IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING SWITCHES AND SIGNALS ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Harry Herbert Cochrane, of the Grange,
Stourbridge, in the County of Worcester, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING SWITCHES AND
SIGNALS ON RAILWAYS."
Scaled the 16th May 1871, and dated the 10th February 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Harry Herbert Cochrane
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th February 1871.
I, HARRY HERBERT COCHRANE, of the Grange, Stourbridge, in the
County of Worcester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING SWITCHES AND
SIGNALS ON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
In the Specification to certain Letters Patent granted to me bearing
date 3rd January 1870, No. 12, I described a system of switch and signal
locking apparatus wherein each switch or signal lever was connected
to and caused to actuate a separate sliding locking plate and transverse
bar, the said transverse bar being situated permanently in slots in all

page_text: the locking plates and so arranged in combination therewith that the
motion of any one lever with its locking plate and transverse bar was
controlled by the position of the transverse bars of certain other levers
in the slots of the said locking plate.
Now according to my present Invention each lever is connected to
and actuates a separate locking plate and a transverse bar or plate
situated permanently in slots, holes, or notches in all the locking
plates as in the before-mentioned Invention, but instead of the said
locking plates and transverse bars being arranged and actuated as
described in the said Specification the transverse bars are so actuated
by their levers as to move transversely in the direction of their length
through the slots of the locking plates and are so formed with notches
or projections that in order to enable a certain transverse bar (and con-
sequently its lever) to be moved it is necessary that the locking plates
of certain other levers shall be in such positions that the slots thereof
through which the said transverse bar passes will permit of the passage
of the projections or larger portions of the transverse bar through them,
the slots of the locking plates being so formed that when these are
situated in positions other than as above mentioned the projections or
enlargements of the transverse bar will when endeavouring to move it
through the locking plates strike against the surface of the latter, and
thus the motion of the transverse bar be prevented, that is to say, the
aforesaid lever with its transverse bar will then be locked in position by
the locking plates of the other levers.
For carrying out the above-described method of operating I prefer to
employ the following arrangement:-Each transverse bar is connected
directly or by means of a link to its switch or signal lever (by preference
at a point near the handle thereof) and passes through a slot in a fixed
frame or guide block, there being one such guide block to each transverse
bar. This guide block has other slots at right angles to and intersecting
the before-mentioned one, through which slots all the locking plates
pass so that the transverse bar in passing through the guide block also
passes through all the locking plates. To the transverse bar is con-
nected a rod which consequently moves with the transverse bar and
which has an incline or inclines formed upon it passing through a slide
working in grooves on the before-mentioned guide block. This slide
is connected to the locking plate belonging to the transverse bar and
lever so that as the rod moves the incline thereof in passing through

page_text: the slide imparts to it and to the locking plate a certain longitudinal
motion at right angles to the motion of the transverse bar. The con-
nections both of the transverse bars to the levers and of the rods to the
transverse bars are provided with adjusting screws and nuts so as to
render the transverse bars and the locking plates capable of accurate
adjustment relative to each other. The rods with inclines and the
slides thereto may either all be arranged on top of the guides, or in order
to economise space between the handles of the levers they may be
arranged alternately above and below the guide blocks. Although I
prefer to connect the transverse bars to their levers at a point near the
handles of the latter as stated, yet they may also be connected to any
other point thereof or to separate arms fixed or formed thereon either
above or below the fulcra of the levers. The locking plates are supported
upon grooved rollers and they may either be moved in both directions
by the incline rods or they may be actuated only in one direction
thereby, and be caused to return into their normal positions by means of
weights or springs. The transverse bars as also the incline rods are
steadied in their motion by working through guides at each end, in
addition to the before-mentioned guide blocks. Although I prefer to
actuate the locking plates by the incline rods and slides as above
described, yet it will be evident that various other known mechanical
contrivances, such as bell-crank levers or bevil wheels, may be employed
in lieu thereof, whereby the motion of the transverse bar shall produce
the required motion at right angles thereto of the locking plates. The
said arrangement of incline rod and slides may also be employed with
advantage for imparting the required motion to the locking plates in
the arrangement described in my before-mentioned former Specification.
0
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Harry Herbert Cochrane in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th August 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HARRY
HERBERT COCHRANE, of the Grange, Stourbridge, in the County of
Worcester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
5 Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year of

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Harry Herbert Cochrane, Her special
licence that I, the said Harry Herbert Cochrane, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Harry Herbert Cochrane,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING SWITCHES AND SIGNALS
ON RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Harry Herbert Cochrane, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Harry Herbert Cochrane, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
In the Specification to certain Letters Patent granted to me bearing
date 3rd January, 1870, No. 12, I described a system of switch and
signal locking apparatus wherein each switch or signal lever was
connected to and caused to actuate a separate sliding locking plate
and transverse bar, the said transverse bar being situated permanently:
in slots in all the locking plates, and so arranged in combination
therewith that the motion of any one lever with its locking plate and
transverse bar was controlled by the position of the transverse bars of
certain other levers in the slots of the said locking plate.
Now according to my present Invention each lever is connected a
to and actuates a separate locking plate and a transverse bar or
plate situated permanently in slots, holes, or notches in all the
locking plates as in the before-mentioned Invention, but instead of

page_text: the said locking plates and transverse bars being arranged and actuated
as described in the said Specification the transverse bars are so actuated
by their levers as to move transversely in the direction of their length
through the slots of the locking plates, and are so formed with notches
or projections that in order to enable a certain transverse bar (and con-
sequently its lever) to be moved it is necessary that the locking plates
of certain other levers shall be in such positions that the slots thereof
through which the transverse bar passes will permit of the passage
of the projections or larger portions of the transverse bar through
them, the slots of the locking plates being so formed than when these
are situated in positions other than as above mentioned the projections
or enlargements of the transverse bar will when endeavouring to move
it through the locking plates strike against the surface of the latter
and thus the motion of the transverse bar be prevented, that is to say,
the aforesaid lever with its transverse bar will then be locked in position
by the locking plates of the other levers.
For carrying out the above-described method of operating I prefer to
employ the following arrangement:-Each transverse bar is connected
directly or by means of a link to its switch or signal lever (by
preference at a point near the handle thereof) and passes through a
slot in a fixed frame or guide block, there being one such guide block
to each transverse bar. This guide block has other slots at right
angles to and intersecting the before-mentioned one, through which
slots all the locking plates pass so that the transverse bar in passing
through the guide block also passes through all the locking plates.
To the transverse bar is connected a rod which consequently moves
with the transverse bar and which has an incline or inclines formed
upon it passing through a slide working in grooves on the before-
mentioned guide block. This slide is connected to the locking plate
belonging to the transverse bar and lever, so that as the rod moves the
incline thereof in passing through the slide imparts to it and to the
locking plate a certain longitudinal motion at right angles to the motion
of the transverse bar. The connections both of the transverse bars to
the levers and of the rods to the transverse bars are provided with
adjusting screws and nuts so as to render the transverse bars and the.
locking plates capable of accurate adjustment relative to each other.
The rods with inclines and the slides thereto may either all be arranged
on the top of the guides, or in order to economise space between the.

page_text: handles of the levers they may be arranged alternately above and below
the guide blocks. Although I prefer to connect the transverse bars to
their levers at a point near the handles of the latter as stated, yet they
may also be connected to any other point thereof or to separate arms
fixed or formed thereon either above or below the fulcra of the levers.
The locking plates are supported upon grooved rollers, and they may
either be moved in both directions by the incline rods or they may be
actuated only in one direction thereby, and be caused to return into their
normal positions by means of weights or springs. The transverse bars
as also the incline rods are steadied in their motion by working through
guides at each end in addition to the before-mentioned guide blocks.
Although I prefer to actuate the locking plates by the incline rods and
slides as above described, yet it will be evident that various other known
mechanical contrivances such as bell crank levers or bevil wheels may
be employed in lieu thereof, whereby the motion of the transverse bar
shall produce the required motion at right angles thereto of the locking
plates.
The said arrangement of the incline rod and slides may also be
employed with advantage for imparting the required motion to the
locking plates in the arrangement described in my before-mentioned
former Specification.
The accompanying Drawings shew the arrangement which I prefer
to employ in carrying my Invention into practice.
Figures 1 and 2 on Sheet I. shew respectively a plan and end eleva-
tion of my improved switch and signal locking apparatus; Figure 3 on
Sheet II. shews a side elevation of the same, and Figure 4 shews
separate views of all the locking plates. The same letters of reference
indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
The switch and signal levers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, are connected by
links A, A, to their respective transverse bars 1, 2, &c., which by the
motion of the levers are caused to slide backwards and forwards through
the guide blocks B, B. Each transverse bar also passes through slots
in all the locking plates 1º, 2º, &c. which can slide backwards and
forwards through slots in the guide blocks B in a direction at right
angles to the motion of the transverse bars, and which are supported
by grooved rollers C, C. To the transverse bars are connected rods 1°,
2º, &c. working through guides D, D, and having inclines 1ª, 2d, &c.
which pass through slides 1°, 2°, &c. fixed to their respective locking

page_text: plates 1, 2, &c. by fastenings G and working in grooves on the guide
blocks B as shewn at Figure 3. Thus it will be seen that if for instance
lever 1 is moved over from the one position into the other, it will at
the same time draw its transverse bar 1ª through the slots in all the
locking plates, and will at the same time cause its particular locking
plate 1° to move at right angles to the transverse bar by the action of
the incline 1d on the rod 1°. The transverse bars are formed with
notches or projections, as shewn at Figure 3, and the slots in the
locking plates are formed as shewn at Figure 4, those E being of such a
configuration that the bars 1ª, 2*, &c. can pass transversly through
them in whatever position the locking plates are in, while those F only
permit of the motion of the transverse bars when the locking plates are
moved into such a position that the transverse bars are situated in the
wide portion of the slots inamuch as when the bars are situated in the
narrow part of the slots, the before-mentioned projections on the bars will
strike against the plates and thus the motion of the bars be prevented.
The peculiar arrangements of the slots E and F in each plate shewn
in the Drawing is determined by the locking action which the motion of
certain of the levers 1, 2, &c. is intended to exercise over certain other
levers, thus it will be seen that in order to move over lever 1 with its
transverse bar 1* the locking plates 2b, 5b, and 7b, and their corre-
sponding levers must be in their normal positions (i.e. those shewn in the
Drawings) in order to allow 1* to pass through their slots, and that the
said levers will become locked in such positions when the lever 1 has
been so moved by the positions which the transverse bars 2*, 5, and 7*,
will then occupy in the slots of the locking plate 1b. Again in order to
move over lever 2 the levers 1, 3, 4, and 8, and their locking plates
must be in their normal positions, while lever 7 with its locking plate 7b
must have been previously moved over from such normal position, and
by the position which the transverse bars 1ª, 33, 4ª, 7", and 8ª, assume in
the slots of the locking plate 2b, after it has been moved with its lever
the levers 1, 3, 4, 7, and 8, will become locked in the aforesaid
positions.
From the above description the relative action of the other locking
plates and transverse bars will be readily understood on reference to the
arrangement of the slots E and F therein, as shewn at Figure 4.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood that I do

page_text: not limit myself to the precise arrangement shewn on the Drawings,
as this may be variously. modified as herein-before set forth without
departing from the nature of my Invention; but what I claim is,--
First. Constructing switch and signal locking apparatus wherein.
each switch or signal lever actuates a separate locking plate and
transverse bar situated permanently in slots, holes, or notches in the
several locking plates, such transverse bars being formed with projections
or notches, and caused by the levers to slide transversely through the
locking plates and to operate in conjunction with such locking plates,
substantially as and for the purposes herein-before set forth.
Second. I claim the general arrangement of switch and signal locking
apparatus herein-before described, with reference to the accompanying
Drawings, as also the several before-mentioned modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Harry Herbert Cochrane, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of August, in the
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
year
HARRY HERBERT COCHRANE. (L.S.)