US295427A - Electric signaling apparatus for railroads - Google Patents

Description

(N0 ModeL) No. 295,427. L

. F. L. POPE. ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAILROADS.

WiTNESSES a djg llipecll'on 9f .Trabu' Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

' INVENTOR.

flan/21 10,118, ,y has flftorneys UNITED STATES PATENT Prion.

FRANK L. POPE, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION SYVITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAlLROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,427, dated March 18, 1884,

Application filed July 30, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Befit known that I, FRANK L. Porn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Elizabeth, in the county of Union-and State New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Signaling Apparatus for Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 129,425, granted to me July 16, 1872, and reissued October 21, 1873, as No. 5,622, Ihave shown and described a method of actuating electric signals automatically by the movements of a locomotive or train, in which a railway-track is divided intoa number'of signaling-sectionain which the two parallel lines .of rails are insulated from each other and also from the abutting rails of the adjacent section in each direction. An electro-magnet having avisual or other signal attached to its armature, so as to be alternately displayed and concealed by the movements thereof, is connected by suitable conductors with the insulated rails of the track, and a battery is also connected with said rails in such a manner that when a locomotive or train enters upon the insulated section of track its wheels and axles form a conducting-connection between the opposite insulated lines of rails, which causes a safety-signal at the entrance of the section to be concealed, or a dangersignal exhibited, as the case may be, by the action of said electromagnet. j 1 My present invention relates to certain improvements in the apparatus described in my said former patent, whereby I am enabled to make use of a railroadtrack having one of its lines of rails formed into a continuous electric conductor extending the length of two or more or any number of signal-sections, while the other line of rails is divided into signal-sections in the usual way by insulating-joints interposed at proper distances from each other.

To thisend the invention comprises certain mechanism and apparatus, which will be hereinafterparticularly. described, whereby the battery belonging to any given signal-section is prevented from actuating the signal of an adjacent section in either direction by reason electrically discontinuous.

of an accidental failurein the insulation which electrically separates one section from another.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a railway to which my invention has been applied, the signaling apparatus being illustrated in diagram; and Fig. 2 represents a modification of certain parts of the apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, A A represent a rai1- way-track constructed in the usual manner, consisting of two parallel lines of metallic 6 rails, which are joined end to end, by spliceplates or otherwise, in such a manner that each line of rails will form a continuous electric conductor, (except as hereinafter stated.) The parallel lines of rails constituting each section 6 5 are sufficiently insulated from each other by the non-conducting properties of the ties or sleepers to which they are secured. The track A A is divided into signaling-sections a b c d of any required or convenient length, as indicated by the dotted lines. One line of rails, r, 'r, is divided at the end of each signal section by non-conducting spaces, as shown at a, b, and c, at which points joints or splices of well-known construction are inserted, which 7 5 render the track mechanically continuous, but The opposite line of railsfl r, is bothelectrically and niechaniv cally continuous throughout two or more or any number of signal-sections.

At or near the entrance of each signal-section, in the directionin which the train moves, is placed an electro-magnet, as shown at M, M, and M One of. the terminals of the coils of each eleotro-magnet 'M, M, and M is con- 8 5 nected with the adjacent end of its corresponding section of the line of rails r r bymeans of wires f, f, and f and the other terminal of each coil with the adjacent end of its corresponding section of the line of rails r by means 90 of wires e, e, and 6. At or near the opposite end or exit of each signal-section is placed a battery or other electric generator, E E E Each of these batteries has one of its poles connected to its neighboring section of the 5 sectional rail 1 r, and the other pole to the continuous rail r r, as shown in the drawings. By this arrangement a continuous circuit of electric conductors is formed throughouteach signal-section, the course of which may be traced, for example, as follows: Commencing at the positive pole of the battery E thence by wire 9 as indicated by the arrows, to the continuous rail 2; thence along said rail to the wiree and electro-magnet M; thence by wire f through electro-magnet I to the section-rail r,- thence through said rail to wire a and thence back to the negative pole of the battery E The adjacent section a is arranged in the same manner, except that the current from its battery E traverses the system in the opposite direction, commencing at the positive pole of the battery and going through the section-rail r, wire f, and electro-magnets P and M, returning by wire 6 to the continuous rail 1, and thence by wire 9. to the negative pole of .the battery. The signal-section a is arranged in precisely the same way. Thus it will be understood that in each alternate section the continuous current oirculates'in an opposite direction. In sections a. and c-the positive pole of the battery is connectedwith the section-rail r o" and the negative pole with the continuous rail 1* 7*, while in sections 7) and c, on the contrary, the negative pole of the battery is connected with the section-rail and the positive pole with the continuous rail. The electro-magnets M, M, and'M may be employed toactuate a signal of any required character, it being preferable to so organize the apparatus as to exhibit safety-signals when continuous currents from the batteries are passing through the coils of the electro-magnets, and signals of danger when the continuous currents are diverted or interrupted.

When the apparatus is arranged in the man-' ner hereinbefore explained, a train passing from right to left in the direction indicated in the drawingswill, upon entering each successive signal-section, form a connection between the opposite lines of rails through its wheels and axles, and thus divert the current of the battery at the opposite end of the section from the electro-magnet M, M, or M as the case may be, and thus cause a danger-signal to be exhibited by the release of the armature in a manner well understood. It might happen, however, in some cases, that an electric connection might be formed by accident or otherwise across one of the insulated joints between two signal-sectionsfor example, at b-.-and in such case a train might .be traversing the signal-section b, diverting the current of battery E from the signal-magnet M, which should thereupon release its armature and exhibit a danger signal so long as said train or any portion thereof remains upon the section; but, in consequence of the conducting-connection across the insulated joint I), the current from battery E of the adjacent section would at the same time tend to pass through the wires h and f to the signal-magnet M, thence through the wire a and continuous rail 0 1 .to the wire 9, and thence back to the battery E acting upon the electro-magnet M, and thereby ex- .may be found most convenient.

a second electro-magnet, as at P provided with a polarized armature, pflwhich armature acts as a circuit-closer for a shunt-circuit, s s.

g This shunt-circuit, when closed, unites thewires f and e, which form the terminals of the electro-magnet M. So long as the electric current traverses the coils of the electro-magnet P in its normal direction, as indicated by the arrows in the drawings, the shunt s s will be interrupted by the polarized armature 12 but if, from any cause, a current from the battery of an adjacent sectionas, for example, E traverses the electro-magnet P the polarized armature 19 will. be deflected, the shunt s s will be closed, and the foreign current will be diverted from the electro-magnet M, thus preventing asafety-signal from being given thereb The armature p of the electro-magnet P may be polarized from a permanent magnet in a' well-known manner, as illustrated in Fig. l, or it may be rendered magnetic'by a special magnetizing-helix, T, as shown in Fig. 2, in which case such helix may be interposed in the circuit of the adjacent signal-section between its battery and either line of rails, as This latter modification may be advantageously used in cases where especial danger is apprehended from the action of lightning upon the permanent magnets employed for the polarized armatures. I

I claim'as my invention 1. A line of rails of a railroad-track divided into two or more electric sections corresponding with or constituting signaling-sections, by means of interposed insulating-joints, and having its alternate insulated sections normally traversed by electric currents of unlike polarity, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a section of railwaytrackconsisting of two parallel lines of rails insulated from each other, each of which constitutes a continuous electric conductor throughout said section, a battery having its opposite poles connected with the respective lines of rails, a signal-operating electro-magnet normally rendered magnetic by an electric current from said battery traversing said parallel lines of rails, a second electro-magnet provided with a polarized armature interposed in the circuit between one of said lines of rails and the signal-operating magnet, a shunt uniting the terminals of said signaloperating magnet, and a circuit-breaker controlled by the polarized armature of the second electro-magnet, whereby said shunt is interrupted so long as the current traverses said signaloperating magnet in the normal direction, versal of said current. I

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a section of railwaytrack. consisting of two parallel lines of rails insulated from each other, each of which constitutes a continuous electric conductor throughout the section, a battery having its opposite poles connected with the respective lines of rails, a signal-operating electro-mag net normally rendered magnetic by an electric current from said battery traversing said parallel lines of rails, an electro-magnet provided with a polarized armature, interposed in the circuit between one of said lines of rails and the signal-operating magnet, a helix for polarizing said armature, included in but is completed in case of the re- 1 the circuit of the battery of the adjacent signal-section, a shunt uniting the terminals of said signal-operating magnet, and a circuitbreaker controlled by said polarized armature, whereby said shunt is interrupted so long as the current traverses said signal-operating magnet in the normal direction, but is completed in case of the reversal of said current. 4

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 26th day of July, A. D. 1883.

FRANK L. POPE.

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