USRE19599E - hailes - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1935.- w. D. HAILES 19,599

CONTINUOUS TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. 22, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w. I SE: SE

s .(9 m L :0

June 4, 1935. w. n. HAILES Re. 19,599

CONTINUOUS TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Origingl Filed Oct. 22, 1927 Reissues June 4, 1935 19,599 I commooos mm comer. srs'rnm UNITED ST TES PATENT or ies."if

" it I William D. Hailcs, Brightmi, N. Y.,

i, General Railway Signal assignor to Company, Rochester,

Original No. 1,852,409, dated April 5,1932, Serial No. 228,058, October 22, 1927.

Application for reissue October 19, 1932, Serial No.'638 ,634

Thiainvention relates in general to an automatic train control system, and has'more particular reierence to a coded continuous alternating current system.

I: In system of the general character to which this invmtion relates, it is desirable to have carcln'leddscoding or code integrating means which wiiiopsrate with certainty to control various signal'indications and enforce speed restrictions.

:acknowisdgment, etc, and fin-thermore' to have a short interval of time occm between a change in tuillc conditions and the change in signal or thclke fliat saidchangein trafilc conditions will came'it the new condition persists. The usefulill ness of this feature will be found for example when encountering short so called dead sections of traokwnyssat turnouts, crowovers and the like.

Inthe system according to this invention, alterhating-current is automatically codedin accord- 3 mos with traiilc conditions ahead and is then aping the secondary relay, etc. Thm suppression means acts to interpose a time lag or delay of approximately seconds between the operation of the decoding means and the control of the visual cab signals and secondary relays etc. This time lag or delay avoids momentary changes in indications that would otherwise follow momentary changes in trackway conditions.

The decoding means referred to is arranged to operate selectively in accordance with the rate at which the coding primary relay is vibrating between itspicked up and released positions, which rate or vibration corresponds to the existing trackway conditions.

' The suppression means is also arranged so that,

despite the delayed action characteristic of it, there is no possibility of two controls for visual signals'or th'e secondary circuits being set up simltanemsly.

Further objects, purposes, and characteristic m et the present invention will appear as the progresses, reference being had to iiie lo'sompanying drawings, showing, solely by fiM-ehmple, and in a wholly schematic manndm lorm which the invention can assume. In the :e-

Claims. (oi. 246- 53) Fig. 1 illustrates, in a diagrammaticmanner, trackway apparatus in accordance with this invention: to

Fig. 2 illustrates, diagrammatically, car-carried, apparatus in accordance with this invention; and

Fig. 3 is a. diagrammatic representationoi codes which can be'employed in this invention.

Trackway Referring to'the drawings, and first more particularly-to 1. thereota stretch of track is shown comprising track rails Lseparated into sigv nailing blocksv by means of insulating joints 2, each block being furnished with a waysido signal 3 at its entrance, the various control means for such signals however not being shown, as, they are quite unnecessary to a complete understanding at this invention. 1

In the drawings are shown blocks I and J, and the adjacent ends of blocksH and K, and since the devices and circuits associated with each 818-. ml location are identical,- corresponding parts for. the same are indicated by like reference charae-. ters bearing distinctive exponents.

At the exit end of esch block is atransiormer '1, with its secondary connected across thetrack rails, and in series with a usual track battery- 4, and variable resistances and inductive reactancesx 5 and I. The energizing circuit tor the primary of transformer T is controlled by the track relay TR. of the block next in advance, and by the line relay LR controlled by the track relay oi second block in advance. This energizingcircuit. for the primary of the transformer '1 passes through one oi'three coding fingers I, 8 or -l, operated by a coding motor M, as indicated, the motor being energized through a circuit ;controlled by a motor control relay MCR, which re-- lay is in turn controlled by the track relay at the entrance to the block fed by such motor The coding motors M may assume" various forms, and are electrically driven devices which operate to move the various coding fingers 14 to put current on and oil the track'circuit at different rates, fingerl making and breaking con-- tact at the rate of makes and breaks per minute, finger 8 at the rate of per minute, and finger 9 at the rate of per minute. I

The primsryoi transformer T, is preferably fed with alternating; current, and is energized a given number of times per minute; each ener gised period being separated by a de-energized period of approximately equal duration, indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 3. The finger Q for example, makes and breaks contact I80tim'e's per minute, with the result that 180 times per minute the transformer T is energized and is likewise de-energized 180 times per minute. The

. and K, a car represented by wheels and axles l9 i and ii, thus making, with regard to car in, the block K a danger block, J a caution block, I an approach caution block, and H a cleiair'lzilock. On considering the drawings, it will be seen that a train entering block K, a danger block, is deprived of all current by the shunting eil'ect of car ll ahead of it on train contnol current normally supplied by a transformer'l (not shown) connected across the exit end of block K. On entering block J, the track relay TB of thisblock is lie-energized to release its contact finger I" to pick up reiayMClt and thus energize coding motor M through an obvious circuit, for supplyin Y code to the block J through coding finger I and transformer T In like manner, on entering block I, J being unoccupied and K occupied, release of track relay TRP, energizes relay MCR to energize 'coding motor M, through obvious circuits, to thus cause coding fingers I, 9 and 9 to vibrate, and put Y/G code on block I through coding finger l and transformer T. i

Car "Lin a clear block H, energizes, in a manner similar to the above, coding motor W to put G code on the block through coding finger 9 and transformer T.

Thus it is seen that each block is arranged to be continuouslysupplied' with coded alternating current of a code depending upon trafllc condi- I tions ahead, and that the coding motor isxnorcodes respectively, of 180, 120,

mally at rest, and is energized only upon entrance Of a train into'its particular block.

1 Fig. 2, a danger'signal is dlsplayedby either "the absence ofany current on the track rails, or by the presence of a steady flow of uncodedcurrent, so that any failure on the part of the coding apparatus can result only in a danger signal, and hence is always on the side of safety.

With regard to the other three signal indica tlons employed in this system, namely, clear, approach caution, and caution, these three indicaticnslcorrespond to the fast, medium, and slow impulses per minute.

' Car-carried appmtus Referring now to Fig. 2 in which is shown the car-carried apparatus, in accordance with this invention, the car ill, referred to-in Fig. 1, is shown as proceeding in clear territory in the same manner as in Fig. l, and is supplied with induotivereceiving coils I! arrangedto pass over the track railsto be'induetively. influenced by and 80 separate Jan; M.

the track current, and connected in series to have the induced voltages of the two coils cumulative. These coils'are connected in series with a tuning condenser l3 and the primary of a transformer II, and the circuit is tuned for the particular fre quency of alternating current employed which is preferably 'diiferent from theusual ccrmiiercial frequencies, and such, for ekampleias'loo cycles per second to thus avoid interference by commercial frequency stray currents. The secondary of transformer M is connected in series with the I primary of a transformer l5 and a condenser l6, constituting a filter circuit F tuned to allow passage only of currents of the chosen frequency. The secondary of transformer I5 is connected to the input side of an'amplifier A, which is preferably of the vacuum tube type and is supplied with suitable devices and sources of current, while the output side of the amplifier is connected to a coding primary relay CPR, having contact fingers 49 and. The relay CPR, is quick acting and is designed to pick .up'and drop away'for each signed to havea slow drop away but a quick enough pick up, due to sumcient energy being used, to be picked up by a'single impulse of the fastest code employed, with the drop away time so chosen that when once picked, they stay picked: up, even with the slow code.

Relays CR. and CR are supplied with pulsating unidirectional current, the average value of which depends upon the rate at which the primary relay CPR is vibrating, increasing when the rate of vibration increascs'and decreasing when the rate of vibration decreases; To accomplish this result a transformer 39, and a pair of suitable rectiflers l1 and I9 are employed. The secondary. of the transformer 39 is provided with a mid tap and the relays CR and CR are connected in series and to the mid tap with their circuit completed back to the terminals of the secondary of transformer 39 through the rectifiers i1 and I9 according to one usual practlcein building a double wave rectifying circuit. This provides a: conducting circuit which includes the windings of CR and, CR and one or the other of the return paths to the transformer, according to which instantaneous polarity of driving voltage exists in the secondary windings of the transformer 39.

The primary of the transformer 39 is also provided with a mid tap and to itis connected one terminalC of a local source of D. C. energy.

The terminals of the primaryare connectedmne to the front and one to the back contact of contact of contact finger 40 of theCPR relay. T0 the heel of said contact finger 40 is connected-the other terminal B of the local source of, DC. energy and across the front and back contacts of this finger is bridged a condenser so placed as to reduce the arcing at the contacts as and when the circuits are interrupted by the :vibrating, of finger III.- I i y The transformer 39, thus connected,racts as a storehouse of energy, receiving energy from, the local source of D. C. energy and passing itpon to the relays CR and CR Energy is not'steadily passed on to relays CR andCRbut is passed. on in impulses, the number of such impulses in a our! bill! raiisiszbeing' interrupted or coded,

and thin! course. depends upon the traffic condttielu which exist. It is possible to follow one of thoseemimnulses from the local D. C. source album-assume for example that the appamilk! thapnsition shown in F1812 for which momma find that asteady D. C. current is flmelngzfrmn the-local D. C. source through the mtjrmludirig \ecntact finger 40 of relayCPR Mill its back contact, and the lower-portion of the primary winding of transformer 39 to the mid wil 'lid'winding. We furtherflnd that the mauietlc'circint of transformer 89 ischarged with flux of the; polarity corresponding to the 1- "IQIOCYDI the current flowing in the low! mortionof the primary winding of trans- !mmtr ll. long as the steady state of primary current exists there is no energy being transferred to the relays CE. and CR But the flux my: the-core of transformer 39 represents stirred .up energy which can be released by openingiedie primary circuit, as forexample by the of finger 40 from its back contact. If a. circuit is provided, this energy, or at least a maior 'mrtion of it, when released, is made to insh'flutsiself by a current flowing through windingxofweiays CR5 and CR and one or the other ol'iihe ee'ctiflers under the electrical pressure generited in the secondary winding of the transeon'ner l. as and when the flux in the core of tflihsfonmer 39 is decaying.

i In a similar manner, current will flow through film-CR and CR", and one or the other of the rectifier: under the electrical pressure generated in tho'secondary winding of transformer 39, as me when the flux in its core is building up under theinfluenoe oi aprimary current caused to flow, for example by the closing of finger l0 and its front contact of relay CPR.

Thus it is clear that for a movement of the contact flnger ll of CPR as described, 1. e. from back to front, there result two impulses of current supplied to the windings of relaysCR and CR. However, the movement of finger 40 of CPR is so rapid from back to front (and vice verse.) that the impulses occur almost simultaneously, and act as if a single impulse of approximil-tel! double intensity had been transmitted.

A similar train of events occurs for a movemaitot contact 40 from front to back. The curnent impulses flow in the same direction as before til'ough relays CR and CR but return over the particular rectifier whose direction of conductivity matches the polarity of the electrical being-generated in the circuit. zl'loitlail current impulses through relays CR and CR are made approximately equal but are of a decaying characteristic and give rise to similarflux conditions in the magnetic circuits of relays (IR and CR. The average value of these flu conditions will of course depend primarily upomthe rate at which the energizing impulses Med, and the rate at which these fluxes are'dissipated. The rate 01' dissipation and also theinaximum value to which these relay fluxes rise is fixed by design, for example by use of short circuited copper on the relay cores, and mblcairgap dimensions and the like, for each ot-the relays CR. and CR CR is therefore designed and adjusted to pick up and hold up its armature when the flux conditions in its magnetic circuit are those caused by the fast rate of impulses received from the transformer 89, corresponding to the rate of vi-.- bration of the relay CPR in accordance with the fast rate of coding the control trackway current,

namely 180 times per minute. Relay CR is also adjusted to release its armature when the flux conditions in its magnetic circuit reduce to the values that are produced by the medium rate of impulses caused by the medium rate of coding of the control current in the track rails i. e. '120 times per minute.

RelayCR is designed and adjusted to pick up and hold up its armature on the flux conditions that exist in its magnetic circuit when receiving impulses at the medium rate and also at the fast rate, which correspond to the medium and fast rates respectively of coding of the control current in the track rails. Relay CR. is also adjusted to releaseits armature on the flux conditions that exist in itsmagnetic. circuit when impulses are received at the slow rate which corresponds to the slow rate of coding of the control current in the track rails, namely 80. times per minute. Bearing in mind the characteristic of these four decoding relays, it will beseen that, all of the relays will be picked up and remain up, when the fast code is being received, that the first three relays will be up, with relay CR down, when the medium code is being received, that CR and CR will be up and CR and CR down, when the slow code is being received, while with a. flaw of alternating uncoded rail current CR will be up and CR will be down and with no flow of rail current, CR will be up and CR will be down. The significance of these various operated positions of the decoding relays CR will be apparent after a discussion of the other'apparatus.

The system in question employs cab signals in duplicate, one set positioned on the engineers side of the cab, and the other .set on the iiremans side, and includes four separate aspects, namely G, Y/G, Y and R which represent, respectively clear, approach restricting, caution, and danger.

Corresponding to each of the signal aspects, 5 a quick pickup and slow release relay, GR, Y/GR, YR, and RR. corresponding respectively to clear, approach restricting, caution, and danger. It will be noted that each one of these relays, which together constitute a so-called suppremion or delay action group has its energizing circuitpassing through back points of the other three, where.- by only one of the four relays can be energizedv at any one time.

The present invention includes a slow release relayBR, controlling a brake applying or other train movement restricting'device, EPV, which is only conventionally shown in the drawings, and is contemplated to be of 'a character which is normally energized electrically and which when de-energized operates to produce either a brake application or a speed restricting influence of some desired character. In connection with the EPV is an acknowledging whistle valve, AWV, a reset contactor, Res. and an acknowledging contactor, Ack.

The energizing circuit for the train control device, EPV, passes through a contact flnger a and front contact of Res. and a contact flnger 29 and front contact of brake relay BR. The brake relay BR has an energizing circuit which passes through a contact finger 28 and front-corrtact of Aclc, and contact finger 21 and front con tact of relay GR constituting one relay of the suppression group; "and also has a second ener gluing circuit, made upon'time'ly depression and 4 release of the acknowledging contactor Acid,

which includes contact finger 28 and front point of Acla, contact finger 31 and front contact of a slow release stick relay SY/G, which forms one of a group. of three stick relays, SR, SY, SY/G, constituting, an acknowledging and reset relay group. Each of. these acknowledging relays, and the brake relay, BR, has a quick pick up with theeiiergy used. In this connection it should be noted that a relay designed to be slow to drop away, will have a quick pick up if sufiicient energy be applied to its windings to immediately bring the flux density in its core up to the pick up value, and this is the explanation of the. operation of the various relays in this invention which are described as having a quick pick up but slow drop away.

The acknowledging and reset devices used in conjlmction with the acknowledging whistle valve and'the brake deviceEPV, are arranged so that upon achange from one tramc condition to a more restrictive one, the whistle valve gives an audible signal, thereby calling the attention of the engineman to the fact that acknowledgment is necessary, by which acknowledgment is properly performed within a limited period of time, namely the drop away period of relay BR, the whistlevalve is silenced and de-energization of EPV is prevented, with the resultant forestalling of a brake application or the like. On the other hand, if the acknowledgingact is not properly performed a brake application results and the only way to relieve the train from the brakes is to operate the reset contactor Res, which is positioned to be accessible only whenv the train is at standstill, as, for example, by placing it to be accessible only from the ground.

Operation In order to facilitate a complete understanding of c this invention the operation of the same will be taken up in some detail in the following. Allof the various partsare shown in the positions andconditions which exist in clear territory, which is the case with the car represented diagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 2 by the wheels and axles III.

As shown in the drawings, the block H in which isthe car [0, is being supplied with the fast code, thatis, 180 separate impulses per minute, and this code is being received inductively through the car-carried coils l2 and after passing through the filter circuit and amplifier, energizes the coding primary relay CPR to cause it to pick up andxdrop away atthe rate of 180 times per minute. This causes a supply of energy impulses to the decoding relays CR which as explained above results in all four of these relays being picked up and held up. This in turn causes energization of the suppression group relay GR, through a circuit starting from one tenninal B of a source of energy, contact fingers and front contacts ll, 20,.2l and 22 of the decoding relays, and contact fingers and back contacts 23, 24 and 25 of the remaining suppression group relays.

With relay GR picked up, an energizing circuit is completed for the two clear signals G through a circuit including a terminal of a source of energy B, contact finger 26 and front contact of N relay GR and the clear signal lights G, in multiple, to terminal C. At the same time the pick up of relay GR closes an energizing circuit for brake relays BR which can be traced from one terminal of a source 3, contact finger and front contact 21 of relay GR. contact finger 28 and front contact of Ack., relay BR to terminal 0. This in turn closes a circuit for the train control device EPV to energize the same, traceable from a terminal C, EPV contact finger n and front contact of BB, resetzcontact finger 30 and front contact, to terminal B. The acknowledging whistle valve AWV, it will be noted, is deenergized, since its energizing circuit requires that one of the suppression group relays RR, YR or Y/GR be energized, and relay SY/G deenergized, and as explained above, with the suppression group relay GR energized, the other relays of such group must necessarily be deenergized. i

It will be'noted from Fig. 2 that the acknowledging and reset stick relays each have a stick energizing circuit passing through a front contact of the corresponding suppression grouprelay, as for example, thastick circuit for stick relay SR passes through contact finger II and front contact of suppression group relay RR, and likewise for the other relays;

Upon the train in question moving into block I, for example, (see Fig. 1) assuming that the car ll stays in thegblock K, the car in. question will then be in an approach restricting block and as is apparent from Fig. 1 the medium code'will be picked up from the rails and will result in decoding relay CR being down and relays CRJ- up, in which circumstances the suppression group relay Y/GR will be energized and the other three suppression group relays will necessarily be deenergized, in the same manner as described above with regard to the energization of relay GR. Likewise in the same manner as described above, this will result in de-energization of signals G by a break in their energizing circuit at the contact finger 26, and the energization of the approach caution signals Y/G through a circuit including contact fingers 32 and front contact of suppression group relay Y/GR.

De-energization of relay GR causes de-energization of slow drop away relay BR, the energizing circuitfor such relay being broken at contact finger 21 and front contact of relay GR. At the same time with the tie-energization of brake relayBR, the acknowledging whistle valve AWV will be energized through a circuit including contact finger 33 and front contact of relay Y/GR to thus advise the engineer that a brake application is impending unless proper acknowledging action be taken.

If we assume that the engineer is alert and depresses the acknowledging contactor AOIL, and then immediately releases it, no brake application will result, since, on depressing the'acknowledging contactor, an energizing pick up circuit for stick relay SR is completed which includes contact finger 34 and front contact of relay BR and contact finger 35 and back contact of Ack.' It will be noted in this connection that each of the three stick relays has a pick up circuit running through a front contact of the stick relay corresponding to the next more restrictive trafiic condition and that, being slow to drop, when one of the stick relays is picked up, all those corresponding to less restrictive trafiic conditions will likewise pick up. In the case in point, upon pick up of stick relay SR, due to acknowledgment, the pick up circuit for stick relay SY is completed, and it picks up before stick relay SR drops away, even though in the meantime the pick up circuit for relay SR has been broken by releasing the acknowledging contact'or Ack. In a like manner, pick up of stick relay SY completes a pick up cirunits!- stick relay SYIGs-"Ihe particularone of this stick relays which corresponds with the Won group. relay which is energized, in thepcesentmse stick relay SY/G corresponding wltlrnppreesim group relay Y/GR, is stuck up mm a stick circuit including one .of its front contacts and a contact finger and front contact cl one suppression group relay. With the stick relay SY/G picked up and stuck in, an auxiliary energizing circuit for brake relay IVE -completed which includes contact finger "and from contact orsuch stick relay, whereby the 'blake control relay HR. is re-energiaed belorv ite contact finger 2! has had time to drop maw to thus prevent dc-cnergization of the trainaeontrol device EPV'.

"Theacknowledging whistle, as described above was sounded upon energization of suppression group relay Y/GR and continued to sound until the energizing circuit was broken upon picking up ofstick relay SY/G, at contact finger 38 and back contact of such relay. I

'Itwill be'seen from the above that upon going mink-given traiflc condition to a more restrictiwc condition an-automatic brake application cm Milt unless the engineman properly acknowledges when entering the restricted territow:

'If acknowledgment is properly performed when theviaual cab signal displays the more restrictive indication, the automatic brake application will be avoided, and the acknowledging whistle AWV meounds a warning upon entering a restrict- 0d territory will be silenced and thus inform the that acknowledgment is completed apparatus has been put in condition for proper handling of the train under the restrictive conditions encountered. 4

Assume however that the engineman falls to note the change in cab signal indication and neglects the acknowledging whistle warning, and failsilo perform the acknowledging act, In these circumstancea-a short time after de-energizatlon of brake relay BR, in the present case about 5 seconds, its contact finger 28 will drop away to "ma ic-energize the train control device EPV and'cause an automatic brake application. After drop away of relay BR the engineman is helpless towing about a condition permitting him to re lease the brakes, by operation of the acknowledgflig oontactor Ack.,- since the above described acknowledging circuit is broken at contact finger and front contact of relay BR. It is therefore necessary to'have recourse to the reset contaetornes. which necessitates bringing the train to a lull stop, and meantime the acknowledging wlustle' valve has been continuously sounding. Upon operation of the reset contactor, Res. 9, piok hp' circmt is completed for stick relay SR whidiincludes'contact finger 30 and back contact o! Res. and, as explained above, upon pickone offlie stick relays, all the other stick corresponding to less restrictive traiiic' conditions will successively pick up to ultimately pick upstick'relay SY/G to thus re-energize and pickup brake control relay 'BR to in turn re-enargue-"Ev, and thus permit the engineman to filifie the brakes and continue if traiilc conditions will permit. Also, pick up of relay SY/G, breaks the circuit for AW'V, to silence the some. I cperatioh'occurs on entering'a caubr a danger block, and in the same manner as'descrlbed above. On entering a caution block, W theiow code is'picked up by the train apparatus and causes decoding relays CR and CR to pick up and stay up with relays CB and CR both down, to thus energize the caution signals Y.

On entering a danger block there is normally no current on the track rails which can be inductively picked up by the car, under which conditions decoding relay CR is up and the other three decoding relays are down, to thus put energy on relay RR of the suppression group and energize the danger signals B.

As referred to above, should the coding motor fail to operate, depending upon in Just what posltion the coding contacts happened to stop, there would either be no current picked up by the car-carried apparatus, or there would be an uninterrupted, that is, an uncoded, current picked up. The first condition has already been taken care of in considering operation in a danger block, while the second condition, an uninterrupted or uncoded current, would result in decoding' relay CR being up and the other three down, which would again operate to energize relay RR and the danger signals R.

Thus the system is thoroughly protected, as any failures are on the side of safety, any failure of the system resulting in a danger signal being displayed, so that the various apparatus is arranged throughout on the closed circuit principle, as is so desirable in systems of this character.

While in the above discussion, changes in traffic conditions have been assumed to take place at entrances to signalling blocks, with a continuous type of train control such as the present, conditions can change within a block, to become either more or less restrictive, and immediately upon a change to more restrictive condition, such for instance as a clear block changing to an approach caution block, the same operation takes place as described above with regard to passing from-the clear block H to the approach caution block I. I 1

Wayside signals 3 have been shown in-Fig. 1, but this has been done primarily to aid in a ready understanding of the condition existing in the difierent blocks shown in the drawings, since it is contemplated that while the present 8m can be readily used in conjunction with wayside signals, yet it is not at all necessary to employ wayside signals, the cab signals being wholly sufficient in themselves to thoroughly safeguard and facilitate train operation.

Thesystem'described above has been considered to employ alternating current, preferably of 100 cycle frequency, forthe trackway contmlcurgent, but a should be noted that direct current be used to control the car-carried means. "This is for the reason that a sudden growth or decay of a D. C. rail current will inductively shock ex-' cite the car-carried receiving and amplifying apparatus, and, if sufficient intense this shock excitation will cause oscillations in the above circuits which will persist long enough and have suiiicient intensity to momentarily pick up relay CPR.

' Thus, by proper arrangement of wayside circuits and apparatus the car-carried apparatus could be controlled by making and breaking a D. C. control current, at such a rate as to Rpm duce the effect of interrupting or oodingan alternating current at a given rate. One method of applying D. C. control current is described as 'follows:

From a suitable source'of D. 0., such asabattery with trickle charge from commercial frequency A. C. energy, a pulsating D. C. current is supplied to the coding motor contacts in lieu of, say 100'? cycle "alternating cin'rent. This pulsating characteristicis obtained, for exampleby a suitablewautomatieivibrator of the type used, for example,v on: door bells, buzzers, etc. When the contacts of the coding motor areset inoperation, the pulsatingrD. C. is applied to the railsin the same manner aadescribed for the 100 cycle A. 0. current. i, i Thus, for each closure of acodi'ngmotor contact. there is applied: to therails a series of D. C. impulses. oc urring in rapid succession, causing nearly' continuous shock excitation otthe carqarriedspparatus. Thtvcauses relay CPR topick up andhold up while the D. C. impulses are coni;,inued, and to.release when the pulsating D. C. is removed, as fonexample, by the operation of t e co n m tor 1 contacts, which contacts in turn are controlled and selected according to traificconditions, i

. Further, regarding the use of various forms of controlcurrent obtained from. localsources o! D. C., such as a battery, it is to be noted that the shoclge tcitationemployed to excite andthns control car-carried apparatus ismade to produce oscillations ina circuit which is highly selective and excludes the undesired effect of stray alterhating currents of frequencies other than the one at which the selective circuit oscillates the most i'reely, Thus for example the selective car-carried, circuit includes, or can include, a filter adjus'teiito pass a given frequency, as for example 1001 cycles and tosuppress or alternate the effect or other freque cies, audit is i'ound thatthis time, of circuit can be shock excitedas above described. v

itlis to benoterLin adjusting the selective circuit, which isarranged to be inductively energized byfcontrol current in the track rails, that .itiis'possible, and also desirable, to adjust fof'someusefulfrequency such as 100 cycles. With adjustment it is then possible to opthe same'car-carried apparatus over track thathave lcycle A. C. control current asfwenas those havingsome form of,D. C.

control ,current i "flhe above description at one form of this inhas been given in connection with a wholly showing, the drawings havbeen arranged to aid in a ready understanding of the invention rather than to show the particular structural forms'and arrangeon which are actually to be employed in. practical carrying out oifthls in- Yentlon. the above description has been given wholly. way of example and is not indad in any manner whatsoever ina limiting Obviouslythe invention is capable of assumingvarious physical forms and is susceptible oi numerous modifications. and all; such forms and modifications are intended to be included bythe present application as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, 1 now clairnrl, Ina continuous train control system, means controlled in accordance with traflic conditions for. placing coded sin-rent impulses on the track, carcarried-means responsive-to the coded track current and including, decoding means selectively operable in accordance with different rates of, current impulses supplied. thereto, means dis: tinctlvely controlled by the coded trackcunent for supplying energy to, the decoding meansin impulses applied at diflerent rates, a plural ass c l m h n aspects varying i remeans, for delaying action of the. decoding means onthe signal means. i I 2. In acontinuous train control system, means controlled in accordance with trafllc conditions for supplying coded, nergy, car-carried decoding means variously operable in accordance'with the code in torce.q,plural aspect signal means controlled by the decoding means, and suppression means, comprisinga slow release relay corresponding to each, signal aspect and each having an energizing circuit including aback point 01' each of the other relays, inserted between the decoding means and said signal means for delaying action of the decoding means on the signal. 1 3. Inacontinuous train control system, means controlled in accordance with trafllc conditions for placing coded current on the track, carcarried meansresponsive to the coded track current and including, decoding means selectively operable in accordance with various rates of, en-, ergy supply thereto, means controlled by the coded track current for supplying energy at difi'erent' rates to the decoding means, and including, a coding primary relay operable in accordance with the coded track current, a transformer having an intermittent direct current feed to its primary controlled by the primary relay, and a connection, including rectifying means, between the transformer secondary andcertain oi the decoding means selectively operable according to the rate of energy supplied thereto by the transformer secondary, other of the decoding means being operable regardless of therate of energy applied to the transformer, and plural aspect signal means controlled by the decodingmeans.

4. In a'continuous train controlsystem, means controlled in accordance with trafllc conditions for placing coded current on the track, carcarried means responsive to the coded track current and including, decoding means selectively operable in accordance with coded energy supplied thereto, means controlled by the coded track'current for supplying energy to thedecoding means, plural aspect signalmeans controlled by the decoding means, suppression means inserted between the decoding means and said signal means for delaying action ot the decoding means on the signal means, a train controlde vice initiated upon deenergizatlon, means causing' de-energization or the train control device after the lapse of a predetermined time interval after a change to a more restrictive trafflc con-.

dition, a readily accessible acknowledging device 'rccoding'means onthe signal, a train control device: initiated upon ds-energization, a brake relayhavingafront point included in the ener izing circuit forsaid device, a plurality of slow release acknowledging. relays one corresponding to'each signal aspect except the least restrictive, an energizing circuit forthe brake relay including afront point of the suppression relay corresponding to theleast restrictive signal aspect, each acknowledging relay-except the most restrictive having a pick up circuit includinga front point of the next more restrictive relay and each having a stick circuit including a front point of the. corresponding suppression relay. a second energizing circuit for the brake relay including-a front, point of the .;least restrictive acknowledging relay, acknowleihing means operable to close a pick up circuitfor the most restrictive acknowledging relay, and re-set means accessible only when the train is at: standstill and operable to complete a pick up circuitfor the most restrictive acknowledgingrelayu I i I ii. In a continuous train control system, means for supplying coded energy, car-carried decoding meansselectlvely operable in accordance with the code in force, alplural aspect signal having signal aspects of difleringrestrictiveness controlled by the decoding means, suppression means, comprisinga slow release relay corresponding to each signal aspect and arranged in cascade, inserted between: the decoding means and said signal for delaying action of the decoding means on the signal, a train control device initiated upon deenergization, a brake relay having a front point includedun the energizing circuit for said device, a: plurality of acknowledging relays, one correspondingto eaoh signal aspect except the least restrictive, an energizing circuit for the brake relay including a front point of the suppression relay-corresponding to the least restrictive signal aspect, the acknowledging relays, except the most restrictive, being connected in cascade and each having a stick circuit including a front point of the corresponding suppression relay, 'a second energizing circuit for the brake relay including a front point of the least restrictive acknowledging relay, acknowledging means operable to close a pick up circuit for the most restrictiveacknowledging relay, and an audible signal energized through whack point of the least restrictive acknowledging relay and a front point of any one of the suppression relays except the least restrictive. v y

K12, In a eoded'centinuous train control system, relay operable to repeat trackwaycodedcurrent, decoding means including relays respectively energized through a front and aback point of the coding relay and designed tdpicli up and stayuP; forall codes,a transformer, other decoding relays connected in series through rectifyin means to the mid-point of the transformer-secondary, and a source of direct current applied first to one half and then to the other half, of the transformer primary, through front andback points, respectively, of the coding relay.

13. In a coded continuous train control system, a fled coding relay operable to repeat trackway codedcur'rent, decoding means including relays respectively energized through a front and a, back point of the coding relay and designed to pickup and stay'up for all codes, a transformer, other decoding relays designed to pick up on diifer'ent power inputs theretoand connected in series through rectifying means to the. mid point of the transformer secondary, and a source of direct current applied first toonevhall then to the other half, of the transformer primary,

through front and backpoints respectively, of

the codingrelay. p a 14. In a-coded continuous train control systerm a car-carried coding relay operable term:- peat trackway coded current, decoding means including relays respectively'energized through a front and a back point of the coding rdayand designed to pick upand stay up for all codes, a transformer, other decoding relays connected in seriesthrough rectifying means to the mid-point of the transformer secondary, and a source of direct current appliedfirstto one half; and thus to the other half,-of the transformer-primary, through front and back points, respectively, of the coding relay, and plural aspect signal means controlled by the various positions assumed by the decoding relays in response to the operation of the coding relay.

15. In a coded continuous train control system,

a car-carried coding relay operable to repeat trackway'coded current, decoding means includ ing relays respectively energized through afront and a back point of the coding relay and to pick up andstay for all codes, a transformer, other decoding relays designed to pick up on different power inputs thereto and connected: in series through rectifying means to the mid-point of the transformer secondary,-a source of direct current applied firstto one half and then to the other half, of the transformer primary, through front and back points, respectively, of the coding relay, and plural aspect signal means controll d by the various positions assumed by the decoding relays in response to the operation of the coding relay. I

16. In a continuous train control system,- means controlled in accordance with traflic conn ditions for placing coded current on the track, car-carried means responsive to the coded track current and including, decoding means selective-V ly operable in accordance with theparticular code in force, means controlled by the coded track current for supplyingenergy in distinctive man;- ners to the decoding means and. including a cod: ing primary relay operable in accordancewith the coded track current and a transformer have; ing an intermittent direct current feed to itspri mary controlled by the coding relay, certain of the decoding means which is selectively operable in accordance with the particular code in, force being connected to the transformer secondary, other of the decoding means being operable, regardless of the particular code i in force, and means controlled by the decoding means.

, 17. In a continuous train control'system, in combination, means" controlled by .trafflc' ,condi--, tions to place coded current on the track, and car-carried means including a primary relay op} erablein accordance with the code'in force, a transformer having an intermittent direct cur, rent feed to its primary controlled by the primary relay and a plurality of decoding relayscertain of which are connected to receive energy from the transformer secondary and to operate dis-f tinctively in accordance with the particular code in force, other of the decoding relays being'cons nected so as to depend for operation on the primary relay, and operating regardless of the particular code in force, v

18. In coded continuous train control systems, a car-carried coding relay operable to repeat trackway coded current, decoding means including relay means having its condition controlled by the coding relay, and designed to be up for all codes, a transformer, other decoding relay means connected through rectifying means to the transformer secondary, and a source of direct current applied first to one portion, and then to another, of the transformer primary, through operation of the coding relay.

19. In a coded continuous train control system, a car-carried coding relay operable to repeat trackway coded current, decoding means including a relay having its energization controlled by the coding relay, and designed to pick up and stay up for all codes, a transformer, other decoding relays connected to the transformer secondary, and a source of direct current applied first to one portion, and then to another, of the transformer primary, through operation of the coding relay.

20. In a coded continuous train control system, car-carried apparatus including, a coding relay operable to repeat trackway coded current, and decoding means including a transformer, a source of direct current applied alternately to diiTerent portions of the transformer primary with the application thereof controlled by operation of the coding relay, and a plurality of decoding relays connected to be selectively energized from the transformer secondary in accordance with the operation of the coding relay.

WILLIAM B. HAILES.

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