US1186923A - Railway-signal. - Google Patents

Description

J. F. McELROY, DECD. s. H. McELROY, EXECUTRIX.

RAILWAY SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1912.

Patented June 13, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

41M; fry/2 THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,, WASPNGTON, D. c.

JQF. McELROY, 05cm. S H MCELROY, EXECUTRIX RAILWAY SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. I912.

Patented June 13, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

x 3 IN VENTOR WITNESSES:

Patented J 11116 13, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEETS- J. F. McELROY, DECD; s. H. McELROY, EXECUTRIX.

RAILWAY SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED MAR- 23. 1912.

INVENTOR BY fl k ATTY ms coumlu WM 00., WASHINGTON. u. c.

WITNESSES: K I 3.35%

WITNESSES: INVENTOR J. F. McELROY, DECD. s. H. McELROY. EXECUTRIX.

RA'ILWAY SIGNAL. APPLICATION r1120 MAR. 23. 1912.

Patented Jun 13, 1916. 1

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

THE COLUMBIA PLANMRAPH cm. wummmn. D. c.

UNITED srn'rns rATENTorFicE.

JAMES F. MCELROY, OF ALBANY, NEW YORIQSUSIE H. MoEIiROY, EXECUTRIX OF SAID JAMES F. MCELRQY, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO CONSOLIDATED PANY, A CORPORATION OF VT VIRGINIA.

CAR-HEATING coM- RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 13, 1916.

Application filed March 23, 1912. Serial No. 685,808.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES FpMCELROY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, county of Albany, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signals, the following being a full, clear, and exact disclosure of the one form of my invention which I at present deem preferable.

For a detailed description of thepresent' form of my invention reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention. 7

Figure 1 is a view of my trolley-wire circuit-closer and Figs. 2 to 8 inclusive show the details thereof and the corresponding circuit-breaker. Fig. 9 shows the circuit connections for a single track and Fig. 10

for a double track system.

My invention involves devices for enabling a traveling car ortrain to automati-' cally give notice of its approach from any 7 desired distance away, for instance, its apranged to be operated by the contact device traveling on the trolley cona transverse span-wire support at 12. On

span-wire 12 is suspended a cradle comprising the parallel insulating bars 21, which are immediately attached to the wire, and the transverse bars 22. The trolley-wire 10" is supported beneath one of theinsulating bars 21., so that the cradle will hang at one side of said trolley-wire. On the aforesaid cradle is supported a switch box or casing 20 containing a switch, or circuit-controlling device acting in one case to close, and

in the other case to'open' a branch circuit from the trolley-wire through a signal re} lay to ground. The switch is operated by a horizontal strike-bar which normally projects across and under the trolley-wire and stands in the path of trolley 11 so asto be struck thereby and turned in. one direction or the other according to the di re ction in which the trolley is moving. Referring to Fig. 4 the said strike-bar is shown at 2,3

and is mounted on one endof a, vertical spindle 30 which is journaled in a sleeve 31 that is formed integrally @with the bottom- .plate 241 of the box 20. Thestrike-bar thus comes below the box and also below the the strike-bar 23 has. been turned by the trolley in either direction. This spring arrangement is of a well known kind and the details thereof are shown in Figs. 4-8. The spring 38 is coiled on a spool 36 having loose flanges 36 and. 36 thatare connected respectively to the opposite ends of the spring. Each flange has also a radiallug marked 37? and 37 P and, whichever way the contact arm or lever 32 is turned, the rear end or heel of the lever will engage and turn with it one of; those lugs (togetherwith the flange from which the lug. projects and that end of the spring which issecured to that flange) while the other lug on the opposite flange, which is connected to the opposite end of the spring, will abut against a fixed stop on the stationary sleeve 31 and be held thereby. The spring will thus be put under tension by a movement of the contact-arm or lever 32 in either direction has theradiallug 37 and the rear flange 36 connected, to the rear'end of spring 38 has the radial lug 37 The fixed stop on sleeve-31 is shown at 35, and is overlapped by the lever-heel 33. In Fig. 7 the strike.

.bar 33 is in its normal-central position, and

The lever heel 33 therefore moves to the right engaging and carrying. with it the lug 37f (secured to one end of spring 38) while the lug 37 b (secured to the opposite end of spring 38) engages the 51301135. Conversely, I

when the strike-bar and contact-arm or lever 32 are turned to the right, as shown in Fig. 6, it is the lug 37 which will be engaged by and carried with the leverheel 33 and the lug 37 will abut against the stop 35 and be held thereby.

In the device of Fig. 2, which may be called the starting switch, since it is located at the distant point where the signal action is initiated, the contact arm 32 will act to close a circuit whenever it is moved from its central position by a car approaching the crossing to be protected, or the station to be'notifie'd. On the contrary, the

contact arm will act to, open a circuit in the device of Fig. 3, which may be called the crossing switch, since it is located at the crossing, or other place where the notice is to be received. Thus, in Fig. 2, if an approaching train, moving from right to left, as indicated by arrow 98, hits strike-bar 23 and thereby turns the contact arm 32 in a clockwise direction, the arm will engage contact spring 4:0'and close an electric circuit, (an oppositely moving train will also turn arni 32 in the opposite direction butwill produce no effect thereby). But in Fig. 3, the similar operation of arm 32' (in either direction) will merely remove it from its'nQr'mal bearing on contact spring a1 and allow thatspring to separate from the opposite contact spring 42 and thereby open the circuit which may at that time be closed by the contact of springstl and 12. A starting switch like that in'Fig. 2 may be denoted by A anda crossingswitch like that in'Fig. s'may be denoted by B. 1 Turning to Fig. 9 the circuit arrangement for a single track railway will there be formed. In, Fig. 9 a circuit-breaking r crossing switch of the kind shown in Fig.

3 is indicated at B', this"switch being installed'nea'r the crossing to be protected at r a point where the ringing of the bell, which has served as the signal, can' safely be stopped. At a suitable distance along the railway on each side of the crossing or station at a point where the bell is to be started ringing byan approaching car or train I install one of my circuit-closing startlng switches of the kind shown in Fig. 2. The

starting switchfA will act, inthe manner heretofore described to close momentarily a branch circuit from the trolley wire 12 to ground. That will start the bell to ringing; The crossing switch B will act,in the Q. manner heretofore described, to break a branch circuit 15 from the trolley wire 12 to ground. That will stop the ringing of the bell. The said branch circuit 13 comes to thesignal apparatus and there passes, first, through a safety fuse 50, then through resistance .60, then through relay magnet 7 0 and goes thence to ground wire 14;, which contains an electric signal bell and thereby close the" aforesaid branch circuit 15 which comes from the crossing switch B to the relay contacts 72, 73 and passes thence through safety fuse 50, resistance 60, relay magnet to ground wire 14 and bell 80. The said closure of this circuit 15 requires only a momentary closing and excitation of circuit 13 by closing switch A, since the relay magnet 70, thereby energized, will be maintained energized by circuit 15 which it serves to-close and so will maintain the action of hell until the approaching train reaches the crossing which the bell protects, and stops its ringing by breaking said circuit 15 at switch B; The relay magnet 70, bein thus deenergized, will open contacts 72, (3, so that although the break in circuit 15 at the switch B is only momentary and will be immediately closed as soon as the car or train passes switch B, yet the circuit 15 can not be reenergized until one of the starting switches A is again operated to reenergize the relay magnet by the momentaryclosure of circuit 13. When the car or train passes the crossing and becomes a departing instead of an approaching car or train, it will of course encounter the other switch A, and its trolley will hit the strike-bar 23 thereof, but will turn it in the opposite direction which produces no closure of the" circuit 13. In other words each starting switch A is a one-way device that will be worked to close the circuit 13 by an approaching, butnot by a departing car or train.

Fig. 10 shows the circuit arrangements for a double track railway, wherein a car or train approaching from one direction uses one trolley wire and one approaching from V the opposite direction uses a different and parallel trolley wire. In that case there will be a crossing switch B for each direction of approach and each switch B will have its individual starting switch A. I also prefer to provide a separate bell 80 with its separate relay for each track, although a single bell and relay might be used by connecting the two starting switches thereto in multiple and the two crossing switches thereto in series. The single bell could therefore be started by either of the two starting switches and stopped by either ,of the two crossing switches.

The circuit 13 is not only a branch of the trolley conductor, but is also one of two branches (circuit l5'being the other one) from the signal circuit which includes the bell 80-, the relay 7 0 and the resistance 60. Moreover, the circuit 13, together with the signal circuit constitute a starting circuit for the bell and the circuit connected to said starting circuit at the point 16 constitutes a maintaining circuit therefor. 7

What I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An improvement in railway signals comprising a signal element, a signal circuit including said signal element and a relay magnet, a circuit closer operated by said magnet, a branch circuit including said circuit closer, said magnet and said signal elesignal circuit including said signal element and a relay magnet, spaced-apart trolleyoperated switches, one for each branch, for closing the signal circuit when moved in one direction only, each switch being operative when moved in a direction opposite the direction of operative movement of the other switch, each switch having means for automatically returning it to circuit breaking position after each operation, a branch circuit including said magnet, said signal element and a circuit closer operated by the magnet, a circuit breaking switch for said branch circuit, and means for holdingsaid circuit breaking switch normally in circuitclosing position.

3. An improvement in railway signals comprising a signal element, a signal circuit including said element and a relay magnet, a circuit closer-operated by said magnet, a branch circuit including said circuit closer, said magnet and said signal element, a trol- 'ley-operated switch provided with means for closing said signal circuit when moved in one direction, means for automatically returning said switch after each operation to a neutral position with the signal circuit normally broken, asecond trolley-operated switch inthe branch circuit provided with means for making and breaking said branch circuit, and means for automatically returning said second switch after each operation c to circuit closing position with the branch circuit normally closed to keep the magnet energized after the signal circuit is broken by the first switch. p

In witness whereof I havehereunto set my hand, before two subscribing witnesses, this 21st day of March, 1912. g

JAMES F. McELROY.

VVitnes ses:

HERBERT A. CAU KINs, CLARENCE PALMER.

coples of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or l'atentsg" Washington, D. G. i

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