Improved Device for Indicating Railway Stations.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Device for Indicating Railway Stations.
I, PAUL RUPPERT, Manufacturer, of Langenöls, Germany, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention and in what manner the same is performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The present invention consists of a device in connection with railway carriages
for indicating the various stations at which the train stops, and is intended to
obviate the disadvantages hitherto present when railway travelling, viz. that the
passengers are not able to read the names of the various stations or do not under-
stand them when called out by the porters, and consequently have difficulty in
finding out their whereabouts. In the case of underground lines and in winter
when the windows of the compartments are frozen, it is very difficult to see the
signs bearing the names of the stations, and in the case of a long train such signs
are sometimes not even visible from all the cars.
The device consists of an electro magnet in combination with a clockwork, the
armature of said magnet forming a pawl to stop the clockwork when the current
is interrupted. The clockwork serves to drive rolls carrying a strip of suitable
material on which are printed one after the other the names of all the stations
passed by the train. Of these names two only are visible at a time through two
corresponding slots of the casing of the apparatus, viz. the name of the station just
left and the name of the next coming station. The apparatus being operated from
the locomotive, or from the guards van after leaving each station so as to
change the name shown of the station last passed and substitute therefor the name
of the next station.
And in order to render the present Specification more easily intelligible reference
is had to the accompanying drawing in which similar letters of reference denote
similar parts throughout the several views:
Fig. 1 showing a vertical cross section through the apparatus,
Fig. 2 a front elevation and
Fig. 3 a detail side elevation of one form of coupling for the conductors between
the cars.
Within the casing A of the apparatus which is provided with two slots B B¹
are mounted over and under said slots two rolls a and 6 on the lower one of
which the strip k is wound having printed thereon the names of the stations
which the car in question will pass in succession. The upper roll 6 is provided
with a counter pressure roll d and driven intermittently by a clockwork e when
the electric circuit is closed through the electro magnet h. The armature of the
said magnet is formed to a pawlf having its free end opposite the electro magnet
and pivoted at the opposite end to the casing of the apparatus. The pawlfis
adapted to engage the notches of a disc i on the clockwork driving shaft when the
armature is not attracted by the magnet. A second pawl g is suspended by its
upper end from a pivot in the casing of the apparatus and coupled to the pawlf
by means of a pin and slot connection, the lower end of the pawl g extending
downwards so as to engage the next slot after the one engaged by the pawl f.
Thus when the circuit through the electro magnet is closed from the locomotive or
guards van the pawlf will be attracted and slide on the edge of the disc i when the
same rotates. Since the attraction of the pawlf releases the clockwork the same
together with the disc i will run, but only a quarter of a turn which is sufficient
to shift the names of the two stations visible through the slots B B₁ by winding up

page_text: the band k. As soon as the disc has moved a quarter of a turn, the pawl f
which should be released a moment or two after it has been attracted will also
slide on the disc i and drop into the next slot when same comes round. This
will be effected by the attendant who should only close the circuit through the
train for a short space of time after passing each station. The second pawl g
is provided in case from any cause whatever the circuit should remain closed too
long, in which case this pawl will drop into the next notch of the disc i it being
pulled into the same by the armature which would in the case of the circuit
remaining closed too long, remain held against the magnet. In the upper slot b
the name of the station just left will be visible whilst in the lower slot B¹ the
name of the next coming station will appear at each change of the apparatus.
The conductors may be carried from one car to the other by means of the
coupling device shown in Figure 3 which consists of a suitable handle through
which the conductors are taken, said handle having two plates o at its end one of
which is provided with a button o' and the other with a slot having a larger part
to fit the button head and a slotted elongation to fit the neck of the said button.
The coupling may be joined by fitting the slotted plate of one handle over the
button of the other and vice versa. A switch may be arranged in the guards van
or on the locomotive, which may be operated by the attendant each time the train
leaved a different station. Pawlf may have an arm with suitable contact to
ring a bell each time the apparatus is shifted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manuer the same is performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A device for indicating the names of the stations successively in railway cars,
consisting of a casing having slots through which the names of the stations are visible,
an intermittently operated band containing the names of the stations and arranged
within said casing behind said slots, a clockwork to drive said band, a pawl to
engage the clock work and arrest same, an electro magnet of which said pawl forms
the armature and means for intermittently exciting said magnet, and a reserve
pawl actuated by the armature pawl and adapted to stop the clockwork at the
proper moment if the armature pawl is attracted by the magnet for too long a
time, to properly shift the station names substantially as described.
2. The combination of a casing having slots B B', a band having the station
names thereon mounted within the casing behind said slots, a driving roll 6 to
said band, a clockwork to drive said roll, a notched disc i in connection with said
clockwork a pawl f to engage the notches of said disc i and a second pawl to
engage the next notch to that engaged by the pawl f, said pawl g being only in
engagement with the disc i when the pawlf is out of engagement with the same,
an electro magnet to attract said pawl and means for intermittently exciting
same and a pin and slot coupling between said pawls f and 9 substantially as
described.
Dated this 7th day of December 1895.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.