US882675A - Announcing or station indicator for railroads and street-cars. - Google Patents

Description

-No. 882,675. PATBNTED MAR. 24, 1908.

W. S. GUNTER & O. E. WELTON. ANN-OUNGING OR STATION INDICATOR FOR .RAILRUADS AND STREET CARS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.18. 1908. EENBWED JAN- 30, 1908.'

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W; S. GU-NTER & G. E. WELTON. ANNOUNGING 0R STATION INDICATOR FOR RAILROADS AND STREET CARS.

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(June/44 60 flttozmuao No. 882,675 PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908. W. S. GUNTER & O. E. WELTON.

ANNOUNCING OR STATION INDICATOR FOR RAILROADS AND STREET CARS.

' APPLICATION FILED 001'. 18. 1906. RENEWED JAN. 30. 1908.

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arl ozne aao UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Will/1AM S. (ilN'llC'R. ()l SWHDEBURG, AND (ARRIE E.WELI.ON, OF FAIRBURY, NEBRASKA.

ANNOUNCING OR STATION INDICATOR FOR RAIfLROADS AND STREET-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 24, 1908.

Application filed October 18, 1906, Serial No. 339,479. Renewed January 30, 1908. Serial No. 413,467.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, WILLIAM S. GUNTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at I Swedeburg, Saunders county, Nebraskaand .act description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 'ap ertains to make and use the same.

his invention relates to improvements in announcing or station indicators for railroads and street cars; I The object of the invention is to provide a device of this character, by means of which stations or stopping places may be indicated to the passengers in a car as the same approaches said. stopping places, means bein provided whereby an alarm will be sounde as each station is approached, thereby calling the attention of the assengers to the name dis layed by the indlcator.

he foregoing and other objects are accomplished by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which, I i

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a station indicator, constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view with the front of the casing removed; Fig. 3 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale of the operating mechanism, the front of the casing and the indicating apron being removed; Fig-4 is an end elevation of the operating mechanism, the end of the casing being removed;

and Fig. 5 is-a detail sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes thecasing of the indicator,.

apron-winding roll 4 and a lower apron-wind ing roll 5, upon which is adapted to be wound and unwound an Indicating apron 6 contamor any-other suitable matter to be displayed by the indicator. Substantially midway between the'upper and lower iwinding rolls 4 and 5 is journaled an operating roller 7, said roller having adjacent to each end a series of radially projecting pins or studs 8, which are adapted to engage suitable perforations?) formed in the indicating apron 6, adjacent to each edge of the same; On one'end of'the shaft 10 of the roller 7 is loosely mounted two operating beveled gears 12 and 13, said gears being adapted to be alternately locked into engagement with shaft 10 by means of a double-faced clutch 14, which is keyed to slide upon the shaft 10, betweensaid gears, and to be shifted into engagement with gear teeth 15 on the adjacent inner faces of the gears. The clutch 14 is provided with a suitable shifting lever 16, which is pivotallymounted in the framework 3 of the indicator and is connected to a suitable au-tomatically operated mechanism, hereinafter to be described.

Meshing with the gears 12 and 13 is a bev- .eled gear 17, which is mounted on the upper end of a vertically-disposed driving shaft 18, revolubly mounted in the framework of the indicator casing, as shown. On the shaft 18, adjacent to its lower end is fixedly mounted a spur gear inion 19, which is engaged by a spur gear w eel 20, to which is connected by 1 any suitable mechanism an operating spring 21, said gear and spring belng connected to a winding shaft 22 In the usual manner,

f which is journaled in the bottom of the cas ing and projects below the same, and is provided with a suitable winding head or key 23, by means of which the spring may be wound up.

On the shaft 10- of the operating roller is fixedly mounted a stop-disk 24, said disk being provided with a stop notch 25, with which is adapted to be engaged a lug or detent 26, which is arranged on one arm 27 of a bell-crank lever 28, pivotally mounted in the framework of the indicator, as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Connected to the outer end of the arm 27 is an operating rod 29, the lower end of which is pivotally connected to an armature 80, pivotally mounted on the framework 3, and adapted to be attracted by an electro-magnet 31, arranged in ing the names of the stations along the road,

- of the disk 24, whereby when the stop notch be engaged by the lug 26.

wheel 33, which is adapted to engage a worm .40 against movement by the spring 38.

the armature 30 is a coiled retracting spring I 32, which when the magnet 31 is demagnetized, will retract the armature 30, therebyelevating the rod 29 and the arm 27 of the. bell-crank lever, thus holding the lug or detent 26 into engagement with the periphery 25 is brought 0 I posite to said lug or detent, the latter wille engaged with said notch, thereby locking the shaft 10 against further movement. When the magnet 31 is ener. gized the armature 30 willbe attracted thereby, thus pulling down upon the rod 29 anddisengaging the lug 2-6 from the notch 25 and permitting the operating mechanism to turn the shaft 10 and the parts connected thereto until the magnet is denergized, which is preferably done so as to permit the shaft to only make one revolution or'until the notch 25 is again brought into position to The direction in which the shaft 10 and the operating roller 7 is turned is controlled by the clutch 14, which is brought into engagement with one or the other of the gears 12 or 13, as will be understood, thereby moving the indicating apron either upwardly or downwardly across the view 0 ening in the casing.

Mounte on the shaft 10, between the gear wheel 12 and the stop-disk 24 is a worm 34 on a governor shaft 35 journaled in the framework of the casing, said governor shaft being rovided with fan blades 36, by means of wh ch the movement ofthe operating mechanism is retarded.

Arranged in the casing 1 is a reversing mechanism 37, said mechanism comprisingan operating spring 38, one end of which'is connected to a stub shaft 39, journaled inthe' framework of the indicator, and the opposite end of which is connected to a crank disk .40 having on-its outer face an eccentrically-arranged wrist pin 41, to which is connected one end of an operating rod 42, the opposite end of which is connected to the lower end of the shifting lever 16, whereby when the disk 40 is turned by the spring 38, the lever 16 will be rocked, thereby shifting the clutch 14 into engagement with one or the other of the gear wheels 12 or 13, as hereinbefore described. a

The disk 40 is provided at};1 diametiiicall opposite omts in its eri er wit 1 o positel di sposed stop sl ioul ders 43 and 43:, with w. ich are adapted to be engaged upper and lower sto arms or bars 45 .and 46, said stop arms or ars being provided with stop shoulders 47, which when the levers are brought into proper position are adapted to be engaged with one orthe other of-said shoulders 43 or 44, thereby holding the disk The stop arms or bars 45 and 46 are pivotally mounted at one end in the framework of the casing andare drawn together or into engagement withithe periphery of the disk 40 by means of a coil spring 48, arranged between the same, as shown. The inner edges of the arms 45 and 46, adjacent to the free ends of the same, are'provided with inwardly-projecting cam projections 49', with -which are adapted to be engaged operating The rollers 50 are mounted upon a pivotally-mounted lever 51, the lower end rollers 50'.

of which is connected to a lever 52,- by means of a connecting rod 53, as shown, The upper end of the lever 52 is pivotally-mounted upon a stub shaft 54, upon which is also mounted an operating disk 55, in- Which, adjacent to its outeredge, is forrhed a series of apertures 56. An operating pin or stud 57'is adapted to be placed in any one of these apertures, which, when the disk is turned .in one direction or the other is adapted to be brought into engagement with one side or the other of the operating lever 52, thereby rocking the same and the parts connected thereto, which will bring one or the other of the rollers 50 on the lever 51 into engagement with the cam projections of either the upper or lower locking arm or bar 45 or 46, thereby forcing said arm outwardly and disengagingthe shoulder 47 thereon from the notch 43 or 44 of the disk 40, thereby releasing said disk and permitting the same to be turned by the spring 38 to the, distance of one half revolution of the disk, said movement of the disk' actuating the shifting lever 16 through the rod 42. to shift the clutch member 1 4 into engagement with one or the other of the beveled gears 12 or 13' on the shaft 10 of the operating rollerl On the disk 40 is arranged an annular series of worm gear teeth 40, with which is adapted to be engaged a worm 41 on a winding shaft 42, which projects through the bottom of the casing and is provided wit-h a suitable key or crank 43, by means of which the disk 40 is turned to wind up the spring 38.

The disk 55 is provided with worm gear teeth 58, which are engaged by a worm 59 on a shaft 60, journaled in the framework of the indicator. ()n the shaft 60, adjacent to one end of the same, is mounted a spur gear Wheel 61, which is engaged by a similar gear wheel 62 on the shaft 10, whereby the motion of the shaft 10 is imparted to the shaft 60 to drive the same. and the operating disk 55 of the reversing mechanism as hereinbefore described.

On the shaft of the upper winding roll 4, at one end of the same is mounted a spur gear pinion 63, which'is adapted to engage a spur gear wheel 64, mounted on the shaftof a winding drum 65, arranged in the upper portion of the indicator casing, as shown. ()n the adjacent endof the shaft of the lower winding roll 5 is mounted a spur gear pinion 63, which is adapted to engage a-spur gear wheel 67 fixedly mounted on the shaft of a 'ating roller of the indicator.

lower winding drum 68. Connected to the drums 65 and 68 and adapted to be wound on or off the same in opposite directions, .is a cord 69, by means of which motion from the roll from olf of which the indicating apron is being wound will be imparted to the opposite roll to drive the same, and thereby wind up the indicating apron as the same is being unwound from the opposite roll by the oper- In the cord 69 is preferably arranged a coiled tension spring 70, by means of which the cord is held taut and the winding rolls prevented from turning in the wrong direction.

Arranged on the top of the casing, or in any other suitable position is an electric alarm bell 71, by means of which the attention of the occupants of the car is directed to the indicator. The bell 71 is arranged in an electric circuit, the wires 72 of which are connected to a battery 7 3, or other suitable source of electric supply and to binding posts 74 and 7 5, one of which is arranged on a suit able bracket 76 and the other of which is arranged on theupper arm 77 of the bell-crank lever 28, whereby when said lever is actuated. by the electro-magnet 31 to disengage the lug or detent 26 from the stop disk 24, said arm 77 ofthe lever will be brought into engagement with the bracket 76, thereby completing the alarm bell circuit and sounding the bell. The electro-magnet 31 is supplied with electricity from batteries 78 or any other suitable source of supply, and is controlled by means of a switch or push button, not shown,

arranged in its circuit wires at any suitable point in the car, whereby as the latter ap proaches a station or stopping place, the conductor or operator of the car may start the operating mechanism of the indicator.

While we have shown and described the de vice as used for the purpose of displaying the names of stations in a car, it is obvious that the same may be used for displaying advertisements or other matter and arranged in show windows and other places. From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the inven tion will be readily understood without roquiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, as defined by the appended claims.

llaving thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is,-

1. In an announcing or station indicator for railways and street cars, the combination with a suitable casing,'of u iper and lower apron Winding rollsjourlmled therein, an indicating apron adapted tobe wound on and. off said rolls, an operating roller 1o move said apron in either direction, a driving mechanism connected With'said roller, a governor to retard the movement of said driving mechanism, an electrically-actuated controlling mechanism, a reversing mechanism, means to automatically.control said reversing mechanism, spur' gear pinions mounted on the shafts of said winding rolls,revolubly mounted winding drums, spur gear wheels mounted on the shafts of said drums to engage the spur gear pinions on said winding roll shafts, acord adapted to be wound on said drums in opposite directions, whereby the movement of one roll will be imparted to the other, and a tension spring arranged in said cord, substantially as described.

2. In an announcing or station indicator for railways and street cars, the combination with a casing, of a pair of apron winding rolls journaled therein, an indicating a ron adapted to be wound on and off said rolls, an operating roller to move said apron in either di rection, beveled gears loosely mounted on the shaft of said roller, a clutch adapted to be shifted into engagement with one or the other of said beveled gears to lock the same into engagement with said shaft, a driving mechanism conneoted with said gears, whereby when the latter are locked to the shaft, the same will be driven in one direction or the other, a

clutch-shifting mechanism, said. mechanism comprising a rcvolubl'y-mounted disk, an eccentrically-mounted wrist pin arranged on said disk, a connecting rod to connect said 'wrist pin with the shifting lever of said clutch, an operating spring connected to said disk, locking shoulders formed on the periphery of the latter, shouldered stop bars adapted to be engaged with one or the other of the shoulders on said disk to hold the same against movement, said bars being provided with cam projections, a pivotally mounted releasing lever, releasing rollers on said lever to engage said cam projections, whereby when said lever is rocked in one direction or the other, said bars will .be disengaged from said disk, an operating lever connectedto' said releasing lever, a pivotally mounted operating disk having formed therein a series of apertures, a lever-engaging pin ada )ted to be inserted. in one of said apertures, w hereby when said disk is turned, said pin will be engaged with one side or the other of said operating lever to actuate the same and the releasing lever, a worm gear arranged on said apeitured disk, a disk operating shaft having thereon a worm to engage said worm gear, a spur-gear on said shaft adapted to be en gagcd by a similar gear on the shaft of said operating roller, and means whereby the spring on said locking disk may be wound, substantially as described.

3. In an announcing or station indicator for-railways and street cars, the combination set our hands inpresence oftwo subscribing with-'an' aperturedeasing, of an indicating Witnesses. apron mounted therein, a. roller for moving WILLIAM' S GUNTER said a ron in either direction, actuating 5 means or the roller, irovided with a clutch; a, Y WELTON' shouldered crank d' a rod connected there- 1 Witnesses to the signature of W. S. Gunter: 'with for actuating the clutch, shouldered i EnNEsT HANSON, bars adapted to engege with said-disk, and 'OSOAR HANSON. means for. movingse d bars for releasingthe I Witnesses to the signature of O. E. Wel ton:

l0 disk. JOHN SCHULTZ,

In testimony whereof we have hereunto CHAS. CLIFTON.

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