IMPROVEMENTS IN INFORMATION TABLES OR BULLETIN BOARDS FOR RAILWAY STATIONS
Year: 1884

page_text: DEFUNICATION.
I CHARLES AUBREY DAY of 321 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN INFORMATION TABLES OR BULLETIN BOARDS FOR
RAILWAY STATIONS" (a communication to me from abroad by Messrs. Brandon &
Sons of 1 rue Laffitte, Paris, agents for Edward Stanley Boynton, inventor of
Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, one of the United States of
America) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to that class of indicators which are used as information
tablets or bulletin-boards, at railway depots or stations, to indicate the time of
departure and the destination of trains. Letters Patent No 258529 of the United
States of America, granted to me May 23rd, AD 1882, describes an indicator
wherein any predetermined selection of station signs can be displayed and the
hands of a clock dial set at a single movement through the intervention of a
perforated card, which perforated card I call a Jacquard Key. My improvement
consists in substituting, for the clock dial and hands, sets of separately movable
time-signs; also, of sundry new and useful details of construction; all of which
improvements are clearly explained in the following descripton aided by the
annexed drawings and specifically set forth in the claims at the close of this
specification.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the indicator as it appears when the key holder is
lowered for the removal or insertion of a Jacquard Key.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the indicator as it appears when set to indicate the
time of departure and the destination of a train.
Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof, set as shown in fig. 2 some of the time sign
tumblers being partially broken away, to avoid confusion.
Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on line w w of fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line x x of fig. 3.
Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line y y of fig. 3.
Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on line zz of fig. 3.

page_text: Fig. 8 is a rear elevation of the lower end of the indicator, snowing the key
holder as lowered.
Fig. 9 illustrates one of the perforated cards or Jacquard Keys.
Fig. 10, 11 & 12 illustrate details.
Figs. 3 to 9, inclusive, are drawn on a larger scale than figs 1 & 2, and figs. 10 to 12
inclusive on a still larger scale; and the same letters of reference indicate identical
parts in all the figures.
The various devices of the indicator are arranged in a shallow rectangular box
frame A, subdivided into three compartments by the cross bars A¹ and A³ the face
side exhibiting three panels. The open center panel is occupied by the movable
station-signs B pivoted in the side bars of the box frame and each carrying a pivoted
pendant tumbler b projecting with its lower end through a guide hole in the cross
bar A' down into the compartment containing the key holder. Instead of making
the station signs of square bars, as shown in my aforesaid patent, I give them
substantially the cross sectional form shown in figs. 4 and 10, the lettered side L
and the blank side L' which are alternately exposed, forming the adjacent sides of
an equilateral triangle in cross, section, while the third side is by preference
provided with a central grooved ridge for the attachment of the tumblers b. By
this form of the station signs, I obtain the widest flat sign surface possible without
any waste spaces between the signs; all of which is important, because I am thereby
enabled to hang a great number of conspicuous signs in a panel of comparatively
limited height. At one end, the station-signs B project a little behind the stile of
the panel, in order that their movement may be limited by said stile, the angle
between the blank and lettered sides being properly rounded at the thus projecting
end, as shown in figs. 10 & 11.
For indicating the time of the departure of trains I use four sets of time signs,
namely, one set of hour signs C, two sets of minute-signs D D¹ and one set of solar
signs E.
The several signs of each set are arranged behind one another, the set of
hour signs behind the reading hole c in the upper panel, the two sets of minute
signs side by side behind the heading hole d, and the solar signs behind the reading
hole e.
All the movable time signs are male quite thin, and arranged closely
together so that even the rearmost one may be readily read through the reading
hole in front of it, when exposed. The rearmost time sign of each set is fixed and
forms the back of a box by which the movable time signs are confined. Besides
the stationary hour-sign, which bears the figure 12, there are twelve movable hour-
signs, the one next to the reading hole being a blank, and the others being marked
respectively 1, 2 and etc. the last one bearing the fig. 11. The stationary minute
sign of the set marked D bears the figure 5, and that of the set marked D' the
figure 9. In the set D are five movable signs marked respectively 0, 1, 2, 3, 4;
while the set D¹ contains nine movable signs marked from 0 up to 8. The minute-
signs marked 0 are next adjacent to the reading hole. The stationary solar sign is
marked "night;" besides which there are four movable solar signs, of which the
ore next to the reading hole is a blank while the others are marked respectively
33
noon ,A.M" „PM." In their lowest position, in which their marked faces are
directly opposite the reading holes, the time-signs rest on the horizontal bar A³,
which forms the bottom of the boxes in which they move. Each time sign is rigidly
connected to the upper end of a separate vertical tumbler t. These tumblers t pass
through guide holes through the cross bars A', A¹, and A* of the frame projecting
with their lower ends into the compartment containing the key-holder. The
tumblers t are arranged in rows behind the tumblers b.
"
"
The key holder consists primarily of a platform F containing as many per-
forations as there are tumblers band t, the perforations being arranged to correspond
with the positions, of the tumblers, so that the tumblers may pass through them
when not intercepted by a key on the platform. This key platform is secured to a
frame which is suspended by a link G2 from a crank G¹ of a schaft G, to the
outer end of which a winch may be applied for turning it to raise or lower the key
platform. A toe g formed on crank G¹ strikes a stop pin g¹ when the key platform

page_text: has reached its highest position. In order that the key platform may move freely
and at the same time with great precision, I connect its frame with the cross'
bar A by the lazy tongue connection composed of the bars H H¹, fixed
respectively to cross-bars A and frame F¹, and the levers I I¹ pivoted together
and connected to the bars H H¹ in the manner best shown in figs. 3 and 8. The
frame F is constructed with a shelf F.
The height of the whole keyholder, from the shelf FT to the key platform F, is
about equal to the height of the lower compartment of the box frame A and
shelf F forms the bottom thereof when the keyholder is elevated. When the
key holder is lowered, its shelf F is exposed below the box frame; and an
opening fis cut across the front of the lower compartment, through which opening
the keys can be placed upon or removed from the key platform F when the
key-holder is lowered. This opening is covered by the frame F¹ of the key holder
when raised. The keys J are preferably made of suitable card board, and are mere
flat strips, perforated at the proper points to allow the passage of the tumblers of
such signs as are not to be moved in setting the tablet by a key; each key having
a special system of perforations for effecting the display of a predetermined
information on the tablet. The keys to be used for setting the tablet are stored
on the shelf F. When the tablet is intended to give successive information.
repeatedly in the same order, the keys may be collated accordingly on the shelf to
be taken successively from the bottom of the pile and, after use, returned to the
top of the pile. When there is no key on the key platform the blank side of the
station signs will be exposed, and the time signs will all be ranged in line with the
reading holes. To indicate the time of the departure of a train, I prefer to raise
all the time signs, except those required for the indication, because that demands
the fewest perforations in the key, although it would only be necessary to raise
such of the time signs as are in front of those to be exposed..
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
1: The combination, substantially as before set forth, of a panel of pivoted
triangular signs, a tumbler for each sign, and a perforated movable key platform
adapted to operate a key for exposing any one or any predetermined selection of
said signs.
2: The combination, substantially as before set forth, of a series of signs
ranged behind one another behind a reading hole, a tumbler for each sign, and a
perforated movable key platform adapted to operate a key for exposing any one of
the signs required.
3: The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the key holder, the
crank and link for suspending and operating it, and the lazy tongue connection for
connecting the key holder to the main frame of the table.
4-The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the movable key
holder constructed with a shelf for supporting a pile of keys, and the lower
compartment of the box frame having an open bottom and an opening across the
front.
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
34, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.