US1714612A - Railway signal - Google Patents

Description

R E L U. M Z C RAILWAY S I GNAL Filed March 30, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 lwcutor aZJ/Zzen C. Z. MILLER RAILWAY SIGNAL May 28, B929.

Filed March 30, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gttorncgs.

Patented May 28, 1929.

UNITED TES CABLIE Z. MILLER, OF FOR'J; SCOTT, KANSAS.

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

Application mea March ao, 192s. serial No. 266,023.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in railway signals.

A11 important object of'the inventionis the provision of a light which may be readily installed upon a switch stand to`be .simultaneously operated with the switchthrowing mechanism thereof for the purpose of automatically indicating at night time to the engineer of an approachlng locomotive, the position of the switch rails, whether open or closed, such signals being caused to vfunction entirely by the headlight of the locomotive, and obviating all necessity for the maintenance ofa special light or lightsat the switch stand.

A full and complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification; it being understood that while. the drawings show a practical form of theinvention, the latter is not to be confined to strict conformity with the showing thereof,

but may be changed or modified, so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as embodied in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures;

Figure 1 is a. side elevation of a portion of a switch and switch stand having the improved signal applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the signal ami showing the manner of isecuring the same upon` the switch stand sta Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the effect of the light rays from a locomotive headlight upon one form of the improved signalling device, and

Figure 5 is a similar view illustrating another formof the device.

It is common practice to provide switches and other similar devices with semaphore signals of some suitable form, said si als usually including separate lights to render the same visible at night to enginemen on approaching locomotives, and as such lights are of either oil; gas or electric variety, they are more or less unreliable owing to their liability of becoming extinguished with possible resultant wrecliage and loss of life,

- and they are otherwise objectionable because of their expensive installation and maintenance.

The present invention aims to provide a self-contained device which may be easily applied in position upon the upstanding. staff of an ordinary switch stand, said device comprising a casing adapted to be rotated with the stand, as the switch is opened or closed, and having means associated therewith for reflecting back to the eyes of the engineer or other engineman, rays of light indicating the position of the switch. These rays are caused by the reflection of the rays of light from the. locomotive headlight which are .caught by the improved device when the locomotive is from two to ve thousand feet distant, and returned in the' form of green rays to indicate to the engineer that the switch is in proper position for safety, or in the form of red rays to warn the engineer of danger, all of such rays being directed in a manner to be readily seen at this relatively great distance. These desirable results are' obtained bythe present device without the use of other than the headlight of the locomotive, hence resulting in a great saving in the maintenance of railways and a greater element of safety.

To this end, the invention comprises a casing 1 which is formed of suitable sheet metal, preferably square in cross section and .constructed to exclude rain, moisture, etc.

The casing includes a reinforced bottom 2 having an upstanding socket 3 which is rectangular in cross sectionand tapers toward the upperend thereof to snugly fit the corresponding upper end of the staff 4 of a switch stand 5, to be turned by' said staff when the switch is operated.

A removable top or cover 6 is adapted to be held on the casing. in any desired manner and to be readily removed when it is desired to install or to change the reflecting elements to be later described. As a switch switch is operated, a pair of opposite relectors will always be in longitu inal alinement with the railway tracks and in position convex reflector 9, thus providing an annu-A lar stop flange 10 abutting against the inner wall of the adjacent side to prevent the conical sleeve from passing through. The concave side of the eflector is directed outwardly towards the outer, smaller end of the tube, which is provided with a terminal, annular groove 11 snugly fitting over the peripheral edge of any suitable form of lens 12, that shown being of a. well-known form having stepped circular areas,- the convex side being outermost.

In order to hold the reflecting devices in position within the casing, there is provided a separate strap 13 for each of the same, said straps being bent transversely to Vconform approximately to the rear convex sides of the reflectors 9, against which they are rigidly held by upper and lower tstening screws 14 which are threaded through the adjacent side walls of the casing and serve to hold the reflecting devices in their positions in said sides. By this construction, it will be seen that upon removal of the top or cover 6, any one or more of the reflecting devices or units may be readily removed and new ones installed when necessary.

The diametrically opposite lenses 12 are adapted to be of the same color, such as red to indicate danger, while the other pair of opposite lenses may be green to indicate sa ety, though, of course, any other colors may be employed, and it is to be understood that the casing is ,mounted 0n the staff 4 of the switch stand in a manner to properly position the red lenses so as to be seen up and down the tracks when the switch is in danger position, while the green lenses, vsignifying safety, will beso located when the switch is thrown to safety position as to notify the engineerI of the vbncoming train or locomotive that the switch isy in safety position.

In Figure 4 there is shown a diagrann matic view illustrating the action of the lightrays A emanating from a locomotive headlight B which may be considered 'as being several thousand feet removed from the lens 12. The rays A are shown as in diverging relation and strike 'the lens at different ang-les and are projected therethrough along parallel lines, as at C, `to the concave side of the reflector 9, which may be provided with a highly polished or nickeled surface or which may consist of a glass mirror of proper form. The said rays are then returned along angular lines D, within the tube 8, passing/ through the lens, by means of which the rays are thence colored and directed along the lines E towards the approaching locomotive. The lines E, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the drawing, represent the warning rays and they radiate approximately from the center of the arc of the lens 12, so that they will be readily seen fromeither side of the locomotive even though the switch stand is located at o ne side of the track, which is'the necessary location of the same.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing, there is shown another similar diagram in which a slightly modified form of reflector is shown. Herein the tube 8a is of a form similar to the aforesaid tube 8, but the small end of the same is Jformed to receive and hold a rel-.

atively small reflector 9a, while the lens 12a is correspondingly larger than the lens 12. With the use'of the latter form of reflector, the returning rays E diverge to a greater degree, though the effect is substantially the same.

By the employment of the reflecting means shown and described, it has been demon strated by practical use that a uniform dispersion of return rays will be given in both lateral and vertical planes and that a large beam of light of appropriate color will be reliected back in the direction of the approaching locomotive. It has been further demonstrated that these signals are visible at a great distance and that they may be seen substantially as Well in daylight as at night.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangements of parts maybe variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim: y 1. In a railway signal, the combination of a switch stand having a rotatable staff; a casing mounted on the staff; pairs of opposite reflecting units mounted on the casing, each unit comprising a reflector having a concave outer face and a concavo-convex lens in advance thereof with the concave side toward the reflector to diffuse rays of reilected light of different colors from the different pairs.

2. In a railwa signal, the combination of a switch stand aving a rotatable staff; a casing mounted on the stali'; pairs of opposite reflecting units mounted on the casing, each unit comprising areflector having a concave outer face and a concavo-convex lens in advance thereof with the concave side toward the reflector, the lenses of each pair of opposite units being alike in color and different from the color of the other pair, to diffuse different colors of reflected light.

3. In a railway signal, the combination of a switch stand having a staff, and a casing 'mounted on the staff; said casing having opposite pairs of light refiecting units mounted thereon; each unit comprising a conical tube extending laterally from the casing, a reflector mounted on the inner end of the tube and within the casing and having an outer concave reflecting face, and a concavo-convex lens mounted on the outer end of the tube with the concave side toward the reflector to diffuse the rays of reflected light from the reflector and inner face of the tube.

4. In a railway signalling device, the combination ofa switch stand having a staff and a casing mounted on the staff; said casing having opposite pairs of openings; a reflecting unit adapted to be seated in each opening; each unit comprising a conical tube to fit the opening at its larger end and having a stop flange abutting the inner face of the casing; a concavo-convex reflector mounted in the inner, larger end of the tube; an arcuate clamping plate fitting the inner face of the reflector; screws for tightening the plate to hold the stop ange against the casing; and a concavo-convex colored lens held within the outer, smaller end of the tube to diffuse rays of light reflected from the headlight of a locomotive and return same in color. l

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CHARLIE Z. MILLER.

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