US738464A - Street or station indicator. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED SEPT. 8,- 1903.

B. LUNDIN.

I STREET 0R STATION INDICATOR.

APPLIOATIOI TILED FEB. 24, 1908.

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E. LUNDIN. STREET 0R STATION INDICATOR."

APPLIOATIOI I'ILED FEB. 24, 1993.

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PATENTED SEPT, 8. 1903.

B. LUNDIN. STREET 0R STATION INDICATOR.

APPLIOATIOI FILED FEB. 24,1903- 3 SHEETS-4311B! 3.

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UNITED STATES Patented September s, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EFRAIM LUNDIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TO MARIO L. FELKIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STREET OR STATION INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,464, dated September 8, 19031.

Application filed February 24, 1903. Serial No. 144,583- (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, EFRAIM LUNDIN, a subject of His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, and a resident of Boston, in the have invented new andjuseful Improvements in Street or Station Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to automatic street or station indicators for railwaycars, and particularly to that class of indicators that are operated by an electric motor in a circuit controlled by a wheel traveling on the road over which the cars pass.

The main feature of my improved indicator for railway-cars is that two switches are provided in the circuit of the motor which operates the announcing mechanism, and one of these switches is closed to start the motor each time the announcing mechanism is to be time it is operated.

operated and the other switch is automatically opened to stop the motor after the announcing mechanism has been operated to the required predetermined extent through the closing of the first switch. Thus in my improved indicator the motor is normally at rest and is only operated when the announcing mechanism is to be operated, and the announcing mechanism is moved to the same extent each I am therefore enabled toarrange the inscriptions of the announcing mechanism equidistant on the traveling surface, as well as to economize in the length of traveling surface employed. These results are among the objects of my invention; and it is also an object of my invention to generally improve the construction of street or station indicators of this class.

Other features of my invention are hereinafter pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation of the station-announcing mechanism. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig.

5 2. Fig. 4eis a detail of one of the spring-actuated rolls. Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of the wheel and cooperating mechanism hereinafter described for starting the motor. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 G of Fig. 5. Fig.

7 is a detail hereinafter described. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatical view showing the circuits and main elements of my improved street or station indicator.

Having reference to the drawings,the street or station announcing mechanism is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 and is placed, as usual, within a car in position to be visible to the occupants thereof. The mechanism itself is arranged within a casing or housing A, made with openings a, through which traveling sheets at, having the names of the stations inscribed thereon,are visible. l-lerein I have shown six openings a and six traveling sheets a. Each sheet a. is supported by a number of rolls that are journaled in a separate frame (F, removably secured within the housing A. The sides A of the casing A are also made removable in any suitable manner, so that frames may be withdrawn from the casing A. The object of making the frames 0. removable is that when the route over which the car is to travel is changed the frames already in position may be removed and replaced by other frames carrying sheets a properly inscribed for the new route. One end of each sheet a is fastened to a roll a and the other end is fastened to a similar roll a. Each roll a and a is hollow, (see Fig. 4,) and within the same is arranged a rubber strap a, fastened at one end to the roll and at its other end to a fixed part on frame a Herein this fixed part is shown as a stud a, fixed to frame a by means of a clamping-nut on the outer end of each stud a. Each sheet a extends from its roll a between a pair of rolls a and a and thence downwardly past its opening a between a similar pair of rolls a a and then to its roll Each roll a carries at one end a wormgear a, driven by a worm a fast on shaft a, mounted in hearings on casing or housing A. Each shaft 0. carries at its upper end a sprocket 0, driven by a chain a, which in turn is driven byasprocketa. Thesprocket a is connected with a gear (1 and both gear c0 and sprocket a are journaled on a stud posts fixed to housing A and carries a disk of insulating material N, on which is mounted a fixed. contact member or electrode b and a peripheral ring 5 To the ring 17 is pivoted a movable contact member 5 adapted to contact with the member 19 Pivoted member b is acted upon by two springs b which tend to hold said member in'contact with member 19 Mounted upon the under side of the body of the car is a casing 0, within which is arranged a frame 0. In hearings on frame 0 is journaled a shaft a, carrying a drum c and on one end of said shaft is mounted a wormgear 0 The gear 0 is driven by a worm c, fixed to one end of a shaft 0 to the opposite end of which is fixed a wheel 0, adapted to travel on the road over which the car is passing. Rotation of wheel 0 acts through worm c to rotate gear 0 and drum 0 Drum c is provided with a spiral row of pins 0', one end of which row is at one end of drum 0 and the other end thereof at the opposite end of said drum. Alongside the drum c is a screw-shaft c journaled at its ends in the frame 0 and carrying at one end a pinion a, driven by the gear 0 On screw 0 is mounted a switch-carrier 0 carrying a movable contact member D and two spring contact members (i, and said carrier is moved by screw a sidewise longitudinally of drum 0 in one direction when the car is traveling in one direction and in the opposite direction when the car is traveling in the opposite direction. One end of the switch-carrier c is mounted to slide on a guide-rod c, fixed at its ends to the frame c,so that carrier- 0 is rigidly supported. The relative speeds of screw 0 and drum 0 are such that contact member D on the inner end of the carrier 0 when started at one end of the spiral row of pins 0 will be caused to traverse that row and contact with every pin in it. Each pin 0 represents a station on the route, and by properly spacing the pins of the spiral row and locating each pin in its proper place on the drum each pin will operate member D at a time during the travel of the car over its route when the car reaches the point on its route at which it is desired to announce the station represented by that pin. In other words, the rowof pins 0 represents the route of the car and each pin 0 a station on that route, and the sidewise movement of switch carrier 0 and the rotary movement of drum 0 are such that the contact member D, mounted on carrier 0 is caused to traverse the spiral row of pins at the same relative rate of speed the car is traveling over its route, One contact member 01 is connected by a wire (1 with one set of armatures of a motor B, and the other spring contact member-is connected by a wire (1 with another set of armatures of the motor B. (See Fig. 8.) Motor B is connected by a Wire (1 with the fixed contact member 12 carried by disk I), and the peripheral ring I) is in contact with a spring-finger d connected by a wire 61 with the ground. The contact member D is connected by a wire 11 with any source or supply of electrical energy-as, for instance, with the trolley-wire of the road.

It will be seen now that when contact member D is engaged by a pin 0 traveling in one direction said member is thrown into contact with one of the contact members at and a circuit is closed through one set of armatures of motor B, and when contact member D is engaged by a pin 0 traveling in the opposite direction said member contacts with the other member cl and a circuit is closed through the other set of armatures of motor B. The engagement of contact member D with either one of the contact members d thus starts the motor B in operation, but in one direction when member D is operated by the pins traveling in one direction and in the opposite direction when member D is operated by the pins traveling in the opposite direction.

When motor 13 is set in operation in either direction, as above described, the pinion I), carried by its armature-shaft, rotates gear a and sprocket a, which, acting through the chain (1 and sprocket (1 rotates the two shafts a The two shafts a when actuated act through the worms a and worm-gears a to rotate the rolls a which act to positively draw the sheets a from one roll a or a, thus winding up the band a of that roll, allowing the other end of the sheet to be automatically wound upon the other P01166301 a by the band a of that roll as it unwinds.

In order that the sheets a shall be moved to the same extent at each operation and only far enough to carry one inscription past its opening a and to present the next inscription, a movable stop If is provided, mounted on an armature I), that is operated by a magnet b. One end of the coil of magnet b is connected by a wire Z9 with a pair of electrodes or contact members I), mounted on carrier One contact member b cooperates with one contact member 61, and the other member Z9 cooperates with the other contact member 01. When either contact memberdis engaged by the movable member D, it is bent slightly, so that it is not onlyin contact with member D,but with member 19 also. The other end of the coil of magnet b is connected by a wire I) with the wire d Normally stop b is held out of the path of pivoted member 12 by a spring I); but when a pin o operates member D and one of the members d is caused to contact with one of the contacts 5 a shunt-circuit is closed through the magnet b, which operates its armature and throws stop 12 against the end of pivoted member 12 At the same time a circuit is closed through motor B, and the operation of motor B carries the pivoted member b away from stop b", which is then moved farther forward by magnet Z) behind the outer end of pivoted member b7. When disk I) nearly completes one revolution, the outer end of pivoted member b is brought around against the stop'b flthen in its path,and the continued movement of disk 12 causes member 11 to be swung on its pivot until its inner end is moved out of contact with the fixed contact member If, carried by disk 12 This breaks the circuit through motor B and stops its operation. Stop b however, remains in the path of the outer end of pivoted member 19 until the pin 0 frees cont-act member D, which not only makes a second break at D din the circuit of motor B, but also opens the shunt-circuit through magnet I), Whereupon armature I1 is swung back by spring 1) far enough to carry stop 19 out of engagement with the end of pivoted member 12 which is then swung back into contact with fixed contact member 19 by one of the springs b This carries the outer end of pivoted member 12 into the path of stop b, and the operation is repeated when the next pin 0 engages member D.

It will now be observed that when the direction of travel of the car is reversed the direction of rotation of drum 0 and the direction of sidewise movement of carrier 0 is reversed and that this results in the reversal of the motor B and disk I), as well as of they announcing mechanism, which is actuated by said motor. Pivoted member 19 and stop I) cooperate, as above described, for either direction of movement of disk Z). Thus the operation of the announcing mechanism within casing A is automatically'reversed when the direction of travel of the car is reversed.

The motor herein represented is of that type having two sets of armatures so arranged that when oneset is in operation the armature-shaft is driven in one direction and when the other set is in operation the armature-shaft is driven in the opposite direction. If desired, however, any other arrangement of motor or motors may be substituted in lieu of that herein shown that will becontrolled by the double-acting switch or carrier 0 without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

When the route over which the car is to travel is changed, the frames at are removed, as above described, and others substituted which are properly inscribed for the new route, and, as will be obvious, it is also 1160".

obvious that it maybe used on other vehicles than railway-cars.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a device of the character indicated, in combination, announcing mechanism; a motor for operating the announcing mechanism; a switch in the circuit of said motor; means for intermittently closing said switch to start the motor; a second switch in the circuit of said motor, and means operated by said motor when its circuit is closed through the first switch for automatically opening the second switch to stop the motor after the lat ter has operated to a predetermined extent.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, announcing mechanism; a motor for operating the announcing mechanism; a normally open switch in the circuit of said motor; means for intermittently operating said switch to intermittently start the motor; a second normally closed switch in the circuit of said'motor, and means operated by said motor when its circuit is closed through the first switch for automatically operating the second switch alternately with relation to the operations of the first-mentioned switch so as to stop the motor after the latter has operated to a predetermined extent.

3. In a street or station indicator, in combination, street or station announcing mechanism; a motor for actuating the announcing mechanism; a-cireuit in which said motor is arranged; a switch in said circuit; a wheel on which said switch is mounted; means connecting the wheel and motor; a stop for operating the switch; and automatic means for operating the stop.

4. In a street or station indicator, in combination, street or. station announcing mechanism; a motor for actuating the announcing mechanism; a circuit in which said motor is arranged; a switch in said circuit; a wheel on which said switch is mounted; means connecting the wheel and motor; a shunt-circuit around the motor; a magnet in the shunt; an armature controlled by the magnet; a stop controlled by the armature for operating the switch on the wheel; and means for intermittently operating the motor-circuit.

5. In a street or station indicator, in combination, street or station announcing mechanism; a pair of motor-circuits; a motor in both of said circuits for actuating the announcing mechanism; a switch in said circuits; a wheel on which said switchis mounted; means connecting the wheel and motor; a shunt-circuit for each motor-circuit; a magnet in both shunts; an armature controlled by the magnet; a stop controlled by the armature for operating the switch on the wheel; means operated by the car traveling in one direction to intermittently close one motorcircuit and shunt, and means operated by the car traveling in the opposite direction to intermittently close the other motor-circuit and shunt.

6. In a street or station indicator, in commotor-circuits; and means operated by the bination, street or station announcing inechtravel of the car for'intermittently operating anism; a pair of motor-circuits; a motor in said switch to close one motor-circuit when 15 said circuits for actuating the announcing the car is traveling in one direction and to 5 mechanism; a switch for controlling said circlose the other motor-circuit when the car is cuits; a Wheel on which said switch is mounttraveling in the opposite direction.

ed; means connecting the Wheel and motor; Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts,

ashunt-circnit for each motor-circuit; a magthis 20th day of February, 1903.

net in both shunts; an armature controlled EFRAIM LUNDIN. :o by the magnet; a stop controlled by the ar- Witnesses:

mature for operating the switch on the wheel; ROBERT (JUsHMAN,

a double-acting switch for controlling the two MARIO L. FELKIN.

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