US462138A

US462138A - Station -indicator

Info

Publication number: US462138A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1891-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1908-10-27

Description

AL|U nu w m. s t e e h S 2 .3.V .w EA NN AD .Km AW -md IIUA T .1b

(No ModeM No. 462,138. Patented Oct. 2'?, v1891.

RSSB m /A/ VEN Tok? @No Model.) 2 sheets-#snm s. J. A. KANEA STATION INDICATOR. No.` 462,138. Patented Oct. 27, 1891.

W/INESSES full, clear,

therefrom and are adapted to Unirse stares `.arent @einen Jenn A. KANE, new JERSEY.

srnrlonannicnron.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,138, dated 4October 27, 12391.

Application tiled February 14, 1891. Serial No. 381,407. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it 11i/ay concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN A. KANE, ot Paterson, in the cenni-yet Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Stationdndicator, of which `the following is a and exact description.

.lhe invention relates to indicators for use on railway-cars for indicating the successive stations along the road, the object being to provide an ciiieient and durable indicator of ihischaracter.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement oi parts, all `as hereinafter specifically described, and defined in the claims.

Reference is to bchad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

in which similar letters of reference indicatev correspondingl parte in all the figures.

Figure l is a front elevation of a stationindicator constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is 'a similar view with the iront or door of the casin g opened and partly broken away. Fig. l is an end view. Fig. et is a broken view of the inside of the hinged door or front of the casing, showing the latch devices therefor. Fig. 5 is a broken plan view thereof. Fig. il is at-ransverse sectional elevation on line 0 6, Fig. Fig. 7 a like View on the line 7 7, Fig. 2, parts being omitted. Fig. S is a like View on line S S, Fig. Q, parts being omitted. lfig. 9 an end elevation of the main operating mechanism or station-tripping devices for automatically operating the indicator. Fig. l0 is a partly sectionalside view of the trip-arm support, and Fig. 11 is a sectional plan view on line Il. ll of Fig. 9.

The casingA ot' the indicator is suitably fitted or formed in a railway-car transversely of the latter, and is formed with a hinged front or door A', having on its inn'er side latch devices l, which are operated `from the knob or handle i3', as hereinafter explained.

Inmthc easeA the main shaft Cof the indicator is suitably jonrnaled, the shaft being` extended at each end beyond the case A and provided with arms r, which extend radially betripped by the arm D, Fig. fl, of the' station-tripping devices, with which each station `along the road isprovided, and by means 4ot' which'a partial of the" arinsjbuttenbloeks rotation is given to the shaft C. On the shaft C the main roller or drnni E is fitted to rotate with said shaft, to whiclr'drnm E is seclred one end of the web F, ot' fabric or any snitable material, bearing the names of the several stations, the rotation of the drum in `response to the movements of its shaft C serving to successively displaythe names ot the several stations at the openingoiy in the front A of the case A. Parallel with the drum E and beneath the same a winding-roller G and a guide` roller ll are jonrnaled, respectively, in brackf ets orstandards g g g and h 7i., the web F being Secured to the wwinding-'roller G, and passing forward over the guide-roller ll to the drinn E. The winding-roller G carries a pinion g2, which meshes with a gear-wheel I, the shaft l ot which is jonrnale'd in thebrackets g g, and to the shaft I one end of a coiled spring Pis secured, its other end being secured to one of said brackets g or to other suitable xed supports. Thus as the drum E is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the spring I2 will be Wound, and when the drinn is rotated in the inverse direction of the arrow the spring tends to take up the slack, winding the web F on the roller G. At the ends of the drum E the same is provided wiilrsquared hubs E', formed, preferably,

with rounded projections or beads e at the angles, and against one face of each of said hubs a spring-acted controlling-head J bears. The heads J are each formed with two arms j, which are' mounted in the brackets jji, secured to and projecting from the opposite faces of the back of the case A, said arms passing tl'irongh apertures in said brackets and th rough apertures a in the case. I Around the armsyl spiral springs j* are wound and normally act to press theheads J against the hubs E of the drum, and on the outer ends ,7" are adj ustably secured, as by washers f', held by pins, which enter suitable apertures in the said arms. Within the bracketsf yokesj, formed similarl y to said brackets, are arranged, the cross'- barsf ol said yokes being operated for the passage therethrough of the arm j. The springsj-i thus abutV at their outer ends against the eross-bars'jl. The yokcsj are supported adjnstably at their inner ends from the case A by boltsj", and by adjusting said bolts the uid yokes maybe moved to give more or less tension to the springs 73. The controllingheads J so arranged serve to arrest the rotary movement of the drum E, limiting its movement to a quarter-revolution.

The arm l) of the automatic trippingmechanism at each station is secured to a square shaft M, which is rounded where it rests in its supporting-brackets M', and is yieldingly maintained in position to permit it to rock slightly by means of a spring, which iscoiled into a loop m', and its ends m2 are extended in opposite directions and are secured to slides m, which are held on'platcs m,secnred to the vertical screw-rods m, which pass through apertures in the bottoms of the hangers M2, wing-nuts m5 or other suitable nuts serving to hold the rods in the a'djusted position. By moving the ends of the spring up or down the desired tension obtained.

In addition tothe main or station tripping devices, an auxiliary hand-operated actuating device is provided for moving the drum E and the web F in either direction. 'lhe auxiliary device is best shown in Fig. S,and comprises a vertically-disposed lever K, which is fulcrumed at 7i'v on the case A, and hooks K', pivoted at about their centers in'the forked upper end of said lever, the hooks being oppositcly arranged. The hooked ends 7c of the hooks K are connected with springs k2, having a tendency to normally maintain said hooks out of engagement with the rounded projections c of the square hub E', and to the opposite ends of said hooks chains or cords K2 are secured and hang freely below the case A in proximity to the lever K.` 'lhus by pulling on either ot' the chains K2 the hooked end of the corresponding hook K is thrown upward into engagement with the adjacent projection e, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8,whereby as the lever K is thrown on its tulcrum the hook l will give a partial rotation to the drum E. If the opposite hook be thrown up and the lever K thrown in the opposite direction, a corresponding movement will be given the drum E. The auxiliary devices thus serve to adjust or actuate the drum and web as desired when it is not required to display the stations in the regular succession.

The names of the stations, such as Grand, are produced on the web F, and the characters and letters St Next are permanently produced on the case, so that when a naine .on the web is presented at the opening the announcement will be read in connection with the permanent characters, thus: Grand St. Next.

In connection with the indicator an alarm mechanism is employed to attract the attention ot' the passengers to the station announced, the alarm being as follows: l'n the periphery of the drum lt, at one end, recesses c are formed and so located that when the drum is at a standstill one of such recesses will be opposite an arm l, Fig. G, carried by hinged block L, which carries on its lower face a contact-plate l', which is arranged in connection with a second contact-plate Z2, such second contact-plate being held to the opposed blocl L', both blocks L L being normally held apart by a spring la. From the contact-plates Z' Zl2 the line-Wires Z4 lead to a battery L2 and electric bell L, the bell in the present instance being carried bythe hinged front A' of the casing. The arrangement of the signal is such that as the drum E is rotated the spring-arm Z is forced from the recess c and acts to throw the hinged block L Vdownward and complete the electric circuit by causing the plates l' Z2' to contact., the circuit being maintained closed until the next succeeding opening is brought opposite the spring-arm l, permitting the blocks L L' to separate and break the circuit.

'lhe latch devices B for the door A', which are best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, are as follows: At each end of the said door, on the inside, latches B2 in the form ofbell-cranks are pivoted and engage by one arm b with catches b2 on the case A, the other arm b' of each catch serving as a stop to limit the movement of said latches. To the arms Z) areconnected wires b3, which extend tti-opposite ends of the lever b4, which is secured tothe spring-acted spindle bi ot' the knob l5', whereby as the said knob is turned both latches B2 will be simultaneonsly disengaged from their respective catches b2 and permit the hinged door to be opened.

By yieldingly mountingr the trip-arms D the necessary resistance is given to the arms c of shaft C, while at the same time all injurious shocks are prevent-ed, the spring-acted controlling-heads J coacting with the yielding trips D to reduce the shock.

`lly providing an auxiliary operating mechanism in addition to the main automatic trips the drum may be rotated at will in either direction, as may be necessary' when the train is not traveling the whole length of the fread, and the stations, therefore, not required to be announced in the regu-lar succession.

llavingthus described my inventio|`1,WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a station-indicator, the operating-arm provided with a horizontal rock-shaft M, having bearings M M', in combination with the springs m', coilcd oppositely at their inner ends around the said shaft, hangers at opposite sides of the shaft provided with vertically-adjustable plates 0r seats, t0v which are secured the oppositely-projeetingouter ends m? of the saidI springs, substantially as set forth.

l 2. The combination, with the bearings M' M', andthe rock-shaft M, mounted therein and having an indicator-operating arm, ot' the hangers M? M2 at opposite sides of the shaft, screwsm', extending upA through the lower ends of the hangers and provided with adj listing-nuts, seats in the hangers connected IOO IIC

anism to one to 4the upper ends of said screws, and the springs fm', eoiled around the said shaft in opposite directions, with their ends m2 oonnected to said seats or plates, substantially as set forth.

3. In a ntzitiondndieetor, the Combination, with the'horizontal rocking shaft having an indieutor-operatingarm projecting therefrom, of a spring1 coiled at shaft and projecting outward at its opposite end from the shaft, and ein adjusting meehside of the shaft, and with whioh the ontwardly-projeoting end of the spring is connected, whereby the tension of the spring may he varied, substantially as set forth.

i. In nnindicator, the combination, with the main drinn having a poiygonnl head provided with lprojections, of the operating-lever li; having two oppositely-projecting hooks K 1i', pivoted between their ends to its upper end ind provided with springs k2, normally holding thorn out of engagement with said head, and zi ehnin. or cord K2, secured to the inner ends of said hooks and extending down within reach of the operator, whereby hy pulling on either cord to throw its hook up into engagement with said head and then rocking V.

its inner end about the,

the lever the druin may he rotated in either direction` substantially es set forth. l W

The combination, with the casing having an opening in its front to expose the naine ofthe station, the drum within the casing provided with operating mechanism and with a polygonal hub or plate, 0f the head J, bearing aga-inst the rear fece of the'hub or plate and provided with arms extending through 'the rear side of the casing at o. a', bearings jy for seid arms, and springs on the said firms pressing said head inward, substantially as set forth. y 6. The combination, with the drum having,r a polygonal hub oir-plate E', ot' the head J, having rearwardly-projecting firms, inner end outer braoketsj'j?, through which said rods pass, yokesjsj Within the seid brackets and :tpertured at their ends for the passage of the arms, the spiral springs pressing the rods inward, and the buffers jij/'4 on the outer ends ot' the rods between their collars L7'5 and the' end ofthe hraoiretjg, substantially as set forth.

JOHN fi. KANE.

Witnessesz,

J. L.' MOAULIFFE, C. SEDGWICK.