IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AND WORKING SIGNALS AND POINTS."
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Tweedy, of Brunton Place, Carlisle, in
the County of Cumberland, and Joseph Simpkin, of Chester Place,
Bensham, Gateshead, in the County of Durham, Signal Inspector,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING APPARATUS FOR
CONTROLLING AND WORKING SIGNALS AND POINTS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Tweedy and
Joseph Simpkin at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 4th December 1873.
We, JOSEPH TWEEDY, of Brunton Place, Carlisle, in the County of
Cumberland, and JOSEPH SIMPKIN, of Chester Place, Bensham, Gates-
head, in the County of Durham, Signal Inspector, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING APPARATUS
FOR CONTROLLING AND WORKING SIGNALS AND POINTS," to be. as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to securely lock the levers used for
working the signals and points of railways.

page_text: In carrying out the Invention each of the hand levers is provided
with a spring catch which takes into notches on the upper edge of a
segment bar or arm, and also carries a stud or block which bears against
the under side of a curved rocking lever which is made to turn in its
bearings when the hand lever is moved in either direction. The tail end of
the curved rocking lever is thereby depressed and acts upon another
lever below and mounted on a horizontal shaft provided with projecting
arms which extend under pins fixed in a vertical rod attached to the
back of the hand lever. The upper end of this rod forms a bolt which
when lifted up takes into a notch at the under side of the segment bar :
or arm. There are two notches on the under side and two on the upper
side of this segment bar or arm so that the hand levers may be held
securely in the two positions required for opening or closing the points,
or placing the signals in a corresponding position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Tweedy and Joseph Simpkin in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 4th June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
TWEEDY, of Brunton Place, Carlisle, in the County of Cumberland, and
JOSEPH SIMPKIN, of Chester Place, Brensham, Gateshead, in the County
of Durham, Signal Inspector, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Joseph Tweedy and Joseph Simpkin,
Her special licence that we, the said Joseph Tweedy and Joseph
Simpkin, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Joseph Tweedy and Joseph Simpkin, our executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKING

page_text: APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AND WORKING SIGNALS AND POINTS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Joseph Tweedy and Joseph
Simpkin, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Simpkin, on behalf of myself
and of the said Joseph Tweedy, do hereby declare the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to securely lock the levers used for
working the signals and points of railways so that they cannot be shifted
accidentally, or in fact be moved at all until they are unlocked.
The manner of effecting this object will be best understood by
referring to the accompanying Drawing, in which we have shown various
views of our improved locking apparatus; the several working parts
being represented in different positions.
Fig. 1 is a sectional end elevation of a set of interlocking levers with
our improvements adapted thereto; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the
same showing a set of eight levers which act on and lock one another
and are marked A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.
Fig. 3 is another sectional elevation shewing one of the levers
drawn over into the position indicated by dots, in which position it will
interlock and hold securely some of the other levers.
Fig. 4 is a back elevation of Fig. 2, showing what we term the back
lock.
Fig. 5 is another side or end elevation looking from A to H of the
lever D and its appendages; Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the same lever
but looking from H to A.
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the apparatus, some of the parts of which are
cut away in order that those below may be more readily seen.

page_text: Fig. 8 is a side view representing the lever E and its appendages.
In carrying out the Invention each of the hand levers A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, and H is provided with a spring catch a which takes into notches
on the upper edge of a segment bar or arm h. Each of these levers also
carries a stud or block i which bears against the under side of a curved
rocking lever 6 which is made to turn in its bearings when the hand
lever is moved in either direction. The tail end of the curved rocking
lever 6 is thereby depressed, and being connected by means of a link b¹
with another lever d below acts thereon, as will be hereafter more fully
explained. These levers d, of which there is one to every hand lever,
are mounted on horizontal rocking shafts g, provided on their opposite
sides with projecting arms e which extend under pins fixed in vertical
rods c connected by straps to the back of the hand levers. The upper
end of each of the rods c forms a bolt, which when lifted up by the
arms e (caused by the rocking of the horizontal shaft g on which it is
mounted) takes into a notch fat the inner side of the segment bar or
arm h.
There are two notches on the under side and two on the upper
side of this segment bar or arm h, so that the hand levers A to H,
whichever may be moved, may be held securely in either of the two
positions required for opening or closing the points, or placing the
signals in a corresponding position.
The horizontal rocking shafts g are not mounted in bearings in the
end standards 1, 1, of the hand lever frame, but are held in place by
pivot screws m, Figures 2 and 4, and shewn on an enlarged scale at
Fig. 9. Upon these pivot screws the rocking shafts g turn, so that any
one of the shafts g may be dismounted and removed (without interfering
with the others) by merely unscrewing the pivot screws m belonging to
such shaft. The centre standard 17", is made in pieces secured together
by means of lugs and bolts so as to admit of the bars being removed.
All the hand levers A to H are mounted on one common shaft which is
placed at the lower part of the framing.
From the foregoing explanation of the several working parts it will be
evident that if one of the hand levers (the lever A for instance) be pulled
over, the block i which is fixed on its side will force up the locking bar
or lever b, and the outer extremity of this latter being connected by the
link b¹ to the end of the arm d (which is mounted on the horizontal
shaft g) will cause the latter to rock, and by means of the arm e will
lift the vertical bolt c into the notch f of the segment arm h.

page_text: It will be seen on referring to Fig. 2 that the arms e belonging to
some of the other hand levers are mounted on the same horizontal
rocking shaft g as the arm d of the hand lever A, consequently when
this latter is pulled over and has become locked by the bolt a. the same
motion is imparted to the bolts c of the other hand levers acting with it
(in this instance E, F, G), and these will then become locked also.
On referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen how the motion or working of
one hand lever will act on and lock certain of the others.
We have also adapted to all the hand levers a locking which we call
the "back lock," that is when any hand lever has been pulled over it is
locked and cannot be returned out of its order. For instance, suppose
the lever D to be pulled over. On working the lever B the block i of
that lever raises the locking bar 6, as already explained; and to this
bar 6 is attached by a pin the arm n, Fig. 3, mounted on the axle k¹,
then by means of the link 6, the arm d¹, and the horizontal rocking
bar g¹ a similar motion is imparted to the inner arm e¹ of the hand
lever D, and thereby raises the bolt c of that lever into the recess made
at the lower end of the under side of the segment arm h.
On referring to the back elevation, Fig. 4, it will be seen that the
hand levers B and E both "back lock" the lever D, but of course any
other combination may be used, as may be deemed most desirable, and
holes are left in the rear leg of the standards for the purpose of inserting
any rocking levers that may be required.
Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 shew the mode of unlocking a lever which has
been locked by a reverse action of the "key lever" to that already
described. Thus the lever D has by means of the slotted bar 62 raised
the arm e¹¹ (Fig. 8), carrying up the bolt c by its pin c", thereby
locking the lever E. To unlock this lever E the lever D is worked over,
and in doing so the pin c" (Fig. 6) is caused to travel along the slot in
the lever b² without opposition until it arrives at the hinder part, where
coming against the curved portion of the slot it depresses the lever b
and the arm e", and allows the bolt c to fall clear of the segment
piece h.
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in Locking
Apparatus for Controlling and Working Signals and Points," and
having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we claim
as the Invention secured to us by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the mode

page_text: herein set forth of locking in any desired position the hand levers
whereby the signals and points of railways are worked.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Simpkin, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Second day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
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