Patent GB-190609966-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Automatic Means for Protecting Railway Trains.
Inventor: UNVERRICHT EDUARD
Filed: 1906-04-28
Granted: 1907-04-04
Abstract: 9966. Unverricht, E., and Bock, C. April 28. Automatic systems; stopping trains.-Electric switch apparatus on the track actuated by the passing trains co-operates with and actuates track obstacles, which break frangible caps in the compressed air-brake pipes and stop the trains, or which actuate signals. Each switch apparatus comprises an electro-magnet 1, Fig. 1, energized by the circuit-closing treadle 46 attached to a rail 45 when a train passes. The armature 48 is attached to a vertically-sliding bar 2 provided with a pin 50, which actuates a lever 3 and a weighted lever 12 to close contacts 11 momentarily by a pin 10. As the spring-pressed nose 52 of the lever 3 passes beyond the lever 12, the weight 66 immediately returns the lever 12 on to the stop 70, and breaks the circuit at the contacts 11. Another pin 53 on the bar 2 moves a lever 4, which in turn similarly moves a verticallysliding bar 5. A disk 6 is thereby rotated by a pin 58, so that the mercury, which nearly fills a tube 7 fixed on the disk 6, closes the circuit between the wires 62, 63. A spring-pressed catch 8 passes into a notch 9 to retain the bar 5 in the raised position until a magnet 13 is energized and retracts the catch 8, when the spring 14 lowers the bar 5. The track obstacle comprises a vertically movable bar 16, Fig. 3, raised into the path of a frangible brake-pipe cap 19 on a locomotive by a weight 21 when a spring-pressed catch 17 is withdrawn from a notch 18 by the energization of the magnet 20 or the magnet 81, the armatures of which are attached to the catch 17. The obstacle is retained in its raised position by another spring-pressed catch 22 engaging with the notch 18, and this catch is withdrawn to allow of the manual depression of the obstacle into its normal position by a manually-operated key 23. The switch arrangements and obstacles are arranged on the single track as shown in Fig. 5. The series of switch apparatus 38, 82, 44, 37, 43, 83, 84 are shown provided with contacts 88 corresponding to the mercury - tube contacts 7, Fig. 1, and with contacts 89 corresponding to the contacts 11, Fig. 1. The magnets 13, which on energization break the mercury contacts 88, are each connected to earth 90 and to the contact 89 in the next apparatus but one, and so to the supply conductor 91. Each mercury contact 88 is connected to the corresponding mercury contact 88 at the third apparatus on each side, the circuit including the magnets 20 or the magnets 81 at the intervening two track obstacle arrangements. A train in the position 34 has closed the mercury contacts 88 at the apparatus 38, and an oppositely advancing train 35, after passing the apparatus 37 and closing the mercury contacts 88 there, thus closes the circuit through the magnets releasing the track obstacles 16, 16<a> to prevent any nearer approach of the trains 34, 35 than the section between these two obstacles. The mercury contact 88 at apparatus 43 is still closed, but that at the apparatus 83 has been opened by the energization of its magnet 13 as the train 35 passed over the apparatus 37 and momentarily closed the contacts 89. A following train 35<a> has closed the mercury contacts at the apparatus next to the right-hand of the apparatus 84, and, since the mercury contacts 88 at the apparatus 43 are still also closed, the track obstacles 16<b>, 16<c> are raised to prevent the further advance of the train 35<a>.