US2085020A - Combination sight and indicator for traffic control projectors - Google Patents

Description

Exam AU 233 EX June 29, 1937. wt. HARDING COIBIIAIION S1681: AND INDICATOR FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROJECTORS F1104 Jan. 7, 1936 2 Sheet-Sheet l INVENTOR 1 N T74R0/A/e 4 ORA/EX)" 177-40.!

Examine June 29, 1937. w. 'r. HARDING COIBINATIOH SIGHT AND IRDICATOR FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROJECTORS Filed Jan. 7, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR M14504 //4Q0//v6 EXamir Patented June 29, 1937 COMBINATION SIGHT AND INDICATOR FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROJECTOBS Wilbur T. Harding, Dayton, Ohio Application January 7, 1936, Serial No. 57,926

7 Claims. (Cl. 177-329) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

Within the front end of the case is a removable glass-retaining ring assembly consisting of the glass retaining ring l2, glass-seating ring l3, clamping ring I, glass or lens i5, and packing l6.

completely assembled device is conveniently Thisinvention relates to improvementsin traf- The glass and packing are releasably confined 5 flc control devices of the type projecting signal between the sealing ring and the clamping ring light beams of different colors and the objects of which are secured to the retaining ring by rethe improvements are: movable fasteners H. A ball I 8 and a compres- Flrst, to provide an air traflic control device sion spring l9 are so mounted and arranged on 10 designed for use either during the day or night in the top of the case that the ball yieldably engages 10 transmitting to a selected airplane such visual and interlocks with the top portion of the retainsignals as are necessary to direct traflic into and ing ring l2, through an opening in the top of the out of an airdrome; second, to provide an air case, and thus tends to hold the retaining ring in traffic control device designed for ground use and place. A more positive ring-holding device or including a signal projector having two handle catch is provided for the bottom portion of the 15 assemblies for directing the beam and controlling retaining ring and consists of a flat spring the signal; third, to provide an air traflic control anchored at one end between the frame I0 and signal projector having a sighting arrangement the clamp 2| and having at its free end a button which gives a positive check of the color of signal 22 extending upwardly through an opening in the 20 at the point where it may be observed when sightframe l0 and engaging in an opening in the bot- 20 ing the projector; and fourth, to provide a general tom portion of the retaining ring. The glass-reassembly of parts so constructed and arranged as taining ring assembly is removable as a unit from to facilitate inspection and maintenance. the case by pushing down on the spring button These objects are attained by the construction with the thumb to release the catch and then illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wheresliding the retaining ring out of the case. 25

in: The control mechanism consists of a lamp sock- Fi ure 1 is a sid vi w f th en al ass mbly et assembly, a pistol grip assembly, and a color with certain parts in elevation and others in seccontrol assembly, supported on and carried by tion. the main frame tn; the latter being of channel Figure 2 is an end view of the device, partly in section and detachably fastened to the channel 30 evati n and p t y in s n strips 9 and 9', in inverted position therebetween,

Fi 4 and 5 are top, front and side deby four forwardly located short screws 23 and tail views of the front sight-and-indicator asnuts 23' and two rearwardlylocatedlonger screws sembly. 24 and nuts 24'. The longer screws 24 extend Fi ure 6 is a top p a w o t e s nal control through the pistol grip 25 and, together with the 35 mechanism. socket stem nut 26, constitute the means where- I Figure 7 is a detail view of the filter carriages. by the pistol grip assembly is fastened to the In the drawings, l indicates the traffic conchannel frame In. rol lamp case f the Projector, Whose Optical y The lamp socket assembly consists of a holder tem consis of a spot-light l p 2 located at the 21 for the lamp socket 28, a stem 29 for support- 40 focus of a parabolic reflector 3. A spherical miring the holder, and the socket stem nut 26. The ror l is placed in front of the lamp to eliminate bottom end of the holder seats on a shoulder near direct light from the lamp and to increase the the upper end of the stem to which it is rigidly beam intensity. Reflector 3 is retained in place fastened by suitable means, such as a screw 30 by suitable front clamps 5 and by the back packand it is formed with an upwardly extending arm 45 ing 5 which serves to space the reflector from the 21' to which is attached the spherical mirror l. back I of the case. The bottom of the case has The stem is mounted on the frame ID with its an open slot 8 extending centrally and longitudilower end disposed through an opening in the nally thereof and depending from the outer unframe and screw threaded to receive the nut 26.

derside of the case and on opposite sides of the A bearing-shoulder 3| is formed on the stem, in- 50 slot are strips 9 and 9 defining a channel for the wardly of the nut-bearing end thereof, for abutreception of the main frame I 0 of the control ment with the top side of the frame. mechanism hereinafter fully described. The The pistol grip assembly includes the pistol channel-forming strips 9 and 9' are secured to grip or rear handle 25 by means of which the the case by suitable fasteners ll. 55

- as shown in Figure 1.

gripped and held in one hand when directing the beam. The rear pistol grip handle is located at the rear end of the main frame 10 with its upper end disposed between the depending side flanges 10a and lllb of the frame to which it is fastened, as previously explained, by the long screws 24 and nuts 24'. The pistol grip handle is substantially hollow, being recessed to receive and to house the trigger and trigger switch assembly which, as a unit, consists of the plate or frame 32 and the various elements mounted thereupon, such as the trigger 33, trigger frame 34 with contact point 35, trigger frame tensioning spring 36, contact spring 31 with contact point 38, contact stop 39, connecting male type plug 40, insulated leads 4| and 4| from the connecting plug to the contact spring and lamp socket respectively, and a holder 42 for the insulated lead or wire 4|. An opening is provided in the upper end of the pistol grip, forwardly of the trigger housing, to receive the lower end of the socket stem 29, the nut 26 of which seats in a recess 43 in the underside of the pistol grip. When the nut 26 is screwed tightly against the pistol grip the latter is thereby clamped firmly to the frame ill. The stem may be keyed to the pistol grip and thereby prevented from turning relatively to the frame.

The color control assembly includes a narrow, substantially elongated, ball-housing block 44 disposed upon the upper face of the main frame l forwardy of the lamp socket assembly but set back from the front end of the frame to provide sufficient space for the retaining ring assembly. On its upper side the block 44 is cut out to provide ball housings 45 and 45' located fore-and-aft respectively of a recess 46 in which is seated for rotation an operating disk 41. Disk 41 is fixed, by nut 48, washer 49, and key 50, to the upper end of a drive shaft which extends through a tubular stem 52 on the underside of the block, which stem is inserted through an opening in the main frame I0 to be received in the central opening or socket in the clamping block 2| to which the ballhousing block 44 is secured by screws 53 and 53' The foremost screw 53 also extends through an opening in the spring 20 of the front ring catch assembly and then serves to anchor the said spring in place. Suitably fixed to the lower depending portion of the drive shaft 5| is the color control handle 54 by means of which the drive shaft and the operating disk are turned about an axis.

Disk 41 is provided with diametrically opposed elongated arcuate slots 55 and 55 Fig. 6 in which are disposed the downwardly bent forward ends of drive rods 56 and 56' respectively. These drive rods have downwardly bent rearward ends inserted in tubular sockets 51 and 51' formed at the free ends of lever arms 58 and 58, the latter being integral parts, respectively, of the color filter carriages 59 and 59'. These carriages, shown in detail in Figure 7, are rotatably supported on the socket stem 29 between the bottom end of the holder 21 and the bearing shoulder 3| of the socket stem. Carriage 59 includes an arm 60 to the upper end of which is attached a red filter 6|. Similarly, the carriage 59' includes an arm 60' to the upper end of which is attached a green filter 6|. TI'h'e normal position of the parts of the color contgl assembly is such as to produce a white bea That is, the color filters are disposed on opposite sides of the lamp 2 and out of the direct path of the light from the lamp to the parabolic reflector, with the downwardly bent forward ends of the carriage drive rods at the forward extremities of the disk slots 55 and 55. The carriages are moved separately and independently of one another and are restored after each operation to their normal position by springs 62 and 62'. Carriage restoring spring 52 is attached at one end to the downwardly bent rearward end of the carriage drive rod 56 and has its other end secured to the spring-anchoring side lug 63 of the ball housing block 44. Similarly, the carriage restoring spring 62 is attached at one end to the downwardly bent end of the carriage drive rod 56 and has its other end secured to the side lug 63 of the ball-housing block.

As will be apparent from Figure 6, when the operating disk 41 is rotated in a clockwise direction, the drive rod 56' being against the trailing edge of the slot 55' is moved inwardly to turn the carriage 59' and the green filter 6| to the position indicated in dotted lines; the red filter carriage and its drive rod remaining stationary since the slot 55 moves freely by the forward end of the drive rod 56, due to the latter being normally at the leading edge of the slot. When the disk 41 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction from normal position, the red filter carriage is moved, while the green filter carriage remains stationary. Hence, rotating the handle 90 one way will cause a green filter to be placed between the lamp and the parabolic reflector changing the beam to green. Rotating the handle 90 (from normal) the other way will interpose a red filter and change the signal to red. The color filter carriages in their normal position rest against the carriage stop 64 which is fastened, by screw 30 and also screws 65, to the front side of the holder 21. Positive stops are provided, also, for holding the filter control in the desired position. These consist of four cavities or recesses 66 in the peripheral edge of disk 41 and spaced 90 apart, together with a pair of balls 61 and 6'! located within the ball housings 45 and 45' respectively and thrust against the edge of the disk for engaging in the said cavities 66 by the force of their respective springs 68 and 68'.

To remove the control assembly as a unit, from the case it is only necessary to remove the screws shown along the channel frame in Figures 1 and 2 and then-holding the rear pistol grip firmly in the right hand and the case in the left arm push the pistol grip forward until the complete assembly slides out. For inspection of the trigger from 32 and its component parts, subsequent to the removal of the control assembly from the case, the socket stem nut 26 is unscrewed from the stem 29 to release the pistol grip 25 which is then withdrawn carefully from its enclosing position about the trigger assembly so that the leads to the lamp socket may not be broken or damaged. All parts of the trigger assembly are then exposed and readily accessible.

The projector is provided with front and rear sights 69 and 69' on the top of the case I for sighting the beam. At night, due to reflection by dust particles in the air, the color of signaling used can be readily identified. During the day, the color must be checked by other means and for this purpose the present invention includes a novel sighting arrangement in which the front sight 69 is provided with a clear jewel and angle reflector H arranged so that a portion of the main beam is directed toward the operator. To this end, the front sight consists of a substantially short and solid barrel-like body or cylinder having a longitudinally extending flat faced base or mounting plate 12 on one side thereof and arched in conformity with the cylindrical surface of the case I, to the top of which it is attached by suitable means, such as screws 13. The sight is disposed adjacent the front or lens-mounting end of the case in the manner illustrated in Figure 1 and is provided at its front end with a vertical sight-post 14 having a circular orifice 15 and a pointed sighting bead 16; the orifice 15 being aligned with the peep hole 15' of the rear sight and the bead 16 being aligned with V-notch 16 thereof. Thus, two types of sight are provided. At its rear end, the sight barrel is recessed to provide a reflector chamber 11 opening rearwardly and axially of the barrel through an orifice 18 and downwardly and outwardly of the barrel between spaced flanking lugs 19-19', the latter depending within the case through a substantially rectangular opening in the top thereof. The orifice 18 is closed at its outer end by a trans- 20 parent member, such as the clear glass jewel 10, fitted to the orifice in the manner disclosed, and the wall 11' of the reflector chamber 11 is inclined toward the jeweled orifice at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the axis of the sight body.

The inclined chamber wall 11' provides a rest or support for the upper half of the right-angle chromium-plated reflector 1|, the latter being fixedly secured to the wall by suitable fastening means, such as a screw 18, and having its lower half angularly disposed between the flanking lugs 19-19 so as to be in the path of and to intercept, a small portion of the light rays reflected parallel to the axis of the case from the parabolic reflector 3. The intercepted rays are doubled-reflected 180 degrees by the reflector 1|, so as to illuminate the clear jewel 10 with the same color light as is being transmitted as a signal. One ray is indicated in Figure 1 at R and R to illustrate the double-reflection whereby positive indication of color signal is obtained. This indication is essential for. daytime use especially as the operator must accurately train the projector by use of the sights and as his view is restricted to the sights and the objective, the color signal indication must be positive and visible without change in view. This sighting arrangement has the following advantages: first, it provides the operator with a positive indication that a signal is being transmitted; second, it provides a positive indication of color signal being transmitted; third, it provides the foregoing indications without interfering with the sighting of the projector; and, fourth, it facilitates the transmission of a signal as all doubt regarding color or operation is removed.

Electrical current for operation of the device may be supplied from a storage battery by suitable cable connections between the battery and the device or it may be obtained directly from commercial lighting sources. For the latter purpose a transformer 80 is used which will allow operations from commercial lighting sources of alternating current at frequencies from 25 to 60. The transformer has a long secondary lead BI and a short primary lead 82, the former being provided with a plug 83 for attachment to the plug of the trigger assembly and the latter having an attachment plug 84 for connection with a commercial lighting source. When connected to 115 volts alternating current, commercial frequency, the transformer will operate the lamp at seven volts.

In the operation of the traffic control device, the operator points the projector in the direction of the selected airplane, which may be either on the ground or in the air, and signals the pilot thereof by closing the trigger switch, the color filters being properly positioned according to whether the given signal is red, green, or clear. The information conveyed by the projected signals is of course dependent upon the meaning of the signals in accordance with a common interpretation thereof. For the purposes of the present invention the meaning of the signals will be understood to be as follows: To pilots in air, red indicates "Stay away; clear indicates Landing optional with caution and green indicates Land--To pilots on the ground, red indicates Remain in place; clear indicates "Remain in place; and green indicates Take off or Taxi in.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a simple, manually operated and controlled, signal projector for ground use in directing and controlling air tramc into and out of an airdrome. The device is designed for use either during the day or at night.

I claim:

1. A portable signalling device comprising the combination of an opaque housing optically opened at one end, intelligence-communicating means within said housing and operable for communicating intelligence through the optically opened end of the housing to a receiving station, sighting means externally of the housing for lining up the device with the receiving station, and reflector means between the intelligence-communicating means and the sighting means optically active during the operation of the device for displaying at the sighting means a functional characteristic of the intelligence-communicating means whereby the operation of the latter can be observed by the operator while the eye is focused on the sighting means.

2. In a trailic control signal projector, sighting means on the projector for training the projector on an objective and indicating means on the projector for indicating whether or not a signal is being transmitted, said sighting means and said indicating means being arranged and combined in the line of sight to be viewed simultaneously for the performance of both functions while the eye is focused on the sighting means.

3. A trafic control signal light projector including a housing having a source of light and focusing means therein, a sighting device mounted on said housing and having a colorless transparent member, and means for intercepting and I reflecting part of the signal light through the transparent member to illuminate the latter with the same color light as is being transmitted as a signal, said transparent member being visible substantially along the axis of the sighting device to be viewed simultaneously with the latter while the eye is focused on the sighting device.

4. A traffic control signal light projector including an opaque casing optically opened at one end, a source of light and light-focusing means within the casing, a sight on the outside ,of the casing, a colorless transparent member rearwardly of the sight and in substantially the same line of vision as the sight so that the said sight and the said member can be viewed simultaneously whenever the eye is focused on the sight, and reflector means for intercepting a small portion of the rays of light emanating from said source of light and reflecting same to the said member to illuminate the latter.

Examine 5. A traflic control projector for transmitting a beam of light for signalling purposes and including an opaque housing optically opened at one end and having an opening in the top there- 5 of, a source of light within the housing, focusing means for directing the light from said source through the opened end of the housing, a front sight on the top of said housing having a chamber in communication with the opening in the top of the housing, the said chamber opening rearwardly of the said sight, and a reflector fixed in the said chamber and depending through the opening in the top of the housing to intercept a portion of the light emanating from said focusing means, saidreflectorhaving angularlydisposed reflector portions for directing the incident light through the chamber opening at the rear of the sight.

6. A combination front sight and indicator for a tramc control projector comprising a substantially short and solid opaque body having a sighting post on one side thereof and a recess leading outwardly of the opposite side of the body and an axial opening at the inner end of the recess and leading outwardly of one end of the body, a colorless jewel covering the axial opening of the body, and a reflector secured to the said body with a reflector portion thereof disposed within the recess to illuminate the jewel with light reflected therefrom and a reflector portion extending outwardly of the recess and angularly disposed so that incident light is reflected thereby to the other reflector portion.

7. A combination front sight and indicator for a tramc control projector comprising a relatively short and substantially barrel-like body having a longitudinally extending flat-faced mounting plate on the bottom side thereof and a sighting post extending upwardly from the top side thereof and adjacent the forward end of the body, said body having laterally spaced lugs depending downwardly below the mounting plate adjacent the rear end of the body and a reflector chamber opening downwardly between the said lugs and also outwardly through the said rear end of the body, the forward wall of said chamber being inclined toward the open rear end of the body at an acute angle, a colorless jewel covering the opening in the rear end of the body, and an angle-reflector having a reflector portion disposed within said chamber and against and fixedly secured to the inclined wall thereof and having another reflector portion angularly disposed between the said depending lugs.

WILBUR T. HARDING.

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