US726512A - Railway signaling device. - Google Patents

Description

No. 726,512. PATENTED APR. 28, 1903.

E. M. CUTTING. Y RAILWAY SIGNALING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

IINTTED STATES PATENT Curios.

EDWIN M. CUTTING, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. W. SLATER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AND H. C. BARNES,

OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

RAELWAY SBGNALING DEVlCE.

PPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent NO. 726,512, dated April 28, 1903.

Application filed August 19, 1902. Serial No. 120,234. (lilo modelJ To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN M. CUTTING, a citizen of the United States, residingin Oakland, county of Alameda, State of Califor- 5 nia, have invented an Improvement in Railway Signaling Devices; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to improvements in to signals for use upon railways and for like purposes and means for operating such signals.

It consists of a stationary disk the upper half of which is colored to indicate a certain condition, as a clear line for trains, and the I5 lowerhalf anothercondition, as danger,and in conjunction therewith movable blinders with means for actuating the same, whereby the blinders may be so moved that one will coincide with the upper part of the stationary :0 disk while the other is concealed, or the other may be made to coincide with the lower half of the stationary disk while the upper half is concealed. In conjunction with these devices are colored glazed segments fixed, respectively, in the upper and lower half of a circular opening made in the stationary disk and a light so fixed with relation to these segments that the color of the exposed segment will be shown at night. In connection with these devices is a mechanism for actuating the blinders simultaneously or in unison, so that one will be moved to expose one portion of thesignal-disk while the other covers the other portion, or the movements may be re- 3 5 versed.

My invention also comprises details of construction, which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l. is a general view showing the exterior of the signal in clear or go-ahead position. Fig. 2 shows the signal in danger or stop position with the inclosing case partially cut away. Fig. 3 is a rear View of the signal with the cover removed, showing the lamp and the mechanism for actuating the blinders. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the operative parts and circuits.

My presentinvention is designed to provide a railwaysignal of that class in which the ensignal shows a full red disk when in the danger or stop position, and the absence of any movable disk indicates the clearor proceed position. By night the indications are a red light for stop or danger and a white light for the proceed or clear position, except on such railroads as have adopted a green light for the clear position, in which case it is necessary to provide some means for moving the green disk in front of the signal-lamp when the clear position is to be indicated. Experiments have shown that the only satisfactory green for nightsignals has been obtained with glass, and as glass is too heavy to be moved by the delicate mechanism of the disk signals it becomes necessary to resort to some other method to obtain the desired results. v

In my invention I employ a stationary disk A, made of any suitable or desired material. Centrally through this disk is made a hole usually about six and one-half inches in diameter,and in the upper half of this hole is fixed a green translucent segment 2 and in the lower half a red translucent segment 3, completing the circle. This disk, with its translucent segments, is fastened rigidly to the frame of the case. Behind these disks and exactly central is placed an ordinary signal-lantern, as 4. The upper half of the disk Ais painted white and the lower half is painted red, the white indicating in the day-time a clear track and the redindicating danger. In order to complete the circle of either white or red, I have shown segments 5 and 6, having arms or attachments by which they are fixed to a shaft '7, so that the half or segment disks project from the shaft at such an angle from each other that one may be brought into position to correspond with the upper or white portion of the stationary disk, while the other will be concealed within the case. The disk which is thus moved up from below to commo plete the circle of the upper or white half of the stationary disk is painted of the same color, so that when in its exposed position it completes the circle of the white disk. The other half or segment disk is painted red, and when this is moved to coincide with the-lower or red half of the stationarydisk it completes the red circle, while the white one is concealed within the case. This serves for daysignals.

It has been found that for night-signals the half or segmental disks of red and green are well suited for the purpose and are readily visible and distinguished when the signallamp behind them is lighted. These signals are correspondingly exposed or uncovered by the movements of the half-disks 5 and 6, as previously described. In order to operate these disks, the shaft 7 has a chain I connected with it through a lever, as at 8, and this chain is wound upon the drum of a small motor, as at 9, or any equivalent actuating device may be used. When the current of electricity is passed through this motor, it will revolve and wind the chain up and turn the shaft, so as move the segments to expose either color of the signal which may be desired. The shaft which carries the disk also has fixed to it the movable part of a circuitbreaker, as 10, and an armature 11.

12 is a high-resistance magnet so located as to attract the armature 11 when the signal has nearly completed its movement toward the clear position. This action is effected by means of the circuit-breaker 10, which causes an electrical current to pass through the magnet 12, and this being thus energized attracts the armature l1 and holds the signal in a clear position with a very small consumption of electrical current.

The two half-disks are so placed that there is always ample weight to cause the signal to assume the danger or stop position by gravitation whenever the electric current is cut off by opening the relay or by any other cause, thus insuring the danger or stop position Whenever such indication should be properly shown.

The signal may be controlled by a trackcircuit relay, an ordinary relay, a railroadtrack-switch circuit-breaker, or by any other method which may be necessary or desirable for any especial occasion.

When armature is in position shown in Fig. 4, the signal being at clear, there is a break in the circuit, as shown at c, leaving, however, a closed circuit through the holdclear magnet 12 and motor 9 in series. This circuit being of high resistance allows but a small current to pass, which will not affect the motor, but will energize the hold-clear magnet, so as to attract its armature l1 sufficiently. This operation will be better understood from the following: The commutator 10 has an insulation at c, and when the brush 0, comes in contact with it by the oscillation of the lever 8 the circuit between the brushes b a is broken to cut out the main flow; but still the same small quantity of current as before is passing through the wires or t, magnetwires 3 7', motor, and the wire m. This current, however, though enough to keep the magnet energized, is not sufficient to run the motor, and the latter stands still. At all other positions throughout the motion of armature 11 a path is closed between brushes a and b by the conducting-segment of commutator, thus short-circuiting the high-resistance path through the magnet 12 and maintaining a direct path through the motor independently of the said magnet. The course of the current in this instance is from battery through the wires n 0, the brush 1), commutatorsegment 10, the brush a, the wire 25, the high-resistance magnet, and the wires 8 and r, the main body of current going to the wire 7 through segment 10 and onto the motor to actuate the latter.

I have herein described and shown a wellknown form of railway-signal and one form of mechanism to actuate the parts; but I do not desire to confine myself to these, since it is necessary to construct the signal to conform to the position and service for which it is designed, and the location and arrangement of the motor and connected parts may be changed without materially altering the character of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.. A signal comprising a stationary opaque disk, the upper half being of one color, and the lower half of another color, a glass mounted in the upper half having a color corresponding in significance to the color of said upper half, and aglass mounted in the lower half having a color corresponding in significance with the color of the lower half, and means for simultaneously concealing one and exposing the other.

2. A signaling device consisting of a sta tionary opaque disk, the upper half being of one color, the lower half of another color, segmental blinders movable in unison so that one of said blinders may be made to cover one of the halves of the stationary disk, while the other blinder is moved to expose the other half, said blinders being colored so that the color of the closed blinder corresponds with the exposed half of the stationary disk of which it forms the continuation.

3. A railway-signal consisting of a stationary opaque disk, the upper half being of one color, the lower half of another color, and each half having a glass mounted therein of a color corresponding in significance to the color of the half in which it is fixed, blinders movable in unison so as to cover one of said colored glasses and expose the other, and mechanism by which said blinders are simultaneously actuated.

4:. Astationary opaque disk, the upper half of which is of one color, the lower half of an- IIO they are fixed at such an angle that one may other color, an upper and a lower movable opaque blinder each in the form of a halfdisk, a common axis orpivot upon which the pair are mounted to move simultaneously so that one will coincide with one half of the stationary disk and cover the other half, each of said blinders having a color corresponding with the half which is left exposed, and of which it forms a continuation.

5. A railway-signal consisting of a stationary disk having the upper and lower halves of different colors, blinders in the form of half-disks and adapted to cover the upper or lower half of the stationary disk and expose the other half, said blinders being colored to form with the exposed half of the stationary be made to coincide and form a continuation with one of the halves of the stationary disk while the other is concealed, an electrical motor and connections whereby said motor acts to turn the shaft and change the position of the blinders, a magnet fixed with relation to the shaft, an armature carried by the shaft, and a means for energizing the magnet whereby the armature is attracted to hold the blinders in safety position, said blinders being balanced to fall by gravitation to the danger position upon the breaking of the circuit.

7. A railway-signal consisting of two stationary and differently colored semidisks having a substantially continuous periphery, in combination with correspondingly-colored blinders mounted in front thereof, and mechanism by which said blinders are actuated in unison to conceal one of the segments and to form with the other a complete disk of a sin gle color.

8. A railway signal consisting of two stationary and differently colored semidisks having a substantially continuous periphery, a central circular opening, one half of which is formed in each disk, glasses fixed in each half having a color corresponding in significance with the segment in which it is fixed, and blinders with mechanism by which they are movable in unison to conceal one and expose the other glass and a light fixed behind the glasses.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWIN M. CUTTING.

Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, JESSIE O. BRODIE.

Images