Improvements in Controlling Apparatus for Automatically Counting and Registering Railway-carriages, Trucks, and similar Vehicles Passing Over it.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in Controlling Apparatus for Automatically
Counting and Registering Railway-carriages, Trucks, and
similar Vehicles Passing Over it.
I WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE of No 11 Wellington Street Strand London in the
County of Middlesex Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of my Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY COUNTING
AND REGISTERING RAILWAY CARRIAGES, TRUCKS AND SIMILAR VEHICLES PASSING
OVER IT" (a communication from Hermann Mohr of Mannheim Germany Engineer),
to be as follows:-
The apparatus to which this Invention relates can be intercolated or inserted at
will into each railway-line and serves for counting and registering the carriages
passing over this line, in indicating eventually the time when the passage took
place.
The mechanism is combined in such a way, that not only will the carriages be
counted automatically, but also that an abusive or fraudulent repetition of the
counting by a repeated to and fro passage of the same carriage for instance, will be
automatically prevented.
The apparatus shewn in the drawing is disposed only for one rail of the track,
as this arrangement will ordinarily be sufficient, but it results from the whole
arrangement, that only small modifications of the inferior lever-system, which is
similar to a weigh bridge, will be necessary for allowing the two rails to be placed
upon the bridge of the apparatus. For more simplicity the description refers only
to the apparatus shewn in the drawing.
In a closed iron case a is lodged in bushes or sockets a¹ a lever as to which are
secured the rails a³,
Into the pointed head a' of the lever a forming a triangle catches a vertical

page_text: Behind the lever a² is a shaft b bearing on its extremity b¹ a rail-piece 6º, which
lies exactly in the prolongation of the railway-track and forms a double-armed
lever, so that the rail 6 is put in an oscillatory motion when a carriage passes
over it.
At 63, on the shaft b is also secured a double armed lever & which transmits by
means of the two vertical rods b and be the oscillatory motion of the rail-piece to
the upper-apparatus.
In the closed box c is lodged a lever system, the combination whereof will be
understood more easily in observing its mode of acting when a railway-carriage
passes over the apparatus.
The charged railway-carriage (it being usual only to count such vehicles as are
laden) arrives in the direction of the arrow upon the rails a and produces by its
weight a traction on the rod a³, which is transmitted to the edge d¹ of the bent
lever d. This bent-lever turns round the edge d² and has on its horizontal arm
a weight d, which is provided with regulating screws d'.
In consequence of the sooner or later stoppage by the latter the oscillation or
the rotation of the bent lever is not only limited at will, but also the first position
of the same can be adjusted.
"
This first position is so to be chosen, that the edge is brought out of the
verticals of the edge, whereby only the traction of the rod ab, which corresponds
to a certain charge of the rail;.can produce, the bias of the bent lever d.
When in consequence of the charged carriage the bent lever has made its
greatest bias, its arm carrying the weight d³ is caught by the hook do, so that it
cannot return to its first position before this hook is disengaged.
A repeated rolling backwards and forwards of the carriage on the rails a³ will
therefore be of no influence on the apparatus, because the bent lever is prevented
from playing. The hook dis disengaged by the see-saw of the rail-piece b³.
As soon as the extremity 67 of the piece 62 is charged by the wheel of the
carriage the rod 65 moves a bent lever e similar to the lever above described.
In consequence of the bias of the bent lever e and by means of the regulating
screw e fixed on the lever a slide bar f is moved, which turns the lever fround
the fulerum f the lever f¹ being in communication by the pivot f³ with f. On
the lever fare the hooks ds and do, the latter serving for retaining in its lowest
position the lever d charged by the weight d³.
The two hooks are so constructed, that they can by means of small springs move
a little backward in order to give passage to the lever d and then to catch it.
When by the pressure of the wheel upon the end b' of the rail-piece the .bent
lever e turns, it has moved the bar fand consequently disengaged the hook d³, so
that the lever d can now return to its lowest position.
In disengaging the hook d the hook de is clasped, so that, when the carriage
would go back on the rails a³, the lever d, which is in connection with a counter- or
controlling-apparatus, cannot play and consequently cannot count. The hook de
is also disengaged by the see-saw of the rail-piece 6. For when the wheel of the
carriage passes over the end be the vertical rod b moves a third bent lever g,
which by its regulating screw g¹ replaces the bar f and consequently also the
lever f¹into their first positions.
The result will now be, that the next carriage arriving upon the rails a³ its
weight causes the turning of the lever d, the latter is immediately clasped by the
hook d³ and the disengagement of the same is effectuated in the same order as
above described.
*
A return of the same carriage upon the apparatus would in the inversed manner
effectuate, that first by charging the end 8 the hook de remains disengaged and
that by the following charging of the end b' the hook de would be clasped, so that,
when finally the carriage would be moved back upon the rails a the lever & would
not be able to play, and consequently to count;
Every charged carriage passing over the apparatus will therefore be counted
admin ha adiusted in auch

page_text: a way, that empty or insufficiently charged carriages can pass in each direction
over the apparatus without putting the counting mechanism in activity,
The bent levers d e and g may of course be replaced by levers of equal arms,
and the weights and regulations thereof by balance weights or springs.
The figures 5, 6 and 7 shew some variations of this construction.
The shaft b with its rail-piece 62 and the lever b* can be replaced by two lever.
systems, which are independent one from the other. Each of these systems has a
separate rail-piece and is in communication with the upper apparatus by the
rods 6 and 6º A similar arrangement of these two levers is shewn in Fig. 8.
DAL: L

page_text: The charged railway-carriage, (it being usual to count only such vehicles as are
laden) arrives in the direction of the arrow upon the rails a³ and produces by its
weight a traction on the rod a, which is transmitted to the edge of the bent
lever d.
This bent-lever turns around the edge d' and has on its horizontal arm a
weight ď³, which is provided with regulating-screws d'. In consequence of the
sooner or later stoppage by the latter, the oscillation or the rotation of the bent
lever is not only limited at will, but also the first position of the same can be
adjusted.
This first position is so to be chosen, that the edge is brought out of the
verticals of the edge d' whereby only the traction of the rod a, which corresponds
to a certain charge of the rail, can produce the bias of the bent lever d.
When in consequence of the charged carriage the bent lever has made its
greatest bias, its arm carrying the weight dis caught by the hook do, so that it
cannot return to its first position before this hook is disengaged.
A repeated rolling backwards and forwards of the carriage on the rails a³ will
therefore be of no influence on the apparatus, because the bent lever is prevented
from playing. The hook d³ is disengaged by the see-saw of the rail-piece b*.
As soon as the extremity b' of the piece b is charged by the wheel of the carriage,
the rod 6 moves a bent lever e similar to the lever above described.
с
In consequence of the bias of the bent levere and by means of the regulating
screw e' fixed on the lever a slide bar f is moved, which turns the lever f¹ round
the fulcrum f, the lever f' being in communication by the pivot f* with f. On
the lever fare the hooks d³ and do, the latter serving for retaining in its lowest
position the lever & charged by the weight d².
The two hooks are so constructed, that they can by means of small springs move
a little backward in order to give passage to the lever d and then to catch it. When
by the pressure of the wheel upon the end b' of the rail-piece the bent lever e turns,
it has moved the bar f and consequently disengaged the hook d³, so that the lever d
can now return to its lowest position.
In disengaging the hook d the hook de is clasped, so that, when the carriage
would go back on the rails a³, the lever d, which is in connection with a counter- or
controlling-apparatus, cannot play and consequently cannot count. The hook de
is also disengaged by the see-saw of the rail-piece b³. For when the wheel of the
carriage passes over the end 6' the vertical rod be moves a third bent-lever g, which
by its regulating screw g¹ replaces the bar f and consequently also the lever f¹ into
their first positions. The result will now be, that the next carriage arriving upon
the rails as its weight causes the turning of the lever d, the latter is immediately
clasped by the hook d and the disengagement of the same is effectuated in the
same order as above described.
A return of the same carriage upon the apparatus would in the inversed manner
effectuate, that first by charging the end 6 the hook de remains disengaged and
that by the following charging of the end 6' the hook de would be clasped, so that,
when finally the carriage would be moved back upon the rails a' the lever d would
not be able to play and consequently to count.
Every charged carriage passing over the apparatus will therefore be counted
only once and the apparatus or the bent-levers d, e and g can be adjusted in such
a way, that empty or insufficiently charged carriages can pass in each direction
over the apparatus without putting the counting mechanism in activity.
The bent levers d e and g may of course be replaced by levers of equal arms, and
the weights and regulations thereof by balance weights or springs.
Figures 5. 6 and 7 of the drawing shew some variations of this construction.
The shaft b with its rail-piece b' and the lever 6' can be replaced by two lever-
systems, which are independent one from the other. Each of these systems has
a separate rail-piece and is in communication with the upper apparatus by the
rods 6 and 6, A similar arrangement of these two levers is shown in Figure 8.

page_text: 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
A controlling apparatus for automatically counting and registering railway-
carriages or trucks passing over it, which apparatus is principally characterised
1. By the arrangement of a rail composed of two or more pieces a³ 6³, the piece a³
of them being in communication by means of the rod a³ with the lever playing in
edges d'; this lever puts in motion by the rolling of a carriage upon the rail-
piece a³, a counting apparatus,
2. By the connection of the second rail-piece b² with the levers e and g by means
of the rode b³ and 6 in combination with the screws el e¹ the bar f, the rod f¹ with
the hooks & and do, so that by the motion of the rail-piece be the hooks d and do
are alternately caught and the lever & is guided, whereby a connecting apparatus is
put in activity. This apparatus does not operate, when the carriage to be registered
has not the prescribed weight or when the carriage does not arrive upon the rail
in the regular way.