US1245061A

US1245061A - Railroad-gate.

Info

Publication number: US1245061A
Application number: US10613116A
Authority: US
Inventors: Florence A Strieter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1916-06-27
Filing date: 1916-06-27
Publication date: 1917-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 1934-10-30

Description

F. A. STRI'ETEII1 RAILROAD GATE. APPLICATION FILED )UNE 21. 1916.

'Panama ont 30,1917.

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F. A. sTRlmR. RAILROAD GATE.

` APPucmun msu Jun: 21. 191e. H 1,245,061. Patnted Oct. 30,1917.y

.1 I n 2 SHEETS-safer 2.

ifa

, tioi'i is to provide a gate wi used for operating the mechanism.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE. .l

' FLORENCE A. STRIETER, OF CHIGAGG, ILLJNOIS.

RAILROAD-GATE.

T0 all whom. it 'may concern Be it known that I FiionEN oE A. STRIETER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of (,ook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railrorul-(iates, of wh ich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway gates andparticularly to that class of gates which are used to obstruct the highway crossing a railroad at times when trains arc approaching and crossing the highway.

It has been found that railway gates, or

the supporting posts thereof, often form undesirable obstrt Ations to traiiic; and not only are frequently injured by vehicles, but also vehicles, particularly.' automobiles, may `become stranded against these supports and thus prevent closing of the gates, or they may bennable to clear the railroad track in time'to avoid. injury by the train. Bcoause of this, one of the objects of my in vention is to provide a suitable gate which when open has no portion above the surface of the' highway. This arrangement also prevents any interference `with the operation of the gate by sleet, hail, snow, or ice; `and prevents injury to the vgate or the mechanism by the elements.

It has also been found that railway gates are sometimes run into by vehicles as they are bein closed, thus, perlu'ips7 preventing the v'ehlcle from escaping the train. In view of this, one of the objects of my i nveniieh will be forced out of the way of vehicle rtvithas not been closed too far, and hence the danger of injury is reduced. n

ther objects of the invention will he Y" apparent from a consideration of the following description thereof.

Of the accoi'npanying drawings, Figure 1 is a reduced plan-view of arailroad crossing, a highway, and of a gate which I pro vide for obstructing the-highway at the` proper time. Fig. 2 is a section `along the line 2-2 of` Fig. l illustrating the gate' and operating "mechanism which embody the features of my invention.' Fig. 3 is a planview of the gate and operating mechanism showing diagrammatically the electric 1@means 1g. 4 is a detail diagrammatic illustration of the electric means. Fig. 5 is a sectional View of the gate and the operating mechanism valong the line 5--5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an Spcification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct, 30, 1917, Application lcd June 27, 1916. Serial No. 106.131.

enlarged detail view of a certain feature of the mechanism.

v ln general the invention comprises a chamber S'beneatb the highway 9 which is crossed by the railroail l0. The walls 11 of the chamber arev made of any suitable lmatcrial such as cement, and have suitable inlets for the entrance of repair men or for other purposes! Slidably mounted in the posts 12, which are inelosed and vertically supported in the `chamber 8, is the gate 13, the upper plate 14 of which, when the gate is down or open rests uponl the surface of the highway and closes the openingl 15 in the highway through which the ate is elevated. Gear racksl forma portion of the frame of the gate and are arranged to slide vertically in the guiding posts lf2. A central rack 17, forming also a portion of the frame of the gate, may be used if the gate is of sufficient length to warrant. "hen the gate is open no portion thereof projects above the surface of the highway. bells or other signals may be used, however, in any ordinary or suitable manner.

rl'he operating mechanism of the fgate comprises gear-wheels 18, mounted onV a shaft 19 journaled in brackets Q0. Fixed to one end of the shaft 19, is a gear-wheel 21, meshing with a pinion 22, whichis mounted on the shaft of the operating motor 23. The

Supports for lights,

gear wheels 18 mesh with vthe respective i racks 1G and 17 and, when the motor is 0perated in the proper direction, the gate will be raised to the position desired.

Suitably mounted adjacent'the railroad track 10, are

electric switches

26 and 27, arranged to be closed in an ordinary manner by the wheels of the train as it ap proacbes or l'haves the highway; and pro erly connected to these switches' are electrlc conductors which are connected in a suitable manner to the motor 23, as is more fully described hereinafter.

In practice when the front wheels of the [approaching train reach switch 2G, the switch` will be closed and the motor will be set in operation rotating in the proper'direction to elevate 1the gate; the gate will be elevated until the bottom ends of the racks pass slightly above the shaft 19; and the gate, by means hereinafter described, will4 be held in1 such position with the racks clear of the gear wheels 18 the gear wheels running idle until the supporting means are released, y When the front, Wheel 0f the train 4 tor, Suita reach""switch 27, the lmotor will be reversed, thesupporting means referred to will bewithdrawn, and the racks, due to the weight of the gate, will be 4forced downwardly in mesh withl the gear-wheels, and

the motor will draw the gate'downwardly 1tonormal position. When the gate is lowered to normal position, .the lower portion thereof will open a switch which will open 'the operating circuit and sto the mole weights may be used) in forcing the-"`gate downward, if desired.

" closed by Fig. 4 shows diagrammaticallythe elec.-

tric means used for operating `-the motor. held- The starting switch 26 is normall o en by means of'a spring. 60; andy when c osed and the motor is in operation is kheld the electro-magnetl 61.I The reversing switch 27 is -normally'held in the osition shown =by the spring '62 and is held inthe reversed vposition by the electro-magnet 63. The stopping switch 30 is normal y held open by-the bottom of the gate; and is closed when the gate is elevated by4 the s ring ,64. In the diagram thesource of e ectric energy is indicated by 65, the field "coils.of the motor by 66 and the armature coils hy 67.

Switches

26 and 27 are held in position against the force of the respective springs 60 and 62 and switch 26-also the field current alone is tooweak toA hold ,the switch 26 in position against its sprin and the armature current cannot shi t switch 27 `against the out the circuits, it will be seen that, when switch '26 is closed, the current passes from -the battery 65 to the field coils 66, through by the armature current,

the electro-magnetic coil 61, switch 26, and back to the battery; and it also passes from fthe battery through the connecting wires to 'gate easily'but not to prevent the gate beyrunning over the top 'switch 27, to the armature coils 67, back lthrough the other branch of the switch 27, through the electro-magnetic coils 63 and 61, and through switch 26 back to the battery. ",Hence as soon as switch 27 is reached by the train this switch ywill b eV shifted, will be held in the shifted position by the coil 63,. and the motor will therefore be reversed in direction and will so continueun- Atil switch is Aopened by .the vdescending gate, whenjtlie electro-magnet 61 will be 'deenergized and switch 26 will/Whe opened. 'I

. In order to keep the electro-magnets-'l and 63 energized when switch 27 is shifted,

the blades'of the switch'are so constructed as to short the ycontacts ,asy the 'blades are shifted, and the coilsj ofthe magnets prevent ldexigen-pusu fiowpfcurrent'through the shotd circuit.

The 4motoris of such power asto lift the ing' forced' downwardly "by an -automobile before the gate has been iaiseda veryliiateriiil distance. lThe to assist the armature,-

fixed to the by the field current; but

vmeans Vand Hence incase of breakage, or any need of spring. `By tracing wheel rotates in the direction the member 38y will be` l finger 34, and the arm front wheels of the automobile will forcel the top` down or at least delay its movement suliiciently to allow the lrear wheels to lpass over.- If lthe te has risen too far to be run over by te wheels, it will ordinarily 'be plainly tomobile, and if run into it will merely stop the automobile. The electromagnetic coils are'designed so as to provide sufiicient resistance to prevent in'ury to the armature :foils by alarge f'low o current even'though as the gate is force'l downwardly, is rotated in a reverse direction.

The means which I haveprovided for holding the

racks

16 and 17 out of mesh of the gear wheels 18 when the gate is elevated to its highest position, comprises a block 33, bottomof the rack 16 adjacent the geardvheel 21, and a pawl 34, pivoted to the supporting post. Thepawl by means of'a spring 35, is forced under the block 33, .whenthe racks are elevatedA to the maximum position, and thus holds the racks in such position. -The bottom of the block 33 is beveled, as shown inFilgf 5, so as tosupport thefblock in the hig est position. as the upper end of the pawl turns inwardly. By

this arrangement, it will be seen that the gate, when supported by the pawl, is entirely disconnected from the elevating means and is free to he lifted out of the guiding entirely vremoved therefrom.

repairs1 or`in cuseof inoperativeness of the elevating' means, the gate may be readily removed for trepairs or to allow traffic to pass.

In order to release the. pawl when the motor is reversed, I provide a finger 37, fixed to they gear-wheel21, and so positioned ,thereon that, the outeriend of a member 38,

will lie in the pathway oi the finger as the finger rotates with the gear-wheel 21. The member 38 ispivoted to the outer end of an arm 39"fixed to the pawl 34.- As the gearrequired to elevate the, gate, turned backwardly by the finger 37 as the two come in contact. But the spring 41 will force the member-,back to normal ,position when the finger passes, and, as the gear 21 is reversed in direction, a .stop 40 will prevent Lthe member-38 being'pushed aside by the 39 will be driven outwardly, and this in turn will force outwardly the pawl 34, releasing the block 33 andallowing the racks to dcsccud andmesh with the gear-wheels 18.

'Although I have described with much particularity the various details' of the mech- Janismy which l prefer for carrying out thej purpose lofvv my invention. v ct it will be 'evident that pcrso'ns skilled in the art could make modifications therein without departing from thc' spirit of in v invention, as disclosed by' the following claims. And it is seen by the operator of the au-v iis 'iso

I to be understood that the gates may be opened.

placed each side of the railway track, the two-being operated by the same switches; and switches may be inserted to operate when the train is moving in either direction on the same track or on a doubletrack.

I claim asniy invention:

1. The combination of ay railroad-track crossing gate, an electric motor, operating means connecting said gate with said motor, a circuit for operating 4said motor, a switch in said circuit adjacent .the railroad'track and adapted to be clo'sed ,by the wheels of a train, resilient ymeans tending to hold said switch open, an electromag'nct with its coil in said circuit adapted to hold said switch closed when' said circuit is energized, a re-` versing switch in said circuit adapted to be operated bythe wheels of a train on said track, resilient moans tending to hold'fsaid reversing switch in one position, and anelectromagnet with 'its coil in said circuitadapted to hold 'said reversing switch in another position when 'said circuit is energized; a third switch in said circuit adapted to be operated bysaid gate,V resilient means tendin to hold said third switch closed, said thirt` switch being opened when said gate is '2.Thc combination of a railroad trackl crossing gate, an electric motor, means connecting' sald gate with said' motor, a cir- 4 cuit for operating said motor, a switch in said circuit adjacent the railroad track and adapted to be closed'byV the Wheels of a train, resilient means tending to hold said switch open,l an electromagnet'with its coil in said circuit adapted to holdsaid switc closed when said circuit is energized, a reV versing switch in said circuit'adapted to` be operated by the Wheels of atrain 0n said track, resilient means tending to hold said reversing switc in position to operate the motor to raise the gate, an electromal netiw with its coil in said circuit adapted to old said reversing switch in position to? lower the gate when said circuit' is energized;

means associated With said track for moving said reversingswitch fromlthe former to the latter position; a third. switch in said circuit adaptedto be operated by said gate, and resilient. meansA tendinglr to holdsaid third switch closed, said gate When opened adapted to open said third switch.

3. The combination of a gate; a frame for holding saidgate; means for'elevating said gate comprising a rack' and a coperating pinion', means for supporting said gate cornprising a block ixed to said rack, a pawl `pivoted to'saidcframe adjacent said rack,

resilient means forforcing said pawl beneath said block when said rack is raised by said pinion to the maximum elevation, ,and l'neans for removing said paw] from bem-xatlrsaid 4. The combination ofa gate a frame for holding' said gate; a motoi` for operating said gate; a rack and gear connecting said moto-r with said gate; means for supporting said gate in its maximum elevation comprisoted to said frame, and resilient means for I forcing said pawl beneath `'said block when the lower tooth of said rack is -elevated by saidpinion above said pinion; and means forl removing said pawl. from beneath said block when said motor is reversed,` said `ing a block fixedv to said rack, a pawl .piv-

means comprising a finger fixed to said pinl ion, said pawl when beneath said block being in the path of motion of said finger.

5. The combination of a gate, means for elevating said gate, means for supporting said gate in its highest position,means for starting said 'elevating means, meansfor stopping said elevating means, and means operated by said elevating means for withdrawing said supportingmeans'.

6. The combination of a railroad-track crossing gate normally mounted underneath the track adjacent said crossing :toi-,move-4 ment above the" surface of the ground, an

said gate with saidmotor, a circuit for operi- 4-ating said motor, a'switch in said circuit adjacent the railroad trackand adapted to electric motor, a rack and gears connecting be closed by thewheels of a train', resilient means tending to hold said switch.0pen','and.

an electromagnet with its coil in said circuit 4 'adapted to hold said switch'closed when said circuit is energized, a reversing switch in said circuit adapted to-be operated vby the rack and gears connecting 'said ygate wlth' said motor, a circuit Vfor operating said motor, a switch 1n sald circuit adjacent'the rallroad track and adapted to be closed by thev Wheels of a train', resilient means tending'to hold saidzswitch open," and` an electroma et with its coil. in said circuit adapted to old" switch .closed, andvsai third switchbein said switch closed whe-n* said circuitis energized,fa reversing sw 'tch'in said circuit adapted to be operated y'the `wheels of'- a' ltrain on said track, resilient `mf'aan's-tendn tto hold said reversing switch in one position, anelectromagnet with its'fcoil in said-v ci'rcnit adapted tohold said `mweran'g switch in another position L virhen saidfcirgnt is enei'gized ;V a third switch, in said eircnitv adapti ed to be operated by said gate, .resilient means tending to hold said ,thiyd` switch closed, said gate when openedadapted to v, open said third switch, means for supporting.,`

. said 'gatein its highest position, andmeans` 3 for withdrawing i said' supporting meanS when said reversing switchvreverses said motor.,v 1 y j l 8.- The combinationof a yra ilvvayerossing gate,` vertical guidingv means, elevating' means, and supporting'means; all of said means-being lopera-tively associated ywith said gate ib'ut being disconnected from said gate when said gate'fis raised, whereby said gate may be freely removed from all of said means; 1

, 9. The combination of a railwaycrossing gate, -\{e rt1,ealvgu1d1ng-rmeans as socaated` with said gate, elevating means, means normally connecting said gate `withv said elevating means, said connecting means being entirely hand.

.dia-:conn'ected'ifi-'omv said gate .when :sai-d :gate

is` raised, means for supporting said gate when said gate is raised, and means oper ated by said elevating means for- Withdraw:- ing said supporting means when saidelevating means is operatedto lower said gate.

10.` The combinationof a railway crossingv gate, vertical guiding means associated with sald gate, elevating'means, means vnormally connecting saidY gate with said elevating means, said connecting means being '-entirely disconnected from saidv gate when said gate is raised, land means for supporting said gate Wh'ens'aid gate 1s raised, said gate 'when closed resting on but otherwise' being disconnected from said supporting means, whereby said gate when closed may be freely.' elevated `in 'said guiding means and freely `removed therefrom.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my FLORENCE A. s?lilann'rrm.V