US1547454A - Railway safety device - Google Patents

Description

July 28, 1925.

A. HQSiMME RAILWAY SAFETY DEVICE 1922,, 5 Sheets-Sheet -1 A. H. SIMMS RAILWAY SAFETY DEVICE July 28, 1925. 1,547,454

Filed Apri1 l2- 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 amid?- A. H. SIMMS v RAILWAY SAFETY DEVI GE Filed April 12. 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 5 July .28, 1925. 1,547,454

A. H. SIMMS RAILWAY SAFETY DEVICE Filed A rirlg, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 28, 1925. 1,547,454

A. H. SIMMS RAILWAY SAFETY DEVICE Filed April- 12, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 28, 1925.

UNI-TED STATES AMOS HOFFMAN SIMMS, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AILWAY SAFETY DEVICE.

Application filed April 12, 1922. Serial No. 551,757.

To all who-m it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMos HOFFMAN SIMMs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Safety Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety devices for railway systems and has for its principal object the provision of means capable of use either with or without the customary signaling systems for automatically stopping trains.

A further object of the invention is to provide means supported adjacent to the track and adapted to be moved into position to automatically operate means carried by a train for setting the brakes and closing the throttle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a duplex system of brake control including independent mechanical and electrical devices for applying the brakes automatically under predetermined conditions.

'A further object of the invention is to provide a system of safety devices for railway crossings whereby when one train passes the'home signal and enters the block other trains from all directions are automatically stopped short ofthe crossing or the block.

Further objects of the invention will become apparent as the description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating selected embodiments of invention in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a track system with my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a portion of an engine cab illustrating the application of my invention and the means adj acent to the track for operating the devices carried by the train.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail illustrating the cam used to set in operation the safety devices carried by the train.

Fig.4 is a side elevation ofa portion of an engine cab illustrating the initial position of the parts when the train reaches the stop cam.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail partly in section illustrating the means for supporting and moving the stop cam.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the 'ineans for closing thethrottle. t 1

Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the invention as applied to a railway junc-' tion of two single tracks.

Fig. 8 is a diagram of certain circuits which may be used in connection with my improved safety device.

Fig. 9 is a diagram of a circuit which may be employed in connection with my improved safety device when the safety device is operated in unison with a semaphore.

Fig. 10 is a diagram of a circuit which may be employed to operate motor devices carriedinthe cabs of the locomotives of a railway system to which my invention has been applied.

' Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing 5, 6, 7 and 8 indicate the tracks of a system in which tracks 5 and 8 are for one-way traffic and tracks 6 and '7 for two-way traffic. Track 8 is shown equipped with a siding 9 and a stop mast 10 made according to my invention for the purpose of preventing a train from entering an open switch at the siding 9. A signal bridge 11 of the usual construction spans the two-way tracks 6 and 7 and carries semaphores 12 and 13 on suitable masts 11 and 15. Each of these masts is also equipped with a cam 16 movably supported by uprights 17 suspended from the ends of levers 18 pivotally mounted on the masts 1 1 and and moved in unison with the semaphores 12 and 13. The track 5 is equipped with a signal mast 19 and a stop mast 20, the break in the track between these indicating the necessary distance to take care of the trains running at maximum speed. The stop masts 10 and 20 are each equipped with cams 16 in all respects similar to those carried by the uprights 17 and. which are moved into and out of operative position by means shown in Fig. 2. I

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be noted that each stop mast includes two side pieces 21 anchored in a suitable foundation22 and. connected at the top by a cross-piece 23.1 Between the side pieces 21 is a casing 2 K for suitable motor equipment and extending upwardly from the casing is a tubular 'hous. ing 25 which terminates at its upper end in a small casing 26 best shown in Fig. 2. Suitable motor devices are located within the casing 24 for operating a pitman rod-27 pivoted at 28 to a connecting rod 29, journalled on and at the middle of a crank 30 which has its ppos e ends arranged in nected with the semaphores.

suitable bearings 31 in the sides of the cas ing 26. The ends of the crank extend through the casing as indicated'in Fig. 5 and are equipped with levers 32 connected t0- gether at one end by a stay 33 and carrying at their opposite ends hangers 3 1 for a stop cam 16 like that shown in Fig. 1..

I 37 and locks 38 so: as to make it possible to prevent unauthorized adjustment. Each of the stop-masts is also preferably provided with a lamp. 3? arranged to show red when the cam 16 isin operativeposition.

Thev semaphores, 12 and 13 may be. operated by the usual mechanism receiving power from a. motor or the like within the casings. 38.; which operate pivoted, rods similar to 2:? above described operatively con- In that case the levers 18' will be connected with a crank similar to that shown at 30 in Fig. 2 and operated from apivotecl rod in unison with the semaphores. It will be understood that sition. The cam. 16' on the mast .10 is automaticallybrought to operative position when the switch 9 is o-penedyand that is-preferably: accomplished by connecting the mechanism with the track circuit inthe manner customary with semaphores so that whenthe switch is opened the circuit will be broken and the cam willfall by gravity to opera tive position. As the track circuit usually carries only two. volts, it is necessary to energize the cam mechanism from some other source, such as the present signal system or a special installation similar to that system and auxiliary thereto. When the track circuit is broken an automatic switch or relay will connect the cam mechanism: with the source of suitable voltage. In Fig. 8 I have illustrated circuits which; may be employed to. control: the operation of the cam 16.' In its closed position, the switch ,9 of track 8' is adapted to hold in closed vices located within the casing 24, the motor devices being adapted to control the cam 16 through mechanism comprising the pitman rod 27, as hereinbeiore set forth. The circuit which includes the motor devices comprises conductors 9 and 9 and a generator or battery 9 One end of the conductor 9 is connected to a contact 9 which isadapted'. to be engaged by the armature 9 whenever therelay 9 is deenergized. It will be noted that when the switch 9' .is in its open position the relay 9 remains energized and it will be readily understoodthat when the switch 9 is'brought to its open position the bar 9 will be disengaged from the contacts .9 and the armature 9 vwill drop or be retracted into a position wherein it engages the contact 9'.

The cams 16 on the masts lt and 15.

will be set with the semaphores 12 and 13 and the cam 16. on the mast 20 will be set by suitably controlled mechanism in atower or the like as will be well understoodxby those skilled'in the art. .Prei erably this: cam will be set in operative position when the semaphore 40 carried by the signal. mast 19 is "set for danger. Fig. 9diagrammati-g call y illustrates a circuit which maybe manually controlled from a tower-or the like-'andwhich is in turn adapted to 0011- trol suitable motor-devices for moving the cam 16 inunisonwith a semaphore. .The

semaphore 12 is secured to a shaft 12%which is made to rotate in unison with. the crank 30 by means of sprockets 12? and-12 secured to the shaft 12 and crank 3.0,v re spectively, and a sprocketchain 124 meshing with the sprockets. Suitable motor .devices or an electro-magnetic device may bev housed in the casing 38 and form a part oi a normally closed circuit which comprises a generator or battery 12 connected to the mechanism in the casing 38 by conductors 112, 12 and 12. The conductors 12 and 12 may lead to a tower or the like to permit distant manual contact of the circuit by means of aswitch 12 It will be readily understood that the mechanism enclosed within the casing- 38 may hold the semaphore 12 and the cam 16 in clear posi tions when the switch 12* is closed, and

also that said mechanism, when the switch is opened, may permit: the semaphore 12 Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, the cab of the locomotive ;or other suitable part of the train is provided with an arm 41 pivoted at l2 to move about a substantlah ly horizontal axis and carrying at its free end a roller- 43 adapted to strike and run along a cam 16 when the latter is in lowered or operative position. In order to make this arm adjustable'as to lengthit is'composed of two sections i4 and 455 theformer having a sleeve 46 in which the latter is adjustably mounted and held in position by bolts 47 set in selected holes 48.

The arm 4-1 is normally held in lowered position by a spring 49 having one end se cured to the arm and the other end connected with the cab as indicated at 50. Passing through'the 1 spring 50 and forniing a guide therefor is a link 51 pivoted at its upper end to the arm 41 and its lower end to one arm 52 of a lever 53 pivoted on a shaft 54 and having'an oppositely extending arm 55 connected with the depending link 56. The lower end of the link 56 has a slot 57 in which is loosely mounted a pin carried by a lever 59 connected with a valve 60. The valve 60 is connected with a short length of pipe 61 carried by a T connection 62 screwed into the pipe 63 which connects through another T connection 64 with the air line 65 of the train system. The pin '58 is normally in the lower end of the slot 57 and consequently when the roller 43 rides up on the cam 16 the lever 41 through the intermediate mechanism described Will raise'the link 56 and open the valve 60, relieving; the air pressure and" setting the brakes.

In order to avoid possible failure to apply the brakes. on account of some trouble with thismechanical mechanism for opening the valve 60, I provide theopposite end of the pipe 61. with a similar valve 66 having a pinion 67 meshing with the pinion 68 driven by a motor 69 suitably supported on a shelf 70 below the engine mans seat in the cab. The means for energizing the motor 69 will be described hereinafter.

'It will be clear from the foregoing that when a train approaches a stop mast upon which the cam 16 has been lowered into operative position the roller 43 will ride upwardly on the cam and through the leverage-of the arm 41 it will mechanically open the valve 60 relieving the air line and applying the brakes. Simultaneously the circuit being closed through the cam 16 and the roller e3 the motor 69 will open'the valve 66 also relieving the air line and setting the brakes. As a result of this duplex system it will be practically impossible for a train to pass a stop mast with the cam 16 set in operative position, for in the event of failure on the part of the mechanical devices the electrical equipment Will relieve the air line or upon failure of the electrical equipment the mechanical devices will relieve the air line.

'After the operation of this automatic "with a pair of brushes 86 means for opening the valves 60 and 66 it is necessary for the engine man to descend from the cab and manually close them. The lever 59 provides a handle for closing the valve 60 and. the valve 66 is equipped with a suitable handle 7 3 whereby the valve 66 may be closed against any opposing force presented by the armature of the motor 69.

When two or more locomotives are to be used on a single train it is obvious that only one should have the automatic means for applying the brakes and for this reason I provide the pipe 63 with a valve 7 4 having a handle 7 5 by which itmay be opened or closed. This valve is located Within a box 76 provided with a door 77 controlled by a lock 78 so that the conductor can set the valve 7 L according to the necessity of the particular situation and prevent the engineer or any one else from changing the setting. I

It is desirable to close the throttle automatically at the same time the brakes are applied and for this purpose I provide the following mechanism: The throttle 80 is provided with a pair of outstanding arms 81 (Fig. 6) and a quadrant 82 is pivoted to one of the arms, said quadrant having gear teeth 83 adapted to mesh with the pinion 84 on the shaft of a motor 85. The motor 65 is preferably energized from a battery 86 adjacent the tracks, but it may be energized from any suitable source of electrical energy which is operatively disposed with respect to the railway. As shown in Fig. 10 the battery 86 is also adapted to energize the aforementioned motor 69. A conductor 86 connects the battery with the section of the track which is insulated from the remainder of the track as indicated at 86". The battery is also connected to the cam 16 by a conductor 86. One side of each of the motors 69 and 85 is grounded in the locomotive by means of a conductor 86 which in this instance properly connects the motors with an aXle of the locomotive. The other'sides of the motors are connected by a conductor 86 to the arm 41 carried by the locomotive. The M11141 is, of course, insulated from the remainder of the mechanism of the locomotive. The conductor 66 does not connect directly to the brushes of the motors as I prefer to employ means for limiting angular displacement of the armatures of the motors, the. means comprising metallic disks 86 and 86 secured to the shafts of the motors 69 and 85 respectively. The disk 86 is provided with a pair of brushes 86 and the disk 86 is provided Each of the disks has. a pair of diametrically disposed insulating arcuate sections 86. The conductor 86 is connected to one of the brushes 86 and to one of the brushes 86. A conductor 86 connects the other of the brushes the roller 43 ca-rried by the arm 41, current willflow from the battery 86 through the conductor 86, cam 16, roller 43, arm 41, conductor 86, the metallic disks 86 and 86 the motors 69 and 85, the conductor 86 the axles and Wheels of the locomotive, a

section of the track, and through the conductor 86' back intothe battery 86. The current will continue to flow until the armatures of the motors 69 and have rotated to positions wherein the brushes 86 and 86 rest upon the insulating sections 86 of the metallic disks 86' and 86*. It will be readily understood that the motors 69 and 85 are therefore adapted to; operate the valve 66 and the throttle 80. When the circuit which comprises the battery 86 is closed the motor 69 will open the valve 66 and the motor 85 will close the throttle 80. The valve 66 and the armatures of the motors 69 and 85 may be restored to their normal positions by means of the handle 73 associated with the valve 66 and by means of the throttle lever.

As the throttle must be normally operated manually I connect the quadrant 82 through an escapement link 88 to a locking lever 89 pivoted at 90 on the throttle and adapted to be moved into the path of the lug 91 on the quadrant. The locking lever 89 is connected by a link 92 to a thumb lever93 adjacent to the handle 94 of the throttle which is normally held in position indicated by the spring 95. A spring 96 connecting one of the arms 81 t0 the quadrant normally holds the latter in position to engage the teeth 83 thereon with the pinion 84. When the engine man grips the thumb lever 93 looking lever- 89 is swung away from the lug 91 and the quadrant 82 is simultaneously withdrawn from the engagement with the pinion 82 so that the throttle can be moved to the desired position. This mechanism is substantially the same as that described and claimed in my Patent No. 1,336,986 granted April 13, 1920.

It is the duty of the engine manto stop the train whenever the visible signals are set against him and before the automatic mechanism herein described becomes operative. To providea check on the engine man I preferably equip each train with a register 98 connected with the arm 41 by a link 99 and adapted to show through a window 100 the number of times the automatic mechanism has been operated.

In Fig. 7 I have shown my invention applied to a railway junction of single tracks. In this figure 101, 102, 103 and 104 are signalmasts carrying distant signals 105, 106, 107, 108 respectively. Between these masts manner. The stop masts are each equipped with cams 16 arranged as above described.

The breaks in the tracks between the stop masts and the home signal masts indicate] the necessary distance to permit the automatic mechanism to stop the trains before they reach the home signals. 1

When an engine passes a distant 118, the signal becomes setfor danger and simultaneously the'stop cams on masts-110,-

111, 112 and 113 are lowered to operative position so that all trains from all directions will be stopped. Assoon. as the rear end of such a trainclearsthe home signal 120 all the cams 16 will be raised and all the signals will be dropped.

The tour stop cams are operated automatically and simultaneously and may be in the .same circuit, if desired. The. four home signals are in one circuit and can be operated by the tower. man. But when the first engine passes a home signal on the near side of the junction the tower man has no control of the signals until after the rear: end clears the home signal on the far side of the junction. The operation of thestop cams is automatic and the tower man has no control over them. The wiringznecessary to produce these results will be. obvious to those skilled in the art and vI have therefore omitted detailed description and illustration, since the control over the stop cams on the masts 110, 111, 112 and 113 does not form a part of the invention claimed in this application.

From the foregoing it will be clear that I have provided an apparatus for auto matically stopping trains under predetermined conditions which is simple in construction and so disposed that it will not be readily affected by weather conditions. The

use of both mechanical and electrical means for applying the brakes when it is desired to automatically stop the train is of very great practical value for it makes it extremely unlikely that conditions would ever arise under which'the brakes would not be applied upon engagement of the means carried by the train with a stop cam 16.

The installation illustrated by Fig. 7 is very efiective in preventing accidents at junctions, for as soon as one train enters the block trams from all other directions are signal, as 105, the slgnal becomes set for caution, and when an engine passes ahome signal, as

automatically and certainly stopped before they can reach the junction. In the illus-;

tration I have shown single tracks but it will be obvious that the principles can be applied to the junction of any number of tracks.

The raising and lowering of the stop cams may be elfected in any suitable manner, but as before indicated, it is preferable to operate them by means similar to that used in operating the semaphore signals, since this system will in most cases be auxiliary to the present signal system. The electric power transmitted through the cams 16 to the motors on the locomotive may be drawn from any suitable source, but it will simplify the maintenance if they are connected with the signal installation or with a similar installation. However it will be understood that energy for operating the motors 69 and 85 can be supplied from the locomotive or other source on the train and the connection made by an automatic switch or the like.

It is also very important to have the valve 74 between the air line and the valves and 66 so that the automatic mechanism on all except one locomotive can be put out of operation when several locomotives are connected to one train. The location of the valve 74 within a box controlled by a lock places this automatic mechanism entirely under the control of the conductor or other proper authority so that the engine man cannot tamper with it.

I am aware that changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the invention, as set forth in the selected embodiment herein, Without departing from the scope or sacrificing any of its material advantages, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a railway safety device the combination of an air line, a plurality of valves connected with said air line and communicating with the atmosphere, mechanical means for opening one of said valves, electrical means for opening the other of said valves, a stop device located adjacent to the track, and means on the train adapted to engage said stop device and operate said mechanical and electrical means.

2. In a railway safety device, the combination of an air line a plurality of valves connected with said air line, and communieating with the atmosphere, amotor operatively connected with one of said valves, a mechanical device for opening the other of said valves, a source of electricity adjacent to the track, a stop device elevated above the road bed and connected with said source of electricity, and means carried by the train for engaging said stop device and operating said mechanical means, said means being also arranged to connect said motor with the source of electricity whereby the valves are simultaneously opened.

In a railway safety device the combination of an air line, a plurality of valves connected with said air line and communicating with the atmosphere, mechanical means for opening one of said valves, electrical means for opening the other of said valves, a single-track cam located adjacent to the tracks, and means on the train adapted to engage said cam and operate said mechanical and electrical means.

4. In a railway safety device the combination of an air line, a plurality of valves connected with said air line and communicating with the atmosphere, mechanical means for opening one of said valves, electrical means for opening the other of said valves, a single-track cam located adjacent to the tracks and adapted to be selectively placed in operative or inoperative position, and means on the train adapted to engage said cam and operate said mechanical and electrical means.

5. In a railway safety device the combination of an air line, a throttle, a plurality of valves connected with said air line and communicating with the atmosphere, mechanical means for opening one of said valves, electrical means for opening the other of said valves, a second electrical means for operating said throttle, a stop device located adjacent to the tracks, and means on the train adapted to engage said stop device and operate said mechanical means, said first mentioned electrical means and said second electrical means.

6. In a railway safety device the combination of an air line, a throttle, a plurality of valves connected with said air line and communicating with the atmosphere, mechanical means for opening one of said valves, electrical means for opening the other of said valves, a second electrical means for operating said throttle, a stop device located adjacent to the tracks and adapted to be selectively placed in operative or inoperative positions, and means on the train adapted to engage said stop device and operate said mechanical means, said first mentioned electrical means and said second electrical means.

AMOS HOFFMAN SIMMS.

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