US461156A

US461156A - Car-vestibule and step therefor

Info

Publication number: US461156A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1891-10-13
Anticipated expiration: 1908-10-13

Description

I M l.) 2 sheets-sheet 1;

. A. J. BARBER. GAR VESTIBULE AND STEP THEREFOR.

' No. 461,156. Patented 00t.=13, 1891.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR J. BARBER, or soDUs, NEW YORK.

CAR-VESTIBULE AND STEP THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,156, dated October 13, 1891.

Application filed February 16, 1891. Serial NO. 381602. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- 1

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. BARBER, a

resident of Sodus, in the county of \Vayne the car, havinga series of vertically-movable steps, which when raised shall make a part of the platform-floor and which can be lowered within about a foot of the ground, and which can be raised and lowered, eachstep being always horizontal and within the plane of the side of the car; and it has for its further object to combine steps with a movable door, adapted to close the side of the vestibule when the steps are elevated and to be moved out of the way when the steps are lowered.

The invention consists in the constructions hereinafter described and pointed out.

'In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of the end of a car with the improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 00 0c of Fig. 1. Fig.3 is aperspective view, partly in section, of a detail.

Numeral 1 denotes acustomary spring-buffer or bellows-frame about equal in area to the end of the car and situated outside the rail 2. The car-door is denoted by 3- and the stationary part of the car-platform bye. The coupling-lever and brake-wheel, which ,are both within the vestibule, are indicated, respectively, by 5 and 6. The side doors of the vestibule are indicated by 7 and 7', the former being shown as elevated and the latter lowered.

8 indicates the steps in their lowest position, and 9 denotes similar steps on the opposite side raised to a level with the platformfloor.

Levers for raising and lowering, the steps a link 22.

vers and the inner upper side bars 13 of the step-frame.

14 denotes the lower innerbars of the frames, and 15 and 16 are parallel corresponding outer bars. The tread orhorizontalportion of each step rests upon andis secured to the ends 17 which are pivoted at their upper front and lower rear corners and at each end to the upper and lower bars. The end pieces can conveniently be made of angle-iron.

Each of the side bars has a pivoted section and these four bar-

sections

13, 14', 15, and 16 support the lower step, all the connections being pivoted. The main sections of said bars are pivoted at their upper ends, preferably, on a rod 17, and the lower main sections on a rod 18. Rod 17 is also the fulcrum of lever 10. The short arm 10 of said lever is connectedby a link-19 to an arm 20, rigidly connected to the side bar 14.

21 is a bar fixed to the car, having its foot loosely joined to the foot of the section 14' by The parallel section 16/ is in sirnt lar manner connected to the fixed bar 21 by a link 22'.

The vestibule-doors 7 and 7' arearranged to slide in grooves formed in the end of the car. To their tops are secured cords, cables, or chains 23, which each pass over a pulley 24, which inay'conveniently be arranged in the end of a car, preferablyin the door-jamb. One end of this cord is attached in any suitable manner to the inside car, as by ahook at 25, and passes around a pulley 26 in the end of a rod 27, which latter passes below the carfloor and is loosely secured to the lower or outer end of the bottom section 13' of the step-frame bar. The cord passing around said pulley runs up overpulley 24 and is attached to the door.

The opposite side of the door has a cord running over a pulley 24. and

elevated position, allbut the lowest are in the plane of the platform, and the lowest is suspended immediately below, as shown at the right of Figs. 1 and 2. To lower them, the lever is released from its stop and moved about its fulcrum to the position indicated at the left of said figures. .Thebrace 12, which rigidly connects the lever with thebar 13, makes the latter a part thereof, and it is swung downwardly by the said movement. The arm 10' of said lever during this operation pushes the link: 19 and arm 20, and as the latter is rigidly joined to bar 14. at its pivot 18 it aids in depressing bar 13 by turn ing on said pivot, the two bars being loosely connected by the steps and also connected in similar manner to the parallel bars at the other end of said steps. As each pivot of the main sections of the

bars

13, 14, 15, and 16, when moved,as stated, describesa circle about the pivots 17 and 1.8, respectively, it isobvious that the steps loosely connected therewith will be withdrawn to a certainextent inwardly or under the car, the connections before described being adapted for such effect. The lower or outer step is prevented from moving inwardly by the thrust of the links 22 and 22', connected to the fixed

arms

21 and 21. It will therefore be dropped in a vertical direction, drawing down the

rods

27 and 27 and raising the sliding door through the medium of the cords and pulleys above described. It will be understood that the inward movement of the upper steps independent of the lower is permitted by their loose connection through the medium of the lower pivoted bar-sections. The steps are raised and the door lowered by a reversal of the above described operation. The lever is pulled to the vertical position.- By the two short arms thereof 12 and 10 the

bars

13 and 14 and the corresponding

parallel bars

15 and 16 are moved about

pivots

17 and 18, the upper steps are moved outwardly and up, and the bottom one is also drawn up until they all assume the position shown at the right ofFigs. 1 and 2. The weight of the door will obviously aid the operator in raising and lowering the steps.

Since by my construction the steps on one side at least will usuallybe in the elevated posi-.

tion and form a part of the platform, the area of the latter will thereby be so much extended,

' evenwhcn the steps on the other side are down,

that it is possible to make the fixed part of the platform narrower than usual Without seriously affecting its total capacity. By this means, if desired, four wide steps can be used on each side, as indicated in the drawings, in which each step may be considered as a foot in width, and the lowest one when down fourteen inches from the ground. When both series of steps are raised and locked and the doors lowered, the increase of the area of the platform inclosed in the vestibule, as compared with one of usual size, is very marked.

By this arrangement both the brake-wheel and the coupling-lever are under cover and within the vestibule, and since the latter is extended to the sides of the car and with its buffer-frame reaches to similar parts on an adjoining car, the side walls of the train are made continuous in the same planes, and resistance of air against the end of the car 18 thereby avoided. Air-blasts and dirt are also effectually excluded from the car-doors.

Another advantage of the PIBSGDUIUJPI'OVB- ment is that the steps can be raised and securely inclosed at the proper time to prevent jumping onto the moving train. It also provides means for guiding departing passengers, the steps being let down only upon the proper side.

The levers for raising and lowering th steps can be locked, if desired.

The gist of the invention does not conslst in the particular form of the lever lllustrat ed, nor in a lever of any kind, as other means might be substituted, and the details of the construction may be varied in other directions by mechanical skill, so long as substantially the same principles of operation and construction are employed.

It may be observed that the steps are at all times maintained in a horizontal position, and that they can be used when partially raised, if held in such position by the lever or other means. It is further worthy of notice that the steps are partially or wholly counterbalanced by the door, so that little power is required to move them.

I am aware that steps have been constructed to be raised to the plane of the platform, such construction being described in my patent, No. 382,679. In such prior device, however,

the steps were necessarily moved out beyond the side of the car, and a port-ion of the steps were inverted during the operation of raising and lowering. It is characteristic of my present improvement that the steps are raised directly up within the area of the platform and all of them kept continually horizontal and are adapted for use as. steps at different heights. They are also combined with inclosing doors and a vestibule-platform. Such a platform is not broadly of my invention, but only the construction and combination hereinafter pointed out.

In Patent No. 382,679, granted me May 15, 1888, are described steps which are adapted to be raised to the plane of the platform; but in such operation all of the steps were not kept in horizontal position, whereby they could be used as steps under different vertical adjustments above the lowest position,as in the case with my present construction.

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

1. A car having an inclosed or vestibuled platform of the full width of car, steps'adapted to be raised and secured in the plane of said platform, and a vestibule buffer-frame, also IIO ' 4. A car having a platform as wide as itself and an inclosnre provided with movable doors on the sides and steps adapted to be lowered and kept at all times within the horizontal area of the platform, substantially as set forth.

' In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR J BARBER.

WVitnesses: v

BENJ. R. CATLIN, ARCH. M. CATLIN.