US718126A - Automatic railway gate and signal. - Google Patents

Description

No. 718,126. "PATENTED JAN.13,1903. HrHIGGIN.

AUTOMATIG'RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4, 1897. 10 MODEL. nuns-sum 1 W n I 32 I o'ovw m 4272 i5.-

No. 718,126. I PATBNTED JAN. 13,1903.

H. HIGGIN.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL.

* APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 4, 1897.

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Nb. 718,126. PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903.

g H. HIGGIN. AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL;

APPLICATION. FILED AUG. 4, 1897. no MODEL. a SHEETS-SEEM a S Q Q K win wane v l I 'amzwboz Z:4%flblm HENRY mam/v %%M @51 wow W1 v NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY HIGGIN, OF NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,126, dated January 13, 1903.

Application filed August 4, 1897. Serial No. 647,026. (No model.)

To ttZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, HENRY I-IIGGIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newport, in the county of Campbell and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Railway Gates and Signals, of which the following is a speci fication.

My invention relates to the class of railway gates and signals which are designed to be operated by railway-trains as they. approach and depart from crossings; and it is more particularly designed for use in connection with a fluid-pressure track device, a preferred form of which I have shown and described in United States Letters Patent granted me J anuary 4., 1898, numbered 596,591.

The object of my present improvement is to provide an automatic railway-gate which while preventing persons from driving. onto the track after the gate is closed will not lock them in and serve as a death-trap if the gate should close while a team .is on the track or between the gates and to provide improved means for operating the gates and signals; and my invention consists in the parts and combination and arrangement ofparts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partially in section, of the gate; Fig. 2, a section showing the air pumps and exhaustvalve in detail; Fig. 3, a plan showing a crossing equipped with a gate and track device;

Fig. 4., a plan showing a crossing with the fluid-pressure devices differently arranged; Fig. 5, a section showing in detail the exhaustvalve shown in Fig. 4.

A and A represent supporting-posts, one of which is to be placed at each side of a roadway. At its bottom the post A contains a cylinder ct, adapted to serve as a piston-chamber.

B is a piston adapted to reciprocate in the piston-chamber and having an upwardly-extending piston-rod b.

C is a cross-arm extending between the supporting-posts at an elevation from the road sufficient to allow the passage of an ordinary vehicle.

D and D are lever-arms pivoted to crossarm 0 at c and c and having a sliding connection at their inner ends, which may be obtained by means of slots and a pin, as shown at 01. At their outer ends these lever-arms are adapted to slide in longitudinal slots at in the supporting-posts. The lever-arm D is pivotally connected with the piston-rod b at b, so that its outer end must rise and fall with the piston-rod, communicating a like motion to itscompanion lever. Each leverarm, as shown, consists of parallel strips d d Extending longitudinally between these strips is a rail (i E E, &c., are depending arms supported by wheels or rollers e, adapted to travel on the rails d the side walls of the lever-arms and the rail furnishing the runway for the wheels. Chains e are secured to the respective lever-arms at d and connected with the several depending arms, so as to limit the distance by which they may be separated. The idle position of these arms is shown in full lines in Fig. 1, one series of. the arms being bunched at each post, leaving the roadway open for the passage of teams. Upward movementof the piston-rod throws the leverarms into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. Gravity causes the depending arms to run down the rails, the distance to which each arm may travel being limited by the'chains e. The distance between the depending arms when in operative position should be such that neither horse nor driver can pass without striking one or more of the arms; but if the gate should close with a team on the track the arms may be easily brushed aside and the team and its occupants escape.

At the top of the supporting post A is mounted a signal-block F, of any approved construction, having a cylindrical shell f, extending downwardly in the hollow supporting-post A and provided with a pin or lug f, which takes into a spiral groove 19 in the upper part of the piston-rod b. The depending tube f is free to turn in the post, and upward movement of the piston-rod will turn the signal-block in one direction, and downward movement will turn it in the reverse direction.

The piston-rod b carries a rack-bar 17 which meshes with gearing adapted to ring a bell Z, the post being slotted adjacent to the rack-bar to permit the first gear of the train to engage with the rack-bar. It will be seen that movement of the piston-rod will cause the bell to ring, so that an alarm will be sounded whenever any change is to be made or is being made in the position of the gate or signal.

The track device for operating the gate and signals consists of a fixed base-plate G, adjacent to the inner side of one rail of a railway-track, a lever-plate H, movabl y mounted on the base-plate, having its corners next the rail curved. The lever-plate is preferably provided with a raised contact-piece h, having curved end, h and h adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train. The lever-plate is connected by rods h with a piston-rod 1, adapted to actuate a pistonj in a pump-cylinder J, and a plunger-rod K, adapted to work in an exhaustvalve L. The pump-cylinder and the exhaust-valve are connected by a pipe M with the piston-chamber a in the gate-post. The piston-rod I, where it joins the pump-cylinder, is made hollow and provided with a valve 2', adapted to admit air to the cylinder on the return stroke of the piston. The pipe M is provided with a check-valve m, adapted to prevent the return of air to the pump-cylinder. The exhaust-valve consists of a cylinder having at one end a bore, through which the plungerK works, and at the other end a plate Z, having a central bore in which a guide-stem Z works, and portsl adapted to admit air from pipe hi to the exhaust-cylinder. Both ends of the plunger fit snugly in the opening through which they work, so that when the plunger is at its limit of movement in either direction the valve is closed. The shank of the plunger is provided with longitudinal grooves k,which constitute air-passages when the plunger is in an intermediate position. The track device is provided with a spring g, adapted to return the lever-plate, and thereby the piston and plunger, to their normal positions. By changing the relative position of the leverplate and the cylinders the spring may be used to give the operative stroke instead of the return stroke.

It will be seen that when the track device on being struck by the wheel moves toward the air-pump, forcing the piston into the cylinder, the force exerted by the wheel on the track devices is the operative force, and this motion constitutes the operative stroke of the piston. The spring g returns the track device and piston and performs the return or inoperative stroke. Now when the track device and air-pump are so arranged that when the track device is struck it moves away from the air-pump, withdrawing the piston from the inner end of the cylinder. This movement is the inoperative stroke and is performed by the force of contact of the wheel with the track device. As the spring 9 returns the track device and piston it performs the operative stroke. At 1, on the left of Fig. 3, I have shown the device so arranged that the forward stroke is performed by movement of the plate caused by the car-wheels and the return stroke is performed by the spring, while at 2 on the right of the same figure I have shown the reverse movement.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a preferred arrangement of the track devices, air-pumps, and exhaust-valves. Track devices H and H at each side of the crossing, but some distance therefrom, operate air-pumps J and J and an intermediate track device H at or near the crossing operates corresponding exhaust-valves L The exhaust-valves L are connected with the main system of piping, in which check-valves m and m are inserted on each side of the connection. A pipe M connects the part of the main system between the check-valves m and m with the chamber a in the supporting-post. By this arrangement when the air is exhausted from the cylinder at by a train as it passes the crossing only the air in the exhaust-valves, the section of the main system between the checkvalves m and m the cylinder a, and the connecting-pipes between a and the main system is exhausted. This renders the whole system more sensitive, as the air between the checkvalves and the air-pumps on each side of the crossing is never exhausted and its pressure is held in reserve. To operate the gate, the next approaching train merely has to operate the corresponding air-pump a number of times sufficient to produce the requisite pressure in this comparatively small volume contained in the cylinder at and its immediate connections, as mentioned above.

I have shown the check-valves m and m held to their seats by a continuous single spring m but this function may be performed by any of the well known means. The strength of this spring m or other yielding means controls the pressure held in reserve.

The operation is as follows: As a train approaches a crossing its wheels strike the curved end h of the contact-piece h of-the track device, (H, for instance,) being the end away from the crossing, and force the plate forward and inward, thereby actuating the air-pump J to produce pressure in the main system of piping M. When this pressure in the main pipe system M becomes great enough to overcome the resistance of spring m it forces the valve in open, and the compressed air reaches the cylinder at through the pipe M, operating the piston B to close the gate and actuate the signalsF and Z. As the train passes the crossing the track device H is struck by the wheels and operates one of the exhaust-valves L which relieves the pressure behind the piston B, permitting it to drop and return the gate and signals to their inoperative positions. The spring on closes the valve m, when the pressure in the main system M becomes slightly less than its resistance, thus holding so much pressure in reserve for the next operation of the gate. If the operative stroke is imparted by the spring,

the pressure cannot exceed the capacity of the spring; but if the operative stroke is imparted directly by the wheels the pump-cylinder should be provided with a safety-valve.

I claim 1. The combination, in a railway-crossingprotecting apparatus, of a pair of supportingposts; a cross-arm between the posts; leverarms, pivoted to the cross-arm and connected together at their outer ends, one of which works,iat its inner end, in a slot in the adjacent supporting-post; a series of arms depending from the lever-arms; and means, inclosed in the su'pportingpost, for actuating the lever-arm, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, in arailway-crossingprotecting apparatus, of a pair of supportingposts; a cross-arm between the posts; leverarms, pivoted to the cross-arm and connected together at their outer ends, one of which works, at its inner end, in a slot in the adjacent supporting-post; a series of arms depen ding from the lever-arms; a cylinder located in the slotted supporting-post; a piston adapted to Work therein; a piston-stem connected with the piston and with one of the lever-arms; and means for actuating the piston, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a railway-crossingprotecting apparatus, of a pair of supportingposts; a cross-arm between the posts; leverarms, pivoted to the cross-arm and connected together at their outer ends, one of which works, at its inner end, in a slot in the adjacent supporting-post and each of which consists of parallel stripshaving a longitudinal railbetween themgaseries ofdependingarms; rollers connected with the arms and adapted to travel on the longitudinal rails; a chain connected with these arms and adapted to regulate their relative movement; and means inclosed in the supporting-post for actuating thelever, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4:- The combination, in a railway-crossing protecting apparatus, of a gate or signal; a pressure-actuated mechanism for operating the gate or signal; a track device located at some distance from the crossing and adapted to operate an air-pump to produce pressure in a pipe system connected with the pressureactuated mechanism; a track device at or near the crossing; an exhaust adapted to be operated thereby and connected with the main air-pipe; check-valves in the main pipe at each side of the exhaust; and a pipe con nection between the exhausts and the pressure-operated mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, in a railway-crossingprotecting apparatus, of a gate or signal; a pressure-actuated mechanism for operating the gate or signal; track devices located at some distance from the crossing and adapted to produce pressurein apipe system connected with the pressure-actuated mechanism; a track device at or near the crossing; an exhaust adapted to be operated thereby by trains going in either direction and connected with the main air-pipe; check-valves in the main pipe at each side of the exhaust; and a pipe connection between the exhaust and the pressure-actuated mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination in a railway-crossingprotecting apparatus, of supporting-posts A and A; cylinder a; piston B; piston-rod b; rack-bar b on rod Z9; bell Z; gearing actuated by rack-bar Z') to ring bell Z; lever-arms D and D carrying arms E; a connection between one of the arms D or D and piston-rod b; a visual signal F, having a lug and spiral groove connection with piston-rod b, substan tially as and for the purpose set forth.

HENRY HIGGIN.

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