US375326A - Station-indicator - Google Patents

Description

(No Mode'l.) 2 Sheets-'Sheet 1.

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sneek 2. 'I'. W. MUNROE.

STATION INDICATOR.

Patented Dec. 2,0-, 1887 n E E /Q gg 1 e UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

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

STATION-INDICATOR.

SPE CIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent o. 375,326, dated December 20, 1887.

Application filed J u1y'528, 1887. Serial No. $145,573. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, TnoMAs WILLIAM MUN- l certain new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to thefaccompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improved street or station indicator for railway-cars, and it consists in certain novel construction and combination of parts and mechanism, as'hereinafter described, for displaying in successive order a number ofseparate cards or plates bearing the names of the streets along the route, or other matter to be exhibited for the information of passengers, and also in producing an indicator having the names of the streets or stations on separate cards which it exposes to View in regular manner, first in succession in one order, beginning with the first street or statio-n, and then in reverse order, beginning with the card last displayed.

The indicator is adapted to be operated by hand or automatically by mechanism actuated at the desired points in the travel of the car by stops or projections in the roadway.

The nature of my said improvements and the manner in which I proceed to construct and produce an indicator in accordance with my invention are fully explained in the following description, the accompanying drawings being referred to by iigures and letters.

Figure I is a perspective view ofk my improved indicator. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the internal mechanism removed from the box or inclosing-case. Fig. 3 is a view of one of the cards. Fig. 4 is a view with the front of the box removed. Fig. 5 is a side view of the same, taken from the right-hand side of Fig. 4. These two figures (4 and 5) are given on a larger scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate like figures of the drawings. Thecards or plates bearing the matter to be Yexhibited are displayed in succession behind fa view-opening, A2, in the front of the upper 5o contracted part, A', of the case A. They are bar, which is connected to and operated by a rod upon the outside of the indicator. When a card is raised up in front of the sight-opening, it is supported in such position by mechanism which I shall term the cradle,N while the iingers of the elevatorv are caused to descend and bring up another card, and this second rising of the elevator with a card trips the cradle and causes it to discharge the card which it had been holding. The cards discharged from the cradle are deposited by gravity in a second rack or holder that is mechanically brought into position as the cards are exhaustedfrom the other rack, and the operation then continues to exhibit the cards as before, but in reverse order, the'last card exhibited from one rack being the first one raised from the other rack.

The bars B B, pivoted at b to the lower edge of the stationary block A3, one at each side of the case, and the curved spring-arms D D, attached to the rods E E at d e2, constitute one rack, and the other rack is formedin a similar manner from the bars BX B and the curved arms DXrDX.- The outer ends of the bars B B are joined by the link CX to opposite ends of the rocking lever C, that has its pivot at cJ on the side of the case, and there is one of these rocking levers and connections at each side of the rack. The xed center block,

A3, has convex faces terminating in a pointed ridge that extends across the middle of the space from one side to the other and directly below the center of the upper space, A. rIhe free ends of the arms D DX extend upward to a suitable height to guide and afford proper support to the cards, and the upper faces of the bars B are notched, as shown at Zr. By virtue of the inclination given to these bars when the rack is set for operation with the elevator the cards are thrown into a stepped position and the top edge of each card is set IOC a little above the edge of the card in front of it. This brings the slots pp at the top of each card out of line with those of its neighbor, so that the fingers of the elevator, as they move upward againstthe back ofthe innermost card, shall not engage with the card in front.

The free ends of the arms that form the rack have slots d that the elevator-fingers catch into after the last card is raised up, and the next movement of the elevator throws up the empty rack and brings down the filled one on the opposite side of the block A3.

Both racks being connected with the rocking levers C, it will be seen that as one rack is raised by the elevator the other rack is set into position to present the cards to the iingers. rlhe cradles F F swing in under the bottom edge of the card and support it after the fingers leaveit until the neXt card is raised. They are formed of curved springs hung on a rod, f, that is supported from points g gat the sides of the case by arms G G, and they have weights I on the end of rods depending from the centerf, for the purpose of bringing them back into position under the card.

The end of the spring above the center f rests against the front of the card, and when the part below the center, which forms the cradle or rest for the bottom edge of the card, is thrown back by the tripping-wire this upper end of the spring is pressed forward with sufficient force to eject the card and throw it clear of the cradle into the other rack below. The rodf, ou which the cradle swings, is connected with the cross-bar E of the rack below by a rod, K, so that each rack as it is set up or down moves its own cradle accordingly, and the two are brought into position or thrown up out of the way together.

The wire H, attached to the cradle by means of arms H H', has bent ends H)c HX projecting in the path of the arms L2, and these are struck by the rollers m on the outer ends as the arms rise, so that the cradles are thrown back at such time and the card discharged.

As there are two racks employed for operating the cards, there are also two sets of cradles, F FX, each one connected to its rack by a rod, K or KX, and the ends ofthe trippingwire II or H of each set of cradles project from opposite sides toward the center of the space. The arms L2 work through slots T in the case, and, passing around to the back, are secured at M2 to the upright rod M.

L LX are the lingers that seize the cards P by taking into the slots p p. They are fixed to the arms L2, and each set faces toward the rack with whichit works.

In the operation of these parts the prongs or ngers of the elevator as they start from the lowest point in the upward movement bear against the back of the innermost card, and, being in line with the slots p, they catch into these openings and carry up the card until at the highest point of its elevation the bottom edge of the card clears the cradle F F, which then swing in and take the card as the elevator moves down again. The upper end of the card at such time is supported upright by the clips S S, that project from the sides of the case. The elevator continues to bring up a card at each movement until all are exhausted, and then the empty rack is itself brought up in the manner before described, and the opposite rack, iilled with the cards in reverse order, is brought down into position for ac tion. Movement of the bar M at intervals to operate the elevator is produced by suitable mechanism actuated either by hand or from an automatic attachment on the car, after the manner of working automatic indicators, such as stops or fixed projections on the roadway, moving rods or levers with which the rod M is connected. Such means can be readily applied to work my improved indicator by those persons skilled in constructiug'and setting up station-indicating apparatus in cars,and amore detailed description thereof is not necessary to a clear understanding of my present invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a suitable inclosingcase, of the racks or holders pivoted to a eenter piece, the cradles F FX, pivoted above the racks and supported upon pivoted arms which permit them to be elevated, as described, the elevator consisting of a reciprocating rod and fingers borne upon said rod, and separate cards or plates having openings pp, substantially as hereinbefore described, for operation as set forth.

2. In a street or station indicator, the combination of separate cards or plates bearing the names or matter to be displayed, two racks or holders, each of which is pivoted at one end or side to a central support, a cradle for holding a card mounted over each rack, and an elevating device having movement up and down between the racks for elevating the cards one by one to the cradle, in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

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3. In a street or station indicator, a set of indicator cards or plates in which the names or other matter are arranged in order as required for display, in combination with two racks, each of which is pivoted at one end or side to a central support, and an elevating device mounted and operated between the two racks and having ngers or means for taking hold of the cards 011 each side, and a cradle mounted upon and elevated with cach rack, said cradles being pivoted as described and operated by the movements of the elevating de` vice, as set forth.

4. A street or station indicator having separate name-bearing cards or plates, two tilting racks, cach of which is pivoted at one end or side to a central support, a cradle independently pivoted and mounted upon and elevated IZO with each rack, an elevating device provided In testimony that I claim the foregoing I with ngers on each side to take hold of and have hereunto set my hand and seal. raise one .card at a time, a projecting limb or l t t T wireextendingfromthe cradle-supportinto the THOMAS WILLIAM MUBROE' {LS' 5 path of the elevator for tripping the cradle and Witnesses:

ejecting a card, and a Weight to restore the .0. W. M. SMITH, cradle to position, as set forth. CEAS. E. KELLY.

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