Improvements in or connected with Railway Switches.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 27th Nov., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by DETROIT AUTOMATIC SWITCH COMPANY LIMITED a
corporation organized under the laws of the State of Michigan and having its
principal office at 598 Twelfth Street, Detroit, Michigan United States
of America.]
Improvements in or connected with Railway Switches.
I, HENRY HARRIS 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 :—
The invention relates to that class of railway switches in which the switch is adapted
to be operated from a moving car by an arm or lever thereon, said arm being under
the control of the motorman, and adapted to be set to engage with a track arm or
lever which in turn throws the switch.
The invention consists in the peculiar construction of the intermediate mechanism
between the track arm or lever and the movable switch rail, whereby successive
operations of said arm or lever will throw said rail alternately in opposite directions.
The invention further consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement and
combination of parts as more fully hereinafter described and claimed.
In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the switch operating
mechanism showing in diagram a car and the operating arm thrown in engagement
with the track arin.
Fig. 2 is a cross section showing the rail throwing mechanism.
Fig. 3 is a cross section showing the track arm with the car arm in engagement
therewith.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the box containing the track arm.
A and B are two boxes or casings respectively containing the track arm or lever and
the rail throwing mechanism, the latter being arranged in proximity to the movable
switch rail and the former some distance in front thereof.
These boxes are preferably sunk in the road bed and are connected by a pipe C
through which the rod connecting the mechanism in the two boxes pass and which
also serves as a drain pipe for the box A into the box B, the latter having a suitable
connection with the sewer or other drain.
D) is the track arm or lever which projects upward through a slot in the cover of the
box A, and is fulcrumed in a bracket E within the box.
The lower end of this lever is attached to the spring or yielding connection F,
which in turn is connected to the rod G passing through the pipe C. The lever D is
also provided with a counter weight H or other means for holding it normally in its
retracted position.
In order to protect the box A from filling with dust or debris the slot through
which the lever projects is covered by the strip I of greater width than the slot and
raised slightly above the cover of the box, while the end of lever D is provided with
a T head J occupying the space between the strip I and the cover.

page_text: K is a hook or arm on the car adapted to be lowered so as to engage with the
Thead J, as the car passes over the box A. This arm is bifurcated at its lower end
to embrace the strip I and is provided with the inwardly projecting hooks a which
catch behind the head J. Lare rails or flanges formed on the box cover on opposite
sides of the strip I which serve to guide the hook a into engagement with the head
and hold them in such engagement until the lever D is thrown the necessary distance.
To permit of the disengagement of the arm K from the head J the flanges L are
cut away at the point where the lever has reached its limit of movement, which allows
the hook a to spring out of engagement with the head, the bearing on the latter
being preferably slightly tapered to facilitate this operation.
The mechanism in the box B comprises the walking beam lever M which is pivotally
Becured to a standard M¹ a bell crank lever having one of its arins attached to the
end of the rod G and the pitman or connecting rod P resting upon the other arm of
the bell crank and having a sliding connection at its upper end with the walking beam
lever M. This sliding connection between the rod P and walking beam lever M is
preferably formed by slotting the latter longitudinally and providing the upper end
of the rod with an antifriction roll b adapted to travel in said slot, the arrangement.
being such that in the normal position of parts the roll 6 will be at the lower end of
the slot and as the pitman P is lifted by the movement of the rod G and bell crank O
it will tilt the walking beam, but in the return movement of the pitman the roll b
will run down the incline slot to the opposite end of the beam without imparting any
movement to the latter.
Qis an arm on the walking beam connecting by a rod R to the movable rail S of
the switch, the connection between the rod and arm being preferably adjustable
in or out from the fulcrum of the beam so as to alter the throw of the rail as desired.
In the operation of the switch the motorman or driver wishing to throw the switch
in advance of the car lowers the arm K so that it will engage with the head J of the
track arın.
This may be accomplished by any suitable mechanism such as shown in
diagram in Fig. 1 and comprising the foot pin T, the bell crank U, the connecting
rod V and spring W, the latter tending to throw down the arm K which is normally
held in its raised position by locking dog X engaging with a notch in the foot pin.
The engagement of the arm K with the head J will throw the lever D, which in
turn will pull the rod G moving the bell crank O, lifting the pitman P tilting the
beam M and pulling the rod R, which throws the switch rail S, all operating in the
manner before described.
Upon the disengagement of the arm K from the head J, the counter weight H will
return said head and lever D to their normal positions and together with the weight
of the pitman P will also return the rod G and bell crank O.
As before stated the upper end of the pitman in falling runs to the opposite end of
the walking beam M into a position where a subsequent operation of the parts will
tilt the beam in the opposite direction. The successive operation of the track arm or
lever will throw the switch rail alternately in opposite directions. This greatly
simplifies the mechanism required for operating the switch as but one track arm and
one operating arm on the car are required where two are necessary with most
constructions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inver.-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
The switch operating mechanism as herein described and shown.
Dated this 5th day of October 1897.
HASELTINE LAKE & Co.
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C. Agents for the Applicant.