AN APPARATUS FOR INDICATING NAMES OF NEXT STATIONS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1885

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
We JAMES KENDAL of 106 Cheapside in the City of London Watch and Clock
Manufacturer and MARC LAVAL 110 Cannon Street in the City of London
Commission Agent do hereby declare the nature of an invention for AN APPARATUS
FOR INDICATING NAMES OF NEXT STATIONS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGES to be as
follows:-
The apparatus has for its object the indication in Railway Carriages and other
public conveyances of the name of each Station or stopping place in rotation as it
is approached and consists of an endless band of paper or other suitable material
passing over two rollers and revolving with them and on which are printed in
proper order the names of the different stations.
The power required to drive the band is supplied by a spring barrel to be wound
up say once a day connected by gear to one of the rollers to give the necessary
number of movements the changing of the names is effected by an escapement
controlled by a solenail connected to a battery in the guards van and thrown into
action by the guard pressing a button at the proper moment.
It is of course intended that there should be a separate indication in each
carriage of a train all of them being connected and the whole under the control of
the guard.

page_text: We JAMES KENDAL of 106 Cheapside in the City of London Watch and Clock
Manufacturer and MARC LAVAL of 110 Cannon Street in the City of London
Commission Agent do hereby declare the nature of an invention for AN APPARATUS
FOR INDICATING NAMES OF NEXT STATIONS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGES 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 the indication in railway carriages of the name of each
station or stopping place in rotation as it is approached and consists in the
employment for that purpose of a travelling or rotary Indicator bearing the names
of the successive stations in a route, which indicator is operated by a spring barrel
or spring power device controlled by electricity, all substantially as hereinafter
described. And in order that the said Invention may be perfectly understood we
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall
refer to the several-figures on the accompanying sheet of drawings the same letters
of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1. of the accompanying drawings represents a sectional elevation of an
apparatus constructed according to this Invention and Figures 2 and 3 are trans-
verse vertical sections of the same taken at opposite ends of the apparatus A is an
endless band of paper or other suitable material passing over two rollers B, C the
axes of which are mounted so as to be capable of turning in bearings in or carried
by the inclosing case D. This band bears the names of all the stations or stopping
places in the route arranged in proper order so that by importing intermittent
motion to the band the several names are in succession brought opposite and
displayed through the opening E.
The motion of the band is obtained by means of a spring barrel F which is
wound up periodically, say for example once, a day, and imparts rotary motion to
the upper roller B through the intervention of a train of wheels G and thence to
the band passing over such roller and over the roller C. The roller B, with the
band is maintained stationary during the requisite intervals by means of a detent
or escapement H controlled by a solenoid I which latter is so arranged that its
core K is nominally held by means of a spring L (the tension of which may be
adjusted) in the position shewn in the drawings thus causing the detent or
escapement H to lock the roller B but that when the electric circuit 1-2
containing the solenoid is completed with the battery the core K is moved in
opposition to the spring L and the detent or escapement H is released the spring
barrel being thus allowed to feed the band onwards.
The battery may conveniently be placed in the guard's van whence the wires 1-2
from the solenoids of the several indicators (one of which is to be placed in each
carriage of the train) are conducted the circuit being completed by the guard or
other attendant pressing a button or making a contact at the proper moment and
the whole of the indicators being thus operated simultaneously.

page_text: Where the stations are arranged otherwise than on a complete circle it will be
necessary in order to avoid reversing the motion of the roller B for the return
journey to provide the band with two sets of names arranged in the proper order
so that by the motion of the band in one and the same direction the correct names
may be displayed when travelling either to or fro or if preferred the direction of
motion of the roller B may be reversed at the return journey in any one of the well
known ways.
Although we have described the Invention as carried out with the use of a
travelling band it is obvious that the roller B may be made of sufficient diameter
to itself bear on its periphery the names of the stations and the band and lower
roller be thus dispensed with. It will further be evident that an ordinary electro-
magnet and armature may be substituted for the solenoid also that numerals letters
or other conventional characters may be employed in lieu of the names by which
the stations are commonly known all such modifications coming within the scope of
the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
A travelling or rotary indicator, bearing the names of the successive stations in
a route operated by a spring barrel or spring power device controlled by electricity
substantially and as for the purpose herein before described.
Dated this nineteenth day of June 1885.
A. LESLIE ANTILL,
1, Gresham Buildings, Basinghall Street, E.C.,
Solicitor,
Agent for the said James Kendal and Marc Laval,