US1412990A - Signal-governing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

A. I. WOODRING.

SIGNAL GOVERNING APPARATUS.

, AFPLECM'ION FILED JULY i, 1921.

Patenwd Apia 18, 1922.

Illlillllllli I71 pan to 7-, A.I. Wo 'dring,

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ALBERTO-I. WOODRING, or WA'IEELOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE a. I. WOODRING COMPANY, or wA'rnRLoo, IOWA. I

SIGNAL-GOVERNING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERTO I. lVooDRINo, a citizen of the-United States of'America, and a resident of Waterloo, Blackhawk County, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signal-Governing apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

. valve to provide signal blasts and intervals therebetween of predetermined durations successively.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is an elevation of my signal governing apparatus as operatively connected to a whistle, and Fig. 2 is an elevation, in partial section, of the resiliently-controlled detent-carrying winding-drum device.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Locomotive engineers are required to cause diiierent whistle signals to'be made at different places and for different purposes, and particularly are generally required to have'a certain signal made at highway-crossings, consisting of two. blasts of the. whistle- 01": two seconds duration each, separated by a one second interval,'the second blast being 'Followed by a one second interval with following two blasts of the whistle of one sec.-

' ond duration each, separated by a one second interval, a total'of nine seconds in all. It is, however, often not possible for the engineer to manually control exactly the respective durations of said blasts'and'their'intervals, for his attention is required for other duties. I

My improved apparatus for effecting this proper sequence of blasts and their intervals in the required durations thereof may be .manually actuated reactively upon a single traction of a pull-cord and its release so that the attention of the engineer is not distracted from a simultaneous duty.

In my device the numeral 1 denotes a Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

Application filed July 1, 1921'. Serial No. 481,986. r

well-known type of locomotive steam-whistle controlled by a valve whose outwardly proyecting stem 2 is shifted to open the valve by means of a pivoted lever 3. The numeral 41 denotes a pull-cord connected to a terminal eye in the lever 23 in the usual way but having its other end connected to an eye in a'bar 5 which has on its opposite end an orificed angularly extending ear 5'. A short rod 6 is positioned parallel with the bar 5, has a rigid fillet 6 and a diminished terminally thread ed part 8 passed through the orifice in the ear 5 with an adjusting nut on its outer end, a

coiled compression spring 7 being mounted on said diminished part between the ear 5 and said fillet 6. A hanger 27 is secured to some elevated support rigidly and has a lateral'projection 11 with a terminal abutment 12. On one side face of the projection 11, a lever 13 is pivoted near its curved lower end on a pintle 14, said curved lower end having an ofiiset shoulder 15 crossing it is indicated by the dotted line. The numeral 17 denotes a terminally forked element pivoted to the curved part of the lever 13 on a pintle 16. An antifriction roller 18 is pivotally mounted between the parts of the element 17, and the opposite end ofsaid element is extended far enough so that the'shoulder 15 serves as a stop to limit movement thereof in one direction. In the longer part of the lever 13 isan lar form rigidly bracketed on the opposite face of the hanger 27, and its lower vertical memberis medially orificed to receive a rockshaft 20 on one end of which a windingdrum 19 is fixedly mounted whose circumferential groove receives a pull-cord 25 having a terminal handle 26,'the other endof the cord being secured in said groove. One circumferential edge of said drum has a group of circumferentially spaced radial projections 21., 22. 23 and 24E, of which the projections 21 and 22 are of the same narrow circumferential width while the other projections 23 and 2st are oi the same and a wider circunrferen'tial width. Allthe intervals between said projections are of the same circumierential width. As shown, these relative widths or projections and interspaces are predetermined and in a certain adjustment of the aparatus and while the drum 19 is rocking in one direction reactively, the projections and their intervals will operate to cause blasts of the whistle 1 of a duration and separated by intervals of silence, such as was hereinbefore mentioned.

A spring-barrel 29 is formed rigidly on the lower part of the hanger 27 and has an integrally conjoined dash-pot 30'011 its end opposite the winding-drum 19, both the spring-barrel and dash-pot having alined bearing-openings to receive the rock-shaft 20 through certain of their walls, but the end of said shaft extends only far enough into the cavity of the dash-pot to carry a crankarm 32 whose crank-pin has mounted thereon an anti-friction roller 33 seated in a horizontal groove in a solid piston 34; reciprocable within the dash-pot which is nearly filled with a cushioning fluid such as oil; A spiral spring 31 is positioned within the barrel 29 around the shaft 20, with its inner end fastened to the shaft, and its outer end fastened to the barrel.

W/Vhen the pull-cord 25 is pulled downwardly, it rocks the drum 19 in the direction indicated by the arrow, placing the spring 31 under tension and moving down the piston 34: to cushion the end of the stroke. As the projections 21 to 24; move upwardly, they successively contact with the roller 18 and rock the element 17 without actuating the lever 13. When the pull-cord 25 is released, the spiral spring 31reacts to rock the drum 19 oppositely, and as the projections 21 to 24.- successively contact with and rock the element 17 downwardly, the outer end of the element being engaged with the shoulder 15, causes the lever 13 to rock toward said drum imparting a movement to the right to the whistle-lever 3 as each projection trips said element 17 at the predetermined like intervals. The upper edges of the projections 21 to 24 are straight and radial but the lower or opposite edges thereof are slopingly curved so as to prolong their action in connection with the respective different widths of the projections to cause the whistle to give blasts of the required durations as determined by the length of stroke of the lever 13 as adjustably connected by the pintle 10 to the rod 6. The spring 7 has a cushioning effect upon these interlinked connections to prevent injurious shocks during actuation and at the end thereof.

The abutment 12 on the bracket 11 limits movement to the left of the upper part of the lever l3.

It is obvious that slight changes or modifications in the elements and their arrange ment in this apparatus are included in the scope of this invention, and that the appa V ratus may in principle, be applied to actuate other species of signals as desired.

Having described my invention, what I raiaeeo means adapted to be initially set by a single manual impulse and connected thereto to operate it automatically reactively in a predetermined succession of' 'actuations and intervals between actuations.

8. In combinatioma signaling device, and

means connected thereto to operate it in a predetermined succession of variably timed actuations and intervals between actuations. at. In combination, a signaling device, and means connected thereto to operate it in an adjustably variable succession of actuations separated by adjustably variable intervals.

5. In combination, a signaling device, and an operating device therefor connected thereto, said operating device including an elastic element, means for placingsaid element under tension releasably, and mechanism adapted to be operatedby said'elastic element after being placed under tension, and then released to actuate said signaling device at successive intervals.

6. In combination, a signaling device, and an operating device therefor connected thereto, saidoperating device including tensionable reaction means adapted to be set initially by a single manual power impulse and then to reactively automatically operate said signaling device in a desired number of successive actuations, with the timing of said actuations and their intervals predetermined.

. 7 In combination, a signaling device, and

an operating device therefor connected,

thereto, comprising a rocking element having a plurality of spaced projections, the

projections and their interspaces being of predetermined widths, a lever fulcrumed to be engaged and moved by said projections while said element is rocked in one direction only, and linking connections between said lever and said signaling device.

8. In combination, a signaling device, and an operating device therefor connected thereto for manual actuation thereof, comprising a rocking element having circumferential projections separated by spaces, bothsaid projections and spaces beingof predetermined widths, a resilient element connected to said. rocking element, means for tensioning said resilient element releasably while rocking said rocking element to one position, a pivoted lever operatively connected to said signaling device adjustably,

and having thereon a pivoted terminal element engageable yieldably with said proall jections While the resilient means is being tensioned, and engageable non-yieldingly with said projections while said resilient means is reacting.

9. In combination, a whistle signal having an operating valve, a pivoted lever operable to actuate said valve, a rocking element having a plurality of circumferential projections of predetermined difierent Widths, separated by spaces of predetermined widths, a pivoted-lever having a pivoted terminal and means for limiting movement of said terminal in one direction, said terminal being positioned in the path of rotation of said projections to yieldingly engage them While the rocking element is rocked in one direction and to engage them releasably to rock the second-mentioned lever while the said element is rocked in an opposite direction, adjustable resilient linking-means between said levers, a yieldable resilient body connected between said-rocking element and a fixed support, means for manually rocking said rocking element in a direction to place said resilient bodyunder tension releasably, and means for cushioning the rocking element at either limit of its rocking movement.

10. A device of the character described, comprising a resiliently-controlled element manually actuable releasably in one direction, a movable contact-device, said element having means for successively moving said contact-device at desired intervals and durations only While the element is in reactive movement in another direction after being manually actuated and then released, and operative connections between said contactdevice and a movable actuating element of a signaling-device. I

Signed at l Vaterloo, Iowa, this 16th day of June, 1921.

ALBERTO I. WOODRING.

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