Improvements in Regulating the Supply of Gas to Railway Coach Compartments.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Jan., 1895-Accepted, 9th Mar., 1895
DIECIFICATION.
Improvements in Regulating the Supply of Gas to Railway Coach
Compartments.
ROBERT EDWIN GILL 9 Broomsleigh Street, West Hampstead in the County of
London Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to. be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
My improvements relate to the automatic regulation of the supply of gas to
railway coach compartments.
+
At present the gas in railway coaches after dusk and in under ground railways
throughout the entire day is being consumed at an uniform rate whether the
compartments are occupied or not.
Now my invention has for its object the regulation of the supply of gas by which
means when a passenger takes his seat in an empty compartment the gas will be
automatically raised and when the seats again become unoccupied the gas will be
automatically lowered.
I accomplish the aforesaid by having a seat that is not made fast to the sides or
back of the compartment but is supported on pillars generally called legs at the
four corners.
In each of the two front legs is placed a helical spring which presses against a
piston; this presses up the seat when there is no appreciable weight upon it.
At each end of the front of the seat is attached a rod which passes up through
the roof of the compartment.
These rods terminate in angle pieces which rest over two levers on a rod or shaft
on the roof of the coach.
When any person sits or places a sufficient weight upon one of the seats to
overcome the pressure of the springs contained in the legs underneath the seat drops
a little and pulls the aforementioned rods down.
These rods thus pull the levers down causing the shaft to revolve a little.
This part revolution of the shaft through the medium of other mechanism to be
described causes the gas to be turned up full.
It will be seen on reference to drawings that a weight on either seat will turn the
gas up but both must be unoccupied to lower it.
The aforementioned rod or shaft hereafter called shaft runs horizontally across
the roof supported by bearings.
About the centre of this shaft there is a lever with a pin projecting from it.
This pin works in a slide in the gas cock lever.
On the same shaft is fixed a weight. It will be fixed on the opposite side to that
on which the levers worked by the seat connecting rods are placed.
The function of this weight is to keep the gas lowered. It must be made heavy
enough to overbalance the weight of the levers placed on the other side of the
shaft. If this or a spring were not provided in this arrangement the gas when
once turned up would remain so as the seat connecting rods are not mechanically
joined to the levers the angle pieces simply rest over them.
The object of not mechanically joining them is to make each seat independent of
the other.
This description applies to each compartment.
In trains which run partly above and partly underground, it is customary for
the guard or other official in the daytime to raise or lower the gas when entering or
leaving the tunnel as the case may be.

page_text: To provide in this case against the gas being turned too low in an unoccupied
compartment, I place a rod running longitudinally on the roof of the coach
underneath the horizontal shafts. On this rod are projections which press against
levers on the aforementioned horizontal shafts.
When the gas is lowered by the main gas cock lever these projections move and
so turn the shafts to which the gas cocks on the roof are connected partly round
thus turning the gas cocks ful! on.
This will secure an equal pressure on all the lamps whether the compartments are
occupied or not.
This longitudinal rod is connected to the main gas cock lever situated at present
on one of the outside ends of the coach by means of a vertical shaft with a lever
at each end.
This longitudinal rod has the same number of projections as there are
compartments.
When the main gas cock lever is turned full on again this longitudinal rod will
move with it and the gas cocks will come into action again.
This longitudinal rod will not be required on trains that run solely above ground.
In order to prevent noise which might arise from the movement of an empty
seat caused by the motion of the train I place a pad of india rubber at the sides
and backs of the seats.
And in order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying 4 sheets of drawings reference
being had to figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 1) is an inside sectional elevation of a compartment. A A' are
the two seats B B₁ are front supporting legs each containing a piston and spring
DD are rods going up through the roof. These rods are inside the compartment
and are covered over by a piece of wood. CC are back supports.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal plan of the roof of two end compartments shewing general
arrangement. DD' are connecting rods from seats resting over levers E E which
are fixed to shafts F F G G¹ are bearings supporting shafts F F¹. On F is
placed about the middle a lever H with pin a projecting from it which engages in
the lever I affixed to gas cock J underneath shaft F. K is the pipe leading to
lamp L.
M is the gas main. N is the weight with levers beat one end. The
upper one is for rod O to press against and move partly round shaft F when
moved by lever P attached to F. Q is the longitudinal rod with projections d on
it which causes shaft F to partly revolve through the medium of lever c on
weight N.
This rod moves to the right as seen in drawing. R R¹are bearings supporting O
and Q. S is the lever on vertical shaft T.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 2) is the end elevation of coach shewing rods D shaft F bearings G
gas nain M gas main cock U upper lever S on vertical shaft T. V is the bottom
lever on T engaging by means of a slide and pin on gas main cock lever W.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of connecting rod D lever E and shaft F.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation of seat A shewing rod D lever E and shaft F and how
rod D is connected to the seat by the plate X which is screwed to the bottom of
the seat.
This plate is made round at one end to pass through a hole in rod D.
Fig. 4 shews a side elevation of seat and bottom end of rod D. e is the india
rubber pad which is secured by two screws.
Fig. 5 shews plan of plate X.
Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation and plan shewing how the levers
on the different shafts and rods are made fast to them by drilling a hole through
both lever and shaft and then putting a pin through the bole and riveting it over.
Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of one of the front seat legs. B is the wooden leg
bored out to receive cylinder f made of cast iron. 9 is the spring which forces the
seat up through the medium of piston i.
Fig. 9 is a plan of the above seat leg.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 3) shews an elevation (as seen from end of coach) of shaft F

page_text: middle bearing G gas cock J gas cock lever I lever H on shaft F pin a which
projects from H. N is the weight with levers b and c. Q the longitudinal rod
with projection upon it.
Fig. 2 shews a side elevation of gas cock and the two levers.
Fig. 3 shews a side elevation of bearing G.
Fig. 4 shews side elevation of bearings R and R' and longitudinal rod Q also
rod which imparts the motion of F' to when it is moved by lever P fixed on F¹.
d is one of projections. N is the weight with levers > and c.
Fig. 5 shews a plan of lever S connected to the end of Q through a slide and pin.
T is the vertical shaft.
Fig. 6 shews an elevation of the above.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 4) shews a plan of Figs. 123 and 4 of Sheet 3 shewing their
approximate positions on the roof of a coach with the addition of D D E and E.
Fig. 2 shews an end elevation of bearings R and R.
Fig. 3 shews the plan of lever V and main gas cock lever W.
Fig. 4 shews the elevation of same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
First. The use of a movable seat substantially as shewn and described with
reference to drawings Fig. 1 Sheet 1.
Secondly. The use of the combination of a piston and spring contained in a
cylinder placed in a hole bored vertically in each leg or pillar of the front ends of
the seats substantially as shewn and described with reference to drawings Figs. 8
and 9 Sheet 2.
Thirdly. The use of the combination of a seat A vertical connecting rods D
levers E shaft F lever H and weight N substantially as shewn and described with
reference to drawings Figs. 1 and 2 Sheet 1 Figs. 2. 3 and 4 Sheet 2 Figs. 1. 2
and 4 Sheet 3 and Fig. 1 Sheet 4.
Fourthly. The use of rod O and lever P attached to F' substantially as shewn
and described with reference to drawings Fig. 4 Sheet 3 and Fig. 1 Sheet 4.
Fifthly. The combination of vertical shaft T with two levers S and V placed on
it respectively at the top and bottom and a longitudinal rod O with projecting
pieces placed at stated intervals along it substantially as shewn and described
with reference to drawings Fig. 2 Sheet 1 Figs. 4. 5. and 6 Sheet 3 and Figs. 1. 3
and 4 Sheet 4.
•
Sixthly. The use of an india rubber pad placed on the backs and sides of the
seats substantially as shewn and described with reference to drawing Fig. 4
Sheet 2.
Dated this 21st day of January 1895.
ROBERT EDWIN GILL.