US1289757A - Automatic train-controll device. - Google Patents

Description

w. HEnGEs. AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL DEVICE.

I v APPLIYCATION FlLED APR. 22. 191B- 1,289,757.

Patented Deo. 31, 1918.

, UNITED sTAtlEs PATENT oEEIcE.

ISAAC HEDGES, or QUINCY, oHIo, AssIeiiroR oF ONE-HALF To E. F. rumene,A or

SIDNEY, oHIo.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN -CONTROL DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 31, 191s.

Application filed April 22, 1918. Serial No. 229,979.

improvements inl automatic train control devices and has for its principal object to provide a device of the above-stated character which embodies train carried mechanism adapted to be automatically operated by suitable track tripping means operated in connection with the semaphore arms of the block signaling system arranged at opposite sides of a block tower and this track tripping means is adapted to be set by an opeiator within the block tower to automatically actuate the train carried mechanism toA sto the train should th'e engineer for some unknown. reason run past a danger displayed semaphore arm.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide train carried mechanism embodying means for automatically releasing and actuating the throttle valve and the air brake valve to cut oif the motive force of the engine andapply the brakes to the train.

A still further 'object of the invention is to improve and simplify devices of the above-stated character so as to be cheap and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and different seasons of the year.

With these andv other objects in View as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the 'various novel features of construction, combination and ar rangement of parts as will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, y

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the rear end portion of a locomotive showing the mechanism for automatically releasing and actuating the throttle valve 'and the air brake valve.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the. rear end of the locomotive cab.

Fig 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 3 8 of Fig. 1.

.Fig 1 is a plan view of the track tripping means arranged in inoperative position, and

Fig. 5 'is a detail plan View of one and of the actuating link of the air brake valve and its connection with the latter.

Similar characters of reference are used to denote correspondin parts throughout the accompanying drawings and the following description.

Referring more particularly to the draw' ings, the reference numeral 1 represents a fluid pressure cylinder which in this instance is designed to be operated by steam taken from the steam .boiler 2 of the locomotive. The boiler 2 is provided with an outlet opening 3 which communicates with an inlet opening 4 communicating with the interior of the fluid pressure cylinder at one .end thereof, this inlet port 4C being controlled by a slide valve 5 which hasconnected to it an actuating stem 6 that is slidably disposed through a boss or eXtension 7, the outer end of this boss being provided with a packing gland 8 to prevent leakage of steam or fluid pressure. The inner end of the valve 5 is beveled to fit a corresponding recess in the inner wall of the port 4 and when the valve is en aged Within this recess, it will prevent lea rage of the fluid pressure past it.

The outer end ofthe stein 6 is slidably mounted through agiiide 9 and has con nected to it an actuating rod 10 that is slid alily mounted through bearings 11 andl12. A collar 13 is adjustably mounted upon the valve rod 10 and arranged upon the valve rod between this .adjusting collar and the bracket 11 is an expansion spring 14, Whie' normally exerts its tension against the coll 13 to hold and maintain the valve 5 in closed position.

Mounted transversely ofthe engine frame at a suitable point is a rock shaft 15 to the outer end of which is fixed a trip arm 16, while fied upon the shaft 15 inuermost of the trip arni 16 is a laterally projecting arm 17 which has its outer end slotted, as indicated by the numeral 18. A connecting link 19 has its lowei' eii'l pivotally connected t0 the arm 17 and through the slot. 1.8, while' the upper end is provided with a lateral apertured extension 20 for the reception of the lower end of the valve actuatingrod 10,

andthis valvel rod l10 is provided with ,a' `retaining nut 21 which normally bears against theunder surface of the lateral extension 20. By the provision of this connection between the valve rod 10 and the link` 19, it will be apparent that shouldv the engine. back up and the trip .arm 16 be actuated so as to move the link 19 upwardly, 2 the latter will simply slide upwardly. upon the valve rod 10 and in no way atleet the actuation of the valve 5. However, when the `trip arm 16 is actuated while thetrainis moving forward, the link 19 will bear against the nut 21 and pull the valve rod 10 downwardly and open the valve 5.

The stem 6 attached to the valve 5 is pro-- vided with `a shoulder 22 which, whenthe valve is opened, is ada ted to automatically engage behind the shoul er 23 of the pivotallymounted latch 241, which latter is pressed' upwardly and held in engagement with tho shoulder 22 throughthe medium of a spring 25. From this construction, it will be' apparent that when the valve v5 is .o ened,`1t' will be automatically retained int is position until tripped' orffr'elea'sedby mechanism which will be presently described.

The fluid pressure cylinder 1 isprovided adjacent the opposite end containing the in let .port withan exhaust port; 26,`andar;

' ranged within the cylinder 1 is a iston head] 27 ixed upon a piston rod 28 s ldably. disa posed throu h the op osite ends of the c linder, an fixed to t e opposite endsof 't e piston rod are arms 29 which supporta valve trip rod 30 and which has an enlarge! ment or cam adjacent one end, as indicated Vby the numeral 31. The tri rod 30 is em'- braced by the finger 32`of t e spring laten 24 and shdably mounted therein.

When fluid is admitted to the cylinder 1 and the piston head 27 movedtoward the opposite end of the c'ylinder,the cam 31 w1l1y come into engagement with the linger 32 and release the shoulder 23 from the shoulder 22, thus allowing the tension spring 1% 1 to close the valve 5, cutting oli the fluid pressure and subsequently allowing' the same to exhaust through the port 26.-

After the valve actuating mechanism has been once operatediand it is desired to reset i the mechanism, I provide ymeans for releasing the a'ir lock' which would necessarily occur between the piston head 27 and the'rear end of the cylinder 1. In order to release this 'air lock, I ta a relief valve 33 into the end of the cylin er 1 andwhich will not only release the air lock but will also provide means for the escape of any'water due to the condensation of the steam or fluid pressure within the cylinder. This .release valve 33 is provided with a handle 3l which is adapted to be engaged by lugs -'projecting laterally from one side of the trip rod 30.

65 Immediatelyafter the valve 5 has been malibu" Aven ABLE copy closed and the, fluid pressure exhausted through the'port 26, the lug 35 adjacent therear end of the trip rodl ,30 will Colne into contact with the handle34 ind open "the valve 33, thus relieving the dead` airlock and, permittingofthe escape of the condensed steam that may happen to be present-After the device-has been operated andis manu-v' ally moved back to its normal osition, the 1u 35 nearest the forward endpof the tri'p 75l r 30 will engage the handle 34 and close the relief Vvalve 33, 'thus permitting thev de.- vice to be effectively operated again should occasion requiref The numeral 36' represents the throttle valve lever of theengme andembodies the. usual latch 37 operated manually from the hand gri 38. A substantially right angular. bell cran lever 39 is pivotally mounted upon'A the throttle lever 36 and has onek end copnectad to thehand dium cfa-link 40.. v .A A throttle'lever actuat "ng"ba 41- hesite -lwerend piwitally connected to a fixed upport 42- and its `upper end pvotally conf' 9o nected to the reare'nd of the piston-rod' 98 as indicated b thenumeral 4 3; Onhrnxzo the bell crank ever 39 is dispoed lin the piith of movement ofrthe berlin so'that when the! piston rod 28 moves forwardly thron f the at cylinder 1, 'the bar 41 willengage-l'n "--1' the bell crank 39 so as to move the rodli()` outwardly o f the throttle' lever and'n. turn release'the latch 37 after which uponfa further inward movement of the blr1, th e"10t throttle lever will be moved inwnrdlyto-al closed ition, thu s cutting ofi' the motive oroe the engine. x Itis not onl .d 'rable to' eut 'oil theE tivey 'foros of e engine but alaofto cubed-'f 105 the brakesj train'and ,d y @mit .ma 45m l .t 5 being thepath` oflngeremartf" of the bari 41Y while the arm 46j a'pivbte connected'to a linwkflr., The outer-andi@ this link 47 isvprovided dot 4s for 1: c reception ofthe-warn l disposed port21on-49 of the fr" brake fr handle 50 carriodvby the'air brake val'lir By the provision ofthe s1ot48, the en ne r will be able to freely operate theairira'e valve handle independentl of the rprescrit mechanism.v The'crank ernia 45V'and 46ers so constructedand positioned that when the bar 41 moves inwardly to close the throttle valve lever 36,. it will also operate against the arm 45 to move the link 47 laterall until the air brake valve handle. is mov' to avpositionto lset the brakes upon the train.

In connection with the train carried meeh-` anism, I employ track tripping means which, by reference to Fig. 4, will be seen t0 consist of a trip rail 52 pivotally mounted 130 grip 38V through the l flex at its opposite ends and at suitable intermediate placcsupon the ties of the track, as indicated by the numeral 53. This trip rail inclines upwardly fromi its opposite ends to a point intermediate its ends so as to t'orn. a gradual upward incline from each end of the device toward its center. A rock shat'tis rotatzlbly mounted in the bearing` indicated at 53 and is fixed to one end of the trip -rail and to the. intermediate supporting arm 55. This rock shaft 54 is provided with an extension arm 5G to which is pivotally connected a pull rod 57, this pull rod being connected through suitable connections to the pull rod ordinarily used bctween a block tower and the semaphore arms adjacent either side of it.

Therefore, it is to 4be understood that` when the man in the 'block tower sets the semaphore arm at either side ot' the block tower at danger, he will also simultaneously swing the trip rail 52 upwardly to a vertical operative position so that should an engineer' drive his train past the semaphore arm without payinnr any attention to the danger signal, the trip arm 16 will come into engagement with the trip rail and thus actuate the hereinbet'ore described mechanism to automatically release and' actuatc vthe throttle valve and the air brake valve to cut 'of the engine motive t'orce and apply the 4brakes to the train, thus lbringing it to a stop.

It is also to be understood that the trip rail 5'2- is so connected to the pull rods operating 'the semaphore arms that when the'semaphore arms are set to caution, the trip rail will not be moved to a vertical position but will be simply moved:upwardly approximately 45 degrees. from which it will be apparent that the trip rail would in no way interfere with any of the hanging parts of the train while the latter is passing. 4

From the foregoing description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. the advantages ot' construction and the method ofoperation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates and while l have described the principle ot' operation ot the invention, together with the device which l now consider to be the best embodiment. thereof, I desire to have it understood that. such changes in construction and arrangement ot' parts may be made Yit desired as are within the scope ot the appended claims.

1. An automaticl train control device comprising throttle valvey actuating mechanism. air vbrake valve actuating mechanism. means connecting said mechanisms for simultaneous operation, a fluid pressure cylinder. a track operated trip carlving at its upper end an intake valve for said cylinder, and means connecting said cylinder with the actuating mechanisms t'or the throttle and air brake valves. 2. An automatic train control device comprising throttle valve actuating mechanism, air brake alve actuating mechanism, means connecting said mechanisms for `simultane- Vons operation, a fiuid pressure cylinder, a

track operated trip provided with an intake' valve for said cylinder. means connecting saidcvlinder with the actuating mechanisms torthe throttle and air brake valves, ten sion means mounted to normally close said valve, a latch adapted to retain said valvev in open position. and means actuated from the piston ot' the fiuid pressure c vlindcr t'or n -said cylinder with the aituating mechanisms for the throttle and air brake valves. tension means mounted to normally close said valve, a latch adapted to retain s'aid valve in open position. andl artid actuated by the piston ot' said c vlinder and provided with a cam to release said latch.

#hln an automatic train control device. engine carried mechanism coml'irising a fluid pressure cylinder having an inlet and outlet port adjacent its opposittl ends. means for establishing communication between 'said cylinder and the engine boiler. a controlling valve tor said inlet port. means for opening said valve. means for retaining said valve in open position. a piston rod disposed through said (luid c vlindcr. and means connected to said piston rod adapted to release said valve holding means when the pistou rod has reached the limit of itsI forward movement.y

5. ln an automatic train control device. engine carried mechanism comprising a fluidv pressure c vlinder having an inlet and out-- let port. means t'or establishing communication between said cvlinder and the engine boiler` a valve for controlling communication between the engine boiler and said c vlinder, a piston arranged within said fluid cylinder, means for opening and closing' said valve to actuatf` said piston in one direction` and a chro'.ir lever actuating bar connected to said pister and adapted to release and close the engine throttle valve lever wnen said pistonl is actuated in one direction.

ln an automatic txain control device` engine carried mechanism 'oiuprising a fluid pressure cylinder having aa inlet and outlet port, means for establishing c-:nnmunication between said cylinder and the engine boiler',

" rod for retaining said valve in closed posiacontrolling valvefor Asaid inletpori, means for automatically opening said valve, means for automatically retaining said valve in valve holdin reached the limit vof itsA active stroke.

,open position, a piston .Within said fluid cylinder, and means connected to said piston and adapted to automatically release said 'means when the piston: has

f 7. In an automatic train control device,

16S-engine carried mechanism consisting of a Huid cylinder having an inlet and outlet port, means for establishing communication between said inlet port and the engine boiler, a controllin valve for saidy inlet port, a piston arrange Within said fluid c linder, a piston rodprojecting from said uid cylinder,

'. means for automatically opening said'controlling valve, means for automatically holding said controlling valve in open position, means connected to said piston rod and adaptedto automatically release said holding means when thefpiston has reached the limit of its active stroke, and means for releasing-the air lock betwecnthe piston and the end of the fluid cylinder; v

8. In an Yautomatic train control device, throttle valfe actuating mechanism, a fluid pressure cylinder and piston connected to actuate saidv mechanism, an intake valve for said cylinder having an extended depending A rod, a track actuated lever for reciprocating said rod, a tension spring .mounted upon the rod for retaining said valve in closed position, a shoulder upon said valve, a pivoted latchmounted to engage said shoulder, and means for automatically releasing said latch in the movement of the piston within the cylinder.

9. In an automatic train control device, throttle valve actuatingv mechanism, aI fluid pressure cylinder and piston connected to actuate said mechanism, an intake valve for said cylinder having an extended depending rod, a track actuated lever for reciprocating said rod, a tension spring mounted upon the .rod for retaining said valve in closed position, a shoulder upon said valve, a pivoted latch mounted to engage saidishoulder, a rod carried by the piston rod from said cylinder,

said rod for actuating said valve in its travel.

11. In an automatic train control device,

throttle valve actuating mechanism,l a fluid pressure cylinder and p iston connected to actuate said mechanism, an Iintake valvefor said cylinder having an extendeddepending. rod, a track actuated lever for reciprocating said rod, a tension spring mounted upon the rod for retaining said valve in closed position, a shoulder upon said valve, a pivoted latch mounted to engage said shoulder, a rod carried by the piston rod from said cylinder, a cam lvdisposed upon said rod to release said latch, a release valve connected with the inlet end of said cylinder, a leveru extended from said release valve, and ins carried by said rod at opposite sides o said lever to engage the same in the travel of the rod.

12; In an automatic train control device,

pressure cylinder and piston connected to operate said mechanism, an intake valve for -controlling said cylinder, a depending trip rod from said valve provided with a sto at its lower end, a bell-crank trip lever, an an arm from said lever having means to engage4 the upper surface of seid sto to permit-reverse action..` of the trip wit out actuating vsaid rod.

13. In an automatic traincontrol device, throttle valve mechanism, a lever mounted to engage and actna'te said mechanism, a fiuid pressure cylinder, a piston therein having its rod connected with one end of seid lever, an air brake controlling mechanism,

and a crank arm disposedin the path of said lever and connected to said air brake mechamsm. i

14. In an automatic train control device,

ico

fluid pressure cylinder, a piston therehaving its rod connected with one end of said lever, an air brake controllin mechanism, a pvoted crank having oppositel disposed arms one of which is located in t e path of travel of said lever, an actuating lever for said brake controlling mechanism, and a link extended from the opposite crank arm and provided with a slotted. connection-with the air brake actuatin lever.

In testimony w ereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

Isaac W. HED'GES.

Witnesses:

J. B. McKAr,

E. Lonen MILLER.

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