US849107A

US849107A - Railway-alarm.

Info

Publication number: US849107A
Application number: US32729806A
Authority: US
Inventors: Christopher J Courtright
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1906-07-23
Filing date: 1906-07-23
Publication date: 1907-04-02
Anticipated expiration: 1924-04-02

Description

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c.' J. GOURT'RIGHT.

RAILWAY ALARM. APPLICATION PIL-BD JULY 23,l 190s. i I

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INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT ernten NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY-ALARM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ratenteol April 2, 1907.

Application filed July 23, 1906. Serial No. 327,298.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER J. COURT- RIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marlboro, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Alarms, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisl specification.

This invention relates to a device for grade-crossings.of railroads at which gates are employed, and is designed to operate the gates to close the roadway when a train is approaching and to raise the gates when the train has passed, the train itself furnishing the power for this operation by contacting with the mechanism placed between the rails. This device also operates to sound an alarm when the train is approaching and also after the gates are up to signify that the way is clear.

The invention embodies a mechanism for lowering the gates and as the train passes the gates to reverse the mechanism, so that the elements operating on the side of the gates toward the retreating train actuate the gate mechanism to raise the gates.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which` Figure 1 is a plan view of the entire arrangement, but showing the gates on a small scale, which is true in all the views on account of the limited space. Fig. 2 is a similar view, but with the mechanism enlarged, and showing only the elements on one side of the roadway. Fig. 3 is a section, somewhat enlarged, on line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section of the gate-casings and the operating mechanism contained therein and 1s taken on line 5 5 in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is one of the operating members shown in plan. Fig. 7 is a section on line 7 7 in Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of part of the mechanism for actuating the gates.

In the drawings, 10 are the rails of the railroad resting on the ties 1 1, and on a crossroad are the gates 12, secured pivotally on either side of the road, as is now common, to the supports 13.

Extending along the railroad, either be- .f tween the rails or on one side thereof, but preferably the former, and in opposite directions from the crossing, are the operating members 14, which serve to operate the gates. Each one of these members is constructed as in Figs. 6 and 7, comprising a pair of levers 15, which are pivotally connected and are also pivoted at 16 to the plates 17, and on the free ends of'these levers are notches to receive the staples 18 of the weights 19. A central plate, with the ilanges 20, acts to guide the levers 1 5, and one of the levers of each operating member has a pivot 21, operating a link 22, which in turn rocks a lever 23, which is secured to the shaft 24. This shaft 24 when it is operated actuates a lever 25, which is shown in full lines, to the left, in Fig. 3. This lever or finger 25 eX- tends up through a slot in the rod 26 and pulls the rod 26, which runs along the side of the members, by engaging one end of the slot in the rod. This rod operates the lever 27 on a shaft 28, and this in turn operates a toothed segment meshing with a toothed segment 29 on the shaft 30, all this being shown particularly in Fig. 3. Referring to Fig. 2, this shaft 30 also is provided with clutchpieces 3l, fastened to the shaft, and each of the clutches (there being four of them) is provided with a sliding member 32, each sliding member being actuated by the arm 33a of a bell-crank 33, the bell-cranks being connected by a bar 34, which provides for their being operated in unison, and this bar has a slot 35 to allow the movement of the bar over the pivotal pin 36, on which is pivoted the lever 37, a connecting-bar 38 from one end of the lever to one of the bell-cranks 33 insuring the operation of all the cranks. The casings 13 on one side of the roadway contain the mechanism for raising the gates, and the casings on the other side of the road contain the mechanism for closing the gates, so that the engagement or disengagement of the clutches 31 governs the direction of the operation of the gates.

Referring to Fig. 4, in conjunction with Figs. 2 and 8, I show a lever 41, projecting into each gate-casing, which lever has a nose 39, engaged by the arm 33a of the corresponding bell-crank, and when the clutches on one side of the roadway are thrown into operative engagement the ends of the levers within the gate-casing on that side fall by reason of the arms 33a moving over and entering the depressions 40 of the levers 41,

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thereby releasing the noses 39. This action allows pawls 42, resting on the ends of the levers 41 within the gate-casings on that side, to drop and engage the teeth on the plates 44, these pawls being operated by the arms 43, on which they are secured, the arms 43 being fast to and operated by the reciprocation of the shaft 30. A spring 45 fits in recesses in the plate 44 and steadies the movement of the gates. Pivoted to the plate 44 or to a suitable crank on the shaft 30 is a rod 46, connected with a lever 47 on the shaft supporting the gate. This mechanism is similar in each gate-casing.

To operate the lever 37 to govern the movement of the clutches, I provide a rod 48, which can be placed directly over the rod 26 to-save'space, one rod 26 and one rod 48 extending along the members 14 in opposite directions from the crossing. The rods 48 are connected with opposite ends of the lever 37. On any designated operating members, but preferably the ones farthest away from the gates on either side, I make the finger 25 long enough to engage the rod 48, and when the wheel 56 on the engine or cars of a train engages the outermost member 14 the yclutch is thrown in the direction to close the gates, and as the wheel engages the successive operating members the engagement with each member will cause a movement of the rod 26, and consequently a partial rotation of the shaft 30, the gate mechanism is operated and the gates are closed. As the train proceeds it engages one of the members nearest the crossing, as at a in Fig. 1, which is connected by a short rod 48@L with the clutch-operating mechanism. It is immaterial to which side of the gateway this member is placed, and the office of this member through the rod 48a is to reverse the movement of the gates, and as the train recedes from the crossing the operation of the successive members raises the gates. To insure the simultaneous opera tion of the gate-operating mechanism, I connect the toothed segments 29 on the shafts 30 by a rod 49, and to cause them to return the pawls 42 to normal position after each operan tion I provide the pivoted weights 50, which are connected by a link51 with the levers 27.

A weight 52 is fastened to each clutch member 31 to cause it to resume a position to normally engage the clutch member 32. To insure the simultaneous operation of the gates, the plates 44 in each gate-casing 13 on opposite sides of the roadway are connected by the rod 44a to insure their working in unison. I arrange also on either side of the roadway an alarm 53, these alarms being sounded by means of the wire or rod 54, connected to a lever 55 on each outermost member 14. These alarms indicate the approach of the train and also indicate when the gates are entirely raised and a safe passage is possible.

The drawings show the members 15 and the gates in close proximity; but the members might be placed two or three hundred rods away from the crossing, and there should also preferably be a considerable distance between the members 14, so as to not make the descent and ascent of the gates too rapid.

It will be seen that I have devised a gateoperating mechanism that is positive and it is absolutely automatic, the gates going down at the approach of the train and an alarm sounding at the same time, and after the train has passed the gates will go up, this making it economical for the railroad, as it would not be necessary to maintain a man at the crossing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isd 1. A safety attachment for railroads comprisingcrossing-gates, operating members on either side of the crossing-gates, gate-actuating means connectible with the operating members, a clutch to effect this connection, and a connection between the clutch-operating means and an operating member on the railroad.

2. A safety attachment for railroads comprising crossing-gates, mechanism for opening the gates, mechanism ufor closing the gates, a clutch mechanism adapted to alternately engage the gate opening and closing means, operating members on either side of the crossing-gates connectibie with the gateoperating means, and an operating member on each side of the gates for operating the clutch mechanism.

3. A safety attachment for railroads comprising crossing-gates, depressible operating members on either side of the crossing-gates, gate-actuating means connectible with the operating members, a clutch to effect this connection, operating members on the railroad with connections for operating the clutch, an audible signal, and connections for cperating the signal from the clutch-operating members.

4. A safety attachment for railroads comprising a gate on each side of the railroad, a connection between the gates, mechanism on one gate for opening them, means on the other gate for closing them, a clutch to alternately engage the opening and closing means, operating members on the railroad to operate the opening and closing means, and operating members on the railroad to operate the clutch.

5. A safety attachment for railroads comprising a pair of gates on either side of the railroad, mechanism for opening the gates, mechanism for closing the gates, a clutch to alternately engage the opening andi closing means, a connection for moving the gates in unison, operating members comprising pivoted levers, weights on the free ends of the le- IOO vers, rods operating the gate-operating means from the levers, and rods connecting the outermost members with the clut'ch.

6. A safety attachment for railroads comprising a pair of gates on each side of a railroad, means for opening the gates, means for closing the gates, a clutch to alternately engage the opening and closing means, operating members on the railroad connected with the clutch, an audible signal connected with the operating members, and a series of gateoperating members to operate the gate-operating mechanism, and means for disengaging one gate-operating means when the clutch engages the other.

7. A safety attachment for railroads comprising a pair of gates on each side of the railroad, a gate-casing supporting each gate, a ratchet mechanism in each gate-casing to operate its gates, the mechanism in one pair of gates acting to close them and in the other pair to open them, a connection between the gates to move them in unison, a shaft operating the ratchet mechanisms, members on the railroad connected with the shaft to reciprocate it, a clutch to engage the gate opening and closing means alternately, and members connected with the clutch to operate it.

S. A device of th kind described comprising a pair of gates on each side of a railroad, means on one pair of gates for opening them and means on the other pair for closing them, a connection to cause the gates to move in unison, a shaft connecting the opposed gates of each pair, a clutch member fixed to each shaft adjacent to each gate-casing, a sliding clutch member on each shaft adjacent to each fixed member, levers operating the sliding clutch members, a bar connecting the levers, rods connecting the levers with the operating members on the railroad, additional operating members on the railroad connected with the gate-operating means, and means operated by the clutch to release one gateoperating means when the other becomes operative.

9. In a device of the kind described, crossing-gates, means for 'opening the gates, means for closing the gates, a clutch to alternately engage the opening and closing means, operating members on the railroad for the clut ch, other operating members on the railroad for the opening and closing means, connectingrods between the operating members and the elements to be operated, each member comprising a pair of pivoted levers hinged together and weighted on their free ends, a link on one of the levers, a second lever, a shaft supporting the second lever, and a linger on the shaft to engage one of the connecting-rods.

10. In a device of the kind described, a pivoted gate, a gate-casing supporting the gate, a shaft arranged in the casing supporting the gate, a crank on the shaft, a ratchetplate in the casing, a bar connecting the crank with the ratchet-plate, a shaft passing through and supporting the ratchet-plate loosely thereon, a crank secured on the shaft, a pawl pivoted to the crank and adaptedv to engage the teeth of the ratchet-plate, and a lever to throw the pawl out of engagement with the ratchets on the ratchet-plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of July, 1906.

CHRISTOPHER J. COUR'IRIGHT.

Vitnesses:

E. A. PELL, F. T. BURKE.