US699412A - Device for operating electric lights in railway-carriages from the guard's van. - Google Patents

Description

Patented May 6, I902.

No. 695,4l2.

E. J. PRESTON &. A. B. GILL.

DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELECTRIC LIGHTS IN RAILWAY CARBIAGES FBCIII THE GUARDS VAN.

(Application filed Dec. 8, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED PATENT EDWIN JAMES PRESTON, OF BEOKENHAM, AND ARTHUR BERNARD GILL, OF BLAOKHEATH PARK, ENGLAND.

DEVlCE FOR OPERATING ELECTRIC LIGHTS IN RAILWAY-CARRIAGES FROM THE GUARDS VAN.

SPECIFIGATIQN forming' part of Letters lPatent No. 699,412, dated May 6, 1902.

Application filed December 8, 1899. Serial No. 739,669. (No model.)

.To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWIN J AMES Pans- TON, engineer, residing at Kelsey Cottage, Beckenham and ARTHUR BERNARD GILL, engineer, residing at Glencot, Blackheath Park, in the county of Kent, England, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric- Lighting Systems, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention has the object to switch on or off sets of electric lights without direct mechanical means, and is especially applisolenoid and gear attached thereto for operating the electrically-operated switch. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, also partly in section, of the same apparatus.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The invention is especially desirable in the so-called Stone. system of train-lighting, for which patents have been obtained under No. 602,182, dated April 12, 1898, and No. 617,121, dated January 3, 1899, but is also applicable to other systems of electric lighting.

A, Fig. 1, representsa hand-switch, which is accessible to the guard or person in charge of the lighting system, and B a solenoid or electromagnet.

0 represents the battery or other source of current, which is connected by conductors or wires 1 and 2, contact 3, rotating commutator 4, contact 5, wire 6 to one half of the lamps (marked D) and also by contact 7, 1'0- tating commutator 8, contact 9, wire 10 to the other half of the lamps, (indicated by the let-' ter E,) the circuit being completed by a wire (marked 11) common to the two sets of lamps and by the wire 12 back to the battery. The switch A is also connected to the wire 1 and permits of connection being made with the wire 13 to the solenoid B. The other end of the solenoid-coil is connected by a wire 14: to the wire 12 to the battery. When the solenoid is excited by momentarily connecting the wires 1 and 13, the armature F (see Figs. 2 and 3) of the said solenoid is attracted, and consequently moves.

To the upper end of the core G is attached indirectly or, as shown, directly a suitablyjointed pawl or finger H, which is preferably fitted with a roller I instead of a fixed tooth. This pawl H operates a star or pawl wheel K, which is caused to partially rotate in one direction whenever the armature F is attracted. The armature and core, with the pawl H, is made to move back from the pawl-wheel K after each impulse either by gravity,as shown, or by means of a spring. The pivoted pawl H is also provided with a spring L, which permits of the pawl coming back to the vertical after passing over the next tooth of the pawl-wheel K on its return.

Mounted on the spindle M of the pawl-wheel are the two rotating commutators 4 and 8, both of which have insulated parts, (marked N and 0, respectively,) which insulated parts cover about a quarter of the circumferential area of each switch. These rotating commutators have their contact parts so arranged as made a stroke and moved the pawl-wheel K a quarter of a revolution. The result is that the-current from the battery flows through the wires 1 and 2 by way of contact 3, contact-maker of the commutator 4:, contact 5,

wire 6 to lamps D, and thence by the wires 11 and 12 to the other pole of the battery. A second stroke of the pawl moves the wheel K and its commutators the second quarter of a revolution, the effect of which will be to allow the current to pass by way of the wires 1 and 2, contact 3, contact-maker of the commutator 4, contact 5, and wire 6 to lamps D and also by way of contact 7, contact-maker of the commutator 8, contact 9, and wire 10 to lamps E, and thence by the wires 11 and 12 to the other pole of the battery. A third stroke of the pawl H causes the wheel to make the third quarter of a revolution, and the current will continue to flow through the commutator 8, as just described, to the lamps E; but the insulated portion N of the commutator 4: is now in contact with the contact 5, the result of which is that the lamps D are switched off. A fourth stroke of the pawl H causes the commutator-s to move another quarter of a revolution, the result of which will be that the insulated portion 0 of the commutator Sis now in contact with the contact9 and the insulated portion N of the commutator at is in contact with the contact 3 and no current can pass through either commutator to the lamps. Hence they are cut out. On causing the pawl H to make another stroke the lamps D are again lighted, and so on.

The solenoid, the contacts, and the other parts are suitably put in a box or casing and fixed in or outside of the car, all as found most convenient.

Although we have described our invention as being applicable to one car, it is evident that it (the invention) is equally applicable to a train of cars by providing each car with a solenoid, contacts, and connections, as described, and by connecting the cars together electrically a weak current from the battery or a dynamo on one car sufficing to operate the core of the solenoid and the commutator 011 each car. The dotted lines in Fig. 1 indicate the connections and solenoids diagrammatically for two other cars in addition to the arrangement described and shown for one car. F urther, although we have described an arrangement for permitting one half of the lamps to be switched on, the other half of the lamps to be switched on, the first half of the lamps to be switched off, and finally the remaining half of the lamps to be switched off, it will be apparent that we do not wish to limit ourselves to such a refinement of construction, for it is evident that in many cases, and especially where there is only one lamp for each compartment, (if there be compartments,) that a single simple commutator may be employed and one set of lamps and connections for each car, permitting of switching on and off by one stroke of the pawl, respectively. Finally, there may, on the other hand, be three or more commutators and the necessary apparatus and three or more sets of lamps in each car, if required.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination with the main electric circuit, a plurality of translating devices each arranged in a branch of said main circuit, and a plurality of switches each arranged in and controlling one of said branches, of an electromagnet, a shunt-circuit in which said electromagnet is arranged, a hand-switch arranged in said shunt-circuit and by which the current is controlled which actuates said electromagnet, and mechanism operated by said electromagnet to move said switches to successively close said branches, and also operated by said electromagnet to move said switches to successively open said branches, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN JAMES PRESTON. ARTHUR BERNARD GILL.

Witnesses:

WALTER J. SKERTEN, W. M. HARRIS.

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