US723916A - Safety device for trolley-car fenders. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAR. 3l

D.- P. POWELL SAFETY DEVIE FR TROLLEY CAR FENDERSl M//////f /f/f//MM////f/Ww//f///fr/ A 1 APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

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y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL P. POWELL, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SIMEON W. CANTRIL AND GEORGE L. RICE, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

SAFETY DEVICE VFOR TROELEY-CAR FENDER-S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 723,916, dated March 31,` 1903.

Application led July l5, 1902.

l held raised five to ten inches from the surface, so as to avoid any unevenness in the surface, and when the car is in rapid motion and a person (or other obstruction) comes close in the path of the car the motorman tov avoid running over the person is required to .turn off his switch, drop the fender,' pull back the reverse motor-controller lever, and apply his brake. The nnecessity for-haste and almost simultaneous action of these consecutive operations often gives the motorman great confusion, and hence it is my object to reduce the number of devices necessary to be handled. For this purpose I have connected, as hereinafter described, the reverse motor-controller lever and a trip-lever device or trigger of the fender-dropper, so that a pull on the reversecontroller-lever to reverse the car will also drop the fender.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l representsa portion of the platform 'of a trolleycar, the electric controller-box, a motor-reversing lever thereon, a trip-leverdevice for dropping the car-fender, and a chain connecting the trip dropping-lever device with the motor-reversing lever, the parts in the position when the fender is raised. Eig. 2 shows the fender in side. elevation, its raising and lowering shaft-Winder device in section, and the locking and trip-lever device, the tripping of which is effected by the connection of the latter with the motor-revers-V ing lever, the parts in the position seen in Fig. l.

Referring to Fig. 2, is seen in dotted lines the dropped position of the fender and the trigger or trip device as normally held in contact with the spring-pressed pawl which locks the fender winding-shaft. In this relation it will be noted that both the tri p-lever and Serial No. 115,654. (No model.)

the lever-locking pawl are pivotallyinounted side by side upon the casing of the fender winding-shaft, the upper end of the pawl engaging aratchet-wheel on the shaf t, the pivot of the trip-lever below the pivot of the pawl, and the lower end .of the latter, in engagement'with the lower end of the trip-lever, so

that in the position of the motor-reversing.

lever seen in Fig. 1 the chain has no pull on the trip-lever and that thetwo levers are normally held engaged at their lower ends by the action of the spring which holds the pawl in engagement with theratchet of the wind-4 ing-shaft. The pull of the motor-reversing lever toistop the car therefore will instantly causethe withdrawal "of the pawl from its lockingl engagement with the winding-shaft and allow the fender to drop by its weight.

It will be understood that the controller has the usual electric-motor connections and reversing-lever with its motor connections, and theseiparts being well known in the art their illustration and description is deemed unnecessary, since my invention resides in provision for connecting the fender with the motorreversing lever, whereby the same means b v which the current is reversed to stop the car serves also to unlock the fender.

The fender l may be of any desired construction, but is preferably of the style shown in Patent No. 607,514. Its side bars 2 have slots 3 at their inner extremities through which pins 4 pass, thus pivoting the fender to the underside of the car-platform 5 in such manner thatits front end may be freely raised or lowered.

The device for elevating or raising the front end of the fender consists of the winding- ,shaft 6, revolving freely in a casing 7, which Ais secured to the platform 5 and the dashhoard 8 of the car. The winding-shaft carries near its lower end a drum 9, around which is wound the cable 10 forv supporting the front end of the fender, This cable 10 is secured in eyes 11 at the frontend of the fender and passes up over a pulley 12 upon the front platform and in through openings in the dashboard and casing to the drum. The top of the wind.- ing-shaft is squared, so that a crank-handle may be fitted thereon to turn the shaft and wind the cable l0 around its drum 9 to raise the fender. At the upper end of the shaft is shown the means for lockingit, which consists of a ratchet-wheel 13, splined upon the shaft near its upper end, and a pawl or latch 14, pivoted to the casing at 15 and having its bit 16 normally pressed against the ratchetwheel 13 by the spring 17 to lock the shaft. Below the pivot 15 is pivoted at 18 the trigger or trip-lever 19, which is a long lever or handle, the lower end of which normally bears against the lower end 21 of the pivoted pawl 14, and thereby releases its bit 16 from the shaft-ratchet 13 and permits the shaft to unwind and the fender to drop. A chain or other tiexible connection. 22 is fastened at one end to the top of the trigger 19 and at or near its other end to a hook 23 on the reverse controller-lever 24. The reverse controller-lever normally stands slightly forward, and in such position the chain 22 is drawn tant between it. and the top of the trigger 19, so that when the reverse controller-lever is pulled back it will through the chain also pull out the trigger or trip device, and thereby release the fender and allow it to drop.

lVhile I have shown and described a preferred form ot' winding and locking means l'or the fender, it is obvious that the concention of using the motor-reversing lever as the means by connection therewith of releasing the lock of the fender inthe operation of reversing the car may be carried out by any form of Winder and lock in which the movement of the motor-reversing lever-is caused to release the lock to drop the fender, and I (lo not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise detail and construction.

I claiml. In an electric car, a controller therefor, a motor-reversing lever on said controller, a fender, means for dropping said fender, and a flexile connection between the reversinglever and the fender-dropping means, whereby a pull on the motor-reversing lever will drop the fender, substantially as described.

2. In an electric car, a controller therefor,

a motor-reversing lever for said controller, a fender, a device for raising said fender, a device for locking said fender-raising device, means for releasing said locking device, in combination with a chain connecting said motor-reversing lever and said releasing device whereby the movement of the motor-reversing lever to stop the car will release the lock of the fender-raising device to drop the fender, substantially as described.

3. In an electric car and in combination a pivotally-mounted fender, a Winding-shaft and means connecting it with the fender, a spring-sustained pivoted pawl engaging the Winding-shaft to lock it, a controller, a motor-reversing lever, a trip-lever normally in engagement with one end of the pawl and a connection for the other end of the trip-lever and forthe reversing-lever, for operation in the way stated.

4. In an electric car and in combination a controller therefor, a motor-reversing lever, a fender, a locking device therefor, a trip device for the latter and means connecting the trip device and the motor-reversing lever for operation in the Way stated.

5. In an electric car and in combination, a piVotally-mounted fender, a casing fixed to the car, a Winding-shaft mounted in the casing and having a ratchet-wheel and a cable connecting a winding-drum on the shaft, with the fender, a spring-sustained pawl pivoted on the casing engaging the shaft-ratchet to lock it, a controller, a motor-reversing lever, a trip-lever pivoted on the casing by the side of the pawl having its lower end in engagement with the lower end of the pawl, and a chain connecting the'upper end of the triplever with the motor-reversing lever.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL P. POWELL.

Viitnesses:

A. ROWLAND JOHNSON, WELLS IAT. Moens.

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