US388459A - smith - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet L H. W. SMITH.

SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR CABLE STREET RAILROADS. No. 388,459. Patented Aug. 28, 1 888,

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H. W. SMITH. SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR OABLB STREBT'RAILROADSA No. 888,459. Patented Aug. 28, 1888.

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H. W. SMITH. SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR CABLE STREET RAILROADS.

No. 388,459! Patented Aug. 28, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

HENRY W. SMITH, on 'ST. LOUIS, Mrssonnr.

SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR CABLE STREET-RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming art of Letters Patent No.,388,459, dated August 28, 1888.

Application filed January 19, 1888. Serial No. 261,271.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY W. SMITH, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Signaling Apparatus for Cable Street- Railroads, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Myinvention relates toimproved means of signaling on cable street-railroads, whereby a car on arriving at and passing a certain point on the track causes a signal or notification thereof to be transmitted to the gripman of another car on the arrival of the latterat a corresponding point on a cross-track and at the same time warns pedestrians and drivers of vehicles of the approach of the signalingcar to the crossing, thereby avoiding the danger of collisions.

My invention consists in the application within the respective cable-tunnels of crosstracks at certain distances from a crossing of a series of pivoted spring armsor levers, one of which to each track farthest from the crossing is provided with a locking device, said levers being connected with each other, respectively, by chains or cords passing round and fixed to sheaves or pulleys, in combination with the grip attachment of the dummy car and with a pivoted lever thereon, the whole operating to sound a gong or bell at thecrossing and a gong or hell on the dummy, so that when a car arrives at and passes the levers on either cross-track these levers are thereby vibrated and sound the gong or hell at the crossing, and at the same time the vibration of one of the outer levers farthest from the crossing moves the outer locking arm or lever on the cross track into such position wherein it is automatically locked that on the arrival and passage of a car thereat the gong or bellon its dummy is thereby sounded.

On the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan representing the series of levers and combined mechanism forming part of my improved signaling apparatus as applied within the cable-tunnels; Fig. 2, a transverse section through the tunnel, showing the relative loca- (No model.)

tion through one of the lovers, following line.

1 l in Fig. 7 Fig. 9, a vertical cross-section through the pulleys and gong on line 2 2 in Fig. 1; and Fig. 10, a general plan, on a reduced scale, showing the adaptation of my invention to a double crosstrack, like letters of reference denoting like parts in all the figures.

a I) represent arms or levers of the first order, which are pivoted or fulcrumed horizontally one above the other to a bracket, 0, affixed to the inside of the cabletunnel d at a certain distance from the crossing e. The outer end of the lower arm or lever a,when in its normal position projects at right angles with and somewhat beyond thevertioal plane of the grip attachment f of the dummy-car, where it is held by a spring,g,extending between the inner end of the lover a and the base of the bracket 0. The outer end of the upper arm or lever, b, on the contrary, is normally inclined outward or away from (toward an approaching car) that of the lever a, so as to be clear of the grip attachment f and its appendages, and is retained in such position by a spring, h, similar to 9.

At the crossing 6, within the tunnels d d at their junction,are mounted horizontally in the sense of their rotating two sheaves or pulleys,

ij, (see Figs. 1 and 9,) the pulley i when rotated on its spindle in one direction winding up a spring, k, and in the other direction allowing the spring lc to unwind, andthereby actuate a gong or bell, Z, adjacent thereto, the

other pulley, being loose on its spindle and unaffected by the pulley i; or, in lieu of two pulleys, z and j, as shown, a series of fast and thereabout, with the lever a,and, as in the case of the latter, normally projects slightly beyond the path of the grip attachmentfat right angles, in which position it is constrained by a spring, 0, in a similar manner to the springs g and h, acting on the levers a b.

The arm or lever b, hereinafter termed the locking-lever, is provided with a locking device (see, also, Fig. 8) composed of a bellcrank, p p, which is fnlcrumed on the locking IO lever b, the end portion of its horizontal arm passing through and having easy play within the slotted head or handle of a bolt, q, which is fitted and slides vertically through thelocking-lever I). The lower end of the bolt q is normally constrained against the upper surface of the bracket 0 by a spring, 1*, fixed to the locking-lever b and bearing against the outer edge of the upright arm 1) of the belt crank. In the upper side of the bracket 0 is 20 formed a hole or depression, g, which is located immediately beneath the bolt q when the locking-lever b is at right angles with the path of the grip attachment f.

Within the tunnel d of the crosstrack are 2 5 arranged arms or levers a 91/,With their brackets 0 m, springs g h 0, and locking-lever b at corresponding distances from the crossing c and similar in. all respects to the correspond ing parts above described.

To the inner end of the arm or lever a is attached one end of a chain or cord, 8, which passes round and is fixed to the sheave or pulley a, whence it extends and is attached at its other end to the outer end portion of the lock- 5 ing'lever b, asimilar chain or cord, 8', extending from the inner end of lever to over and fixed to pulleyito the outer end portion of lockinglever 12. To the inner end of arm or lever a is attached one end of a chain or cord, t,

which passes round and is fixed to pulley j, thence coupled to the outer portion of arm or lever a, and from the latter to the upright arm 19 of the bell-crank 11 19 on the locking-lever b, Where its other end is attached. A similar chain or cord, 25, passes from the inner end of arm or lever or around and made fast to pulley 1i, thence to outer portion of arm or lever 12 to the upright arm 1) of bell-crank pp on locking-lever I).

Mounted on its spindle u in suitable bearings, 1), carried by the forward end of the grip attachmentf, is an arm or lever, w, which depends vertically at such a distance from one side of the grip attachmentf that in traveling with the latter its forward edge comes in contact with the end rear edge portion of the locking-lever b (or I), as the case may be) when this is in a position at right angles with the path of the grip attachmentf, as hereinafter more particularly described. On the spindle a of the arm or lever to is fixed a drum or sheave, x, to the circumference of which centrally, at top or in line with the lever w, is attached one end of a chain, cord, or wire, g ,which extends upward above the floor of the dummy,

and is attached at its other end to a springbarrel, 2, for actuating the gong or hell 2, carried on the grip or other convenient place in the car.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The various parts being in their normal positions, as described, and a car approaching the crossing 6 along, say, the track d, as indicated by arrow 1 in Figs. 1 and 7, the forward part of the grip attachmentf strikes the end of the arm or lever a and carries it over horizontally about its fulcrum into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. This causes the cord 8 to be pulled in the direction of arrow 2, par tially rotating pulley i, as arrow 3, thereby winding up spring is and pulling the cords on the other track, (1, in the direction of arrow 4, so as to pull over the locking-lever I), as arrow 5, into a position at right angles with the path of the striking-lever w on the grip attachment of another car which may be approaching that point on the track d, in which position the locking-lever b is locked by the springing of the bolt g of its locking device into the hole therefor in the bracket 0. Simultaneously by the movement of the pulley i the cord 8 on track (Z is pulled, as arrow 6, and throws over the locking-lever b, as arrow 7, into the locked position or at right angles with the path of striking lever w on the grip attachmentf, the cord s on the track d/ falling slack. On the grip attachmentf clearing the lever a the latter is returned by its spring 9 to its original position,and the spring is, being thereby allowed to unwind, sounds the gong or hell Z and returns the pulleyt' to its normal position, thereby tightening cord 8 and slackening cord 8 on track d, and slackening cord 3 while tightening cord 8 on track d. On the arrival of the car at the intermediate arm or lever, n, the grip attachmentf strikes and throws over the lever n into the dotted position, and in so doing pulls upon cord t, as arrow 8, partially rotating pulley j, as arrow 9, and, pulling upon cord t on track (1', as arrow 10, throws over the bell-crank 19 12 so as to withdraw the bolt g from the bracket 0, and so release the locking-lever b. Simultaneously cord t on track d is pulled, as arrow 11, and withdraws the bolt 0 of the locking-lever b, which is thereby also released. On the grip attachmentf clearing lever a the locking-levers b b are returned to their normal positions clear of the paths of the grips by their respective springs hh. Now, by the foregoing arrangements, if a second car should arrive at the locking-lever b on the other track, d, while the first car on the track d is passing between the levers a and n, the locking-lever b,being in the locked position or at right angles to and in the path of the striking-lever w on the grip attachment of this second car, is struck by the striking-lever w, and the latter is thereby vibrated backward, and, partially rotating the drum or sheave a: on its spindle it, pulls down the cord or wire y, so as to wind up the spring-barrel z of the gong or bell z on the dummy. On the strikinglever w clearing the locking-lever b it is returned to its normal position by the release of the spring barrel-z, which in unwinding sounds the gong or bell z and gives warning to the gripman of the approach of the first car on the track d to the crossing c.

The same description will apply to a car approaching the crossing 6 along the track d in advance of a second car along track 11, the operation of the parts being the same in re verse order.

In Fig. 10 the principle is shown extended to a double cross-track, d, the parts applied thereto being the same as those to track d, and the operation thereof transmitted from one to the other by endless bands and pulleys i.

I claim- 1. The combination of an arm or lever having a spring and pivoted to a bracket secured within the tunnel of a cable street-railroad, a chain or cord attached to said lever and to a sheave or pulley, and a spring located between the pulley and a gong or bell,with the grip attachment of a cable-road car, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of two outermost arms or levers having springs and pivoted to a bracket within the tunnel of a cable streetrailroad, one of saidlevers being provided with alocking device, a chain or cord attached to each of said levers and to a sheave or pulley, aspring located between the pulley and a gong or hell, an arm or lever intermediate to the outermost levers and thepulley, and a chain or cord attached to the intermediate lever and to the locking device of one of the outermost levers and attached to a sheave or pulley, with the grip attachment of a cable-road car and with aleverand spindle mounted thereon, said spindle having a drum or sheave from which a cord or wire extends to the spring mechanism of a gong or hell on the dummy, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. i

3. In two cross-tracks of a cable street-railroad, the combination of the outermost arms or levers and intermediate lever and their appendages of one track and the corresponding parts of the other track, chains or cords extending, respectively, between the levers and locking device of one track to those of the other track and secured to intermediate sheaves or pulleys, and a spring locatedbetween one of said pulleys and a gong or bell, with the grip attachment of a cable road car and with a lever and spindle mounted thereon, said spindle having a drum or sheave from which a cord or wire extends to thespring mechanism of a gong or hell on the dummy, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of a lever and spindle mounted on the grip attachment of a cableroad car, said spindle having a drum or sheave from which a cord or wire extends to thespring mechanism of a gong or bell on the car, with a pivoted lever or other intercepting device within the tunnel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 16th day of January, 1888.

HENRY V. SMITH.

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