US2628587A - Automatic traffic signal - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 17, 1953 F. PETERS ETAL 2,628,587

AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC SIGNAL Filed. Sept. 12, 1949 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w FRED PETERS & K 4 .9 FRANCIS J. h'A/VBAC 5 INVENTORg. .2 2 2 A TTORNEK Feb. 17, 1953 F. PETERS ETAL AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC SIGNAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 12, 1949 FIPED PETERS 8 FRANCIS J. HANBACA,

INVENTORS.

A T TORNEK Feb. 17, 1953 F. PETERS ETAL 2,628,587

AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC SIGNAL Filed Sept. 12, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 W u mum m FRED PETERS 8 FRANCIS J. HANBACK INVENTORS.

A T TORNE).

Feb. 17, 1953 F. PETERS ETAL 2,628,587

AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC SIGNAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 12, 1949 ill!!! 11.!

FRED P575148 4: FRANCIS J. HANBACK,

INVENTORS.

ATTORNEK Patented Feb. 17, 1953 AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC SIGNAL Fred Peters, Hawthorne, and Francis J. Hanback, Los Angeles, Calif.; Verna V. Peters executrix of said Fred Peters, deceased Application September 12, 1949, Serial No. 115,222

4 Claims.

This invention relates to trafiic signals and more especially to a self-actuating and portable traific signal of the stop and go type.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved traffic signal of the stop and go type which is self-contained, self-operating and portable.

Another object of the invention is to provide improvements in an automatic trafiic signal whereby the signal can be readily moved to an intersection or other location for use during relatively short periods of time, and removed therefrom during such additional time periods when it may not be needed and its location in such place would not be desirable.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a traiiic signal of the character described novel roller means to facilitate moving the signal to and from the desired location.

An additional object of the invention is to provide in a trafiic signal of the character described novel self-actuating motor means capable of actuating the signal for a time period of the order of thirty-six hours.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trafiic signal of the character described having self-actuated timing mechanism adapted to be adjusted for a variety of signal time periods.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a portable self-actuating traffic signal having stop, caution and go periods, novel means for varying the timing of the caution period with respect to relatively fixed stop and go periods.

Other objects and advantages will appear and be brought out more fully in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a traffic signal embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view as seen from the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial view, partly in section, taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the rotary signal drum.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line |-'l of Fig. 4 and showing the actuating motor.

Fig. 8 is a plan view as seen with the cover removed.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the timing lock mechanism as seen from the line 99 of Fig. 8. v

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the drum release actuator and the timing oscillator features of the invention.

Fig. 11 is a top view of the same as seen at a point in the timing cycle.

Fig. 12 is another view of the same as seen at another point in the timing cycle.

Fig. 13 is a top view of an alternate timing cam wheel.

Fig. 14 is a top view of another alternate timing cam wheel.

Fig. 15 is a partial perspective view showing a modified timing wheel and timing oscillator, the cam features being formed as a part of a timing oscillator. I

Referring more particularly to the drawings and especially to Figures 1 to 8, we show an automatic and auxiliary traffic signal having a hollow base 20 on which is secured a pedestal member 2 I a pedestal member '22 being telescopically secured thereto, the latter supporting a signal base casting 23. Four angle plates 24 are secured to and extend upwardly from the corners of base casting 23 and together provide four windows 25 at the four sides of the signal. Plates 24 support a top ring 26 having leg portions secured thereto, and a top plate 21 is suitably secured on ring 26. A hollow cover 28 is secured as by hinges 30 to ring 26, and a lock 3| of any suitable type is provided for cover 28 on plate 21. Ring 26 has a rubber cushion 29.

Base casting 23 is provided with a thrust hearing 32 on which a vertical shaft 33 is rotatably supported, the shaft extending through top plate 21 which provides a bearing 34 for the shaft. A hub 35 is suitably secured to shaft 33 and extends through an opening in shell or casing 210. secured to plate 21. A plate 36 is secured to hub 35 and is positioned in and secured to signal drum 3'! supported by a plate 38 which is supported on a collar 39 having a threaded engagement on shaft 33. The vertical position of drum 3! with respect to shaft 33 may thus be readily adjusted. Drum 31 is provided with stop, caution and go insignia 40, 4| and 42 disposed angularly at 22 degrees of arc. Thus on each half of the drum there appears the indicia caution-stop-caution-go.

A clock spring motor 43 is suitably supported by and under plate 21, the motor having a driving spring 44 whichactuates a gear 45 which drives a pinion 46 secured to a gear 41 which in turn actuates a pinion 48 secured to a. gear 49 which meshes with and drives a pinion 50 secured on'shaft 33. Motor 43 has a winding stem which may be wound by winding key 52 which may be held by a clip 53 on plate 21 when not being used.

An escapement gear 54 is secured on shaft 33 above plate 21 and meshes with a gear 55 secured on a shaft to which a drum release actuating lever 56 is also secured. Lever 56 has a pair of arms 51 and 58, the ends of which arms are bent, forming flanges 51a and 56a, as shown, arm 58 being slightly longer than arm 51. A timing oscillator lever 60 is pivoted at 6| on plate 21, and has a pair of upstanding flange stops 62 and 63 which are spaced apart sufficiently to permit drum release actuating lever flanges. 51a and 58a to pass therebetween when the oscillator lever is moved by the timing cam. An eccentric stud 64 having a screw driver slot provides a limiting stop for oscillator lever 60, and may be adjusted to facilitate the actuation of the drum release actuator and the timing oscillator. Oscillator lever 60 has a flange 65 which provides a threaded mounting for an adiusting screw 66 which has a lock nut 61 thereon, and screw 66 has a sharp ened end or point 68. A timing cam wheel is mounted on a shaft II which extends through plate 21, the upper end of the shaft being threaded and having a lock nut 12 thereon, and a knurled lock collar 13 secures cam wheel 10 on the shaft, as may be clearly seen in Figure 9. Cam wheel 10 has a diametral groove 14 in the lower face thereof, and a pin which extends through shaft II serves to fix the position of the cam wheel with respect to the shaft II.

A gear 16 is secured to shaft 'II below plate 21 and meshes with and is driven by a gear 11 of a clock motor 18. Motor I8 has a winding shaft 80 and a key 8| therefor is provided and may be suitably held by clip 82 on plate 21 for ready use. A dog 83 is mounted on a shaft 84 which is actuated by lever 85 whereby dog 83 may be engaged between the teeth of gear 16 to stop the clock motor 18 during periods of non-use. A bracket 86 mounts a back-lash stop lever 81, which lever drops behind arms 51 and 58 when actuated and prevents back-lash. A spring 88 is secured to and biases timing oscillator lever 60 in a clockwise direction whereby the pointed end 60 of adjusting screw 66 is held in contact with the faces of cam wheel teeth 90.

A pair of brackets 9| are secured in base and. pivotally support a pair of c-shaped members 92, between which is mounted a shaft 93 which carries a pair of rollers 94. Members 92 have tips 95 which bear against the outside of base 20, as shown in Figure 3. A retractable roller construction is thus provided by which the signal may be moved to and from a location. Base 20 may, if desired, be provided with a plurality of feet 96. The rollers 94 may be readily shifted from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure 3 by a slight tipping of the signal to the left, accompanied by a shaking movement which will cause the rollers to swing outwardly to the position of Figure 3, and if the right side is quickly lowered the roller members 92 will be held in the extended position. An obvious return movement may be readily made.

The operation of the invention as thus far described should be clear from the foregoing description. Gears 54 and 55 have a four to one ratio and each time drum release actuating lever 56 is released by movement of timing oscillator lever 60, gear 55 is permitted to make a one-half turn, and gear 54 will make one-eighth of a turn, permitting shaft 33 and drum 31 to make a one-eighth turn and move the Stop, Caution and Go indicia to move one step. Motor 43 constantly urges the gear train 45-50 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction and tend to turn gear 55 in a clockwise direction.

Timing clock motor 18, after being released to running position by the movement of lever to disengage dog 63 from gear 16, will rotate timing cam wheel I0 in clockwise direction at a constant speed of one revolution in six minutes. Cam wheel I0 has twelve teeth 90, and points 66 of adjusting screw 66 on timing oscillator lever 60 will be moved over the point of a cam tooth every thirty seconds. Oscillator lever 60 will thus be rocked, permitting flanges 51a and 58a of drum release actuating lever 56 to pass through the space between stops 62 and 63.

A timing cycle as referred to herein, may be considered to start with either a go or stop pe-' riod and extend through the following caution period to the start of the next succeeding stop or go period, the stop and go periods being equal because of the uniform formation of cam wheel teeth I0. An example of such a cycle starts with the parts as shown in Figure 12 with the short arm 51 of lever 56 being held against stop flange 62 of oscillator lever 60. As the timing cam 10 rotates, point 68 will move outwardly and at a time period depending upon the adjustment of screw 68, lever 60 will have been rocked far enough to permit flange 51a to escape past stop flange 62 and permit escapement wheel 54 to turn drum 3! from the stop-g0 position (or go-stop position for cross-trafflc). Actuating lever 56 will thus be turned a one-half turn, being stopped by flange 58a engaging stop flange 63. Figure 11 shows the adjusting screw point 68 approaching the tip of the cam tooth during the caution period. After the point 68 passes the cam wheel tooth tip, spring 88 will rock oscillator 60 to release flange 58a from stop flange 63, and lever 56 will make another one-half circle turn, thus completing a cycle.

In Figure 13 we show a modified form of timing cam. In this figure the cam wheel is designated I00 and is adapted to be positioned on shaft 1| and is provided with a groove |0| for engagement with pin I5. Cam wheel I00 has 18 teeth I02, and since shaft II makes one revolution in ninety-six minutes, the timing cycle of each tooth I02 will be twenty seconds.

In Figure 14 we show another modified form of timing cam wheel I03. This cam wheel is similar to cam wheels 10 and I00, and is interchangeable therewith on shaft II. Cam wheel I03 has six cam teeth I04 and six teeth I05 disposed alternately. The cam surfaces of teeth I04 are timed for thirty seconds, and the cam surfaces of teeth I05 are timed for twenty seconds. This cam wheel would be used for controlling an intersection where it was desired to give trafiic in one direction a two to one preference over that transverse thereto. It will be clear that other cam wheels with differing time periods and cycles may be substituted for the cam wheels shown and described herein.

In Figure 15 we show a modified form of timin mechanism. A shaft I06 is mounted to be driven by timing gear I6 and carries a pair of spaced disc-s I01 formed with a peripheral row of apertures I08, there being thirty-six of such apertures, the time period from one aperture to the next being ten seconds. A plurality of pins 0 are adapted to be selectively positioned in apertures use as shown, and Figure 15 shows pins in every third aperture for timing cycles of thirty seconds. A timing oscillator l H is mounted on plate till and pivoted at H2, and formed with stop flanges 52 and 83, similar to timing oscillator lever so. A dog lever H2 is pivotally mounted on lever Hi and has a cam dog l 13 which engaged by pins H as cam discs It? are rotated. Lever Hi has a flange H4 which mounts an adjusting screw H5 secured to dog H3. A spring i5 biases lever ill for cam d'Og and timing disc pin engagement, and a locking lever II! is provided for engaging pins 1 I ll for stopping the timing motor. A bracket H3 secured on plate 2? mounts an adjusting screw H9 providing a stefor oscillator lever I l I The operation of the timing mechanism of Fig me should be clear. As shaft 106 turns, discs 2 ii! rotate causing successive engagement of pins lit with oscillator lever dog H3. During an initial portion of each cam and pin engagement lever ill will be rocked to permit flange 57a of drum release actuating lever 58 to escape past stop flange 52, thus starting the caution period of the signal cycle. After the engaging pin Hi3 moves past the point of dog I I3, lever I l I will be actuated in clock-wise direction to disengage flange 58a from stop flange 63, thus permitting the drum 3'! to turn to the stop-go position in a manner substantially similar to the drum release and timing mechanism of Figures 1 to 14.

Having described our invention what we claim totable signal drum and drive shaft means constantly urging said drum into rotation and having an escapement gear, the combination of a control pinion for said gear a mid-pivoted gear release lever rotatable with said pinion and having axially directed flanges at each end at unequal distances from the pinion axis, a timing lever oscillator having stops for said gear release lever flanges, and a timing cam Wheel for actuating said oscillator to periodically release said gear release lever to permit said drum to rotate a first predetermined amount and thereafter a second predetermined amount to complete a cycle of operation, said oscillator having means adjustably engageable with said cam wheel whereby the time period of said first rotation may be varied.

2. In an automatic traflic signal having a rotatable signal drum and drive shaft means constantly urging said drum into rotation and having an escapement gear, the combination of a control pinion for said gear, a mid-pivoted gear release lever rotatable with said pinion and having axially directed flanges at each end at un- 1. In an automatic traflic signal having a roequal distances from the pinion axis, a timing lever oscillator having stops for said gear release lever flanges, and a timing cam wheel for actuating said oscillator to periodically release said gear release lever to permit said drum to rotate a first predetermined amount and thereafter a second predetermined amount to complete a cycle of operation, said lever being rotated a one-half turn during each of said drum rotation movements each of said oscillator stops being engageable with one of said gear release lever flanges.

3. In an automatic traffic signal having a rotatable signal drum and drive shaft means constantly urging said drum into rotation and having an escapement gear, the combination of a control pinion for said gear, a, mid-pivoted gear release lever rotatable with said pinion and having axially directed flanges at each end at unequal distances from the pinion axis, a timing lever oscillator having stops for said gear release lever flanges, and a timing cam wheel for actuating said oscillator to periodically release said gear release lever to permit said drum to rotate a first predetermined amount and thereafter a second predetermined amount to complete a cycle of operation, said cam wheel having alternately arranged portions for actuating said oscillator to control said drum rotation in a second cycle of time different from said first cycle.

4. In an automatic traffic signal having a rotatable signa'l drum and drive shaft means constantly urging said drum into rotation and having an escapem-ent gear, the combination of a control pinion for said gear, a mid-pivoted gear release lever rotatable with said pinion and having axially directed flanges at each end at unequaldistances from the pinion axis, a timing lever oscillator having stops for said gear release lever flanges, and a timing cam wheel for actuat ing said oscillator to periodically release said gear release lever, to permit said drum to rotate a first predetermined amount and thereafter a second predetermined amount to complete a cycle of operation, said cam wheel having a plurality of cam portions each arranged for actuation of the oscillator through one cycle.

FRED PETERS. FRANCIS J. HANBACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,588,240 Leach June 8, 1926 1,691,791 Wayland ct al Nov. 13,1928 1,830,784 Dapron Nov. 10, 1931

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