US300406A - Joseph john stoetzel - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

J. J. STOETZEL.

RAILWAY lGNAL FUR LOCOMOTIVES No. 300,406.. Patented June 17, 1884.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orinoco JOSEPH JOHN STOETZEL, OF LA SALLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EDlVARD P. FERAY, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

SPECILE'ICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,406, dated June 17, 1884.

Application filed July 17,1393.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn J OHN SIOETZEL, of La Salle, La Salle county, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Antomatic Railway-Signal for Locomotives, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of railwaysigna-ls that are operated by the passage of the locomotive; and the object of the invention is to provide a signal of simple construction which. shall be positive and unfailing in its action, and which may readily be adjusted to signal the coming of a train by either the hell or whistle of the locomotive at the will of the engineer and without leaving his place in the cab.

The invention consists in a contrivance of an arm pivoted to swing vertically and arranged on the locomotive so as to be automatically moved up and down by contact with the fixed inclined rails or ways set at suitable points along the side of the track, the pivoted arm being connected by an angle lever and rods with the 'alve of a small steanrcylindcr for driving a piston therein, having rod-andlever connections with the bell of the locomotive, for ringing the bell twice for every stroke of its connected piston. The valve-connecting rod of the angle-lever may almost instantly be disconnected from the valve of the bellringing cylinder and be connected with the valve controlling the steam supply to the whistle of the locomotive, so that either bell or whistle signal may be operated automatically at different points along the line, as de sired.

The invention includes also special constructions of the signal-arm to guard against its breakage by contact with obstructions along the track, and to work with minimum friction along the inclined ways by or from which the signal steamsupply valves are operatechall as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side view of a locomotive-engine in part and a portion of the track with (N0 model.)

my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is a rear view of a portion of the locomotive-boiler, showing the bell-operating stcam-cylinde rn end view and the-double valves controlling the steam-supply to the bell and whistle, respectively. Fig. is a rear view showing the signal-arm in side elevation, and Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of the signal-arm on a larger scale.

In any suitable support-such as a couple of bracket-arms, (I, here shown connected rigidly to the boiler Z) of the locomotivel pivot at c the signal-operating arm (I, so that it is free to rock vertically on pivot c, and to the inner end of signal-arm (Z, I connect pivotally, at c, the lower end of a rod, e, which connects with one arm of an angle-lever,f, pivoted at f to the side of the boiler b or other convenient part of the engine. A rod, g, connects the other arm of the lever f with either of the steanrsupply valves h or i, which connect with a pipe, 3', leading from the boiler. The valve h is arranged to control a supply of steam from pipe 7' to the small cylinder k, having any suitablyconstructed valves and piston, which latter connects by its rod Zwith a rod or bar, in, which, in turn, connects with a crank-arm, a, on the rock-shaft of the bell 0, so that by the reciprocation of the rod in. the bell will be sounded twice for every complete stroke of'the piston in cylinder It. The steam-whistle p connects by a pipe, q, with the valve '5 for a steam-supply when required. Any suitable direct connection ofthc rod 1/ with the valves h i, for open ing and closing them by the movements of angle-lever f, may be used, a preferred arrangement being the arms h i, which connect rigidly with the stems of the plugs of valves 71 17, respectively, and the connection of rod 1] with the arms ii i" is intended to be such as will readily allow the rod 9 to be disconnected from and connected with either arm, forworking either alve h 1' and the connecting bell or whistle, as occasion requires; and this transfer of rod 9 from one valvearm, it" i, to the other may readily be made by the engineer without leaving his place in the cab.

For working the signal-arm (l to open and close the valves of the hell or whistle signals,

' plane.

I arrange the inclined rails or ways 1- s at the side of the railway-track t, so that as the locomotive passes the outer end of arm d will be moved downward by riding beneath the inclined head of way 1", and will be next moved upward by riding over the top of the inclined head of way 8, which will causethe rod 6 to be raised and lowered successively, to move angle-lever f for opening and closing the valves h or t, as above described.

The rail or way 1* is so constructed that while its greater intermediate portion is adapted to have contact with the arm (1 its end portions are disposed out of the plane of movement of the arm, to allow the latter to pass under the rail or way r and be disengaged therefrom, after having been depressed by the interme diate surface of the-rail or way. These following inclined ways 1" s are to be set at or near railway crossings or curves, at bridges, tunnels, or at any signal points of danger along the track; and when the bell is to be rung the ways r s will be set at sufficient distance apart to allow supply of steam to cylinder 7a, to continue the ringing of the bell only as long as required; and as in the use of the whistle-signal the sounds are generally of short duration, the succeeding ways r s will be set closer together than for the bell-signal, while for either bell or whistle signal the duration of the sounds may be controlled at will by spacing the ways?" 8 accordingly, as will readily be understood.

The signal-arm d is made, preferably, in rectangular cross-sectional form, and with a casing, a, with the side plates, 0, made shorter than its top and bottom plates, 10, to allow free play sidewise of the arms so of the spring :20, which latter I prefer to make of one piece bent over double, and I secure the spring 00 in the casing a by a fixed slotted block, y, the slot in the block being sufficiently large at the inner end to receive the pin .2 and the bend of the spring, the slot then contracting toward its mouth to about the combined thickness of the two arms :0 of the spring, and from thence gradually rounding outward at y at each side, toform a seat for, the spring-arms 00 as they are forced either way by the pointed inner end, a, of the outer portion or bar, I), of the signal-arm, which bar I) is pivoted at 0, so as to swing freely either way on the pivot, and in horizontal The outer end of bar 12 carries a revolving anti-friction roller, (1, which relieves the friction of contact with and insures easy and smooth working of the signal-arm (I over the ways 1* and s for moving the valves h z of the signal devices.

The spring so may be substituted by two springsone at each side of the bar b and the tension of the spring or springs 06 is should accidentally strike an obstruction on or alongside the track 25, and to return to nor-v herein shown and described, as practical variations may be made within the scope of my invention, which it is believed has many advantages over the common methods, and may be cheaply made and applied, and is not liable to get out of order.

I do not abandon or dedicate to the public any patentable features set forth herein and not hereinafter claimed, but reserve the right to claim the same either in a reissue of any patent that may be granted upon this app1ication or in other applications for Letters Patent that I may make.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by. Letters Patent- 1. The combination of the signal arm (1, ways 1* s, angle-lever f, rods 6 g, valves h i, cylinder k, connections Z on n to the bell 0, whistle p, and pipe q, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of signal-arm (2, ways r s, angle-lever f, rods 6 g, valve h, cylinder k, and connections Zm n to the bell 0, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of signal-arm cl, ways r s, angle-lever f, rods 6 g, valve 15, pipe q, cylinder 7c, and whistle 19, substantially as and for p the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the ways 1' s, angle-lever f, and rods 6 9, connecting with the bell and whistle signals, substantially as specified, of the signalarm (1, adapted to be rocked .in vertical plane on its pivot c by contact with 7. The signal-arm d, constructed with a cas-- ing, it, having sides 1) shorter than its top and bottom plates 20, the pivoted head-bar 12, carrying the anti-friction roller 01, the slotted block y, the bent spring as, and the pin 2, substantially as shown and described.

' JOSEPH JOHN STOETZEL. \Vitnesses:

N. W. CUMMINGS, J. F. COLE

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