US783507A - Emergency device. - Google Patents

Description

PATEN'I'ED FEB. 28, 1905.

E. B. COREY.

EMERGENCY DEVICE.

AYPLIUATION FILED JUNE 16,1904.

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PATENT Fries.

FRED B. COREY, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW Y(A)RK.

EMERGENCY DEVICE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent/N0. 783,50?, dated February 28, 1905.

Application filed June 16, 1901i. Serial No. 212,778.

To all wiz/mrt #may cori/cern:

Be it known that I, FRED B. Conair, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Emergency Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Myv invention relates to improvements in means for automatically controlling` motors IO and power-actuated brakes incase of an emergency, and is intended for use especially in connection with electrically-propelled vehicles or trains employing a braking system actuated by compressed air. in order to insure l5 against accidents in high-speed work, it is essential that provision should be made for cutting off the power and applying the brakes in case the motorman becomes incapacitated by sickness, accident, or death. `To accomplish 2O this result, it has been proposed heretofore to provide a valve operative upon the release of the controller-handle to apply the brakes, to-

gether with a switch similarly operative for cutting oit the power from the motors. The

apparatus which has been used heretofore to accomplish this result consists of a springpressed button mounted on the controllerhandle, which the motorman must keep depressed during the operation oi' the vehicle in 3o order to prevent application of the brakes and cutting oit the power. Such an arrangement is illustrated Vand described in Patent No. 7 55,7 50, issued to me March 29, 1904. An objection to this arrangement arises :from the viact that the muscles of the motormans hand which is used in operating the controller must be kept under strain during the entire operation of the vehicle in order to keep the button depressed. This strain is very fatiguing,

and objection has been made on this ground to the arrangement described above.

The object of my present invention is to provide means for relieving the strain upon the motormans hand by reducing the pressure which is required upon the button and by allowing the button a certain amount oi' play without resulting in the operation of the emergency device. l accomplish this by providing a latch which engages the operating mechanism when the button has once been depressed andwhich consequently relieves the button of a portion ot' the pressure required for holding the emergency device in inoperative position and at the same time admits ot' a certain range olI movement oi' the button. 5 5

The button is arranged, however, to engage the latch and to trip it if the button is wholly released by the motorman. 1n this manner the safeguards offered by the former arrangement are maintained, while the objection thereto is eliminated.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l shows a side elevation, partly in cross-section, of a controller arranged in aecordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a detail of the connection between the brake-applying valve and the controller-handle; and Fig. 3 is a detail oil the con- 7o troller-handle, showing' the latch in operative position.

In the drawings, 1 represents the operatingshaft for a controller, to which is secured the controller-handle 2. On the shaft l is loosely journaled the sleeve 3, which is provided with a ilange 4 and a spiral spring 5. The spring 5 tends to rotate the sleeve so as to bring a lug on tiange fi into engagement with a stationary stop 6, as shown in Fig. 2. 8o

7 is a button carried by the controller-handie aud normally pressed upward in the position shown by the compression-spring 8. 'lhe lower end of the spindle on which button 7 is mounted engages the long Larm oi' a pivoted S5 lever 9, the short arm ot which is engaged by a compression-spring l0, which adds its pressure to that oi' spring S in maintaining button 7 in its raised position. The short arm of lever 9 engages the notched end oil the 90 pivoted lever l1, the other notched end of which engages a vertically-movable member l2. When button 7 is depressed, rocking levers 9 and .'ll, the member l2 is pressed down so that its Alower end is brought into engagement with the notch i3 in flange 4l. By

this'means the sleeve 3 may be locked to the controller-shaft l and rotated therewith away from the stationary stop 6.

The flange 4 carries a second lug 14, (shown in Fig. 2,) which when the flange vis in the position shown in this ligure engages one end of a pivoted lever 15, the other end of which engages the spindle 16, which operates a valve 17. The valve 17 is properly arranged for establishing the connections for applying the brakes. It will be understood thatin a straight air-brake system these connections would be such as to raise the pressure in the train-pipe for applying the brakes and in an automatic air-brake would be such as to lower the pressure in the pipe for applying the brakes. Such connections are shown in Patent No. 755, (50, above referred to, and in other patents and applications. Hence it is not deemed necessary to illustrate the connections here, since the specific connections employed form no part of the present invention and are disclosed in prior patents. For the purpose of the present invention it is sufcient to understand that when pivoted lever 15 is in the position shown, pressing against spindle 16, the valve 17 establishes the connections for applying the brakes. W'hen flange 4 is locked to shaft l and is rot-ated therewith in the manner previously explained, lug 14 will be moved away from lever 15 and valve 17 allowed to move to break the brake-applying connection.

The arrangement thus far described is shown in Patent No. 755,150, above referred to, and has-been described here merely for the purpose of enabling a clear understanding of the invention to be obtained.

Referring now to Fig. 3, 1S represents a 'pivoted latch which is pressed forward by the leaf-spring 19. Ihen the long arm of lever 9 is depressed, as shown in Fig. 3, latch 18'is consequently brought into engagement with this lever- The button 7 may then be raised out of engagement with the lever 9 without producing an application of thc brakes, lthe strain produced by spring 10 in Fig. 1 being taken up by the latch 18. rlhe button 7 consequently has a certain range of movement and is pressed upward only by the spring 8, which may be made merely strong enough to raise button 7to its highest position if wholly released. If all pressure is removed from button 7, it will be raised to its highest position, engaging the toe of latch 18 and releasing it from engagement with the lever 9, thereby permitting an application of the brakes. The same safeguard against aceidentis thus maintained in this as in the former arrangement, while the strain upon the motormans hand is diminished both by the range of movement allowed by the button and by the fact that the greater portion of the spring tension necessary for operating the mechanism may be taken up by the latch.

Although I have shown my invention as applied toa specific form of mechanism controlled by a button on the controller-handle, it will be understood that it is applicable to any other form of mechanism operative upon the release of any handle or lever which is normally under the control of the motorman during the operation of the vehicle, and although I have l illustrated and described an emergency device l consisting' of a valve for applying the brakes my invention is applicable to thev control of other forms of emergency devices. Consequently I do not desire to limit myself to the particular construction and arrangement of parts shown; but I aim in the appended claims to cover all modifications which are within the scope of my invention.

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a vehicle, in combination with an airbrake system, an operating-lever, means operative upon arelease of said lever for applying the brakes, and means for preventing the operation of said brake-applying means upon a partial release of said lever.

Q. In a vehicle, in combination with an airbrake system, an operatinglever, a valve adapted and arranged to establish connections for applying the brakes, operative connections between said lever and said valve, and a latch for said operative connections.

3. In a vehicle, in combination. with an airbrake system, an operating-lever, a valve 'adapted and arranged to establish connections for applying the brakes, operative connections between said lever and said valve, a latch for said operative connections, and means for releasing said latch when said lever is released by the operator. y

4. In a vehicle, in combination with an airbrake system, a valve adapted and arranged to establish connections for applying the brakes, an operating-handle, a spring-pressed member associated with said handle and adapted to be grasped by the operator, connecting means `between said member and said valve, a latch for said connecting' means, and means for releasing said latch when the said member is released by the operator.

5. In a vehicle, in combination with an airbrake system, a valve adapted and arranged to establish connections for applying the brakes, an operating-handle, a spring-pressed member associated with said handle and adapted to be grasped by the operator, connecting means between said memberand said valve, a latch arranged to engage said connecting means when said member is pressed by the operator, and means for tripping said latch when said member is released by the operator.

6. In a vehicle, in combination with an airbrake system, a valve adapted and arranged to establish connections for applying the brakes, springpressed controlling means for said valve, an operating-lever, means associated with said lever for moving said controlling IOO IOS

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means to strain the spring, a latch arrang'ed to engage said controlling means when the spring is strained, and 'means for tripping said latch when said lever is released by the operator.

7. ln a vehicle, in combination with an airu brake system, a valve adapted and arranged to establish connections Afor applying the brakes, controlling' means for said valve, a latch for said controlling' means, an operating-lever, and means for tripping' said latch when said lever is released by the operator.

8. ln a vehicle, in combination with an airhrake system, a valve adapted and arranged to establish connections Afor applying the brakes, a spring-actuated lever controlling' said valve, an operating-lever, means associated with said operatingdever :for moving' the iirst lever to strain said spring, a latch for said iirst lever, and means for tripping said latch when said operating-lever is released by the operator.

9. in a controller, a spring-pressed lever, a man ually-controlled member adapted to move said lever to strain said spring', and a latch for said lever, said member' being arranged to trip said latch when released by the operator.

10. 1n a controller, an operating-handle, a spring-pressed lever, means associated with said handle adapted to be grasped by the operator and to move said lever to strain the spring', and a latch arranged to engage said lever when the spring' is strained, said means being arranged to trip said latch when released by the operator.

11. ln a vehicle, in combination with an airbrake system, a valve adapted and arranged' to establish connections for applying' the brakes, a spring-pressed device for moving' said valve to apply the brakes, means for moving said device against the pressure of the spring to prevent the application of the brakes, and means for taking up a portionoiI said springpressure when said device is moved so as to reduce the pressure on said moving means.

12. In a vehicle, an emergency device, a spring tending to move said device to emergency position, means :tor straining said spring' to render said device inoperative, and means for taking up a portion of the strain of the spring so as to reduce the strain on said straining means.

13. In a vehicle,a controlling-lever, an emergency device operative upon a release of said lever, and means for preventing' the operation of said device upon a partial `release of said lever.

14. 1n a vehicle,a controlling-lever, an emergency device, operative connections between said lever and said device, a latch for said de vice, and means for tripi'iing said latch when said lever is released by the operator.

15. ln a vehicle, an emergency device, a

spring tending to move said device to emergency position, a controlling-lever, means associated with said lever for straining' said spring' to render said device inoperative, a latch for the spring' when strained, and means for tripping said latch when said lever is released by the operator.

16. In a controller, a spring-pressed lever, means for moving' said lever to strain thc spring, and means for taking up a portion of the strain oi'l the spring so as to reduce the strain on the straining' means.

17. In a controller, an emergency device, a spring tending' to move said device to einer gency position,means for straining said spring to render said device inoperative, and means for taking' up a portion of the strain ol'f said spring so as to reduce the strain on said straining means.

1n Witness whereo` I have hereunto set my hand this 141th day of June, 1904.

Flinn s. Conair.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN OnFonD.

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