Improvements in or connected with Apparatus for Indicating Names of Stations in Moving Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Jan., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Oct., 1893-Accepted, 30th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Apparatus for Indicating Names
of Stations in Moving Vehicles.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON ROBERTSON, of 39 Victoria Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
The invention relates to station indicating apparatus carried by moving vehicles
and operated by fixed cams or inclines on the permanent way.
It has been found that, from wear and other causes, the cams or inclines, although
arranged to produce a certain amount of motion in the prime movers of station
indicating apparatus, are, on account of the relatively varying distance between
such cams and prime movers, liable to failure by giving sometimes more and
sometimes less motion than that required to produce the required motion of the
indicators.
Now, according to my invention, I remedy this inconvenience by arranging the
cams or inclines with capability of giving more motion to the prime movers than
that required to give motion to the station indicators. This may be carried into
effect in various ways. For instance, 1 interpose between the prime mover and the
station indicator, a rotary or sliding cam, the operating part of which is proportioned
to produce the required motion in the station indicator when working in either
direction, the connecting instrument between such cam and the indicator being
normally in a central position with respect to the operating portion of the cam.
On each side of the operating portion of the cam, is a non-operative portion, which
will simply hold the connecting instrument in the position to which it has been
moved by the operating part of the cam, until, in the action of the apparatus, the
parts are returned to their normal position.
Another method of carrying my invention into effect is by the employment of a
spring lever worked by the cam or incline, either directly or indirectly, the spring
of which is sufficiently strong to work the indicator, but when more than the
required motion has been given to it, the spring will. give. way after the rigid part
of the lever has arrived at a stop.
It is evident that various modifications of apparatus may be adopted without
departing from the peculiar character of my invention.
Dated this 31st day of December 1892.
GEO. W. ROBERTSON,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Apparatus for Indicating Names
of Stations in Moving Vehicles.
GEORGE WASHINGTON ROBERTSON of 39 Victoria Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-—--
The invention relates to station indicating apparatus carried by moving vehicles
and operated by fixed cams or inclines on the permanent way.
It has been found that from wear and other causes the fixed cams or inclines

page_text: although arranged to produce a certain amount of motion in the prime movers of
station indicating apparatus are on account of the relatively varying distance
between such cams and prime movers liable to failure by giving sometimes more
and sometimes less motion than that required to produce the required motion of the
indicators.
Now according to my invention I remedy this inconvenience by arranging the
fixed cams or inclines with capability of giving more motion to the prime movers
than that required to give motion to the station indicators. This may be carried
into effect in various ways. For instance interpose between the prime mover
and the station indicator a rotary or sliding cam the operating part of which is
proportioned to produce the required motion in the station indicator when working
in either direction, the connecting instrument between such cam and the indicator
being normally in a central position with respect to the operating portion of
the cam.
On each side of the operating portion of the cam is a non-operative portion
which will simply hold the connecting instrument in the position to which it has
been moved by the operating part of the cam until in the action of the apparatus
the parts are returned to their normal position.
Another method of carrying my invention into effect is by the employment of a
spring lever worked by the fixed cam or incline either directly or indirectly the
spring of which is sufficiently strong to work the indicator but when more than the
required motion has been given to it the spring will give way after the rigid part
of the lever has arrived at a stop.
My invention is represented in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is an end view of a railway carriage fitted with the improved apparatus
for operating station indicators.
Figure 2 is an end view and Figure 3 is an underside view of the parts
connecting the prime mover with the vertical connecting rod at the end of carriage.
Figure 4 is an elevation and Figure 5 is a cross section of some of the parts
shown in the previous figures.
Figure 6 is an end view Figure 7 is a side view and Figure 8 is a plan of part of
a railway carriage showing applied thereto a modification of parts for giving motion
from the prime mover to the vertical rod at end of carriage.
Figures 9, 10, and 11 are a plan and two elevations of cam communicating motion
from prime mover to said vertical rod and Figures 12 and 13 are two elevations of
lower part of vertical rod.
Figure 14 is an elevation and Figure 15 is a plan of parts at end of shaft on top
of carriage.
a represents a station indicator fixed in the roof of a railway carriage, this
indicator may be constructed and operated in a similar manner to that described in
the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me No. 11170 of the year 1890 or
other suitable construction of indicator and means for communicating motion thereto
from the shaft b running lengthwise along the top of the carriage may be employed.
c is a vertical connecting rod, the upper end of which may be connected directly
to a lever fixed on the horizontal shaft b as described in the aforesaid Specification
or such connecting rod may be connected at its upper end to the shaft 6 by means
of apparatus such as that shown at Figures 14 and 15 but which forms no part of
my present invention. In such apparatus b' is a double acting ratchet wheel and
62 is a notched wheel both of which are fixed on the shaft b, and 3 is a double ended
pawl lever which is mounted loosely on said shaft, the pawls of which act on
opposite sides of the ratchet wheel and are sprung towards the edge of the latter
by a spring . The shaft bis mounted in standards or brackets 66 and a spring
dog d mounted in a socket in the end standard 66 acts in connection with the
notched wheel to ensure correct adjustment of the indicating apparatus at each
action thereof.
With the above arrangement of parts for giving motion from the vertical rod
to the horizontal shaft 6 bevel wheels are fixed on such shaft 6 in position to gear

page_text: with bevel wheels fixed on the indicator operating shafts as described in the
aforesaid Provisional Specification. The vertical rod c is connected to one or
other end of the pawl lever 63 according to the direction in which the train is
required to move.
The lower end of the vertical rod c is connected to a lever e¹ fixed on one end of
a shaft e mounted in brackets on the underside of the carriage and provided at its
other end with a counterbalance lever e². On the shaft e is fixed a cam lever e³
within the cam slot of which works a stud g' fixed in a bar g. This bar is
mounted in brackets 92 and is pin jointed to links g³ which latter are also pin jointed
to levers fixed on shafts h, one at each side of the carriage. On the lower end
of each shaft h is fixed a prime motion lever h² the outer end of which is acted
upon by an incline or cam i fixed on the permanent way or to a platform or other
structure alongside the line. jj are two centering rods which are acted upon by
springs, the inner ends of these rods bear against a projection 9 on the bar g and
act after each operation of the apparatus to restore the parts to the central position
shown in the drawings. The cam slot in the lever e³ has a central short slot within
which the pin g'on the bar g normally rests and such cam slot et is connected to inclined
cam slots. Thus when the bar g is moved in either direction by a prime motion
lever the pin g' first works against one or other side of the cam slot * and thereby
gives a definite amount of motion to the cam lever e¹ and consequently to the indicator
mechanism, then on a prime motion lever / receiving more motion than that required
to work the indicators, the stud g' will move out of the cam slot and will move
along one or other of the cam slots e' which latter at such time will be in a
horizontal direction, the cam lever e³ will thereby after having received its proper
motion, be held firm notwithstanding that the stud g continues to travel a certain
distance along one or other of the cam slots eª.
When one of the pawls is rising to give motion to the ratchet wheel 3' the other
pawl descends and in order to prevent the latter pawl from interfering with the
rotation of the wheel b¹ its tail is pressed inwards by the fixed cam 67 so as to
raise its nose away from the edge of the wheel 61.
I will now describe the modification shown at Figures 6 to 13. In this arrange-
ment the rod e is mounted in guides k fixed to the carriage end and the lower end
of such rod is provided with anti-friction rollers c¹ to fit against the upper and
lower sides of the edge of a cam formed segment / whose cam edge is formed with
an incline and a straight part 2 at each end of such incline.
This cam
shaped segment is mounted on an axis and is connected by link m with an
arni of one of the prime motion levers h² which arms ³ are connected
together by means of a slot h in one and a pin h³ from the other passing through
said slot thereby causing them to move in unison, consequently the arm ³ connected
to the cam formed segment / will give motion to such segment when either prime
motion lever h², is acted upon by an operative cam or incline i.
Springs restore the cam formed segment to its normally central position after
each action thereof.
It should be understood that the prime motion levers 72 and the fixed operating
cams or inclines i are so arranged that the levers 2 may receive more motion than
is necessary to give the required motion to the indicator apparatus but by the
interposition of a lost motion arrangement between the prime motion lever h² and
the vertical rod c the latter receives only the exact amount of motion required to
correctly operate the indicators whilst the prime motion lever h² may receive a
variable amount of motion depending upon the sway or sideway position of the train
caused by the wear of the wheels and line and other causes.
It will be evident that other forins of lost motion apparatus may be interposed.
between the prime motion lever /² and the indicator without departing from the
peculiar character of my invention such for instance as a sliding cam having
operative and non-operative parts or a spring lever worked by the fixed cam or
incline either directly or indirectly the spring of which is sufficiently strong to

page_text: work the indicator but when more than the required motion has been given to it
the spring will give way after the rigid part of the lever has arrived at a stop.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. In station indicators for railway trains operated by mechanical means the
combination with a prime moving lever ², operated by a fixed cam or incline, of a
lost motion apparatus interposed between such prime motion lever and the indicator
the parts being so arranged that although a variable amount of motion may be
given to the prime motion lever the exact amount of motion required to correctly
operate the indicator is always given to the latter substantially as herein shown
and described.
2. In station indicators for railway trains operated by mechanical means the
combination with a prime motion lever 2, operated by a fixed cam or incline, of a
cam provided with operative and non-operative or lost motion parts, connections
between the lever hand the lost motion cam and connections between such lost
motion cam and the mechanism communicating motion to the indicators substantially
as herein shown and described.
Dated this 2nd day of Octaban 1802
G. W. ROBERTSON,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.