US302004A - Automatic gate and alarm for railway-crossings - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. KUSTER, Jr.

' AUTOMATIC GATE AND ALARM FOR RAILWAY GROSSINGS. N0.-802,004 Patented July 15, 1884.

ll TI TI U U W- T WITNESSES INVBNTOR ATTORNEY N. PETERS. Phoio-Lifllagnphen Wnhington. n. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. KUSTBR, Jrfl AUTOMATIC GATE AND ALARM F0 No. 302,004.

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d July 15, 1884.

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Nl'TE STATES JOHN IQUSTER, JR, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC GATE AND ALARM F'O'R RAILWAY-CROSSINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,004, dated July 15, 1884.

Application filed January 11, 1883. I (No model.) v I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KUSTER, Jr., of Stamford, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in an Automatic Gate or Gates and Alarm for Railvvay-Crossings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement in an automatic gate or gates and alarm for railway-crossings; and theinvention consists in a series of turning shafts with levers or cranks fixed thereto or connected therewith, in combination with connecting chains or rods, and vertically-adj ustable gates and alarm-bells wherebythe gates are elevated and depressed automatically and the alarm sounded by the wheels of a passing train.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 is a plan or top view of my invention. Fig.2 isalongitudinal vertical section taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section of detail taken in the line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section of detail taken in the line 3/ y, Fig. 1. Fig.5 is a longitudinal section on the line 4 4, Fig. 1, showing the gates in their open position. Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the line 5 5, Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the bell-box.

Similar letters. of. reference indicate like parts in the several figures. A

The danger attending the crossing of railway-tracks by common roads is so well known that it is simply necessary to mention the fact without further comment. To stop passing vehicles at such crossings, many devices have been contrived, some'of which are in practice on numerous railroads.

To construct stop-gates for the road-crossings of railways, and also alarm-bells to give warning of approaching trains, so that their operation shall be not only automatic but certain and'positive, I make a transverse excavation, A, of convenient dimensions and form, in the road-bed a, of the railway, under the tracks b. This excavation is preferably constructed in line with or in continuation of the I common road which crosses the track. It may,

however, be located elsewhere under the track. 7

Into this excavation are secured to suitable foundations of timber, (not shown,) or otherwise, a series of collars or bearings, c, which support shafts Band 0. These shafts extend under the tracks of the roadway. longitudinally of the excavation A. end of these shafts B and C are securely fixed and at right angles to the same levers d, and to the upper ends of each of these levers are attached by pivots gates D. Thesegates consist of an upper rail, e, 'and a lower rail, f, the two rails being connected by a series of bars, g, which are pivoted at their ends to the upper and lower rails of the gate; also, to the shafts B and O are fixed bell cranks or levers h and k, in line with the shafts B and C, and between the inner ends of the same; also, sup- To each outer 7 ported in suitable bearings, land on, is a shaft,

E, with levers n and 0 fixed to its ends, and

.a bell-crank lever, 19, secured to it midway from its ends; also, supported in suitable bearings, r and s, is a shaft, F, with cranks t and u fixed to its ends, and a lever, 1;, between the same; also, supported in suitable bearings, 10 and 1,is a shaft, G, with a bell-crank lever, or; also, in the excavation A, adjacent to and parallel with the shaft E, and supported in suitable bearings, arethe shafts YYflto which are fitted right-angle cranks Y and Y, with an intermediate bell-crank lever, Z, between them. In't'he road-bed, and below the tracks on either side. of the excavation A, and parallel with the tracks, are also formed excavations H and K. Into the excavation H, and supported in suitable bearings, is fitted a turning shaft, L, with a lever or crank, b, at one end, and a lever or crank, c, at right angles to the first-named lever at the-other; and,also,

in the excavation H, suitably pivoted therein, is a tripping-lever, one of the arms, N, of which extendsupward and close to the outer edge of one of the rails of the track b,and the other crank, d, which is bent nearly at right angles to the lever N, extends under the crank c of the shaft -L; also, in the excavation H, and pivoted therein, is a tripping-lever, with one of its arms, P, at one end of a shaft, R, ex-

tending up to and close beside one of the rails of. say, the down track of the road, and its other arm, 0, at the other end of said shaft R, connected with the chain 2, and within the excavation K is placed, in like manner to the above-described tripping-levers, a tripping- 1ever,with one of its arms, T, at one end of the shaft U, extending upward and close to the outer side of the rail of, say, the up track of the road, and with another arm, h, at the other end of said shaft attached to the chain 3; and within the excavation K is also placed another turning shaft, V, with levers m and a fixed to its ends and at right angles to each other; and suitably pivoted in the excavation K is a trip1i ing-lever,one of the arms X of which extends upward and close to the side of the rails of, say, the down track of the road, and its other arm, 1), extends beneath the lever n of the shaft V.

At the sides of the track, and extending across the road-crossing, are in suitable vertical guides placed the gatesD, before mentioned. Fixed to the lever p at one of its ends, and to the lever 12 by its other end, is a connecting chain or rod, 1, and fixed to the lever v of the shaft F at one of its ends, and to the arm 0 of the shaft R at its other end, is the connecting chain or red 2, and fixed to the bell-crank lever Z at one of its ends, and at its other end to the arm h of the shaft U, is a connecting chain or rod, 3. Fixed to one of the arms of the bellerank a and the lever m of the shaftVis a connecting chain or rod, 4; also, in the excavation A are suitably pivoted levers A and B. The inner ends of these levers are bent, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,with a plate, a'flfixed to one of the bent ends of one of the levers, which plate bridges the space between these bent ends of each of said levers. The outer ends of the levers A and B, and also in the excavation A, have secured to them coil-springs a and I); also, to the outer ends of the levers A and B are connected wires 0, (see Fig. 5,) the other ends of the wires being attached to levers c, which are pivoted in or below the bell-boxes C and D, placed at each side of the track. To the upper end of these levers c are fixed hammers to operate alarm-bells E In the excavations H and K, and supported in suitable bearings, so as to freely turn therein, are shafts G and H. These shafts have attached to them right-angle cranks g h and it I, respectively; also, in the excavations H and K are pivoted, one in each excavation, trippinglevers K and L. These tripping-levers extend upward and close to the rails of the up and down tracks, respectively, of the road, thelowor ends ofthe levers being bent at right angles, forming levers m and a, which last-named levers pass under thelevers h and Z of the shafts G and H. From the crank of the shaft G to the bent end of the lever A, and secured to them, is a rod or chain, 0, and to the crank k of the shaft H is fixed one end of arod or chain, 1), which rod or chain extends to a tripping bellcrank, M, to which last-named crank it is likewise secured, it being understood that all of the several shafts, cranks, levers, and connectingrods are below the road-bed of the railway, with the exception of the tripping-levers N, P, T, X, K, and L, which extend upward, as before described.

Now, when my automatic alarm and stopgates and their several connecting parts are constructed substantially as hereinbefore rccited, they are operated as follows: The wheels of a train passing along the up track of aroad, for instance, are brought in contact with the upper end of the tripping-lever K, causing the lower end of the lever to turn on its pivot, thereby elevating the lever a, throwing upward the crank lflof the shaft G, causing that shaft to turn and throw backward its crank g", thereby drawing the chain or rod 0, which in turn draws the inner bent end of the lever A, forcing the plate a to actuate the bent end of the lever B, compelling these lovers to turn on their pivots,respectively, and draw the bellwires 0", attached to their outer ends, until these wires have imparted motion to the bellcranks c, causing them to strike with their hammers the bells E in bell-boxes G and l), the levers A and B being restored to their normal state by the elastic action of the springs a and b, and the alarm-bells are similarly sounded by the wheels of a train passing along the down track when they come in contact with the trippingdever L, which, through the shaft H and its cranks It and l" and its connecting chain or rod 1)", causing the alarm-bells to sound through the action of the bell-leversA and B in precisely the same manner referred to when describing the operation of the trippinglever K, excepting that, instead of the rod being connected directly with the lever A, it actuates that lever and the lever B through or by the tripping-lever M. Now, since these tripping-levers K and L are placed at some distance from the road-crossing it is desired to alarm, due notice is givenvat that point that a train is approaching on either the up or down track. Shortly after in this way giving the alarm the wheels of the passing train are brought in contact with the tripping arm or lever N, causing this lever or arm to turn' on its pivot, thereby throwing upward the lever d at its lower end, and also the crank c on the shaft L, and throwing backward the crank b on that shaft until the connecting chain or rod 1 is tightly drawn, which operation pulls over the bell-crank lever 12 on the shaft E, causing thereby the shafts B and C (see Fig. 6) to turn in their respective bearings through the action of the cranks or levers n and 0, fixed on the ends of shaft E, and the bell-cranks h and on the ends of the shafts B and C, so that as these shafts turn the lever d throws upward the gates D, and by that operation causing them to assume a vertical position, that bar the road-crossing from the track, and in this way prevent accident.

As the gates D move upward in the manner just described, the several jointed bars, of the gates D turn vertically, causing the upper bars, 0, of the gates to be atsuflicient height above thetrack to bar the crossing, and as the gates in this way are elevated, they so remain until thetrain proceeds on its course, bringing its wheels in contact with the tripping-lever T, which lever is forced over on its pivot, the arm h thrown backward, bringing thereby tension on the chain or rod 3, it bringing over the upper arm of the bell-crank Z, causing this crank to turn in its bearings until the cranks Y Y, fixed on either side of the same, are brought in contact with the lower arm of the bell-crank levers h and 7a, which last-named cranks turn the shafts. B and O in a reverse direction, causing the levers d at their ends to draw downward the lower rails, f, of thegates D, the pivoted bars 9 in turn bringing down the upper rails, e, of these gates until the several parts constituting the gates are below the surface of the roadcrossing, and no longer offer opposition to its being passed, and so on the down track. Af- I ter the wheels of the train havepassed the tripping-lever L and sounded the bell, as before stated, they are brought in contact with the tripping-lever X, causing it to turn, and its lower part or lever, 19, to throw upward the crank a of the shaft V, thereby throwing backward the crank m and bringing tension upon the chain 4, which throws the bell-crank lever to until it engages with the lower arm,

h, of the bell-crank. lever 10, thereby, through theshaft E, causing the shafts B and O to turn in their bearings and throw upward the gates D, in the manner before described, in which position they remain until the wheels of the train are brought in contact with the trippinglever P, when thatlever is-forced over, turning 011 its pivot, and by means of its arm or lever 6 drawing the chain or rod 2, causing there'- by the shaft F (see Fig. 1) to turn until its cranks i and u are brought in contact with the bell-crank levers hand 70, and the shafts B and G are turned in areverse direction, again bringing downward the elevated gates, in the manner described in the previous operation; Now, as these stop-gates D are elevated, one end of the upper rail, 6, of the gates enters into mortisesr and r in the bell-boXes O and D, and the opposite ends of these upper bars pass into slots t in the upright boxes M and N (see Fig. 1,) preserving the gates from contact with any object attempting to pass them The excavations A, H, and K may be covered with removable covers of any desired description, to prevent their receiving deposits of snow or dirt, which would tend to interfere with the operation of the several parts described; and the upper rails, e, of the gates D, when within their guides, or when the gate is in its closed position, effectually keep like deposits from the passage-way or guides of the gates.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-* 1. Mechanism for automatically operating gates for railway-crossings, consisting of the shaft E, having the levers'a and 0, the chain or rod 1, connected with said -shaft E, andwith the shaft L, which is operated by the tripping-lever N, the shafts B and 0, provided with thecrank-levers h and 70, respectively, to be operated by the levers 0t and 0 to move a gate to close the crossing, combined with the shafts Y and Y having the levers Y and Y,

also to operate the bell-crank levers h and k, the intermediate bell-crank lever,,Z, of the said levers Y and Y, the shaft U, and rod or chain 3, connecting levers Z and shaft U, and the tripping-lever T, for operating the same to move the gates to open the crossing, all sub stantially as shown and described.

2. Mechanism-for automatically operating gates for railway-crossings, consisting of the shaft E, having levers n and o, the chain or rod 1, connected with said shaft E, and with the shaft L, which is operated by the tripping-lever N, theshafts B and 0, provided with crank-levers h and 70, respectively, to be operated by the levers n and o to movethe gates to close the crossing, the shafts Y and Y having the intermediate crank-lever, Z, and the levers Y and Y, which latter operate the bell-cra-nk levers h and 7c, the rod or chain 3, connecting the lever Z and shaft U, and the tripping lever T, for operating the same to move the gates to open the crossing,

combined with the shaft G, bell-crank lever thereon, and chain or rod 4, connected there with, and with the shaft V, and the tripping mechanism, as described, for operating the shaft V,'tlie shaft F,hav.ing levers t and u, and the shaft R and the rod or chain 2, extending between said shafts F and R, and the tripping mechanism for operating said shaft B, all substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

3. An alarm mechanism for railroad-crossings, consisting of the levers A and B,shafts G and H, the wires or rods 0 and 19*, connecting thesame, the tripping-levers K and L, for operating the shafts G and H, re-

spectively, to move the levers A and 13, to

sound an alarm at the outer ends of said 'levers, and the springs a and N, for retaining the levers in position to be operated, combined withfi and operating independently of V I r the gate-operating mechanism, substantially I 1, 2, 3, and 4,, the shafts L, R, U, and V, and as shown and described. the tripping-levers N, P, T, and X, substan- 4. In an alarm and stop-gate device for tially as shown and described. railway-crossings, the turning shafts B and JOHN KUSTER, JR. 5 C, in combination with the shaft E and the XVitnesses:

several crank-levers fixed to the ends of said G. M. PLYMPION, shafts,respectively, connecting rods or chains JNo. N. BRUNs.

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