US1739868A - Switch-stand lock - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 17, 1929. L. vR. sHAFFER SWITCH STAND LOCK Patented Dec. 17, 1929 'LARKIN n. fstralen"En, or GARLAND, .UTAH

SWITCH-'STAND Lock applicati@ flied oct'ber 5, 192e. serial No. y'139,677.'

This invention relates to improvements in switch stand locks 'and particularly to a lock for 'a stand-of wl'iat is known asa ground AthrovvT switch, this type of stand being 'com- 5 paratively lo'w structure .adapted for use in yards where high switch stands can not be used. The switch stand of the present 'type is illustrated in 'my prior Patent No. 1,565,- 679, 'dated December 15, 1925. v

Generally "stated, the primary 'object of the present invention is to provide a switch stand which. will not suffer damagein 'the 'event that the switch lever is in locked position while the/switchpointsarenot properly lined up. More specifically, in stands of the present type, the switch lever is held down by a pivoted arm or latch, Aand when a train or one or more cars runs through a switch whose pointsare not properly lined up, it frequently happens that the 'arm which is supposed to hold the switch lever down will take all of the lstrain caused by the movement of the improperly positioned switch point, and as `a result either the switch stand will be twisted, the latch arm will be l'sprun'g, or other portions vof the mechanism willnb'e so affected that the switch points will remain open to suoli an extent when the lever is in its normal switch closing position that a train subsequently heading in on the switch will be derailed. To 'overcome this likelihood of injuring the vswitch stand or other parts, and' rendering a train liable to der'ailinena the present invention provides means for permitting the switch lever to move indepenedntly of its latch 'arm in the event a train passes overa switch whose point-s are not properly lined up. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, this re- 's'ultis accomplished by having the lever latching arm, which is pivoted, in the switch 'stand casing, formed with a somewhat weakened free end portion adapted to engage the switch lever, whereby when there is a tendency of the improperly alined switch points to move the switch lever, the latter will break olf the weakened end portion of its latching arm, and be free to move to any eXtent necessary to compensate for movement of the improperly alined switch oints.

Y' b' A further o ject of the invent-ion is to provide a switch stand casing which ymay be permanently attached. to a solid base while still permitting the lever lat-ching arm to be inserted therein or removed therefrom in the event `the lever latching arms become broken as before outlined, and it is necessary to install a new lever latching arm,

`With these and other objects infview, the

invent-ion consists in pertain; novely details of construction, and 'combinationsA and arrangements `of parts, all as will hereinafter be more fully described and the novel features thereof particularly pointed out in the appended claims. j t In the accompanying drawings: y j Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View taken through the switch stand casing, land Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 Vof Figure l. V Practicallythe Aentire vswitch stand is constructed substantially the Same as in my prior patent above referred to, and a detailed description is not believed to be necessary.

Suflice it to say the switch lever 10 is received in a vertically disposed slot 11 in the Acasing 12, so that it rests quite close to lthe ground when in its normal locked position. Ala-tch 13 is adapted to overli'e ltheswitch lever, and lock it in the positionshown, under which circumstances the switch'points of the lswitch controlled by the lever are supposed yto be properly lined up. Preferably, latch 13 consists of a wheel ournaled with pin 121 in the casing, this wheel having a plurality of arms, one of which overlies the switch lever. A second arm of said wheel is' held by an abut'- ment 15, so as to prevent the latch wheel rotating and releasing the lever l0. Abutnient 15 is preferably a cross bar carried near the inner extremity of an operating handle 16 whose other extremity is outsidecasingrlO, where the operators foot can be placed upon it to depress thens'ame and lift abutment 15 out of the path ofthe latch arln `whichi't' nor` mally engages. `In igure 1 th'eparts are shown in lockedposit-ionnin full lin'e'lsQand in unlocked posi-tion in dotted lines'.l When unlocked, ywheel v13 is f ree to 'rotate'. on fitspivfot and 'will d so' as leverxlloni'sraised tfo' throw the-switch, This-movement f the lever i0 and the latch 13 will bring the lowermost arm indicated at 17 into position across slot 11, so that as the switch lever is restored to its normal lower position, the wheel 13 willbe moved reversely and restored to its original position. YVhile the cross bar or abutment 15 could be relied upon to hold the latch 13 against rotation, it is preferred that a ring 18 be carried on said abutment and positioned to engage the latch wheel. This arrangement will appreciably reduce the shocks that would otherwise be placed on the structure.

As before mentioned, if the parts were in their normal locked position as shown in full lines in Figure 1, and the points of the switch controlled by the lever 10 were not properly lined up, upon passage of a train over the switch, there will be a tendency of the lever 10 to rise in the slot 11, and this movement of the lever naturally will result in a strain being placed on some 'portion of the device. The present invention, however, eliminates any damage being done under such circumstances by having the several arms of the latch wheel 13 formed near their free outer ends with lines of weakness 19 of such formation that while the extremities of the latch arms are of sullicient strength to maintain the lever locked when under normal conditions, nevertheless, if the lever 10 should be Caused to be moved upwardly by reason ot the switch points not being properly lined up, the weakened end portions of the arm engaging lever 10 will be broken orf, thereby permitting the lever l0 to rise as far as necessary. By thus permitting the leverl 10 to rise in the slot, the switch points will be left open and the engine or cars of the train can pass through Without doing any other damage. After the extrem ity of one latch arm has been broken, the wheel can be given a one-fourth revolution so that a new point is positioned to engage the switch lever. From the foregoing it will be readily seen that under normal conditions the switch lever can be locked against movement, but under abnormal conditions, such as the points of the switch not being properly lined up, the switch lever is capable of moving independently of its latching arm moving about its pivotal center, and independently of any movement 'ot the abutment which holds the latch arm in engagement with the switch lever. As before noted, when a switch has been split, the arm of the latch wheel which holds the lever 10 down will break oli' and will. allow said lever to go free and not stand cocked and said lever will also drop back in place, thereby reducing the number of derailments. Of course, it is not necessary that each of the arms of the latch wheel be formed with weakened end portions. Only two of them need be so formed, but in such a case care will have to be taken in mounting it in the casing.

In view of the fact that the present invention contemplates renewing the latch wheels 13 each time two of its arms have been broken, means are also provided in the present instance for facilitating the removal of a broken wheel and the insertion of a new one without the necessity of disturbing the switch stand or removing any of the securing elements by which the casing is mounted in place. Such means for facilitating this renewal of the latch wheel consists in having the sides of the casing 12 formed with rather enlarged opening 20 throughwhich either a new or broken latch wheel may be passed. These openings in the casing are located beneath normal position of the latch wheel so that by removing the cross pin 14 on which said wheel is ournaled, said wheel is free to fall to the bottom of the casing where it may be then removed. A new wheel can then be inserted through the opening 2O and with very little manipula-tion positioned upwardly within the casing so that the cross pin 14 may again be restored. As shown in Figure 2, the cross pin 14 is held in place in the casing by an ordinary cotter pin. By thus providing :tor the renewal of the breakable latch wheels, considerable time, labor and material is saved.

I claim 1. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switch lever, a pivoted latching arm having a weakened free endv portion adapted to engage said switch lever, and means for releasably locking said latching arm in engagement with said lever.

2. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a. switch lever, a latch comprising a plurality of integral arms journaled within the casing, one of said arms being adapted to engage the lever, and means engaging another of said arms to hold the latch in lever locking position within the casing, said casing having an unobstructed opening through which the integral latch arms. may .be inserted or removed. y

3. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switch lever, a latch comprising a. plurality of integral arms journaled within the casing, one of said arms being adapted to engage the lever, and means engaging another of said armste hold the latch in lever locking position within the casing, said casing having an unobstructed opening in the side thereof below the point atwhich said latch arms are journaled, said integral latch arms being insertable in and removable from the casing through said opening.

LARKIN R. sHAFrEa

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