stub-lever 59, pivoted at its rear end by means of a shaft 56, which stublever is provided with a pivoted tilting dogs, which is made to ride over the projecting end 1) of the front lever H, an operating-strand a being secured to this stub-lever 59, which strand works over a pulley a, and which strand a (referring now to Fig. 1) will be noticed to be guided up a post and through a sheave 49, then over a sheave a and then to a pivoted bar 30, a spring 7 2 normally drawing said strand a toward said lever, and this lever (referring now to Fig. 9) is provided with a second strand a, which is secured to the depending bar 1, which is provided with an upward extension 2, which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8 and which is adapted to draw the bar 3 laterally away from the path of the pin 15, which permits a downward tilting of the rear end 3 to allow the operation of the mechanism to ring the alarm.

Now referring back to Fig. 2, should the train, however, have come from a direction so as to first ride over the lever c this lever 0 would have carried upward the rear end of its lever to actuate and engage the projecting bar a, secured to the tilting dog .9, so that before the wheel could actuate the second lever to operate the stub-lever 59 the tilting dog 3 would be drawn from out of engagement with the rear portion 1), so that while both levers b and 0 would be depressed there would still be no operation of the strand a as the tilting dog had been thrown backward and out of engagement. An arrangement of instrumentalities similar to this is used at the opposite side, the difference simply being that one is made left-handed and the other right-handed, the instrumentalitics beingentirely alike with the exception that the bar 71, is placed to the right in one instance and to the left in the other, the bar 1' in this instance also being transferred from one side to the other. central system of levers comprising the bars I), which are secured by means of the depending bar If to a shackle g, which in turn secures them to a tilting bar it, mounted upon a shaft 71, suitably supported, and which bar 7L is normally held in a downward condition by means of a spring M, working against a stop 0, said spring working over a bar N and being provided in the rear with the strand 79, passing over a suitable sheave, and this strand 7 9 passing over the sheave 52 and being secured to the strand 19 and terminating upon the drum 19. By the arrangement of these instrumentalities it will be noticed that as soon as a train passes over the first system of levers an alarm is given at a central point, and when arriving at this central point the mechanism is again wound and passes over the second lever system, but without operating the same.

In referring to Figs. 2, 3, and 6 a bar 0' IIO The mechanism is wound by a 7 will be noticed extending from the bar h and passing below the bar 729. This isdone so that as the car-wheels pass over the lever b v In other Words, whenever the bar-h is first tilted the bar 72, is carried with the same, but the bar h can be carried up at the rear end Izvithout effecting the movement of the bar In the drawings we have further shown in Fig. 1 a supporting-strand a which is supported by means of a series of depending Wires j, which wires are fixed above to'the supporting-strand a, but have terminal loops, within which the lower wire a issupported.

Now, having thusdescribed our said invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with two adjoining independently-pivoted levers comprising a main and a secondary lever, of striker-heads extending from said levers, an actuating-bar, a pivoted dog secured to said actuating-bar normally connecting said main levers to said bar, and a throwing mechanism securedto said secondary lever toactuate said dog, said instrumentalities being arranged so that if said main lever be first operated, said barwill be actuated, but if said secondary lever be first operated, said swinging'dog will be discon nected to remain inoperative.

2. The combination with a signal of a train of gearing, said train of gearing being norreleasing mechanism to start said train of gearing, said mechanism being duplex in action, and arranged so that if actuated from one direction, said signal remains inoperative ,mally held in a wound condition, acontact- 7 but when actuated from the opposite direction, said signal is actuated.

3. The combination with a suitable signa comprising a train of gearing, of a strikerhcad in conjunction with said train of gearing, said striker-head being actuated by a body passing over the same, and a releasing mechanism, said releasing mechanism comprising the combination of two adjoining independently-pivoted levers comprising a main and secondary lever, of striker-heads extending from said levers, an actuating-bar, a pivoted dog secured to said actuating-bar normally connecting said main lever to said bar, and a throwing mechanism secured to said secondary lever, to actuate said dog.

gearing, normally wound and placed adjacent toa railway-track, a lever placed adjacent to said railway-track and adapted to be depressed by the tread of the wheels passing over said rail, the movement of said lever being utilized to wind said train of gearing, and tworeleasing mechanisms positioned adjacent to saidtrack upon opposite sides to said winding-lever, and being duplex in construction and arrangedso that the first duplex-lever system engaged will release said central train of gearing and sound an alarm, the subsequent duplex-lever system remaining inoperative, all arranged as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

BURTON A. KARR.

LORENZ KOENIGU LEWIS A. WOODS.

- 4. The combination in a signal of a train of

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