US1404542A - Annunciator - Google Patents

Description

J. W. POPE.

ANNUNCIATOR. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19,1919- RENEWED JUN E 22,1921- 1,4O4,542 Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- WI T/VESSES- J. W. POPE.

ANNUNCIATOR. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19,1919. RENEWED JUNE 22,1921.

1,404,542. Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

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5 v :2 1 l E5 r- E 25 4/363 v6 i/ a u u fig 7 WITNESSES INVENTOH A TTORNEYS J. W. POPE.

ANNUNCIATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 19, 19:9. RENEWED JUNE 22.1921.

' 1,404,542. Patented Jan. 24,1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVENTO/i ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WESLEY POPE, 0F MEMIBHIS, TENNESSEE.

ANNUNCIATOR.

Application filed November 19, 1919, Serial No. 339,058. Renewed June 22, 1921.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN IVESLEY Porn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Annunciators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in annunciators, and has for its object to provide adevice of the character specified especially adapted for use with the fare-collecting device forming the subject matter of my copending application, Serial No. 327 ,896,

filed October 2, 1919, for announcing approaching street intersections, wherein the annunciator is controlled to announce the next street intersection by the movement of the turn stile to permit the exit of a passenger at the preceding stop, and wherein mechanism is provided under the control of the motorman for operating the annunciator in dependently f the movement of the turn stile.

In the drawings Figure l is a horizontal section showing a part of a car provided with the one man fare collecting and controlling system;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the car showing the turn stile and annunciator;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the annunciator casing;

Figure 4 is a vertical section through the annunciator casing at right angles to Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the gear shift mechanism, controlled by the closing of the door,

Figure 6 is a partial horizontal section of the car, showing gear controlling mechanism for open end cars.

The present embodiment of the invention is shown in connection with a car 1 of any usual or desired construction, the said car having front and rear doors, one of which is indicated at 2, and these doorsare opened by a controller 3 secured to a shaft 4 mounted at the front of the car, in convenient position for engagement by the motorman.

An'elbow lever 5 is pivoted at 6 between the door and the controller and one arm of the lever is connected by a link 7 with the doors, to open the same. The other arm is connected by a link 8'with a radial arm 9 on the shaft 4. It will be evident that by means of the controller the doors may be opened and closed.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

Serial no. 479,704.

A rod 10 is mounted to move longitudi" nally of the car near the side having the door 2, and this rod is connected by a link 11 with that arm of the elbow lever 5 to which the link 8 is connected. Thus, when the controller is operated'to open the door, the rod 10 will be moved in one direction and when the controller is operated to close the door, the rod will be moved in the opposite direction. This rod controls the door at the opposite end of the car through a similar mechanism to that shown at the front door, and not necessary further to describe.

The annunciator comprises a suitable casing 12 arranged in any suitable position, as for instance, at the front of the car, and above the turn stile indicated at 13, and a vertical shaft 14 operated by the turn stile extends upwardly to the annunciator and controls the movement of the same.

This shaft 14 at its upper end extends into the casing 12 and is provided with a bevel gear 15, which meshes with asimilar gear 16 on a shaft 17 journalled longitudinally of the casing. This shaft 17 carries a bevel gear 18 which meshes with a similar gear 18 on a shaft 19, which is connected with the winding rollers 20 and 23 of the strip 21, which carries the street intersections to be announced in a manner to be presently described. The strip 21 passes over direction elements 24:, which are arranged above and below the opening 25 in the annunciator casing through which the indications on the strip appear.

It will be evident from the description that whenever the shaft 1a is rotated by a departingpassenger the winding rollers 20 and 23 will be rotated to displace that indication which is at the opening 25, and to bring into display position another indication, namely, that of the next intersecting street. In order to compensate for the dif ferent speed in movement of the winding rollers, due to the greater amount of strip on one roller or reel than upon the other, the mechanism shown at the left in Fig. 4 is provided.

A rod 26 is engaged with each end of the shaft of one of the rollers 2%, in the present instance the lower roller, the said rod having a bearing 27 for engaging the endof the shaft, and the rod is mounted to slide in a casing 28 held in the casing 12.

A coil spring 29 encircles the rod withln the casing, being arranged between a. stop pin on the rod and the end of the casing remote from the roller .the spring acting normally to press the roller away from the.

winding rollers. Thus the difference in speed between the rollers will be compensated for. A source of illumination 31, in the present instance an electric light, is placed behind that portion of the strip which is displayed at theopening 25.

It is obvious that it will frequently happen that more than one passenger will leave the car at the same time, and hence that the turn stile will be advanced more than enough to operate the annunciator'to move the strip a distance between two indications. Hence mechanism is provided for disconnecting the turn stile from the annunciator after it has moved far enough to advance the strip the requireddistance, that is, after the passage of one passenger. The said mechanism is shown more particularly in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The shaft 17 before mentioned is movable longitudinally in its hearings, to disengage the gear 16 from the gear 15, and it is controlled in its longitudinal movement by a pin 32, on the gear wheel 15, which engages the gear 16 at a predetermined point in the rotation of the gear 15, to move the shaft 17 longitudinally away from the casing 12, and

to disengage the gears 15 and 16. This pin 19 is so arranged that it will disengage the gears 15 and 16 at the moment when a new indication is displayed at the opening 25. The gear 16 is restored to its proper position with respect to the gear 15 by the closing of the door. As shown in Figs. 1 and5, a bell crank 33 pivoted adjacent to the rod 10, has one arm connected with the shaft 17 in such manner that while the shaft may rotate freely with respect to the arm, the shaft must be moved longitudinally when the arm is swung on its pivotal connection. The other arm of the bell crank is adapted to be engaged by a pin 37 on the rod 10.

The bell crank 33 is connected to the shaft 17 in such manner that the shaft 17 may rotate freely with respect to the bell crank, but may be moved longitudinally by the swinging of the bell crank. When the gears 15 and 16 are in mesh, the bell crank 33 is out of position to be engaged by the pin 37, so that the doors may be opened or closed without interfering with the bell crank, that is, they may be opened or closed between stops. When, however, the turning of the turn stile by an alighting passenger moves the gear 16 out of mesh with the gear 15, the bell crank isthrown into position to be engaged by the pin 37. The opening of the door does not affect the bell crank but the closing of the 7 strip be moved by mechanism other than that connected with the turn stile. For this purpose a cord 38' is provided having a grip 39 in convenient position for engagement by the motorman, the cord passing over direction elements 40. This cord passes into the indicator casing, and is connected with a lever 41, a coil spring 42 being arranged between the lever and the casing wall of said spring encircling the cord and acting to return the lever to normal position when it has been moved by the motorman.

Pawls 43 and 44 are connected with the ends of the lever 41 and these pawls engage ratchet wheels 45 and-46, respectively on the winding rollers 20 and 23. Each of these ratchet wheels'is loosely journaledon the shaft of its roller and carries a pawl 47 which engages a ratchet wheel 48 rigid with the'roller. These pawls and ratchets 43-45, 44-46, and 47-48 are oppositely arranged are arranged between the lever near its pivotal connection and the respectlve'pawls, the

springs acting to hold the pawls in engagement with the ratchet wheels.

Referring to Figs. 3'and 4 it will be seen that the ratchet wheels 45-46are similar and similarly arranged, and are moved in the same direction by the pawls 43-44.

Thus when the lever 40 is vibrated with its top moving toward the left of Fig. 4, both ratchet wheels would be advanced were both in engagement with their respective pawls, but one pawl is, however, in engagement with a ratchet wheel at the same time. Whenever a turn stile is not operated at a street intersection, the motorman merely draws down on the grip 39. This wings the lever 41 and advances the rollers a sufiicient distanceto display a new indication.

In order to provide for a reverse movement of the strip on the return trip of the car. means is provided for making either roller 20 or 23 the controlling roller for. the winding. The said means is shown in Fig. 4. V a

A worm 51 is arranged between the rollers 20 and 28, and this worm meshes with worm wheels 52 on the shafts of the rollers 20 and 23; This worm may mesh with the worm wheel 52 of either roller but cannot mesh with bothworm wheels at the same time. It is secured on a shaft 19 before mentioned, and the shaft .19 is journaled in a] as will be evident from an inspection of Fig.

sleeve 53 to which are secured links 54 extending longitudinally of the sleeve. These links are pivoted intermediate their ends as shown at 6, so that the shaft and sleeve may swing on the pivots far enough to engage the worm with either worm wheel. The shaft is swung bymeans of a link 57, which is connected at its upper end to the sleeve, and extends at its lower end through an opening in the underside of the casing 12, where it has a head for convenience in manipulating the same. The link has teeth 58 which are adapted to engage the edge of the opening in the casing 12, through which the link extends, to lock the link and the shaft in adjusted position. A bar 59 is mounted to slide vertically in guides 60 in the casing 12, and the ends of this bar are in. position to alternately engage the pawls 4344. This bar 59 is connected to the sleeve 53 in which the shaft 19 is journaled by the links and it will be evident that when the worm is engaged with either worm wheel the bar 59 will be moved in the opposite direction.

lVhen the worm is engaged with the worm wheel 52 of the roller 20 the strip will be moved in one direction, while when the worm is engaged with the worm wheel of the roller 23 it will be obvious that the strip will be moved in the opposite direct-ion. Thus by means of the link 57 the movement of the strip may be reversed at the end of each trip; that is, either roller 20 or 23 may be the controlling or active roller for the winding, the other roller being the passive roller. When either roller 20 or is connected with the driving mechanism, that is, with the worm 51, the connection of the worm with the roller disengages the pawl 43 or 44 as the case may be, from the other roller, so that the grip 39 will only actuate the controlling or active roller and not the passive roller. As for instance, when the worm 51 is engaged with the worm wheel 52 of the roller 20, the pawl 44 will be disengaged from the roller 23. hen now the grip 39. is thrown downward only the pawl 43 will be operated, the pawl 44 being out of engaging position.

The operation of the device is as follows: On the out, trip for instance, the link 57 wvill be moved, so that the lowermost notch 58 will engage with the edge of the opening in the casing 12. The worm 51 is now engaged with the worm wheel of the roller 20. lVhenever a passenger departs by way of the turn stile, the shaft 20 will be rotated a snificient distance to move one indication from display position, and another indication into display position. At the end of the movement of the turn stile sufficient to supply a new indication, the pin 32 comes into play, moving the shaft 17 longitudinally and disengagingthe gears 15 and 16.

This movementor disengagement places the bell crank 33 in position to be engaged by the pin 37. Now several passengers may pass out by way of the turn stile, without affecting the winding rollers. When the motorman closes the door, the gear 16 will be restored into mesh with the gear 15 and the device will be again ready to operate. If no passengers alight at an intersection, the motorman will pull down on the grip 39, thus advancing the controlling roller a sufiicient distance to display a new indication.

In Figure 6 there is shown mechanism for engaging and disengaging the gears 15 and 16 on open end cars, that is cars without doors to be opened and closed on stopping and starting. This mechanism takes the place of that shown at the right of Figure 5.

Vith this arrangement a lever 60 is pivoted to the front wall of the car as indicated at 61, and the rear end of the lever has a rotatable connection with the shaft 17. lVhen the turn stile has disengaged the gear 16 from the gear 15 through the pin 32, the lever 60 will restore the shaft 17 to normal position, through the movement of the controller lever indicated at 62, in turning on the current to start the car. A shaft 63 is journaled in bearings on the car wall adjacent to the controller box 64, and this shaft has an arm at its upper end which is connected by alink 65 with the lever 60 before mentioned. At its lower end the shaft 63 has an arm 66 which extends into position to be engaged with the controller lever, when it is swung to turn on the current. With this arrangement, when the motornian turns on the current to start the car, the lever 60 will be operated to a-estore the shaft 17 to a position such that the gears 15 and 16 will engage, to permit the turn stile to operate the annunicator.

I claim 1. In combination with a car having manually operated door controlling means, and a turn stile to be operated by departing passengers, of a pair of winding rollers, means operable at will for connecting either winding roller to the turn stile to. cause the roller to be turned by the turning of the stile, a strip bearing announcements supported by the winding rollers, display rollers for presenting a portion of the strip in display position, means for tensioning the strip between the winding rollers, means controlled by the turning of the turn stile beyond a predetermined point for releasing the turn stile from the winding rollers, means controlled by the closing of the doors of the carfor restoring ing roller to the turn stile to cause the roller.

to be turned by the turning of the stile, a strip bearing announcements supported by the winding rollers, display rollers for presenting a portion of the strip in display position, means for tensioning the strip between the winding rollers, means controlled by the turning of the turn stile beyond a predetermined point for releasing the turn stile 7 from the winding rollers, means controlled b the closin of the doors of the car for restoring the connection between the windingrollers and the turn stile, and manu- V ally controlled means for controlling the winding rollers. V

3. In combination with a car having manually operated door controlling means, and a turn stile to be operated by departing passengers, of a pair of winding rollers, means operable at will for connecting either winding roller to the turn stile to cause the roller to be turned by the turning of the. stile, a strip bearing announcements supported by the winding rollers, display rollers for presenting a portion of the strip in display position, means for tensioning the strip betweenthe winding rollers, means controlled by the turning of the turn stile beyond a predetermined point for releasing the turn stile from the winding rollers, and means controlled by the closing of the doors of the car for restoring the connection between the winding rollers and the turn Sll1l.'

4c. In combination with a car having man- I ually operated door controlling means, and

a turn stile to be operated by departingpassengers, of a pair of winding rollers, means operable at will for connecting either winding roller to the turn stile to'cause the roller to be turned by the turning of the stile, a strip bearing announcements supported by the winding rollers, display rollers for presenting a portion of the strip in display position, means for tensioning the strip between the Winding rollers, and means controlled by the turning of the turn stile beyond a predetermined point for releasing the turn stile from the winding rollers.

5. In combination with a car having manually operated door controlling means, and a turn stile to be operated by departing passengers, of an annunciator for indicating the street intersections, means controlled by the turning of the slide for operating the annunciator, means controlled by the turning of the stile beyond a predetermined point for releasing the annunciator from the stile, and

means controlled by; the door controlling ually operated door controlling means, and

a turn stile to be operated by departing passengers, of an annunciator for indicating the street intersections, means controlled by'the turning of the stile for operating the annunciator, and means controlled by the turning of the stile beyonda predetermined point for releasing the annunciator from the stile.

7 In combination with a car having a turn stile operated by departing passengers to register fares, of an annunciator for indicating street" intersections, means controlled-by the turning of the stile for operating the annunciator,,means controlled by the turning of the stile beyond a predetermined angle for releasing the turn stile from the annunciator,and manually operated means for restoring the connection.

8. In combination with a car having a turn stile operated by departing passengers to register fares, of an annunciator for indicating street intersections, means controlled by the turning of the stile tor operating the annunciator, and means controlled by turning of the stile beyond a predetermined angle for releasing the turn stile from the annunciator.

9. In combination'with a car having a turn stile operated by departing passengers to register fares, of an annunciator for indicating street intersections, means controlled by the turning'of the stile for operating the annunciator, means controlled by the turning of the stile beyond a predetermined angle for releasing the turn stile from the annunciator, and manually controlled means for reversing the connection between the annunciator and the turn stile.

10. In combination with a car having a turn stile operated by departing passengers to register fares, of an annunciator for indicating street intersections, means controlled by the turning of the stile for operating the annunciator, and means controlled by the turning of the stile beyond a predef termined angle for releasing the turn stile from the annunciator. V

11. In combination with a car, of an annunciator for indicating street intersections,

means normally blocking exit from the car "and adapted to be moved by a departing pas manually controlled door operating means and a fare registering controlling means adapted to be moved by a passenger to operate the same, of an annunciator, a connection between the annunciator and the fare register controlling means for controlling the annunciator, means controlled by the fare register controlling means for releasing the connection between the register and the an nunciator for each operation of the annunciator by the register, and means controlled by the closing of the doors for restoring the connection.

13. In combination with a car, of an annunciator for indicating street intersections, means normally blocking exit from the car adapted to be moved by a departing passenger, a connection between said means and the annunciator for operating the annunciator, means controlled by the blocking means for releasing the connection between the an nunciator and the blocking means, and means controlled by the starting of the car for restoring said connection.

14:. In combination with a car, of an annunciator for indicating street intersections, means normally blocking exit from the car adapted to be moved by a departing passenger, a connection between said means and the annunciator for operating the annunciator, means controlled by the blocking means for releasing the connection between the anmunicator and the blocking means, and means trolling the annunciator, means controlled by the fare register controlling means for releasing the connection between the annunciator and the said fare register controlling means, and means controlled by the starting of the car for restoring the said connection.

16. In combination with a car, of an an nunciator carrying a series of announcements, means normally blocking the entrance or exit to the car and adapted to be moved by an entering or departing passenger, a connection between the said means and the annunciator for operating the annunciator to cause the same to display the announcements in succession, and means controlled by the blocking means for releasing the connection between the annunciator and the blocking means after the annunciator has been moved far enough to display a new announcement.

JOHN WESLEY POPE.

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