US500041A - Electric signal - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

G. W. SWARTZ. ELECTRIC SIGNAL. No. 500,041.

Patented June 20, 1893.

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L WW mm ai W W am @j 'me man UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE YV. SWARTZ, OF FLORENCE, ALABAMA.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,041, dated June 20, 1893.

Application filed October 3l, 1892. Serial No. 450,533. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. SWARTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Florence, in the county of Lauderdale and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Electric Signals, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in railway signals to be used on trunk line railroads or electric roads, and it has for its objects among others to provide a cheap, practical and efficient system of signals to be located along the line of roads at stations and switches to enable the employs to know when a switch is misplaced or la train has left a station and is advancing toward another station; a signal or alarm is automatically given to the agent or watchman so that any train coming in the opposite direction may be signaled and detained until the arrival of the train at the station. In like manner when a switch is misplaced from the main track the employs are notified.

The invention has for a further object the location of trains when running in sections one following another; when the first section has passed the contact or circuit closer the alarm is sounded or a signal given at the next station to notify the agent or watchman that the train has passed said station. When the train has passed the circuit closer is released and the circuit broken and the alarm stops but when the neXt section passes the circuit is again closed and the alarm sounds again, and the agent or watchman having noted the first alarm by his watch and noting the time of the second alarm, is enabled to know when the trains are running too close together, and can notify the section of danger or rear end collision and by the danger signals which are arranged to be shown at the tracker located in a conspicuous place where passing trains can see them and note the danger.

The invention as above outlined is capable of application in various forms and While some of those forms are illustrated and will now be described the invention is not restricted thereto in the matter of details of construction.

Other objects and advantages of theinvention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan of a section of track of a line equipped with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view with parts in vertical section showing means for operating a drop slide for a light. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the circuit closing device. Fig. 4 is a like view showing the circuit closer adapted for a switch rail. Fig. 5 is a plan at the switch. Fig. G is a detail of the shoe which is carried by the train for operating the circuit closer.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the seyeral views.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates the main line tracks of known construction, and as seen in Fig. 5 A is a siding and A2 the switch rails, the latter being designed to be operated in any suitable way and the mechanism for actuating the same is therefore not shown.

B are wires connecting one station with another and these wires can be run in any desired manner, along the tracks and fastened to the ties by suitable insulators, or' upon poles, strung upon which are the wires, and the poles arranged as may be most convenient; in Fig. lthe wires are shown as strung upon poles B', but either manner may be adopted according to circumstances or as occasion may require.

D is a circuit closer supported upon a tie in any suitable manner, preferably upon the inside or between the rails, and insulated therefrom by suitable insulation'. This circuit closer comprises a suitable casing of required shape and dimensions, and in its preferred form' is of the construction shown in detail in Fig. 4, there being two contact plates D and D2 the former of which is connected by suitable wire d with the ground and the other connected by suitable wire cl2 with a battery E. These contacts are normally separated and the circuit is broken. The circuit is closed in the following manner: Projecting laterally from the casing of the circuit closer IOO and mounted to slide through anopening therein is a rod E the outer end of which is tapered or beveled as shown and normally held outward by the action of a spring E2 surrounding the rod within the case, being held between the inner wall of the case and a ange, collar or other suitable stop e on the inner end of the rod as seen in Fig. 4. Normallyl this rod is held outward as seen inFig.

4 and out of contact with the plate Dzwhich is consequently held from the plate D and the circuit yis broken, but whena train comes along on the track a shoe or some analogous contrivance upon the locomotive or other part of the train comes in contact with the outer end of the rod E and forces it inward against `the plate D2 and forces the same against the plate D completing the circuit; in the circuit is `included 4a light F and an alarm at the one station and analarm at the next station. In Fig. 1 supposing the train to be going in the directiouof the arrow there Y shown, when the rod E is pushed in thecircuit is completed and a slide is automatically dropped disclosing a red light; `this is accom- `plished in theifollowing manner:

G isa casing within which is arranged `an electro magnet, or it may be more than one,

and upon `a suitable support a red 4light G which at night is `kept lighted. L

`G2 is a slide arranged to slide vertically in suitable guides and normallyheld up so asto hide the' light by the arm I-I of a bellcrank 'lever H pivoted at 71, and havingthe free end of said arm beveled upon -theundersface `a`s seen best in detail at the bottom of Fig. 2and its other arm havinga projection 71,2,the slide having at-its upper end a lateral projectionlg engaged by the said arm II asseen-in Fig.l2 by full linesgthe arm H2 of this `leverbeing normally engaged withthearmature I of the magnet Gr8 which latter is connected with the battery E by suitable wire g. Theother pole of the magnet is connected with the ground by suitable wire g2 and the armature ispivoted'as at g8.

I is a contact held within thecase and con-V nected by wire 'i with 'the alarm I2 which is connected with `the ground by suitable wire i all as shown in Fig. 2. Now as, the circuit is closed the armature is attracted by its magnet and the end thereof is drawn away from the projection of the arm H2 of thebell `crank lever when the Weight of the slide causes it to drop and the `arm'IrI2 of the bell crank lever is caused to engage the contact I and thus `complete the 4circuit through the alarm I2 which may be arranged in any suitable place; thus the light is exposed and the alarm given at the same time. The alarm is preferably arranged at the next station as seen in Fig. l. v

`InFigp I have shown a suitable form of shoe for actuating the rod E; it is'carriedby a suitable rod j working in guides j onja plate .I which is `designed to be secured to the locomotive in any suitable manner, the shoe/.I being rounded in opposite directions so as to operate in the movement of the train in either direction, and is arranged to slide in a horizontal direction when used in connection with the .form of `contact closer above described. A spring'i2 is employed for normally holding the shoe outward to its work.

In single line roads I arrange the parts above described upon each side 0f thetrack as shown in Fig. l, so as to be operated by a train.

moving in eitherdirection.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated amodiied form of contact cl0ser,\working however on the same principle and which may be substituted for the one justtdescribed.` In `this form one of the contact plates `is `in the form of asubstantially U-shapedspring plate K suitably secured upon the` base of the casing and insulated `therefrom by `suitable `insulation 7i;

Yand `being connected with rthe main iline by `wire 7o' as shown in Vsaid -Fig.:3,theothercon tact being formed by the sliding rod E spring pressed by spring E2 and connected withthe' ground bymeans of wire lozall asshown in- Fig. 3. AThe operation is substantially .the sarne asinthe formabove described.; the rod is Vnormally :held :awayi'romthe plate K by Athe spring but when engagedbythe shoe on rthe train it is forced inward, contacting with the plate K and `completing thecircuit when the sam-e resultfoccursiasloefore.

i Modifications inidetail may be resorted .to without departing'fromwthe spirit'of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

i What I claim asnew isy 1. The combination with a signal and a slide for normallylholdingithe same, of apivoted lever having onearm engaging said slide, anelectro magnet, itsrarmature larranged to IOO prevent movement ofisaid leveruntilthe circuit is closed, andaicontact `for engagingithe lever when the circuit is closed, as set forth.

2. The combination .with the slide having a projection at the end, ofa pivotedbellcrank 'lever havingone end beveled to engagesaid 'In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature in presence of two' witnesses.

i GEORGE SWARTZ.

Witnesses:

E. C. CROW, W. T. EUToN.

IIO

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