Improvements in Means for Controlling or Regulating the Temperature for Railway and Tramway Vehicles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 14th Apr., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Controlling or Regulating the
Temperature for Railway and Tramway Vehicles.
I, JAMES FINNEY MCELROY of the City and County of Albany, State of
New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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 invention relates to devices for regulating the emission of heat into an
apartment from a hot water storage cylinder; and the object of my invention is to
provide an easily adjustable shutter or damper by the operation of which the heat
given off from a hot water storage cylinder placed within a car may be regulated
and controlled.
I accomplish this object by means of the mechanism illustrated in the
accompanying drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is a front elevation.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation enlarged with a part broken away.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section along the lines 1-1 on Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the connection between the lifting bar L and the
shutter, and
Fig. 5 shows the connection between the lifting bar and the eccentric plate E.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
A represents a hot water cylinder placed beneath the car seat B. An opening C
near the floor permits the atmosphere to pass beneath the seat and come in contact
with the hot water cylinder A, where it is heated and passes out through the
opening D near the seat B.
My invention provides a means for closing the upper opening D, thus obstructing
the passage of the heated atmosphere into the car.
I place the stationary riser F beneath the seat of the car between the openings C
and D suitably attached to the seat supports ff. Immediately in the rear of the
riser F, I arrange the movable strip or shutter S of a sufficient width to close the
opening D. I arrange the guide frame T in the rear of and at the bottom of
the shutter S by cutting out of the seat's supports grooves for each end of the
shutter to move it, for the purpose of directing the motion of the shutter S and
holding it in position.
usually make the upper edge of the shutter narrower than the lower edge and
construct the frame T in such a manner as to conform with this construction of
the shutter, as shown in Fig. 3. When the shutter is down, the opening D is
unobstructed, the shutter rests upon the lower portion of the frame T. as shown in
Fig. 3.
For the purpose of raising the shutter, and closing the opening D, I attach to
the upper portion of the shutter S and at or near each end thereof, a plate 1
carrying the lifting bar L, which is pivotally secured thereto.
Pivotally attached to the lifting bar L, is the eccentric plate E, said plate E
having a projecting portion e extending therefrom and to which extended portion e,
the lifting bar L is secured.
Passing through the riser F and rigidly attached to the eccentric plate E, I
place the bolt G to which is secured the lever H, which has at its end, the
knob K.
By the operation of the lever H, the eccentric plate E is moved, which in turn
causes the lifting bar L to elevate the shutter S to the position shown by dotted
lines in Fig. 2, thereby closing the opening D. The movement of the lever H

page_text: and the eccentric plate E is limited by means of the obstructing piece of the
stationary piece F; the eccentric plate E and lifting bar L being counter sunk in
the stationary piece F, thus when the lever is turned to the position shown by
dotted lines in Fig. 2, the projecting portion e of the eccentric plate E, will be
moved past the vertical line and rest against the obstructing piece O, thereby
causing the lifting bar L to hold the shutter S in its elevated position.
The operation of my shutter is extremely simple and suggests its use to the most
unobserving.
It will be noticed that one side of the shutter may be raised, while the other
remains in its lowered position, as is shown in Fig. 1; thus a person occupying one
end of the seat and requiring less heat than a person at the other end, may raise
the shutter and shut off the heat from his end of the seat and not interfere with
the enjoyment by the occupant of the other end of the seat of the full quota of
heat given off by the storage cylinder.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1st. In a heat regulator, a hot water storage cylinder, capable of emitting heat,
a car seat beneath which said cylinder is placed, an opening beneath the seat near
the top and the bottom of said cylinder communicating with a space beneath the
seat and the interior of the car, a shutter adapted to close said opening near the
top of the cylinder, a lifting bar attached to said shutter, a plate attached to one
end of said lifting bar, a lever connected with said plate by the operation of which
said shutter may be elevated or lowered as desired, substantially as described and
for the purpose set forth.
2nd. In a heat regulator for storage heaters, a cylinder adapted to give off heat,
a covered space within the car in which said cylinder is placed, a means for
conveying atmosphere to said cylinder near the bottom thereof, an opening near
the top of said cylinder, through which said heated atmosphere passes into the
car, a shutter adapted to close said last mentioned opening, a lifting bar attached
to said shutter, an eccentric plate secured to said lifting bar, a lever adapted to
operate said eccentric plate, substantially as described and for the purpose set
forth.
3rd. In a heat regulator for storage heaters, a cylinder capable of emitting heat,
a car seat bencath which said cylinder is placed, an opening for the passage of the
atmosphere from the car beneath the seat near the floor of the car and out near
the top of the cylinder into the car, a means for closing said opening near the top
of the cylinder by means of a reciprocating shutter operated by a lever so adjusted
that one end of the shutter may be closed, while at the other end, the opening is
unobstructed, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
This 11th November 1893.
Witnesses:
RALPH W. KIRKHAM.
MARY AGNES BURKE.
JAMES FINNEY MCELROY.