US2375890A - Railway traffic controlling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 15, 1945. H. 1.. BLACK' RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 11, 19 45 R w Y E M m Wan m H H Patented May 15, 1945 RAILWAY TRAFFIC QONTIUOHJNG APPARAIUS' B r y L- B k@ Meneto New BEfiK WiQ a-Qm'k aria. ass gn r. to Th Union Swi h and, Signal C mpany. Swissvale. Pa... a corporation of:

Pennsylvania.

Application'Dccemher 11, 1943; SerialNo. 513,931

2 Claims. (.Ql.,246.-.-428.),

My invention relates to railway trafiic controlling apparatus, and particularly to apparatusfor controlling railway switches.

With the conventional type of railway switch in which the switch points normally stand'inone extreme position or the other, it sometimes happen during heavy snow storms that snow becomes packed between the open switch point and the adjacent stock rail to such an extent that the switch cannot be reversed until someone is sent to the switch location toremove thepacked snow. This is undesirable particularly where the switch is located at an outlying location, and he quently results in train delays.

One object of my invention is to provide a switch in which failure of the-switch due to snow packing between the movable switch points and the adjacent stock rails is prevented,

Another object of my invention is to provide a railway switch in which both movable switch -points normally are closed against the adjacent stock rails and one movable switch point or the other is moved away from the stock rail to the open position to line up the desired traffic. route.

Another object of my invention is to provide a railway switch in which both movable switch points are normally biased to-their closed positions whereby the switch can be trailed from either the branch or main track.

Another object of my invention is to provide means to enable a switch in which both movable switch points are biased to their closed positions and one point or the other is moved to its open position to line up a trafiic route to be operated by a standard switch and lock movement, and still provide the usual locking and point detection features commonly provided in conventional switches.

According to my invention, the movable switch points are individually connected through separate lost motion connections to an operating rod which latter, in turn, is connected to a conven-.- tional switch and lock movement provided with a circuit controller of the type used when the switch and lock movement is to operate a movable point frog. Theswitch and lock movement normally stands in its mid stroke position, and the movable switch points are both held closed under these conditions by a spring rod which biases them to their closed positions, the necessary movement of the points to their closed positions being permitted by the lost motion connections between the movable points and the operating rod. When it is desired to line up a traflic route over the switch, the switch movement is energized by means of appropriate control circuitsto operate it to one extremeposition or the other. The operation of the switch movement to an extreme' position causes the operating rod to open the one point or the other, asthe case may be, against the biasing force of the spring rod, and positively hold the point which is not moved in its closed position. The locking plunger of the switch and lock movement when the switch and lock movement is operated to either extreme position cooperates with the usual lock rods to lock the points against'movement, and the usual point detector mechanism provides an indicationof the position of the switch points.

Other objects and characteristic features of my invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

I'shall" describe one formof railwaywitch opcrating apparatus embodying my invention, and shall" then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a top plan view, partly in crosssecticn, showinga railway switch A provided with one form of switch operating mechanism embodying my invention. Fig; l is a top-plan View, partly diagrammatic and partly ,in section, showing on an enlarged scale certain of the parts of the switch and lock'movement illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the lines I-II'- III of; Fig. l.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in all three views.

Referring first to.Fig. l, the reference character A designates a railway switch comprising, as usual, two fixed or stock rails I and la and two movable rails or switch points 2 and 2a. The fixed rails I and la are laid on tie plates 3 and are secured to crossties 4 in the usual manner. The movable rails are individually movable, and are both biased to closed positions in which they engage the associated stock rail by means of a spring connecting rod SC.

The spring connecting rod SC may have any suitable form, and as here shown comprises a tubular casing 5 secured at one end'by means of a supporting rod 6 to the switch point 2, and provided at the other end with an axial opening 1- which slidably receives another supporting rod 8 secured to the other switch point 2a; The supporting rod 8 is guided at its inner end by a tubular projection 9- formed' on one end of the casing 5 and is surrounded by: a compressed coil spring Ill, one endof which abuts against the one end wall. 511 of the casing 5 and the other end of which abuts against a circular plate II secured to the supporting rod 8. The spring I is provided with sufficient compression to normally yieldably hold both switch points in closed positions against the adjacent stock rails.

The switch points are arranged to be individually moved from the normally closed position to an open position to line up a trailic route over the switch by means of a switch and lock movement SM, the throw bar l2 of which is connected with the switch point 2 through the medium of the operating rod l3, a switch basket I4, and a throw rod I5, and with the switch point 2a through the medium of the operating rod [3, a switch basket l6 and a throw rod I1. The throw rod I is secured adjacent one end to the switch point 2 and is slidably supported at the other end underneath the stock rail Ia by a bracket l8 secured to the rail I a. The throw rod I! is similarly secured at one end to the switch point 2a and is slidably supported at the opposite end by a :bracket l9 secured to the rail I.

The switch and lock movement may be of any of the usual types, but as here shown it is of the type described and claimed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,293,290, granted to William Zabel On February 4, 1919, for Railway traffic controlling apparatus. Inasmuch as the switch and lock movement is similar to that shown in the said Zabel patent it is believed that for purposes of the present invention it is sufficient to point out that this switch and lock movement includes a main operating shaft 20, the lower end of which terminates in a crank 24. This crank extends in opposite directions from the shaft, and is provided on its lower side with adepending crank pin 22 carryin a roller 23, and on its upper side with rounded upstanding projections 24 and 25 disposed on opposite sides of the shaft 26. The roller 23 cooperates with a cam slot |2a formed in the throw bar l2, while the projections 24 and 25 cooperate, respectively, with spaced recesses 26 and 21 formed in the underside of a slide bar l8. The throw bar I2 is slidably mounted in the bottom of the mechanism casing at one side of the axis of the shaft 20, and is operatively connected at one end with one end of the operating rod 13. The slide bar I8 is slidably mounted in the bottom of the mechanism casing in a position in which it crosses the throw bar I2 at right angles. and is provided at its left-hand end with a lock box provided with vertically ofiset and longitudinally spaced looking dogs 29 and 3B. The locking dog 29 cooperates with notches 33a and 34a provided in the lower edges of a pair of lock bars 33 and 34 slidably mounted in the mechanism casing parallel to the throw bar I 2, while the dog 30 cooperates with other notches 33b and 3419 provided in the upper edges of the lock bars 33 and 34. The lock bars are adjustably attached to the switch points 2 and 2a, respectively, by means of connecting rods 35 and 35a, and are so adjusted that the notches 33a and 34a will align with the dog 29 when and only when the switch points 2 and. 2a occupy the positions to permit traffic to move over the main track past the switch, and that the notches 33b and 341) will align with the dog 30 when and only when the switch points occupy the proper positions to permit trafiic to move into or out of the siding or branch track over the switch.

The shaft 20 is arranged to be operated between its two extreme positions by means of an electric motor M, which is connected with the shaft through suitable reduction gearing designated RG in Fig. 2.

Suflicient lost motion is provided between the operating rod l3 and the switch baskets l4 and It so that when the throw bar l2 of the switch and lock movement is in its mid stroke position as shown in Fig. 2, the switch points will each be held in engagement with the associated stock rail by. the spring connecting rod SC, as shown in Fig. 1. When the throw bar l2 occupies its mid stroke position, the roller 23 engages the cam slot 12:: adjacent its right-hand end within the straight walled portion thereof, and the slide bar I3 is held in its mid stroke position by engagement of the projections 24 and 25 with the curved flanges which form continuations of the outer sides of the recesses 26 and 21 in the slide bar. With the slide bar N in its mid stroke posi' tion, the locking dogs 29 and 30 are disposed on opposite sides of the lock bars 33 and 34 as shown in Fig. 3 so that both switch points are unlocked, and since the switch points are unlocked they can be trailed by a. train approaching the switch either on the siding or on the main track, the necessary movement of the points during the trailing being permitted by the above referred to lost motion connections between the operating rod l3 and the switch baskets M and I6.

When it is desired to set the switch for main line traffic over the switch, the motor M is energized by virtue of suitable control circuits in a manner to cause it to rotate the shaft 20 in a counterclockwise direction to its one extreme position. The control circuits for the motor M form no part of my present invention, and may for example, be similar to those described and claimed in the copendin application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 531,212, filed by Herbert L. Bone and Crawford E. Staples, on April 15, 1944, for Railway traffic controlling apparatus. In response to the rotation of the shaft 20, the roller 23 on the crank 2i engages the upper straight side of the cam slot l2a in the throw bar l2, and imparts an upward movement to the throw bar as viewed in Fig. 2, which movement is transmitted through the operating rod l3, switch basket 55 and throw rod I! to the switch point 2a to thereby move the switch point 211 to its open position in opposition to the bias of the spring it of the spring connecting rod SC. During the greater part of this rotation of the crank the projections 24 and 25 continue to engage the curved flanges which form continuations of the outer sides of the recesses 26 and 21 so that longitudinal movement of the slide bar [8 is prevented. However, prior to the completion of the rotation of the crank, projection 25 enters the recess 26 and causes it to move to the right to its right-hand extreme position. When this latter movement takes place, the lower notches 33a and 34a in the lock bars 33 and 34 will be in alignment with the dog 29, and this dog will therefore enter these notches to lock the switch points in their normal positions.

When the parts occupy their normal positions as shown in Fig. 2 and it is desired to set the switch for traffic from the main track into the siding or from the siding onto the main track the motor M is then energized over other suitable control circuits in the direction to cause the shaft It] to rotate in a clockwise direction to its other extreme position. These other circuits may also be similar to those described in the aforementioned Bone and Staples application. The operation of the parts under these' conditions is similar to that just described except for the fact that the direction of motion of the parts is reversed, and it is thought that this operation will be apparent from the foregoing and from an inspection of the drawing without further description. It should be noted, however, that when the shaft 20 reaches its other extreme position, the switch point 2 will be moved away from the stock rail I to its open position and will be locked in this position by virtue of the locking dog 30 entering the notches 33b and 34b in the tops of the lock bars 33 and 34.

It should be particularly pointed out that when either the switch point 2 or the switch point 2a is moved to its open position, the operating rod I3 acts through the switch basket M or 16, as the case may be, to force the other switch point to, and hold it in, its closed position.

The switch and lock movement includes a circuit controller operated in accordance with the provided arailway switch in which both switch points are normally closed, together with suitable operating apparatus ior opening one switch point or the other to line up a traflic route over the switch. It will also be seen that when a route is lined up, the same safeguards are provided as are provided in connection with the operation of conventional switches.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of railway switch operating apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood that various changesand 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 combination, a railway switch having independently movable switch points biased to normally closed positions, a switch and lock movement arranged for operation between an intermediate and two extreme positions and connected with said points in such manner that they are free to move to their normally closed positions or one point or the other will be moved to its open position according as said movement is operated to its intermediate position, its one extreme position, or its other extreme position, two lock bars one secured to each switch point, and means in said switch and lock movement cooperating with said lock bars and efiective in the extreme positions of said switch and lock movement for locking the closed point against movement.

2. In combination, a railway switch having independently movable switch p'oints biased to normally closed positions, and a switch and lock movement arranged for operation between an intermediate and two extreme positions and connected with said points in such manner that they are free to move to their normally closed positions or one point or the other will be moved to its open position according as said movement is operated to its intermediate position, its one extreme position, or its other extreme position, said switch and lock movement being effective in its extreme positions to lock both switch points against movement in their corresponding positions.

HARRY L. BLACK.

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