US1148572A - Street and station annunciator. - Google Patents

Description

E. C. BRULL'.

STREET AND STATION ANNUNCIATOR.

APPLICATION FILEDIOCT. 14. 1912.

' 1,148,572 Patented Aug. 3,1915.

3 SHEETS--SHEET I.

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E. C. BRULL.

STREET AND STATION ANNUNCIATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14. 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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o a o COLUMBIA PLANOGBAPH C0 WASHINGTON. D. C.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

E. C. BRULL.

STREET AND STATION ANNUNCTATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14. 1912.

1,148,572 Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- EUGENE C. BRULL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STREET AND STATION ANNUNCIAT'OR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au 3, 1915.

Application filed October 14, 1912. Serial No. 725,562.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EUGENE C. BRULL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street and'Station Annunciators; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full clear, and exact description of the same reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numbers of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Numerous attempts'have been made heretoforeto construct a street and station annunciator adapted to accurately indicate or announce the neXt succeeding stop or station of the street (or other) railway car or vehicleequipped therewith. Such devices have not heretofore gone into any considerable use, largely for the reason that the devices when constructed, fail to operate with sufficient accuracy and reliability to prove dependable.

It is an object of the invention to afford a construction adapted "to operate with the utmost accuracy and reliability, and so simply constructed as to be capable of operation for long periods of time without the attention of the operator.

It is also an object of the invention to afford a construction in which the motive circuit for driving the machine is derived from the trolley circuit, and so constructed as to bring the indicator mechanism in circuit with th'e'power current to shift the mechanism successively to indicate the successive streets and to afford mechanism whereby mistake or improper indication is impos sible.

It is also an object of the invention 'to afford a construction adapted for use on ordinary trolley cars 'orthird rail cars.

It is a further object of the invention to afford an indicating mechanism of the class described, connected 'to'be impelled by the trolley circuit and to afiord means making thecircuit with the motor "forthe indicator at a point between streets and to maintain said circuit until the indicator has been shifted and then to immediately break the circuit.

It is also an object of the invention to afford 'an -'exceedingly simple, compact and durable device adapted for immediate re- *versal to permit the-same to be used with equal facility when the car or vehicle is driven in either direction.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings: Figure l is an enlarged, transverse section thereof, showing the indicator or annunciator installed in the car. Fig. 2 is an enlarged face view of the annunciator. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, with parts omitted. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4:4: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 8. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a section on line 77'of Fig. 4, and showing the tape driving shaft in elevation, and the mechanism secured thereon in section. Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional detail of one of the spool shafts. Fig. 10 is a fragmentary face View of-the indicator'strip or tape.

As shown in the drawings: 1, indicates the car as a whole, having the'annunciator indicated as a whole by 2, therein, and which comprises a base plate 3, adapted to afl'ord attachment to the side or end of the car, and a removable sheet metal casing 4, secured on said base and inclosing the mechanism of the indicator hereinafter described. As shown, one end of said casing is closed by an end plate 5, which may be removably engaged thereto. Rigidly secured on said base plate, are parallel frame members 6 and 7. Said frame members are'secured on said base 3, in parallel relatiom'and are in sulated from the face thereof by means of insulating feet or supports 8,0n which said I frame plates are secured. The frame plate 6, is provided on its outer side or that adjacent the removable end plate 5, with a transverse T groove near-both the upper and lower ends thereof, and in which are slidably engaged T bars 9. Said frame plate 6, is also provided centrally with a deep horizontal groove or recess having a dovetailed slot in the bottom 'thereof,and in whichslidably engages an actuator bar,-preferably an armature bar 10, of soft iron. Journaled on the upper ends-and lower ends respectively of said frame plates'6 and 7, are the composite spool shafts, each of which-comprises a rotative stud shaft 13, provided on its outer end with a milled "head '14:, for manual engagement, and journaled in-a suitable bracket '15,=on said -frame plate 6, At

the inner side of said bracket a ratchet wheel 16, is rotatably mounted upon said shaft and bearing on the inner side thereof is a flanged collar 17 and mounted at the inner end of the stud shaft is a collar 18, the hubs of said collars in both instances being directed the one toward the other. A pintle or gudgeon 19, is provided on said shaft coaXially therewith, and adapted to seat in a suitable aperture in the spool 20, while a gudgeon 21, secured on the opposite end of the spool seats in a suitable recess therefor in the frame bar 7. Secured on the hubs of the collars 17 and 18, is a spiral spring 22, which permits the stud shaft 13, to be pulled outwardly sufficiently to permit the insertion or removal of one of the spools 20, and which also exerts suflicient friction upon the flange 17, of said collar to permit said shaft to be rotated through the medium of the ratchet wheel 16, or to permit the spool to be rotated reversely from the direction of rotation of said ratchet wheel as desired. The spool shaft journaled at the lower end of the bracket or frame plate 6, is constructed in accordance similarly with the upper spool shaft just described, and is provided with a ratchet wheel 23, corresponding in all particulars with the ratchet wheel 16,- before described.

J ournaled transversely 1 of the machine and between the upper and lower spool shafts, is a shaft 24, and rigidly secured thereon are gear wheels 25 and 26. Journaled in a suitable bracket 27, projecting forwardly from each of said frame plates, is a clutch shaft 28, having rotatably mounted thereon pinions 29 and 30, the latter constantly meshing with the gear wheel 26, and the other meshing with a gear wheel 31, which is j ournaled on a stud 32, and which meshes also with gear 25. The inner end of the hub of each of the pinions 29 and 30, is shaped to afford a spur or tooth clutch, and splined on said clutch shaft is a sliding clutch member 33, the ends of which respectively are shaped complementally with the adjacent ends of said hubs to engage the same and to drive said shaft from either of the pinions 29 or 30 thereby. A lever 34, provided with a yoke 35,-which engages said clutch member 03, is adapted for use in shifting said. member longitudinally of the shaft into driving engagement with either pinion. The end of said lever projects below the casing and marked on a suitable tablet or indicator board below the casing are the words In and Out to indicate which (if either) of the pinions is in driving engagement with said clutch member. When the lever is positioned centrally, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the clutch vmember engages neither of said pinions, and

hence the indicator orannunciator is neutral, or, in other words, is out of operation.

margins of the indicator or annunciator tape 38, as shown in Fig. 10, the ends of which are wound around the respective spools 20.

Pivotally engaged on the frame of the bracket or plate 6, on each side of the central slot therein for the armature 10, are upwardly and downwardly directed levers 39 and 40, the adjacent ends of which are provided with slotted apertures, and receive.

a pin 41, secured on the armature therein, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. The oppositely directed ends of said levers are provided with slotted apertures and receive therein pins engaged on the T bars 9, slidable in the upper and lower slots respectively in said frame bar, and pivotally engaged on each of said T bars in position to engage and drive the ratchet wheels 16 and 23 respectively, are spring pressed pawls 43, which are at all times held in engagement with said ratchet wheels to drive the same oppositely.

Secured on the shaft 24, to swing thereon, is a lever, the downwardly directed longer end 44, of which is provided at its extremity with a spring pressed pawl 45, which engages a ratchet wheel 46, secured on the shaft 24, to drive said shaft. The upper or shorter end 47, of said lever, is provided with a slotted aperture to receive a pin 48, therein engaged in said armature 10, so that reciprocation of said armature serves to actuate said lever and consequently rotate the shaft 24. A spiral pulling spring 49, is suitably secured upon the frame plate and on the lower end of said lever and acts to hold the armature normally retracted, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

Secured upon said base 3, and opposite the end of the armature, as shown in Fig. 3, is an electro-magnet 50, one wire of which may be grounded to the truck or track, and the other wire of which leads upwardly to the trolley pole 52, as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation is as follows: The indicator or annunciator tape or strip, suitably wound upon spools 20, and appropriate to the trip the car is about to make, is secured in place by slightly withdrawing the stud shafts for the rolls to permit the same to be inserted into place. The annunciator is then turned by means of the milled heads 14, on the spool shafts until the proper street indication for the then position of the car is shown. The adjusting lever 34:, is now actu ated. If the outward trip of the car is to be made, said lever is swung to the right and over the word Out. This shifts the sliding clutch member 33, into engagement with the pinion 30, so that the shaft 38, and the feed wheels 36, are thereby driven from the gear wheel 26. If it is the return trip, said lever is adjusted over the word In, so that the drive is communicated to the shaft 28, and feed wheels 36, through the medium of the pinion 31, whereby the drive is reversed from that of the normal direction of rotation of the gear wheel 25. As the car proceeds, passing the first street, the electromagnet 50 is energized in any suitable manner through the trolley pole 52 and the armature drawn forwardly, thus swinging the lever 44, oppositely from the direction of movement of the armature, and rotating the ratchet wheel 46, one notch, thereby driving the gear shaft 24, and the gear wheels thereon and driving the pinion 30, shaft 28, and feed wheels 36, a greater distance owing to said pinion being of smaller size. Said impulse of the armature also reciprocates the T bars 9, the pawls on said T bars engaging their ratchet wheels and rotating the same; one notch. The rotation of the feed wheels 36, has drawn a portion of the indicator or strip from one of the spools 20, and is delivering the same toward the other of said spools. In consequence, some tension is exerted by the draft of said feed wheels on one of the spools, while the slack of the tape is delivered toward the other. Under these conditions, the appropriate spool (for example, the lower one) is rotated sufiiciently to take up the slack of the tape or strip, while the other spool, being held by the tension of the strip thereon from reverse rotation, permits the ratchet wheel normally driving the same to rotate independently thereof under the drive ofits pawl. This operation is continued until the end of the street is reached, or the end of the trip, in each instance the throw of the ratchet wheel 46, one tooth being sufficient to swing into view at the view aperture shown at A in Fig. 3, the name of the street the vehicle is about to cross. The car having reached the end of its trip and being about to return, proper adjustment of the lever 34, to the In position, will shift the clutch into engage ment with the other pinion on said shaft, whereby said shaft and feed wheels are driven through the medium of the reversing pinion 31, when the tape is fed out and exposed for view street by street, but in reversed order from that at which they were exposed to view during the Out trip. Should a car ever be taken from a given run and placed upon another run, the indicator strip may be quickly removed by releasing the spools thereof from the spool shafts and substituting the spools of the proper indicator strip.

Obviously, the construction described obviates any tendency to injury of parts by arcing, and affords an exceedingly positive and simple device for the purpose described. I have shown but one (and that a preferred) form of the invention, although numerous modifications thereof will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted on this application, otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a street and station indicator for cars, a tape or strip mark ed successively with the names of the streets or stations and having perforations therein, spools for feeding and receiving said tape or strip, rotatably mounted feed wheels, pins thereon to engage in the perforations on said tape or strip, a slidably mounted actuator bar, means for reciprocating said actuator bar, levers to be actuated by said actuator bar, a pawl on one of said levers acting with the movement of said lever to drive the feed wheels appropriately for the direction of travel of the car, friction clutch means associated with said tape or strip receiving spools, and other pawls actuated by other of said levers and acting to drive said friction means simultaneously in opposite directions, whereby one of said spools will be actuated thereby to wind the tape thereon, while the other will be permitted to slip correspondingly to unwind the tape therefrom under tension. 1

2. In a street and station indicator for cars, a sliding actuator bar, a strip or tape having streets or stations marked thereon successively, spools to which the ends of the strip or tape are attached, feed wheels for the tape, a lever connected to said actuator bar, a pawl thereon acting by the sliding movement of the actuator bar to drive said feed wheels to feed said strip to expose successively to view the names of the succeeding streets, friction clutch means connected with said spools, and means actuated by said actuator bar for operating said clutch mechanisms simultaneously in opposite directions, whereby one of said spools will be actuated thereby to wind the tape thereon, while the other will be permitted to slip correspondingly to unwind the tape therefrom under tension.

3. In a street and station indicator for cars, feed wheels, peripheral teeth thereon, a tape having the names of the stations successively marked thereon and perforated along the edges for engagement by said teeth, rolls for receiving said tape, ratchet wheels for said rolls, a drive shaft, gears thereon and on the feed shaft and entrained to drive the feed wheels in either direction, a clutch for determining the direction of drive, a ratchet wheel on said driving shaft, a slidable actuator bar, a spring for retracting said bar, and pawls actuated by said bar to drive said ratchet wheel and thereby the drive shaft, and to roll up the previously exposed tape through the ratchet wheels on its rolls.

4. In a street and station indicator for cars, a slidably supported actuator bar, means for actuating the same, a station or street indicating strip, a bell crank pivoted to be actuated by said actuator bar, a pawl on said crank, feeding mechanism for the tape actuator by said pawl, a spring for retracting the actuator bar, ratchet wheels operating friction clutches for winding up the tape, and pawls also actuated simultaneously by said actuator bar to actuate the same.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I EUGENE C. BRULL. v Witnesses CHARLES W. HILLs, Jr., GEORGE R. Moons.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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