US602746A - Street-indicator - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) B. J.

STREET INDICATOR.

No. 602,746. Patented Apr. 19, 1898. v

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Nrrn STATES EDGAR J. HALL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

STREET-INDICATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 602,746, dated April 19, 1898.

Application filed November 3, 1897. Serial No. 657,230. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDGAR J. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improve: ment in Street-Indicators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide an improved device which will indicate automatically the name of the street which a car is approaching, said device being operated by an electric current and clockwork. The current is obtained from a battery carried in the car, but the circuit is closed by a switch controlled by a spur and pawl carried on the trolley wire and pole and which possesses features of novelty hereinafter specifically pointed out and claimed.

Referring to the drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure I shows a front elevation of the frame, dial, and indicator. Fig. II shows a rear elevation of Fig. I. Fig. III is a detail View of the dial and casing, taken along the line III III of Fig. I. Fig. IV is a similar detail view, but taken along the line IV IV of Fig. I. Fig. V is a side elevation of the trolley wire and wheel, showing the switch mechanism for closing the circuit. Fig. VI is an end view of the trolley-wire, showing the spurs hung from the guy-rope, which are adapted to close the switch shown in Fig. V.

1 designates the box or frame in which the device in inclosed.

2 is the glass front or door, which is placed in a suitable frame 3 and hinged to the boX 1 at 4. 5 is a spring-catch to hold the same in place.

6 is a dial on which are placed the numbers or names of streets. This dial is removable and may be reversed, so that the proper order of names may be presented on a return trip. It is held in place by means of a pin 7.

8 is a frame suitably supported in the frame 1, provided with a post 9, to which is attached a coil-spring 10, capable of being wound up by a key in the usual manner.

11, 12, and 13 are a series of gears and pinions of the ordinary construction, which control the movement of the spring 10. 11 is directly attached to this spring and meshes with gear 14, to whose shaft is attached the hand 15.

16 is a battery placed at any convenient part of the car, from one of whose poles the wire 17 leads to a magnet 18.

19 is an armature hung on an arm 20, pivoted to the frame 8 at 21. Its rear end, held depressed by spring 22, engages in a notch in a disk 34, secured to the shaft 35, so that every time the armature 19 is lowered by the magnet 18 this rear end of the arm 20 permits the disk 34 to advance one revolution or a predetermined distance, which, through the medium of gear-wheels 11, 12, and 14 and their pinions, moves the hand 15 one point or onto the dial area indicating the approaching street. a

23 is the trolley-wire, hung from guy-ropes 24, the hangers of which are provided with a spur 25.

26 is the trolley-wheel, and 27 the rod. A plate 28 is attached to this rod and to which is pivoted a pawl 29, so placed as to be depressed by the spur 25.

30 is a contact-plate adapted to complete a circuit on the diffusion and contact of the pawl 29.

31 is a wire leading from the battery 16 to the pawl 29, and 32 is a wire leading from the contact-plate 30 to the magnet 18.

The device operates as follows: As a car approaches a street-crossing the pawl 29, held elevated by a spring 33, strikes the spur 25, which is hung from the guy-ropes 24 at a suitable distance from the said street. This pawl by reason of its coming in contact with the plate 30 completes an electric circuit through the magnet 18. The armature 19 is then depressed, which raises the arm at its rear end and permits the coil-spring to move the series of gear-wheels a sufficient distance to turn the hand to the proper point on the dial 6 to indicate the name of the approaching street.

I have shown the spur as hanging on either side of the trolley-wire 23, as on a return trip the pawl 29 will be on the opposite side to that on which it was on the direct trip. The dial 6 is also provided, as described, with the street or station names in reverse order on the other side and may be changed at the end of the trip by simply opening the front,

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10 controlled by the arm and operated by the gearing, a trolley-Wire provided with a spur, a trolley-rod, a plate mounted on the trolleyrod, a contact-plate and spring-pawl mounted on the rod-plate and connected with the other pole of the battery and with the magnet; sub- 1 5 stantially as described.

EDGAR J. HALL. In presence of- E. S. KNIGHT, N. V. ALEXANDER.

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