US1757676A - Motor control for toy electric locomotives - Google Patents

Description

May 6, 1930. F. MlzE MOTOR CONTROL FOR TOY ELECTRIC LOOOMOTIvEs 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4. 1.926

May 6, 193C. F. MIZ

IOTOR CONTROL FOR TOY ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES Flled June 4 1926 v A3 SheetsSheetl May 6,1930. F. M lzE MOTOR"CONTR OL FOR TOY ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES K Filed June 4, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 3v IMT/YE sse-5.'-

Patented May 6, 1.930

UNiTED STATES PATENT oFFIcs i rnnn Mrzn, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, Assrenon To AMERICAN FLYER MFG'. co., or I CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, `A CORPORATON OF ILLINOES MOTOR CONTROL FOR TOY'ELECTRC LOCOMOTIVES Application md rimedi, 192e. serial No. 113,796.

This invention relates to toy electricl loco! motives, and more particularly to novel means for controlling the current to the motor whereby the direction of movement of the locomotive may be reversed in a simple and practical manner.

A primary object of the invention is to provide means adapted to be-automatically actuated by the control of the circuit from the transformer usually used in connection with toy electric train outfits, whereby the opening and closing of the circuit by manipulating the. rheostat handle of the transformer will cause the operation of an electrical device which in turn renders mechanical means op-Y erable for throwing a switch carried by the locomotive to reverse the current to the terminals of the motor.Y That isV to say, it is pro-V- Culver patent in' the respect that the reversing of the switch onthe locomotive controls both the motor and the headlights, but instead 0f the switch on the locomotive being actuated by an abutment in the trackwaiy'it is operated by means carried onthe locomotive and controlled by the manipulation of the transformer which feeds the current to the track system. Also, in theV foregoing connection the present invention contemplates a carrying forward of the invention shown and described in the BeckeriPate'nt No. 1.589,096 dated June 15, 1926 wherein a special form of reversing switch is used to re-V verse the current to the motor and headlights, the said switch being operated through the intermediary of an actuator which is engaged by an abutment in the trackway.

Accordingly, the present invention contemplates track circuit controlled means for in turn cont-rolling the actuating means for the switch, thereby rendering it unnecessary to provide special track labutments and rendering the' control of the locomotive entirely automatic through the means for con trolling the track circuit, usually Va transformer. The transformer in thisfcase acts as a switch to open and close the circuit or if not actually` opening and closing the circuit to reduce the voltagev to suchan extent thaty the resistance inthe track system will serve t0`cut` down the current to the electro-magnetic control means so that lit will automatically` release the switch actuating means for operation. p A n' Vx A. further object of the invention is to provide a novel series of instrumentalities for actuatingV the reversing switch ,which are so arranged and located that theymay be manually rendered inoperative whenit is desired to vrunthe locomotive in one direction only,

or onthe other hand make possible the manual control o f the reversing switch if desired. With the'aboveand other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature j of theA invention is better understood, the same consists in thelnovel construction, combination and arrangement 'of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed'. I i

@A Vpreferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying Vdrawings in which V'Fig lisa vertical sectional view of the the present invention. l

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the construcvtion shown 'ink Fig. 1.

motor .unit of atoy locomotive, illustrating i ing the manner in which the switch is thrown to the opposite position. Y

Fig. 7 is a horizontalsectional view taken on theline 7-7- of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 isa diagrammatic view illustrating theY circuits involved. Y

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of thedrawings. Y Y

In carrying the invention into effect it is proposed to provide control means for -the reversing switch contained entirely within the motor unit designated generally as U. This unit includes the side frame plates F, one ofV which carries the reversing switch designated generally as R and the electromagnet'device A forcontrolling the opera when current is being supplied to tliemotorl the said device A will lioldi'the lever B1 of the actuator B elevated in the dotted line position so that its forward end is heldzoiitbf contact with the ratchet B1. 'L Y n Y When the circuit to the motor isfcut ofi, the device A will be deenergized and will permit the lever B1 to drop and be 'actuated by the ratchet B2 so that the said lever B1 will throw the switch R and thus reverse the terminals of the switchV so that when the current is again turned on the motor will .rotate in the opposite direction.A vIt will of course be understood that whenthe current is again turned on the device-A will lift the lever B1 to the dotted line position (Fig. 1) so that the forward end thereof will be out of the path of operation of the ratchet B1. Y Thus, it will be apparent that the reversing switch R is controlled by the actuator B each time the device A is cle-energized, the movement of the lever B1 of the actuator beingrei-ected through the movement ofthe locomotive duc to its momentum, the ratchet B1 being a friction ratchet, as will presently appear.

Referring now more specica-lly to the arrangement and-details of construction wliereby the foregoing novel results are obtained.,

reference may be made to Figs. 1, 2 and v8v from which it will Vbe observed that the shaft 1 which-carries the friction ratchet wheelV B2 isidriven by the motor operated pinion 2 (see Fig. 7) through the medium of the relaitively large gear 3 mounted on the' shaft 1.

small diameter has a relatively high speed as compared with the gear 3 to give the desired power advantage for driving the wheels W.Y The gear 3 carries on the face thereof a gear 4 which inturn meshes with the gears 5 on the track engaging wheels W.' This is standard construction but is described here Vso that it will be understood how the ratchet B2 isdrivenafter the currentl to the motor M is cut oft. i v Y The frame plates F have mounted at their lower side an insulation member 6 carrying the trolley T adapted to'engage within the third rail B3 of the track system in the usualk manner while `the wheels TW engage with the track rails R2, as shown vdiagrammatically in Fig. 8. The third rail B3 is'electrically conf tinuous and insulated in the usual manner from the metallic ties while the wheel bearing rails R2 form the ground of the circult.

Therefore, the trolley Tis directly connectedA plete the circuit through the frame of the unit U and wheels WY to the rails 2.1. Also the coil 1Q is Hconnected by wire'll to the middle terminal 12 mounted on the vinsulation piece R of the reversing switch R.

' YThe reversing switchR maybe of the same generalV construction and type'shown in the Becker patent previously referred to and therefore the saine will not be described in de-l tail here except in so far as is necessary to follow out the circuits. Therefore, it may be pointed-out that in addition to the mainor middle terminal 12 the switch includes the motor terminalsV 13 and 14 the same being connectedtothe commutator of the motor through the medium of the wires 15 and 16 respectively.y Also as will be observed lfrom Figsll, 2 and 8 the terminals 13 and 14 may be connected bythe wires 17 and 18 with the front and rear headlights 19and 20.

"The shiftable metal member 21 of the reversing switch is pivotally supported in the Vframe as indicated at 22 and may have the cured to the metal member 21 by fastenings 271 and 281 and are therefore grounded.

The contact fingers, 25 and 26 always cooperate with. tlie main terminal 12, that is,

they serve to alternatelyconnect the main terminal 12 with the motor terminals 13 and 14. As will be observed from Fig. 5 the mem.

ber 21 n so arranged that the locomotive moves forward. In this position ofthe switch the contactfinger 26 will rest Vuponvterminal ico 12v and the contact iinge'r25 will rest 'upon motor terminal 13 while ground contact v28 engages with terminal 14.v When theloco# motive is to be reversed to move backward the switch part 21 is thrown-to the position shown in Figwhereupon the contact 25 will-en? gage the main terminal'12 and c-ontact26`and engage motor terminal 14 and ground con-kv the reversing switch member 21 so that when Y ratchet wheel B2. c

The ratchet wheel B2 is frictionally mount``l the lever B1 slides in the direction [of its length on the kpin `l it will effect the shifting of the member 21. The intermedia-te portion of the lever B1 is-provided with the laterally offset and horizontally disposed ear 33 which has a slot 34`for loosely and slidably receiving the end 35 of thesolenoid of the electromagnet A. Also as will be observed from Fig. 4 the said lever B1 is provided at one end with the laterally offset ratchet engaging lug 36 which is adapted to be lifted out of or dropped into engagement withv the teeth 37 vof the ed onthe shaft 1 by means of the co-il spring 38 and washer 39 which holds the spring 38 compressed against the side of the disk 32. It will thus be apparent that theratcliet wheel B2 will frictionally move with the shaft 1 but when the ratchetis held bythe 4lug 36 engaging with the teeth 37 thereof, ,the continued movement of the locomotive due to its momentum will be permitted withoutdamaging the moving parts of the locomotive.

1f itis desired to render the actuator B inoperative it isv only necessary to maintain the lever B1 elevated by means of the cutfout device pivotally carried by one of the frames F and clearly shown in Fig. 1. This cut-out device consists of an arm 39 pivotallysupf ported as at 40 and having the offset portion 41 for receiving Vthe manipulating lever 42. When the device is in the full line position shown -in Fig. 1 theV automatic control of the actuator is permitted,but when the arm 42 is pushed to the dottedline yposition shown in Fig. lthe automatic means is cut-out by automatically maintaining the lever B1 elevated so that it cannot fall into the ratchet B2 whenk the magnet is deenergized. The train Vvwill always run in one direction when the cut-out device is thrown to the dotted line position, regardless of when the current is turned on or off. The operation of the device maybe briefly described as follows: f i

Assuming that the wheels YV of the unit U are resting on the track railsRZR2 `(Fig. 8)

vbut if a battery of proper voltage should be andthe trolleyT of the unitis resting-.upon the .third rail R3, if therheostat Y of the transformerZis turned to the on position,

thethird rail R3 and the track rails 'will be charged with electrical current and the electro-magnet A will bel energizedsimultaneously withthe furnishingoi the currentlto the motorv M "When the electro-magnet Ay is energized its solenoid lifts the lever B1 of kthe actuator B, and the motor will run either forwarder backward according tothe posi# tion of the reversing switch as shown either in Fig. 5er Fig. 6. a .Y Y

Upon desiring to change; the 'direction of travel of the locomotive, therheostat handlek is moved back to the ,oiflpositi'on whereby the current to themotor. is cutVv off and like# `i ywise electro-magnet A is `deenergzed thus causing the lever B to drop so that the lug 36 thereof will drop into the ratchet B?. As previouslyV explained the ratchet is frictionally held to the shaft land although the current tothe motor Meis cutoff the locomotive will move ashortdistance dueto its momentum and readily shiftthelever B. longitudinally so vas to shiftthe reversing switchR." -v .f c' Each time the current is cut on and 'off at the transformer-rheostat the magnet :A will beienergized and deenergized to control the `arm B1 and the ratchet B2V will move the arm forward orbackward aswill be readily apparent from Figs. 5 and 6. ,Y

Fromthe foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention providers means fory automaticallyv controlling the reversal of the direction` of movement of a toy locomotive by V i the` control of the current from thetransformer which usually includesa rheostat, or,

anequivalent device acting-asa switch." vAs 1s well known transformersare used merely for the purposek of. stepping down' alternatingecurrent houserservice linesto the low voltage necessary to` operate the toy motor,

used, or current fromany source of suitable voltage used, a mere switch of simple form would serve to control the current insuch av way-that the object and .intent of the present invention would becarried out. Therefore, it will now bey apparent that the control of the device herein claimed is from some remotek point,`as for example, at or adjacent the transformer, but the actual. operating means for causing-a reversing of the electrical switchis entirely mechanical, the same being vention-will be lreadily apparent to those Y slnlledin vthe art,` and it will of course understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit Y of the invention and scope 'of the appended claims.

1. An electric locomotive including a Ydrivingmotor, a reversing switch for the motor, an actuator including a rotatable and a slidable part for the switch, electro-magnet means for raising and lowering said'slidable part when the current to the motor is turned on and oil'. f

2;,An electric locomotive including a driving motor, antoscillating reversing switch` connected with tliemotor, an actuator includ- Ying a rotatable part and a'slidablegpart for the switch, and an electric device in circuit withthe drivingmotor and adapted to cause lever orthrowing saidjswitch, and an electrical device in -circuitwith the mot-or and adapted to hold said lever in an inoperative position until thecurrentislcut off Afrom the motor.` w1. t v 4. .An electriclocomotiveincludinga reversible driving motor, areversingswitch Lfor the motor, an actuatorfor the` reversing switch including a4 slidablemember adapted to be shifted vby the over-running movement of the locomotive after the-,current has been cut ott from the. driving motor, arsrotatable member, and means controlled simultaneously'v with the lmotor for maintaining said slidable member out olf-.engagement witlrthe rotatable member until current is cut off from the motor. Y v Y 5. An electric locomotive includingareversibledriving motor, a mechanical reversing switch for the motor, an actuator fer the switch comprising a slidable member and a rotatable member operated bythe travelling over-running movement of the locomotive,

Aafter the current has beencut oli tothe driving motor, and an electro-magnet device ineluded in circuit with the inotorand energized simultaneously therewith to maintain said slidable member out of engagement'with the rotary member of the actuator untilthe current isgcut oit fromthe motor. 1-

6. An electric locomotive including a reversible driving member, a reversing switch for the motor, an actuator for the switch in- -cluding a slidable member interlocled with theimovable part of the switch ZandV a rotatable ratchet member hailfingfa frictional ,mounting onawheel driven part ofthe locomotive andan electro-magnet included in circuitV with themotor and connected with said slidable memberwhereby when current is supplied to the motorthe said` electro-magnet maintains the arm inoperative but releases the` sameintoengagemeiit with the ratchet Vwhen the current tothe motor is'cut ott.

7. An electric locomotive Vincluding a moen part of the locomotive for engaging said laterally -of-set-lug on .the end ofthe arm, and an electro-magnetV included in circuit with the motor and having the solenoid thereof connectedwith said arm whereby when the motor is energized the magnetrkwill lift the larm `out of the ratchet.

8.An' electric locomotive `including a reversible driving motor,a mechanical reversing switch toi-.the motor, automatic actuating means for the said switch, including a lever adaptedA toi be shifted by the over-running movement of the locomotive atterthe current has been cut oit from the'driving motor, and

.means for manually rendering saidlever inoperative. l Y

9. An electric locomotive including a reversible driving motor, a reversing switch for v the motor, automatic actuating means for the switch including a lever, a magnet and a member for moving the lever,and a manually operated member for engaging said lever or renderingfsaid automatic means inoperative.v

l0. An electric locomotive including a reversing driving motor, a reversing switchfor the motor, automatic actuatingvmeans for the switchk includingV a pivoted sliding lever, means for rendering said lever inoperative, and a handle vfor manually operatingthe switch when the levervis, rendered inoperative.

l1. An electric locomotive including a driving motor, a mechanical reversing switch for the motor, an actuator for the switch including a lever connected with the switch anda lever engaging member movable by the wheels of the locomotive, and electro-mechanical means controlled simultaneously with the motor :tor rendering said lever operative or '12. An electric locomotive including a driv- 13. Ina toy railway system,ftliecon1bina'. tion with the tracks andthe source of'velectrical energy therefor, of a locomotive having a reversible motor, and means carried by the locomotive for eifecting the reversal ofthe motor, said means including a switch and momentum operated electro-mechanical means operated from the source of `energy which `fee-ds the motor but independentof the motor and also by the over-running movement of he locomotive. l

14. In atoy electric railway system, the combination with the tracksand Vthe source of electrical energy, of a locomotive having a reversible `driving motor, a shiftable mechanical switch for the motor, and means `ior v actuating said switch when the source of electrical energy is interrupted, said means comprising an electro-mechanical device having a part operated from said source of energy but independent of the motor and'another part by the over-running movement of the locomotive.

15. A train control for toy electric railway f systems including in combination With the tracks and the source of electrical energy, of a Wheeled Vehicle havinga driving motor, a

reversingswitchfor the motor, an electromechanically controlled device for actuating said switch when the source of energy is interrupted and the vehicle continues to: run When the energy is cut oli, the electric control means being independentV ofbut inv parallel with the motor, and a primary ycontrol g device ar 1anged between the source .of energy and the tracks to provide a remote control for the motor and the said` electro-'mechanical means. 'Y Y In testimony whereof l hereunto ailix Vmy signature.

FRED Miara.

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