US390163A - Daniel grant - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

D. GRANT.

RAILWAY CROSSING SIGNAL.

No. 390,163. Patented Sept. 25, 1888.

munumiiiimnmnrmnmm NITE STATES DANIEL GRANT, OF BATH, ONTARIO, CANADA.

RAILWAY=CROSSlNG SlGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,163, dated September 25, 1888.

Application filed February 29, 1888. Serial No. 265,737. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, DANIEL GRANT, of Bath, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signals; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in railway-signals.

The object of my invention is to provide a railway-signal which shall be extremely simple and cheap in construction, effective in operation, and which is especially adapted for use at railwaycrossings forindicating the approach of trains.

A further object is to provide a railway-signal which shall consist of a suitable gong or alarm located at or near a crossing or the like, spring-actuated hammers pivoted to a frame and adapted to strike the gong, a frame socured to the sleepers or ties of the railway, a roek-shaftjournaled in the same and provided with a crank-arm, a chain or rod connecting the hammer with the erank-arm, a dog loosely embracing the rockshaft, and coiled springs embracing the rock-shaft and actuating the dog and the shaft to return them to their normal positions; and my invention further consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, more fully described hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of a railroadtrack, showing the gong or alarm,the hammers to operate the same, connections between the hammers, and the mechanism situated under the track, which is operated by a passing train. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig.

1; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line so 00, Fig. 2.

On the drawings, the referenceletter A indicates a railroadtrackfin which a are the ties or sleepers.

B B represent suitable supporting frames', secured between the ties or sleepers a short distance upon each side, preferably, of the point where a road crosses the railroadtraek; and B Bindicate similar supporting-frames,.placed upon opposite sides of the crossing, preferably about one-quarter of a mile from the same each way. These supporting-frames are located between the sleepers and preferably beneath the rails upon one side of the track only, and said frames are composed of the parallel side bars or pieces, b, which extend the distance between two sleepers, and are secured to the same, so as to be in a plane beneath the rails, one of the side bars of' each frame being secured between the sleepers about midway be tween the rails, and the other parallel side bar being secured to the sleepers outside of the rails, as shown in Fig. 2, and the ends of the side bars or pieces are connected and strengthened by the parallel end bars, I), which extend along the edges of the sleepers. The side bars of each supporting-frame are provided about midway of their length with corresponding horizontal hearings, in which are journaled rock-shafts 0, located beneath the rails, on one side of the track, and the outer end of each rock-shaft is extended beyond the side bar upon the outside of the track and beyond the ends of the sleepers,and is provided with an upwardly extending crank-arm, 0, provided with a vertical series of apertures, for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

A dog, D, is loosely mounted upon the rockshaft upon the side of the rail beneath which the rock-shaft extends, and the dog is composed of a sleeve,which loosely embraces the rock-shaft, and an arm, which extends upwardly from the upper side of the sleeve, and which is provided with a laterally-extending lug or projection, 11, located close beside the inner face of the before-mentioned rail,so that the dog will be depressed by the flanges of the jections upon the sleeve will recede from the lugs on the rockshaft, and the dog will turn freely upon the shaft without operating the same; but when the wheel is going in the opposite direction the dog will be depressed and the shaft will be turned with it by the projections on the sleeve coming in contact with the lugs on the shaft.

A spring, E, is coiled around the rock-shaft between the dog and the inner side bar of the supporting-frame, and one end of said spring is secured to the supporting-frame and its opposite end to the do. Thusit will be readily seen that when the dog is depressed in either direction by a passing car-wheel the instant the wheel passes beyond the dog the spring will return the same to its normal upright po sition.

Another spring, E, is coiled around the roekshaft between the dog and the outer side bar of the supporting-frame, and one end of said spring is secured to the rock-shaft and its opposite end to the supporting-frame, for the purpose of returning the rock-shaft to its normal position after being rotated by the dog, and the amount of rotation of the rock-shaft in one direction is limited and stopped by a lag, e, coming in contact with a projection upon the outer side bar of the supporting-frame.

(l aide-posts F, of a suitable height, are placed alongside of the track, one post being placed near the crank-arm of each rock-shaft, and each of said posts is provided with one or more guide-pulleys, f, as hereinafter set forth.

A post, 11", is firmly secu red in position near the railway-crossing, and supports upon its upper portion a large gong or alarm, G. A cross-bar, G, is secured to the post F below the gong, and upon the opposite ends of said cross-piece the lower ends of bars H are pivoted, so that their upper ends shall have a horizontal swing to and away from said gong, and each of said bars H carries a hammer, J, adapted to strike the alarm when the bars are drawn away from the alarm and suddenly released, each of said bars being connected with one or more springs, 1', adapted to normally hold the hammers in contact with or close to the gon The crank'arm of each roek-shaft is connected with the hammer-bar upon its side of the crossing by means of a rod, chain, or the like, extending along the track and supported by the posts 1* at such a distance above the ground that vehicles can pass beneath it, and so that it will not be affected by snow and ice, and said rod or rods are connected with each rock-shaft upon its side of the gong or alarm by a chain, cord, or the like, 2 secured at one end to the crank-arm and extending up a guidepost, held in place by the guide-pulleys, and secured at its opposite end to the rod connected to the hammerbar. Thus it will be seen that a train coming toward the crossing in one di rection will operate the dog and roekshaft a quarter of a mile or so away, and will thus strike the alarm. some time before it reaches the crossing, and it will then, before reaching the crossing, sound a second alarm by passing over the rock-shaft placed between the crossing and the one a quarter of a mile away, and when the train has passed the crossing it simply passes over the dogs upon the opposite side without striking the alarm, as the dogs are set to operate the rock-shaft only when depressed by a train going toward the crossing.

The stroke of the hammers upon the gong can be regulated by securing the lower end of a chain, i, in an aperture nearer to or farther away from the end of a crank-arm.

It is evident that numerous slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my in vention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the precise construction herein set forth, but consider myself entitled to all such slight changes as fall within the spirit and.

scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. In a railway signal, the combination, with a supporting-frame located beneath the rails, of a roclcshaft journaled in said frame, a dog loosely embracing said rockshaft and extending upward beside a rail and adapted to rotate said shaft when operated in one direction, but to turn loosely on the same when operated in the opposite direction, a coiled spring embracing and secured at one end to the rock-shaft and at its opposite end to the dog to yieldingly hold the same in its normal upright position, an additional coiled spring embracing the rockshaft by which the same is returned to its normal position after being rotated by the dog, and a projection or stop on the rockshaft to limit its rotation in one direction, substantially as described.

2. In a railway-signal, the combination of a suitable frame located on the track, a rockshaft journaled in said frame and connected with and adapted to operate a suitable signal or alarm, a dog mounted on and adapted to operate said shaft, said dog consisting of a sleeve loosely embracing the shaft and provided with laterally-extending projections, and an arm which extends upwardly from the sleeve and isprovidcd with a lateral lug extending to the inner side of a rail and adapted to be depressed by the flange of a car-wheel, lugs projecting from the rock-shaft and adapted to engage said lateral projections on the sleeve of the dog, whereby the dog turns the shaft when operated in one direction, but turns loosely on the shaft when operated in the opposite direction, a spring secured to the dog to yieldingly hold it in its normal upright po- TOO sition, an additional spring secured to the shaft p of said cross-piece on opposite sides ofthe gong, one or more springs yieldingly hold- I5 ing said hammers in their normal position, and connections between each hammer and the crank-arm of a rock-shaft, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affiX my signature in presence of two 20 witnesses.

DANIEL GRANT.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. AYLsWoRTH, J OSEPH D. CLEMENT. V

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