Improvements in or relating to Railway Switches, Signals, and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug.,
1891
Improvements in or relating to Railway Switches, Signals, and
the like.
A communication from THE STANDARD EQUIPMENT COMPANY, of 115, Broadway,
in the City, County, and State of New York, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., 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 :-
This invention has for its object to shift the moving rails of switches or the bars
connected to signals of any kind and the invention consists in combining with the
switch bar or other bar and with the switching handle or lever a spring clutch
device the parts of which are normally under spring tension to resist the movement
of the switch or other part except when excessive pressure is brought upon the
same in connection with means whereby the spring tension between the parts of the
clutch may be released to enable the parts to be brought together or separated
without resistance, or the switch to be thrown without overcoming the power of the
spring.
These features together with others which may be employed may be embodied in
many different forms and arrangements some of which are shown in the drawings
and now will be described in connection with the shifting rail of a switch.
In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 A is the rail or other device to be moved, 1 is the connecting
rod, 2 is the operating handle and B is the frame of the switch stand constructed to
support parts connected with the rod 1 and handle 2. Thus the base of the stand
is provided with two standards 3 3 supporting a cross rod or shaft 4 upon which
swings freely an arm C having an arrow shaped cam end a with two inclined
sides 5, 6, and a wrist pin 7 I to which is pivotted the end of the rod 1. A lever D
is secured to or swings upon the shaft 4 and carries a slide 7 having an angular
notch to receive the head a of the arm C, the edges 8, 8, of the slide being
rounded as shown for the purpose set forth hereinafter.
The arm C and slide 7 constitute together a clutch and when the parts are in
engagement the swinging of the lever D will carry with it the parts 7, C, and shift
the switch rail but when sufficient power is applied to the switch rail the latter may
be swung to move the arm C independently, the inclined or cam edges of the head a
forcing up or back the other part 7 of the clutch.
To create greater resistance to the movement of the part 7, I combine with the
same a spring 9 which is confined between the part 7 and a disc 10 preferably con-
nected with the part 7 by bolts 12 12 that slide through the part 7 and prevent
the two parts from separating under the spring pressure and I hold the disc 10 in
its position shown in Fig. 1 by means of any suitable locking device as a block or
wedge 13, carried by the handle 2 which is pivotted between ears 14 on the lever D
by a pin 15. When the parts are in the positions shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2
the disc 10 is prevented from sliding by the wedge 13 and any thrust or draft upon
the bar 1 will fail to move the arm C until sufficient power is applied to force
upward the part 7 of the clutch against the power of the spring 9. When it is
desired to separate the parts 7, C or to bring them together after they have been
separated the operator swings the handle 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in
Fig. 1, when the section 7 of the clutch and the parts connected therewith can
slide with but little resistance when the lever D is swung to bring the section 7 into
contact with and above the arm or section C of the clutch and when this is done
the round edge 8 strikes the side of the head a and rides easily up the latter. I
prefer however to place a spring so as to about counterbalance the weight of the

page_text: spring 9 and its attachments and to facilitate the disengagement of the clutch. It
is desirable to lock the parts in their position after the switch is moved to either
side and to facilitate this locking the frame B is provided with a curved flange 16
having the notches y y' and when the parts are in place the corner of the wedge 13
will enter one of the notches and the hasp of a lock 17 may then be passed through
a hole in a lug 18 upon one of the ears 14 so as to prevent the handle 2 from being
turned to carry the wedge out of the notch. In this position an unauthorized
person cannot move the switch as the spring 9 holds the two parts of the clutch
together against any power that could be exerted except by the wheels of a train
upon the rail A. The shaft 4 may be vertical and the lever D horizontal if
required.
It will be seen that if the rail gets wedged and the lever D is swung the section 7
will yield and permit the lever to move without straining the parts unless the
spring 9 is too strong to yield under the power of the switch-man and that the
resistance encountered will notify the switch-man of the failure of the switch rail to
move. It will also be seen that when either part of the clutch passes the central
position the face 8 will move down on the face 5 or 6 under the power of the spring
and will thus complete the throw. If desired the notch a may be in the arm C and
the cam head a in the part 7.
In the construction shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 the frame B supports the horizontal
shaft 4 on which swings the lever D the lower end of which is connected with the
switch-shifting rod 1 and the clutch C is in the form of a disc having a series of
inclined or V-shaped projections 6 that lock with similar projections 8 upon the
sliding block 7 that slides between guides of the frame B and upon the shaft 4 and
a spring 9 forces the part 7 of the clutch against the part C.
The lever D carries a bolt 30 that may be pushed into notches in the edge of
the disc C so as to temporarily lock the lever D and the part of the clutch
together and when they are thus locked the switch can only be shifted by such a
force as will turn the part C of the clutch and cause the teeth or projections 6 to
bear upon the inclined faces of the projection 8 and force back the block or part 7
against the power of the spring 9 and when the points of one series of teeth have
passed those of the other the spring will force out the block 7 and cause the teeth 8
to bear against the sides of the teeth 6 and complete the movement already begun
as in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3.
When the switch is to be shifted by the switch-man without resistance the bolt 30
is withdrawn when the lever D will swing upon the shaft 4 and move the switch
rail without compressing the spring 9.
The bolt 30 is shifted by means of a bell-crank lever 31 pivotted to the lever D
and the staple of a lock may be passed through a perforated projection 18 to lock
the lever in place. To prevent the parts from being locked or unlocked until the
lever has been thrown to its full extent a projection on the bolt 30 is in position
to be carried under a flange 16 of the frame which flange has two slots y y¹ that
permit the projection to pass upward or downward through them to a position
either above or below the flange after which the lever D may be moved.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with the switch stand and operating rod and with the operating
handle or lever of a clutch provided with a spring and serving to connect the
handle and rod to move together but to yield under superior pressure against
the rod or handle substantially as set forth.
2. The combination of the operating handle and operating rod of an intermediate
clutch having inclined engaging faces maintained in contact by a spring sub-
stantially as set forth.
3. The combination of a switch stand operating rod and operating handle and a
spring actuated clutch to lock the switch and to complete the movement of the

page_text: switch when either part of the clutch is carried past its central position sub-
stantially as described.
4. The combination with the switch operating handle or lever and with the
operating rod of a clutch and a spring for holding the two parts of the clutch
together one of said parts connected with the rod and the other with the operating
handle substantially as set forth.
5. The combination with the operating handle and means for locking the same in
different positions and with the operating rod of an intermediate two part clutch
having inclined engaging faces, a spring holding the parts in engagement one of
said parts being connected with the operating handle and the other with the con-
necting rod substantially as set forth.
6. The combination with the switch operating lever D and with the part C con-
stituting one section of a clutch of another section 7 carried by the lever Da
spring acting upon the section 7 and means for permitting and for restricting the
sliding of the spring and section 7 upon the lever D substantially as set forth.
7. The combination of the arm C having a head with inclined faces and the
lever D carrying a sliding engaging part 7 with the spring 9 and a pivotted handle
constructed to swing into position to limit or permit the movement of the sliding
part substantially as set forth.
8. The several constructions and combinations and sub-combinations of parts
herein before described and shown constituting switch operating devices.
Dated this 20th day of July 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.