Improvements in Apparatus for Indicating the Names of Successive Stopping Stations in Railway Trains, Tramcars, or other like Vehicles, also applicable to Ships.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1899--Accepted, 18th Nov., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION:
Improvements in Apparatus for Indicating the Names of Successive
Stopping Stations in Railway Trains, Tramcars, or other like
Vehicles, also applicable to Ships.
I, RICHARD BURK, of Schwenningen, Wurtemburg, in the Empire of Germany,
Watch Maker, 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 relates to an apparatus which indicates during a railway journey
in the carriage the next stopping station, and also if desired the time of arrival
and departure of the train, and the places where other lines branch off in such
a way that any traveller can ascertain in the simplest manner where he is at the
moment and how long the stoppage will be at the next stopping station. He
does not require to first ask the guard, who is not always to be found on the
spot when anyone desires information as to the stopping station or length of
stoppage of the train.
The apparatus is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of which Figures 2, 6, 8 and 9 are
four different vertical cross sections.
Figure 3 a vertical elevation ;
Figure 4 is a horizontal section ;
Figure a plan view;
Figure 10 a partial longitudinal section;
Figure shows a single station tablet indicating the time of arrival and
departure of the train in question as indicated by the time table.
The invention consists essentially of station indicating tablets lying in the
notches of two discs which are firmly connected one with another by means of
a spindle, which tablets contain in correct succession the names of the successive
stations. These tablets lie in a radial position by means of bars engaging in
notches, which stand at regular intervals apart in said discs and form a tablet
cylinder which is revolubly mounted in a hollow casing. This casing has at
the top a hollow projection which communicates through a slit in the casing
wall with the interior of the hollow casing. In both sides of this projection
apertures or slots are provided, which are closed to the outside however by means
of glass or other transparent material. One of the tablets contained in the
cylinder of station tablets is raised out of the cylinder by means of a special
shifting mechanism, and thus drawn into the projection, so that the name of
the station and also the times of arrival and departure of the train at this station
appears easily and conveniently legible on both sides in order that the indication
of the next station shall simultaneously be apparent outside and inside the
carriage, or may be shown in two adjacent compartments.
When the stopping station has been left by the train the respective tablet is
again lowered and drops back into its notch in the cylinder, after which by
the operation of the shifting mechanism for raising a fresh tablet, the cylinder is
first moved forward one notch.

page_text: After the completion of this rotary movement which takes place on the lifting
of the lift rods 12, the station tablets 10 on the further movement of the lift
rods 12 are lifted by their projecting rod ends 9 by means of the projection 16
so far that the station's name becomes visible. There thus takes place at each
operation of the apparatus, first a rotation of the tablet cylinder and then a
lifting of the station tablet 10 which lies over the projection 16. On the sinking
of the lift rod, the slot 13 engages over the ends of the lowest hinge rod 9 and
secures the tablet cylinder in position.
If for instance the train be travelling in the direction Berlin to Milan, the
station tablet roller is intermittently turned in the one direction of rotation in
which the names of the stations lie on the successive stations tablets in correct
succession. On the journey in the opposite direction, that is to say from Milan
to Berlin, the shifting lever 36 which was previously in operation is thrown out
of action by turning the disc 28, and the other shifting lever 36 is then thrown
into action in a reverse direction of the roller, in such a way that the station
names are successively raised in an opposite succession.
In order that on the changing of the shifting levers 36, the direction of travel
is also changed, recesses 32 are provided in the plates 31 connecting the two
discs 28. and under the plates 31 on the protective casing 30 the names of the
two end stations, one of which is in duplicate, are placed in the following manner.
On one side there stands on the casing the station names, Berlin, Milan, Berlin.
on the other the names Milan, Berlin, Milan. So that two of these names are
visible over one another through the recesses 32 for instance Berlin, Milan in
the position shown in the drawing. If the disc 28 are turned, the recesses 32 of
the two connecting plates 31 are turned with them, and after the turning is
completed on both sides of the apparatus, the names "Milan," Berlin stand
over one another.
な
The rotation of the shifting lever disc 28 and the connecting plates 31 of course
only takes place at the end of the journey before commencing the return journey,
whilst the operation of the lift rods 12, must be effected at each stopping station.
This operation may take place in each separate apparatus, or a suitable number
of apparatuses may be operated simultaneously by coupling their chains 25 to
a rod, cord, chain or the like running through the carriage or the whole length
of the train.
It is evident that the cylinder may be arranged for any suitable number of
station tablets. The apparatus may be permanently connected with the carriage
and when the latter is used for another section of railway the station tablets may
be changed, for which object the cover 33 is made removable. Or the apparatus
may be provided with the station tablets permanently for a given section of
railway, and the whole apparatus in that case may be removed. For this object,
ordinary suspension devices are employed in the apertures in the carriage walls.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. An apparatus for indicating the name of the next stopping station in the
carriages of railway trains during the journey, also applicable for tramcars, ships,
and the like, comprising a revoluble tablet cylinder consisting of two discs
connected with one another by means of a spindle, and a series of tablets bearing
the names of the stopping stations which are arranged to lie in notches in said
dises in the correct succession of the stations, the tablets being adapted to be
separately lifted out of said notches by means of a lifting device consisting of
two interconnected lift rods to such an extent that the station name on the
lifted tablet is easily visible from both sides, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. In a station indicating apparatus of the kind described, a device for lifting
or raising the separate station name tablets out of the cylinder and mechanism