US663299A - Switch-operating device for street-railways. - Google Patents

Description

No. 663,299. Patnted Dec. 4, I900.

H. P. uuAn.

SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE F05 STREETRAILWAYS.

(Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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TORNEYS No. 663,299. Patented Dec. 4, I900.

H. P. (lUAD.

SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE FOR STREET RAILWAYS.

(Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.)

4 Sheets Sheet- 2] (No Model.)

INVENTOR W l I 8 I I I l.

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No. 663,299. Patented Dec. 4, I900.

- H. P. QUAD.

SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE FOR STR EET RAILWAYS.

(Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR;

M fl/ A.

WITNESSES;

Patented Dec. 4, I900.

H, P. QUAD. SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE FOR STREET RAILWAYS.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.] (No' Model.)

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Utvtrnn ST TES ATET @twtctet HENRY P. QUAD, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

SWITCH=OPERATING DEVICE FOR STREET-RAILWAYS.

SEEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,299, dated December 4, 1900.

Application filed March 28, 1900. Serial No. 10,431. (No model.)

To ctZZ 11; limit it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY P. QUAD, acitizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch'Operating Devices for Street-Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to characters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invent-ion are to provide a mechanically-operating switch-controlling device for street-railways, to secure a construction in which the operating apparatus is located at one side of the middle of the track and close to the rail and which can therefore be used on underground trolley or cable roads which occupy the center of the track, to provide a switch-operating device which is automatically operated by the approach of the car and without stopping said car, to provide such a device by which the switch can be properly thrown without regard to the position in which it is found bythe approaching car and to thus secure a construction which will not be rendered inoperative by passing vehicles and the like; to obtain cheapness of construction, especially in those parts which are applied to the cars, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which may be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved switch-operating device for street-railways and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts of each of the several views, Figure 1 is a surface view of my improved device in plan. Fig. 2 is a section on line as, Fig. 1, showing the switch tongue shifter more clearly. Fig. 2-3 is an end view of the device as shown in Fig. 1, the railbeing in section. Fig. 4 is a side elevation from the inner side of the rail, the wall of the inclosing case being removed. Fig. 5 is an elevation from the outer side of the rail, the inclosing wall being broken away to expose the parts. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line y, Fig. 4, showing the parts at both the outer and inner sides of the rail in their operative relations. Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-section on linezof Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of a car, showing means attached to the platform thereof for operating the switch-throwing devices. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the same, and Fig. 10 is a front end view.

In said drawings, a indicates one rail of a streetrailway track, and b indicates the switch-tongue of a switch placed in said track. The said rail is of the usual girder construction common in street-railways, having the outer tread-flange a and inner guard-flange a the flange of the car-wheel running in the grooved space between said rail-flanges. At the inner side of the rail a I place a boxlike casing a, lying closely contiguous to the rail and occupying only a small portion of the space between the two rails of the track, so that the center of the track affords aclear space for a cable or underground trolley-wire, if desired. The top of said casing is covered by plate cl, secured in place by bolts d and roughened by depressions (1 as is common in plates exposed to the surface in streets to prevent slipping of horses thereon. The said switch-tongue of the switch is pivoted at one end, as usual, and the other smaller end I) is grasped by the extremity of the shifting-lever c. This switch-tongue-shifting lever 8 extends inwardly from the rail at right angles, passing through a suitable aperture a for that purpose in the gnard fiange of the rail. The other extremity of the said shifting-lever is pivotally connected, as at e, to a horizontal fixed arinf, projecting from an upright shaft g. Said shaft g extends vertically downward through the case 0, having its bearings in the top and bottom of said case, and at the lower end of said shaft is a second fixed arm h, extending toward the side of the casing adjacent to the rail and being at its end pivotally connected, as at h, to a long slide t', adapted to reciprocate longitudinally upon the bottom of the casing c and closely adjacent to the wall thereof next to the rail.

Said slide is provided on its upper side, at or near its middle, With a fixed stop or block 2', adapted to receive pressure at its opposite ends to cause corresponding reciprocation of the slide 2', by means of which the upright shaft g is oscillated and the shifting-lever e swung back and forth to throw the switchtongue as desired. To secure this reciprocation of the slide, I have provided in the treadfiange a of the rail upright pressure-boltsjj, adapted to be depressed by the wheels of a passing car. Said pressure-bolts are arranged in the same rail at different distances from the switch, and one serves to throw the switch open, while the other closes it. Their action and connected parts are closely similar, but for the sake of clearness the following detailed description is confined to the rear pressure-boltj, or the one farthest from the switch, and which effects a closing of the switch in the construction shown to guide the car onto the right-hand branch of the track. Said rear pressure-boltj carries below the flange a of the rail a laterally-projecting pin or stud k, which engages the upper side of the outer end of a crank-arm Z, fixed to a horizontal shaft L, which extends through the web ct of the rail a and into the box-like casing c. To the inner end of said shaft L is fixed a bell-crank lever m, the downwardly-extending arm 19 of.

which is pivoted at the end to a forwardlyextending bar-n, which lies slightly above the slide 71 and is adapted under certain conditions, hereinafter described, to press at its free end against the block t" on the slide. It will thus be seen that as the upright pressure-bolt j farthest from the switch-tongue, or the first one engaged by the car, is depressed the horizontal shaft L will be turned and the lower arm 19 of its bell-crank lever forced to'push the bar it against the block z" and secure a forward movement of the slide. The upright. pressure-bolt] nearest theswitch is in all respectssimilar to the rear onej, just described, and its connected parts have been lettered in the drawings with the same reference-letters, provided with primes. The pushing-bar n, operated by said forward pressure-bolt j, however, extends rearward toward the firstdescribed pushing-bar n to engage the block 2" at its front side and push the slide rearward. Under some conditions the free ends of the two pushing-bars n n overlap upon one another, as will be more fully described.

The pressure-bolts j j are at their lower ends pivotally supported, and thus held in proper vertical alinement upon the outer ends of oppositely extending hinged arms q q, pivoted at their overlappinginner ends upon a common pin g projecting from the web of the rail itself or from an extension g of a bracket-plate q". Said bracket-plate is preferably used, being bolted to the rail and providing at its ends pivotal bearings for the horizontal shafts L L, the apertures in the rail-web being then made large enough to admit the shafts to their positions, with the arms k integral therewith, if desired.

In order to. secure at all times a proper position of the push-bars n n in'relation to the slide 2', so as to secure any movement of the switch-tongue that may be desired,I have pro-' vided in the top of the box-like casing 0 ad justing apparatus next to be described. The top plate cl of said casing c is slotted or provided with apertures 11 and in these apertures are arranged pivoted pressure-pieces of triangular shape pivoted at the smaller end and adapted at the wider end to move up and down in their slots or apertures. Said pivoted pressure-pieces are normally held in an upward position by means of springs u, arranged at their under sides in any suitable manner to accomplish the object, and said pressure-pieces are depressed, when desired, by means of tripping or depressing levers carried upon the car and hereinafter more fully described. Two of said pivoted pressure-pieces, as 'r and s, are arranged in line adjacent to the rail, while a third t is disposed somewhat farther from the rail than the others. Of the two pressure-pieces nearest the rail the rear one 7' engages when dopressed the forward end of a lever 2, pivoted within the casing 0 upon a transverse bolt 3. Said lever, in plan, lies closely adjacent to the bell-crank lever m, which is operated by the pressure-bolt j, and the rear end of the lever 2 is adapted in its upward movement to engage a pin or stud 5, laterally projecting from the rearwardlyextending arm 0 of the bell-crank lever m. Thus as the pressure-piece r is depressed the lever 2 acts upon the bell-crank lever-m, draws the pushbarn backward into operative position behind the block 2', and throws the upright push-boltj upward into position ready to be engaged by the car. At the same time the action just described takes place a liftingbar 4, carried by the lower arm 19 of the bellcrank lever, raises the forward push-bar n, so that when the rear push-bar 'n acts upon the block 1" said block will he slid in underneath the forward push-bar 'n'. Said liftingbar comprises a straight rod lying in plan close beside the push-bars n n, which are directly above the slide 1'. Each of the forward and rear bell-crank levers is provided with one of said lifting-bars, the two lifting-bars extending past one another at the middle of the casing c and lying directly above a raised slideway 6, whose opposite ends are beveled, as at 7. The free ends of the lifting-bars are each provided with a downwardly-extending hook-like projection 8 and also with a pin 9, which projects horizontally beneath the push-bar, which is attached to the opposite bell-crank lever from the one by which the lifting-bar is operated. As, therefore, either lifting-bar is drawn longitudinally by the movement of its bell-crank lever its hooked end 8 slides up the incline 7,

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and the pin 9 thereby raises the push-bar upon the opposite bell-crank lever, so that it cannot engage the block 2'. This action of the lifting-bar takes place simultaneously with the bringing of the corresponding pushing-arm into position behind the block 11, and thus when the pushing-bar is operated to slide the slide t' the block t" is slid in under the opposite raised pushing-bar. This act in turn carries the moving lifting-bar off the raised slideway 6, and the idle pushing-bar then drops loosely upon the block 1" and is free to fall in behind said block when set or adjusted for action by its appropriate pivoted pressure-piece in the top plate d. The forward pressure-piece 3, adjacent to the rail and in line with the rear one 1', acts directly upon the horizontal arm 0 of the bell-crank lever m and is of use only when some such relation of parts exists as is shown in Fig. 4, where it will be seen that by depressing the pressure-piece r the pushing-arm It will be drawn back of the block 2" and the forward pushing-arm it properly raised out of the way; but said rear pushing-arm it cannot drop down behind the block 2" because of the pin 91 on the lifting-bar {11 of the forward bell-crank lever m. Depression of the second pressurepiece 8, however, restores the lifting-rod 41 to idle rearward position and permits the rear pushing-arm n to drop before the car-wheels reach the pressure-boltj. The third pressurepiece if, which is on another line parallel to the rail from the two just described, acts in a manner analogous to the rear one 1 upon a lever 21, pivoted as at 31, and serves to set the forward upright pressure-boltj for engagement by the car.

I have shown and prefer to use such a connection of parts that the right-hand pressurepieces, or those nearest the rail in the drawings, as r and s, are used when the car wishes to keep to the right-hand branch of the track, and the left-hand pressure-piece, or that farthest from the rail in the drawings, as't, is used when turning to the left.

The tripping means upon the car for operating the pressure-pieces r, s, and t, and which are illustrated more particularly in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, consists of a pair of levers 1O 11 for the foot of the motorman, said levers having their working ends connected by cords or chains 12 13, which extend downward through the car-floor to the rear ends of trippinglevers 14 15. Said tripping-levers are pivoted, as at 16, in a framework 17, depending from the bottom of the car, the common pivot 16 working in slotted apertures 141 151 on the levers, whereby slight play of movement longitudinally is obtained. The levers normally stand in idle position with their forward ends inclined downward toward the track, as shown more particularly in Fig. 9, and are held in this position by springs 18. Two tripping-levers are provided, so that one may operate the pressure-pieces nearest the rail,

. as described, and the other may engage those farthest from the rail to turn the car in the opposite direction, as will be understood. Said levers 14 and 15 are also placed in the car far enough ahead of the wheels to permit their proper action on the pivoted pressure-pieces before the wheels reach the upright pressure-bolts to depress them. When one of the foot-levers 10 11 is depressed by the motor-man, the rear end of said trippinglever is drawn forward and upward until said lever stands in a vertical position, when its lower end is adapted to engage the pivoted pressure-piece, before described, upon the top plate cl, the force of the impact being borne by the lower bar 171 of the frame 17.

The slotted apertures 141 151 allow for a slight up-and-down automatic adjustment of the tripping-levers in their vertical position to accommodate the corresponding move ments of the car-body as its weight varies, said levers being held normally downward by the springs 18 to engage the pivoted pressure-pieces. As soon as the foot of the motorman is removed, said springs 18 return the tripping-levers to their normal positions.

The shifting-lever e, which carries the switch-tongue, lies in a groove 10, which opens at the side of the casing c farthest from the rail and permits the escape of water which in time of rain may follow along the grooved car-track and pass through the opening a for the lever e. To further provide for any surplus water, a chamber 11, open at its bottom to the earth, may be formed at the end of the case 0, into which the water may find its way and accumulate to gradually soak away. O

The switch-tongue-shifting lever e is preferably made in sections, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, the object of this being to facilitate the insertion of the lever through the aperture of the guard-rail in assembling the parts. To this end,the straight portion of the lever is connected to the arm f by opposite-curved plates 6 Various slight deviations from the exact construction shown and described may be made in carrying out my invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention; and I do not wish to be limited by any of the positive descriptive terms employed excepting as the state of the art may require.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the switch tongue and rail, of pressure-bolts projecting above the rail-surface and adapted to be depressed by the wheels of a car, means for transmitting the motion of said pressure-bolts to the switchtongue, and independent pressure-pieces adapted to be operated by suitable tripping means on the car to adjust the pressure-bolts for engagement by the car-wheels, substantially as set forth.

2. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the rail and pivoted switchtongue, of vertically-movable bolts adapted to project from the'rail-surface and be engaged by the car-wheels, connecting means whereby depression of said bolts operates the switch-tongue, and means for adjusting said bolts into position to be engaged by the carwheels, said adjusting means being operated by pressure-pieces arranged between the rails and tripping means carried upon the car for engaging said pressure-pieces, substantially as set forth.

3. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the rail and pivoted switchtongue, of pressure-bolts sliding vertically through the surface of the rail, means connected to said pressure-bolts for transmitting their motion when depressed by a passing car to operate the switch-tongue, and means for elevating said pressure-bolts, said means comprising pressurepieces projecting upward between the rails and adapted to be engaged by special tripping means on the car, and levers engaging at one end by said pressure-piece and at the other end acting to raise the pressure-bolts, substantially as set forth.

4. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the rail and pivoted switchtongue, of a shifting-lever grasping the free end of said switch-tongue, an oscillating shaft having one fixed arm pivoted to said lever and a second fixed arm pivoted to a reciproeating slide, said slide, and a stop thereon, opposite pushing-arms, either of which is adapted to engage said stop, horizontal oscillating shafts having downwardly-extending fixed arms pivoted to said pushing-arms and second fixed arms underlying the rail, and pressure-bolts working in the rail and engaging said second fixed arms, substantially as set forth.

5. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the rail and pivoted switchtongue, of pressure-bolts working in said rails, a reciprocating slide lying substantially parallel with the rail and having a stop between said pressure-bolts, pushing-arms extending toward each other from said pressure-bolts, and being adapted to alternately engage at their free ends opposite sides of the said step on the slide, means transmitting motion from the pressure-bolts to the pushing-arms, and means for transmitting the reciprocal movements of the slide to the switch tongue, substantially as set forth.

6. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the rail and pivoted switchtongue, of a shifting-lever grasping the free end of the switch-tongue and extending at substantially right angles thereto, a vertical oscillating shaft having an upper fixed arm pivotally connected to said shifting-lever and a lower fixed arm pivotally connected to a reciprocating slide, said slide, lying substantially parallel to the rail and having a stop projection, opposite pushingarms, one of which is adapted to engage said stop at one end and the other at the other end, oscillatory horizontal shafts having fixed arms pivoted to said pushing-arms and. other fixed arms lying beneath the rail, and pressurebolts working vertically in the rail, and adapted to engage said last-mentioned fixed arms, substantially as set forth.

7. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the rail and pivoted switchtongue, of a shifting-lever, a slide connected to said lever and adapted to be reciprocated, opposite pushing-arms one of which forces the slide in one direction and the other in the opposite direction, pressure bolts working vertically in the rail and being connected to said arms, and means for lifting one pushingarm out of engagement with the slide while the other operates, substantially as set forth.

8. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the reciprocating slide ql, controlling the switchtongue, pushing-arms n, n, actuating said slide and pressure-boltsj,j, connected to said arms and operating the same, of lifting-bars pivoted upon the same pivotal pins with said pushing-arms and each being adapted to raise the opposite pushingarm into inoperative position as the arm with which it is connected is drawn back into operative position, substantially as set forth.

9. In aswitch-operating device, the combination with the switch-tongue, shifting-lever, and reciprocating slide connected thereto, and having a fixed stop, of oppositely'extending pushing-arms lying above said slide and adapted to engage opposite sides of said stop, lifting-bars lying beside said pushingarms and pivoted at their 'outer ends upon the same pins with said pushing-arms, each lifting-bar being longer than its connected pushing-arm and having a lateral pin extending beneath the opposite pushing-arm, pressure-pieces for operating said pushing-arms, and connecting means, substantially as set forth.

10. In a switch-operating device, the combination with the slide 7}, having a fixed stop, of opposite pushing-arms n, n, pivoted at one end and lying above the slide '5, and adapted at their free ends to engage the fixed stop thereon, a raised slideway 6, beside said slide and havinginclined ends, lifting-bars pivoted alongside said pushing-arms and extending in the said direction, each lifting-bar having a lateral pin projecting beneath the opposite pushing-arm and its free end adapted to slide up onto the raised slideway and raise the said opposite pushing arm when the attached pushing-arm is drawn backward into position to engage the slide, and means for operating said pushing-arms, substantially as set forth.

11. Thecombination with the switch tongue and rail, of the shifting-lever e, slide a, coupled to said lever, pushing'arms n, n, for actuating said slide, lifting- bars 4, 41, pivoted upon the same pins with said pushing-arms and acting therewith, pressure bolts 7', 7",

transmitting the downward motion of said pressure-pieces to the said pushing-arms and lifting-bars to restore them to initial position, and tripping means upon the car comprising normally-inclined levers 14:, 15, and footlevers 10, 11, for throwing said inclined levers into vertical position, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of 25 March, 1900.

HENRY P. QUAD. Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, G. B. PITNEY.

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