Improvements in Advertising and Electrical Station and Stopping- place Indicators for Vehicles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 31st Aug., 1895-Accepted, 26th Oct.,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Advertising and Electrical Station and Stopping-
place Indicators for Vehicles.
FRANK VILLIERS-STEAD, 44, Gutter Lane, Cheapside, E.C., Electrician, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention is an improvement upon my Patent No. 36, dated 2nd January 1893.
Upon the disk used in that invention, owing to limited space, only 20 or 30 names
of stations can be shown, but by my improvement described below, a large number
of stations and also advertisements can be shown by the indicator. The disk
arrangement may be used for short lines with few stations, but in this improvement
it is advantageous for long distance lines with a large number of-say from 100
to 200-stations; and by means of the piston valve plunger, described below,
attached to the automatic make and break contact, described in my former
invention, 36, 1893, can be used upon express trains. Fixed upon the armature,
described in that invention, I attach an extra arm with a catch operating a sinall,
toothed wheel-fixed upon the centre of, and having the same number of teeth as
the ratchet wheel, this extra catch falls between one of the teeth of this small
wheel at the same moment the toe of the spring of the catch described in my prior
invention, falls into the stop hole of the ratchet wheel, both these catches, operated
by the action of the armature-gives extra security against the slipping of the
ratchet wheel.
I fix to, and under the ratchet wheel, a wheel, moving in unison with it, but of
larger diameter, having the same number of teeth, either bevelled or upright
operating a vertical wheel attached to a roller carrying a tape or band of paper or
other material upon which are printed the names of the various stations. Upon
each side of this "station-band "I have another tape or band moving in unison with
the centre band, upon these bands various advertisements may be printed, tut
instead of three, one broad band may be used. When the armature is actuated by
the electro-magnets, it moves, as explained in my former invention, the ratchet
wheel one tooth, and with it the under wheel one tooth, which actuating the vertical
wheel attached to the roller moves the tape or band sufficiently far to show through
the opening in the front of the indicator the name of the next station, and at the
same time changes the position of the advertisements placed on each side of the
"station-band," all of which are carried from a feed roller fixed on the upper part
inside the indicator.
When express trains are run and contact is made so quickly by the hanging
automatic bar lever actuated by the raised rail on the line, that the electrical
current has not time to act upon the electro-magnets influencing the armature,
I have, fixed to the end of the bar, in the guard's van, a sliding piston plunger
made of metal, working in a metal cylinder. Half the front part of the piston
rod is covered with insulating material, which, when the bar is in its normal
position, that is, perpendicular, being held in that position by springs as described
in my Patent 36, 1893, the insulated part of the piston rod only is in contact with
the cylinder. Fixed to the end of the cylinder into which the piston rod works, is
a sloping valve which only partially closes the end of the cylinder; when the
hanging bar comes in contact with the projecting rail on the line fixed near to a
station, it forces into the cylinder the piston rod driving out the air therein through

page_text: the valve fixed upon the end of the cylinder, the valve immediately after falling
into its normal position only partially closing the cylinder, the air thus entering
slowly, the piston rod returns also slowly to its normal position, giving ample time
for contact to be made by the wires fixed to the cylinder and hanging bar actuating
the electro-magnets and through them the armature. I have the front half of the
piston-rod insulated to prevent contact being made by the shaking, vibration, etc.,
of the guard's van. I have also a double, perforated zinc casing round the cylinder
packed with cotton, slag wool, or other material, thus preventing all dust from
interfering with the action of the piston rod or valve.
In the guard's van 1 fix a cut-out," so that in case any shunting is made by
the train, or the indicators are to be worked by the guard, he can switch off
connection with the hanging bar and cylinder, thus preventing any contact being
made by the hanging bar.
In the event of a fall of snow, I arrange a lever in the guard's van, by which he
can raise the automatic rod or hanging bar to a level of the floor of the van, and
free from the line and snow.
1004
FRANK VILLIERS-STEAD.
COMI LEIE
Improvements in Advertising and Electrical Station and Stopping-
place Indicators for Vehicles.
1, FRANK VILLIERS-STEAD of 44 Gutter Lane, Cheapside, London, E.C.
Electrician, 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 :-
This invention is an improvement upon the subject matter patented to me under
No. 36 and dated 2nd day of January 1893 and relates to improved extended
means for display of the names of stations advertisements etc., to improved means
for completing the operative electrical circuit, to the exclusion of dust from
such apparatus and to the adaptation of means for lifting hanging striker when
required.
In place of the disc described in my former Patent No. 36 of 1893 which is
seriously limited for space, I employ a band of linen, paper, or suitable material of
any required size, fed from one roller to another.
I adapt also a plunger sliding electric contact device to the make and break
hanging lever of my former said Patent, to fit the apparatus for operating with
certainty at express speeds and protect the same from dust and dirt.
1 supply also means to the guard for lifting the hanging bar under the floor of
the carriage out of the way, when snow or other obstructions are present, as well
as the make and break switch by which the guard may operate the device by hand
to correct errors as described in said Patent No. 36 of 1893, to which I add a
cut-out switch by which he can switch off connection between the hanging bar and
battery.
And in order that my invention may be the better understood I now proceed to
describe the same in relation to the drawing hereto annexed and to the letters and
figures marked thereon.
The illustration is merely diagrammatic as to my apparatus, the striking lever
being fitted through the floor of the guards van, in which are placed the piston
plunger, cut-out switch and batteries. The station indicating apparatus is shown
cn an exaggerated scale for clearness, and is fitted at any convenient position in
each compartment the electric circuit being completed from carriage to carriage in
the usual way.

page_text: A is the hanging lever through the floor B of the guards van, which strikes
against and is lifted by a suitable projecting rail or incline C at each station, thus
indicating the name of the next station as already described in the Specification of
my said Patent No. 36 of 1893.
I adapt the lower part of the said lever A to be lifted out of the way when
required by attaching the lower part to the upper by a hinge a and continue the
lower part of the lever with a hand lever D so as to engage with a spring detent
into a quadrant d fixed to the upper part of the said lever A. When it is desired
to lift the lower part of the hanging lever A out of action this may be done by
the guard by drawing over the hand lever D to the extremity of the quadrant d.
I engage the upper end of the banging lever A by a slot to the head of a
plunger E partly made of metal and partly made at its inner end of an insulating
material E, and take care that the metallic part of the plunger is in electrical
continuity with the lever A. by means of a wire connection e or otherwise.
The plunger works fairly airtight in a cylinder F provided with a valve f
lifting outwards at its extremity, and pierced with a small pin hole for gradual
leakage or arranged so as not to completely close.
I surround the whole cylinder and valve with cotton wool F' contained in a
perforated zinc case, to protect the apparatus from dust and to filter the air from
dust and all impurities as it enters and passes out from the cylinder F under the
action of the plunger. Within the cylinder I provide an insulated contact strip G
with which the metallic part of the plunger E makes electrical continuity, but at
which the circuit is broken when the plunger is drawn sufficiently outwards to
cause the insulating portion E¹ to pass under it. This is a sliding make and
break device, operated by the hanging lever A which is controlled to hang
normally vertically by the springs a¹ a¹.
The plunger E on its inward travel discharges the air from the cylinder through
the valve which closes on the return of the plunger under the action of the
lever A and the springs a¹ attached thereto and admits air only through the
leakage pin-hole or through the small aperture left unclosed and thus retards
the return of the lever A to its vertical position, and gives an appreciable and
sufficient time of electric contact between E and G whatever the speed of the
train, thus adapting my improvement for express speeds.
His a cut-out hand-switch introduced into the circuit for the convenience of
control by the guard.
The circuit when completed as above described energizes the electro magnets K K,
throughout the train, attracts the pivoted armature L and operates the disc M by
the pawl and ratchet wheel m, as previously described in Specification of said
Patent No. 36 of 1893, together with a spring catch P, disengaged and allowed to
re-engage into the ratchet wheel m by the action of the armature L.
As an improvement, instead of utilizing the disc M to show the names of
stations or advertisements, I fit it as a pin wheel engaging into a lantern pinion N
on the end of a long roller Q. I provide also a second roller Q1 parallel to the
driving roller Q and to these rollers I adapt a suitable display baud, sheet, or cloth
of linen, paper, or other material, or several bands, having thereon the successive
names of stations and advertisements which may thus be of any magnitude or
number, the sheet or bands being continuously unrolled from one roller to the other
and the name of the station and advertisements being displayed successively
through an aperture in the covering plate as the train passes the various stations
and the lever A is thus operated.
To keep the bands in full tension I may use a simple spring brake pad on the
delivery roller.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1st. In an advertising and stopping place indicator, the combination with the

page_text: striking lever of a sliding piston making and breaking an electrical contact,
and controlled as to its spring recoil by a partial air vacuum, substantially as
described.
2nd. In an advertising and stopping place indicator, the construction of the
striking lever in two hinged parts, the lower part locked to the upper part by hand
lever and detent, and adapted to be swung out of the way under the carriage by
said locking hand lever and notched quadrant, substantially as described.
3rd. In an advertising and stopping place indicator, the combination with an
electrically operated ratchet wheel of a pin disc and lantern pinion to transmit and
multiply the intermittent movement of said ratchet wheel to one of a pair of band
rollers, substantially as described.
4th. In an advertising and stopping place indicator, the combination with the
air cylinder of the sliding contact plunger, of a surrounding packing of cotton
wool or equivalent filtrant, to remove dust and impurities from the air used in said
cylinder, substantially as described.
Dated this 31st day of August 1895.
FELL & WILDING,
1 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.