US178880A

US178880A - Improvement in electric signaling attachments to railroad-switch locks

Info

Publication number: US178880A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1876-06-20
Anticipated expiration: 1893-06-20

Description

f 'D. ROUSSEAU & W. 6. SMITH. ELECTRIC SIGNALING ATTACHMENT Tq RAILROAD SWITCH LOCKS. I V N 173,33-g Patented June 20, I876.

@ a a i CYJ fizz'mibm I UNITED STATES PATENT. oi-ma DAVID ROUSSEAU .AND WILLIAM SMITH, OENEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO WILLIAM F. SMITH AND SAMUEL SAMUELS, OF SAME PLACE;

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRIC SIGNAEING ATTACHMENTS T0 RAILROAD- S WITCEl LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 178,880, dated June 20, 1876; application filed April 17, 1876.

This invention relates to improvements on self-locking railway-switches of the kind, sub; stantially, described in our application for a patent filed February 29,1876, and allowed March 20,1876, and to all other kinds of switch-locks, and has for its object to combine with the lock of the switch a signal apparatus which will show at a distant place whether or not the switch is locked. The invention also consists in supplying; the switchmoving' mechanism with a double signal attachment which will indicate at a distant place the exact position of the switch with reference t0 the'several lines of railroad. In the drawing, the letter A represents one of a pair of movable switch-rails B, a rail of the main track, and C a rail of a side track. D is the rod by which the "switch-rails A are moved; E, the vibrating finger or device for moving the rod D, andF the lockinglever for locking the switch-rod D in its several terminal positions. All these parts are shown to be arranged the same as they are in our aforementioned application 5 but they may be differently arranged. G G are a pair of electric-circuit breakers or closers, so placed with reference to the locking-lever F, or-a projecting pin, a, thereon, that they will be affected by said lever whenever the same is raised, as in Fig. 3. Thus, when the switch is being moved, and the lever F in its unloc'king position, a signal to that efiect will be given at a distant station or other suitable vplace; and if, after the switch has been properly adjusted, the lever F should, from any cause, fail to drop into its locking position,

the station-master or other proper officer will be notified that the switch is not locked, and may then at once ascertain the cause and cure the defect.

By the above arrangement the proper looking of the switch is insured. Instead of using electric transmission, other methods of operating the distant signal may be employed, such as pneumatic, hydraulic, or mechanical, and we do not confine ourselves to any particular system of signal-operating t'. 0., starting-mechanism.

v The rod D carries a projecting lug, b, which, at the end of each motion of said rod, comes in contact with one of two sets of electric-circuit closers or' breakers, H and I, or other equivalent devices, reaching to different signals, to show that the switch is opened or closed, as the case may be.

Weare aware that switch-rods have aling the switch from either direction and on either track. Whenever the switch is placed in line with the side track, the lug 12 leaves contact with circuit-closer H, and by so doing .opens the same and causes the proper danger-signal to be given on the main track, and reaches contact'with the circuit-closer I, to give the proper safety-signal at the side track, and the reverse when the switch is set in line with the main track. The nature of the signal employed-is not within the scope of our present invention, as any suitable style of signal may be used.

We claim as our invention 1. The combination of the switch locking lever F and sliding switch-rod Dwith the signal-transmitting device G331 arranged so that a signal will be given whenever said lever does not lock the switch-red D, snbstam tially as herein shown and described.

2. In combination with the switch-rod D, which carries the" lug; b, the independent signal-transmitting devices H and I, to be alternately affected and moved by said lug at the two extremes of the position of the switch, substantially as specified.

Thef'oregbing description of ourinvention signed by us this 14th day of April, 1876. i i DAVID ROUSSEAU.

W. 0. SMITH.

Witnesses:

ERNEST G. WEBB, OTTO A. \VEIDNER.