US2206556A - Signaling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

y 2, 1940. N. F. AGNEW 2,206,556

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HIS ATTORNEY Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGNALING APPARATUS Norman F. Agnew, Penn Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor to The Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania '7 Claims.

My invention relates to signaling apparatus, and more particularly to signaling apparatus involving an annunciator for calling attention to a change in the condition of any one of a plurality of independently controlled indicators.

A specific object of my invention is the provision of. an improved form of annunciator suitable for use in a centralized traffic controlling system for railroads for visually and audibly indicating at the train dispatchers office or other point of control the passage of trains through the controlled territory.

Other objects, purposes and features of my invention will be made apparent as the description proceeds.

The present application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 636,882, filed October 8, 1932, for Remote control systems.

I shall describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention, and shall then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one form of apparatus embodying my invention, while Fig. 2 illustrates the structure of a relay suitable for use as the relay TK or AK in Fig. 1. I

Referring to Fig. 1, the track diagram at the top shows a typical field location or station which is to be understood as being one of a plurality spaced at intervals along the line of a railroad, from which indications of train movements may be transmitted to a control office to govern the indication apparatus of my invention. This location includes a power operated track switch W and a group of signals for governing train movements over the switch. The switch W is located in a track section IT customarily referred to as the detector section, which has a track circuit with the usual track battery Bi and a track relay TR. It is to be understood that switch W and the signals may be manually gov-' erned from the control ofiice by suitable means, not shown, and that switch W is controlled by a switch machine of the dual selector type having a dual selector lever controlling a. contact DS, this contact when open indicating that the motor of the switch machine is disconnected and the switch machine is then conditioned for hand operation to permit local switching. The track relay ITR is provided with a slow pick-up slow release repeater relay TZ having a circuit extending from one terminal B of a suitable local source of current, the dual selector contact DS, contact a; of relay TR and the winding of relay TZ to the other terminal C of the local source,

so that relay T2 is deenergized whenever section IT is occupied and also when the dual selector lever is in the hand-throw position and the track switch W is consequently not in condition to be operated by remote control.

At the left of section IT, I have shown an adjacent section 2T having a track circuit with the usual track battery B2 and a track relay RAR, this section 2T being customarily referred to as the approach section. It will be seen that relay RAR is deenergized whenever the approach section 2T is occupied,

As indicated diagrammatically in Fig. l, relay TZ when deenergized energizes an indication relay TK, and relay RAR when deenergized similarly energizes an indication relay AK, located at the control oflice. This control may be effected in any suitable manner, such for example, as through the medium of a remote control system as indicated on the drawing, a suitable system being shown, for example, in my application Serial No. 636,882 hereinbefore referred to.

The relays TK and AK may be of any suitable type, such for example, as the relay illustrated in Patent No. 1,815,947, issued July 28, 1931, to L. V. Lewis. The relay of the patent has been modified, however, in accordance with the present invention, by the provision of a special contact shown in Fig. 2, as hereinafter described.

The equipment at the control ofiice preferably comprises a control board consisting of a number of similarly arranged panels each assigned to one station and including in addition to suitable control apparatus, indication lamps TE and AE for indicating the condition of the track sections IT and 2T, respectively, at the corresponding station. Each relay AK controls a circuit for the corresponding approach indication lamp AE which extends from terminal B of the local source of current, contact b of relay AK, lamp AE to terminal C, so that lamp AB is lighted as long as the approach section is occupied and ex tinguished when the approach section is clear, the lamps TE being similarly controlled by the relays TK. The relays TK and AK for each panel also control an annunciator bell A, which bell is arranged to give a momentary audible indication whenever an approach section becomes occupied. A manually operable key XK is provided, and when this is closed, operation also occurs when a relay TK picks up due to the corresponding detector track section becoming occupied, or due to the opening of the duel selector contact DS by the crew of a train at a field station.

A particular feature of my invention resides tarily, releases tion is moved by the armature of the relay, a fixed mem.

her or back contact and an intermediate member c biased to make contact with c" when the relay is deenergized. To the spring 0', I have added an inertia weight m so that when the relay becomes energized and spring 0 is moved rapidly upward against m, spring 0 will become compressed due to the inertia of the mass m, and.

will remain in contact with c for an appreciable time before 0' is lifted out of contact with 0'. Thus when relay AK becomes energized, a circuit is closed momentarily from terminal B of the local source of current, contacts a, c and 0", re sistor l, through the'winding of relay AP to the other terminal C of the same source. Relay AP is preferably of a quick-acting type such as the relay of the Lewis patent hereinbefore referred to, and is of relatively low resistance.

Since resistor l is in series with its winding, the time constant of its circuit is small so that it picks up rapidly and when energized momenslowly by reason of the continued flow or" current through the closed circuit includ ing its winding and the asymmetric unit I. It will be noted that when the voltage of the local source of energy is high and the speed of pickup of relay AK is thereby increased so that the period of contact between springs c and c" is shortened, the higher Voltage will also be applied to relay AP, with the result that the length of time relay AP remains in its energized posisubstantially constant irrespective of voltage variation.

When relay AP becomes energized, a circuit is closed from terminal B, contact a of relay AP, annunciator bell A to terminal C to ring the bell. When this circuit is opened, sparking of the contact of relay AP is prevented by reason of the discharge path provided for the current in the winding of bell A through asymmetric unit 6.

When relay AK becomes deenergized, spring 0 moves downward rapidly for the reason that the armature portion of the relay is of small inertia and is moved downward not only by spring 0 but by other springs such as spring b shown in i Fig. 1 which are structurally illustrated in Patent No. 1,815,947 to which I have referred. Spring 0', however, moves downwardly more slowly because its acceleration is diminished by the mass 'm, from which it follows that springs c and 0 separate almost as soon as 0" starts to move, and, therefore, springs c and o are separated when c' engages with back contact 0. It follows that the bell circuit is closed momentarily by relay AK only when relay AK becomes energized, and that it is not closed when relay AK becomes deenergized.

When the manual key XK is closed, another circuit for relay AP is provided which includes the bell contact 0 of relay TE. and which functions in a manner similar to that just described, as is obvious from the drawing. It is also evident that a plurality of other indication relays TE and AK may have their contacts 0 connected to the circuits as shown, to operate relay AP without interference so that bell A will ring momentarily whenever any lamp AE becomes lighted, and if key XK is closed, also whenever any lamp TE becomes lighted.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a remote indication system for railroads, apparatus for visually and audibly indicating the condition of a plurality of track sections comprising a track relay for each section, a plurality of indication relays at a remote point including one for each track relay, a make-before-break contact controlled by each indication relay, means for causing each indication relay to become energized when the associated track relay is deenergized, a visual indicator for each indication relay, a circuit for each visual indicator closed when the corresponding relay is in a predetermined position, an audible indicator, a plurality of circuits for controlling said audible indicator, each including a make-before-break contact of a different one of said indication relays, and means associated with each indication relay for momentarily closing its make-before-b-reak contact only when the relay is moving toward its energized position to momentarily complete that circuit for controlling said audible indicator which includes said contact when any one of said track sections becomes occupied.

2. A signaling system for indicating a change in position of any one of a plurality of twoposition devices comprising contacts controlled by each device and closed only when such device is in transit from one position to another, an audible signal associated with said devices, and a plurality of circuits for momentarily controlling said audible signal each said circuit including said contacts of a different one of said de vices.

3. A signaling system for indicating a change in position of any one of a plurality of twopostion devices comprising contacts controlled by each device and closed only when such device is in transit from one position to another, a quickacting relay, a plurality of circuits for briefly energizing said relay each said circuit including said contacts of a different one of said devices, an audible signal actuated by said relay, and means for prolonging the brief energization of said relay to more effectively actuate said audible signal.

i. In a signaling system for railroads, a plurality of indication relays associated with different track sections, means for positioning said relays in accordance with the condition of occupancy of the corresponding track sections, a track indicator controlled by each relay, contacts controlled by each relay and closed momentarily when the position of such relay is changed, a signal for indicating a change in the condition of any of said indicators, and a plurality of circuits for controlling said signal each including said contacts of a different one of said relays.

5. In a signaling system, a plurality of twoposition indication relays, a visual signal controlled by each relay, a make-before-break contact assembly controlled by each relay comprising a back contact and a front contact with a member bridging said back and front contacts, duringthe transit of said. relay from one position to another, an audible signal, and a plu= rality of circuits for controlling said audible signal each including said front and back contacts and said bridging member of a different one of said indication relays.

6. In a signaling system, a signal, a relay, an indication lamp, a contact controlled by said relay closed as long as said relay occupies a given position, a circuit for said lamp controlled by said contact, a make-before-break contact assembly controlled by said relay comprising a back contact and a front contact with a member adapted to bridge said back and front Contacts momentarily during the movement of said relay from one position to another, a circuit for controlling said signal including said back and front contacts and said member, and inertia means associated with said member for prolonging the time of bridging said contacts to efiectively control said signal when said relay moves to a given position and for correspondingly shortening said time sufficiently to prevent the control of said signal when said relay moves to the opposite po= sition.

7. In a signaling system, a plurality of two position indication relays, a visual signal controlled by each relay, contacts controlled by each relay closed momentarily only when the relay is in transit from one position to another, an audi= ble signal, a plurality of circuits for controlling said audible signal each including said contacts of a different one of said relays, and means as= sociated with said audible signal for prolonging its momentary energization when any of said contacts are closed to more effectively actuate said audible signal.

NORMAN F. AGNEW.

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