Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 15th May, 1888
Specification Accepted, 15th June, 1888
I FRANK BROOKS HART of Adlands Lane, Levenshulme, near Manchester, Civil
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:-
These improvements relate to a simple arrangement of mechanism to be mounted
upon a railway signal post whereby to manipulate and control the semaphore arm or
arms of signal posts from two or more cabins or stations technically termed "slots."
In Fig. 1. of the accompanying drawings I illustrate by a perspective view my
improvements applied to the upper and lower part of what is called a single slot signal
post or where two levers control one semaphore arm (as indicated by diagram
Fig. 2.)
a and b are two balance levers mounted on the same fulcrum in the balance casting c
bolted to the signal post d in the usual manner.
The pulling wires or chains e and for operating these levers are arranged on one
and the same side of the balance casting c. It should be here observed that of these
two levers only the front one a (hereinafter called the home lever a) is used in the
ordinary way for operating the home signal arm a' for which purpose it is connected
thereto by the rod a-whilst the other or rear lever (hereinafter called the distant
lever ) is used to carry the balance weight 6' and to act as a stop block for a bar
now about to be described.
This bar g. is suspended at one end by means of a link h from the shorter arm of
the distant lever bas illustrated and at the other end connected to the distance
semaphore arm 62 by means of the rod 6³.
From the home lever a is suspended a sliding rod i the bottom extremity of which
is forked or slotted and fitted with a pin j driven transversly through the slot which
slot thus embraces the bar leaving it however free to slide up and down therein.
J
k. k. are pins driven through the bar g. on either side of rod i as illustrated and at
a sufficient distance apart to allow the forked rod i to slide up and down easily
between them.

page_text: The action of our improved single slot signalling apparatus may be described as
follows:-
Both the home and distant lovers a and b being in the normal or danger position as
illustrated in Fig. 1 and the home lever a being now pulled off-the sliding rod i
becomes raised until the pin j. comes in contact with the under side of the bar g
which remains unmoved.
In this position the pinj now forms a pivot or knife edge for the bar g to turn
upon, so that when the other or distant lever is next pulled over the said bar g by
turning upon such pivot in the direction of the arrow so raises the rod 63 and the
distant semaphore arm & falls off.
Again assuming that both levers a and b are in the normal position and the distant
lever is pulled over the bar g. is dropped down the slot of the sliding rod i until its
under side rests upon the same pin j.the bar itself remaining stationary.
The pin j
is now again a pivot for the bar g and the next movement of the home lever throws
off the distance semaphore arm.
As an alternative arrangement it will be obvious that I may lengthen the sliding
rod and guide it up and down through a socket affixed to the post.
Instead of the bar g being mounted below the lever a it may be mounted above
such lever and in place of the sliding rod being connected to the lever it might be
connected to the extremity of the signal arm rod by employing a rigid link as a
substitute for the sliding rod.
In Fig. 3 I illustrate my improvements applied to a slot from two places (as
indicated in diagram Fig. 4) and in Fig. 5 I illustrate a treble slot (as indicated in
diagram Fig. 6) but as both these arrangements only differ from the signal represented
by Fig. 1. in the actuating parts being multiplied, no further description will be
necessary.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
I declare that what I claim is :-
:―
1st. The improved combination and arrangement of mechanism for operating
signals from two or more cabins or stations substantially as and for the purposes
hereinbefore described and illustrated on the accompanying drawing.
2nd. In a signal apparatus the employment of a bar and sliding rod suspended and
operated substantially as and for the purposes herein before described and illustrated on
the accompanying drawing.
Dated the 10th day of Nov 1898