Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Automatically Operating Railway-crossing Gates and Signals.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1894-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by CHARLES HENRY SHERWOOD, of 67, Roberts
Street, Utica, N.Y., United States of America, Railway Train Man.]
Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Automatically
Operating Railway-crossing Gates and Signals.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
This invention relates to the class of railway gates which are operated
automatically by an engine or a train of cars approaching the portion of the railway
guarded by said gates.
And the invention consists in a novel organization of air pumps and valves
actuated by the passing engine or cars and connected by air-conduits with a
cylinder, the piston of which is operated by the pressure of the admitted air
and imparts motion to mechanism which operates the gates, the whole constituting
an automatic pneumatic gate.
The invention also consists in a novel pneumatic alarm operated primarily
by an engine or cars approaching the gate, and the invention furthermore consists
in the employment of a guard-rail for protecting the track-instrument all as
hereinafter more fully described and set forth in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1, is a diagrammatic plan view of a section of railway, provided with my
pneumatic gates.
Fig. 2, is a horizontal section of the tubular frame containing the cables,
or chains, by which the gates at opposite sides of the railway are operated in
unison.
Fig. 3, is a vertical transverse section on line X-X in Fig. 2 with the gate
mounted on the aforesaid frame.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the air-pumps and track instrument which
operates said pumps and charges the compressed air-reservoirs. Fig. 5, is a side
elevation of the same.
Fig. 6, is a plan view of the valves and track-instrument which operates the
same to permit the compressed air to close the gates.
Fig. 7, is a transverse section on line Y-Y in Fig. 6.
Fig. 8, is a side elevation of the air-pump and track-instrument operating said
pump to open the gates.
Fig. 9, is a transverse section on line Z-Z in Fig. 8.
Fig. 10, is an end view of the track-instrument which operates the air-pumps.
Fig. 11, is an enlarged vertical section on line 0-0 in Fig. 9.
Fig. 12, is an elevation of the encased mechanisms which are actuated by the
compressed air and transmit motion to the gate to open the same, viewed from
line S-S in Fig. 13 in a direction at right angles to the axis of the gate.
Figs. 13 and 14, are vertical sections respectively on lines U-U and V-V in
Fig. 12.
Fig. 15, is a side-view of one of the gates..
Fig. 16 is an enlarged side-view of the flexible connection of the free end
portion of the gate to the main arm thereof.
Fig. 17, is a transverse section on line N-N in Fig. 16, and
Fig. 18 is a side-view of the guard rail ;-
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts ;—

page_text: 18
A. A denote the gates each of which is mounted on a horizontal shaft which
passes through a hollow standard or case, b, and is journalled in suitable bearings
in the sides of said case ;-
To rearward extensions A' A', of the gate, are connected weights A" which
are adjustable in their distance from the fulcrum of the gate to permit the latter
to be properly counterbalanced.
To guard against the danger of entrapping vehicles between the gates, or
injuring vehicles, or horses, or persons passing through the gate while the latter
descends to its closed position, I form the gate with a flexible end portion or
bar, which is held normally in line with the main portion of the gate by
means of a suitable spring, 4, and permitted to be swung upward and outward, and
thus yield to pressure brought against its underside and against the side facing
the railway.
For this purpose I prefer to connect the end portion, A, to the main portion
of the gate, by a ball and socket joint, b', the socket of which is provided with an
opening, through which the bar A passes, said opening extending upward
and to one side sufficiently to permit the bar to move as aforesaid as shown
in Figs. 16 and 17 of the drawings;-
To the shaft, a, of the gate is fastened a pinion, a¹, which meshes with a gear-
wheel, a, fixed to a counter-shaft, e, mounted on brackets, ce, secured to the
interior of the case B. To this counter-shaft is secured a crauk el which is
connected by a pitman, C, to the piston-rod C₁ of the piston C, in the air-
cylinder, D, said cylinder receiving and discharging compressed air to operate
the piston and thus open and close the gates by means of air-pumps and valves
operated by track-instruments which receive motion from the engine or cars
passing over the road.
The general arrangement of said parts is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings,
in which P P represent the air-pumps which may be of any suitable and well
known construction.
These pumps are at proper distances in, opposite directions from the gates A to
allow them to be closed by the operation of the pumps before the engine or train
of cars arrives at the gates.
dd denote the track-instruments which operate said pumps. R R are reservoirs
for storing the air compressed by the pumps, which air is conducted from the
pumps to the reservoirs by pipes e e, and in order to equalize the pressure in the
two reservoirs, the latter are connected with each other by an air-conducting
pipe e. Either the reservoirs or the aforesaid pipes are equipped with suitable
safety-valves d¹ to guard against excessive air pressure. ff represent the valves
which control the flow of compressed air from the reservoirs to the cylinder, D,
the piston of which operates the gates as hereinafter described. ff are valves
which relieve the said cylinder from compressed air from one end thereof while the
opposite end receives compressed air from one of the reservoirs R through the
valve f.
represent the track-instruments which operate the aforesaid valves and
GG designate guard-rails which rise from opposite ends to an elevation at their
centres slightly above the top of the track-instruments to protect the latter from
contact with the so-called flanger which is usually attached to an engine or car
and held in contact with the track-rails to remove ice or sleet therefrom.
A side-view of said guard-rail is shown in Fig. 18 of the drawings.
I will now describe more fully the construction and combination of the aforesaid
air-pumps, valves and their connections with the track-instruments and cylinder
whose piston operates the gate.
Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, F denotes the track-rail, contiguous
to the outer side of which is the head of the track instrument i consisting of a
lever fulcrumed at d. The head is elongated in the direction lengthwise of
the track-rail and rises gradually from opposite ends to the centre, which it
projects above the top of the track-rail, and is thus caused to be depressed by the

page_text: wheels of the engine and cars passing over it. To the opposite end of the track-
instrument, or lever, is connected the piston-rod i of the air-pump P. By means
of a suitable spring the outer end of the lever d is depressed to cause the
head thereof to normally project above the track-rail and also sustain the piston
of the pump normally in one end of the cylinder, the opposite end of which is
provided with an air-inlet and has also attached to it the air-pipe e which
conducts the compressed air to the reservoir R.
The successive depressions of the head d" by the wheels of the engine and cars
passing over it, causes the track-instrument to impart a reciprocating motion to
the piston-rod, and thus actuates the air-pump P which forces compressed air to
the reservoir R, where it is retained by a suitable check-valve k connected to the
pipe e and by the normally closed valve connected to the discharge pipe ell
which extends from the reservoir R to the corresponding reservoir R beyond the
gates, and has a branch-pipe el extending from it and communicating with the
base of the interior of the cylinder ;—
It will be observed that the two air-pumps P and their actuating track-instru-
ments located in opposite directions from the gates are operated successively by
the engine or train of cars in passing beyond the gates as well as in approaching
the same and therefore the reservoirs R R are constantly charged with compressed
air ;-
In approaching the gates, the wheels of the engine and cars operate the track-
instrumcut which opens the valve f and allows the compressed air to pass from the
adjacent reservoir R through the pipes el ell to the base of the interior of the
cylinder D and thereby lift the piston C", which by means of the pitman C,
crank e, gear-wheel a", and pinion a¹, causes the gates to be swung down into a
closed position as indicated by arrows in Figs. 13 and 14 of the drawings.
The valve may be of any suitable or well-known form, an exemplification of
such a valve is illustrated in Fig. 11 of the drawings, which however is more
particularly to be used in connection with the pump which raises the gates, and it
consists simply of a case 1 tapped at opposite sides by the sections of the pipes ell
partly indicated by dotted lines and a slide 2 in the case adapted to cover and
uncover the openings through which the aforesaid pipe-sections communicate with
the interior of the case ;-
In order to allow said valve to be opened only by the engine or cars approaching
the gate, I form the track-instrument of a shaft extending horizontally at right
angles from the outside of the track-rail F and journalled in suitable bearings,
secured to a sill or prolongation, of the cross-tie T, and terminated at one end with
an upward extension g' which is contiguous to the outside of the track-rail and
sustained normally in an upright position by suitable springs g", and projects above
the track-rail so as to cause the wheels of the engine and cars to come in contact
therewith and thereby turn the aforesaid shaft. The valve f is near the side of the
said shaft, facing toward the gates, and from the shaft projects an arm gll which is
caused to push the stem of the valve inward and thereby open the valve on the
approach of the engine or cars toward the gates.
The arm g is detached from the valve-stem and consequently the tilting of said
arm from the valve by an engine or cars passing from the gates does not affect the
aforesaid valve ;-
To relieve the upper part of the interior of the cylinder D from compressed air,
while forcing air into the lower portion of said cylinder in the manner aforesaid, I
employ the normally-closed relief-valve f', which is connected to the pipe / extended
from the top of the cylinder D. Said relief-valve is placed in proximity to the
valve and arranged to be operated in the same manner, and simultaneously,
therewith, by the track-instrument as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the
drawings;
In order to give an alarm signal before closing the gates, I employ a pneumatic
alarm bell I, preferably secured to the case B as shown in Fig. 12 of the drawings,
which bell is operated by means of a rotary fan L, to the shaft of which are secured

page_text: flexible bell-hammers L'. Said fan being driven by the force of compressed air,
produced and conducted to the case of the fan automatically by the engine or cars
approaching the gates. This is effected by the following means;
Near the side of each pump P is located a similar air-pump P1, the piston-rod is
connected to the outer end of the lever, or track-instrument, d, and thus said two
pumps are operated simultaneously and substantially alike. The pump P¹ has its
discharge pipe m connected to a reservoir R' which is connected by a pipe m' with
the corresponding reservoir R¹ beyond the gates to equalize the pressure in the two
reservoirs..
A suitable safety-valve connected either to one of the reservoirs or to the
pipe m guards against excessive air-pressure ;-
-
From each reservoir R' to the fan L extends a pipe ', to which is attached a
normally closed valve o, constructed and operated similarly to the valve f, i.e.,
A track-instrument o substantially like the track-instrument g is actuated to
open the valve o by the wheels of the engine or cars passing over said instrument
in approaching the gates. The opening of said valve allows the compressed air to
pass from the reservoir R' to the fan L which is thereby revolved and the bell is
sounded by the hammers attached to the shaft of the fan.
To automatically open the gates as the engine or cars leave the gates, I employ
another air-pump P, operated by a track-instrument substantially like the
instrument herein before described, and located at, or near, the gate with the
head of said instrument contiguous to the outer side of the track-rail as is more
clearly shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings ;-
The discharge pipe r of this pump communicates with the upper part of the
interior of the cylinder D to cause the compressed air to depress the piston C" and
thereby cause the gates to be lifted into their open positions.
A normally closed valve is arranged to be opened simultaneously by the track-
instrument and is connected by a pipe s to the base of the cylinder to relieve said
portion of the cylinder from compressed air while the upper part is charged by the
action of the pump as aforesaid.
3 represents a disk fastened to a shaft a of the gate A and provided with a
notch in its periphery. A detent 5 is pivoted at 6 and has its upper end bent
toward the aforesaid disk and adapted to engage the notch 4 when the gate A is in
its raised position, as shown in Fig. 14 of the drawings ;-
Said engagement serving to lock the gate in its said position. The lower end of
the detent 5 is formed with a laterally projecting cam 9 which is in such a position
as to cause it to come in contact with a finger 7 projecting from the cross-head 8 in
the beginning of the upward movement of said cross-head.
Said contact causes the detent 5 to be thrown out of engagement with the notch 4
and thus releases the disk 3.
In order to allow the piston to move upward a sufficient distance to produce the
aforesaid effect without imparting in the meantime rotary motion to the shaft a,
the pinion is deprived of one or more teeth as shown in Fig. 13 of the
drawings.
In order to cause the gates at opposite sides of the railway to open and close in
unison, I attach to the shaft a of each gate, either a pulley or sprocket-wheel P and
attach to the base of the hollow standards or cases B, the tubular frame N in the
four corners of the interior of which I pivot sheaves N' for guiding the chain or
cable p which runs upon the wheels or pulleys p and passes through the aforesaid
frame as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings.
To afford access to the interior of the frame N I provide the four corners thereof
with movable caps t t.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. A railway gate, operated automatically by the piston of a cylinder, receiving

page_text: compressed air from pumps, operated by levers which are actuated by contact with
the wheels of the engine and cars passing over the railway.
2. A railway signal, operated automatically by compressed air, derived from
pumps receiving notion from levers, which are actuated by contact with the wheels
of the engine and cars passing over the railway.
3. As a means for protecting an instrument designed to be operated by the
wheels of cars passing over the road, a guard-rail secured along the side of the
track rail and rising gradually from opposite ends to an elevation above the top of
the aforesaid instrument.
Dated this 6th day of September 1894
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.