A NEW OR IMPROVED ELECTRICAL CONTACT APPARATUS WORKED BY PASSAGE OF RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, EDWARD TYER of Ashwin Street, Dalston in the County of Middlesex
Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED ELECTRICAL CONTACT APPARATUS WORKED BY PASSAGE OF RAILWAY
TRAINS" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
For the purpose of controlling railway signals and for giving notice of passage of
trains over certain parts of the line, it is often necessary to provide apparatus such
that the passage of a train shall make or break electrical contact, so as to close or
open a circuit communicating with signals or telegraphic instruments.
My Invention relates to apparatus for this purpose which I will describe
referring to the accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in
section and Fig. 2 is a plan, the lid of the casing being supposed to be removed.
In the rail R, I drill a hole, into which I insert, loosely fitting the hole, the short
end of a lever which is pivotted at A and has a long arm B extending back from
the pivot, this arm being forked, so as to embrace between the forks an arm C.
The arm C is jointed to B by a bolt D passing through a caoutchouc washer E,
which by screwing up the nut of the bolt D can be clamped more or less firmly
between two side plates F and G, which are respectively secured to B and C by
steady pins. This caoutchouc washer E is thus made to serve as an elastic
connection of B and C. The end of the arm C is linked by side rods H to a
wooden box K that is pivotted at L on the one side and at L' on the other side.
The two pivots have springs bearing against them and the standards in which the
pivots work are respectively connected to the wires W and W1, which form part of
the circuit. In the box K is placed a little mercury into which dips a wire
connected to the pivot L, while another wire connected to L¹ terminates above the
level of the mercury.
When a train passes along the rail R, deflecting it a little, the arms B and C are
raised, and the box K is thus canted, as indicated by the dotted lines, so that the
mercury M makes contact with the wire from L' and thus the circuit of which W
and W' form part, is closed.
When, by settlement or otherwise, the relative levels of the rail and the
apparatus become a little altered, the elastic washer E allows the arm C to alter a

page_text: little, its attitude relatively to B. The movement of C is limited between two
elastic stops N N¹ which automatically adjust C so as to ensure correct action of
the box K independently of any alteration of level of the rails or of the contact
apparatus. Moreover, as the movement of B is transmitted to C through the
washer E, its elasticity serves to relieve the contact apparatus from serious shock.
The apparatus as shewn in the Drawings is arranged for closing a circuit by the
passage of a train. Obviously by extending the wire from L' towards the left
end of the box K and bending its end down so as to be normally immersed in the
mercury keeping the circuit closed, the canting of the box K, caused by passage of
a train, would, by removing the mercury towards the right, open the circuit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is-
The construction and use of electrical contact apparatus, worked by passage of
railway trains arranged and operating substantially as herein described.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant,
28, Southampton Buildings,
London, W.C.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant,
28, Southampton Buildings,
London, W.C.