Improvements in Station Indicating Apparatus for Railway Carriages.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Apr., 1891-Accepted, 23rd May, 1891
COME DUELE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Station Indicating Apparatus for Railway
Carriages.
I GOTTFRIED MEYER of Horgen near Zürich, Switzerland Manufacturer
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 —
Travellers in railway carriages often find it impossible to learn in good time and
in an unmistakable manner the names of stations through which the train passes
either because the names are not exhibited at all or are exhibited indistinctly or
because they are only made known after the arrival of the train so that there is
often insufficient time allowed for making the necessary preparations for leaving
the carriage. It often happens too that the station at which the traveller desired
to alight is passed unobserved.
The object of this invention is to avoid these inconveniences and make travelling
in railway carriages much more comfortable.
The invention relates to apparatus by means of which after passing a station,
the name of the next succeeding station is made known to the occupants of the
railway carriages.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the indicating apparatus.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a plan of the operating projections between the rails.
In a frame or box a fitted in one of the walls of the railway carriage two drums 1
and 2 are mounted so as to be capable of rotating. These can be revolved by
means of the small friction wheels 5 and 6 in either direction by a small chain
wheel 3 which with a friction wheel 4 is fixed upon an axle fitted in the side of
the carriage. Upon the two drums 1 and 2 a flexible band is coiled in such a
manner that accordingly as the chain wheel 3 is turned in one or the other
direction the flexible band winds upon the drum 1 and unwinds from the drum *
or vice versa.
Upon the flexible band the names of stations upon the line are printed or painted,
on one side only when the apparatus is fitted at the end of a carriage, or on both
sides if the apparatus is fitted in the compartment wall so as to serve for the
occupants of two compartments of a carriage.
By means of mechanism hereinafter described acting upon the chain wheel 3 the
two drums 1 and 2 are, at the time of passing or after passing a station rotated so
that the flexible band is wound upon one drum and unwound from the other to the
extent required to exhibit at an opening made in the cover of the frame or box a
the name of the following station. The friction wheels 4, 5 and 6 are provided with
india rubber tyres to ensure a regular rotation of the drums.
The drums and 2 are provided at both ends with friction wheels so that after
turning a carriage upon a turn-table it is only necessary to reverse the frame or
box a in order that it may still indicate the names correctly.
Under the floor of the railway carriage an axle c is provided upon which a chain
wheel 7 is fixed intermediately between two ratchet wheels 8 and 9. The two
ratchet wheels 8 and 9 are rigidly connected with the chain wheel 7 and have
ratchet teeth set in opposite directions. With these ratchet wheels the pawls 10
and 11 engage projecting one from each extremity of the horizontal arms d of the
Tlever de and are urged by springs i and k against the teeth of the ratchet
wheels. If the end e of the T lever de be moved by passing over the projection n
[Figure 2) the pawl 10 will rotate the ratchet wheel 9 and the chain wheel 7
D

page_text: attached thereto communicating a movement in the same direction to the small
chain wheel 3 which is connected by an endless chain with the chain wheel 7. If
the end e of the T lever de be moved in the opposite direction the pawl 11 and
the ratchet wheel 8 come into action communicating to the chain wheels 7 and 3
a corresponding movement in the opposite direction.
The effect of the springs g and his to bring the arm e of the T lever de back
to the vertical position after cach operation.
To operate the end e of the T lever de in one or the other direction I provide a
stop n set between each pair of rails at the forward end of the station over which
the end of the T lever passes rocking the lever in a direction opposite to that in
which the train moves. Every time a carriage fitted with the apparatus herein-
before described, passes such a stop n the drums 1 and 2 are turned sufficiently to
exhibit at the longitudinal opening in the frame or box a the name of the following
station. Suppose for instance the train arrives from C in the station A (Figure 3)
the end e of the T lever de will have passed over a stop n when leaving the
station C and the indicator therefore shows the name of the station A.
At the entrance to the station A there is a stop n for operating the T lever de
of trains passing in the opposite direction from A towards C for indicating the
name of the station C. In order to avoid putting the indicating apparatus in
motion in trains moving in the direction C A by the stop n at the entrance to the
station A so as to indicate by error the station B before leaving the station A the
stop n is made in two parts n' and n². These two parts n¹ and n² can turn on pins
p and q being normally held by springs in position against stops oo allowing an
opening to be made in one direction only.
When the end e of the T lever de passes the stop n in the direction C A inas-
much as the springs of the parts n¹ and n² offer but feeble resistance and that
the lever is sufficiently maintained by the springs g and the parts n¹ and n² are
readily separated in the direction of the small arrows and the lever passes through
without operating the indicating mechanism.
As the train proceeds, its movement from A towards B should be indicated as
the train leaves the station A. As the parts n' n² are prevented by the stops oo
from separating in the direction A B the end e of the T lever de in passing over
this stop n is operated causing the mechanism to indicate the station B.
In the opposite direction a train arriving from B opens the stop n formed of the
parts n¹ and n² the indicating apparatus remaining inoperative while in moving
in the direction from A towards C the indicating mechanism is operated and the
station C is indicated.
For unimportant stations a fixed stop n is sufficient, preferably placed about
midway in the station; when a carriage passes over it the next succeeding station
is at once indicated and while the train remains in the station the various indicators
show either the station at which the train has arrived or the next succeeding
station according to the position of the carriage with regard to the stop n.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. Apparatus for indicating names of stations in railway carriages consisting of
a rocking T lever fitted vertically underneath the carriage, arranged to vibrate at
the time of leaving or after leaving a station by contact with a stop applied
between the rails, giving motion to the T lever to the extent required to clear the
stop, the motion of the T lever being communicated to ratchet wheels which cause
two rotatable drums to rotate in a frame or box applied to or fitted in the wall of
the carriage, to an extent such that the part of a band passing around the two
drums carrying the name of the next succeeding station becomes visible to the
occupants of the carriage through an opening provided in the frame or box.
2. In combination with the apparatus described in the first claim and to provide
for operating such apparatus only in one direction of travel, a stop formed in two

page_text: parts constituting a barrier of which the two parts capable of turning upon pins
at the extremities nearest to the rails open readily in one direction of travel
allowing free passage for the arm of the lever of the indicating apparatus but
remain closed against appropriate stops in the other direction of travel and so
operate the said lever by contact with the closed barrier over which it passes by
rocking upon its axis to the extent required.
Dated this 2nd day of Anril 1801
AYRTON & THOMAS,
Patent Agents.