Improvements in Railway Carriage Locks and in Apparatus in connection therewith.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 13th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 15th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 16th Jan., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Carriage Locks and in Apparatus in
connection therewith.
We, JOHN FORDHAM and GEORGE HENRY SMITH, Litho-Copying Apparatus
Manufacturers, and BERNHARD BLOOM, Engineer all of Helmet Buildings,
Wormwood Street, London, E.C. do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in railway carriage locks and in
apparatus in connection therewith.
We so arrange that the doors of railway carriages may on the arrival of the
train at a station be all simultaneously unlocked by the guard, who for this purpose
pulls a cord the end of which is led into his van. We also provide in each carriage
a station indicator and the pulling of the cord for the purpose above stated causes
the name of the station to be brought into view. We also so arrange that on
leaving the station all the carriage doors are automatically closed.
We place the locks upon the door jambs in place of upon the doors as now usual.
In each lock we provide two bolts; on the head of one bolt there is a roller which
This bolt is
is received into a corresponding recess in the edge of the door.
constantly pressed forward by a spring so that it retains the door but yet will yield
to pressure and allow the door to open when not otherwise locked.
The roller bolt also will allow the door to be closed by pressure and will then
retain it. In the lock there is another bolt also forced forward preferably by the
same spring into a recess in the door, but this bolt retains the door and prevents it
opening by pressure exerted upon the door. The bolt however can be drawn back
by a cord. The rear end of the bolt is attached within the lock case to the cord
and this is led over guide pulleys to a main cord into which it is spliced. The main
cord is conducted to the guard's van.
The cord attached to the door bolt is also connected in each case to the lever
of an indicator which thus receives motion at the same time that the cord is pulled
to unlock the door. The lever by means of a ratchet and pawl rotates a barrel
on which the names of the stations are printed and so in turn the name of each
station is brought into view. Or by other such like mechanical means the names
of the stations may be exhibited when the cord is pulled to unlock the door.
If preferred the arrangement may be varied in such mauner that on the locking
of the door the change is made on the station indicator.
On leaving the station the carriage doors are closed automatically by a projection
from the platform which as the train passes it at slow speed presses upon the doors
in succession and forces them home until they are caught and retained by the
roller bolts.
n low of Nov 1801
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Carriage Locks and in Apparatus in
connection therewith.
We, JOHN FORDHAM, and GEORGE HENRY SMITH, Litho-Copying Apparatus
Manufacturers, and BERNHARD BLOOM, Engineer, all of Helmet Buildings,
Wormwood Street, London, E.C., do hereby declare the nature of this invention
.ו....ת

page_text: and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention has for its object improvements in railway carriage locks and
in apparatus in connection therewith.
We so arrange that the doors of railway carriages may on the arrival of the
train at a station be all simultaneously unlocked by the guard, who for this purpose
pulls a cord the end of which is led into his van. We also provide in each carriage
a station indicator and the pulling of the cord for the purpose above stated causes
the name of the station to be brought into view. We also so arrange that on
leaving the station all the carriage doors are automatically closed.
We place the locks upon the door jambs in place of upon the doors as now usual.
In order that our invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect we will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of a railway carriage; the rear
compartment or that to the right hand in the figure is shown fitted with apparatus
for the use of the guard; this compartment therefore is to be regarded as the
guard's van in other respects the figure represents an ordinary passenger carriage.
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows one of the door locks with the lock case and also part of the
door jamb and door in section; as here represented the door is closed and locked.
Figure 4 is similar to Figure 3 except that the door is unlocked and is
commencing to open.
Figure 5 is an elevation of the apparatus provided in the guard's van to
manipulate the main cord.
Figure 6 is an elevation similar to Figure 5 but with part of the casing removed.
Figure 7 is a section on the line 7, 7 in Figure 5.
Figure 8 is an elevation of one of the station indicators; these indicators are
inserted into the partitions between the cempartments and have a face on either
side.
Figure 9 is an elevation like Figure 8 but with the door or cover and dial plate
removed.
Figure 10 is a section on the line 10, 10 in Figure 8.
Figure 11 is a section on the line 11, 11 in Figure 8.
Figure 12 is an elevation of an indicator of another form having one face only.
Figure 13 is an elevation like Figure 12 but with the front or cover plate
removed.
Figure 14 is a side elevation of Figure 13.
The general arrangement is seen in Figures 1 and 2. A' and A² are two main
cords which pass along the carriage one on either side; they pass indeed the whole
length of the train, there being spring hook couplings in the intervals between the
carriages. The cord A' is coupled for use to open the door on the left side of the
train the other cord would be brought into use if the carriage were to run in
the other direction.
At B in the guard's compartment is the apparatus by which the guard hauls
upon and releases the cord A¹ as required.
The guard's compartment will usually be the last in the train.
CCCC are locks let into the door jambs. DD are cords connecting the
locking bolts of the locks C¹ C¹ with the main cord A. EE are cords connecting
in a similar manner the locks on the other side of the train with the cord A..
The cords are led by pulleys as the drawings show. F is a cord attached to A¹
and serving to work the indicator which is in the partition between the compart-
ments at G. H is another cord attached to A, it works the indicator when the
carriage runs the other way. 11 are the carriage doors, the hinges are at I¹
and I are arms attached to the doors at the lower part; each arm carries a roller

page_text: and a spring blade K bears upon the roller. Each spring blade is fixed at two
points KK to the floor of the carriage. These spring blades cause the doors to
be self closing.
In Figures 3 and 4 a is a portion of the door, a' is the striker plate of the lock,
it has holes in it for two bolts and it is fixed by screws to the door. is the door
jamb. is the casing of the lock inserted into the door jamb and fixed by
screws. The locking bolt is marked and the retaining bolt 6. The bolts are
both pressed forward by a spring and they are so guided as to compel a parallel
movement. The bolt is like the latch bolt of a room door, it is inclined on one
side so that it yields back aniomatically to permit the door to close whilst on the
other side the surface of the bolt is parallel to the face of the door so that the
door cannot open until the bolt is drawn back. The bolt carries a roller **
and this only enters the hole in the striker plate so far as to oppose the desired
amount of resistance to the door opening but allowing the bolt to yield if the door
be pushed or pulled with a certain force." e is a lever having its fulcrum at e¹ upon
the lock case; one arm of the lever enters a recess in the bolt and the other is
connected by a link d with a cord D or E as the case may be.
The
In Figures 5, 6 and 7 e is an axis which can be turned by the crank handle e
from the position in which it is shown with the handle at the mark "shut" to the
position in which the handle is at the mark "open." e is a barrel on the axis to
which the cord A' is attached and upon which a portion of it is wound.
cords throughout the train are adjusted so that with the handle in the position
shown they are not exposed to tension, while by bringing the handle to the latter
position the cords are tightened and springs in the locks and indicators are
compressed at the same time the lock bolts are withdrawn and the indicators are
actuated. 3 is a ratchet wheel on the axis e and f is a spring pawl which drops
into the teeth of the ratchet wheel and retains it. 1 is a lever for drawing back
the pawl and releasing the cord when required; when this is done the cord is drawn
off the barrel by the springs in the various locks and indicators which were
compressed by the winding up of the cord.
g is an air cylinder containing a piston; it serves to moderate the speed at which
the cord is drawn from the barrel e² when released. There is a pin e on the
wheel which in the position shown holds the piston down against the pull of the
spring g'. When the cord is wound up the piston rises and then afterwards when
the wheel is released the pin e presses upon the arm g² on the piston rod and
forces it down. The air in the cylinder g can only slowly leak past the piston and
the unwinding of the cord is retarded accordingly.
In Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 is an axis carrying the two dials ¹² so that one
of them is visible in cach of the compartments in the partition between which the
instrument is located. ii are covers each with a slit in it and only the part of
the dial opposite to the slit can be seen; on this part is printed the station name
which it is desired to exhibit. The covers are arranged so as to open and the
dials with the printed names of the stations on both sides can be taken off and
changed if required. The axis also has a toothed wheel 3 upon it. k is a finger
pivotted to the case at it serves to turn the wheel ³ and the discs 12. There
are two of these fingers but only one of them is in use at a time. Each finger k
is jointed to a rod which is pressed upwards by a spring k³.
Cords F and H
are attached to the lower end of the rods ² and one or other of these cords is as
already described pulled by a connection with the apparatus in the guard's van
when the indicator is to be actuated. One of the cords F or H with its connections
leads forward and the other rearwards, the latter to the guard's van at the back
of the train, and the cord so leading back will alone be in use. The other cord
and the finger connected with it is employed when the carriage runs with the
other end foremost. The extremity of each finger is hinged and when the
finger is drawn down it yields to pass the teeth of the wheel ³ and afterwards
the spring brings it back. In the return motion when the cord is allowed to
become slack and the spring k³ raises the rod and the finger, the wheel ³ is

page_text: turned and the dials are caused to give another indication. The finger also bas
a pawl jointed to it and it is supported by a spring . The pawl serves when
the finger is in operation to prevent the wheel turning too far. The pawls
therefore lock the wheel fast when both of the fingers are raised and only release
it when one of the fingers has been drawn down by the cord so far as to cause
it to engage with a tooth. I and are two bells, each has a hammer pivoted
at and a spring holds the hammer head close to the bell. The shaft of the
hammer beyond the pivot is provided with a jointed piece (like that at 4 on
the fingers) so that when the wheel ³ revolves in one direction it lifts the
hammer and then allows it to escape and strike the bell but when the wheel
rotates in the opposite direction the teeth pass freely without lifting the hammer.
In the modified form of station indicator shown by the Figures 12, 13
and 14 m mare a pair of endless chains; the joint pins pass through from
chain to chain, These chains carry tablets m¹ m on which the names of the
The
stations on the line of railway are written in the order of their occurrence.
chains pass around axes n n and are supported by discs n¹ n' on these axes.
The discs n are notched at their periphery to receive the ends of the joint pins
which project sufficiently far. On one of the axes n there are two ratchets n³ n³
and also another notched disc nt. is a rod mounted in suitable guides and
forced forward by a coiled spring of which surrounds it. The head of the rod o
is armed with a tooth at o² to engage with the notches in the disc n' to lock the
axis and prevent movement of the chains except when the rod o has been drawn
down by pulling upon one or other of the cords For H. The head of the rod o
also has jointed to it two pawls p and q, the two pawls are connected together
by a link. The cord F is attached to the pawl p and it passes through a guide
eye upon the head so that when this cord is pulled the pawl p is made to
engage with its ratchet; at other times it is prevented from engaging by the
springs which tends to hold the other pawl q in gear its end entering a loop q
attached to the pawl q. The pawl p is in two parts connected by a joint at p
and provided with a spring p² so that when the rod is drawn down by the cord F
the head of the pawl is able to yield to pass over the teeth of the ratchet.
When the cord is released and the spring o¹ thrusts the rod o upwards the pawl p
acts to rotate the ratchet wheel and to move the endless chains on a step.
When on the other hand the rod is drawn down by the cord H the other pawl
operates and the movement of the chain is in the opposite direction. The ends
of the cords F and H are attached to other cords leading along the sides of the
carriage, the one rearward and the other forward, the former alone is the cord
for the time being in use. tt are spring guard plates serving to prevent the
chains travelling too far and stopping them as each notch in the discs n passes.
u is a bell and u' is its hammer; a spring holds this hammer head in close
proximity to the bell.. When the rod o is drawn down and again rises the catch v
upon it engages with the shaft of the hammer and lifts it, until the catch v
comes against the stationary incline w. The catch is then thrust back against
the resistance of its spring and it is so caused to liberate the hammer shaft.
The hammer is thus made to strike the bell each time that the indicator is moved.
This indicator may be made with faces on both sides or with one face only as in
the drawing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The arrangement of the locks for railway carriages, upon the door jambs
with cords connecting the locking bolts with a main cord passing to the guard's
van so that by pulling this main cord all the doors in the train may be released;
also with springs for automatically closing the doors and retaining bolts which
keep the doors shut when the locking bolts are withdrawn but yield when the
door is pushed or pulled with moderate force.
*

page_text: 2. The combination of apparatus consisting of the locks on the door jambs with
bolts connected with a cord passing to the guard's van and station indicators also
connected with the cord so that the guard by means of the cord may both unfasten
the carriage doors and indicate the name of the station.
3. The railway carriage lock substantially as described and adapted to be fixed
on the door jamb; such lock being provided with two bolts one a locking bolt and
the other a retaining bolt both automatically yielding to allow the door to close
and one of them connected with a cord by which it must be drawn back before the
door can open.
4. The combination of apparatus substantially as described for simultaneously
releasing the doors of a railway train.
5. The combination of apparatus substantially as described for simultaneously
releasing the doors of a railway train and by the same operation actuating a station
indicator.
Dated this 17th day of November 1801
JOHN FORDHAM.
GEORGE HENRY SMITH.
BERNHARD BLOOM.