US906129A

US906129A - Electric apparatus for railway switches, signals, and the like.

Info

Publication number: US906129A
Application number: US15157803A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lawrence Griffith
Original assignee: FED SIGNAL Co
Current assignee: FEDERAL SIGNAL Co; FED SIGNAL Co
Priority date: 1903-04-08
Filing date: 1903-04-08
Publication date: 1908-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 1925-12-08

Description

L. GRIFFITH.

ELEGTRIG APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES, SIGNALS, AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION- FILED APR. 8, 1903.

906, 129. PatentedDec. 8, 1908,

4 5 a 0 I I 1 I 13%1 AVAILAELE CQPY uNrEn STATES rArENT OFFICE.

LAWRENCE GRIFFITH, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FEDERAL SIGNAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES, SIGNALS, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 8, 1903,

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

Serial No. 151,578.

had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to electric apparatus for railway switches, signals, and the like,

and is shown and described as applied to av railway switch and among other things is an adaptation of the invention described in an application for Letters Patent filed by me March 28th, 1903, No. 149,961, to the invention set forth in U. S. Patent No. 647,483. Its objects are to provide an effective and safe apparatus of the character described,

and one which when actuated to throw the part to be moved, will complete its cycle, and to this end consists of means for cutting off power from the apparatus as it operates to indicate that the part to be moved has been thrown, and certain novel features connected with electric motors.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood I shall first describe in detail the 3 mode in which I carry the same into practice,

and then point out the novel features of the invention in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of the specification in which similar parts are designated by like characters in all the views.

The drawing shows a diagrammatic view of the invention as applied to a railway switch mechanism.

49 The operating lever 1 in the tower has the ordinary tappet slot 2, which cooperates with a roller attached to the tappet 3, said tappet working in the ordinary interlocking board. Another slot 4 in the lever has two inclined portions 5 and 6, connected by a horizontal portion 7, having stop faces at its ends. In this slot is a roller 8 connected by the rod 9 to the armature of the indicating magnet 10.

Fastened to the frame which carries the lever and suitably insulated therefrom are four pairs of contact springs as follows :11 and 12, 13 and 14, 15 and 16, 17 and 18. Fastened to and working with the lever is the bridge 20. This bridge is fastened securely to the rod 19 and moves with it. The bridge 21 is loosely attached to the rod and is moved by the stops 22 and 23 coming in con tact with it. The lever l and the bridge 20 with its contact springs constitute a motor controller or operating device. 21 and its contacts constitute with the lever 1 and indicator roller 8, means for auto1natically breaking, by the indicating'action of the indicator, the indicator circuit, hereinafter described, that is made by the indicator controller, as set forth below. It will be understood that the said contact-springs and bridges with the rod 19 and its stops, constitute an adaptation of the electric switch at the operators station described in my above mentioned a plication for Letters Patent.

By suitab e gearing, to be described, the motor 24 at the switch, is so connected to the motion-plate 25 as to give it a backward and forward motion. In the motion-plate 25 is a slot 26 carrying a roller which is connected by a suitable rod to the switch points. It is clear that a semaphore, a bridge look, a railway gate, and other such railway traffic-controlling devices may be operated in like manner or in any known equivalent manner. The motor 24 is that described in my said application as having two field windings or coils 2-7 and 28, each for producing a different movement of the switch.

27 is the reverse field coil and 28 is the normal field coil: Attached to the frame which carries the gearing and the motion-plate, and suitably insulated therefrom, are four pairs of contact springs, as follows: 29 and 30, 31 and 32, 33 and 34, 35 and 36. Attached to a rod which works with the motion-plate are three bridges, 37, 38, and 39, adapted to make contact between the pairs of s rings as will be hereinafter described. The ridge 39 and its contact springs constitute an indicator controller that is moved in correspondence with the switch. It will be understood that said contact springs and bridges with said rod constitute an adaptation of the electric switch at the motion-plate, described in my said application.

From any suitable source, 40, of electric energy, which may be a primary battery, a storage battery, or a dynamo, a positive common wire 41 is attached to contact springs 11 and 13 on the controller in the tower. From the contact spring 12, which is the mate of 11 the wire 42, herein desig- The bridge position.

nated the normal operating wire, which leads to the spring 34 at the switch; and from the contact spring 14, which is the mate of 13, the wire 43, herein designated the reverse operating wire, leads to the contact spring 36 at the switch. From the contact spring 15 in the tower, the wire 44, herein designated the reverse indicating wire, leads to the contact spring 29 at the switch and the contact spring 30, which is the mate to 29, is attached by the branch wire 45 to the reverse operating wire 43. From the contact spring 18, the wire 46, herein designated the normal indicating wire, leads to the contact spring 31 at the switch. he contact spring 32, which is the mate to 31, is connected by the branch wire 47 to the normal operating wire 42. The contact spring 35 at the switch is csnnected to the reverse field coil 27 of the motor, and the contact spring 33 is connected to the normal field coil 28 of the motor. Both of these field coils are connected as shown in Fig. 1 to one of the commutator brushes of the motor, and the other commutator brush is connected by the wire 48 to the negative common. Springs 16 and 17 are connected to the wire 50, which in turn is connected to one terminal of the indicator magnet 10; the other terminal of the indicator magnet 10 is connected by the wire 51 to the negative common 48. The negative common 48, the two indicating

wires

44 and 46 and the two operating wires 42 and 43, are line wires, The operating circuits connect the motor controller with the field coils of the motor, and the indicator circuits connect the indicator controller and the indicator.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The lever 1 has four positions, which are designated 1, 2, 3, and 4. 1-is the full normal position; 2 is the normal operating position; 3 is the reverse operating osition; and 4 is the full reverse position. 11 position 1, all the parts are in the normal The condition of the circuits in this position is as follows: Take first the normal operating circuit. Starting from the positive common 41 at the contact spring 11 at the machine, the contact is made to the spring 12. Following the normal operating wire 42 to the spring 34, the contact, between it and the spring 33 is broken; then along the wire 47 to the spring 32, the contact between 32 and 31 is made through the bridge 39; then back along the indicating wire 46 to the spring 18 and the contact be tween 18 and 17 is broken. There is no current flowing on this circuit. Take neXt the reverse operating circuit. Starting from the positive common at the spring 13, the contact between 13 and 14 is broken, consequently there is no current flowing on the reverse operating wire 43. A positive connection to the reverse indicating wire 44 is at the spring 29. At the switch the connection between 29 and 30 is broken, consequently there is no current flowing on 29. In the normal position 1, therefore, there is no current flowing to any of the wires. Suppose the lever to be moved from the position 1 to 3, the roller 8 slides down the inclined portion of the slot 5 and comes up against the end of the horizontal portion of the slot 7 bringing the lever to rest. In this position, the bridge 20 has moved from between the contact springs 11 and 12 and has made contact between springs 13 and 14. The bric ge 21 has not yet been shifted because the distance from the stop 22 to the bridge 21 is a little bit more than two-thirds of the entire stroke.

Taking up now-the condition of the four circuits in the reverse operating position 3 Starting from the positive common 41 at the tower, the connection between the springs 11 and 12 is broken, consequently there is no current on the wire 42. The connection be tween the springs 13 and 14 being made at the bridge 20, positive current flows through the wire 43 to the spring 36 at the switch. also leads through the wire 45 to the contact spring 30 but the connection between 30 and 29 is broken. The connect-ion between the

springs

36 and 35 being made at the bridge 37, current flows through the reverse field. coil 27, through the motor, and the negative common 48 to the negative side of the battery, thus making a complete circuit. The motor therefore runs, and moves the switch by means of the motion-plate 25. The very first part of this movement moves the bridge 39 so as to break connection between 32 and 31. Immediately after this takes place, the bridge 38 makes connection between 33 and 34, but as the wire 42 is disconnected from the positive common 41 at the tower, no current flows across this bridge at this time. As the motion of the motor continues, the bridge 37 passes out from between the

spring

35 and 36, thus cutting off current from the motor. Immediately afterward, the bridge 39 takes up the position between the

springs

29 and 30, and the motor and the motionplate come to rest; the switch now has been moved to the reverse position through the operation of the slot in the 1notion-plate 25. Current now flows through the positive coinmon 41 in the tower through the springs 13 and 14, and the wires 43 and 45, across the

springs

30 and 29, the wire 44 and to the spring 15 in the tower. The bridge 21 is still making connection between 15 and 16, current, therefore, will flow through wire 50, through the indication magnet 1.0 and the wire 51 to the negative side of the battery,

making a complete circuit, energizing the magnet 10 which hits 1ts armature and 1ts roller enters and moves along the inclined portion 6 of the slot and forces the lever .to

the left toits extreme position denoted at 4. J

The very last part of this movement from 3 to 4 shifts the bridge 21 from between the contact springs 15 and 16 to a position between the springs 18 and 17. The contact between 13 and 14 remains made on account of the length of the bridge 20, the contact between 11 and 12 is still broken. The shifting of the bridge 21 from between the springs 15 and 16 breaks the circuit through the indication magnet 10 and all four circuits are again without current. Upon moving the lever from position 4 to position 2, the roller 8 comes against the left end of the slot 7. In this position the bridge 20 breaks the contact between springs 13 and 14 and makes contact between 11 and 12. The bridge 21 remains in the same position as 4, making contact between the springs 17 and 18.

Starting now from the positive common at the spring 11 the contact is made to the spring 12 and through the normal operating wire 42 to the switch and to the spring 34,

the contact between 34 and 33 is made through the bridge 38. The current, therefore, flows through the normal field coil 28, through the motor and the wire 48 to the negative side of the battery, thus making a complete circuit; and the motor runs in a direction opposite to that necessary to reverse the switch and moves the motion-plate from the right toward the left. The first part of this movement moves the bridge 39 so as to break the connection between the

springs

29 and 30. As the movement proceeds the contact between 33 and 34 is broken, thus taking current away from the motor, and the motor stops. Immediately after the contact 33 and 34 is broken, the contact between 31 and 32 is made by the bridge 39 and the circuit from the positive common 41, starting at the spring 11, is across to spring 12, through the. wires 42 and 47, spring 32 to 31, through the bridge 39 to the wire 46, to the spring 18 in the tower, through the bridge 21 to the spring 17 and thence through the wire to the indication magnet 10 and on through the magnet and the wire 51 to the negative side of the battery, making a complete circuit. The magnet 10 is, therefore, energized and its armature is attracted. The roller 8 is forced into the inclined portion 5 of the slot, moving the lever from the position 2 to the position 1.

This movement moves the bridge 21 from between the springs 17 and 18 to its original position between the springs 15 and 16. The circuit through the indication magnet is therefore broken and the parts are all in their normal position.

What I claim and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent is:

1. The combination of a movable railway traffic-controlling device, a motor therefor, a source of electric energy, operating and indicating wires, a single indicating magnet, a controller adapted to be moved in two directions by said indicating magnet, means for shunting the current of the battery through said indicating magnet to produce an indication, means for preventing the final movement of the controller, and means for causing the final movement of the controller by the energizing of the indicating magnet.

2. The combination of a movable railway traffic-controlling device, a motor therefor, a source of electric energy, operating and indicating Wires, a single indicating magnet, means for shunting the current fromsaid source of electric energy through said indicating magnet to produce an indication, a controller adapted to be moved in two direc tions by said indicating magnet, means for preventing the final movement of the controller, and means for releasing the controller and for causing its final movement actuated by a current in said indicating Wire from said source of energy.

3. The combination of a movable railway traffic-controlling device, an electric motor therefor, a source of electric energy, operating and indicating wires, a single indicating magnet, a controller, adapted to be moved in two directions by said indicating magnet, means for shunting the current of the bat tery through said indicating magnet to produce an indication, means for reventing the final movement of the control er, and means for causing the final movement of the controller by the energizing of the indicating magnet.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 6th day of April, nineteen hundred and three.

LAVVRENCE GRIFFITH.

Witnesses:

C. W. WEs'roN, J12, H. V. N. PHILIP.