US601271A - mckat - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

GL1". MoKAY; ACTUATOR FOR TRAMWAY SWITCHES.

No. 601,271. Patented Mar. 29,1898.

I Inventor, George MrKizy, v

fiflforne 1 a Em UNIT D ST TES PATENT OEEIcE.

GEORGE E. MoKAv, oE BOSTON, MASSAoHuSErrS, ASSIGNOR'OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES H. KENNEDY, OF SAME PLACE."

'SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,271, dated March 29, 1898. Application filed July 3, 1897. Serial No- 643,346. (Ndmodel-l tion of improved means whereby a tramwayswitch can be actuated from the car approaching the same; and my invention for this purpose consists, essentially, of adapting a finger to be impressed upon the track-rail just before the switch is reached by the car, so that it slides along upon the same until it reaches a notch formed in the rail beside the switchtongue. This'it enters, and the car continuing its motion said finger is forced in between the rail side and switch-tongue until the latter is caused to move over to the opposite side of the switch-frog, and the switch is thrown as desired.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation,

partly sectional, of a portion of a street-car, showing my switch-actuator applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a view of the switch and adjacent parts of the track-rail. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a portion of a car and the applied switch-actuator. Fig. 4 is a sectional view at 00 0c in Fig. 3 of the main part of the invention, but upon a larger scale; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the presser-bar.

In the drawings, R indicates the platform and a part of the car-body to which my invention is applied; 7', the dashboard. V is one of the wheels S, the fender-bar of the truck frame, and T the track-rail.

To the front face of the fender-bar S is se-. cured the box 0 vertically above the trackrail. Within this box are pivoted loosely upon the pin cthe two switch-actuators A, so arranged that when oscillated their lower ends touch the track-rail. These actuators are oscillated through the action of the connectingrods g, arms 9 9?, rock-shaft g carrying said arms, and the bars ll, designed to be impressed by the foot of the motorman. There are two of these actuators A, as shown in Fig.

3, one so located as to strike in between the rail and switch-tongue at one side and the other upon the opposite sideof said tongue in order to throw the switch in either direction; To economize space, one of the shafts g is made tubular and mounted upon the other shaft, as shown in Fig. 3, and the arrangement of the two presser-bars H and the actuators A is such that pressure upon the left-hand rod shifts the switch'to the Side that will direct the car to the left-hand track, and vice versa.

The actuators A being depressed into con tact with the track-rail by the pressure of the motormans foot, I furnish the spring-arms E for returning them to their normal position; but this is a part only of the function of said springs. Their other duty is to hold the ac t'uators with their lower ends I in the proper vertical planes over the track-rail, for since the actuators are loosely pivoted upon the pin a in order to permit of the requisite lateral play in throwing the switch it is very neces= sary that their working ends be held in their normal position with a yielding pressure.- To limit the backward oscillation of the actuators, I supply the adjustable abutments D, as shown in Fig. 4, which need be nothing more than bolts 01' screws.

One great objection to automatic switchthrowers hasbeen that in case the switch-frog has become more or less clogged with dirt or gravel it is impossible to move the switchtongue entirely over no matter how much power is applied. To remedy this defect, I have devised an automatic or semi-automatic frog-cleaner. This consists of the scraper B, pivotally held between the actuators and of course just above the track-groove. By means of the connecting-rod Z, arms 1' Z rocking shaft i and rod L the motorman by grasping the eye or handle L and raising said rod can throw said scraper down into the track-groove and remove the accumulations therefrom. In order to press this scraper firmly into that side of the switch-groove to which the switchtongue is to be thrown, since at such point the groove widens out slightly, I have devised the following arrangement: This consists in mounting said scrapers trunnions b in lugs a, projecting from the actuators A. Hence whichever actuator is depressed the scraper is swung over to the opposite side of the railgroove, as shown in Fig. 3. Said scraper is held in its normal position by a spring-arm F, as shown in Fig. 4, and it is retained in its scraping position by means of the notch L of the rod L engaging the edge of the slot through which it passes. In using this scraper the pull-rod L is drawn upward until the former enters the rail-groove, and the notch L engages the confining-slot of said rod and retains it in this position. Then the motorman presses upon the presser-bar II until the actuator A meets the upper surface of the rail. This is done just before a switch is reached, and, as previously described, the downward movement of the actuator has impressed the scraper to the proper side of the groove in the switch-frog to remove whatever accumulations may be therein. So soon, however, as the actuator reaches and sinks into the notcht the bar II moves similarly and brings its cam-face II down into contact with the confining-slot H as indicated in Fig. 5, and pushes the said rod forward. This brings its finger II against the pull-bar L and presses its notch L out of engagement with the supporting-slot edge. The spring-arm F instantly throws the scraper B, thus released, out of the groove of the switch-frog just in time to escape the switclntongue, which is now thrown over by the actuator.

Although I have shown but a single pair of actuators attached to the fender-bar above one track-rail, it will of course be understood that at the opposite end of the said bar above the other rail there must be a duplication of the entire apparatus in order to throw the switch, which may be located in the other rail.

In using this switch-throwing apparatus the motorman rests his foot upon the head of that presser-bar H which is at that side of the bar L toward which he designs the car to be turned. This pressure of the foot causes the actuator A to descend to the track-rail and slide thereon with the motion of the car until the notch 25 is reached. This notch being entered because the weight of the foot is still on the presser-rod II, the forward motion of the car and actuator causes the pointed extremity of the latter to wedge in between the switch-tongue and the notch side and so press said tongue over to the opposite side of the switch-groove. The switch being thus thrown,the advancing wheel follows dutifully in the path made open for it. Should the motorman think there was any probability of the switch being somewhat clogged with dirt, just before he thus impresses the actuator,he pulls upon the barL to throw the scraper B into the trackgroove, as previously described. Although I have shown the said scraper as given its lateral pressure in the track-grooves by means of the actuators, it may be entirely independent of the same and operated through the agency of wholly separate devices. So, also, the actuators are entirely operative unaccompanied by the scraper; but the whole combined, as illustrated, gives the most practical results.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows, to wit:

1. The combination with the switch-frog and the switch-tongue therein said switchfrog being formed with notches one at each side of the switch-tongue and at an intermediate point of its length, of the actuator comprising the pivoted bar and means for swinging its lower extremity down upon the trackrail along which it slides as the car progresses until it sinks into one of said notches and throws the switch, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with the switch-frog and the switch-tongue therein, said switchfrog being formed with notches one at each side of the switch-tongue and at an intermediate point of its length, of the switch-actuator comprising the centrally-pivoted bar wedge shaped at its lower extremity and means connected to its upper extremity whereby the motorman in charge of the car can swing said lower extremity down upon the face of the track-rail, whereby, as the car progresses, said lower extremity slides along upon the track-rail until one of said notches is reached when it sinks therein and throws the switch, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the switch-actuators,of the scraper adapted to be pressed into the groove of a track-rail, and automatic means for disengaging the same from said groove when either of the actuators begins to throw the switch, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with the switch-actuators, of the scraper adapted to be impressed into the track-rail groove, and means whereby the switch-throwing motion of either actuator shall automatically give a lateral pressure to the working end of said scraper and thereby remove all accumulations of dirt from the side of said groove toward which the switch-tongue is being thrown, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of the pivoted actuators, the scraper pivoted between and to the same but eccentric therewith, and means for oscillating the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a track-scraper, the depressible and laterally-impressible blade, whereby when a rail-groove has been entered by said blade, either side thereof as well as the bottom can be scraped clean of accumulated dirt, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the switch-tongue and notched switch-frog, of the loosely-pivoted actuator oscillatory in the plane of the track-rail, and the spring adapted to both raise said actuator and to retain it in a laterally-central normal plane, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination with the switch-actuators and thesoraper, of the presser-bars for operating the same having the cam-faces, H and the pins, H, the bearing-slots, H for 7 said bars, the pull-rod L, for operatingsaid scraper and having 'the notch, L the confining-slot for said bar, and a spring for normally depressing said rod, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing in- Vention I have hereunto set my hand and seal to this 29th day of June, in the year 1897.

GEORGE F. MCKAY. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

A. B. UPHAM,

CALLER.

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