Improvements in Railway Signals.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 22nd Juhe, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Signals.
I, MELVILLE P. HALL, of No. 80 Broadway, in the City, County and State
of New York, United States of America, Secretary of The Hall Signal Company,
do hereby declare the nature of this intention, 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 railway visual signals and it has for its object to
provide an enclosed signal whose indications will be distinctly visible by day
and night and whose operation may be effected electrically and automatically if
desired. The invention consists of the construction hereinafter set forth.
In the drawings, in which like letters designate similar parts throughout the
several figures,
Figure 1 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of a signal embodying this
invention.
Figure 2 is an enlarged rear elevation of the signal discs and their operating
mechanism.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the upper part of the case on line × ×,
Figure 1.
Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 2, with the armature partly in section.
Figure 5 is a front view of part of Figure 2, showing one helix of the electro-
magnet, its core extension, and part of the armature in engagement therewith.
Figure 6 is a detail (to reduced scale) showing armature in position with magnet
demagnetized.
Figure 7 is a plan view of armature and supporting bracket.
A is a casing, provided in front and rear with large registering apertures a and a³,
and also with smaller registering apertures a' and a², in front and rear, all of
which, as shown, may be covered with plates of glass. Within the casing are the
signal discs B and C, fixed upon an armature E, turning upon an axis E' and con-
trolled by the motor D. The disc B is the day signal disc and moves in and out
of register with the apertures a, as, and the disc C is the night signal disc and
moves in and out of register with the apertures a', a³. If it is intended that these
dises shall indicate danger when registering with their apertures they will be
suitably colored, as for example red, the day disc being in this case preferably
opaque or semi-opaque, so as to reflect sunlight and the night discs being preferably
translucent so as to transmit and color a beam of light from a lantern Z, arranged
behind the aperture a' and preferably fixed upon the back of the casing and in line
with both apertures a, a, as shown in the drawings. These discs might however
be arranged so that both or either will give a danger or safety indication as
desired, when registering with their respective apertures, and although I have shown
them as concurrently appearing at their apertures, they might be arranged to
appear dis-simultaneously. In this latter case the appearance of one disc would
indicate danger and the appearance of the other would cause a safety indication, by
obscuring a red lantern for example.
In the usual form of the signal the discs are both danger discs, and register
concurrently at their respective apertures, as shown in the drawings, and they are
preferably so arranged that when left to the action of gravity they will register
with their apertures, being moved out of register by the energization of the
actuating mechanism, but this arrangement is not always essential.
7

page_text: The actuating mechanism is preferably constructed as follows:-The poles d of
the electro-magnets D D, are prolonged laterally as shown particularly in Figs. 4
and 5, so as to be embraced by wings e e, curved upon the arc of a circle from the
same radius but in opposite directions, and extending from the ends of a bar of soft
iron forming the body of the armature E, which is pivoted centrally (slightly
below the electro-magnets) between the arms ff1, of a bracket F, which is carried
by and adapted to be adjusted lengthwise in a grooved bracket G, fastened to the
inner face of the front board of the case A. Each pair of wings e forms a pole of
the armature. The pivot E of the armature is preferably of trunnion form,
secured by screws, as shown in Fig. 7. The wings ee of the armature are each
made up of two curved plates or arms placed a sufficient distance apart to enable
them to straddle or embrace the prolongated poles d of the magnets, or arranged
in any other suitable way so that the metal of a pole of the magnet and the metal
of the corresponding pole of the armature will overlap, either one or the other.
One arm of each wing is preferably longer than its companion, so as to always
maintain contact with or remain in close proximity to the poles d when the
electro-magnets are demagnetized, so as to be easily attracted when the circuit is
made and thus economizing battery power in operating the signal; see particularly
Figure 6. el is a connecting pin or brace between the arms of each wing near
their outer ends, set to one side as seen in Figure 4, so as to allow the armature to
move past the poles to the full end of its throw. It will be seen in Figure 6 that
when the armature has been attracted, its poles are in closest proximity to the
poles of the magnet and perhaps in physical contact. The armature is thus firmly
held in this position.
It will be noted, as shown in Figure 4, that the wings ee of the armature have
abrupt increases in their mass at their bases which come last into the field of force
of the poles of the magnet. This gives the poles a sudden increase in their
attractive power which tends to prevent rebound of the armature when it has
reached the limit of its movement under the influence of the magnet, thereby more
quickly stationing the signal discs in line with their apertures.
The day signal disc B is connected closely by a short metal piece b to one end
of the pivoted armature E, while to the opposite end of the armature is connected
a rod, to which may be adjustably secured a balancing weight e¹, as shown in
dotted lines in Figure 2, if found necessary, and to the extremity of this rod is
attached the night signal disc C, this arrangement ensuring concurrent movement
of both signals with the one armature.
By providing apertures in front and rear of the casing for the day disc the
engineer is enabled, upon looking back after having passed a signal, to see that
the signal gives the proper indication. Moreover these apertures will present
normally, that is, when the disc B is out of register with them, a stationary disc
which, if the plates of glass covering the apertures are both plain and transparent,
will be white from the sunlight. This stationary disc will contrast strongly with
the color of the casing and also with the disc B, and thus make the absence of the
disc B from its aperture clearly distinct at a great distance from its signal, and at
the same time will operate as a stationary signal disc arranged to be obscured by
the disc B and to give a positive indication different from the disc B. In the case
of the night signal the two apertures enable me to haug the lantern upon the back
of the casing, thus avoiding the necessity of opening the casing to put the lantern
inside, and thereby preventing probable disturbance of the signal mechanisms.
Various changes which will readily suggest themselves to any one skilled in the
art may of course he made without departing from the spirit of my invention.
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 a railway signal, the combination of a casing having an aperture in the

page_text: signal arranged to present a stationary disc to give one positive character of
indication, a day signal disc and a separate night signal disc arranged to move in
and out of register with their apertures, the day signal disc operating when in
register with its apertures to give one positive character of indication and obscure
the disc which the apertures normally present, and when out of register with the
apertures to permit them to disclose their normal disc to give another positive
character of indication, substantially as set forth.
2. In a railway signal, the combination of a casing having two registering
apertures in front and back for a night signal, and two registering apertures in
front and back for a day signal arranged to normally present a stationary disc to
give one positive character of indication, a day signal disc and a separate night
signal disc arranged to move in and out of register with their apertures, the day
signal disc operating when in register with its apertures to give one positive
character of indication and obscure the disc which the apertures normally present,
and when out of register with the apertures to permit them to disclose their
normal disc to give another positive character of indication, substantially as set
forth.
3. In a railway signal, the combination of a casing having an aperture in the
front for a night signal, and two registering apertures in front and back for a day
signal arranged to present a stationary disc to give one positive character of
indication, a day sigual disc and a separate night signal disc fixed upon a pivoted
arm provided with wing armatures and a magnet for operating the armatures so as
to enable the signal discs to move in and out of register with their apertures, the
day signal disc operating when in register with its apertures to give one positive
character of indication and obscure the disc which the apertures normally present,
and when out of register with the apertures to permit them to disclose their
normal disc to give another positive character of indication, substantially as set
forth.
4. In a railway signal, the combination of a casing having two registering
apertures in front and back for a night signal, and two registering apertures in
front and back for a day signal arranged to normally present a stationary disc to
give one positive character of indication, a day signal disc and a separate night
signal disc fixed upon a pivoted arm provided with wing armatures and a magnet
for operating the armatures so as to enable the signal discs to move in and out of
register with their apertures, the day signal disc operating when in register with its
apertures to give one positive character of indication and obscure the disc which
the apertures normally present, and when out of register with the apertures to
permit them to disclose their normal disc to give another positive character of
indication, substantially as set forth.
5. An electric motor for a railway signal, comprising a magnet with prolonged
pole pieces, an armature consisting of a medially pivoted bar or piece provided on
its ends with pole pieces arranged to be simultaneously attracted by the magnet
and extending in opposite directions from the said armature bar, the metal of a
pole piece of the armature and the metal of the corresponding pole piece of the
magnet overlapping when the armature is attracted, substantially as set forth.
6. An electric motor for a railway signal, comprising a magnet with prolonged
pole pieces, an armature consisting of a medially pivoted bar or piece mounted on
an axis substantially at right angles to the axis of the magnet and provided ou its
ends with pole pieces arranged to be simultaneously attracted by the magnet and
extending in opposite directions from the said armature bar, the metal of a pole
piece of the armature and the metal of the corresponding pole piece of the magnet
overlapping when the armature is attracted, substantially as set forth.
7. An electric motor for a railway signal, comprising a magnet with pro-
longed pole pieces, an armature comprising a medially pivoted bar or piece and
provided with curved pole pieces extending in opposite directions from the said
armature bar, said pole pieces of the armature being arranged to be simultaneously
attracted by the magnet and each comprising two or more elements or pieces so

page_text: disposed as to come one after another into the magnetic field, the metal of a
magnet pole and the metal of an armature pole overlapping when the armature is
attracted, substantially as set forth.
8. In an electro-magnet, the combination of the pair of poles of the magnet and
an armature comprising a pivoted piece provided with two pairs of pole pieces
curved oppositely and on lines substantially concentric with the axis of the
pivoted piece, each pair adapted to swing in the field of force and to embrace a
pole of the magnet between them, the armature being provided with a substantially
abrupt increase in its mass at those portions coming last into the field of force of
each pole of the magnet, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 11th day of March 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.