US793480A - Electrically-operated railway-switch. - Google Patents

Description

No. 793,480. PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905. B. S. WAKBMAN.

ELEGTRICALLY OPERATED RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30, 1904.

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PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905.

B. s. WAKEMAN.

ELE-GTRIGALLY OPERATED RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30,1904.

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UNITED; STATE Iatented June 190 5.

PATENT OFFICE.

BRYAN S. WAKEMAN, OF S cnAN'roN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESN'E ASSIGNMENTS. TO SCRANTON ELECTRICAL SWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF SORANTON, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PENNSYLVANIA,

ELECTRlCALLY-OPERATED RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 793,480, dated June 27, 1905. Application filed August 30, 1904. Serial No. 222,747.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BRYAN S. WAKEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna andState of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Electrically-Operated Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification. i v A This invention relates to improvements in electrically operated rail-wayswitches for trolley systems, the details of which will be pointed. out in the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of a railway-switch with my improvements applied thereto. Fig.

2 is a section through the box containing the switch-actuating device taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the mechanism within the box being shown in side view and partly in section. 3 of Fig. 2.

ferred arrangement of the contact-rails on the road-bed; and Fig. 5 is a front view of a signalthe cover being partly broken away.

1 and 2 indicate 3 and 4 inbox,

Referring to the drawings, the main rails of a railway-track.

dicate the rails of a turnout or branch track,

and 5 indicates the movable switch point, which is of usual construction and pivotally mounted upon a switch-base 5. A metal box or casing A is set into the road-bed beneath the switch-base and extends at each side of the as shown in Fig. 1. This casing, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, contains two similar pairs of magnets B and O, arranged, respectively, at opposite sides of the switch. Each pair of magnets is mounted upon a separate slide D, and these slides are adjustable within longitudinally grooved timbers 6, arranged The magnets B inthe bottom of the casing.

and O are adjustable toward and from the center of the casing by means of an adjustingscrew 7,-engaging threaded openings in lugs d upon the slides D. By turning the screw the magnets may be moved simultaneously in opposite directions. The coils of the magnets B are connected by a conductor 8 with an insulated contact-rail I, Fig. 1, arranged upon the roadway between the track-rails, and by a conductor 8 to the track-rails. As shown, the conductor 8 is connected to the metal casing A, which is electrically as well as mechanically connected to the switch-base.

Similarly. the magnets O are connected by a conductor 9 to an insulated contact-rail J arranged parallel with the contact-rail I in Fig. 1, and by a conductor 9 to the track-rails through the casing A. The contact-rails I and J, Fig. 1, are so arranged that they may be engaged by contact devices upon the car, which are electrically connected to the trolleywire and movable independently by the motorman. These contact devices for similar purposes are well known in the art and therefore are not illustrated. It is apparent that when the contact-rail I is electrically connected to the trolley-wire the magnets B will be energized, and when the contact-rail J is electrically connected to the trolley-wire the magnets C will be energized. As the parallel arrangement of contact-rails I and J (shown in Fig. 1) requires two contact devices upon each car, I prefer the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, in which the contact-rails I and J are arranged in line with one another, so that either may be engaged by a single contact device upon the car. The magnets are employed to actuate a lever E, which is secured upon a rock-shaft 10, journaled in the sides of the casing midway between the magnets. This lever has armatures F and G at its ends above the magnets, and an arm or pintle H extends upward from the center of the lever through a transverse slot in the base 5 and its free end engages a recess 11 in the bottom of the switch-point 5. It will be seen that when the lever is rocked the switch-point moved, and the motorman may cause the switch-point to be moved in either direction contact-rail, thus causing either the magnets will also be B or the magnets C to become energized and operate the lever which actuates the switchpoint.

It is desirable to provide means for varying the leverage. For this purpose the magnets B and C are made adjustable lengthwise of the casing, as hereinbefore described, and the lever E is also extensible. As shown, the lever E has a central section 6 secured to the shaft 10 and a pair of end sections 6 adjustably connected'to the central section by bolts 13, extending through slots 14 in said central section. The magnets may be adjusted toward and from one another, and the armatures likewise may be moved to the same extent and kept in position over the magnets. It will be apparent that if the armatures'were rigidly secured to theends of the lever the outward adjustment of the armatures and magnets would not result in an increase in leverage, as theair-gap between each .pair of magnets and its armature would be increased proportionately when in position for operation, and the attraction of the magnet varies inversely as the square of the distance between the magnet and armature. I therefore secure the armaturesF and G to the ends of the adjustable lever E by means of hinge-joints 15, and I arrange upon the upper ends of the magnets collars K, of brass or other non-mag netic material. These collars surround the upper ends of the magnet-cores 16 (see Fig. 2) and project very slightly above the upper ends of the cores, as shown. The collars have beveled faces 70, upon which the free ends of the armatures are adapted to rest when in position to be operated upon, as shown at the left in Fig. 2. The non-magnetic collars K prevent the armatures from coming into actual contact with the magnet pole-p-ieces'and yet. permit the armatures to rest very closely to the pole-pieces. In Fig. 2 the parts are shown in the positions which they occupy after the magnets C have been energized. In this figure thearmature G lies flat againstthe top of the collar K, while the free end of the armature F restsagainstthe inclined faces of the collars on the magnets B. When the magnets B are energized, the armature F will slide on the non-magnetic collars or bearings K and be drawn down flat against said collars, while the armature G will be tilted, its free end sliding on the collars or bearings K and finally resting upon the beveled faces of the collars close to the pole-pieces of the magnets (J. When it is desired to increase the leverage, the lever E is extended and the magnets adjusted outwardly, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. It will be seen that by adjusting the lever and also the magnets the hinged armatures will always remain close to the magnet-poles, and consequently the leverage may be varied to any desirable extent without diminishing the attractive power of the magnets upon the armatures. Any suitment of the lever being alwaysthe same,the armatures will not when drawn "down rest flat against the collars K in all adjustments of the magnets and armaturesy'but in all adjustments of the magnets and armatures the armatures will rest close to the pole-pieces, so that the magnets "will have practically the same attract- -ive power upon the armatures in starting the switch-point in all positions of adjustment.

After an armature-and the switch-point have been started by the power of-a magnet of course the attractive-powerof the latter upon its armature increases as the armature approaches the horizontal position and itis immaterial whether the armature lies flateagainst the ring K when drawn down, the purpose of the hinged armatures being to diminish the air-gaps as much as possible and to permit the armature atthe high end of the lever to remain in substantially the same'relation to the pole-piece of the'adjacent mag-net whether the lever be shortened or lengthened to-increase the leverage. If when the lever is lengthened the armatures when drawn down ward will fit flat againstthe collars K when the switch-point reachesits i-limit of movement, it will be evident that when the lever is shortened and the magnets are moved correspondingly inward-the-armatures will not rest fiat against the collars when drawn down ward; but-this isimmaterial, since if the magnet has sufficient power to start the switch the attractive force of the magnet will increase until the switchrpointcomes to -a stop,

and the :main purpose of the hinged armatures is to permit themagnets to have the same starting force upon the armatures with variable leverage. Even without the variable leverage the hinged'armatures are an advan tage, as will be readily seen.

The rod H ispreferably made in two parts hand it, the latter being threaded into an opening in the former and secured by a checknut 17 Thispermitsadjustment of the rod H to suit the distance between the rock-shaft 10 and the recess 12 in the switch-point.

In-orderto show .at night which way the switch is set, white and red signal-lights (indicated by the reference-letters W and R, respectively,) are connected byawire 1'8 to the feed-wires and to spring-contact-strips l9and 20, respectively, upon a base 21, of insulating material, within the box or casingA. Acontact-arm 22, secured to the rock-shaft 10, is adapted to engage either the contact19 or the The rings K having beveled the white light.

contact 20in the extreme positions of the switch. The contact-arm 22 is electrically connected through the shaft and casing A to the track. When the switch is set for the main line, the contact-arm 22 engages the contact-point 19 and closes the circuit through When the switch is set for the branch line, the contact-arm touches the contact-point 20 and closes the circuit through the red light. If the switch is not thrown fully over to either of its proper positions, the circuit will not be completed through either light.

The operation of the switch will be understood from the foregoing without further description.

It is evident that where my invention is to be applied to a switch which is normally held in one position by a spring and it is desired to move the switch-point only in one direction by electromagnetic means a single magnet or a pair of magnets, a single armature at one end of thelever, and a single extended contact-rail on the track is all that is necessary.

Carbon blocks 6 and 1' may be arranged at the ends of the contact-rails, where the circuit is broken by the contact device upon the car to avoid having the ends of the rails burned or blistered by the are which follows the interruption of the current.

The signal-lights may be arranged within a box 23, Fig. 5, having a glass front 24, upon which are painted the names of the streets at the corner where the switch is located, and an opaque partition is arranged within the box between the lamps, as shown in said figure, so that when either lamp is lighted the name of a street will be displayed and indicate to the motorman the direction for'which the switch is set. In some cases it may be desirable to display signal-lights without operating the switch, and this may be accomplished by loosening the nut 17 and screwing the upper section It of the rod H down into the lower section it, thus disengaging the rod from the switch-point.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The combination with a railway-switch havinga movable switch-point, and a lever operatively connected to said switch-point, of a magnet, a stop or bearing adjacent to a polepiece of said magnet and an armature hinged to said lever and forming a longitudinal extension thereof, said armature having its free end normally supported by said stop.

2. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, and an ex tensible lever operatively connected to said switch-point, of an armature hinged to said lever, a magnet arranged adjacent to said armature, means for adjusting said magnet lengthwise of the lever, and a circuit for said magnet including acontact strip or rail adapt-' ed to be engaged by a contact device upon a car.

3. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, and a lever operatively connected to said switch-point, of a magnet, a stop or hearing adjacent to a polepiece of said magnet, an armature hinged to said lever and forming a longitudinal extension thereof, said armature having its free end normally supported by said stop, and a circuit for said magnet including a contact strip or rail adapted to be engaged by a contact device upon a car.

4. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, and an extensible lever operatively connected to said switch-point, of an armature hinged to said lever, a magnet arranged adjacent to said armature, means for supporting the free end of the armature close to but out of contact with the core of the magnet, means for adjusting said magnet lengthwise of the lever, and a circuit for said magnet including a contact strip or rail adapted to be engaged by a contact device upon a car.

5. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, and a leveroperatively connected to said switchpoint, of an armature hinged to said lever, a magnet arranged adjacent to said armature, a nonmagnetic support for the free end of said armature arranged to hold said armature close to the pole-piece of the magnet, and a circuit for said magnet including a contact strip or rail adapted to be engaged by a contact device upon a car.

6. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, and a lever operatively connected to said switch-point, of an armature hinged to said lever, a magnet arranged adjacent to said armature, a nonmagnetic support for said armature, said support being arranged adjacent to the pole-piece of the magnet and having an inclined face upon which the armature rests, and a circuit for said magnet including a contact strip or rail adapted to be engaged by a contact device upon a car.

7. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, of a lever pivoted below the switch-point, an arm connected with the lever and engaging the switchpoint, an armature hinged to one end of said lever, and forming a longitudinal extension thereof, a magnet having pole-pieces adjacent to said armature, a non-magnetic stop arranged to support the free end of the armature, a contact strip or rail arranged to be engaged by a contact device upon a car, and conductors connecting the coils of said magnet with said contact-strip and the track-rails.

8. The combination with a railway-switch having a movable switch-point, of an exten sible lever pivoted below the switch-point, an

arm connected with the lever and engaging. the sw1tchpo1nt, anarmature hIHgGd'lJO-ODB end of said lever, a magnet adjacent to said armature, means for adjusting the magnet lengthwise of the lever, a contact strip or rail.

arranged to be engaged by a contact device upon a car, and conductors connecting the coils of said magnet with said contact-strip and the track-rails.

9. The combination with a railway-switch having amovableswitch-point, of acentrallypivoted lever operatively connected: to said connecting the coils of said magnets withsaid contact-strips and the track-rails.

10. The combination with arailfway-switch having a movable switch-point, of a centrally pivoted extensible lever operatively connected to said switch-point, armatures hinged to the ends of said lever, magnets arranged adjacent to said armatures, means for adjusting said:

magnets lengthwise of the lever, contact strips or rails arranged to be engaged by contact devices upon: a car, and conductors connecting the coils of said magnets with saidcontact-strips andthe track-rails.

tosaid switch-point, armatures hinged to the ends of said lever, magnets arranged adjacent to said armatures, means for adjusting said magnets-lengthwise of the lever, bearings or supports for the free ends of the armaturesarranged" to support the armatures close tobut out of contact with the cores of the magnets, contact stri'ps-or rails arranged to be engaged by contact devices upon a car, andrconductors connecting the coils of said'magnets with said contact-strips andthe track-railsa 12. The combination with a railway-switchhaving a movable switch-point, of a centrallypivotedlextensi ble lever operatively connected to-said switch-point, armatures hinged to the ends of said lever,zmagnet's arranged adjacent to said armatures, means for adjusting said magnets lengthwise of the lever, bearingsor supports,.movable with themagnets, arranged tolsupport' the free ends of the armatures, contactfstrips or rails arranged to-be-engaged by contact devices upon a car, and conductors connecting the coils of said magnets with said contact-strips and the track-rails.

In testimonywhereofrIaffix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

BRYAN S.- WAKEMA'N, Witnesses:

G. W. ROBBINS, GHAs. W. DAWSON.

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