US291095A - Chables seldek - Google Patents

Description

No Model.)

INVENTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1."

. ATTORNEY H h P I I I H nu Patented Jan. 1, 1884'.

(No Model.)

2 Sheets- 8mm; 2 r G. S ELDEN RAILWAY TRAIN SIGNAL APPARATUS. I

Patented Jan; 1, 1884.

' WITNESSES:

INVENTOR ifc f/ g% ATTORNEY N. PETEHS. Pholo-L'nhagmpher. Walhingtun. D. C.

" UNIT D STAT PATENTClariona CHARLES SELDEN, or s'r. LOUIS, nissouni.

RAILWAY-TRAIN SIGNAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,095, dated January 1; 1884.

' Application filed April 2,1883. (No model.)

T0 (0% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES SELDEN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Trai1i Signal Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for signaling upon railway-trains from a conductor or other person to the engineer, or, vice versa, from the engineer to the conductor; and its object is to provide a means whereby the bell or other signal on the engine may be operated either by the opening of an electrical circuit or by the ordinary bellcord extending through the train, the arrangement being such that the electrical operation of said bell does not interfere with theme'chanical control over it by the devices ordinarily employed.

My invention consists incertain novel arrangements of magnet, keys, circuit-breakers, and battery, or other generator or reservoir of electricity, whereby the objects above stated are attained, and whereby, also, the engineer may test the apparatus at any time and the conductor may be informed by signalin the .a car.

car in which he gives the signal that the connection with the engine is complete andin order, and that his signal has been received.

My inventionconsists, further, in a certain novel construction of circuit-breaker adapted for insertion in the bell-cord and for breaking an electric circuit passing through said cord. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows the arrangement of battery, magnet, keys, wire, j&c., in the cab of the engine. Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of apparatus on Fig. 3 illustrates in longitudinal secti on the construction of my. novel circuitbreaker. Fig. 4 shows in side view a car having its metal braces electrically connected with the draw-bars, so as to form electrical connection from one end of the car to the other, which arrangement is designed more partieularly for employment with freight-trains. Fig. 5 shows an arrangement of apparatus in a caboose-car. In Fig. 1, A is an electro-magnet suitably mounted in the engineers cab, and having'an armaturelever, O, that is connected with the sliding bar 13, which operates the ordinary bell mechanism, and to which bar is also connected the operating pull-cord D, extending, as usual, through the train. The armature is so arranged that when it is moved under the attraction of magnet A it actuates the bell mechanism in the same manner that it would be mechanically actuated by the mechanical pulling of the cord. The cord D is of the usual construction, excepting that it contains an insulated conducting wire or chain, or other suitable electrical conductor, electrically connected in any suitable manner-as bya wire, X-with one pole of a generator or reservoir of electricity, G, on the locomotive or tender, the other pole of which is connected by asuitable conductor, X in any proper manner, with the metal parts of the engine, and so with the wheels and the railroad-rails. The connection X includes an electro-magnet, E, and the-normally-closed connections through a spring circuit-breaking key, K, or other suitable circuitbreaker. The armature of E is connected with one pole of the generator, and its back stop with the other pole through wire X, electro-magnet A, and wire Xi so' that when said circuit is closed by the falling back of the armature-lever against its stop the magnet A will be energized. The cordD and its contained conductor extend through the train, and the conductor is at the remote end electrically connected with a fixture on the car, which in turn is connected with the metal parts of the truck and wheels, and so with the rails. The circuit thus formed through D and the rails includes the battery G and electro-magnet E, whose armature is thus normally held down, keeping the local circuit of A open.

In all or any desired number of the cars is a circuit-breaking apparatus, (indicated at P,) through which the circuit of the conductor in D is normally completed, and which is interposed between two lengths of the cord D, as indicated. Said circuit-breaker is so constructed that by pulling the cord on one or both sides of it the circuit may be broken. Fig. 3 shows its construction in detail.

H is a hollow body'of metal, or part metal and part non-conductor. It is preferably made in the form of a cylinder, but may be differently formed, if so desired. It is provided with a screwcap, H at one end, and with a similar screwrap, H at the other, ex-

cept-ing that the latter has a hole through its center through which passes a metal bar, H, at the inner end of which latter there is afiixed a disk or button, H of metal, that is normally held against cap H by the action of a spring, H. From point about the middle of the cylinder, to the end upon which IF is fitted said cylinder is of conducting material, while its other end is of insulating material or is provided with an insulating lining. In the latter case the cap H is of insulating material or is insulated from the metal cylinder. Normally the strength of the spring holds the bar with disk H in contact with non-insulated cap H, and draws the bar H" within the cylinder. It a conductor be connected with caps 11 and II or bar H", with a battery and magnet in circuit when they are in their normal position, the magnet would be energized. By drawing or pulling on H or H", or both, when disk H reached point r on the inside of the cylinder, the circuit would be broken. By reversing this bar and the caps, and by suitably insulating the bar and piston from the conducting portion of the cylinder, while at the same time the two portions of the line are electrically connected in any suitable way with the bar or piston and with the conducting portion of the cylinder, respectively, normally the circuits would be open, while if tension were applied and the two ends were pulled in opposite directions the disk H would close the circuit on reaching the point g. Thus the same device can be made to serve to either open a circuit or close, as may be desired. The same object might be attained by the employing of two cylinders connected together by springs, a portion of one of them insulated. In the application of this device to the bell-cord, said. cord is cut and one end connected or attached to H and the other to II, electrical connection being at the same time made with the conductor in said cord.

The operation of the device will be obvious from what has been already said. The bell on the engine may be operated either by pulling 011 both sides of the circuit-breaker at once, in which case the bell is operated by the elec tro-magnet only, or said cord may be pulled on the side to the rear 01' the circuit-breaker, in which case the bell is operated by the pull on the cord mechanically and the magnet together. The key K enables the engineer to signal to the conductor it a suitable bell be included in the circuit, as in the arrangement to be presently described, or to test the condition of the battery or the circuits, the ringing of the bell on the opening of the circuit by K indicating that the battery and circuits are in proper condition.

Fig. 4t represents a car, the metal braces M of which are connected by chain or other suitable electrical conductor or coupling, N, with the draw-bars R- and The cars being coupled, an electrical circuit is formed through the train, which means of forming a circuit may take the place of the conductor in 1), Fig. 1, and is especially designed for use with freight-trains.

Fig. 5 represents a caboose-car, in the lookout of which or elsewhere, as may be desired, is placed a magnet, M. The magnet M is placed in an electrical connection, 15, between the draw -bar D and the stop of a normally-closed circuit-breaking key, K", which latter is suitably mounted in the caboose, while key K is connected to some portion of the mechanism of the car which will furnish an electrical conductor to the rail and earth. In a freight-train the electrical conductor X, as it leaves the engine, is connected to the drawbar of the tender. \Vhen the train is made up, thelinks from draw-bar to draw-bar place the cars in electrical connection with each other. The circuit would then travel through the links, draw-bars, and iron braces of the car to the magnet in the caboose, from thence to earth, while the other pole of the circuit is connected to earth through the mechanism of the engine, as shown in Fig. 1. Chains or other suitable electrical conductors having hooks or appliances for electrical attachments at each end are provided, 'so that if it is desirable to end the circuit before reaching the caboose it may be done by attaching a chain to the draw-bar, and from thence to the truck at a point where it will make electrical contact to the earth. Supposing that the train was all made up, the current would charge magnets E and M, (which magnets are preterably placed in such a position that the armature moves downward toward the magnet.) If at this time the train should, from some cause or other, be broken, magnet E would open and close the circuit of magnet A and tap the bell. The key in the caboose admits of the conductor signaling the engineer through the train, and the sounding of the bell by magnet M gives notice to the conductor that the circuit is in proper condition. By the interposition of a key, K, in the cab the conductor may be signaled by the engineer, the signals being received in magnet M. It is to be understood that a generator, battery, or accumulator may be used as the electricalproducing power.

If desired, attachments may be made from the armature in the cab of the engine, .so that the whistle may be operated instead of the bell; or the armature here shown may be made to actuate mechanical devices whereby weights may be released, and thus operate secondarily on the hell.

I do not limit myself to the use of the iron trussbars, as, if desired, a separate conductor may be used in their place.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, with the bell or other signal on the locomotive, of means for actuating the same mechanically, extending through the train, an operating elcctro-magnet eonnceted to the same mechanism and in a normally-openlocal circuit, and a normally-closed circuit extending through the train and containing an eleetro-magnet which controls the local circuit.

2. The combination, with the bell mechanism in the locomotive, of the operating-cord D, connected therewith, the magnet A, having an armature, 0, connected also with said mechanism, battery or generator G, and electromagnet E, the .two latter being in anormallyclosed circuit which includes a conductor in or on the bell-cord.

3. The combination, with the bell mechanism on the locomotive, of an operating-cord and an electro-magnet, both connected to the same, the said electro-magnet' being in a normally-open circuit, a relay electro-magnet in a normally-closed circuit including a conductor in or on the bell-cord, and circuitfbreaking devices interposed in said bellcord, so that by subjecting said cord to tension the normallyclosed circuit may be broken and the operating-magnet of the bell mechanism made to actuate the same.

4. The combination of the bell mechanism, bar B, the armature C, magnet A, in a normally-open local circuit from generator G, and relay-magnet E, in a normally-closed circuit extending through the train and including the battery G, conductor X, and the rails of the track.

5. The eombinatiomwith a cylinder or guideway, H, made in two parts, that are respectively conducting and non-conducting, of spindle or bar H having a conducting stud or head adapted to make electrical contact with the conducting portion of the cylinder or guide,

and a spring for holding said stud or head against one end of the guide or cylinder, said guide or cylinder and said bar and cylinder being provided at opposite ends with mean for the attachment of a conductor.

6. The combination, with the cylinder H, one portion of which has interior surface of conducting and the other portion of nonconducting material, of the piston, the edges of which slide in contact with the interior surface, the spindle, and the spring H, as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination, with the cylinder or tube made conducting at one end and non-conducting upon its interior at the other, of apiston or stud moving in said tube and normally held against the conductinghead of said tube, a spindle or bar for drawing said piston into the non-conducting portion of the cylinder, and means for electrically connecting conductors with the spindle and with the conductinghead at the opposite end of the tube.

8. The combination, with the bell-magnet A on normally-open local circuit from a suitable generator, of relay-magnet E, on a normally-closed circuit from the same generator, extending through the train, and a suitable normally-closed circuit-breakin g device on the caboose or other car, as and for the purpose described.

Signed at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, this 21st day of March, A. D. 1883.

CHARLES SELDEN.

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