Patent GB-379083-A (GB)
Title: Automatic control for railway cars and other self propelled vehicles
IPC: B61L27/04
Filed: 1931-08-14
Abstract: 379,083. Fluid - pressure brakes for vehicles. BABSON, R. W., 67, Wellesley Avenue, Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Aug. 14, 1931, No.. 22993.. [Class 103 (i).] Automatic control of rail and other motor vehicles on a definite route is effected by first making a record automatically of all necessary operations performed while a driver is controlling the vehicle over this route and subsequently applying the same or a duplicate record to actuate automatic means for reproducing the same operations during subsequent travel of the vehicle over the same route. The vehicle may be propelled by an electric motor or by any prime mover provided with electrical control. In the construction shown the motor is electric, and the record comprises a strip of paper 25, Figs. 3 and 4, unwound from a spool 24 in accordance with the travel of the vehicle. The paper passes over a roll 27 under a series of printing rollers 71 operated by electromagnets 67, these magnets being so arranged that whenever the motor controller is operated, the brake valve operated, or a whistle or the like sounded, a magnet is energized and its roller makes a mark on the paper. Holes corresponding to these marks are then made in the paper, a bar 61 carrying the magnets and printing rollers is removed and replaced by a similar bar carrying a series of contact rollers, each corresponding to a printing roller and so connected to relays operating the controller, brakes and whistle that when the vehicle is run over the same route, the relay control circuits are completed and the respective vehicle controls are operated in the same manner as on the initial run with a driver in charge. Further, during automatic control a timekeeping device speeds up or slows down the vehicle motor if the vehicle gets behind or ahead of the speed on the initial run. The record strip is contained in a box 22, Fig. 1, and is unwound from the spool 24 by gearing 30 driven from an axle. The motor controller handle is shown at 149 and the brake valve handle at 167. When the vehicle has been automatically stopped it is restarted by the conductor by means of pushbutton switches 212, and it can be stopped at any time by means of emergency switches 178 which first break the relay circuits and then close brake-controlling circuits. If it is desired to avoid stops which were made on the initial run but may be unnecessary on a later run a switch 181 is operated to break the record circuits and prevent the record strip from acting until the switch 181 is released again. Each magnet 67, Fig. 12, controlling a printing roller 71 is mounted on a bracket on the detachable bar 61 and. its armature 68 is connected by a link 72 to a lever 70 carrying the roller, so that when the magnet is energized the roller is depressed into contact with the record strip 25. In its raised position the roller bears against an inking roll 65 and it also carries an intermediate roller 73 which always remains in control with the printing roller 71 and the roll 65. Nine magnets are used for the motor circuit, one for each of the motor controller positions. In the diagrammatic arrangement shown in Fig. 21 power is supplied from the main 144 to the motor 146 through the usual resistance 147 which can be cut out in stages by a number of relays 148, only one of which is shown, controlled by the controller handle 149. The magnets 67, only one of which is shown, are connected to the main 144 through a line 152 and a resistance 150 which cuts down the magnet current to about half an ampere, the other wire of each magnet being connected through a line 153 to a contact 154 on the controller, each of these contacts corresponding to one of the controller positions. The controller handle, when over any one of the contacts 154, connects this contact to another which is connected bv a line 155 to a contact 156 controlled by the corresponding motor relay 148. Only one of the lines 155 is shown, but there is a line and a contact 156 for each contact 154. Thus when the controller is moved to any position the corresponding relay 148 is energized to cut out part of the motor resistance, one of the contacts 154 is connected to earth through its line 155 and contacts 156, 158, the corresponding magnet 67 is energized and its printing roller is brought down on to the record strip. Three of the magnets 67 work in connection with the brake valve 159, this valve being operated by solenoids 161, 162, 163 energized in turn when the brake handle 167 is moved over contacts 164, 165, 166. The current for the solenoids is supplied through a resistance 168 which cuts down the current to about two amperes. The three brake magnets are earthed at one end and are connected at their other ends through lines 169 to the solenoids and therefore to the brake contacts, so that when the brake handle is moved to any braking position the corresponding solenoid and magnet are simultaneously energized, the brakes are applied to a certain definite extent, and a corresponding mark is made on the record strip. When the whistle 170 is sounded a switch 171 is closed and this energizes a corresponding magnet 67 through a line 172, one end of the magnet being earthed. Finally, one magnet 67 is energized by means of a finger 81, Figs. 6 and 7, rotated at a uniform speed by clockwork 80, this finger or brush being connected to the supply main by a line 173 and passing over regularly spaced contacts 82 .. 86 connected by a line 174 to the magnet, so that this magnet is energized at regular intervals, say every twelve seconds. When the record strip has been thus marked during a run over the route, it is perforated to correspond with the marks and is rewound on the spool 24 by an electric motor 49, the bar 61 and the magnets 67 are removed and a similar bar carrying contact rollers 122, Fig. 21, is inserted in its place. A switch 151 is now moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 21, thus disconnecting the line 152 that formerly led to the magnets and making a new connection from the supply, main through a line 175, normally closed switch 176, line 177, and emergency switch or switches 178 to the metalsurfaced roll 27. Thus when one of the contact rollers reaches a perforation in the record strip it makes contact with the live roll 27 and a circuit is completed through a corresponding relay 139. Only one roller 122 and one relay 139 are shown, but there are the same number of these as there were magnets. When a perforation in the record strip corresponding to a motor controller position passes under the corresponding contact roller a circuit is completed through a line 185 and a motor relay 148, this relay is energized and the corresponding motor resistance is cut out, so that the same running conditions exist for the motor as on the record-making run. Similarly, when perforations corresponding to applications of the brake or sounding of the whistle pass under the corresponding contact rollers, circuits are completed from the rollers through lines 186, 187 to the brake and whistle solenoid respectively. If the speed of the vehicle under automatic control varies from the speed during the initial run the motor is accelerated or slowed down by means of the device shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The clock motor 80 which drives the contact finger 81 also rotates, through gearing 93, a disc 95 having four spaced contact strips 97 .. 100 on its surface. These strips are adapted to be engaged by a brush arm 108 fixed on a shaft which passes freely through the disc 95 and is rotated by ratchet gear 112 operated by a magnet 117. The magnet 117 is connected by a line 189, Fig. 21, to one of the contact rollers 122 travelling over the perforations corresponding to the marks made in accordance with the position of the revolving finger 81. The gearing between the magnet 117 and the brush arm 108 is so arranged that when the magnet 117 is energized at intervals corresponding to the travel of the finger 81 from one contact to the next, the arm 108 and disc 95 rotate at the same rate, the arm 108 lying between the pairs 97, 99 and 98, 100 of contact strips on the disc 95. If, however, the vehicle speed varies from that on the initial run the arm 108 gains or loses on the disc 95 and makes contact with either strip 97, or 98. The arm 108 is connected to earth and the strips 97 .. 100 are connected to magnets 198 .. 201 connected by a line 202 to the supply main. The magnets control normally open switches 194, 195 and normally closed switches 196, 197, these switches being adapted to shortcircuit additional resistances 190 .. 193 in the motor circuit. If, for example, the vehicle is behind the original schedule, the arm 108 lags behind the disc 95 and makes contact with the strip 98 energizing the magnet 198, closing the switch 194 and short-circuiting the resistance 190 to speed up the motor. If the motor speed is still low the arm next makes contact with strip 100 and cuts out the resistance 191 to accelerate the motor still more. As the vehicle speed increases compared with the schedule speed the arm 108 moves over the disc 95 until it lies in the neutral position between the strips. If the vehicle speed is too high the arm 108 moves in the reverse direction and cuts in the resistances 192, 193 to slow down the motor. When the vehicle has been automatically stopped it will not start automatically as the record strip is stationary. The conductor therefore starts it by (1) depressing a pushbutton switch 217 which disconnects the supply line 175 from the line 177 and connects it by a line 204 to a series of pushbuttons 205 .. 211, and (2) 'depressing the pushbuttons 205 .. 208, these buttons controlling the first four stages of the motor controller. The pushbuttons 209, 210, 211 control the three positions of the brake valve, so that the conductor has these also under his control. The buttons are so arranged that the conductor can depress the