Apparatus for Railway and other Purposes.
Year: 1885

page_text: Apparatus for Railway and other Purposes.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO ELECTRICAL SIGNALLING
OR ALARM APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES "and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement: -
This invention consists in the novel construction and associations of parts con-
stituting a new electric signal apparatus especially designed for use on railway
trains, but equally applicable for use in fire and burglar alarms, and for other
purposes.
The objects attained are set forth in the following description and claims.
A general description consists in two electric circuits, one of which is of a higher
resistance than the other, an electrical generator, or battery, in said circuits, and a
signal bell, or other suitable alarm, or signal in the circuit of the higher resistance,
and circuit breakers, one or more, in the circuit of the lower resistance, the whole
so constructed and arranged that a break in the circuit of the lower resistance
causes the bell to be rang by the circuit of the higher resistance, and consequently.
not to ring when the circuit of the lower resistance remains unbroken, as the lower
resistance circuit shunts the higher resistance circuit, thus robbing the latter
circuit of its power to ring the bell.
In the drawing forming a part of this specification Fig. 1, shows a side elevation
of a railway train with the apparatus adapted and conected for use; Fig. 2, is an
enlarged detail of Fig. 1, in perspective, showing the arrangement of the circuits;
Fig. 3, is an enlarged detail of parts in Fig. 1, referred to by like letters, and
Fig. 4, is a diagrammatical view of the two circuits shown independent of the
generator case and train of cars. Referring to Fig. 2, a case is shown, in the part D
of which is a generator, and on the top of the part O is a bell, ii, made in the
usual mention

page_text: .
The generator, 1, in Fig. 1, when apparatus is used on the engine of a train of
cars, not shown in Fig. 2, is hid from view by the lower portion, D, of the case, and
is not particulary described here for the reason that it is well understood by those
skilled in the art.
The circuit, a c¹, of higher resistance connects the generator and bell, the
posts, xx, and, e e, being in said circuit, with the latter named posts the circuit
of the lower resistance, or the wire portiou a c, of said circuit is connected.
Thus the generator, 1, as appears in the diagramatical view in Fig. 4, is in both
circuits. The magnets, 22, of course contains in their metalic coils a larger amount
of wire than the lower resistance circuit, a, c.. Thus when the latter named circuit
is broken, or virtually destroyed, the higher resistance circuit rings the bell at the
place desired for it to be sounded, and the breaking of the lower resistance circuit,
it will be observed, is effected by the operator at the point from whence the signal
is sent. Thus the action of the operator to send the signal is the action which
breakes and destroys for the time being the lower resistance circuit.
The circuit, a c, of the lower risistance is extended from the other circuit to the
point, or points, from which the signal is to be sent, and is provided with a circuit
breaker, at this point, or points, which are hereafter described.
With the lower resistance circuit unbroken, as in Fig. 2, the signal will not
sound although the generator be running, for the reason that the circuits of lower
resistance has shunted the higher resistance circuit and thus robbed it of its power
to ring the bell, i i. By breaking the ciruit, a, c, it no longer constitutes a
circuit, and the entire suply of the electric current plays on the bell circuit, a¹, c',
and the bell rings, Fig. 4.
At D¹ a circuit breaker is shown in the circuit of lower resistance, a, c, con-
sisting of a case, v, within which is fixed a flexible hairpin shapped bar, t, one end
of which is left free to detachably contact with the metal of the case, and, r, is a
push button for operating the breaker. By pushing on this button the free end of
the flexible-bar, t, is disconected or carried away from its metal contact, which
action breaks the circuit, a, c, causing the bell to be rung by the other circuit as
before described.
Any suitable circuit breaker may be employed at one or more points, as shown
in Fig. 1, where the apparatus is connected with a train of cars.
Simular devices called " push-buttons" have been heretofore used for closing or
making" a bell circuit and thereby ring the bell.
When useing the signal conected with a train of cars the design is to place the
generator, bell, and bell circuit in the engine-cab, Fig. 1, and extend the circuit of
the lower resistance through the case. The parallel wires of this circuit, a, c, are
detachably coupled togather between the cars as at 8, so as to be uncoupled by
pulling apart, Fig. 3. When thus coupled, should one car become detached from
another by the train breaking apart, the strain on the couplings, 8, would pull them
apart, thus breaking the circuit of the lower resistance, which would cause the bell
in the cab to ring continuously untill coupled again. Thus the engineer by the
nature of the signal would know that he had lost part of his train and would stop
at once.
Any well known style of coupling, 8, or otherwise may be employed to detachably
couple the sections of the lower resistance circuit. By "sections" in this connection
is ment the wires of the circuit, a, c, in each car from one coupling to another.
Of course the terminal ends of the wires, a, c, through the end of the rear car
are coupled togather, Fig. 1, thus "making" the circuit.
The circuit breakers, D, in the cars are for the conductors use. But, as it
obviously appears from the foregoing that the apparatus is capable of other uses
than for a train of cars, any means of breaking the circuit at the point from which
the signal is to come may be employed.
As means for propelling the generator are well known, either by steam from the
boiler, or mechanical connections with the engine, and as we are making other
inventions pretaining to this subject, we give no details here. The utility of our

page_text: improvements it is deemed will appear obvious when contrasing them with the old
apparatuses, among which may named one in which the bell circuit extends through
the cars reguiring to be "made" to sound the alarm instead of to be "broken," and
another which requires mechanical actions of devices operated by electricty at the
points of "breaking" the circuit, to effect the "break" of the circuit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be preformed, we declare that what
we claim is
1st An electric signal apparatus, consisting of two circuits, one of a higher
resistance than the other, the circuit of higher resistance being located at the place
whare the signal is to be sounded, a generator or battery in the circuits, a signal or
alarm in the higher resistance circuit, and a signalling circuit-breaker in the lower
resistance circuit at a point from whence the signal is to be sent, substantially as
set forth.
2nd The combination, with a train of cars, of a higher resistance circuit located
in the engine, a lower resistance circuit running through the train, a generator or
battery in the circuits, an alarm or signal in the higher resistance circuit, and one
or more signaling circuit-breakers in the lower resistance circuit in the cars,
substantially as set forth.
3rd The combination, with a train of cars of a higher resistance circuit located in
the engine, a lower resistance circuit running through the train, a generator or
battery in the circuits, and a signal or alarm in the higher resistance circuit,
whareby an alarm would be sounded in the engine by an accidental breaking or
seperation of the lower resistance circuit, substantially as set forth.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.