US2101697A - Traffic signal system - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 7, 1937. c. B. WATSON 2,101,697

TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 17, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l .1: k I If i ma ,L,

- r-cela INVENTOR' C. B. WATSON.

ATTORNEY.

c.' B. WATSON 2,101,697

TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 17, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o I I 0s o MS I R7, 0 IE I 1 0 o 7 I 51 g H I I g. o R, I

o 1 0 0 0 RH 2 R13 ans Zf M W cm :M \N N INVENTORY- 7 7. C. B.WATS0N.Y

A TTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED @STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,101,697. p TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Charles B. Watson Omaha, Nelm, asslgnor of forty-nine percent to Fay G. Johnson, Omaha,

Nebr.

Application January 11, 1935, Serial No. 2,232 @Clalins. (or. 117-329) This invention has to do with the art of trafiic sulting in personal injury and property damage.

due to thelacl; of facilities for instantaneous perception of the relative control factors which will enaLle the driver to .c ncentrate upon the 15 driving hazards. When ap roaching an intersection having a proceed indication neither driver nor'pedestrian has any knowledge of the length of time since .the beginning of the indication and proceeds, often only to have the indica- 20 tion unexpectedly change to stop for his direction andproceed for the opposite direction, resulting in a forced clearance against-opposing trafllc and stranded pedestrians with the resulting confusion long indicators which have no dark moments between changes. I v i .Other objects are to provide an illuminant having a: high atmospheric penetrating character-.

istic in order-that the'indication may be seen from a greater distance; to provide a systemhaving a continuously moving indicator with a relative difference in intensity for the psychological effect of, concentrating the attention upon the cycle of operations; to provide a flexible control 45 system whereby different rates'of indication are available such as varying the length of the time period of the display of the respective tubes of the indication for a north and south movement from that of-the east and west movement and vice 50 versa, also" .ie varying of, the time period in the separate individual indicators as wellas groups of indicators; to provide a flexible system whereby signal units may be synchronized in groups or individually controlledfiand to provide an im- 55 proved signal system with a lower. operating cost,

The foregoing and other aims and objects will be apparent from the detailed description hereinafter appearing when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

' Figure l is a side view of the head of my tramc -5 signal having signals on two sides, one side only being shown.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing one of the illuminating tubes.

Figure 3 is a section of an illuminating tube showing a modified form of electrode. Figure 4 is a sectional view of the head of the signal taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1 but' illustratin'g an octagonal sign-a1 head having four sets of signal indicator tubes.

Figure 5 isan enlarged sectional. view ta-lien on line 55 of Figure 6 to illustrate the-"light concentrating element around the electrode.

' Figure 6 shows a portion of a tube adjacent an electrode as seen from the rear, said view is env larged to show the built up shoulder of glass which forms the light concentrating element around said electrode.

Figure 7 is a. diagrammatic view of the wiring system having four sets of indicating tubes of five electrodes each. 4

Referring more particularly to the drawings reference numeral It indicates a standard or post upon which a signal head ii is supported.

In my preferred embodiment the head is octagonal in cross-section as shown in Figure 4. The head H is provided with pannels l2, oppositely disposed, only one of which is shown in Figure 1,

on which is provided vertical tubes RH and Git,

Figure 1, filled with a gas such as neon or the I like and spaced horizontally apart, tube Rl3 producing a red light and tube Gl3 producing a, green light, when a suitable electric current is passed therethrough. It is desirable ithat the lights on a signal pannel be visible from only one 7 nels may be coated with any suitable reflecting material to increase the brilliance of the signals. 4

- Each tube is provided at its top and bottom with a rearwardly extending pocket l5 and I6 respectively in which electrodes l1 and I8 respectively are fixed and between said top and bottom pockets are provided a plurality of intermediately spaced pockets l9 each of which is provided with an electrode 20. Electricity to energize the gas in the tubes is taken from the secondary 2| of a transformer 22 which is supplied with electric current from any suitable source such as .an ordinary commercial circuit 23 carrying 110 volts and having a switch 23a. therein. One side of the secondary 2|, which I shall call the low side 24, is connected to the lower electrodes l8 of the tubes and the other or high side 25 is connected to an arm 26 of a distributor or flasher 21 which is driven by an electric motor 28 of suitable speed. I

. The distributor is provided with a plurality of annularly spaced contact points 29 mounted'on the insulated base thereof, said points being connectd in groups, indicated in Figure 7 by large capital letters R G and small capital letters R G,

the arm being adapted to rotate and successively contact the contact points 29. The signal head is provided with four signal pannels with signals for controlling traffic from four directions and the tubes thereof are identified by large capitals RI, R2, G3 and G4 and small capitals R R6,, G1 and G8 corresponding to the tubes similarly identified in Figure '7. In the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated the ,group of tubes indicated by the large capital letter prefixes are lighted, progressively darkened and extinguished together, likewise the tubes identified by the small capital letter prefixes. In order to more clearly show the wiring system the tubes in Fig- 'ure '7 are provided with only five electrodes instead of twenty electrodes provided in the tubes RB and GB of Figure 1. With the arm in the position shown in Figure 7 current is supplied to the upper electrodes of the respective tubes in the large capital letter series and at the same time current is supplied to the last or lower intermediate electrodes of the small capital letter series tubes thereby lighting the last or lower section of said tubes. This is accomplished by connecting the first contact point of the large capital letter series or group with the last contact point of the small capital letter series or vances; progressively making contact with the succeeding contact points the current is supplied to respective intermediate electrodes along the tubes so that with each succeeding contact point contacted by the arm the light in the illuminated tubes drops downward and extends from the electrodes connected with the contact point of the distributor contacted by the'arm to the bottom of the tubes until the last section is illuminated. This section remains illuminated while the following series of tubesis illuminated the full length due to the last contact point of the large capital letter series being connected-with a wire 3| to the first contact point ofthe small capital letter series thus causing an overlapping in the sequence of the lighting at the time ofsignal change and eliminating any dark moments between .the illumination of tubes of a following series and the extinguishing of the tubes of a previously illuminated series, and providing continual, uninterrupted indicator signals.

lighting of the auxiliary tube 32 thus makes easy the determi nation of therelative length of time since the last signal change and the relative length of time before the next signal change.

A modified form of electrode is shown in Figure 3 wherein the end 35 is somewhat downturned to positively eliminate light above said electrode and form a sharp line of demarcation of the light at this point.

To increase the intensity of the light at said point and for the purpose of attracting and holding the attention upon the cycle of operation a glass shoulder 34 is built up around the pockets for the electrodes at the junction of said pockets and the tube. The shoulder concentrates and intensifies the light in the tube locally and reflects said concentrated light forwardly to form a sharp luminous point at the limits of tube illumination.

It is to be understood that the signal tubes may be provided with any desired number of electrodes spaced in any suitable manner. The dishead for controlling or regulating the signals thereof or one distributor may be used to control a group of signal heads. It is also to be understood that the relative length of the time period for groups of tubes may be varied relative to each group as well as the length of the time period of individual tubes in a single series or group. This may be done to give preference to trafflc in certain {directions over tra-flic from other directlons.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: I

1. In a traffic signal system for controlling tramc at street intersections and the like, the combination, a signal support, a plurality of extended electrically illuminable indicators on the support, said indicators being straight and in same line of trafiic said indicators being alter-' nately illuminated their full length while a por tion of a previously illuminated indicator is still illuminated.

2. In a trafiic signal system for controllingtrafllc at street intersections, the combination, a signal support, a plurality of vertically extending electric illuminable gaseous discharge tubes on the support, said tubes being straightand in parallel association and adapted to illuminably and colorably control the fiow of traflic by alternately signaling traffic to stop and to proceed, each of said tubes being adapted to be illuminated the full extent thereof and to have the illuminated portion uniformly'decreased in 'tributor may be placed in an individual signal parallel association relative to each other, the' extent, means for increasing the intensity of the luminescence at the limits of luminosity of the tubes, and distributing means adaptedto distribute electric current from a suitable source of supply to the tubes and to alternately illuminate the stop and proceed tube and to progressively and uniformly decrease the extent of 11- luminati'on 01' the respective tubes.

3.1na traflic signal system for controlling trafllc at street intersections, the combination, a signal support, a plurality of straight, vertically parallel, electrically illuminable indicator tubes on said support spaced horizontally apart and adapted to colorably control the flow of trafiic by alternately signaling traffic to stop and to proceed, said tubes being of different colors upon illumination thereof, each of said tubes having an electrode in its upper and lower ends and a plurality of intermediately spaced electrodes,

tion of the companion tube is still illuminated.

4. In a tramc signal system for controlling trafllc at street intersections, the combination, a signal support, a plurality of straight, vertically parallel, electrically illuminable indicator tubes on said support spaced horizontally apart and adapted to colorably control the flow of trafllc by alternately signaling traflic to stop and to proceed said tubes being of different colors upon illumination thereof, each of said tubes having laterally extending electrode pockets at the upper and lower ends and a plurality of intermediately spaced laterally extending electrode pockets, shoulders at the junction of the pockets and tube adapted to locally reflect light, elec-' trodes in each pocket, and distributor means adapted to distribute electric current from a suitable source of supply to the electrodes, said distributing means being adapted to distribute s tubes facing the same line of trafflc while a por-

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