Control circuit for model railroads

Patent 5321344 Issued on June 14, 1994. Estimated Expiration Date:

April 4, 2012. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

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Inventors

Application

No. 877727 filed on 04/04/1992

US Classes:

318/280, MOTOR-REVERSING318/51, Plural, diverse motor controls for different motors318/257, With running-speed control318/603Pulse-counting systems

Examiners

Primary: Ip, Paul

Attorney, Agent or Firm

White; Douglas B.

International Class

H02P 007/74

Abstract

A control circuit for a model railroad utilizes a digital counter to control the modes of motor operation. To select a mode of operation a switch is used to repeatedly ground the base of a transistor circuit, causing pulses to be sent to a counter. By using the switch to hold the base of the transistor to ground, the counter sequencing is locked and prevented from further sequencing until the track power is turned off for a defined minimum amount of time. Release of this switched ground places the circuit under track control where short power interrupts cause the counter to sequence to the next count and therefore to sequence the modes of motor operation.