US1075869A - Switch-throwing mechanism for railway-cars. - Google Patents

Description

W. L. SLATE.

SWITCH THROWING MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1913.

1,075,869. Patented 0ct.14,1913.

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W. L. SLATE.

SWITCH THROWING MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1913.

1,075,869,, Patented 001;. 14, 1913.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CD., WASHINGTON. n. c.

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WILLIAM L. SLATE, OE FORT WORTH, .ASSIGNOR OF QNE-I-IALF TO W. C. FOB-BESS, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

SWITCH-THROWING IVIECI-IANISM FOB. RAILWAY-CARS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (Pet. 14, 1913 Application filed February 15, 1913. Serial No. 748,679.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l VILLIAM L. SLATE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort North, in the county of Tarrant and tate of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovements in Switch-Throwing Mechanism for Railway-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus or mechanism for turning switches and particularly to a mechanism by which a motorman on a street car may throw a switch in either direction without stopping the car, and the object is to provide simple devices which will operate with certainty and precision, and which will not be disarranged in operation.

A further object is to provide devices which will not be an obstruction in. the street where the switches are to be operated.

Other objects and advantages will be fully explained in the following description, and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this appli cation.

Figure 1 shows a portion of a street car and a side elevation of the actuating mechanism attached to the street car. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the depressible bars. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, being a detail view of the breakable actuator. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the trip, being an end view of the lever which carries the trip showing the trip on the end of the lever. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same, and also an end elevation of the lever showing the trip thereon. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the trip-carrying lever, and also a side elevation of the bearing or fulcrum for the lver. Fig. 7 is a frontelevation of a portion of the car showing the actuating mechanism mounted thereon. Fig. 8 is a detail view of one of the actuators, or tripping devices, being a front elevation of the same. Fig. 9 is a front elevation, showing the manner of attaching the guiding tube for the rod which actuates the depressible arm or beam. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of an actuating device which is a variation from the actuating devices previously illustrated. Fig. 11 is a front elevation of a selective device used with the depressible arm shown with the variation in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail view, being a front elevation of the tripping device used with the form of the invention shown in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a plan view of the switch and of the switch throwing mechanism. Fig. 1 1 is a ide elevation of the same. Fig. 15 is a detail view of the switch throwing mechanism.

Similar characters of reference are used to indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

A portion of a street car track is shown in Fig. 13 which includes cross ties 1, 2, and 3. The rails a for the main track are mounted on the ties above named. Rails 5 and 6 are shown for switching a car off the main line. The pivoted switch tongue 7 is shown for turning the car. A throw rod 8 is connected to the switch tongue 7 by running the rod 8 under the guard rail 9 so that a car may be turned on the branch track or the main line at will. The rod 8 is connected to a throw lever 10 by running the same through the lever 10. Spiral springs 11 are mounted on the rod 8 on each side of the lever 10, and held in place by nuts 12 and washers 13. The lever 10 has two arms, let and 15, which may be formed integral therewith. The lever 10 is fulcrumed on a bearing block 16 which is attached to the cross tie 3.

The lever 10 is operated by selective devices in the following manner: A tripping lever 17 is fulcrumed on a bearing block 18 which is attached to the cross tie 2. The block has an upstanding fulcrum 19 on which the lever 17 operates. The lever 17 carries an upstanding trip 20 which is to be actuated by devices carried on a street car. The lever 17 is operatively connected to the lever 10 by a rod 21 which runs through a pipe 22 which is to be placed under the surface of the street. The rod 21 is adjustably connected to the lever 17 and to the arms 14 of lever 10 by forked nuts 23, which may be screwed more or less on the rod 21. The nut 23 has forks 24c for receiving lever 17 and arm 14 which are pivotally connected thereto. A similar lever 25 carrying a trip 26 is fulcrumed on a bearing block 18 which has a fulcrum 19 projecting upwardly to receive the lever 25. The manner of mounting the lever 17 is to mount the same on the fulcrum 19, then run a bolt 27 up through the tie 2 and through the fulcrum 19 through the washer 28, and then screw a nut 29 down on the bolt 27 to press the washer 28 against the fulcrum 19,

thus leaving the levers 25 and 17 to turn on the fulcrum without friction. The lever 25 is operatively connected with the arm 15 of lever 10 by means of a rod 30 which runs through a pipe 31 which is to be placed under the surface of the street, and the rod 30 is adjustably connected to the lever 25, and to the arm 15 by forked nuts 23. Bumpers 32 are attached to the cross tie ,2 for the purpose of limiting the strokes of the trips 20 and 26. The object of the bumpers 32 is to prevent the levers 25 and 17 from disarranging the throw rod 8 when the levers 17 and 25 are actuated by the devices hereinafter described. A guide rail 33 is mounted between the trips 20 and 26 to guide the actuating devices hereinafter described.

The actuating devices for operating the trips 20 and 25 are carried by the street car to be used by the motorman whenever he wants to turn a switch. A shaft 34 is journaled in hangers 36 which are attached to the bottom of the street car. Depressible beams 35 are journaled on the shaft 34. The beam 35 may be constructed of a single piece of bar iron and bent, as shown in Fig. 2, to provide two journal bearings 37 for engaging the shaft 34. This construction is provided so that the beams 35 will operate certainly in a vertical direction, the two arms 38 preventing lateral motion of the beams 35. In Figs. 1 to 9 inclusive, it is contemplated that there shall be two beams 35 and 38,one for throwing the switch tongue to the right and the other for throwing the switch tongue to the left, the two beams being constructed in the same manner, except that the beam 38 is slightly longer than beam 35, so that one actuator will be slightly behind the other. The beams 35 and 38 are held normally out of operative position by spiral springs 40 which are attached to the beams. The springs are attached to the beams by suitable bolts and at the upper ends of the springs they are attached to hooks 41 which are attached to the bottom of the car, and each beam carries a foot piece 42. In addition to rais ing the beams 35 and 38 to the position of beam 38 shown in Fig. 1, means are provided for raising the lower end of the foot pieces 42 as shown in Fig. 1. A rod 43 is loosely connected to the foot piece 42 and pivotally connected to a hanger 44. The hanger 44 is connected to the shaft 34 at the lower end and attached to the car at the upper end. A rod 43 is slotted at 45 so that the foot piece 42 may be brought to the position of foot piece of beam 35 shown in Fig. 1, when each beam is let down to operative position. The hanger 44 is provided with a plurality of holes so that the rod 43 may be adjusted to throw the foot piece 42 to proper position during operation. The beams 35 and 38 are depressed with rods 46 which are pivotally connected to the beams and by treads 47 and 48 respectively. The treads 47 and 48 are recessed at their lower ends to receive the rods 46 which are pointed at their upper ends. Guide tubes 49 are pivotally connected to the bottom of the car by means shown in Fig. 9, which consist of lugs 50 on the tubes 49 and hangers 51 attached to the bottom of the car for receiving the lugs 50. The tubes 49 can thus swing to permit the operation of the rods 46 in changing positions of the beams 35 and 38. The beams and 38 are drooped at 52 to form stops to prevent the foot pieces 42 from being thrown too far backward. The foot pieces 42 carry actuators 53 and 54 for operating the trips 20 and 26 above described. These actuators are pivotally mounted on the foot pieces 42 and means are provided which will permit the actuators to break backwardly when the trips 20 and 26 strike the stops 32. The object of this arrangement is to prevent the breaking of the trips 20 and 26, and the bumpers 32 are to prevent the disarrangement of the springs 11 and throw rod 8. The toggle arms 58 and 56 are pivotally connected to the actuators 53 and 54 and pivotally connected to each other,.the upper arm 56 has an integral lug The upper toggle arm 56 is pivotally connected to a bar 57 which is rigidly connected to the foot piece 42. A rod 59 is pivotally connected to the lug 55 and runs up through the bar 57. A spiral spring 60 is mounted on the rod 59 and seats on the lug 57, and is held in place by a washer 61 and a nut 62 which is screwed on the rod 59. The toggle arms 56 and 58 will permit the actuators 53 and 54 to break backwardly, because the rod 59' will'pull down through the lug 57 and allow the toggle joint 63 to go forward. When the pressure is released from the actuator, the spring 60 will draw the actuator back to normal position. The spring 60 is made strong enough, or has tension enough, to cause the switching operation, but will yield to prevent breaking any of the mechanism, and will restore the actuator to normal position after operation.

The variations shown in Figs. 10 to 12 This selective device consists Get stands normally above the divider. The motorman can use a tread to force the beam 6% down on either side of the divider 67, and he can thus select his direction, or he can throw the beam 6% on the other side of the divider 67 and go in the other direction. The actuator for the beam 6 1 and foot piece 42 differs from the previous actuators, in that the actuator has two wings 69 instead of one wing as in the previously described actuators 53 and 54c. The operating part 70 may be thrown on either side of the guide rail 33 for actuating either lever 17 or 25.

The throw rods in the street and the levers for actuating the throw rod may be covered by suitable covers or boxes (not shown) to be constructed as required by the street paving. T he rods 21 and 80 may be of any desired length.

Various changes may be made in the construction of the devices located in the street and also in the actuating devices carried by the car without departing from my invention.

What I claim, is-

1. A switch-throwing mechanism comprising a throw-rod operatively connected to a switch, selective levers and rods operatively connected to said throw rod, said levers having upstanding lugs, a guide rail between said lugs, and selective levers and a foot-piece operatively connected with each lever carried on a car whereby the motorman may cause either one of said lugs to actuate one of said levers.

2. A switch -throwing mechanism comprising a throw-rod operatively connected to a switch, selective levers operatively connected to said throw rod, upstanding lugs carried by said levers, and selective devices carried by the street car for actuating said lugs, said devices consisting of levers, a footpiece connected to each lever, and a breakable actuator carried by each lever.

3. A switch-throwing mechanism comprising a throw-rod operatively connected to a switch, a double armed lever connected to said throw-rod, selective levers operatively connected to the arms of said lever, upstanding lugs carried by said selective levers, selective devices carried by the car normally out of the paths of said lugs including breakable actuators for engaging the lugs, and means for depressing either one of said selective devices to engage one of said lugs.

4. A switch-throwing mechanism comprising a throw-rod operatively connected to a switch, a double-armed lever connected to said throw-rod, upstanding lugs carried by said selective levers, breakable actuators, depressible levers carried by a car carrying said actuators, and a depressible foot-piece operatively connected to each lever by which a motorman on the car can depress either one oi said levers.

5. A switch-throwing mechanism comprising a throw-rod operatively connected to a switch tongue, a double-armed springcontrolled lever connected to said throwrod, selective levers operatively connected to the arms of said lever, upstanding lugs carried by said selective levers, bumpers to prevent the up-setting of said lugs and levers, actuators, depressible levers carried by a car carrying said actuators, and devices by which a moto-rman may depress either one of said levers.

6. A switch-throwing mechanism comprising a throw-rod operatively connected to a switch tongue, a doublearmed springcontrolled lever connected to said throw rod, selective levers and rods operatively connected to the arms of said lever, upstanding lugs carried by said selective levers, breakable actuators for operating said lugs, means normally holding said actuators out of the plane of said lugs carried by a car, and means carried by the car whereby the motorman may throw either one of said actuators to engage one of said lugs.

In testimony whereof, I set my hand in the presence of two witnesses, this 7th day of February, 1913.

W. L. SLATE.

Witnesses A. L. JACKSON, J. W. STITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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