Improved Detonating Signal Mechanism for Railways.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 29th May, 1897
Improved Detonating Signal Mechanism for Railways.
I, PAUL RUPPERT, of Langenöls, in the Circuit of Liegnitz, Prussia, Germany,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 consists of a device by means of which a detonating cartridge
is automatically placed on the track of a train in case the signal may not be visible,
owing to fog or to the light having been extinguished by storm, and in case, under
these circumstances the signal indicates "danger."
And in order to render the present specification more easily intelligible reference
is had to the accompanying drawing, in which similar letters of reference denote
similar parts throughout the several views:-
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the device,
Fig. 2 a side elevation and
Fig. 3 a plan.
The device consists of a vertical post, supporting at its upper end a pivotally
mounted T-shaped lever c, having revolubly mounted at its lower end a pulley a.
Round the pulley a passes a cord or wire d attached at either end to a line or
wire e, forming the signal switch or barrier operating medium. To each ond of
the upper horizontal arm of the said T-shaped lever c is attached a cord or wire s,
which extends from one arm of the horizontal bar of the said lever, round under-
neath a pulley 61 mounted at the lower part of the post supporting the T-lever,
then round a horizontal pulley f (Figs. 2 and 3) back under a pulley 62 also
mounted at the lower part of said post, and upwardly to the opposite arm of
the T-lever to which it is attached. The horizontal pulley f is connected by means
of a lever to a slide g carrying at its end a detonating cartridge p, which lies
on the track, when the signal stands at "danger." If the signal is shifted to
"line clear" by means of the signal wire e, the lever c will be thrown into the
position at by means of the connecting wires d which connect the pulley a with the
signal wire e. This will have the effect of rotating the horizontal disc f about 90°,.
by means of the lines ss and thus the lever h will withdraw the slide g and with.
it the detonating cartridge p from the rail and the train will pass without
exploding the signal cartridge. If, on the other hand, the signal has not been:
shifted to "line free," the cartridge will remain on the track and be exploded by
the train passing over it, so that the engine driver will know that the line is not
clear, even supposing he may be unable to see the signal by reason of fog or from
any other cause.
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 :—
A device for adjusting the position of detonating cartridges, with regard to the
track, in operative connection with the signal, switch, or barrier operating wires
or connections, which consists in a horizontal pulley (f) and operative connection
from the same to a cartridge carrying slide (g), a swinging T-shaped lever (c)
D

page_text: having its lower end connected to the signal switch or barrier operating wire as
specified and its upper arms connected by a wire or other means to said pulley (f)
substantially as described.