US1936260A - Color light signal - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 21, 1933. J. A, PEABQDY 1,936,260

COLOR LIGHT S IGNAL Filed Jan. 24, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I VENTOR. so a Nov. 21, 1933. J PEABODY 1,936,260

COLOR LIGHT SIGNAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 24, 1924 FIG. 4.

65 75 Y; gym Fm).

TYORNEY I Patented Nov. 21, 1933" 1336,260'" v ('IJQL'ORI'TLIGHTYSIGNAL- .lamesflAr Peabody, Evans'ton; Ill. assignor General Railway Signal Company, Rochester,

Application January: 24;19241 Serial No: 688,238

3 Claims (01. 1W+c29 3 This invention relates to railway signals, and more particularlyto signals of' the" color light type;- v k The problem o f-'- equipping railroads with Signals which will adequatelyprote'ct train move-' ments presents itself fro'mm'any diife'rent anglesfi One-particular-angIe or'phase" of this problem* manifests itself on railroads whe're there are many overhead structures, such' as bridgesgviaducts, and the like. -Also; ininterlocking stations where several signals must'be'supported vertically above 7 each other the same difficulty is experienced, namely; the difliculty in finding enough" space in a verticalline to-support-a multipleunit color light signal or'. severalsuch'signals'of the caution signal jwill be givenin'stead' "of'a dark f present dayponstructionyand retain 'a uniform distance between the-lightsand'also not have the top lights atan extreme'height'above the tracks;

.turesof the invention will" appear-as'tI ie 'deScripLI For instance, when" a multiple unit"color'light signal is installed in accordance with'the'present practice of mounting the yarious signal units above each other, itis found that a single signal of, sayythree'units takes-up so-much room'that" it is difficult to support one ormore additional.

signals of probably the same number of'units, and. still havethe top' onegivea plain indication to the enginemen," particularly when the train is close under the signal. V

In the employmentof .multiple aspect color a signal at times may notgivean indication at all.. For instance,. since the most common in-j' dicationof the signal is clear, the lamp for the clear signal unit is most .apt to burn out'first because it is burnedmore than thelamps for I the other. indications; If the clear lamp .should burn out, no: indication would :be given by the therelhasbeen illustrated a base B of general signalat all; and although this condition mightj be taken as a danger signal, it mayjhappe'n' that the engineer would not notice the. passagegof-a openings. {This base "B hasmountedthereon, in-100 the pamcu1arconamcconShawn, three identical 1 signal .unitsi having internal lenses of different f signal location, and thereby run into -.-a block already occupied.v V

With the above and other considerations' 'in.

mind, it is proposed in accordance withthepresent invention 'to .provide a color light signal com-.

prising, among other things, a plurality .of iin which emits a beam of light of thejdesiredspread in the desired direction; this light, concentrating and directing. device being .of "a "construction to concentrate a very large percentage of thej light emitted from 'a substantiallyj'point source" into" the beam'without the employment" of a reflector which'iwould tend to givea' false phantom "sig nal." Asl'an'other object/of this inventionitis' proposedtot provide suitable automatic means wherebydf .a' lamp burns outa1iother lamp of equalfoi amore restrictive "signalindic'a'tion' is illuminated; More specifically'it is proposed to have the. caution lamp" automatically cut into" an "energized circuit when'"th'e clearl'ampfbu'rns' out and clear traffic" conditions prevaiL'so'thata signal." I a A Other obj ects; purp'oses and 'characteristicfea tion progresses. I

In'describing the invention"in"detail' reference:

will bamade'to the'accoinpaiiying drawings in .Which:-'

Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of a light signal! I embodying the present invention; portiensthere I of being broken"'awa"y' to Show the construction 10f the adjustable support for thesignal'i FigIfZ "shows a "side"elevation "of the "signal," l with nei offjthe' signal" units insec'tion' on the line122, Fig.1; V 5 Fig.8 is lan'view' Ofthe'upper armbffthe adjustable signal supporn" 3 Figti l is'a' side elevation of a signal pole 'ca'rry ing signalsabove eac'hDtlier on suitable brackets; I and? v J Fig-I 5 is a diagrammatic view of-a portion of a railway system employing signals such as shown in Fig. 1, contron'ed'm a manner to' autoin'a'tie cally cut in I a. caution lamp "when the clearlamp is burned out; w v V Referring. more particularly Y to Figs.- 1 and f2,

oblong shape having .its 'top providedwith three small-openings. and its bottom with three large colors for convenience de'signatedGfY, "and: R, designating green,'-yellow, and red; respectively. v

Since these units are the-same'the description' oil one will Sllflie for all (if thlli: g

The unit R, shown in section in T Figfl' 2', comprises a casing l of the shapeshown-havinga largeQopening'Iin l the' froht waH and/ a I ;smallopeninginth" top and bottom walls as shown. no

The back side of the casing 1 is closed by a door 2, supported on hinges 3 and held closed by suitable hasp fastener a. In the large opening in the front wall is supported a lens barrel 5 by bolts 6. This lens barrel 5 is provided with lens seats on opposite ends thereof; and in the larger seat is contained the outer clear lens 8 of the stepped type, this lens 8 being held in place by a bezel ring 9 and bolts 10. This bezel ring 9 is provided with a semi-circular extension to which is fastened a sun-shade 11.

shelf 14 is supported a lampreceptacle-lb for.

adjustment in a horizontal plane. Since the shelf 14 is adjustably supported for vertical movement it is apparent that the receptacle 15 may be ade, justed in any desired direction reason of'th" adjustment provided.

In the receptacle 15 is supported an incandescent lamp 16 which has a concentrated fila-' ment 17 of the convoluted type. In practice, the receptacle 15 is so adjusted with respect to the bezel ring 13 and associated lenses that the lamp will emit a beam of light in the desired direction and of the desired spread. It might be pointed out at this time, that the inner lens is of such shape that the light emitted from the point source, namely the filament l7, directs .the light in a funnel shaped beam which strikes the concave surface of the outer lens 8, the outer lens 8 in turn being shaped to directthis funnel-shaped beam into a more concentrated beam having the desired spread. In other Words, the focus of the doublet lens combination formed by the inner and outer lenses for the particular light beam desired is at a point coincident with the filament 1'7.' By this' .construction a large solid angle of the light emitted from the incandescent lamp 16 is used. v

Accurate location of thefilamentllof the lamp with respect to the lens. is desirable for efiiciency and adequate indication. A bayonet type socket and lamp base is preferably used, since it holds the lamp rigidlyin the proper position. Incandescent lamps of ordinary commerciaLmanufacture have their filaments located differently with respect to their shape; and while adjustment of the socket 15 may be made for each new lamp inserted to replace a burned out lamp, asmay be, required by the particular location of the fila.-

ment of that new lamp with respect to its base, it is p ie r d o s fi edadius m o t e s c 15 with respect to the lenses andmake this adjustment uniform for all signal units, and then re-base the lamps of commercial manufacture in a suitable manner specifically no part of the pres ent invention, so that anyirebased lamp-may be inserted in any socket and without adjustment" may have its filament at the proper focal point.

The casing 1 is constructed symmetrical, so that two casings may be mounted on top of each other,

if desired, Wires being brought into. the top casing through openingsshown in the top and bottom wall of the casings shown (see Fig. 2). Also, the

In the smaller end of the lens barrel 5 is contained a smaller lens 12, which bolt 30 connecting the ends of the two arms .31

which two signals such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 units G, Y, and R, is provided with a background 20, if required, fastened thereto by screws 21 and brackets 22. The middle bottom opening in the base B is supported directly over the top member 25 of an adjustable signal support, the bottom member 26 being disposed over the cylindrical end of a pedestal 27 or corresponding support. As shown, the top member 25 may be rotated about the bottom member by reason of the arouate guides 28 supported in grooves about the bot- 8 tom member 26. These arcuate guides are fastened to the upper member by dowel screws 29,

as sho v n Also, the top member 25 of this adjustable support may be tilted by reason of the and 32, and extending from the top and bottom members, respectively. It should be noted that the armlfil is providedlwith an arcuate slot 35 see Fig. .3) whereby the rotatable adjustment heretofore mentioned may be made.

The wires leading ,to the various signal lamps 'are' brought minister the flexible conduit'36 connected to the end of the base B by the conduit outlet 37. The two outside bottom openings in the base B heretofore mentioned are closed by covers 38 and '39 so that the wiring is entirely concealed and not exposed to moisture, detrimental gases, and the like.

In Fig. has been. shown a construction in are supported on a single signal pole 40. Since these signals and supports are the same, the description done will sufiice for both. The lower ,7 member'of the adjustable support, instead of being supported on pedestal 27 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is supported ona cylindrical extension ll projecting from the-bracket 42, this bracket 42 being secured to thesignal pole 40 by two-U-shaped clamp bolts 43. In this construction the wiresleadinginto the. signal casings pass'through a conduit 44 leading-into the cover 45 closing the lowerend. of a cylindricalv extension 111. This .construction, it will be noted, permits a-number of signals of several units each to be mounted on .the same signal pole above each other 120. without consuming much space. In practice, each signal is adjusted so as-to' direct the light beam in the desired direction. This adjustment may be roughly accomplished by loosening'the set screws 33 (see. Fig.2). and adjusting the. lower mem ber ofthe adjustable supportto the pedestal 27; and a further and morerefined adjustment may be made. by rotatably swinging. the upper member25 about the lower member to an extent as limited by .the slot 35 .in this upper member, forwardly or, rearwardly tiltingQof thesignal being accomplished. by turning of .the bolt30, which is pivotally secured in the upper member 31. and locking this bolt 3am its newly adjusted position bythe lock, nut. Shown.

Referring more particularly, to Fig. 5" there .has been'showna' track to which signals embodying the present invention have been applied. This track apparatus comprises rails 50 divided by insulating joints "51 into blocks in the usual manher, the block I and the adjacent ends Oftwo other blocks and J being shown. Ilachof the blocks is provided with asuitable source of energy at its exit end, which has been conventionally, 1 illustrated by the battery 52, and is providedat the entrance end with a track relay T. Since the variousblocks are thesame like partsgof each blockwill be assigned like reference characters having distinctive exponents. Each of the blocks is provided with a linerelay L which is energized is placedand the front contactiii i of thetrack relay of the block next in advance' while these blocks are unoccupied. 7

Clear indication-Referring more particularly to the block I, the green or clear lamp G is energized under normal traiiic conditions ahead through a circuit which may be traced as follows: 1

beginning at the terminal B of a suitable source of energy which has its other'terminal connected to a common return wire C, front contact 55 of the track relay T, wire 56, front'contact 57 of the line relay'L, wires 58 and 59, winding of the check relay CR, wire 60, clear lamp G, wires 61 and 62, back to the common return wire C. The energizing current for the lamp G flowing through the check relay CR is sufficient to cause this relay to assume its energized position, thereby opening its back contact 63. This check relay CR may be of any desired construction, provided that it is'sensitive' enough to be energized by the current flowing in the lamp G without introducing a prohibited amount of resistance in 'the circuit. a

' Caution indication.-If the block J should be o'ccupied'ior any reason, the track relay T assumes its deenergized position, drops its front contact 54 and deenergiz'es the line relay L. The deenergization of the line relay L causes its contact to drop, thereby closing a circuit for the caution or yellow lamp Y which may be traced as follows: beginning at the terminal B, front contact 5'? in its lower position, wires 64 and 65,

impedance unit 66, wire 67, caution lamp Y, wires 68 and 62, back to the common return wire CL It is thus noted that the caution lamp Y at the entrance to the bloclr'I is energized when'the block J is occupied. f

Danger indication.-If now the block I is occu-' pied by a train, or'is in danger for some other reason, the track relay T assumes its deenergized position for obvious reasons. This causes the con-' tact of the track relay T to assume its lower position, thereby closing a circuit for the red or danger lamp R which may be traced as follows:

track relay T in its lower position, wire 70, impedance unit 71, wire '72, danger lamp R, wire '73, back to thecommon return wire C.

Caution indication under clear conditions.- Let us assume that the block'I and the block J are both unoccupied and that' the relaysT and T assume the energized position thereby completing a circuit for the clear lamp G, as heretofore traced. Let us assume now that the clear lamp burns out so that it is extinguishedand the energizing current which heretofore was flowing in the check relay CR has been interrupted.

This causes the check relay CR to assume its deenergized position, thereby completing a circuit for the yellow lamp Y, which may be traced as follows: beginning at the terminal B, front contact 55 of the track relay T, wire 56, iront 'contact 5? of the line relayL, wires 58 and. 74,

7 giving a caution signal and allowing the engineer -to proceedinstead of having no signal to guide,

advise or protect him against possible danger ahead.

The impedance units 66 and 71 have an impedance approximately equal to that ofthe resistance of the check relay CR. These impedance units are employed so that the incandescent lamps used in the signals G, Y, and B, respectively, may be of the same candle power and current carrying capacity and may be interchanged if desired. It should be noted thatnot only failure of the filament oi the lamp G causes. the lamp Y to be energized instead, but that failure of the winding of the control relay CR, either beto the caution lamp Y by providing a similar check relay in series with such caution lamp and'providing a back contact which completes a circuit for the red lamp it when such caution lamp is deenergized; also, the same arrangement cause it is open or because it is shunted, causes.

may be applied to the red lamp R byproviding another auxiliary red lamp which is energized if the red lamp of the signal-is burned out or its energizing circuit is open for some other reason, the same arrangement being applicable to lamp G and Y.. 1 i

From the foregoing will be observed that the color light signal of this invention ahorizontal arrangement or disposition of the light projecting units, three of these unitsbeing ordinarily used'to give the common indications of clear", caution,'and danger. Thisparticular arrangement of signal units has a number of important advantages. In thefirst place, it makes the whole signal of such form that-it is more adaptable to the space requirements encountered beginning at the terminal 13, Co tact 55 f th characterizing this invention, where a vertical of vision. On certain railroads overhead structures are frequently found. The signals themselves sometimes being supported on bridges; and under these conditions the signal of this invention provides a visibility and range for all indications of the signal that could not be obtained by a vertical disposition. The space economy above mentioned is particularly accentuated in terminals and other points of congested trackage where it is necessary to have two or more complete signals close together at the same point. Furthermore, the units may be arranged in different order as to color and the different signals arranged above each other as shown in Fig. 4', as forinstance, the red signals can be located in staggered'relation to give a permissive or special aspect to the signal.

As already'stated, the green or clear lamp being the one burning the greatest part of the time, perhaps ninety-five per cent of the time,

is the lamp which is used the most and which will be the one to burn out first; If the clear or green light should burn out under clear traffic conditions, a so-called dark signal is the result; and while such a dark signal, according to the rules, signifies stop, the engineer may fail to observe the signal making it desirable to use an additional marker lamp to locate the signal. This invention provides, however, for cutting in and lighting the yellow or caution lamp whenever the green or clear, lamp burns out, thereby providing a reserve indication for the green indication which not only serves the purpose of a marker light but also is more likely to assure safe control of the train, It is considered preferable to cut in the yellow or caution indication upon burning out of the green lamp, rather than cutting in a reserve lamp for'the green signal, because the engineer under ordinary circumstances would observe the showing of a caution indication instead of a clear indication and would report the abnormal condition, mak ing prompt repair more certain than if a green lamp in reserve is used. On the other hand if the signal in question is an approach signal where the yellow or caution lamp is burning almost continually it is considered preferable to have an auxiliary lamp giving the same distinctive indication when such 7 caution. lamp burns out. If desired, additional resistance may be cut in series with the yellow lamp when lighted because of failure of the green lamp, so as to give weaker caution indication and show the engineer that something is out of order; but ordinarily the engineer would be able to detect the showing of a yellow light where 'a green lamp should be displayed. 1

Although the invention has been shown applied to a color light signal it is desired to be understood that it may also be applied to position light signals, where: agroup of lights are used to define a bar or signal blade the position of which determines the signal indication.

Having thus shown one specific embodiment of the present invention and the manner in which it may be applied to one particular type 1. -In a light .signal, a hollow base member having a plurality of flat portions on one facev and in the same plane and with an opening in each portion forming a means of communicating with the hollow of the body, a plurality of identical light projecting units each having a flat baseportion parallel to-its optical axis and provided with an opening in said base portion, said hollow member and said units also including; means for interchangeably mounting the units on the hollow base member.

2. In a light signal, in combination, a hollow flat base ,member having a plurality of openings in its upper face, a plurality of identical light projecting units, eachhaving a flat base provided with an opening therein, and means to connect the light units to thebase member and with the unit openings over the openings in the upper face of the base member. I

3. In a light signal, in combination, a hollow flat basememberhaving a plurality of openings in its upper face, a plurality of identical light projecting units each having a flat base, means to connect the light units to the base member and over theopenings in the upper face thereof, an opening in the base of each light unit registering, when he unit is in place, with the corresponding'opening in the upper face of the base member, and a terminal box connectable to the base member and communicating with the hollow of the base member. i

. l JAMES A. PEABODY.

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