US470135A - Gottfried meyer - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

G. MEYER. STATION INDICATOR. No. 470,135. Patented Mar. 1, 1892.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT EEICE.

GOTTFRIED MEYER, OF IIORGEN, SVITZERLAND.

STATlONlNDlCAToR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,135, dated March 1, 1892.

Application tiled April 27, 1891. Serial No. 390,598. (No model.) Patented in Switzerland March 20, 1891, No. 3,074; in France March 20, 1891.110. 212,228; in Belgium March 20, 1891, No. 94,225; in Austria-HungaryMarch 20l 1891, No. 14,320 and No. 33,844; in Italy March 31,1891, XXV, 29,326, LVII. 466, and in England April 2, 1891, No. 5,675.

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GOTTERIED MEYER, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, and a resident of Horgen, in Switzerland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Station-indicating Apparatus for Railway-Carriages, (for which l have obtained patents in the following countries: in Great Britain, No. 5,675, dated April 2, 1891; in Switzerland, No. 3,074, dated March 20, 1891; in France, No. 212,228, dated March 20, 1891; in Italy, R. G., XXV, 29,326, R. A., LVII, 466, dated March 31, 1891; in Belgium, No. 94,225, dated March 20, 1891, and in Austria-Hungary. No. 14,320 and No. 33,844, dated March 20, 1891,) of which the following is a specitlcationl Travelers in railway-carriages often iind it impossible to learn in good time and in an unmistakable manner the names of stations through which the train passes either because the names are not exhibited at all or are exhibited indistinctly or because they are only that there is often insufficient time allowed for making the necessary preparations for leaving the carriage. lt often happens, too, that the station at which the traveler desired to alight is passed unobserved.

The object of this invention is to avoid these inconveniences and make traveling in railway-carriages much more comfortable.

. The invention relates to apparatus by means of which after passing a station the name of the next succeeding' station is made known to the occupan-ts of the railway-carriages.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of the indicating apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the operating projections between the rails.

In a frame or box a, tted in one of the walls of the railway-carriage, two drums 1 and 2 are mounted so as to be capable of rotating. These can be revolved by means of the small friction-wheels 5 and 6 in either direction by a small chain-wheel 3, which, with a frictionwheel 4, is fixed upon an axle b, iitted in the side of the carriage. Upon the two drums l and 2 a iiexible band is coiled in such a manner that accordingly as the chain-wheel 3 is turned in one or the other direction the'tlexible band win ds upon the drum l and unwinds from the drum 2, or vice versa. Upon the flexible band the names of the stations upon the line are printed or painted on one side only when the apparatus is fitted at the end of a carriage or on both sides if the apparatus is fitted in the compartment-wall, so as to serve for the occupants of two compartments of a carriage.

By means of mechanism hereinafter described acting upon the chain-wheel 3 the two drums 1 and 2 are at the time of passing or after passing a station rotated, so that the iiexible band is wound upon one drum and unwound from the other to the extent required to exhibit at an opening made in the cover of the frame or box c the name of the following station. The friction-wheels 4, 5, and 6 are provided with india-rubber tires to insure a regular rotation of the drums. The drums 1 and 2 are provided at both ends with friction-wheels, so that after turning a carriage upon a turn-table it is only necessary to reverse the frame or box ct in order that it may still indicate the names correctly.

Under the ioor of the railway-carriage an axle c is provided, upon which a chain-wheel p 7 is ixed intermediately between two ratchet-Y wheels Sand 9. The two ratchet-wheels 8 and 9 are rigidly vconnected with the chainwheel 7 and have ratchet-teeth set in opposite directions. vlith these ratchet-wheels the pawls 10 and 1l engage, projecting one from each extremity of the horizontal arms CZ of the T-lever d c, and are urged by springst' and k against the teeth of the ratchet-wheels. lf the end e of the T-lever d e be moved by passing over the projection fn., Fig. 2, the pawl l0 will rotate the ratchet-wheel 9 and the chain-wheel 7 attached thereto, communicating a movement in the same direction to the` small chain-wheel 3, which is connected by an `endless chain with the chain-wheel 7. If the ende of the T-lever d c be moved in the opposite direction, the pawl l1 and the ratchetwheel 8 come into action, communicating to the chain -wheels 7 and 3 a corresponding movement in the opposite direction.

The effect of the springs g and h is to bring IOO the arm e of the T-lever (l c back to thc vertical position after each operation.

To operate the end cof the T-lever cl e in one or the other direction, I provide a stop n, set between each pair of rails at the forward end of the stat-ion, over which the end e of the T- lever passes, rocking the lever in a direction opposite to that in which the train moves. Every time a carriage fitted with the apparatus hereinbefore described passes such a stop n the drums l and 2 are turned sufciently to exhibit at the longitudinal opening in the frame or box u, the name of the following station. Suppose, for instance, the train arrives from C in the station A, Fig. 3, the end c of the T-lever CZ @will have passed over a stop n when leaving the station C and the indicator therefore shows the name of the station.

At the entrance to the station A there is a stop n for operating the T-lever Cl e of trains passing in the opposite direction from A toward C for indicating the name of the station C. In order to avoid putting the indicating apparatus in motion in trains moving in the direction C A by the stop n at the entrance to the station A, so as to indicate by error the station B before leaving the station A, the stop n is made in two parts a' and n2. These two parts 'n' and n2 can turn on pinsp and q, being normally held by springs in position against stops 0 0, allowing an opening to be made in one direction only. Vhen the end e of the T-lever d e passes the stop n in the direction C A, inasmuch as the springs of the parts 'n' and n2 otter but a feeble resistance and that thelever is sut'liciently maintained by the springs g and h, the parts 'n' and n2 are readily separated in the direction of the small arrows and the lever passes through without operating the indicating mechanism. As the train proceeds, its movestation B.

arriving from B opens the stop n, formed of` the parts n and n2, the indicating apparatus remaining inoperative, 'while in moving in the direction from A toward C the indicating mechanism is operated and the station C is indicated.

For unimportant stations a fixed stop n is sufficient, preferably placed about midway in the station. the next succeeding station is at once indicated, and while the train remains in the station the various indicators show either the station at which the train has arrived or the next succeeding station, according to the position of the carriage vwith regard to the stop n.

That I claim, and desire to secure by lietters Patent of the United States, is-

l. Apparatus for indicating names of stations in railway-carriages, consist-ing of a T- lever held vertically underneath the carriage by springs g h, yielding to allow the T-lcvcr to be vibrated in either direction to operate pawls l0 or 11 for rotating ratchet-Wheels S or 9 to give motion in one or the other direction to a chain-wheel connected by a chain with a chain-wheel 3, upon the axle of which is a friction-wheel to engage with the friction-wh eels 5 and 6 of the drums l and 2, carrying the band upon which thc names of the railwaystations are successively recorded, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A device for operating station-indicating mechanism, consisting of a stop formed in two parts, constituting a barrier, of which the two parts capable of turning upon pins near their extremity open readily in one direction and close by means of springs against stops which prevent them from opening when urged in the opposite direction by the operating-lever of station-indicating apparatus carried upon a moving` train, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof have signedthis speciication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GOTTFRIED MEYER.

'Vitnesses:

EDR. WALDKIRCH, F. HANDENscHILn.

When a carriage passes over it,

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