US2403744A - Code detecting means - Google Patents

Description

y 1946- F. NICHOLSON 2,403,744

CODE DETECTING MEANS Filed March 16, 1945 H m B H w 1; w w Q L m B 7 k fi I Ffi. W m E M l .3 E

I/YVENTOR.

flan/z 1E? Me/zolson. BY 2 i HIS ATTORNEY 1 Fly 2 Patented July 9, 1946 CODE DETECTING MEANS Frank H. Nicholson,

County,

of Pennsylvania Penn Township, Pa., assignor to The Union Signal Company, Swissvale,

Allegheny Switch & Pa., a corporation Application March 16, 1945, Serial No. 583,058

6 Claims.

My invention relates to coded signaling apparatus and particularly to improved means for detecting coding operation of a code following relay.

An object of my invention is to provide code detecting means which is immune to false response in the event the contacts of the code following relay are defective or out of adjustment.

A further object of this invention is to provide all-relay code detecting means which is arranged so that fused or overlapping contact on the code following relay cannot result in improper energization of the associated code detecting relays.

Other objects of the invention and features of novelty will be apparent from the following de scription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

I shall describe two forms of code detecting means embodying my invention and shall then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In practicing my invention, I provide the code following relay with two movable contacts which are operated between a first and a second position substantially in synchronism. These movable contacts are connected by a supply conductor and one contact connects the supply conductor to one or the other terminal of a source according as the contact is in its first or its second position. The othe movable contact when in one position establishes connection from the supply conductor through the winding of a first auxiliary or code detecting relay to a terminal of the source, and in its other position establishes connection from said supply conductor through the winding of a second auxiliary or code detecting' relay to a terminal of the source providing the contacts of the first auxiliary relay are picked up. The circuits are arranged so that overlapping of the contacts of one of the movable contacts on the code following relay results in short-circuiting of the battery with resultant deenergization of both auxiliary relays, while overlapping of the contacts of the other movable contact on the code following relay results in short circuiting of one or the other of the auxiliary relays.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a diagramof a section of railway track equipped with coded track circuit apparatus and provided with means embodying my invention for detecting code following operation of the track relay, and

Fig. 2is a diagram showing a, modified arrangement adapted for use where code following operation of one or the other of two code following track relays is to be detected.

Similar reference'characters refer to similar parts in each of the two views. I

In most instances in the drawing relay con.- tacts are shown directly under the relay winding, but in some cases in order to simplify the drawing relay contacts are separated from the relay winding and where this is done the relay with which the contact is associated is designated by an appropriate reference character placed directly over the contact.

Referring to Fig. l of the accompanying drawing, there is shown therein a section of railway track having track rails I and 2 which are separated from the rails of adjacent sections by insulated joint 3. Trafiic in this section normally moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, that is, from left to right, and a wayside signal S is located at the entrance end of the section and governs traffic in the section. As shown, the signal S is of the color light type and has a red or stop lamp R and a green or clear lamp G.

A code following track relay TR is connected across the section rails at the entrance endof the section and is operated by master code energy supplied over the section rails from the track battery TB at the exit end of the section. The supply of energy from the track battery to the section rails is controlled by a coding device CT which has a contact In which is operated between an open and a closed position at a selected rate, such as to times a minute.

The track relay TR governs the supply of energy to slow release auxiliary relay FSA and BSA from a battery [2, while the relay BSA governs the supply of energy to the lamps of the signal S.

When the track section is vacant, energy supplied from the battery TB during the closed periods of contact ID of coding device CT feeds over the section rails to the Winding of the track relay TR and picks up the contacts of this relay, while during' the open periods of contact I!) of the coding device CT the supply of energy from battery TB to relay TR is interrupted and the contacts of the relay TR release.

The track relay TR is equipped with a first movable contact l4 and a second movable contact I6 which are connected by asupply conductor IS. The track relay contacts are biased to a released or first position and are movable therefrom to a picked-up or second position.

When the track relay contacts are in their picked-up or second position, energy is supplied from the second or positive terminal of the battery I! over front contact I4 of relay TR, supply conductor l5, front contact l6 of relay TR and winding of relay FSA to the first or negative terminal of the battery l2. The energy supplied to relay FSA picks up the relay contact with the result, that during the released periods of the track relay TR energy is supplied from, the second or positive terminal of the battery through the winding of relay BSA, front contact ll of relay FSA, back contact "5 of relay TR, wire l5, and back contact H of relay TR to the negative or first terminal of the battery l2. Accordingly, contact l8 of relay BSA is picked up and estab lishes the circuit of the green lamp G of the si nal S. The relays FSA and BSA are of a type the contacts of which are slow to release and the contacts of these relays remain picked up during the intervals in which the supply of energy to the relay winding is interrupted.

When a train enters the section, the contacts of relay TR remain released and do not establish the circuit of relay FSA and, after a short time interval, contact 11 of relay FSA releases and interrupts the circuit of relay BSA and its contact l8 releases to interrupt the circuit of the green lamp G and establish the circuit of the red lamp R. When the section is vacated, the track relay again responds to coded energy and energy is supplied to relay FSA during the pickedup periods of the track relay contacts and is supplied to the relay BSA during the released periods of the track relay contacts so that the circuit of the green lamp of signal S is established.

The circuits of the relays FSA and BSA are arranged so that fusing or overlapping of the front and back points of contacts l4 and it of the track relay TR cannot result in improper energization of relay BSA with consequent display by the signal S of a green instead of a red indication.

As explained above, when the section is occupied, the contacts of relay TR are released and should interrupt the circuit of relay FSA so that its contact ll interrupts the circuit of relay BSA and thus causes contact l3 of relay BSA to be released and maintain the circuit of the red lamp of the signal S.

If, for any reason, the movable contact It of the 'track relay TR simultaneously engages its front and back points of contact, a connection will be established between the two terminals of the battery l2 and the battery will be short circuited but energy will not be improperly supplied to relays FSA and BSA and they will remain released and maintain the circuit of the red lamp R of signal S.

If the movable contact it of relay TR simultaneously engages its front and back points of contact, and the contact M of relay TR engages its front contact, the relay FSA will be energized, but the relay BSA will be shunted over the circuit which is traced from the left-hand terminal of the relay winding over front contact ll of relay FSA, back contact l6 of relay TR, wire l5, and front contact l4 of relay TR to the righthand terminal of the winding of relay BSA. As the winding of relay BSA is shunted the relay contact I8 is released and maintains the circuit of the red lamp of the signal S.

Furthermore, under the conditions stated above, the relay BSA not only is shunted, but no circuit is established to supply energy to the relay winding and the relay contact is certain to remain released.

Similarly, if the movable contact I6 of relay TR simultaneously engages its front and back points of contact and contact l4 engages its back contact, the relay FSA will be shunted over the circuit which is traced from the left-hand terminal of the relay winding over front contact l6 of relay TR, wire l5, and back contact IA of relay TR to the right-hand terminal of the winding of relay FSA. As the winding of relay FSA is short circuited, the relay contact I! will be released and will interrupt the circuit of relay BSA and thus insure that contact l8 of relay BSA is released and causes signal S to display its stop indication.

In addition, under these conditions, a circuit is not established for supplying energy from the battery l2 to the relay FSA and its contact I1 is certain to remain released.

front contact 16 of relay TR fuses and remains closed, and if at the same time back contact I4 of relay TR fuses, the relay FSA will be short circuited over an obvious circuit and will remain released.

Likewise, if back contact is and front contact ll of relay TR fuse and remain closed, the relay BSA will be short circuited over the circuit controlled by front contact ll of relay FSA if relay FSA is picked up, but under these circumstances relay FSA will ordinarily be released because of the open front contact I6 of track relay TR. In any case relay BSA will be released and maintain the display of the stop indication by signal S.

Since bridging or overlapping contacts on the track relay TR cannot result in improper energization of the relay BSA, there is no possibility that the relay BSA will be picked up unless the relay TR is responding to coded energy. Accordingly, at times when the relay TR is not responding to coded energy, as for example, when the section is occupied or the supply of coded energy over the section rails is cut off for any other reason, or if steady energy is supplied to the track relay, the relay BSA is. certain to remain released and maintain the display of the stop indication b signal S, and there is no possibility that the relay BSA will be improperly picked up to cause signal S to display its green indication.

The principle embodied in the equipment shown in Fig. 1 is also applicable to situations where two track relays are employed and there is decoding means governed jointly by these relays. One example of such a situation is at an intermediate signal location in single track stretches where traffic is operated in one direction at times and in the other direction at other times.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing there is shown a portion of the equipment at an intermediate signal location. In order to simplify the disclosure, only the equipment essential to the understanding of this invention has been illustrated and the remainder of the equipment may be arranged in any appropriate manner, as, for example, as shown in Fig. 10 or 1d of Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,344,573 issued March 21, 1944, to J. J. Van Horn, or in Fig. 1c of Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,344,333 issued March 14, 1944, to J. J. Van Horn.

As explained in the above-identified Van Horn patents, the equipment for the track stretch is controlled so that when. the stretch is prepared for westbound trailic, that is, from right to left, coded energy is supplied to the left-hand end of section 5T, and when the stretch is prepared for eastbound traffic, that is, from left to right, coded energy is supplied to the right-hand end of sec- ...tion.

tion 6T. The coded energy supplied to'the rails of sections T-and 5T is of 75 or 180 code frequency according as the section in advance. is

occupied. or unoccupied. The equipment at the .signal location includes means, not shown,. effective when trafiic is established in one direction or the other to supply energy of 75 or 180 code frequency toone orthe other of the coding relays SECTM or GWCTM and thus cause coded energy to besupplied to the rails of one or the other of the sections 5T or 6T.

.Theequipment is shown in thecondition which :it assumes when trafiic-is notestab-lished in either direction. At such times the relaysare all released and red lamps of the wayside signals 5WS and BES arelighted.

The first track relay GETR has a first movable contact 2 I and a second movable contact 22 which are connected by, a first supply conductor- I9. The second track relay 5WTR has a first movable contact 25 and a second movable contact 24 which ;are connected by a second supply conductor 25.

The contacts of the track relays BETR and SWTR.

are biased to a first or released position and are movable therefrom to a second or picked-up posi- -When the stretch is prepared for eastbound traiiic, the first track relay EETR is operated by coded energy sup-plied over the rails of section GT, and the second relay 5WTR is deerengized so that its contacts remain released. When ,the

contacts of relay EETR, pick up, energy is supplied to the first auxiliary relay BEFSA over the circuit which is traced from the second or posi- .tive.terminal of the battery over front con- ,tact2l of relay GETR, the first supply conductor l9, front contact 22 of relay BETR, Winding of relay GEFSA, back contact 23 of relay BWFSA, .back contact 24 of relay SWTR, the second supply conductor 26, and back contact 25 of relay 5WTR to the negative or second terminal of the battery 20. The energy supplied to the winding of relay GE'FSA picks up the relay contacts with the result that during the released periods of the contacts of relayfiETR energy is supplied to relay BSA over-the circuitwhich is traced from the positive'terrninal of the battery 20 through the windingof relay BSA, front contact 21 of relay I BEFSA, back contact 22 of relay GETR, wire I9,

and back contact 2| of relay GETR to the negative terminal of the battery 20,. Accordingly, the contacts of relay BSA pick up and its contact connects the Winding of code following relay TM in multiple with the winding of relay BSA so that, J during the release periods of relay GETR, relay TM is energized from battery 20 over the circuit lust traced for relay BSA and the contact of relay TM picks up.

, During subsequent picked-up periods of the relaylfiETR, energy is suppl ed to relay BEFSA. over the circuit traced of energy to relays BSAand TM is interrupted above, and the supply and relay TM releases. The relays GEFSA and BSA areof a type the contacts of which are slow to release so that they remain picked up during code following operation of the relays BETR and TM and contact 30 of relay BSA maintains the circuit of relay TM. l An asymmetric unit or rectifier is connected in series with the winding of relay TM and is poled. to permit energy from the battery 20 to energize the relay TM but to prevent the supply to relay TM of the energy induced in the winding of relay BSA on interruption of the supply cfenergy to the relay winding. If this energy.

were supplied to relay TM, it would hasten release .of the relay. contact and might objectionably reduce the length of the picked-up periods of this contact. v

When relay BSA picks up, its contact 3! establishes the circuit governed by the contact of relay TM for supplying energy from a source of direct current, not shown, the terminals of which are designated B and C in the drawing, to the primary winding of the decoding transformer DT, from the secondary winding of which energy is supplied through a resonant rectifier unit itODU to relay D to pick up the contacts of relay D when and only when the relay TM is operated by energy of code frequency.

When relays BSA and GEFSA pick up, energy is supplied to the yellow lamp Y or to the green lamp G of signal 'BES according as contact 32 of relay D is released or picked up. In addition, when relay BSA picks up, energy is supplied over its contact 34 and. back contact 35' of relay 'EVVFSA to the red lamp R of Signal 5WS.

During occupancy of section ET the relay SE IR. remains released and does not establish the circuit of relay SEFSA so that it remains released and does not establish the circuit of relay BSA. Accordingly, relay BSA is released and interrupts the supply of energy to the decoding transformer DI and to the lamps Y and G of the signal BES, and establishes circuits to maintain the supply of energ to the red lamps R of signals SES- and 5WS.

When section ST is vacated, the relayfiETR is operated by coded energy and relays GEFSA and BSA are again picked up.

When the stretch is prepared for westbound traffic, the relay SWTR is operated by coded energy supplied over the rails of section 5T so that during picked-up periods of the relay energy is supplied to relay 5WFSA over the circuit which is traced from the positive terminal of battery 20 over front contact 25 of relay EWTR, wire 26, front contact '24 of relay SWFSA, back contact 27 of relay GEFSA, and back contacts 22 and 2! of relay BETR to the negative terminal of battery 2@. During the released periods of the relay SWTR energy is supplied to relay BSA over the circuit which is traced from the positive terminal of battery 20- through the winding of relay BSA, front contact 23 of relay 5WSA, and back contacts 24 and 25 of relay SWTR. tothe negative terminal of the battery, Accordingly, contact 3B of relay BSA is picked up to connect relay TM in multiple with relay BSA While other contacts of relay BSA estabilsh the circuits of the decoding transformer and of the lamps Y and G of the signal 5WS, and signal 5WS displays a yellow or a green indication depending on whether relay D is released or picked up, while signal GE'S displays its red indication.

When section 5T is occupied, the relay SWTR' remains released so that relays 5WFSA and BSA are released, and energy is supplied to the red lamps of the signals GES and 5WS.

The equipment shown in Fig. 2 is arranged so that overlapping of the contacts on either of the track relays BETH and 5W'I'R. will not result in improper display-of a permissive indication by either of the signals.

If movable contact 2| of relay 6ETR simultaneously engages its front and back points of contact, the battery 29 will be short circuited and energy will not be supplied therefrom to relay GEFSA or to relay BSA and relay BSA is certain to remain released. Similarly, if movable contact 7 25 of relay WTR simultaneously engages its front and back points of contact, the battery 20 will be short circuits and relays 5WFSA, TM and BSA will remain released and signals BES and 5W8 will both display their stop indications.

If movable contact 22 of relay GETR simul taneously engages its front and back points of contact, and if at the same time contact 2| engages its front point of contact, energy will be supplied to relay SEFSA over the circuit which is traced from the positive terminal of the battery 20 over contacts 2| and 22 of relay BETH, winding of relay SEFSA, back contact 23 of relay 5WFSA, and back contacts 24 and 25 of relay 5WTR to the negative terminal of the battery. The energy supplied to relay GEFSA picks up its contacts so that its contact 21 interrupts the circuit of relay SWFSA and insures that it remains released, while, when contact 21 of relay GEFSA is picked up, the relay BSA is short circuited over the circuit which is traced from the right-hand terminal of the relay winding over front contact 2| of relay BETR, wire 19, back contact 22 of relay GETR, and front contact 21 of relay SEFSA to the left-hand terminal of the winding of relay BSA. Accordingly, relay BSA remains released to cause signals GES and 5W8 to both display stop indications and does not establish circuits to permit signal BES or 5WS to display a permissive indication.

If contact 22 of relay BETR simultaneously engages its front and its back points of contact, and if at the same time contact 2| engages its back point of contact, the relay GEFSA will be shunted over the circuit which is traced from the left-hand terminal of the relay winding over back contact 23 of relay 5WFSA, back contacts 24 and 25 of relay 5WTR, back contact 2| of relay SETH, wire l9, and front contact 22 of relay GE'TR to the right-hand terminal of the winding of relay BEFSA. As the relay BEFSA is shunted, its contacts remain released and do not establish the circuit of relay BSA so that it remains released.

Similarly, if movable contact 24 of relay BW'IR simultaneously engages its front and back points of contact, the relay BSA will be short circuited if contacts 25 engages its front point of contact, and relay SWFSA will be short circuited if contact 25 engages its back .point of contact. In either case relay BSA remains released and maintains the circuits for the red lamps of signals 5W8 and BES.

Although I have herein illustrated and described only two forms of code detecting means 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 combination, a code following relay having two movable contacts actuated between a first and a second position substantially in synchronism, a source of current having a first and a second terminal, a first slow releasing auxiliary relay having one terminal of its winding connected to the first terminal of said source, a circuit including said code following relay contacts in series for connecting the other terminal of the winding of said first auxiliary relay to the second terminal of said source of current when said code following relay contacts are both in their second position, a second auxiliar relay having one terminal of its winding connected to the second terminal of said source, circuit means including in series a front contact of said first auxiliary relay and said code following relay contacts for connecting the other terminal of the winding of said second auxiliary relay to the first terminal of said source when said code following relay contacts are both in their first position, and a control circuit governed by a contact of said second auxiliary relay.

2. In combination, a code following relay having a first and a second movable contact which are actuated between a first and a second position substantially in synchronism, a source of current having a first and a second terminal, the first contact of said code following relay being effective according as it is in its first or its second position to connect a supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of said source,'the second contact of said code following relay being effective when in its first position provided the first contact of said code following relay is also in its first position to establish a circuit including said supply conductor for supplying energy from said source to a first slow releasing auxiliary relay, said second contact of said code following relay being effective when in its second position provided the first contact of said code following relay is also in its second position to establish a circuit including said supply conductor and a front contact of said first auxiliary relay for supplying energy from said source to a second auxiliary relay, and a control circuit governed by said second auxiliary relay.

3. In combination, a code following relay having a first and a second movable contact which are actuated between a first and a second position substantially in synchronism, a source of current having a first and a second terminal, the first contact of said code following relay being effective according as it is in its first or its second position to connect a supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of said source, a first slow releasing auxiliary relay having one terminal of its Winding connected to the first terminal of said source, the second contact of said code following relay being effective when in its second position to connect said supply conductor to the other terminal of the winding of said first auxiliary rela said second contact of said code following relay being effective when in its first position provided the contacts of said first auxiliary relay are picked up to connect said supply conductor to the second terminal of said source in series with the winding of a second auxiliary relay, and a control circuit governed by a contact of said second auxiliary relay.

4. In combination, a code following relay having a first and a second movable contact which are actuated between a first and a second position substantially in synchronism, a source of current having a first and a second terminal, the first contact of said code following relay being eifective according as it is in its first or its second position to connect a supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of said source, the second contact of said code following relay being effective when in its second position to connect said supply conductor to the first terminal of said source in series with the winding of a first slow releasing auxiliary relay, said second contact of said code following relay being effective when in its first position provided the contacts of said first auxiliary relay are picked up to connect said supply conductor to the second terminal of said source in series with the winding of a second auxiliary relay, and a control circuit governed by a contact of said second auxiliary relay.

5. In a coded signaling system, in combination, a first and a second code following relay each of which is provided with a first and a second movable contact which are biased to a first position, means for at times actuating the contacts of said first code following relay between their first and a second position and for at other times actuating the contacts of said second code following relay between their first and a second position, the first contact of the first code following relay being effective according as it is in its first or its second position to connect a first supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of a source of current, the first contact of the second code following relay being eifective according as it is in its first or its second position to connect a second supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of said source of current, the second contact of said first code following relay being effective when in its second position to connect said first upply conductor to the first terminal of said source in series with the winding of a first slow releasing auxiliary relay provided the contacts of a second slow releasing auxiliary relay are released and the contacts of said second code following relay are in their first position, the second contact of said first code following relay being effective when in its first position to connect said first supply conductor to the second terminal of said source in series with the winding of a third auxiliary relay provided the contacts of said first auxiliary relay are picked up, the second contact of said second code following relay being effective when in its second position to connect said second supply conductor to the first terminal of said source in series with the winding of said second auxiliary relay provided the contacts of said first auxiliary relay are released and contacts of said first code following relay are in their first position, the second contact of said second code following relay being effective when in its first position to connect said second supply conductor to the second terminal of said source in series with the winding of said third auxiliary relay provided the contacts of said second auxiliary relay are picked up, a circuit governed by said first and third auxiliary relays, and a circuit governed by said second and third auxiliary relays.

6. In a coded signaling system, in combination, a first and a second code following relay each of which is provided with a first and a second movable contact which are biased to a first position, means for at times actuating the contacts of said first code following relay between their first and a second position and for at other times actuating the contacts of said second code following relay between their first and a second position, the first contact of the first code following relay being effective according as it is in its first or its second position to connect a first supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of a source of current, the first contact of the second code following relay being effective according as it is its first or its second position to connect a second supply conductor to the first or the second terminal of said source of current, the second contact of said first code following relay being effective when in its second position to connect said first supply conductor to the first terminal of said source in series with the winding of a first slow releasing auxiliary relay provided the contacts of a second slow r leasing auxiliary relay are released, the second contact of said first code following relay being effective when in its first position to connect said first supply conductor to the second terminal of said source in series with the winding of a third auxiliary relay provided the contacts of said first auxiliary relay are picked up, the second contact of said second code following relay being effective when in its second position to connect said second supply conductor to the first terminal of said source in series with the winding of said second auxiliary relay provided the contacts of said first auxiliary relay are released, the second contact of said second code following relay being effective when in its first position to connect said second supply conductor to the second terminal of said source in series with the winding of said third auxiliary relay provided the contacts of said second auxiliary relay are picked up, a circuit governed by said first and third auxiliary relays, and a circuit governed by said second and third auxiliary relays.

FRANK H. NICHOLSON.

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