US1051176A - Station-indicator. - Google Patents

Description

E. H. VOGEL.

STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1912 Lm fifiv Patented Jan;21,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

"EEMM WE l i y W F1111] E. H. VOGEL.

STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.21,1912,

1,051,176, Patented Jan.21, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. thereon,

EBN'EST H. VOGEL, OF GORDONVILLE, MISSOURI.

STATION-INDICATOR.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

Application filed September 21, 1912. Serial No. 721,561.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST H. Voonn, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Gordonville, in the county of Cape Girardean and State of-Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in street or station indicators for street cars, railway cars and the like and hasfor its primary object to provide a device ofthis character which is simple in construction, etlicient in operation and may be manufactured at comparatively small cost.

Another and more specifi'cobject of the invention isto provide a pair of interchangeable ta'pe carrying rollers, the tape having the names or numbers of the streets and novel and simple means for positively rotating one of the rollers to wind the tape thereonand successively, bringthc street names or numbers opposite toa sight opening in the roller casing.

With the above and other objects in view,

aswill become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts that I shall here nafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the inven-' tion, reference is'to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, 1n which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a street or' station indicator embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a vert1cal"longitudinal' section through the indicator casingfthe operating parts being shown in" elevation;

Fig. 3 is a section takenon the line' 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail section taken on the line 4;-4t of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 isa detail perspective view of one'of the parts.

Referring in'detail to the-drawings 5 designates a rectangular casing preferably constructed ofsheet metal with a removable top or cover 6'." This casing-is provided in its front wall'wit-h an opening? which is covered by afshect of glass or"other transparent material indicated at 8 In each end "of the nuts 10 threaded thereon to engage the unc'asing 5 a verticalroller spindle .9 is arrangedythe lower ends of said spindles being rotatably ;mounted in the bottom wall of the casing and having der side of the casing. Upon one of the spindles 9 adjacent to the lower end thereof a plnion 11 is fixed with which a large gear wheel 12 meshes. This gear wheel is rotatably mounted upon a vertical stud shaft 13 which is fixed in the bottom wall of the casing 5 and has formed upon one of its faces a ratchet 14 with which the free end of a spring pawl or dog 15 engages, the other end of said pawl being secured to the rear wall of the casing. H

The other of the vertical spindles 9 in the opposite end of the casing has a ratchet 16 fixed upon its lower end with the teeth of which a spring pawl 17 engages. The tension of the free end of this pawl against the teeth of the ratchet may be regulated by means of an adjusting screw 18, which 15 threaded in a. lug 19 on the rear wall of the casing 5. p

The rollers or spools 20 are longitudinally bored to loosely receive the spindles 9, and with the bores of the spools the diametrically opposed key ways 21 communicate.

These key ways are adapted to receive the route traversed by the car, which is pro 'vlded with the indicator. These names or street numbers are arranged in proper 1 be'seen thattheta'pe may be readily removed from the spools and reversed so as topresentfthejother sidethereof to" the sight opening 7; *The operatinglmeans for the spools or rollers consists of a longitudinally extend-- ing arm orbar 27 Y which is arranged closely 'adjacent-to'the bottom wall of the casing and is provided upon one of its ends with a lug or tooth 28 for engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 14 which is carried by, the ear wheel 12. To the opposite end of this ar the lower end of an actuating lever 29 1s pivotally connected. This lever is fulcrumedat a point intermediate of its ends upon a bracket 30 which is fixed to one of the end walls of the casing 5. The upper I end of the lever 29 projects through and is movable in a short longitudinal slot 31 in the top 6 of the indicator casing. A eoil spring 32 is fixed at one'of its ends. to the end wall of the casing and bears against the lever 29' above its fulcrum.

A bow ed leaf spring 33 is arranged be- 3 tween the bar 27 and the front wall of the casing 5 and actsto hold the tooth or lug 28 on the end'of said bar in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 14. The ends of this leaf spring are seated in notches or recesses 34: formed in'the front wall of the casing adjac'ent the bottom thereof which obviates any vertical movement of the spring or. the

bar .27 so that liability of the disengagement of the end of said barfrom'the ratchet 14 is eliminated: The intermediate portion of the bowed spring 33 is provided with spaced ears or flanges 35 between'which the bat-'27 is longitudinally movable. In the flanges 35, the ends of a pair of anti-friction rollers 36 are journaled against which one edge of the bar-'27 bears. Thus a free movement of the bar 27 is obtained and undue-friction, between'th'e same and the spring 33 over-' come. A suitable pull cord 37 is connected totheupper protruding end of the actuat-v inglever 29. J Y

.From the foregoing description the operation ofthe device will be understood as follows; VVhen the car starts upon .its trip the indicator is set with thefirst street name or number crossing the route of the car arranged opposite to the sight opening7. I As the car successively approaches the street.

crossings, the conductor or motorman pulls the cord 37, thus moving the bar ,27 through the medium ofthe lever 29 and disengaging the lug 28 of the bar from the teeth ofthe ratchet 14. In this movement of the lever- 29, the spring 32 is placedunder compression-and when the pull upon the cord 37 is released theexpansion of this spring rethe tape to'a position'opposite thersight opening of the casing. This operationis use.

While I have shownfand described the is claimed repeated with each pull of the cord 37 until the car arrives at the end of its runand the last name upon the tape has been disclosed to View. It is of course understood that as the diameter of the Wound tape upon one of the rollers 20 increases, there will be a .greater extentof movement of the tape across the sight opening and for this reason the street names or numbers are gradually arranged a farther distance apart from one end to the other of the tape. In the return trip of the car, the ends of the tape are reversed, or in other words,'the end of the tape is detached from the roller in one end of the casing and attached to theroller in' the opposite end thereof. In the use of the device upon belt line railways, one half of the names or street numbers is printed upon oneside of the tape and the other half on the other side in'order to reduce the bulk of -the tape when wound upon the spool. Thus when one half of the names have been run past the sight opening in the casing, the conductor or motorman reverses the tape in the manner above stated, or removesthe spools. or rollers '20 from the spindles 9 and reverses their positions in the/ends of the easing, thereby showing the opposite side of the tape and the remainingstreet names or numbers as the car continues its run.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the construction and'manner of operation of my improved street or station indicator will be clearlyunderstood. Thedevice consists of comparatively few elements which are of simple form and may therefore be manufactured at small cost.

Itwill also be appreciated that the device is highlyj'eflicient and reliable in practical preferred construction and arrangements'of the several elements, it will be understood that the same are susceptible of considerable modification in the form and proportion and the details of construction without departing from the essential features or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

. i Havingthus de crlibed the invention hat 1. In a streetnor stat on ll'ldlCittOI', the combmatmnwwth a casmg havmg a sight open ng, of shafts 'arranged in. opposite ends of the casing. spools mountedthcreon. a tape fixed at,i ts, endsto the said spools,

and provided with street names or numbers formovementacross the sight opening-iii] thecasing wall; pinion-fixed upon one of the spool shafts.- a gear meshiugflvith said pin-ion, a' ratchet carried by the gear, a longitudinallyshiftablebar-provided with. a

" lug on one endenga'ging the teeth of said ratchct the casing wall being provided with .recesses ;;a?bowe cl leaf spring arranged he. tweentsald levenand one of the-caslng walls and having its ends seated in said recesses, the intermediate portion of said spring bearin against the bar to retain .the lug thereo in engagement with the ratchet teeth, anti-friction rollers mounted in said spring with which the bar engages, and a spring-pressed actuating'lever connected to one end of said bar.

2. In a street or station indicator, the combination with a casing having a sight opening, of a shaft arranged in each end of said casing, spools mounted thereon, a tape removably attached at its ends to said spools and having street names or numbers thereon for movement across the sight opening in one of'the casing walls, a pinion fixed upon one of the spool shafts, a gear meshing with said pinion, a ratchet carried by the gear, a spring pawl engaging the teeth of the ratchet to prevent rotation of the gear in one direction, a longitudinally movable bar provided with a lug on one end to engage the teeth of said ratchet, the casing wall being provided with recesses, a bowed leaf spring having its ends seated in said recesses and provided with flanges upon its intermediate portion between which said Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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