Improvements in Street, Station, or other Place, indicating Apparatus, applicable also for Advertising.
Year: 1899

page_text: Complete Specification Left, 6th May, 1899-Accepted, 5th May, 1900
Improvements in Street, Station, or other Place, indicating
Apparatus, applicable also for Advertising.
I, ALBERT LEHMANN, of 7, Martinallée, Hohenfelde, near Hamburg, in the Empire
of Germany, Electrician, 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 present invention has regard to an improved mechanism for indicating streets
and stations in connection with tramcars and railways, but it may also be applied
as a means for exhibiting changing advertisements to the passengers in the car
either in connection with the street or station indication or alone.
$
The invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in such mechanism,
and it has for its object to simplify and cheapen the construction and to render
more efficient, durable and serviceable in operation this class of devices.
To these ends and to such others as the invention may pertain the same consists
in the peculiar combination and in the novel construction, arrangement and adaption
of parts all as more fully hereinafter described, shewn in the accompanying drawings
and then specifically defined in the appended claims..
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a vertical section through the improved indicating mechanism.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through a slightly modified construction.
Figure 3 illustrates a front elevation of Figure 1 partly in section.
Figures 4 and 5 explain details of construction of the drum for receiving the
printed strip of tape.
Figure 6 shews a diagrammatic view of a contact device.
The invention essentially comprises an electric magnetic intermittent appliance
to which the current is supplied by closing the circuit by means of a contact pin
on the car which strikes against a contact. device in the street surface. In the case
of electric street railways, for instance, the contact device may be connected with
the rails carrying the return current, and lie within reach of a sliding brush, which
is connected with the wire of the one pole of the electromagnet, whilst the other.
pole wire is connected with the appliance for supplying the current to the car.
In the case of other modes of locomotion than electrical it is necessary to provide
a special source of electricity, which is situate in the body of the car fitted with my
improved indicator. Figure 6 illustrates an example of a contact device.
When the circuit is closed the armature b is attracted, and by means of detent c
sets the ratchet wheel d in motion. When the current is interrupted the armature b
is drawn away from the electro magnet a by the spring and caught by an
adjustable stop screw 2. This causes the detent c to rise and be lifted out of the
teeth of the ratchet wheel d by means of a roller 3, supported in an arm stationary
with the indicator casing, said roller 3 pressing against a protuberance 4 on the
detent c.
This disconnection of the detent c from the ratchet wheel d is caused,
in order not to present an obstacle to the proper action of the second intermittent
device, which will be referred to later on. On the circuit again being closed the
detent c is pressed into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel d by means

page_text: of a spring 5, so that the attraction of the armature b causes the ratchet wheel & to
turn round another tooth's distance. The spring 5 must obviously be weaker than
the spring in order to permit the separation of the armature b from the electro-
magnet and the separation of the detent c from the ratchet wheel d by the
roller 3 mounting the protuberance on the detent c.. By means of tooth wheel
gearing e, f, the friction wheel g in connection with the toothed wheel fis turned
when the attraction of the armature b causes the ratchet wheel d to revolve.
The friction wheel g presses against the strip or tape h, which bears the names
of the streets or stations or advertisements, or the latter combined with the former
and thus causes same to advance. This strip or tape h may however also receive
motion from the wheel by cogs entering the ribbon or strip should friction alone
be found not to be sufficient. The strip or ribbon h is wound off the roller i on to
a second roller k, and by means of a loose roller m it is guided past the show hole
in the indicator casing 1. The rollers i, k, are suitably provided with spiral springs 6
which keep the ribbon h tight in the well known manner.
It is evident that the impressions on the ribbon h, either stations or advertisements
or both, must stand a distance apart in accordance with the advance of such ribbon
by each actuation of the indicator, in order to be visible in the proper manner and
order through the show hole in the casing and it is further obvious that the tension
of the springs 6 must be regulated so as not to impede the advance of the ribbon h
by virtue of the wheel g.
In connection with cars running on a circular line, the spiral spring of the roller i
from which the ribbon was being wound on the last journey may be chosen so as to
be strong enough to unwind the ribbon from k on to i again, by releasing a ratchet
appliance when reaching the terminus. The motion of the ribbon h, in that case,
only proceeds in one direction, by means of the electro magnet.
By means of the device illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 the ribbon his attached in
a reversible manner.
If the cars do not run on a circular line, but on one of the to and fro kind, the
electro-magnet a is disconnected and a second electro-magnet a¹, as illustrated in
Figure 3, is inserted into the circuit on the return journey. The electro magnet a¹
occupying a position opposite to that of a, its actuating mechanism, which is in
every respect similar to that of a as previously described, will turn the toothed
wheels e, f in an opposite direction and with them the ribbon h. The detent c of
the ratchet wheel din connection with the electro-magnet a is out of engagement
with the wheel d, by the roller 3 having mounted the protuberance 4, so that the
action of the electro-magnet a¹ and its appended parts is not impeded in any way.
When employing the construction shewn in Figure 2, the intermittent mechanism
is arranged quite similarly, but the ribbon his printed on both sides and guided
by rollers m in such a manner that one side of the ribbon is seen through the hole
on the right hand side of the casing 1, the other side being visible through the hole
in the left hand side of the casing. The indicator with two show holes is suitably
arranged in the centre of the car.
The contact device illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 6 is shewn on open
circuit.
In action, the branch or contact piece pof lever p¹ (which is in electrical.connection
with the magnets a a¹, by wire a) comes into engagement with the projection r on
the side of the rail's, and the crosshead p² of said lever makes contact with one or
other of the projections p³, p (which is in electrical connection with the magnets a a¹
by wire y) on the metal frame t, carried upon the vehicle, and so closes the circuit.
The lever pl may be insulated at its fulcrum from the frame t in any known
suitable way.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination in a station indicator, also applicable for advertising purposes,
with a source of electricity, contact devices and electro magnets, of an armature

page_text: adapted to rotate a ratchet wheel, a detent in connection with the armature, said
detent fitted with a protuberance on its inner side so as to be brought out of
engagement with the ratchet wheel by a roller, fitted on a stationary arm, mounting
same, springs for returning the armature to its normal position and for pressing the
detent into engagement with the ratchet wheel, and means for imparting the motion
of the ratchet wheel to the indicating band; substantially as described and shewn.
2. The combination in a station indicator, also applicable for advertising purposes,
with a source of electricity and contact devices, of a casing, electro-magnets supported
therein, armatures, detents in connection with the armatures, fitted with pro-
tuberances on their inner side so as to be brought out of action, rollers fitted on a
stationary arm adapted to mount the protuberances on the detents, ratchet wheels
adapted to be rotated by the detents from the armatures, springs for returning the
armature to its normal position, and for pressing the detents into engagement with
the ratchet wheels, toothed wheels receiving motion from the ratchet wheels and
imparting same to friction rollers, the indicating ribbon adapted to be moved by the
friction roller, spring influenced rollers for receiving the ribbon, rollers for guiding
same and one or more show holes in the indicator casing; substantially as described
and-shewn.
ted this on day or may
ALBERT LEHMANN,
By Cheesbrough & Royston,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.