US2161896A

US2161896A - Traffic registering mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2161896A
Application number: US110504A
Authority: US
Inventors: Curtis D Cutler
Original assignee: AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC COUNTER COMP
Current assignee: AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC COUNTER COMP; AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC COUNTER COMPANY Inc
Priority date: 1936-11-12
Filing date: 1936-11-12
Publication date: 1939-06-13
Anticipated expiration: 1956-06-13

Description

June 13, 1939. C, D CUTLER 2,161,896

TRAFFIC REGI STBRING MECHANI SM Filed NOV. l2, 1936 Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAFFIC REGISTERING MECHAN ISM Application November 12, 1936, Serial No. 110,504

7 Claims.

This invention. pertains to counting or registering mechanism and is particularly directed to an improved vehicle actuated switch for use in connection with mechanism for registering the number of vehicles traveling in either direction over a specied highway.

Certain types of trailic registering devices now in use employ a light beam which is focused on a, light sensitive cell. When the beam is inter- 10 rupted and a shadow is thrown on the cell, a` circuit is completed and a registering is made. These types of registering mechanisms are objectlonable because shadows may be made by objects other than those intended and also one object may pass in the shadow of a second 0bject, making the device render a false indication. 'Ihese registers are also required to be supplied with 110 or 220 Volt electric current which eliminates their use'on rural roads or any other place where such a current supply is not available.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of an improved vehicle actuated switch which can be employed to control the circuit of a registering device in such a manner as to overcome the above noted objections.

Another object of the invention is the provivision of a treadle switch which may be arranged transversely of a highway to be actuated by vehicles passing thereover in order to complete a circuit'l for an electrically energized registering mechanism.

A still further object rests in providing a traflic registering mechanism with a control switch which may be applied to a highway and employed to actuate the registering mechanism upon the passage of vehicles over the highway, the switch being so constructed as to be capable of controlling a plurality of circuits so that the 40 direction of travel of the vehicles as well as the number will be made manifest.

It is also an object to form a switch with a pair of spaced stationary contacts and a single movable contact, the latter being moved into engagement with one of the former upon the passage of a vehicle thereover. The contacts are to be elongated and the movable one made flexible so that the opposite ends may be simultaneously engaged by vehicles traveling in opposite directions, and moved into engagement with the respective stationary contacts.

With these and other objects in View, the invention resides in the novel features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts as particularly pointed out in the following description and the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a section of a roadway to which a traic counting device provided with a switch constructed in accordance with the present invention has been applied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through a housing in which is located a pair of accumulative counters and the actuating mechanism therefor; 10

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the actuating mechanism for one of the counters. the plane of the section. being shown by the line III- III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view l5 through the vehicle actuated switch on the plane indicated by the line IV-IV of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the switch means.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 20 the numeral I indicates a highway to which the registering mechanism 2 comprising the present invention is applied. Arranged transversely of the highway is a vehicle actuated switch 3 comprising an inverted T-shaped strip 4 which is 25 formed of rubber. The top of the vertical portion 5 of the strip includes the movable contact 5a of the switch. This contact is, in this instance, formed of an inverted V-shaped strip of woven wire fabric vulcanized in place on the rubber 30 strip when the latter is being cured. The hori- Zontal anges 6 of the strip 4 are covered by metallic strips 1 and the switch is secured in position on the roadway by nails or spikes 8 passing through the strips l and the flanges 6. The 35 switch is particularly illustrated in Fig. 4 and the dotted lines show the switch in either of its circuit closing positions. It will readily be seen that the vertical portion 5 of the strip may be iiexed in either direction depending upon the direction of movement of the vehicle engaging the same. When the portion 5 is bent over sufliciently, the contact 5a will engage with one of the strips 'l providing for current ilow through these elements. 5

Current conducting wires lead from the switch 3 to a housing 9 suitably supported at the side of the roadway. Mounted on the rear wall of the housing 8 adjacent the upper portion thereof is a pair of Veeder or other suitable accumulative 50 counting devices I 0, each of which is provided with an operating shaft Il, to the outer end of which is secured an operating lever I2. Also carried by the rear wall of the housing in vertical registration with the outer ends of the levers I2 55 is a pair of solenoid members I3. The members I3 are of the usual construction and to include a eld winding lll in the center of which is located a tubular sleeve i5. A bar-like core I6 is slidably positioned in the sleeve l5 with the lower end thereof in engagement with the lower wall of the solenoid casing. The upper end of the core i6 is spaced from the lever l2 to permit the former to gain some momentum before engaging the latter. This is essential in a device of this character because it provides for quick operation of the counting mechanism.

To correctly register the passage of a vehicle moving at the rate of 60 M. P. H. over the road switch, the counting mechanism would have to be actuated twice, once for the front wheels and once for the rear wheels. To do this, the operating lever as well as the movable core must return to a normal position before each actuation which requires the device to be capable of at least eighteen operations a. second. If the core I6 and the lever i2 were connected by means of levers or other devices, such speed of operation would not be attainable.

The terminals of the windings i4 are connected with a pair of binding posts ll provided on the casing of each of the solenoids. An electric battery l is provided in the lower part of the housing 9 and a wire 2B leading from one binding post of one solenoid to one binding post of the second solenoid is connected with one pole 2l of the battery. The other pole 22 of the battery lil is connected by means of a conductor 23 with the movable contact Eid of the road switch. The stationary contacts of the road switch are connected by means of a second and third conductor 2d and 25 with the second binding posts Il of the solenoids, the conductor 2d connecting one contact 1 with one solenoid and the conductor 25 leading from the other Contact 'i to the other solenoid.

The device operates as follows: A vehicle passes over the road switch 3 and in doing so, the wheels move the vertical flange of the rubber strip to a substantially horizontal position as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4 causing the contact 5a to engage one of the contact strips l. Current will then flow from the battery i9 over the conductor 23 to the contact 5a, then to the strip 'l engaged by the contact 5d and over one of the conductors 24 or 25 to the iield of the respective solenoid and then back to the battery by way of the wire 2U.

This passage of current through the solenoid iield causes the core to move upwardly and in doing so, engage the end of the lever I2 of the counter positioned above the solenoid. Continued movement of the core results in the movement of the lever to actuate the counter. Immediately upon the separation of the contacts 5a and l, current now stops and the core i6 returns to its original position. This cycle of operation is completed twice for every vehicle which passes over the road switch. The total reading of the counter is divided by two to give the actual number of vehicles passing over the road.

In the event two vehicles traveling in opposite directions pass over the switch at the same time, the vertical portion of the strip 4 is sufciently flexible to permit one end portion to engage with one strip 'I while the other end portion is in engagement with the other strip.

While I have shown and described my invention in its preferred form, it will be understood that many minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as dened by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a traffic registering mechanism, a vehicle actuated switch comprising an inverted T- shaped rubber strip, spaced stationary metallic strips carried by the base portion of said T- shaped strip, and a movable contact strip secured to the vertical portion of said T-shaped strip adjacent the upper end thereof.

2. In traffic registering mechanism, a vehicle actuated switch comprising an elongated resilient strip, a vertically extending resilient web formed at the longitudinal center of said strip, a metallic contact element secured to said strip on either side of said web, and a similar contact element secured adjacent the upper end of said web.

3. In trafc registering mechanism, a vehicle actuated switch comprising an elongated strip, a resilient vertical web formed with said strip at its longitudinal center, said web being coextensive with said strip, a metallic contact element secured to the upper surface of said strip on either side of said web, and a similar contact element secured adjacent the upper end of said web- 4. In trailic registering mechanism, a vehicle actuated switch comprising a substantially flat elongated rubber body, a vertical web coextensive with said body and joined thereto at the longitudinal center thereof, contact elements coextensive with said body and secured thereto on either side of said web, and a metallic fabric element extending around the upper free edge of said web and joined therewith during the formation of said body.

5. A vehicle actuated switch comprising an elongated flexible body, a pair of stationary elongated contacts carried by said body in spaced relation to one another, and a exible contact carried by said body between said spaced contacts, the opposite ends of said exible contact being capable of simultaneous movement into engagement with opposite stationary contacts.

6. A vehicle actuated switch comprising an elongated resilient strip, a vertically extending resilient web formed at the longitudinal center of said strip, a stationary metallic Contact element secured to said strip on either side of said web, and a movable contact element carried by said web in spaced relation to said stationary contacts.

7. A vehicle actuated switch comprising an elongated resilient strip, a resilient web formed with and extending from said strip at an angle thereto, a stationary elongated metallic contact element secured to said strip, and a movable contact element carried by said web in spaced relation to said first contact, said contacts en- 65 gaglng one another upon movement of said web.

CURTIS D. CUTLER.