US761124A

US761124A - Station-indicator.

Info

Publication number: US761124A
Application number: US14353003A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernest K Adams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1903-02-16
Filing date: 1903-02-16
Publication date: 1904-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 1921-05-31

Description

-Nb.'761,124. PATENTED MAY 31, 1904.

- E. K. ADAMS.

STATION INDICATOR.

APPLIOATIOH FILED FEB. 16. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 N0 MODEL.

W/ TNE SSE S:

No. 761,124. PATENTBD MAY 31, .1904. I El KI I STATION INDICATOR. APPLICATION nn]: H3 16. 1 9os.

no MODEL W/ TNE SSE 8:

cm om z INVENTOR Arron/V's) UNITE STATES Patented May 31, 1904.

ERNEST K. ADAMS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,124, dated May 31, 1904.

I Application filed February 16, 1903. Serial No. 143,530. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, ERNEST K. ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

This present invention relates to an apparatus designed for displaying from time to time information of various sorts, such information being conveniently exhibited on the surface of a flexible strip, belt, or canvas.

The present improvements relate more particularly to an apparatus of this character suitable for use as a station-indicator or anapparatus for acquainting railway-car passengers with the successive stations passed by the train while en route.

Said improvements relate especially to such portions of an apparatus of the class specified as are furnished to be manipulated for setting or changing the indications exhibited.

An object of my improvements is to furnish a simple and reliable means for operating station-indicators or other display apparatus of a kindred nature and to furnish supplemental indications to the operator thereof, whereby he may be constantly informed as to the matter displayed on the primary indicator.

The means whereby the actuation of the primary indicator maybe effected may be located at either or both ends of a car and comprises orolinarily a supplemental indicator or device.

These features, together with various others comprised in the present improvements, are set forth in the drawings which accompany the present'specification, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the opposite ends of a car, illustrating the relation between a pair of indicators proper,'one located adjacent to each end of the car, and the device accessible to the guard or conductor for bringing from" either end of the car successive indications on the indicators within into view of the passengers. vational view from a point within the car of an indicator, illustrating the transmitting mechanism set forth in Fig. 1, and which mechanism is interposed between the indica- Fig. 2 is an eletor-actuator and the indicator'prope'r. Fig. 3 is a plan view, upon a somewhat larger scale than either of the preceding figures, illustrating the hand-operable actuator or controller for effecting the step-by-step shifting movement of the primary indicator. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 77 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 illustrates a modified form of transmitting mechanism for operatively connecting the controller or actuator with the indicator proper.

Similar characters'of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

The present apparatus may be said. in a general way to comprise two parts or devices, one ordinarily located within the car and in view of the passengers therein. This is the primary indicator, and by the successive indications appearing thereon and brought in succession into view serves to give timely warning to the passengers of the station or depot next to be reached by the train. While under some circumstances one such indicator located in a conspicuous part of the car may suffice, I will usually under conditions of service such that the car is to run (Without reversing end for end) in opposite directions suitably mount an indicator adjacent to each end 'of the car.

The other portion of the apparatus, and the one in which my improvement resides, is in the nature of an actuator for shifting the primary indicator, thisactuator being located within convenient reach of the guard or conductor, and hence usually such actuator will be accessiblefrom either one or the other of the car-platforms. In fact, each car may be supplied with an actuator at each end, and each actuator may serve to shift both primary indicators. Suitable transmitting devices are interposed between the movable elements of the primary indicator or indicators proper and the actuator or actuators, and the latter will, moreover, comprise ordinarily a supplemental indicator to make known to the person operating the actuator'the particular station indication appearing at each actuation upon the primary indicator or indicators within the car. Said device may be of vabe its construction it will preferably comprise as a feature an indicating means so operating as to make known to the guard, &c., the indication which he may from time to time cause to be brought before the sight-opening of the primary indicator or indicators Within the car. In the form of such means disclosed in the present drawings an actuator or controller is provided intended for direct operation by the conductor or guard and the motion of which is transmitted through suitable transmitting mechanism to the shaft of the primary indicator. e

Referring now in detail to the construction of this illustrated actuator or controller, it comprises a shaft 25, mounted in a casing 26 and-provided with a crank-arm 27, carrying at its outer end a finger-piece 28 for handoperating the shaft. The shaft may be turned in eitherdirection by means. hereinbefore stated, and accordingly as it is turned in one direction or the other the primary indicator is operated in a corresponding direction. It mayhere be premised that in the organization of controller, transmitting mechanism, and primary indicator disclosed a full rotation of the shaft 25 sufiices to impart a full rotation to shaft 20 of the primary indicator. Immediately at the rear of the casing 26 of the controller is a gear-wheel 29, shiftable .about an axis coinciding with the axis of the shaft 25. Upon the outer radial face of this gear-wheel are disposed radially thereof indications corresponding in number to the indications to be displayed by the primary indicator. In fact, the indications marked,

printed, or otherwise applied to the radial face of the gear 29 may be identical with the indicationsto be so displayed. These indications upon the gear-wheel are so disposed as to appear through an opening 30 in the front plate of the casing 26, and for the purpose of causing the sequential order of the indications appearing through the opening 3 to correspond to the order ofthe indication-s appearing before the sight-opening of the primary indicator or indicators within the car (resulting, it is evident, from successive full turns of the shaft 25) a differential-gear mechanism maybe employed. of herein disclosed a fixed gear 31, the plane of which is substantially parallel to the plane of the gear 29,is disposed in proximity thereto, gear 31 being rigidly secured to'the casing 26 by meanssuch,for instance, as pins 32 passing through the hub of the fixed gear and into the boss of .the casing in which the shaft 25 is journaled. The number of teeth upon the shiftable gear 29 differs from the number of teeth upon the fixed gear 31, and the number of teeth which one gear possesses more than the other will depend upon the number of station indications borne by the indication-carrier of the indicating apparatus if the three hundred and sixty degrees of radial face of In the form there-' the shiftable gear be divided into an equal number of angles and along the sides of these angles adjacent stations are marked, or in other words, if it is contemplated that the shiftable gear shall turn at each change of indication through that part of a full turn equal to three hundred and sixty degrees divided by' the number of stations. Thus if the capacity of both the main and supplemental indicators be such as to provide forthe indicating of fortynine stations the difference between the number of teeth of the gear-

wheels

29 and 31 will be such that if the number of teeth in the shiftable gear be divided by the difference a quotient of forty-nine is obtained. Under the conditions assumed a convenient number of teeth for the fixed gear 31 is one hundred teeth and for the shiftable gear 29 ninetyeight teeth.

For causing the shifting of the shiftable gear the proper fraction of a turn at each full rotation of the shaft 25 an orbitally-movable pinion 33, loosely mounted on a stud 330, extending from an arm 34, affixed to the shaft 25, meshes with both the fixed and shiftable gears. As the shaft 25 is turned by the handcrank 27 the pinion 33 rotating about its axis serves to turn the shiftable gear (assuming the absolute number of teeth in the gears to be such as specified) through a distance' equal to two teeth, this distance being sufficient to shift the last-appearing indication away from the sight-opening in the casing 26 and bring the next successive indication opposite-thereto. To assist the operator in fixing the position of the arm or crank 27 corresponding to acomplete rotation of the shaft 25, an opening 35 is made in the arm, and the organization is such that this opening in the arm will register with the opening in the easing when a full rotation shall have been effected. v

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the direction in which the shiftable gear is turned is directly related to the directionin which the arm 27 is swung, or, in other words, the direction in which the shaft 25 is rotated. The present actuator or controller therefore possesses the characteristic that the direction of rotation of the shaft 25 may be reversed by merely reversing the direction in which the arm 27 is moved. There is therefore no necessity in the present construction and organization for interposing between the shaft 25' and the shaft 20 of the primaryindicating apparatus in the car a reversing mechanism, for the direction in which said primary indicator is shifted depends simply upon the direction in which the arm 27 is moved. If, therefore, while en route from one terminal to another a movement of the arm 27 in the direction of the arrow 00 is proper for producing a proper order in the appearance'of the station-indications, then amotion of the arm in the direction of the arrow ,1

cator is shown adjacent to each end of the car, while an actuator is mounted under each bonnet or hood 36 thereof, the primary indi-' cator being attached to a vertical partition or bulkhead 37, while the actuator is mounted upon the vertical side of the car. A transmitting-rod 38 is mounted in suitable bearings, such as 39, and transmits motion through respective pairs of bevel-wheels 4O 41 and 42 48 from each actuator to the shaft 20 of the drive-pinion of the primary indicator located nearest it. Either actuator is rendered effective to operate the drive-pinion of the indicator at the farther end of the car through a shaft 44, having at each end a bevel-wheel 45, likewise meshing with the bevel-wheel 43, attached to the shaft of the indicator drivepinion thereat.

As another instance of an effective driving connection between the actuator and the primary indicator, and which may be preferred under some conditions, Fig. 5 discloses a sprocket-and-chain connection comprising a chain 46, engaging with sprocket-wheels 47 and 48, the former secured to the shaft 25 of the actuator and the latter to the shaft of the primary-indicator drive-pinion.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with an indication-car rier, of an actuator-shaft operatively connected therewith, a supplemental indication-carrier whose axis coincides with the axis of the actuator-shaft, and a differential-gearmechanism for shifting the supplemental carrier.

2. The combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuator operatively connected therewith and comprising an actuator-shaft, a fixed gear, a shiftable gear provided with opening.

indications, and whose axis coincides with the axis of the actuator-shaft, and an orbitallymovable rotatable gear for shifting the shiftalole gear to thereby bring indications into view.

3. The combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuator operatively connected therewith, and comprising an actuator-shaft, a crank for turning the shaft in either direction, a fixed gear, a shiftable gear provided with indications upon its radial face and whose axis coincides with the axis of the actuatorshaft, an arm secured to said shaft, and a gear rotatably mounted upon said arm and meshing with said fixed gear and said shiftable gear. v

4. The combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuator operatively connected therewith, an actuator-casing having a sightopening, an actuator-shaft, a fixed gear, a shiftable gear provided with indications visible through the said sight-opening and whose axis coincides with the axis of the actuator-shaft, an arm attached to said shaft, and a gear rotatable on said arm and meshing with said fixed andlsaid 'shiftable gearfor shifting indications on the shiftable gear into position opposite the sight-opening in the actuatorcasing.

5. In an indicating apparatus, the combination with an indication-carrier, of an actuator operatively connected therewith, an actuatorcasing provided with a sight-opening, an actuator-shaft, a fixed gear, a shiftable gear provided with indications visible through the said sight-opening and whose axis coincides with the axis of the actuator-shaft, an arm attached to the actuator-shaft, a gear rotatably mounted on said arm and engaging with said fixed gear and said shiftable gear, and a crank-arm for operating said shaft and provided with an opening adapted to register with the sightopening in the actuator-casing when an indication has been brought opposite such sight- Signed at Nos. 9 to 15 Murray street, New York, N. Y., this 13th day of February, 1903.

ERNEST K. ADAMS. Witnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, PIERSON L. WELLS.