US471233A - Automatic car-indicator-operating device - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. B. CRANE.

, AUTOMATIC GAR INDICATOR OPERATING DEVICE. No. 471,233. Patented Mar. 22, 1892.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-.-Sheet 2 S. B. CRANE. AUTOMATIC GAR INDICATOR OPERATING DEVIGE.

No. 471,233. Patented Mar. 22, 1892.

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v AUTOMATIC OAR INDIOATOR OPERATING DEVICE. No. 471,233. Patented Mar. 22, 1892.

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(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet -4.

S-. B. CRANE. AUTOMATIG- CAR INDICATOR OPERATING DEVIGE.

No. 471,233. Patented Mar. 22, 1892.

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SYLVANUS B. CRANE, OF OXFORD JUNCTION, IOlVA.

AUTOMATIC CAR- INDICATOR-OPERATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,233, dated March 22, 1892.

Application filed December 2, 1890. Serial No. 373,360 (llo model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SYLVANUS B. CRANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oxford Junction, in the county of Jones and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Automatic Oar-Indicator-Operating Device, of which the following is aspecifioation.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved automatic device for operating car-indicators to indicate to car-passengers the names and numbers of stations or streets on the line of road as the car approaches the same, and at the same time, if desired, to dis play advertisements or other information.

The invention consists in placing between the rails or adjacent thereto of an ordinary railway or tramway a trip or raised surface, which comes in contact with a device suspended from a car while such car is passing over the same, and which device when in contact with such trip or raised surface is elevated, and while in such elevated position causes a gear-wheel or sleeve rotating with the axle of a car to mesh or register with a loose gear-wheel 0r sleeve upon such axle during the period of one revolution of such axle, and which loose gear-wheel or sleeve has combined with it asprocket-wheel or pulley for transmitting power. The suspended device from the car, which comes in contact with the trip or raised surface, is arranged so that after it has passed the trip or raised surface it will by its own weight or other equivalent means withdraw the axle-rotating the gear-wheel or sleeve from meshing or registering with the loose gear-wheel or sleeve upon such axle. The loose gear-wheel or sleeve is further arranged in combination with the axle-rotating gear-wheel or sleeve and a spring-tooth, so that the cogs upon such gear-wheels or sleeve will be forced away from each other or out of gear after one revolution is made by the spring-tooth coming in contact with the projection or tooth on the loose gearwheel or sleeve, even if the suspended device should fail to throw the same out of gear.

The in vention further consists of a sprocketchain, belt, or cable for transmitting power from the gear-wheel or sleeve and its sprocketwheel'or pulley to a sprocket-wheel or pulley upon a shaft which it rotates, which shaft is supported in journal-boxes to the car-body.

The shaft is provided with two loose sprocketwheels or pulleys, each of which wheels or pulleys is provided Withinward-facing hubs or rims having at their respectiveinner ends inward-facing cogs or teeth, and between which upon such shaft is a sleeve arranged to rotate with such shaft and to slide longitudinally thereon, the ends of which are provided with teeth or cogs to register or mesh with the teeth or cogs on such hubs or rims of the sprocketwheels or pulleys when such sleeve is forced against one or the other. Such sleeve is also hinged to the bottom of a pivoted arm or lever, so that the sleeve may by an operative be brought in contact with one or the other of the hubs or rims of the sprocket- Wheels or pulleys upon said shaft and caused to register or mesh with the cogs or teeth therein, as desired. Sprocket-chains, belts, or pulleys are used to transmit power from each sprocket-wheel or pulley on said shaft to corresponding sprocket-Wheels or pulleys upon opposite ends of one or the other class of rollers in an indicator for cars, for which I have made a separate application for Letters Patent, the same having been originally embodied in this application, in which an order has been made for divisionthat is, the rollers which carry the strips indicating the names or numbers of stations or streets, or the rollers which carry the strip indicating advertisements or other information. The power transmitted from each sprocket-wheel or pulley through the medium of its sprocketchain, belt, or cable causes opposite revolution to the respective roller to which such power is conveyed, so that the respective strips move in reverse directions, according to the respective sprocket-wheel or pulley with which the sleeve is caused to register with through the medium of said cogs or teeth, and such reversal of the motion of the rollers and index-strip is accomplished by the operator through the medium of the pivoted arm or lever sliding the sleeve to register or mesh with the cogs or teeth of one or the other of the sprocket-wheels or pulleys upon said shaft.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side view of an ordinary street-car, the wheels being removed, and has also one end of the car broken away to show the appearance of my street-car, and 13 the rail or track.

device when attached to such a car. Fig. 2 is a plan view of my device attached to the carwheel axle. Fig. 3 is a view of a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. a is a view of a cross-section taken on the line X X of Fig. 2. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are views of details of my device. Fig. 8 is a plan view, looking from the under part of a car, the car-body not being shown, of my device as it appears when connected with the car-axles and the bottom of the box carrying the index strips, with the mechanism for transmission of power to opcrate the same; and Fig. 9 is a similar plan view looking from above the axles, the floor of the car and its frame not being shown.

Similar letters and figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

I will now describe what I deem the best mechanical construction for carrying out my invention,.although I wish it understood that modifications and changes may be 111 ado therein without departing from the scope and purpose of my invention.

For the purpose of description I have illustrated my invention as applied to a streetcar propelled by animalpower; but it may be applied to a car propelled by any other power, whether such caris used upon a streetrailway or other railway.

In the drawings, A represents an ordinary In the remaining portion of the description,"whore I use numerals, to avoid confusion I will commence with 10.

10 represents a trip or raised surface, preferably placed bctweenthe rails, of such length and elevation as desired and of such material as shall be suitable. These trips are placed at suitable distances apart an d in street-car lines preferably at the intersection of streets.

11 is a car-axle, which revolves with the car-wheels 12, to which it is attached. 13 is a sleeve over such axle and secured thereto so as to revolve therewith.

11 is a box, rectangularly perforated, as at 15, so that the axle 11 and its sleeve 13 may pass through such perforation, the bottom of said box being extended downward to form the arm 16, which carries the wheel 17 and attached to said box 14 is an arm 18, which is hinged upon the opposite car-wheel axle 19 by means of a loose sleeve 20, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, or it may be hinged to the body of the ear. I prefer to place a loose sleeve 21 around the sleeve 13, the exterior of which is rectangular in form and grooved upon its four sides, as at 22, so that the interior walls of the perforation in the box 14 may ride or slide in such grooves. The end of the box 14: opposite to the arm 18 is provided with a projection 23, extending sidewise, near the outer end of which projection is a vertical perforation 22L, which extends at its top and bottom in an angle, as at 25. Adjacent to the box l-zt and upon its side having the projection sidewise is another sleeve or gearwheel 26, surrounding or upon the sleeve 13, which sleeve or gear-wheel 26 is provided with a longitudinal groove to receive aregistering longitudinal tongue 27 upon the sleeve 13, so as to cause the sleeve or gear-wheel 26 to revolve with the sleeve 13.

The sleeve or gear-wheel 26 is provided at one end with the cogs or teeth 28, and such gear-wheel or sleeve is provided outwardly with a groove 29 to accommodate therein a collar 30, and which collar is attached to an arm 31, which is hinged upon the opposite car-wheel axle 19 by means of a loose sleeve, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, or it may be hinged to the body of the car. The collar is so arranged to permit the sleeve or gearwlseel 26 to rotate therein with the sleeve 13 and the car-wheel axle 11, and such collar being located in the groove 29 will move or slide such gear-wheel or sleeve 26 upon the sleeve 13 by means of a pin 32, which passes through the perforation 21 in the side projection 23 of the box 14:. It will be seen that when the box 11 drops down by its own weight sothat its wheel 17 reaches its lowest position the pin 32 will occupy a position in the perforation 25, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and which causes the sleeve or gear-wheel 26 to assume a position close to said box 14:; and it will be further seen that if the wheel 17 and box 14: are elevated or raised from said position it will cause the pin 32 to slide or move so as to occupy that portion of the perforation, as at 2 1, which movement of said pin causes a like movement of the collar 30 and the sleeve or gear-wheel 26, causing them' to occupy a position at a greater distance from said box 11. Attached to the side of the arm 31 is a s 'n'ing-arm 31, which passes through a loop or guide 35, attached to said arm 31, and which spring-arm terminates in aside projection or tooth 36. Another sleeve or gear-wheel 37 surrounds the sleeve 13, an end of which is adjacent to the teeth or cogs 28, and is also provided with registering teeth or cogs 8S and a projection or teeth 39, and its exterior surface is also provided with a groove 40 and also with sprockets 4], while its interior surface is enlarged, as at 12, so as to bear against the collar 43 upon the sleeve 13. The collar ll surrounds the sleeve or gear-wheel 37, being located in the groove 40, and which collar is attached to an arm 41, which is hinged upon the opposite car-wheel axle 10 by means of the loose sleeve 20, or it maybe hinged to the body of the car.

Underneath the arm 41 is attached a spring 15, the free end of which bears against a portion of the exterior surface of the sleeve or gear-wheel 37. The spring 45 is partially shown in Figs. 3 and 9, but is shown in Fig. 8 partially surrounding the sleeve or gear-wheel 37 between the sprocket-s l1 and the collar 414:.

Attached to the side of the arm 41 is a spring 46, the free end of which bears against a collar or projection 47 on the sleeve 13 or axle 11, and exerts a force against such arm to cause the part 42 of the sleeve or gearwheel 37 to bear against the collar 43 on the sleeve 13.

Atthe end of the car-body opposite the axle 11 I secure to such car-body suitable hangers or journal-boxes 48 to support the shaft 49 so that such shaft may rotate, and at one end of such shaft I secure upon it the sprocketwheel 50, so that such wheel will rotate with said shaft. I connect the sprockets 41 upon the sleeve or gear-wheel 37 with said sprocketwheel 50 by an endless sprocket-chain 51, so that the rotary movement of said sleeve or gear-wheel may, through the medium of said sprocket-chain, be transmitted to said sprocket-wheel 50.

On the shaft 49 are two sprocket- wheels 52 and 53, secured so as to prevent longitudinal movement upon said shaft and yet permit rotation on or around the shaft. Each of said wheels upon their inner sides are provided with hubs or rims 54. The ends of such hubs or rims are also notched with teeth or cogs 55. On such shaft between the sprocket- wheels 52 and 53 is a sleeve 56, arranged to rotate only with such shaft, and which also is arranged to slide or move longitudinally upon the shaft, and for such purpose may be provided with a longitudinal groove to receive a registering longitudinal tongue on such shaft in similar manner as described for sleeve or gear-wheel 26, as shown in Fig. 3, the ends of such sleeve being provided with teeth or cogs 57, which register or mesh with the teeth or cogs 55 when thrown in gear. The sprocketwheels 52 and 53 are also provided with a series of perforations 58 through their respective sides, as shown in Fig. 7, and upon each end of the sleeve 56 is an arm 59, (shown in Fig. 5,) which registers with and enters one of the perforations 58 in one of said sprocketwheels when ever an end of the sleeve is thrown in gear with such sprocket-wheel. Alever 60 is hinged at its lower end to the sleeve 56, which lever preferably extends upward through the platform 0 of the car, and is secured to the outside end D of the car by a pin through the perforation 61 in such lever, such lever extending a suitable distance above such perforation to form a handle, so that it may be operated thereby by the operator. The handle of such lever and its attachment by said pin to the outer end of the car are not shown in the drawings, as the construction and method of attachment will be readily understood.

From the description herein given the mode of construction and operation of my device will be readily understood without any further explanation.

I am aware that mechanism has been heretofore described for automatically operating indicators in cars to cause the latter at certain places along the line of railway to dis play names of stations, streets, and otherinformation, and that it has been proposed to place beveled projections centrally or within the trackway at certain points to act upon a roller at the lower end of a vertically-moving rod attached to the car-body for conveying motion to the indicator mechanism. It has also been proposed to pivot a lever to the body of a car, its lower end to be acted upon by a trip at the side of the rail and slide a bar attached at its upper end, such bar being provided with a rack to rotate a pinion, a chain or belt being provided to convey motion from the pinion to the operating mechanism of the indicator. It has also been suggested to suspenda shaft vertically from the car-bod y arranged to rotate, its lower end provided with radially-extending arms to come in contact with lugs or other obstructions to partially rotate the shaft, the upper end of such shaft being provided with horizontal arms or with gearing for transmitting motion to the indicator mechanism. It has also been proposed that a wheel journaled in hinged hangingbrackets from the car-body shall have a segmental portion of its periphery removed and that a wheel on the revolving car-axle shall normally revolve Within such segmental portion cut out, and that by means of a bellcrank lever loosely j ournaled or hinged to the shaft or car-axle coming in contact with a pin in the side of said wheel in said hanging bracket when the lower end of the lever comes in contact with the trip or obstruction in the roadway, the wheel upon the axle and the periphery of the wheel in the hanging brackets are brought in contact and the latter caused to rotate by frictional contact until its segmental portion is again brought in position for the reception of the wheel upon the axle, and by proper mechanism motion is conveyed from said wheel in the hanging brackets to operate mechanism of the indicator, and

it has also been proposed to use double inclines or cams as obstructions, in combination with a tilting lever attached to the body of the car to come in contact with such obstruction for transmitting motion to the indicator mechanism. I do not therefore claim such combinations, broadly.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an automatic car-indicatorroperating device, the combination of the rotating sleeve upon the rotating car-axle, the rectangular box, hinged arm, and Wheel, the trip, the gearrotating wheel on said sleeve, the collar surrounding such gear-wheel, the pin attached to said collar, the hinged arm attached to said collar, the spring-arm and tooth attached to said collar-arm, the combined loose gear and sprocket-wheel upon the sleeve, the tooth 39, the collar surrounding said combined loose gear and sprocket wheel and its hinged arm, .and the lateral spring attached to said lastnamed arm, having its bearing against the projection on the axle-sleeve, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic car indicator-operating device, the combination, with a rotating car- IIO axle and its rotating sleeve, the loose gearwheel on such sleeve, its lateral spring, and means of transmitting motion from said gear-wheel, of the sleeve 21, its exterior rectangular in form and grooved, the rectangular box surrounding the last-named sleeve, arranged to slide vertically in said grooves, the wheel attached to said box, the hinged arm attached to said box, the sidewise-project-ing extension to said box, provided with the vertical and angular connecting perforations or slots therein, the rotating gear-wheel upon said axle-sleeve arranged to slide thereon, the collar surronn din gsaid last-named gear-wheel, its hinged arm,and thepinprojectingfrom said lastnan1ed collar entering the vertical and angular connecting perforations or slots in the sidewise projection of said box, whereby the elevation of said wheel and box causes the rotating geauwheel to slide upon the axlesleeve and mesh with the loose gear-wheel thereon, and vice versa, substantially as de scribed.

3. In an automatic car-indicator-operating device, the combination,witharevolvin g caraxle, its rotating sleeve, the loose gear-wheel on such sleeve, and means for transmission of motion therefrom, of the vertical sliding box provided at its lower end with a wheel, and also having a sidewise-projecting extension with vertical and angular connecting perforations or slots therein, the rotating and sliding gear-wheel upon said axle-sleeve provided with a' pin entering said perforations or slots, whereby when said box is elevated the rotating gear-wheel is caused to slide upon such axle-sleeve and mesh with the loose gearwheel thereon, and the collar surrounding said sliding and rotating gear-wheel and its hinged arm, the spring arm and tooth attached to said collar-arm, and the tooth 39 upon said loose gear-wheel arranged to come in contact with each other and force said gear-wheels apart, substantially as described.

4:. In an automatic car-indicator-opcrating device, in connection with means of transmitting motion from a revolving car-axle to a shaft suspended beneath the car-body, the combination of two sprocket-wheels loosely mounted upon such shaft arranged so as not to slide longitudinally thereon, each provided with inner-facing notched or toothed rims or hubs, the sliding rotating sleeve upon such shaft interposed between said sprocketwheels, the ends of such sleeve notched or toothed to mesh with the notches or teeth in the hubs or rims of said sprocket-wheels, the arms upon said sleeve registering with perforations in the sprocket-wheels, and the lever secured to said sleeve for the purpose of sliding the same on said shaft, substantially as described.

SYLVANUS l3. CRANE.

Witnesses:

H. A. SNYDER, .T. M. EDMUNDS.

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