US375182A

US375182A - munroe

Info

Publication number: US375182A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1887-12-20
Anticipated expiration: 1904-12-20

Description

(No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet 1. T. W. MUNROE.

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR STATION INDICATORS. No. 875,182. Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

N. PETERS, Plumb-Lithographer. Washington, D. C.

3'Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) Y

T. W. MUNROE.

AUTOMATIG MBGHANISM FOR STATION INDICATORS.

Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

T. W. MUNROE.

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR'STATION INDICATORS.

Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

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Mines 5 e a N PETERS, vnmumo m. WIIHRQWILDIC.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS WILLIAM MUNROE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO HENRY BURPEE BERRYMAN, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR STATION-INDICATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,182, dated December 20, 1887.

Application filed July 28, 1887. Serial No. 245.572. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, THOMAS WILLIAM MUN- ROE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the city and county of San Francisco' and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Automatic Mechanism for Statio n-Indicators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. I

My invention relates to improvements in mechanism for operating station and street indicators in railway-cars; and it consists in certain novel construction and combination of parts and mechanism, as hereinafter more fully described, for working indicators by .or from the movement of the car along the track.

I construct and apply my said improvements and carry out the invention as follows,

the said drawings that form part of this speciiication being referred to by figures and letters: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the end portion of a car with an indicator-box in position and the automatic mechanism applied to work it. Fig. 2 is a view, taken from the left-hand side of Fig. 1, of that part of the mechanism which is acted upon directly by fixed stops in the roadway. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the mechanism on a larger scale. Fig. 4 is a top view; and Figs. 5 and 6, cross sections in elevation taken at the lines a: 00 and y 1 respectively, of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 represents an arrangement of the mechanism for working an indi- 3 5 cator on cars that are turned'or switched from one track to the other at the end of the road topresent the opposite end each time to the front, the mechanism shown in the other views being adapted for cars that are switched by a 0 turn-table to present the same end forward. Fig. 8 is an elevation in cross-section taken at the line a: m, Fig. 7.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

This improvement may be said to consist, principally, of a continuously-rotating shaft giving motion to a spur-gear, which constitutes the prime mover, and two sets of mechanism,of which,one being connected to or with the indicator-box mechanism, is thrown into and out of engagement with the prime mover by the other set of mechanism. The continuously-rotating shaft is driven by being connected with one axle of the running-gear of the car, and the mechanism which starts the movements or throws the indicator-operating mechanism into engagement with the said shaft is itself acted on by fixed stopsor projections in the roadway.

A and B are two sprocket-wheels, one fixed on an axle of one of the trucks and the other on the shaft 0, which thus receives rotation continuously from the axle by the drive-chain D. The shaft and other parts of the mechanism are mounted in a frame, W, that is secured to the car-floor underneath the seat where sufficient room is generally to be had, and the drive-chain is carried through openings cut in the floor to the axle below.

E E are two bars furnished with gear-tooth 7o portions at one end and with ratchettooth portions 6 e at the oppositeend to engage, respectively, with the spur-gear F on the shaft 0 and the two ratchetwheels P P on the shaft N at the opposite end of the frame. The 7 ratchet-tooth portions 6 0 are set into the wheels I and kept in contact by springs t, one bar above and the other bar beneath its wheel, and one is formed to act the reverse of the other, so that while both bars may receive at difierent times a forward movement in the frame the shaft N will be turned either forward or backward. Thus, if the upper bar is working, the shaft N will turn forward, and if this bar remains at rest and the lower bar receives motion the shaft will turn in the reverse direction. Connection between the shaft N and the indicator-operating mechanism in the box a: above is made by suitable means, such asasprocket-wheel, S, and achain 0 belt, T. The gear-tooth portions of the bars face the spur-gear F on the continuouslydriven shaft, but do not engage the wheel except as they are thrown into it by the levers G GP, and therefore the mechanism stands atrest 5 while the shaft runs with the axle; but as one or the other of the bars is thrown into the gear-wheel F the reciprocating movement of the bar then taking place produces rotation of the sprocket-wheel on'the shaft N, the forward 10o motion of the bar being given by the gearwheel and the backward movement by the spring R in each case.

The levers G are fulcrumed at g and are operated by the partial rotation of an upright rod or shaft, K, that is mounted underneath the car and is turned by contact of its foot L with a wedge-shaped block V, fixed in the roadway and in the path of the projecting foot;

The connection of the shafts or rods'K with the levers G is made by crank-arms 7.: 7;, the connecting-rods I, and arms II, that work through slots cut in the car-floor.

In' the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the following detail views of that mechanism each lever G is connected to its own rod K, and the two rods are fixed side by side at suitable distance apart, each to engage with its own line of stops or wedge-shaped projections. In this case the car presents the same end to the front in its travel on both tracks, and therefore the two rods K K are arranged for alternate operation, one on the tip-track and the other on the return-trip when the car is traveling on the other track. The stops V are suitably set inline in both roadways between the rails, so that the foot L of one red engages the stops and is pressed back by them on one track, but clears those on the other track with which the foot of the other rod, K", comes in contact when the car changes its travel from one track to the other. Thus the lever G, being depressed by the partial rotation of the rod K, throws the bar E into the spur-wheel F; but by movement of the other lever,'G the bar E is broughtinto action and the direction of movement of parts that work the indicator is reversed accordingly.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 is adapted to cars that are turned at the end of the trip to present different ends in different directions of travel, and in those cases of application where the rotation of the axle from which the continuously-driven shaft receives motion is sometimes in one direction and sometimes reversed. In this case the two bars D are placed on opposite sides of the spur-gear F, and the depressing-levers G G being fixed to the same hub have asingle arm, H, from which connection to the crank-arm 7c is made by the red I.

Movement of the crank-arm to the right depresses the lever G Fig. 7, and brings down the bar 13*; but to the left it throws the other lever, G, into action, and thus raises the lower bar, E, to engage the gear-wheel. The two bars pass between spring-fingers M M, that are pivoted at m to a standard on the bedplate of the frame W, just behind the shaft 0, and are held together by springs m in such manner that the inclined faces of the two fingers form a guide for the bar in its backward movement position the bar rests in the space between the inclined faces of the fingers, and when the bar is thrown into the gear F by the lever G the pressure causes the fingers to yield, and the bar slips into the space below theshoulders or catches m which then spring back again into place over the bar and keep it down against the gear during the forward movement. In that arrangement of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7 two sets of fingers are used, for the reason that the two bars E E are on opposite sides of the shaft; but in the construction represented in the other figures the bars are on the same side or above the shaft, and only one set of fingers is required. The position of these fingers or the length of the toothed portions of the bars determines the length of the reciprocation, as it will be seen that when the end of the bar slips out from beneath the catches m" it will be thrown away from gear and will then be immediately returned by the reaction of the springs It. In this movement the bar passes above the shoulders in the space formed by the inclined faces, and is thus guided and brought into position to be again thrown into gear when the lever G is moved. The post Y is placed behind the fingers and in line with the bars to check the backward movement.

The position of the parts given in Figs. 2 to 6, inclusive, shows the bar E thrown into the gear-wheel and about to be moved forward, and the other bar, E resting in the notch or V-shaped space of the fingers, while Figs. 7 and 8 show the two bars out of action. Thislatter position is the one assumed by the bars at all times while the car is running, and the-rods K of the setting mechanism do not meet with a stop in the roadway. The shaft 0 and gear F are therefore the only continuously-running parts.

The spring m, Figs. 3 and 4, is applied to bring the rod K back into position after passing a stop, V, so that the foot L shall stand properly across the line of the next stop. In Fig.4 the foot L is set to meet a stop while the foot L of the other red is shown as turned back by the stop which it has met at that point. It should be noticed that these stops when placed in a cable-road can be located in the cable-tube under the roadway, and the rods K can be set to project into the grip-slot to bring the foot into position. \Vith the mechanism having two rods, K K', one will be set back of the other to extend into the grip-slot and not side by side, as shown in Fig. 2.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure'by Letters Patent, isl 1. The combination, on-a railway-ear, of a suitable indicator-box, a continuously-rotating gear-wheel driven from the car-axle, the rack-bars E E having ratehet-tooth portions 6 e adapted to engage ratchet-wheels on a shaft, N,'connecting chain or belt between the indicator and said shaft, whereby the indicator mechanism is actuated by the movement ICC of said shaft, the levers G G, and mechanism for operating said levers at given points in the travel of the car, consisting of fixed stops in the roadway and a rod or shaft which is moved by contact with said stops and by its movement is adapted to operate the said 1e vers, as hereinbefore described, for operation as set forth.

2. In an indicator-actuating mechanism for railway-cars, fixed stops in the roadway, the setting'levers G,a shaft acted on by said stops, and a connecting-rod extending from said shaft to move the setting-levers, in combination with the continuously-rotating shaft 0, carry-Y ing a gear-wheel, and the reciprocating bars connected with the mechanism of the indicator-box to operate the same by virtue of the movement produced from the engagement of one or the other of said bars with the gear, substantially as described, for operation as set forth.

3. In an automatic mechanism for working indicators in railway-cars, the continuouslyrotating shaft 0, a gear-wheel driven by said shaft, reciprocating bars E E, adapted to be thrown into action with said gear, the ratchetwheels 1? and ratchet-teeth on said bars engaging therewith, and mechanism, substan-.

way and when so operated to set one or the other of said bars into engagement with the continuouslydriven gear for operation, as set forth.

4. In combination with the continuouslyrotating shaft and gear, a rack-bar, E, having a ratchet portion, e, to engage and move a ratchet-wheel, P, on a shaft, N, the settinglever G, connecting -rod between said lever and a rod or shaft, K, beneath the car, a foot or extension, L, on said rod to engage with fixed stops in the roadway, a spring, R, applied to return the rack-bar to position again at the end of the forward movement, and the spring-fingers M, applied for operation as set forth.

5. In an automatic indicator operating mechanism, the combination of the actuating mechanism in the indicator-box with a continuouslyrotating shaft. 0, a chain or belt connecting said shaft with the actuating mechanism in the indicator-box and adapted to be connected with and disconnected from said shaft, and a setting mechanism operated by or from fixed stops in the roadway to throw the said operating mechanism into engagement with the continuousl y-rotatin g shaft, substantially as hereinbefore described, for operation as set forth. 60

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

THOMAS WILLIAM MUNROE. [L 5.] Vitnesses:

C. W. M. SMITH, CHAS. E. KELLY.