US2631228A - Railway traffic controlling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

March 10, 1953 H. BONE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 27, 1948 1x125); 1 R1 Hepbelt L. 50128 y g YI'B Fig 1.

March 10, 1953 H. L. BONE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 27, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

jntb Bone BY His ATTORNEY March 10, 1953 H. BONE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 27, 1948 QQ Q NQQ m N\ Q N N mm mm INVENTOR. .lfl pbept L. Bone By ca HLs' ATTORNEY March 10, 1953 H. L.. BONE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27. 1948 7 Sheets-Shae). 4

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o Q 4 D 15 @E Fig. INVENTOR. Hepbe lt L. Bone H15 HTTORNEY March 10, 1953 H. BONE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27, 1948 Q 6 mm T NB S6 2 m 1 A mm 1 B W D -2. M M E m W) 5 I, m w 2 I l l I l I l I I ll //1 M HI'S ATTORNEY March 10, 1953 H. L"; 39w: 21631223 Rummy TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27, 1948 I '7 fsfie ets -s fle et 6 55 56 XE 55b 59 55 I! 5 7 5 54 78a r9 f? 81 g I 78d 76b 67 g i O 68 75 58a 69 456 57 780 80 7.5a i 5 :27 515 I 70 74 7 69 71! 72 O G59 65 Fz'gtfi 77 k K I INVENTOR.

Herb Pt L. B 0126 BY 4% H15 flTTORNE'Y H. L. BONE RAILWAY TRAFFIC- CONTROLLIHNG APPARATUS- March 10, 1953 "-7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Dec. 27. 1948 Nm Wm Nw Q QR JNVENTOR. Herbert 1 Bone HIS HTTORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1953 RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Herbert L. Bone, Forest Hills, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Air Brake Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 27, 1948, Serial No. 67,392

17 Claims.

My invention relates to railway trafilc controlling appar-atus and particularly to apparatus for interlocking and coordinating the operation of an outlying track switch with a signal system controlling trafilc movement over the switch.

In railway signaling and trafilc controllin systems, outlying track switches, that is, switches outside of yards and interlocking plants, are commonly protected against operation by unauthorized persons by means of lpadlocks which may be opened by keys carried by certain selected railway personnel. It is sometimes necessary or desirable to supplement the protection obtained from the use of a padlock by adding another lock which may be controlled from a remote point or automatically in accordance with traffic conditions, etc. For example, when a switch is associated with a main track which is provided with an automatic signal system, a common expedient is to add a time control to the additional lock. The switch lock is then provided. with signal controlling contacts which are operable at any time after removal of the padlock to set the main track signals to stop. The timing mechanism,

which may be either electric or mechanical, is

started at the same time the signals are set to stop, and releases the lock at the expiration of a predetermined time. This period of time is chosen long enough so that any train on the main track which has passed the signal nearest the switch will have time to proceed past the switch before the lock is released.

The setting of the signals to stop by such a lock may be accomplished either through the use of suitable line circuits controlled by the lock or, where track circuits are employed, the lock contacts may be used to shunt the track rails. In electrified territory, the track shunting contacts must be made large enough to take care of any flow of propulsion current which might take place because of a potential difference between the rails. Such large contacts require a correspondingly large contact operating mechanism. The problem of properly shunting the track rails under such conditions is aggravated by the lack of space which is typical of the congested terri tory where most electric railroads are located. Those congested conditions require the mounting of as much equipment as possible between the track rails, with a consequent limitation or the maximum height of the equipment.

It is sometimes desirable, as in the apparatus disclosedherein, to provide such a lock and circuit controller in association with the center throw lever of a crossover track. Such center throw levers are commonly located between the rails of the crossover track so that they cannot be operated when the track is occupied by a car or engine. In such cases, it is even more desirable from the standpoint of simplicity to locate the lock and circuit controller between the rails so that they may be close to the center throw lever.

An object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus for interlocking a signal controlling lever with an electric lock which cooperates with a switch controlling lever, oil the type shown and claimed in the copending applications for Letters Patent of the United States Serial No. 749,833, filed by Howard A. Thompson on May 22, 1947, for Tram-c Protection Apparatus, and. Serial No. 67,393, filed by John W. Logan, Jr. on December 28, 1948, for Railway Trafilc Controlling Apparatus.

Another object is to provide an improved electric switch lock for use in apparatus of the type described.

Another object is to provide, in one unit, a heavy duty circuit controller, an electric lock for a switch lever, and means for interlockin the circuit controller, the lock and the switch lever to insure their operation in proper sequence.

In carrying out the foregoing and other objects of my invention, I provide control units whose overall height is low enough so that they may be safely mounted between the track rails. In the two modifications of my invention described herein, I have shown these control devices mounted between the rails of a crossover track so as to lock the center throw lever associated with the crossover.

In one modification of my invention, I provide in a single control unit an electric lock for the center throw lever and a heavy duty circuit controller including a manually operable lever which is mechanically interlocked with the electric lock mechanism.

In the second modification of my invention, described herein, I provide a novel form of electric lock for locking the-center throw lever. A heavy duty circuit controller is provided of the type described in the copending application for Letters Patent of the United States of William R. Gracey, Jr. entitled Electric Circuit Controllers, Serial No. 67,264, filed December 27,1948. This circuit controller has a built-in hand-throw lever which may be used as the center throw lever. The circuit controller is also provided with its own manual operating lever, which is interlocked with the pedal of my improved electric lock in g 3 the manner described in the copending application of John W. Logan, Jr., Serial No. 67,393, previously referred to.

I shall describe two forms of railway trafiie controlling apparatus embodying my invention, and shall then point out the novel features there of in claims.

In the'accompanying drawings, Fig. 1, is a view illustrating my invention as applied to a crossover track between two main line tracks, including a wiring diagram of the electric circuits and showing the principal mechanical elements diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a track layout of the crossover shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the relative location of some of the control devicesv 3 is a plan view of the combined electric lock and heavy duty circuit controller shown diagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 2, with the cover removed and certain parts omitted for the sake of clarity. Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the control apparatus. of Fig. 3, with the casing and certain other parts broken away or omitted toimprovev Fig. 5'

the illustration of the remaining parts. is across-sectional view taken on the line VV of. Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 6 is an external. plan view of the control device of Figs. 3 to 5 and related control elements mounted between the rails of the crossover track. Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic view, corresponding generally to Fig. 1, of a modification of my invention. Fig. 8 is a track layout corresponding generally to Fig. 2, of the modification of Fig. 7. 9 is an external plan view showing the control devices used in the modification of Fig. 7 mounted between the track rails. Fig. 10 is an elevational view of the apparatus of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional View of the improved electric lock employed in the modification of Figs. 6 to 19. Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along the line XIL-XII of Fig. 11, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan view of part of the electric lock of Fig. 11. Fig. 14- is a detail view taken along the line XIVXIV of Fig. 13, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In each of the several views, similar reference characters refer to corresponding parts.

Figures 1 to 6 I shall first describe the diagrammatic Figures Land 2, with only such references to the structural details shown in Figs. 3 to 6 as may be necessary to a complete understanding of my invention.

Although the structural elements appearing in Figs. 1 and 2 may be shown in a different form than their functional counterparts in Figs. 3 to 6, the same reference characters are used in both sets of figures. It should be understood that any difference-between the form of an element in 1 and, its form in Figs. 3 to 6 is due only to the distortion made necessary by the desire to simplify the diagrammatic Fig. 1.

There is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a stretch of railway comprising insulated sections lT and ET of two main tracks. A crossover track 3 extends from a switch I in the track section IT to a switch 2 in the track section 2T.

Each of the track sections IT and 2T is provided at its exit end. with a track battery, such as. 1TB and at its entrance end with a track relay, such as ITR. Track relay lTR. controls over a front contact a signal IS governing westbound traific, i. e., trafiic. moving to the left as viewed in Figs. land 2. Only a portion of. the energizing circuit of the signal is is shown. The letters B and. C at the opposite ends of this circuit portion indicate connections to the terminals of a local source of electrical energy, such as a battery. Track relay 2TB similarly controls a signal 28 governing eastbound traiiic.

The switches t and 2 areoperable by manual switch machines 5W and 21W, respectively, of conventional construction. Each switch machine is provided with a hand-throw lever, such as 1V and a lock bar, such as lL. The lock bars 2L and EL of both switch machines are operated from the center of the crossover track by means of a center throw lever 4, the arrangement being generally similar to that shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,654,023, issued to C. C. Thorn on December 27, 1927, for Switch Throwing" and Looking Mechanism. The center throw lever l movable between a normal position in which both the switch machines 1W and 2W are locked, and a reverse position in which the lock bars 1L and EL are withdrawn so that the switch machines may be operated by their respective levers 1V and 2V.

A combination electric lock and circuit controller, generally indicated at 5, is provided for retaining the center throw lever i in its normal position. The parts of this com ination lock and controller are. shown diagrammatic'aliy in Fig. 1, and more completely in Figs. 3-6. This lock includes a lever latch 6 which obstructs the path of movement of the center? throw lever i away from its normal position. A pedal '3 is connected to the lever latch 6 so that when the pedal is depressed, the lever latch is moved' out of the path of the center throw lever t. A lbckingme'mher or segment 8 is connected' to the ped' i and latch 5. for concurrent movement therewith. A locking dog 9 cooperates with the member 8, and in the position showninth'e drawings, the dog 9 prevents movement of member s in a direction to release the lever latch 5.

The lock dog 9 is operated cyan armature H7, which is biased by gravity to the locking positionshown, and is movable by energization of an electric lock windingv H to an unlocking position in which the dog 9" does not obstruct movement of the locking member 8.

The combined electric look and circuit controller isenclosed in a housing !2 (see Figs. 3-5). An operating shaft. I3. for the circuit controller is journale'd in the housing and extends outwardly thereof. Outside the housing the shaft i3v carries a hand-throw lever i i. In its normal position, as best seen in Fig. 3, the lever it rests in jaws it formed in standards t6 attached: to the housing !2 the center throw lever t in its normal position resting in the jaws ta also formedin saidstandards. A notch ea formed in the latch 5 is aligned with the jaws it whenthe latch is in its. normal latching position. One of the sides. of notch 6c is apertured, as at it, to receive a pad lock is (Fig. 5) which retains the lever hithe notch.

Inside casing 52, the shaft is carries-a pinion 13a which cooperates with-a rack isa attached to an interlocking bar 9. The? bar [-9 is provided with a notch 49b; A projection 28: movesconcurrently with the latch 8 along a path. at right angles to the bar it. The parts are arranged so that projection Zfi and latch 6 canmove from their normal latching. positionslonly when notch I iib is aligned with projection 29. At other times, bar l9 blocks the motion v of proiect'ion, 2'0 and henceof latch i5.

assua e- The shaft I3 also carries an eccentric I 3?) (Figs. 1 and 3) inside the casing I2, which cooperates with a yoke carried by a lever 2 I. Lever 2! is pivoted at an intermediate point and carries at its opposite end a force-down finger 2ia, which cooperates with the locking dog 9 to insure that the dog is down in its locking position whenever the shaft i3 is in its normal position, as shown.

The circuit controller operated by shaft I3 includes two sets of heavy duty contacts 22 and 23 and one set of light duty contacts 2 5. The heavy duty contacts 22 and 23 are made of sufficiently large capacity to shunt track circuits in electrified railways where the how of propulsion current through such a shunt may be heavy. The con tacts 22 are connected to shunt the track rails of section IT and the contacts 23 are connected to shunt the track rails of section 2T.

Both sets of heavy duty contacts and the light duty contacts 25 are open when the parts are in the positions shown in the drawings. The light duty contacts E i control circuits including a stick relay SR (Fig, 1) and a time element relay TE, which in turn controls the energization of the electric lock Winding I l. The stick relay SR is a repeater of the light duty contact 24, and has a pickup circuit including the contact 2e and a back contact of the time element relay TE. The latter contact serves to check that the time e1..-

ment relay is closing its back contact whenever OperationFigs. 1 and 2 When the parts are in the positions shown in the drawings, the latch 6 is triply locked, once by the presence of lever Id in the notch Ea, once by the bar l9 being aligned with projection 25, and once by the locking dog 9 engaging the member 8.

If, with the parts in the positions shown, it is desired to use the crossover track 3, the padlock It (Fig. 5) is first removed and then the lever M is rotated from the normal position shown through an angle of 180 degrees to its reverse position.

When the hand-throw lever Id of the circuit controller 2! is moved toward its reverse position, it moves out of the notch 6a in the latch 5. As the lever I l reaches its reverse position, the notch lea in interlocking bar I9 becomes aligned with projection 26. Then, as soon as dog 9 is moved to its unlocked position, the pedal I is free to be depressed to release the center throw lever 5.

The signals is and 2S are set to stop when the hand-throw lever It is moved to its reverse position by the action of the heavy duty contacts 22 and E3 in shunting the respective track circuits. At the same time, the contacts 2d close, thereby energizing stick relay SR which in turn closes its front contact to energize time element relay TE. After the time for which the relay TE is set has expired, it closes its front contact, thereby completing an energizing circuit for electric lock winding II, which moves the locking dog 9 away from the locking member 3 and thereby releases the pedal I so that it may be depressed to move the lever latch 6 out of the path of the centerthrow lever t. The center throw lever 4 may then be thrown to release the two switch machines IW and 2W. The pedal 1 is held down while the lever i is away from its normal-position by means of a lever lock rod 25 (Figs. 3 and 6), of known circuit controller may be restored to its normal position, providing the lock dog 9 drops into the path of the locking member 8, thus assuring that the electric lock is effective for the next-move before the shunt is removed from the track. During the time that the pedal 1 is away from its locking position, the notch Ea is out of registry with the jaws it, so that restoration of the handthrow lever l t to its normal position before the pedal '3 reaches its normal position is prevented. Furthermore, when the lever I4 is in its reverse position, the notch I9b in interlocking bar I9 receives the projection 20 as the pedal I is moved away from its normal position, and the lever I5 is thereby locked against movement until pedal I is restored to its normal position.

Figures 3 to 5 nism have already been described in connection. with Figs. 1 and 2, and the description of those.

elements will not be repeated here, except insofar as may be necessary to a complete understanding of the elements to be described in detail.

I will first describe the electric lock mechanism. The latch 6 and pedal 1 are integrally connected, and are mounted on a pivot pin 26 (Fig. 5) which extends between the standards I6. The latch member 6 is provided with an integral extension 6bwhich is slotted to receive a pin 2'? carried at the end of a rod 28 extending slidably into the casing I2. The inner end of rod 28 is reduced in diameter and threaded for attachment of the locking member 8. The looking member 8 has a backward extension 80. which is shaped to conform to a. slotted guide 29 attached to the casing I2. The extension 8a. and the guide 29 prevent the locking member 8 from rotating. The projection 20, which was mentioned in connection with Fig. 1, extends forward from the lowerportion of locking member 8. A compression spring 30 encircles the rod 28 between the casing I2 and the locking member 8. (See Fig. 5.) The spring 30 is-efiective to bias the locking member 8 and the latch 6 to the positions shown in Fig.5, wherein the member 8 may be locked by the locking dog 9, the projection 20 may be locked by the interlocking bar I9, and v the latch 6 may be locked by the hand-throw lever I4. In this position, the latch 6 holds the center throw lever 4 in its normal position as shown.

The locking dog 9 (see Fig. 4) is mounted at one end of a bell crank lever 3 I whose other arm carries the armature III which cooperates with electromagnet I I." The bell'crank lever 3| 1s pivoted on trunnions 32 carried by a bracket 33, and is unbalanced so that it is biased by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 4, in which dog 9 obstructs movement of locking member 8.

The electric look also includes means for indicating the condition of locking imposed. This indicating means is best illustrated in Fig. 5, and is substantially the same as that shown and described in detail in the copending application for Letters Patent of the United States of Herbert L. Bone, George L. Temple and John W. Logan, Jr., filed January 9, 1947, Serial No. 721,028, for Electrio Locks. The casing 12 is provided with a cover 34 having a window 34a in its forward edge. The indicator is capable of displaying one or another of a plurality of legends through the window 34a. A shield 35 provided with a viewing slot 35a is located behind the window. The several legends are carried on an arcuate display member 3'! suitably attached to a pivoted lever 38. l"he lever 38 is provided with a projection 38a engageable by a member 21b attached to the force-down finger by means of bolts. The lever 38 has a weight arm 381) which biases .the lever in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5. The arm 38b carries a depending adjustable screw 39 which projects through aligned openings in the member 211), lever 23, and the force-down finger Zia toward the locking dog 9.

In the. positions of the parts as illustrated in Fig. 5, the lever 38has been rotated against its bias by engagement'of member Zlb with projection 38a to its extreme clockwise position, wherein the uppermost legend on the display member 31 is visible through the slot 35a in shield 35. This legend may be the word Padlocked or a similar suitable legend.

When the finger 21a is lifted'from the position shown in Fig. 4, in a manner to be made clear hereinafter, the projection 38 is free from engagement by the member 21b, and the weight arm 3% rotates the lever 38 to its opposite extreme position, in which the lowest of three legends on the display member 31 is aligned with the slot 35a in shield 35. This legend may be the word Locked. When the locking dog 9 is lifted by energization of the electromagnet ii to 9, position in which the locking member 8 is free to move to the right as iewed in Fig. 5, then the upper surface of the dog 9 engages the lower end of screw 39 and movesthe lever 35 in a clockwise direction to an intermediate position in which the intermediate one of three legends on the display member 35 is alignedwith the slot 3511. This intermediate legend may be the word Unlocked.

The lever 2| (see Fig. 4) carries an antirattler spring Zlc which engages the bell crank lever 34 and is normally effective-to hold the locking. dog 9 in its locking position when the lever ii is in the position shown. The force-down finger Zia does not. under normal conditions engage the lever 3| so as to force the locking dog 9 down.

Such engagement takes place only in case the. lever 31 becomesstuck so that the spring 210 is ineffective to move it down.

Referring now to the circuit controller operated by shaft l3 and best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it may be seen that the shaft !3 carries, in addition to the pinion 13a and eccentric 13b previously mentioned, a pair of eccentrics 43c and a cam. 13d. The eccentrics I30 cooperate with yokes attached to a pair {of arms to which are pivoted at one end on a, shaft 4!. also pivotally supportsthe lever 2 i.

The shaft 4i i The free ends of the arms All are connected by a web 42, on which is bolted an insulating plate 43. Movable heavy duty contacts 22a and 23a are attached to plate 43 by suitable bolts. These contacts are U-shaped, with the arms of the U extending downwardly. The contacts 22a and 230 are each adapted to bridge a pair of stationary contacts 22b and 2322, respectively. Each of these stationary contacts comprises a pair of spring blades spaced apart distance slightly less than the thickness of the arms of the U-shaped movable contacts. As the movable contacts move downwardly, the arms of the U enter between the spring blades of the stationary contacts, thereby completing a contact of high current carrying capacity.

The stationary contacts 22b and 2312 are mounted on an insulating plate 45, which is attaohed to the bottom of the casing l2. Conduc tor bars 35 are also mounted on the plate 44 in electrical contact with the several stationary contacts. The conductor bars Q5 extend to the outside of the casing i2 through an insulating plate 35 which covers an aperture in the casing wall. Outside the casing 12, the several conductor bars are provided with terminal lugs 47 for the attachment of suitable cables thereto.

The cam 53d on the shaft i3 cooperates with a follower Z ta (Fi 4) associated with a pair of light duty contact fingers 2 mounted on an insulating terminal board d8 supported on a bracket at which is attached to the bottom of easing H2.

The interlocking bar 59 is supported on the bottom of easing 2 by a pair of channel-shaped guides at (Figs. 3 and i), one of which is provided with a cover plate 5! to. hold the interlocking bar is in place.

The operation of the mechanism shown in Figs. 3, i, and 5 will now be briefly reviewed. The parts of these figures are shown in the drawings in their normal positions. When it is desired to operate the center throw lever s, it is first necessary to remove the padlock l3 and operate the hand-throw lever It of the circuit controller from the normal position shown in the drawings through degrees to its reverse position. In the normal position shown, the'latch 6 is locked in three different ways: First, by the presence of the hand-throw lever it in, the notch 6a; second, by the presence of the interlocking bar I!) in the path or the projection 25]; third, by the.

presence of the locking dog 53 in the path of the locking member 3. The initial movement of the hand-throw lever it away from its normal position takes it out of the notch 6a, thereby removing the first of these three locks. As the lever 14 moves to its reverse position, the interlocking bar 19 is shifted through the action of the pine ion 13c and its cooperating rack lla, to bring the notch i Sb on the interlocking bar into alignment with the projection 26, so that the projection may move to its unlocking position. This removes the second of the three locks on the latch 6. The operation of the hand-throw lever It to its reverse position also closes the heavy duty contacts 22 and 23 to set the signals at stop, and the earn 2 3d closes the contact 24 which initiates the operation of the timing relay TE (Fig. 1). At the expiration of the time for which relay is set, the electroinagnet II is energized and attracts armature iii, thereby lifting locking dog 9 from its locking position to an unlocking position where it no longer obstructs the path of the locking member-8. The movement of the handvthrow lever i l to its reverse position, acting 9 through eccentric i319 and lever 2i, lifts the force-down finger 2 la from above the locking dog 9, so that the latter is free to move toward its unlocking position as soon as the electromagnet I l is energized.

The latch 5 having been completely unlocked, the pedal may now be depressed to move the latch 6 to its unlatching position, wherein the center throw lever i is free to move upwardly from the position shown. As the center throw lever l is moved upwardly, the lever lock rod 25 moves behind a portion of the latch 5, thereby holding it in its unlatched position as long as the center throw lever 3 is away from its normal position, This effectively holds the projection 25) in the notch iil'o on the interlocking bar i9 and prevents movement of the hand-throw lever 54 away from its reverse position as long as the center throw lever 4 is away from its normal position. The proper sequence of operation between the hand-throw lever and the center throw lever 3 is thereby enforced. That is, the center throw lever 4 cannot be moved from its normal position until the hand-throw lever 55 is first placed. in its reverse position to set the signals at stop. Furthermore, once the center throw lever 22 has been moved away from its normal position, the hand-throw lever it must remain in its reverse position so that the signals must remain at stop until the center throw lever l is restored to its normal position as shown;

It should be noted that the force-down finger 25a is positively moved in both directions by the eccentric ifih. It is especially important that the force-down finger 21a be positively moved in a downward direction, when forcing the looking dog 9 to its locking position. Then if the locking dog 8 is stuck in its unlockingposition for any reason, it cannot remain there so as to permit an operation of the center throw lever l the next time the mechanism is operated without waiting for the'time element relay TE to operate through its predetermined cycle. Furthermore, if the locking dog 9 is jammed in its unlocking position, then the positive action of the force-down finger 2i prevents restoration of the hand-throw lever M.- to its normal position, and thereby insures that the signals remain at stop until the trouble is remedied.

Figures 7 to 10 bars IL and EL (Fig. 8) of the two switch machines lW and 2W are connected through a suitable linkage to a center throw lever 52 associated with a heavy duty circuit controller 53 of the type disclosed in the copending application of William R. Gracey, Jr., previously referred to. The circuit controller 53 is attached to a mounting plate 54 bolted to the ties of the railway track. An improved electric lock 55, forming an essential feature of this modification of my invention, is mounted on the plate 5t, so as to lock the center throw lever '52. The electric lock .55 is provided with a latch 56, which holds the 10 lever 52 down, and a pedal 51, by means of which the latch 56 may be released'whenever the electric lock 55 is energized.

The details of construction of the electric lock 55 are described hereinafter in connection with Figs. 11-14.

The center throw lever 52 is fixed on a shaft 52a which is journalled in and extend through the casing of the controller 53. The shaft 52a is connected by a suitable crank and link arrangement to a pipe line connecting the lock bars IL and 2L.

A lever lock rod 58, of conventional construction, is attached to the center throw lever 52, and cooperates with the pedal 51 to prevent its room to its normal latching position when the lever 52 has been moved out of the jaw of the latch. A bolt 59 is provided, which, in the position shown has one end projecting under the pedal 51 so as to prevent its downward movement in a latch releasing direction. This bolt 59 moves in a guide 60- attached to the mounting plate 54, and its opposite end is pivotally connected to a link 6| whose opposite end is in turn connected to an eccentric pin on the handthrow lever 62 of the circuit controller 53.

The circuit controller 53 is shown and described in detail in the Gracey application previously mentioned. For the purposes of the present invention, it may be considered as having two sets of heavy duty contacts 22 and 23 and one set of light duty contacts 24 similar to the corresponding contacts in Figs. 1-6. These contacts are operated by the hand-throw lever 82.

A pair of brackets 63 are attached to the plate 54 so as to receive the lever 62 in its normal and reverse positions. The brackets 63 are provided with suitable openings for the application of padlocks or other devices to prevent operation by unauthorized persons and to hold the lever down during passage of a train over the controller.

Figures 11 to 14 These figures illustrate the details of construction of the switch lock 55. This switch lock is generally similar to the electric switch locking mechanism in the combined switch lock and circuit controller of Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and is also similar to the switch lock shown in the copending application Serial No. 721,028 of Bone, Temple and Logan, previously referred to. Those parts of the switch lock 55 which are similar to the corresponding parts of theswitch lock mechanism described in connection with Figs. 3 to 5 have been given the same reference numerals, and will not be'further described.

Referring to Fig. 11, it may be seen that the switch lock 55 comprises a housing 64 which corresponds generally to the housing [2 of Fig. 5, but differs therefrom in certain details. Housing 65 is provided at its forward side with an integral extension 65 formed at its outer end with an upturned leg 66 and with a pair of spaced vertical standards 6'! (only one of which appears in Fig. 11), which together with leg 66 form a jaw for receiving the center throw lever 52 when that leveris in its normal position. The lower portions of the standards 6'! support a pivot pin 26 on which is mounted the latch 55 and its integrally associated pedal 51. The latch 56 is movable between a padlocked position, which is illustrated in Fig. 11, through an intermediate latching position, to an unlatched position. In

both the padlocked and intermediate positions game of the latch 56, it projects into the upper end of the jaw so as .to prevent movement of the center throw lever 52 out from the jaw. In the unlatched position, latch 56 is withdrawn from the jaw to permit movement of the lever52 therefrom. In the padlocked position of latch 56, a hasp 63 mounted on the leg 66 projects through an opening in the latch 56. This hasp 68 is provided with an eye through which the hail of a padlock may be inserted to lock the latch 58 in its padlocked position.

Formed integrally with the latch 56 is a wing pedal 56a (Figs. 9 and 10) which facilitates movement of the latch 56 to its padlocked position. The latch 56 is also provided with an integrally formed crank arm slotted to receive .a pin 21 carried on the outer end of a locking rod 69 which is slidably mounted in the housing 64.

The inner end of rod 69 is threaded into a cam nut '19 slidably mounted in a slotted guide H formed integrally with housing 64. Inside the housing 64, the rod 69 is provided with a shoulder 69a which separates portions of rod 159 having different diameters. Sleeves 12 and 13 are slidably received on the portion of rod 69 of smaller diameter. A coil spring It is retained between the sleeves 72 and 13 and is provided with sufiicient initial compression so that sleeve 73 is urged toward shoulder 69a while the other sleeve 72 is biased toward the guide 'i I With the parts in the positions shown, spring "M is effective to move rod 69 to the right (as viewed in Fig. 11) when the bail of the padlock is removed from the hasp B8. The parts are so proportioned that when the padlock is removed, the sleeves l3 and 72 will be separated by the spring 14 so that sleeve 13 engages the wall of housing 64 and sleeve 12 is engaged by the cam nut 10.

A bracket 15 spans the rod 69 adjacent the cam nut F0, being attached to the housing by bolts 76. A portion 15a of the bracket extends to the right as viewed in Fig. 11 and serves as a supporting plate for the indicator mechanism. A shaft 11 is journaled at its ends in the uprights of the bracket 75 so that it extends transversely to the rod 69, and carries a rocker T8. The rocker 78 is formed with a rearwardly extending arm 78a and a forwardly extending arm 18b. The underside of the rocker arm 18a is formed with a cam follower surface 780 adapted to engage the cam nut 10. A compression spring 19 is retained between the bracket 15 and the rocker arm 18a, and biases the cam follower surface 18c toward the cam ,nut 10.

The rocker arm 18b extends over the locking dog 9 and serves as a force-down finger for the locking dog. The locking dog 5 is normally operated by an electromagnet similar to the electromagnet H of Figs. '3 and 4. The rocker arm 18b is provided on one side of its under surface with a short shoe 80 adapted to engage the upp r surface of locking dog 9 near its center so as to avoid undesirable friction between those two members and twisting of the dog 5.

The rocker arm 18b carries a projection 2th which operates the indicator mechanism in the same manner as the projection 2 lb of Fig. 5. The rocker arm 18b is also apertured to receive the adjusting screw 39 of the indicator mechanism. An antirattler spring 8! similar to the antirattler spring 2!?) of Fig. 4 is also attached to the rocker arm 78b. The upper surface of rocker arm 78b is formed to provide a stop 7811 which engages the bracket 15 and limits the counterclockwise ro 12 tion of rocker 78b under the influence of sprin 79.

Operation of Figs. 7 to 14 When the parts are in the positions shown in the drawings, and it is desired to use the crossover track, the padlocks associated with hasp 53 and with bracket 63 are first removed. The latch 56 does not immediately move to its intermediate position under the influence of spring 14, because of the presence of bolt 59 under the pedal 57. The hand-throw lever 62 of the circuit controller 53 is now moved from its normal to its reverse position. This removes the bolt 59 from under the pedal 5i so that the latter is moved to its intermediate position by spring M. When the pedal 51 is moved to its intermediate position by the spring 74, the cam nut it is moved out from under the follower surface 780 on rocker arm 180., so that the rocker i8 is rotated counterclockwise by spring 79 to lift the rocker arm 78b out of the path of upward movement of locking dog 9. Operation of the circuit controller 53 shunts the track circuit and closes the contact 24 which starts the time element relay running. At the expiration of a predetermined time, electromagnet ii is energized to lift the locking dog 9 out of the path of sleeve '12.

When the locking dog 9 is lifted, the foot pedal 5i may be depressed to move the latch 5i; out of the path of the center throw lever 52. The lever 52 may then be moved from its normal to its reverse position. As the lever 52 is lifted, the lever loci: rod 53 moves into place behind the latch cc to hold it in its unlatched position as long as the lever 52 is away from its normal position. Operation of the center throw lever 52 releases the locks on the track switches, so that the switches may be reversed and the crossover used."

After the train has passed over the crossover, it may be restored to its previous condition throwing the two switches to their normal positions, restoring their locks by returning the center throw lever 52 to its normal position, lockin that lever by returning the pedal 51 to its normal posi tion, and then operating the hand-throw lever #52 of the circuit controller 53 to its normal position.

It should be noted that the bolt 59 prevents restoration of the circuit controller lever 62 to its normal position until the pedal 5'! has been restored to its normal position. This interlocking arrangement, including bolt .59 and lock rod 53, enforces the proper sequence of operation of the hand-throw lever of the circuit controller and the center throw lever.

It should be noted that the action of the rocker 78 in forcing the locking dog 9 to its locking position is positive. That is to say, the cam nut '53 positively lifts the rocker arm 78a .and thereby positively moves the rocker arm 78b downwardly to forcibly engage the locking dog 9. Unless rocker arm 18b actually forces lock dog 9 down into the path of the locking member 8, the pedal cannot be padlocked and the shunt cannot be taken off the track. The operation is comparable to the positive operation of the force-down finger 2! in the apparatus described in Figs. 1 to 6.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of railway traffic controlling 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. Railway trafiic controlling apparatus, comprising a track switch, a signal governing trafiic movements over said switch, a lever movable between normal and reverse positions for controlling said track switch; a look including a lever latch for holding said lever in its normal position, a manually movable member formin a part of said lever latch for operating the latch having a normal latching position and movable therefrom to a latch releasing position, a lock dog biased to a locking position in which it prevents operation of the manually movable member to release the latch, and means for moving the lock dog from its locking position to an unlockin position including time controlled means for introducing a time delay between initiation of the operation thereof and the movement of the lock dog to its unlocking posit-ion; an electric circuit controller having contacts for controlling said signal, means associated with the circuit controller for initiating the operation of said time controlled means, manual operating means for said controller movable independently of said manually movable member between a normal position in which the operation of the time controlled means is not initiated and the signal controlling contacts permit clearing of the signal and 9 a reverse position in which operation of the time controlled means is initiated and the signal is set to stop approaching trafiic; and mechanical interlocking means connecting said manual operating means, said manually movable member, said switch controlling lever and said lock dog to prevent release of the switch controlling lever before movement of the manual operating means to its reverse position, to prevent restoration of the manual operating means to its normal po* sition before the switch controlling lever is locked in its normal position, and to insure that the lock dog is in its locking position when said manual operating means is in its normal position.

2. Railway trafiic controlling apparatus, comprising .a track switch, a signal governing traffic movements over said switch, means for controlling said signal including a track relay connected across the rails, said signal controlling means being effective when said track relay is deenergized to set said signal to stop, a lever movable between normal and reverse positions for controlling said track switch; an electric lock including a lever latch for holding said lever in its normal position, a manually movable member forming a part of said lever latch for operating the latch having a normal latching position and movable therefrom to a latch releasing position, a lock dog biased to a locking position in which it prevents operation of the manually movable member to release the latch, and an electric winding for moving the lock dog from its locking position to an unlocking position; an electric circuit controller having one set of contacts for controlling said winding and another set for shunting said track rails, manual operating means for said controller movable between a normal position in which said winding is not energized and the track rails are not shunted and a reverse position in which said winding may be energized and the track rails are shunted to set the signal to stop approaching traffic; and mechanical interlocking means connecting said manual operating means, said manually movable member, said switch controlling lever, and said lock dog to prevent release of the switch controlling lever before movement of the manual operating means to its reverse position, to prevent restoration of the manual operating means to its normal position before the switch controlling lever is locked in its normal position, and to insure that the lock dog is in its locking position when said manual operating means is in its normal position.

3. Railway trafiic controlling apparatus, comprising a track switch, a signal governing trafiic movements over said switch, a lever movable between normal and reverse positions for corn trolling said track switch; a lock including a lever latch for holding said lever in its normal position, a manually movable member forming a part of said lever latch for operating the latch having a normal latching position and movable therefrom to a latch releasing position, a lock dog biased to a locking position in which it prevents operation of the manually movable member to release the latch, and means for moving the lock dog from its locking position to an unlocking position; means for controlling said signal including a hand-throw lever movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, said signal control means being efiective when said hand-throw lever is in its normal position to permit clearing of the signal, and when said hand-throw lever is in its reverse position to set said signal at stop; a mechanical interlock connecting said hand-throw lever and said manually movable member to prevent release-of the switch controlling lever before movement of the hand-throw lever to its reverse position; means operated by movement of the hand-throw lever to its reverse position to hold the manually movable member in its latch releasing position, said last-named means cooperating with said interlock to prevent restoration of the hand-throw lever to its normal position before the switch controlling lever is locked in its normal position; and a mechanical interlock connecting said hand-throw lever and said lock dog to insure that the lock dog is in its locking position when said hand-throw lever is in its normal position.

4. Railway traiiic controlling apparatus, comprising a track switch, a signal governing trafiic movements over said switch, a lever movable between normal and reverse positions for controlling said track switch; a lock including a lever latch for holding said lever in its normal position, a manually movable member forming a par-t of said lever latch for operating the latch having a normal latching position and movable therefrom to a latch releasing position, a lock dog biased to a locking position in which it prevents operation of the manually movable member to release the latch, and means for moving the lock dog from its locking position to an unlocking position; means for controlling said signal including a hand-throw lever movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, said signal control means being efiective when said hand-throw lever is in its normal position to permit clearing of the signal, and when said hand-throw lever is in its reverse position to set said signal at stop, a mechanical interlock connecting said hand-throw lever and said manually movable member to prevent release of the switch controlling lever before movement of the hand-throw lever to its reverse position; means operated by movement of the hand-throw lever to its reverse position to hold the manually'mow "able :member in its latch releasing position; said last-named means cooperating with said interlock to prevent restoration of the hand-throw lever to its normal position before the switch controlling lever is locked in its normal position, and a mechanical inter-lock connecting said manually movable member and said lock dog to insure that the lock dog is in its locking position when said manually movable member is in its normal latching position.

5. Railway trafiic controlling apparatus, comprising a track switch, a signal governing traffic movements over said switch, a lever movable between normal and reverse positions for controliing said track switch; a lock includin a lever latch for holding said lever in its normal position, a manually movable member forming a part of said lever latch for operating the latch having a normal latching position and movable therefrom to a latch releasing position, a loot: dog biased to a locking position in which it prevents operation of the manually movabie member to release the latch, and means for moving the lock dog from its locking position to an unlocking position; means for controlling said signal including a hand-throw lever movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, said signal control means being effective when said hand-throw lever is in its normal p sition to permit clearing of the signal, and when said hand-throw lever is in its reverse position to set said signal at stop; and mechanical interlocking means connecting said hand-throw lever, said manually movable member, said switch controlling lever, and said lock dog to prevent release of the switch controlling lever before movement of the hand-throw lever to its reverse position, to prevent restoration of the hand-throw lever to its normal position before the switch controlling lever is locked in its normal position, and to insure that the lock dog is in its locking position when said hand-throw lever is in its normal position.

6. An electric circuit controller and lock comprising a housing for the controller, a law on the housing for receiving a lever, a latch pivotally mounted on the housing for movement between a latching position wherein it holds the lever on the jaw and an unlatching position wherein the lever is free to move from the jaw, a pedal connected to the latch for concurrent movement therewith, a hand-throw lever pivoted on the housing for operating the circuit con troller and movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, a second jaw on the housing for receiving the hand-throw lever, said pedal having a notch formed therein which is aligned with said second jaw to receive said handthrow lever in its normal position when and only when the latch is in its latching position, a lock dog in the housing for holding said latch in its latching position, an electric winding in the housing for'moving said dog to release said latch, and contacts in said circuit controller closed by movement of said hand-throw lever to its reverse position for controlling the energization of said Winding.

7. An electric circuit controller and lock comprising a housing for the controller, a jaw on the housing for receiving a lever, a latch pivotally mounted on the housing for movement between a latching position wherein it holds the lever on the jaw and an unlatching position wherein the lever is free to move from the jaw, a pedal connected to the latch for concurrent movement therewith, a hand-throw lever pivoted on the housing for operating the circuit controller and movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, a second law on the housin for receiving the hand-throw lever, said pedal having a notch formed therein which is aligned with said second jaw to receive said hand-throw lever in its normal position when and only when the latch is in its latching position, a projection in the housing movabl concurrently with the latch, an interlocking bar in the housing movable concurrently with the hand-throw lever and having a notch therein which is aligned with said projection when and only when said handthrow lever is in its reverse position, said bar being effective to block movement of th projection and latch except when said notch is aligned with said projection, a loci; dog in the housing for holding said latch in its latching position, an electric winding in the l'iousing for moving said dog to release said latch, and con tacts in said circuit controller closed by movement of said handthrow lever to its reverse D sition for controlling the energization of said winding.

8. An electric circuit controller and lock comprising a housing for the controller, a jaw on the housing for receiving a lever, a latch pivotally mounted on the housing for movement between a latching position wherein it holds the lever on the jaw and an unlatehing position wherein the lever is free to move from the jaw, a pedal connected to the latch for concurrent movement therewith, a hand-throw lever pivoted on the housing for operating the circuit controller and movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, a projection in the housing movable concurrently with the latch, an interlocking bar in the housing movable concurrently with the hand-throw lever and having a notch therein which is aligned with said projection when and only when said handthrow lever is in its reverse position, said bar being effective to block movement of the projection and latch except when said notch is aligned with said projection, a lock dog in the housing for holding said latch in its latchin position, an electric winding in the housing for moving said dog to release said latch, and contacts in said circuit controller closed by movement of said hand-throw lever to its reverse position :for controlling the energization of said winding.

9. An electric circuit controller and lock comprising a housing for the controller, a jaw on the housing for receiving a lever, a latch pivotally mounted on the housing for movement between a latching position wherein it holds the lever on the jaw and an unlatchin position wherein the lever is free to move from the jaw, a pedal connected to the latch for concurrent movement therewith, a hand-throw lever pivoted on the housing for operating the circuit controller and movable between normal and reverse extreme positions, a second jaw on the housing for receiving the hand-throw lever, said pedal having a notch formed therein which is aligned with said second jaw to receive said hand-throw lever in its normal position when and only when the latch is in its latching position, a lock dog in the housing for holding said latch in its latching position, an electric winding in the housing for moving said dog to release said latch, contacts in said circuit controller closed by movement of said hand-throw lever to its reverse position for controlling the energization of said winding, and means movable concurrently with said hand-throw lever for' positively forcing said lock dog to its holding position as said hand-throw lever moves to its normal position.

10. An electric lock comprising a member movable between two extreme positions through an intermediate position, a lock dog biased to a locking position wherein it limits movement of said member to the range of positions between one extreme position and said intermediate p sition and movable to an unlocking position wherein it permits free movement of the member, an electric winding for movin the lock do to its unlocking position, a cam on said movable member, a lever having two arms, a cam follower on one lever arm to engage said cam when said member is adjacent saidone extreme position, a finger on the other lever arm positioned adjacent said lock dog and effective when the follower is engaged and moved by the cam as said member moves to said one extreme position to engage said dog and force it to its looking position, and a spring biasing the lever to cause engagement of the follower by the cam.

11. Looking mechanism comprising a member movable between two extreme positions through an intermediate position, a lock dog biased to a locking position wherein it limits movement of said member to the range of positions between one extreme position and said intermediate position and movable to an unlocking position wherein it permits free movement of the member, means for moving the lock dog to its unlocking position, a cam on said movable member, a lever having two arms, a cam follower on one arm to engage said cam when said member is adjacent said one extreme position, a finger on the other lever arm positioned adjacent said lock dog and eifective when the follower is engaged and moved by the cam as said member moves to said one extreme position to engage said dog and force it to its locking position, and a spring biasing the lever to cause engagement of the follower by the cam.

12. Locking mechanism comprising a member movable between two extreme positions through an intermediate position, a lock dog biased to a locking position wherein it limits movement-of said member to the range of positions between one extreme position and said intermediate position and movable to an unlocking position wherein it permits free movement of the member, means for moving the lock dog to its unlocking position, a cam on said movable member, a lever having two arms, a cam follower on one arm to engage said cam when said member is adjacent said one extreme position, a finger on the other lever arm positioned adjacent said lock dog and effective when the follower is engaged and moved by the cam as said member moves to said one extreme position to engage said dog and force it to its locking position, a spring biasing the lever to cause engagement of the follower by the cam, a pedal connected to said member for moving it, a latch operated by said pedal between a range of latching positions corresponding to said range of positions of said member and an unlatching position corresponding to said other extreme position of said member, a jaw adjacent the latch, and a lever movable into engagement with the jaw and adapted to be held thereon by the latch when the latter is in said range of latching positions.

13. Looking mechanism comprising a rod translatable between two extreme positions through an intermediate position, a lock dog biased to a locking position adjacent the rod wherein it limits movement of said rod to the range of positions between one extreme position and said intermediate position and movable to an unlocking position spaced from the rod wherein it permits free movement of the rod, means for moving the lock dog to its unlocking position, a cam on said rod, a bracket spanning said rod, a lever pivoted on said bracket for rotation about an axis transverse to said rod and having two opposed arms extending along said rod, a cam follower on one arm to engage said cam when said rod is adjacent said one extreme position, a finger on the other lever arm positioned adjacent said lock dog and effective when the follower is en aged and moved by the cam as said member moves tosaid one extreme position to engage said dog and force it to its locking position, and a spring biasing the lever to cause engagement of the follower by the cam.

14. Locking mechanism comprising a rod translatable between two extreme positions through an intermediate position, a lock dog pivoted for rotation about an axis parallel to said rod, said dog being biased to a locking position adjacent said rod wherein it limits movement of said rod to the range of positions between one extreme position and said intermediate position and movable to an unlocking position wherein it permits free movement of the rod, means for moving the lock dog to its unlocking position, a cam on said rod, a bracket spanning said rod, a lever pivoted on said bracket for rotation about an axis transverse to said rod and having two opposed arms extending along said rod, a cam follower on one I 7 arm to engage said cam when said rod is in said one extreme position, a finger on the other lever arm positioned adjacent said lock dog and eflective when the follower is engaged and moved by the cam as said member moves to said one extreme position to engage said dog and force it to its locking position, said finger having a shoe contoured to engage said dog near its center, and a spring biasing the lever to cause engagement of the follower by the cam.

15. Locking mechanism comprising a rod translatable between two extreme positions through an intermediate position, a lock dog pivoted for rotation about an axis parallel to said rod, said dog being biased to a locking position adjacent said rod wherein it limits movement of said rod to the range of positions between one extreme position and said intermediate position and movable to an unlocking position wherein it permits free movement of the rod, means for moving the lock dog to its unlocking position, a cam on said rod, a bracket spanning said rod, a lever pivoted on said bracket for rotation about an axis transverse to said rod and having two opposed arms extending along said rod, a cam follower on one arm to engage said cam when said rod is in said one extreme position, a finger on the other lever arm positioned adjacent said lock dog and effective when the follower is engaged and moved by the cam as said member moves to said one extreme position to engage said dog and force it to its locking position, said finger having a shoe contoured to engage the dog near its center, a spring biasing the lever to cause engagement of the follower by the cam, a pedal connected to said rod for moving it, a latch operated by said pedal between a range of latching positions corresponding torsaidjrangetof positions oft-said rod andeanzunlatchingposition corresponding .tozlsaid otherextremelposition of said rod a:-jaw adjacent thedatch, and. a; levermovable I into: engagement withzthe jaw and adapted to beheld thereinby ,thelateh when the latter is ini-saidrange of-latching positions.

16. electrictcircuit controller and'lever lock comprising'a lever, a jaw for. receiving .thelever, a latch. movable between a latching, position wherein it holds the: leveron the vjaw andanunlatching position wherein-the lever may move from the jaw, manual. means forming apartof said latch formoving the latch, a;hand-throw lever for operatingthe circuit controller. and. movable, between: normal. and reverse-.positions,,,a projection. movable-concurrently with the latch, and an interlocking bar movable concurrently with the) hand-throw. lever andv having ainotch for .re- ,ceivinglsaid'projection when. and i only when the hand-throwlever is in its reverse. position, said bar being efieotivetobloek movementbf thelprojection and latch except when the hand-throw lever is its; reverse position, said projection being ,efiective-When received inasaid'lnoteh to block movement of thebar and hand-throw lever awayd rom saiclreverse:position.v

" REFERENCE 8 1 CITED The following references are of record *i'nthe file of-"this' patent? UNITED- STATES Number Name Date ,053,891 Beall "Sept. "8,,"I1936 25 2,355,989 MciGowanl 'Aug.;I5,TI944 2,360,956 McGowan l Oct. "24,1944 2,416,986 Field et a1 M'ar. 4,1947

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