US1355329A - Emergency train-stopping mechanism - Google Patents

Description

B.-GWATK|N, V. E.,RANDALL AND W. E. WHITE. EMERGENCY TRAIN STOPPING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1917.

1,355,329. I Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

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B. GWATKIN, V. E. RANDALL AND W. E. WHITE.

EMERGENCY TRAIN STOPPING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED m4. 9, 1911.

. Patented 05a 12,1920.

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WITNESSES. J N Vela/Tons I w-zL 6Q%?Z QZZM WM;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- BENJAMIN GWATKIN AND VICTOR E. RANDALL, OF BATTLE OREEK, AND WILSON E.

WHITE, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

' EMERGENCY TRAIN-STOPPING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented O t. 1920i Application filed January 9, 1917. Serial No. 141,484.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BENJAMIN GWATKIN and VIoToR E. RANDALL, citizens of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, and l/VILSON E. WHITE, of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Emergency Train-Stopping Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to emergency train stopping mechanism by which a moving train may be brought to a standstill through external means wholly outside of the action of an engineer, fireman or train operative.

If through illness, accident or oversight of an engineer, an order to slacken orstop atrain under his charge has been violated,

serious consequences and oftentimes greatloss of life and destruction of property has resulted.v The present invention has chief among its objects the avoidance of such catastrophes, and to provide means whereby a train may be brought to a standstill without injury to the rolling stock and wholly independent of any action at the hands of a trainman. Gther objects are, to provide a mechanism for the purpose where by the brakes to both theengine and train may be applied through devices on the engine that will cut into the air-brake system and throttle the engine at one and the same time by means of local external apparatus either to the outside or between the rails over which the train passes; whereby the throttle valve mechanism may be operated withoutmolesting the engineers hand lever; whereby the mechanism willbe comparatively simple and compact, economical to manufacture, durable and positive in operation, and capable of being'installed on engines not especially designed for the purpose. With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain arrangement and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and described.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification, Figure l is a rear view ofa locomotive with our improved train stopping mechanism and a stationary lever operated stop set to intercept and operate said mechanism, the engine being represented as moving in a forward direction.

Fig. 2 is a broken side View of an engine with the train stopping mechanism, and a stationary lever operated stop set to intercept and operate said mechanism, the engine. being represented as moving in a forward direction.

Fig. 3 is a detail front elevation of the automatic mechanism for throttling the 1' steam and cutting into the train air brake pipe servlce.

F 4; is a side elevation of the same.

Flg. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 3 on the dotted line it.

In the drawings, like marks of reference refer to corresponding parts in the different views in which A, represents a locomotive; B, 1ts cab; C, the roadbed, including its cross ties and rails; D, a stationary lever' operated stop fitted between the ties of the road bed, the same being set to intercept the crank E of the mechanism attached to v the locomotive for-operating the train stopping mechanism proper.

The stop D, as herein shown, may be controlled from a source at a distance from which it is operated, or'in combination with a semaphore, switch or other device, and, again, it might be simply a portable stop such as is set forth and described in the application for Letters Patent #92862 of April 2, 1916.

F, represents the customary engineers valve through which air is supplied in the usual manner from storage tank, as G, from a pump H, and 1, 1, represent the air train brake pipes leading from the engineto the train for operating the brake service of said sion of steam through the pipe 5, as will be hereinafter more fully described. I

Pivoted to one side of the piston rod 6 on an extension 7 of the bracket of the 7 pin. 10.

with said vent.

brackets 30, a rock-shaft 31 is fitted.

mechanism and crossing said rod in a hori zontal direct on, is the. engineers throttle operating lever 8. This lever is controlled with a latch and quadrant by the engineer in the ordinary manner for operating an engine under normal conditions, the latch and quadrant not being shown. At a point on the lever 8' between its pivotal connec tion 11 and the rod 6, the throttle valve rod 9 is attached by means of a forked-topped The pin 11' on which'the throttle lever 8 hinges has a forked lower extremity 11 be tween the prongs of which a goose=neck lever 12' is pivoted on a pin Z, the upper curved extremity of which overhangs the forked pin 10 to which it isconnected by a link 13, an extension 14 having a friction roller 15 at its extremityforming a part below the goose-neck portion aforesaid.

The piston rod 6' has a transversely-disposed race 16 upon which the roller 15 is adapted to rest, the roller in connection with a guide finger 17 extending below the race 16, preventing the lever 12from vertical dis:

placement with said race, yet permitting the throttle lever 8 and arm 12 free lateral movement with respect to the piston rod' 6.

The throttle valve rod 9 to one side of its pivotal connection with the lever 8 forms a yoke 18. This yoke straddles a flattened guide 19 fitted to or forming a part of the piston rod 6, the guide having a tapering edge 21 slanting from its top downwardly toward the locomotive boiler, thence terminating vertically. The tapering surface of the guide 21 is such that its contact with the yoke 18 will move the throttle rod and close the valve of an engine when the piston rod 6 is moved sufficiently upward.

A stem 22 having a longitudinal slot 23 forms a terminal of the piston rod '6. This stem operates through a chamber 25 in a bracket from which chamber one or more tubes connect with the train air brake pipes 1. The upper end of the chamber 25 is screw-threaded and fitted with a correspondingly screw-threaded air escape plug 26, verchamber 25 about the rod both above and below the bracket by means of gasket packings 27 and 28, respectively, when the rod 22 is in normal positionas shown, but capableof permitting air to escape through the vent 29 in the plug 26 when the rod 22 is elevated to permit'the slot 23 to register from the engine frame by This Suspended shaft carries a double crank E, the lower arm of which hangs below the rock-shaft 31, and it is arranged to engage the upturned arm 32 of the stop D when the latter is elevated, whether the engine is going forward arm 32 is elevated, the crank E willoperate the valve 34 and provide a passage p'ermit ting steam to flow from the engine boiler into the cylinder 1 and cause its piston to move upwardly. As will be obvious, an upward movement of the piston 6 audits-race 16 will by means of the friction roller 15 and its arm 14 cause the goose-neck arm 12 to swing upwardly on its pivot 11 and cause the link 13 to rais e'the throttle rod pin 10 and release the throttle rod from the engineers lever 8.

The arrangement of the parts is such that immediately following the lifting of the pin 10 from the 'engineers lever 8, the taperingfaced guide 21 will cause the throttle rod 9 to move inwardly and close the engine valve, and immediately upon closing the engine valve to. stop the engine by cutting off the steam supply. The stem 22 of the piston rod 6, will, through the aforesaid process, have raised sufiiciently high within the apertured plug 26 to permit the slot 23to regis-. ter with the vent 29 in the plug 26 and per mit the air in the train pipes l, 1, to flow through the lead pipes 23 and'24i and cham ber 25, and escape by means of'the slot 23 and the vent 29 when the stem 22 has been sufiiciently elevated to register the aforesaid openings and-cause the brakes on both the engine and train to be set through means of a triple fvalve system in such manner as would be the case should a leak occur in the train service pipes and the train be brought to a standstill through the operation of the mechanism as set'forth. I

To enable a train to proceed, the parts of necessity are restored to their former-position, which can be readily accomplished by turning the crank E to its normal position,

. (a process which ordinarily makes it necessary for the engineer or some train operative to dismount from the locomotive), after which the pin 10 maybe passed through the valve rod and the engineers lever 8.

It wouldbe obvious that in lieu of em ploying' steam to actuate the piston inthe cylinder 4, compressed air would answer as well for the purpose, an object in employing the steam'being to afford means for throttling an engine bymeans of its own motive" force in the absence of compressed air, which is not available under every circumstance. The piston having been operated either through the means of steam or compressed air, as aforesaid, may be restored to its normal position by releasing compression in said cylinder through the medium of an escape pipe 50 having a vent sufiiclently small to permit the pressure in the cylinder to actuate the piston and afterward to be gradually released through said pipe, or the pi e may be under the control of a pet cock.

Ve are aware that certain details of construction could be resorted to without departing from or sacrificing the spirit of our invention, and we reserve the right to arrange and construct the various elements in any manner compatible with the intent and scope of our invention.

Having, therefore, described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the class set forth, the combination with a locomotive and a stopping device fitted near the rails over which the locomotive passes, a rock-arm fitted to the locomotive in alinement and arranged to engage said stopping device, a cylinder mounted on said locomotive, a piston rod operative from within said cylinder, a valve to control the motive force that actuates said piston rod, meansconnecting said rock-arm with said valve whereby said valve may be operated from said I'OCLQIHI when in engagement with said stopping device, means for disconnecting the throttle valve lever from the throttle valve rod, and means for closing the throttle valve by an upward movement of said piston rod subsequent to means for disconnecting the throttle valve lever from the throttle valve rod.

Ina device of the class set forth, the combination with the locomotive, a throttle valve and valve rod, the engineers lever for operating the valve rod, the air brake system of said locomotive and a track device for engaging train stopping mechanism on said locomotive, of a cylinder mounted on said locomotive, a piston rod operative from within said cylinder, a valve to control the motive force for operating said piston rod from within said cylinder, means to actuate said valve by engaging said track device,-

means on said piston rod for disconnecting the engineers lever from said throttle valve rod, and means on said piston rod for moving said throttle valve lever to close said throttle valve by an upward stroke movement of said piston rod subsequent to disconnecting said throttle valve lever from said throttle valve rod, and means for operating said air brake system by said piston rod subsequent to said means for disconnesting the engineers lever from said throttle valve rod.

3. In a device of the class set forth, the combination with a locomotive, its throttle valve and throttle valve rod, the engineers lever pivoted to said rod for operating said valve, the air brake system of the locomotive, and a track device for engaging train stopping mechanism on said locomotive, of a cylinder fitted to said locomotive, a piston rod operative from within said cylinder, means to actuate said piston rod wholly outside of any action of a locomotive attendant, said piston rod extending from said cylinder to one side of said throttle valve rod, an arm pivotally mounted to one side of said throttle valve rod and extending above the pivotal connection with said engineers lever,

a link connecting said arm with said pivotal 7 connection, means for elevating said arm and releasing said pivotal pin by an upward movement of said piston rod, and means to push in said valve rod and close said valve subsequent'to releasing said pivotal pin, the same to be automatically accomplished by the upward movement of said piston rod.

4. In a device of the. class set forth, the combination with the locomotive, a throttle valve and valve rod, the engineers lever for operating the valve rod, the air brake system of said locomotive and a track device for engaging train stopping mechanism on said locomotive, of .a cylinder mounted on said locomotive, a piston rod operative from within said cylinder, means to actuate said valve by engaging said track device, an arm pivotally suspended from the pivotal pin of said engineers lever, a link suspended from the opposite end of said arm and pivotally connected with the pin connecting the throttle valve with the engineers lever, means for elevating said arm and releasing the pin connecting the throttle valve rod by an upward movement of saidpiston rod, and means 'to push in said valve rod and close said valve subsequent to releasing the pin connecting the throttle valve rod, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a device of the class set forth, the combination with the locomotive, a throttle valve and valve rod, the engine ers lever for operating the valve rod, the air brake system of said locomotive and a track device for engaging train stopping mechanism on said locomotive, of a cylinder mounted on said locomotive, a motive induction pipe leading to said cylinder, a valve controlling the motive element through said pipe to said cylinder, a rock arm extending from said valve, a rock shaft journaled to said locomotive, a rock arm extending from said shaft adapted to engage said track device, a connecting rod connecting the rock arm extending from said valve with the rocl arm of said rock shaft whereby when said track device is engaged by the one said valve will be opened, a piston operative from within said cylinder by said motive element, an arm pivotally suspended from the pivotal pin of said engineers lever, a link suspended from the opposite end of said arm and pivotally connected with thepin eonncctingthe throttle valverod with said engineers lever, a transverse race on said pis ton, means extending from said arm engaging said race whereby. said arm may be moved laterally along said race. by the oper ation of said engineers lev said race adapted to lift. sa d arm by an upwar movement of said pistonand lift said pin connect ng said thro le. v lve rod With. sa d g n leve means to close said throttle valve by an upward movement of said pisn su s quent to disengag ng the. p n. c nnectmg said throttle valve rod from said en- V glneer s lever, and means to operate sa d air leading to said cylinder, a valvefor' con trolling the motive element through said pipe" to said cylinder, means forfoperating said'valve Wholly independent of the initiative of a locomotive or other attendant,

.means to disconnect said engineers lever from saiditlnfottle valve rod by an upward movement ol'- said piston rod antecedent to means, for closing said throttle valve by an upward movement of sa d plston rod, and,

means to operate said air brake. system subsequent to closing said throttle valve, for the purpose set forth.

7. In a device of the class set forth, the

combination with the air brake system or" a locomotive, the engineers lever. throttle valverod and the throttle valve, of a cylingoos -neck lever engaging said horizontal race whereby said race. will permit said.

goose-neck lever to have lateral sway in the operation of said-enginecrs lever with said throttle, but will lift the pin connecting said ngineers lever with said throttle valve rod by an upwardmovement of said piston rod, said tapering guide adapted to push in on said yoke striding said guide and close said throttle valve subsequent 'to lifting said goose-neck lever and said link and disengaging said pin connecting said engineers lever with said throttle valve rod, and means to operate said air brake system of said locomotive subsequent to closing said throttle valve, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Detroit, Mich, Dec. 27 1916, BENJAMIN GWATKIN. VICTOR E. RANDALL. Witnesses V r H. F. WINGATE, F. H. WINGATE;

I WVILSON E. WHITE.

Witnesses Rrormnp W. BUTLER, B. L. SMITH.

said piston rod, roller and a linger on said 7

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