US1248663A - Speed-controlling mechanism for block-signal systems. - Google Patents

Description

'ma R1 mum wz, H. Hovv LE. CLARK. SPEEE CONYHOLLING MEGHANISM FR BLOCK SIGNALSYSTEMS.

MPLICATION FILED APR.22. l9!5. j

, Paented Dee.4,1917;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 @j o, @gif um s.

UNITED sralns Param omnes.

MAH-HEN'S. B. JULMN, (iF BRMNGHAM, ALABAMA, MARK H. HVEY, 0F MADISON', WSNSN, AND THOMAS E. CLARK; OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNQRS TG JULIAN-@EGGS SGNAL COMEANY, y0F TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA, A COBPORATQN F MAINE.

. FEE-'QETRGLLING IFIECHNISM FOR BLOCK-SIGNAL SYSTEMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Apr-i122, 1315. Serial No. 23,274.

To all whom it, 'may concern.'

Be it known that we, MARSENA R. JULIAN, of Birmingham, Jefferson. county, Alabama, MARK H. Hovnv, of Madison, county of Dane, and State of Wisconsin, and THOMAS E. CLARK, of Detroit, county of Wayne, and State of Michigan, all citizens of the 'United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Speed-Controlling Mechanisms vfor Block-Signal Systems, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention relates to new and useful improvements in mechanisms for controlling the yspeed of vehicles, particularly railway trains, the primary object of our invention being the provision of a speedometer attachment inthe form of a circuit breaker' which may be driven by the speedometer andv included in acircuit controlling the application of the air brakes of the train.

In a copending application filed by us on Apr. 22, 1915, andbearing the Serial No. 23,273, we have fully explained the mannerv of employing such a 'device in connection with the cab mechanism of a block signal system, pointing out wher-ena a speedometer controlled circuit breaker may be utilized to make or break a number of brake controlling circuits at diiering speeds to absolutely control the speed of the car under all desired circumstances.

As a rule, we provide means including coacting contacts for limiting the speed at c which the train may travel under the most favorable conditions, means also including another pair of co-acting contacte for limiting'sthe speed at lwhich the train may travel when! caution is necessary, and a further means including two additional contacts for controlling and limiting the speed at which the train may be driven in case ofdanger.

'More specifically, the primary object of our present invention yconsists in the provision of a speedometer driven multiple circuit breaker which may be set to break any of the circuits which it controls, at any desired speed of the vehicle.

' A further object of our invention is So arrange the circuit breaker that it may not only be driven by the. driving of the speedometer, but in such a manner that all circuits which it controls are liable to be broken in case the speedometer fails to operate, due

to breaking of lits drive belt or equivalent mechanism.

A still further object of our invention consists in the provision of a multiple circuit breaker including a plurality of fixed adjustable contacts and a pluralitv of coacting movable contacts, all adapted for simultaneous movement and all moved' through power derived from the speedometer.

With these and other objects in view, our

invention will be more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanyin drawings, and then specifically pointed 0t in the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the preferred embodiment of our invention;

.Fig 2 is a fragmentary side elevational View;

' Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the contact supporting members and contacts carried thereby;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line .4r-1l of Fig. 3 and also illustrating a portion of the speedometer mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-1-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view, showing the means for including the drive mechanism of the speedometer inthe circuit controlled by the circuit breaker.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the 'views ofthe drawings by the same reference characters.

As will be later more clearly'l apparent, our invention may be readily applied, possibly with some'minor structural changes, to practically any type of speedometer now in use and we do not wish, therefore, to limit ourselves to its employment with the par- Patented Dec. 4, 1917.

vertically movable cross head 11 traveling upon guide rods 12. This crosshead is actuated'by the speedometer mechanism, in 'a manner'. which need not be explained, in such ja way Sas to move .in distances lproporoa'te-,tothe changes iii-.speed ofthe vehielo which the speedometer is driven. vThe greater the speed of the vehicle the higher-this carriage or cross heady is "raised,

5. of course, being returnedV to loweredl'position when the vehicle stops. This. cross head, as will be seen byl reference to the drawings, forms a part lof the regular speed- A ometer structure, carrying as it does the re- {1Q` -cording needle 13 which co-acts with the movable chart 14. Furthermore, a cord 15, attached to this cross head andpassed about -suitable pulleys and through a conduit 16,

' controls the movement of the indicator.

needleV 17 of the speedometer. Directly in front of the guide rods 12 and carriage 11, we place a vertically disposed contact supporting frame, indicated as a whole by thev numeral 18, the upper end of this member 2o being, preferably, supported by brackets 19 attached to the upper ends of the guide rods 12. This Contact supporting vframe should the top and bottom of the memberlS. This member 18 is further provided with a plurality of parallel spaced apart slots' which may vary in number, depending-upon the number of circuits which the circuit breaker is to control. In the present instance, three of these slots 21, 22 and 23 are shown. These '40 slots extend throughout nearly the entire length of the body member, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and are provided at the front of the body member with retaining shoulders 24 and at the rear with shoulders 25. y

Contacts 26, 27 and 28, in` the formof metallic strips, are positioned in these slots 21, 22 and 23, respectively, with their lower ends disposed at the same level and each of these strips is ,secured in proper position by a clamp screw 29 and thumb nut 30, a washer 31 being preferably interposed between the thumb nut and the rear face of the support-2 ing member 18. It will of course be clear that this arrangement permits ready ver'- tical adjustment of the contact members in their respective slots, Those portions of the slots above the contact plates are preferably closed by filler plates 32 of insulating material, for a reason which will be later explained. These filler plates may be secured against displacement in any suitable manner a'sby clamping bars 33 and screws 34, this 'arrangement permitting "of their adjustmentv as theeentacts are adjusted. Toinsure-per i of the supporting member 18, the movable 1,24s,aea

feet alinement of the outer faces of the contact lstrips with their illers,'their meeting` edges-may be joined together as shown at 35, if deemedadvisable. i

A plurality of springcontact fingers 36, 37 and 38 are secured to. the lower end portion of the supporting member 18 and engage, at their free ends, against the rear faces of the contact strips 26, 27 and 28, respectively. Wires 39 lead from these contact fingers to binding posts 40, 41 and 42 to which the wires of the circuits to be controlledmay be attached, In addition to the fixed contactsabove described, the supporting member 18 is further provided with a contact pin 43 located adjacent the lower ends of the contact stripsl and engaged, at its rear end, by a 'spring contact finger 44 which is lelectrically connected to a binding. post 45 corresponding to the binding posts' 4o, 41 and 42.

A rod 46 is secured in any suitable manner to the cross head or-carriage 11 and projects at its forward end through the Slot 20 contact carrying member 47 being secured upon the outer end of this rod, usually between clamp nuts 48. This contact carrying member 47 is preferably inthe form of a metallic bar substantially equal in length to the width of the contact supporting member 18 and its supporting. rod 46, preferably, carries a binding screw 49 by means of which a current conducting wire may be electrically connected to the bar 47, the rod 46 be- 100 ing preferably insulated from the cross head 11. The lower portion of the supporting member 18 is provided with a further binding post 50 anda coiled wire 51 connects the binding posts 49 and 50,.the coilingof 105 the wire permitting free movement of the contact carrying bar 47.

:The contact carrying bar 47 is provided with a plurality of contacts 52, 53, 54 and 55 adapted for electrical engagement with the contact strips 26, 27 and 28 and the contact Apin 43, respectively. These contacts carried by the bar may be of any suitable type, those shown consisting of threaded Shanks which are adjustable through the bar 47 having 115 milled heads at theiriouter ends to facilitate this adjustment in order that they may be brought into close 'sliding engagement with the various contact strips with which they co-act. The ends of these shanks may engage directly against the contact strips or they lmay be formed with sockets to receive spring pressed contact-brushes of silver, as deemed advisable. y

At this point, it should be noted -that the lower ends of the contact strips and the contact 43 are so arranged that when the cross head or carriage 11 is at its lowest position, the contacts 52, 53 and 54 lwill engage their respectivecontact strips and the contact 55 13o Will engage the contact pin 43, In other Words, all olE the movable contactsvvill be in engagement with their respective fixed con when the speedometer is` rest, that is, when the vehicle is at a halt. It should be further noted that the contact strips are of different lengths in order that their .respective movable contacts may pass out oit engagement with them at different elevations of the cross head Il, that is, at different indicated speeds of the ,vehicle The longest contact strip 26 is the one employed in governing the brake controlling circuit when the train is running under a clear signal, the strip 27 that employed in governing the brake controlling circuit when the train is running under a caution signal, and the shortest strip 28 that employed when the train is proceeding under a danger signal.

lill

Power is transmitted to the driving mechanism oi? the speedometer through a metallic belt or chain 56 which is usually' trained about a pulley carried by one of the axles or the locomotive or `its tender and about a pulley 57 Aiifiount'ed upon the drive shaft 58 of the speedometer. Asbest indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the hub 59 of the pulley' 57 is insulated from the shaft 58 by' a ber bushing 60. This hub is provided with an annular contact ring 61 against .which a spring Contact 62 bears, this contact being supported in any suitable manner upon the housing oi the speedometer vas by a bracket 63 insulated from the housing.

fis previously set forth, ther above described mechanism is primarily intended for use in connection with cab signal systems. When so utilized, leads fromthe clear, cautioiiary and danger circuits are connected to the binding posts 40, il and 42, respectively, and consequently to the contacts 26, 27 and 28. A lead from a resetting or starting circuit is connected to the binding post and consequently to the contact pin 43. l'he circuits above named are grounded and a wire is led trom the binding post 50 and con Liently from the contacts 52, 53, 5d and 5:3 o electrically controlled air valve tact strip upon the supporting member 18. which is in circuit, will result in a breaking of the circuit. t'will further be clear that as movement of the movable contact member i7 is governed by the speedometer mechameer regulated' eefeeieehinismjse i0-- -bloclr signal systems but upon self-propelled vehicles of any type to control circuits governiinor vehicle speed. For this reason, We do not 'Wish to limit ourselves to the specific details of construction or to the special use set forth but reserve the right to make any chang-Jes both in construction and method of employment permitted by the scope of the appended claims. Y

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed new is:

, 1. An attachment for speedometers including a movable member, contacts carried by Aand in electrical engagement With said member, a contact supporting member over which the first member moves', and contacts carried by the second member to be engaged by those carried by the first, the contacts carried by the second member being adjustable, whereby they may be disengaged at different times, the contacts of the movable member in one position thereof being in engagement with all of the contacts of the other member..

2. An attachment for speedometer-s including a movable member adapted for attachment to a speedometer driven element to move therewith, contacts carried by themovable member and in electrical engagement therewith, and a supporting frame over which the movable memberpasses, said supporting frame carrying a plurality of contact strips for engagement by respective contacts of the movable member, said strips being' adjustable in the iframe, bindingn posts carried by the frame, electrical connection between one binding post and the movable member, and a plurality of resilient contact fingers electrically connected with the remaining binding posts Vand engaging at their free ends against the contact strips.

3. An attachment for speedometers including a member adapted for attachment to a moving speedometer element to move in one direction upon increase in vehicle speed and in the opposite direction upon decrease injvehicle speed, ol a supporting element secured to said member, a contact vsupporting bar carried by the supporting member, a frame of insulating material over which said bar moves, a plurality of contacts carried by and in electrical engage.

ment with the bar, said frame being provided with slots, a plurality of contact strips adjustably clamped one ineach of the slots for enga-gement by the contacts of the bar, and a fixed contact carried by the frame, the xed contact and contact strips in one eXtreme position of the'bar'being each engaged by acontact carriedy by the bar.

4. An attachment for speedometers including a member. adapted for attachment to a moving speedometer element to move in one direction upon increase in vehicle speedy and in the opposite direction upon decrease in vehicle speed, of a supporting element secured to said member, a contact supporting bar carried by the supportin member,l a frame of insulating materia over which said bar moves, a plurality of contacts carried by and in electrical engagement with the bar, said frame being provided with slots, a plurality of contact strips adjustably clamped one in each of the slots for engagement by the contacts of the bar, and a fixed contact carried by the frame, the fixed contact and contact strips in one extreme position of the bar being each engaged by a Contact carried by the bar, and the contact strips being of differing lengths, whereby they will be disengaged from the con` `Bacts of the bar at different positions of the 5. The combination with a speedometer having adrivingmechanism and a driven member, the direction and amount of movement of which is dependent upon the speed of the vehicle with which the speedometer coperates, of a contact 'supporting frame, a plurality of contact strips of diilering lengths supported 'upon the frame, a contact supporting bar having connection with the movable element to move therewith, a. plurality of contacts carried by the bar for engagement with the contact strips, and a contact brush engaging the driving mechanism of the' speedometer and forming hrough such mechanism a ground :for the 6. The combination with -a speedometer having a movable-member, the direction and extent of movement of which is proportionate to the changes in speed of the vehicle, said speedometer also having a drivin shaft anda pulley insulated from the sha of a commutator ring electrically engaging the pulley, a contact brush engaging the commutator ring, a contact bar carried by the movable member of the speedometer and adapted for electrical connection in a circuity with the brush, a plurality of contacts carried by the bar, and a pluralityof convtact strips disposed in position be ena ed b the bar during itsmovcmelitand 15) addzpfed for connection'v in .the above circuit.v Y

l7. An .attachment vfor speedomeersincluding a plurality ofspacedcontactstrips electrically insulated from eachother and Y. adjustable longitudinally of. their length, v

means for independently supplying current; to the strips, a'member adapted for attachment to. a speed governed movable element of a -speedometer and contacts carried 'by vthe member oneor each .contact strip and in electrical connection Withthe member, each of'the contacts in initial position of the member engaging one of thel contact strips.

8. In a speed controlling mechanism for vehicles, the combination with a speedometer including a speed governed movable element anda drive mechanism for the element adapted for connection with a moving part of the vehicle, of a member adapted for attachment to the element, means electrically connecting the member with the drive mechanism as long as the drive mecha- .nism remains intact, a plurality of contacts carried by the member and in electrical engagement therewith, and a plurality of contact strips, one for each contact, supported in position to be engaged by their contacts and vadapted for connection in branch circuits.

9. In a speed controlling mechanism for vehicles, the combination with a speedometer including a speed governed movable element and a drive mechanism for the element adapted for connection with a movin part of the vehicle, of a member adapted or attachment to the element, means electrically connecting the member with the drive mechanism as long as the drive mechanism remains intact, a plurality of contacts carried by the member and in electrical engagement therewith, a plurality of contact strips, one for each contact, supported in position to be engaged by their contacts and adapted for connection in branch circuits, and means for adjusting the contact strips longitudinally of their length, the member having a movement longitudinally of the length of the strips.

In testimony whereof we afix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

MARSENA R. JULIAN. L. 3.]

STEPHEN SMITH.

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