US1609172A - Electric railway gate - Google Patents

Description

.- Nov. 30,1926.

- 1,609,172 B. E. JEINNING'S ET AL ELECTRIC RAILWAY GATE Filed Jan. .26 1924 2 Sheets-Sheei l JfaYq/l M 72 Wis;

@ W E Q Nov. 30 1926.

B. E. JENNINGS ET AL ELECTRI C RAILWAY GATE Filed Jan. 26., 1924 2 Sneets-Sheei 2 Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERT E. JENNINGS AND HAROLD W. JENNINGS, 0F RICHMOND, INDIANA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY GATE.

Application filed January 26, 1924.. Serial No. 688,653.

The object of our present invention, broadly speaking, is toprovide an automatic railway gate for grade crossings, the same being simple in character, strong and durable in construction, automatic in operation, not liable to become inoperative through wear or by reason of climatic conditions, and which can bemanufactured, installed, and sold at a comparative low price.

More specifically stated our object is to provide for railway and highway crossings, with means whereby when the railway is clear the gate will be out of operative position where it will not obstruct the highway, but which will be automatically moved across the highway when a train is approaching the highway whereby the highway will be blocked, and which will be automatically moved from across the highway as the train moves thereover, by which the highway traffic will always be informed of the near approach of a train upon the railway, thereby dispensing with the usual traffic watchman and reducing the danger of the crossing to a minimum.

Other minor objects and particular advantages of the invention will suggest themselves in the course of the following description, and that which is new will be pointed out in. the claims.

One manner of carrying out the principles of our invention in a practical manner is shown in the accompanying two-sheets of drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a side elevation of our invention, showing portions of a railway and a highway, in which the gate is retrieved or out of operative position. Figure 2 shows the same, except that the gate is shown extended into operative position. Figure 8 is a top plan view of the same parts as shown in Fig. 2. Figure 4 is a vertical section, as taken on the line l'l: of 5.- Figure 5 is a horizontal section, as taken-on the line 5-5.0f Fig. 1. F igure 6 is. a vertical. section of the post, showing the rack therein inv elevation. .Figure 7 is a sideelevation of the actuating arm and one. of-the plates. LFigureB isia side view of the stationary bearing for the,;;gate.

Similar characters denote like parts throughout theseveral views.

In'order that the construction, the operation, and theseveral advantages of themrentic n may be fully understood and .apprv ciated, we will now take up a detailed description thereof, in which we will set forth the same as comprehensively as we may.

In the drawings letter A denotes the road way, or highway, letters B and C denote the two rails of the railway, and D denotes the railway ties.

The invention proper comprises a base 1, formed preferably of concrete, on which is rigidly mounted the block or box 2, which forms a support for the motor, hereinafter referred to. Said box 2 may be formed hollow and provided with a door to provide a receptacle for tools or material or for other purposes. Numeral 3 denotes a hollow metal post, whose lower end is secured to the base 1, from which it extends up vertically, being secured at one side to the box 2 which forms a brace therefor. A slot 4 is formed vertically through the upper portion of the right-hand side of the post 3, for the purpose hereinafter stated. Located, slidably, in the post 3 is a straight gear-rack 5, whose back is in slidable contact with the inner face of the right-hand side of the post 3, with the gear-teeth directed to the left. Said rack is considerably shorter than the post 3, but it is almost as wide as the space inside of the post, that is between the near and far walls of the post 3.

Secured to the back of the upper portion of the rack 5 is the movable hanger 6, which extends out through the slot 4, for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

A fixed hanger 7 is located directly below the hanger 6, and it extends out from the right-hand face of the post 3, with which it is rigidly connected.

The gate proper is in the nature of lazytongs construction, and it is adapted to extend out-horizontally to the right, and is designated by the numeral 8.

.Tlieend of the upwardly extending left arm, of thegate 8 is pivoted to thefhanger 6, while .the corresponding downwardly extending. .left arrn of the. gate 8 is pivotedto thehanger 7. w

"It will now be seen thatiif the rack?) be moved upwardly that the gate 8 will .collapse, Ithat is it willfold together as in Figs. 1, 4 5 ;v whileif the; rack be moved downwardly the, gate .w'illlbe :caused to extend outwardly .to the. right, as in Figs. 1 2. and 3. The. length of. the -gate.8. is such. that when it is fully extended it will reach across the roadway A as shown.

A housing 9, comprising two sides and a top, open at the right, is secured to the right-hand side of the post 3, into which the gate fully enters when it is in folded position, to protect the gate from snow and ice and from injury.

Secured on the box 2 is a reversible electric motor 10, that is it will operate in either direction, depending on the direction in which the electric current is directed, that is, whether it enters the motor through the terminal E or F. Said motor is adapted to rotate the shaft G which extends to the left therefrom as shown. F denotes a third terminal of the motor, with a ground wire F leading therefrom, as shown in Fig. 5. The terminals E and F lead to two portions of the field windings of the motor, while the terminal F leads from the armature of the motor to the ground.

Secured on the outer, left, end of the shaft G is the bevel pinion 11. A bearing 12 is provided for the shaft G and it extends up from the top of the box 2 and supports said shaft.

Located on the same plane as the shaft G, but at right angles thereto, is the shaft 13, which is mounted in the bearing 15 which extends from the near side of the post 3 as shown.

Located to the left of the motor 10, and secured on the shaft 13, is the bevel gear wheel 16 which meshes with the bevel pinion 11.

Located within the post 3 and secured on the shaft 13 is the pinion 17 which meshes with the rack 5.

Secured on the far side of the post 3 is a bearing 19, for carrying the end of the shaft 13, as shown.

Secured. on the top of the box 2 and enclosing the motor 10, the bevel pinion 11, the bevel gear 16, and the bearings 12 and 15, is the housing 18, whereby said parts are protected from the weather and unauthorized interference.

Located a considerable distance from the gate-mechanism above described are four contact plates or frogs 20, 21, 22 and 23, which are secured on top of certain of the ties D, from which they are insulated, being located parallel with and near the inner sides of the rails B and C, but not in contact therewith, and extending slightly thereahove, and their ends are formed rounding so that anything moving thereover will not catch on the ends thereof.

Extending from the plate 20 to the terminal. post E is the wire 24. Leading from the plate 21 to the terminal post F is the wire 25. Extending from the plate 22 to the terminal post E is the wire 26. And l kewise leading from the plate 23 to the terminal post- F is the wire 27. It of course is understood that said wires are carried in conduits or otherwise insulated where they will not lose electric current between their ends.

The electric current entering the motel through the terminal post E, that is through the wires 24 or 26, will operate the motor to turn the shaft G to the right, whereby manifestly the rack 5 will be driven downward, thereby extending the gate 8 to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. On the other hand if electric current enters the motor through the terminal post F, through the wires 25 and 27 then the motor will operate to turn the shaft G to the left, which will drive the rack 5 upward, thereby drawing the gate back into the housing 9.

Located in the post 3 are the switches 34 and 35, top and bottom respectively, which are controlled by the respective arms 36 and 37. Said switches are normally retained in contact position by the respective springs 38 and 39. It will be seen that as the rack 5 reaches a height to fully collapse the gate 8 it will engage the arm 36, pressing it upward against the resiliency of the spring 38 thereby cutting off the power to the motor, and when the bar 5 reaches its lowest point, that is when the gate is fully extended, it will cut off the power to the motor, thereby stopping the motor when the gate is at its limit of movement in either direction.

It is to be understood that the negative post of the motor 10 is grounded, in any well known manner. Also the negative post of the battery, (not shown) which supplies the electric current, is also grounded in the usual manner. By reason of the above it will be understood that the electric current may travel from the positive post of the battery, through the wire 33, when the roller is in contact with one of the plates 20, 21, 22 or 23, and then pass through one of the wires 24:, 25, 26 or 27, to the motor 10, and 3:

from the latter returning to the battery through said ground connections and the ground, thereby completing the circuit.

Referring now to Fig. 7: Numeral 28 denotes a hanger, which may be secured to the underside of a. locomotive or a railway-car. Pivoted to the hanger 28 is the movable arm 29, which has a roller 30 mounted. on its lower end. Said arm is so connected to the hanger 28 that it always inclines rearward i and downward as shown. Extending down from the hanger 28 is a finger 31, with a spring 32 connecting its lower end with the arm 29, said spring always being under tension in order to retain the arm forward to its limit, except when the roller 30 is engaged with something, as the plate 20, for instance. Extending from said arm 29 is a wire 33, which should lead to a source of electricenergy, asfor instance a storage battery located in connection with the locomotive or car "by which the arm 29 is carried. The arm 29 is, of course, insulated from the hanger 28, in any well known manner.

In practice it is intended that the arm 29 shall always travel in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7.

In order to make clear the operation of the invention we will assume that the plates 20 and 23 are located some distance, for instance a half-mile to the left of the crossing shown; while the plates 21 and 22 are located a like distance to the right, the gate being retrieved or closed, that is as in Figs. 1, 4t and 5.

Now as a train approaching from the left, carrying the arm 29, it will be seen that the roller will form a contact with the plate 20, thereby establishing an electric connection between the battery carried by the train with the motor 10, thereby causing the motor to operate to the right which will cause the rack 5 to be lowered and the gate will therefore be extended across the highway A, thereby blocking trafic on the highway until the roller 30 engages the plate 21, at which time the electric current will again enter'the motor but in such direction that the motor will be operated in the opposite direction, thereby causing the rack 5 to be raised and thereby closing the gate, that is drawing it back into its housing, and again opening the roadway.

lVhen the train is approaching from the right the same operations will transpire, that is the roller 30 will first engage the plate 22, causing the gate to be extended and then engaging plate 23 causing the gate to be drawn back into its housing.

The lengths of the plates 20, 21, 22 and 23 are such as to cause the motor to operate during the approximate time necessary to open or to close the gate.

It has not been the purpose of this specification to enter into all of the details of the several parts or to specify exact proportions or sizes, as there may be various changes made therein, but rather to outline the various principles involved whereby an ordinary mechanic may construct the same to meet various conditions in a practical manner.

While we have shown our construction applied to a railway and a highway crossing we do not wish to be limited thereto, as the same principle may be applied to two railways crossing each other, or to two highways crossing each other.

Having now fully shown and described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

An automatic crossing gate, comprising in combination, a post, a base for the post, a motor-container mounted on the base, a reversible motor mounted in the motor container, a rack adapted to slide vertically in the post, a sliding contact for the back of the rack, a hanger carried by the upper end of the rack and extending outward through a slot in the post, a fixed hanger extending out from the lower part of the post, a lazytong gate having one arm thereof connected to the first mentioned hanger and another arm connected to the lower fixed hanger, a housing carried by the post and adapted to receive the gate in collapsed condition, a shaft adapted to be rotated by said motor, asmall bevel pinion carried by said shaft, a main shaft at right-angles to the motor shaft, a large bevel gear carried by the main.

shaft and meshing with the small bevel pinion, a plain pinion also carried by the main shaft and meshing with said rack whereby the rack will be raised and lowered by the operation of the motor, means located at a distance from the post for causing the motor to operate in one direction, and means located at a distance from the post to cause the motor to operate in the opposite direction, and means for automatically shutting olf the electric current to said motor when the rack reaches either its upward or clown- Ward limit of movement.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

BERT E. JENNINGS. HAROLD W. JENNINGS.

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