Improved Means for Operating Switches or Points of Railways or Tramways.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 1st Oct.,
1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Operating Switches or Points of Railways or
Tramways.
-I, Dr. ALAJOS WAJDITS, of Budapest, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
Physician, 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:-
The object of this invention is a switch which, when used for tramways for
instance, can be actuated by the driver or conductor from the vehicle and when
used for railways (while still retaining the characteristic features thereof) it is
capable when placed in a wrong position to be automatically righted by the
weight of the vehicle.
In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 to 9 show a switch for electric tram-
ways having underground conductors, while Figures 10 to 14 show a switch for
railways.
(Fig. 6) The switch tongue 1 extends by the aid of an arm from its fulcrum 2
to below the rails above the box 3 and terminates there at the switch operating
mechanism arranged in the plate 4 and shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4. The
latter consists of the bell crank levers 8 and 9 fulcrumed on the pins 6 and 7 of
the plate 5, Fig. 8. The arm 91 of the bell crank lever 9 is furnished at its free
end with two teeth which engage with the projection 10 of the dropping end of the
switch tongue, while the other arm 911 is movably secured to the rod 12 by the
aid of the pin 11, this rod being guided at 14 between the sides of the bearing 13
and at 16 between the sides of the bearing 15 and being further connected by a
pin 17 to the lever 8. One end of this lever is provided with holes to receive the
wire while the other end is forked thus forming two arms 19 and 20 the free ends
of which have such a shape as to secure the switch tongue 1, by means of the
projections 19 and 20 of their downward extending end, sometimes in one some-
times in the other position (see both positions in Figures 3 and 4).
.
In the position shown in Fig. 3 the vehicle is moving in a straight line; the switch
tongue is secured on one side by means of the arm 9 and on the other by means
of the projection 23 of the plate 5. To reverse the position of the switch it is
merely necessary to pull on the wire cord 22 whereupon the lever 8 is caused to
turn upon its fulcrum 6 in such a manner that the arm 19 ceases to impede the
lateral motion of the switch and hence the latter is brought into its second
position, Fig. 4, by the tooth of the lever arm 91 in which position the same is
fixed by the arm 20 of the lever S on the one hand and by the projection 24 of the
plate 5 on the other hand. It will be readily understood that the shifting
of the switch tongue can also be effected by means of the rod 38 fixed to the end
of the rod 12, relatively by pulling the wire cord 37.
Figure 9 shows diagrammatically the manner in which the switch is operated.
The vehicle travelling in the direction A indicated by the arrow is about to
arrive on the switch rails. The conductor turns, by means of a contrivance
hereunder more fully described, the lever 25 arranged between the rails shown

page_text: diagrammatically in Fig. 9 and turning in a horizontal plane upon its fulcrum 26
whereupon the said lever arm 25 operates the switch by the aid of the wire cord
fixed for this purpose to its shortest arm. The arrangement of the lever 25 is
shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The casting 27 shown in perspective in Fig. 2, the
oblique plane 28 of which serves. to limit the displacement of the lever 25 while
its rib or ridge 29 protects the last mentioned' lever from knocks from above,
is arranged in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 over the grooved rail. The lever 25
is fulcrumed on, the pin 26 of the block in the underground trencli. To move
the end of the lever arm 25 which projects above the rails and is fulcrumed as
aforesaid on the pin 26 of the trench block, the arm 31 being actuated by the
driver of the vehicle by the aid of the crank handle 32 which is brought back
into its normal position as soon as released by the spiral spring. 33 connected, there-
to. The connecting rod 34 connects the crank shaft 32 with the arm 35 of the
shaft 30; this rod forms an angle with the arm 31 which is limited in its motion
by the recess formed as shown in Fig. 7 in the box. 36 fixed on the floor or bottom
of the veliiclé.
The driver of the vehicle adjusts the arm 31 by means of, the crank handle 32
in front of the switcli from its position along the line into the vertical position
whereupon he turns the lever 25 thus operating the switch by the aid of the-wire
cord 22. He subsequently pushes the arm 31 (even after said arm leaves the
switch) further into its turned position in order to likewise turn the lever 25
placed at a certain distance that is to say to bring the switch back into its normal
position by means of the wire cord 21. The similar arrangement shown on the
opposite side of the rails serve to actuate the switch likewise from the vehicle
by the aid of the cord. (37; 38) that is to say by the rod. mechanism when the
vehicle is. being driven back.
The figures on Sheet 2 show the construction used for railways. The two
switch tongues a, b; are firmly connected and can turn upon their pivot c by
means of a small wheel d from one position to the other along a plate. Above
this pivot c each. switch tongue is provided with a piece e projecting
downwardly and provided. with a counter-weight f The construction
of the lower part of this arm is identical with that of the switch tongue
above described while the equivalent combination g, h, only shows-a. modification
in as much as the lever h is connected by means of the teeth with the vertical
shaft which can be actuated by hand as well as by the weight of the vehicle. In the
diagram-shown in Fig. 14; the rails m. as shown in detail in Fig: 13. can move in
a vertical direction upon the shaft n and are connected together by the wire
cord o in such a manner that when the rail m assumes its upper extreme position,
the rail is horizontal and vice versa. This arrangement answers in. the case of
a train arriving in the direction indicated by the arrow. A should. the switch have
a wrong position as-shown in Fig. 14, in which case the rail m would assume its
upper extreme position as the weight of the vehicles would depress: this rail m
which by means of the cord o would depress the shaft p; (on the roller p of which
this wire cord'o is fixed by a pin to avoid its sliding off the same) and hence would
bring tlie switch into its proper position.
The switch can likewise be actuated by means of the wire cord: r. and, of the
crank handles. The springs t, t, serve to facilitate the operation of the switch..
Having now particularly described. and. ascertained the nature of my said.inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what I
claim is:-
1
1. A switch or points actuated from the railway vehicle; that is to say, by the
vehicle proper, characterized by the common dropping or hanging arm of one
or both switch tongues starting from the pivot and extending below the rails and
being actuated from the vehicle, for the purpose of placing the switch in a proper
position, by the lever arm (8; 9) or (g; h) in the case of street tramways, and'in
the case of railways by the weight of the carriage.

page_text: 2. In the switch above claimed, the use of a regulating or adjusting device
characterized by the levers g, h or relatively the levers 8, 9, fulcrumed on the
pins 6 and 7 of the plate 5, and the rod 12 connecting this device with the pins 11
and 17.
3. The mechanism actuated by a cord or a rod 21-22 or 37-38 for operating
the adjusting device set forth in Claim 2 characterized by the lever 25 protected
and controlled by the casting 27, fulcrumed on a bolt 26, and by the arm 31,
fulcrumed on the shaft 30 actuating such lever and being operated from the
vehicle by the crank handle 32.
4. The special adaptation of the adjusting device indicated in Claim 2 to rail-
way switches characterized by the rails m, l, connected to the transverse casting
in front of the switch being capable of turning on the shaft n in a vertical direction
in such a manner that the horizontal position of one rail corresponds to an
oblique or inclined position of the other; and by the connecting cord o secured to
the rail and guided by the roller p for the purpose of adjusting the rail according
to the direction in which the train travels by the aid of the weight of the vehicle.
Dated this 3rd day of February 1898
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents for the Applicant.