Improvements in or in connection with Contact Boxes for Electrical Railways or Tramways with Underground Conductors.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1898
1000
Improvements in or in connection with Contact Boxes for Electrical
Railways or Tramways with Underground Conductors.
A communication from abroad by ALFREDO DIATTO, of Turin, Italy, Electrical
Engineer.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of London.
Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows;-
This invention relates to improvements in or in connection with contact boxes
of electrical railways or tramways with underground conductors and has for object
to protect the contact pieces from becoming wet or damp and thus avoid leakage
of current and other drawbacks occasioned thereby. The invention is more par-
ticularly suitable for that system of electrical railways or tramways with under-
ground conductor described in the Specifications of former Letters Patent
Nos. 23944 of 1894 and 21380 of 1896.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood I will proceed to
describe it with reference to the annexed drawing, which is a vertical central
section of the inner parts of a contact box comprising the present improvements.
is the mercury cup which is provided near its top with an annular cup
concentric with the extension d of the part conductor e, and which is partially
filled with a sealing liquid y.
A belle of any suitable non-conducting material, such as india rubber, is
fitted over and covers the said conductor e, with which it is concentric its lower
end dipping to a suitable extent in the liquid y contained in the annular cup
so as to form a liquid joint or seal. It will thus be seen that the contact pieces e,
, and the mercury Q are enclosed in an air proof space, and are thereby pro-
tected against the dampness of the outer atmosphere. The bell c¹ may be pro-
vided with an annular rim to project over the annular cup and protect it
from the water that may run down from the bell or the cover of the box .
The liquid y should be of such nature as not to be liable to freeze and to be
capable of absorbing any moisture that may be contained in the air within the
bell: glycerine has been found to answer the purpose very satisfactorily.
It is obvious that the form and arrangement of the various parts may be varied
without departing from the essence of my invention which is not limited to the
particular form and arrangement described and illustrated.
Dated this 20th day of July 1898.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields. London, W.C.
Chartered Patent Agent.

page_text: Improvements in or in connection with Contact Boxes for Electrical
Railways or Tramways with Underground Conductors.
A communication from abroad by ALFREDO DIATTO, of Turin, Italy, Electrical
Engineer.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of London,
Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the natura
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement;-
This invention consists in improvements in or in connection with contact boxes
of electrical railways or tramways with underground conductors, and has for
object to protect the contact pieces from becoming wet or damp and thus avoid
leakage of current and other drawbacks occasioned thereby. The invention is
more particularly suitable for electrical railway or tramway apparatus with under-
ground conductors such as described in the Specifications of Letters Patent num-
bered 23944 of 1894 and 21380 of 1896.
In order that the nature of the invention and the manner of performing the
same may be fully understood I will, in the following description, refer to the
drawing filed with my Provisional Specification, which is a central vertical sec-
tion of the inner parts of a contact box according to this invention.
The mercury cup is provided near its top with an annular cup, which is
partially filled with a sealing liquid y and is concentric with the switch block
or extension d of a part conductor c that is united to the surface contact-plate
(not shown) by the bolt shown in the drawing.
C
A bell of any suitable non-conducting material, such as india rubber, is
fitted over and covers the said conductor c, with which it is concentric, and its
lower end dips to a suitable extent in the liquid y contained in the annular
cup so as to form a liquid seal. It will be seen that the contact pieces c and d
and the mercury 7 are enclosed in an air-tight chamber, and are thereby protected
against the dampness of the outer atmosphere. The bell may, as shown, be
provided with an annular rim 2 to project over the annular cup 1 so as to pro-
tect it from any water that may run down from the bell or the cover of the box.
The liquid should be of such nature that it would not be liable to freeze and
would be capable of absorbing any moisture that might be contained in the air
within the bell c¹; glycerine has been found to answer the purpose very
satisfactorily.
It is obvious that the form and arrangement of the various parts may be varied
without departing from the essence of the invention, which is not limited to the
particular form and arrangement described and illustrated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a contact box for an electrical railway or tramway with an underground
conductor, a chamber containing the contact pieces and formed by an annular
cup surrounding the mercury cup and adapted to contain a sealing and moisture-
absorbing liquid, and a bell the lower edge of which is adapted to dip in the said
liquid so as to form a liquid seal, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. In a contact box for an electrical railway or tramway with an underground
conductor, a chamber according to the preceding claim whose bell has around it

page_text: a rim projecting over the annular cup, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
3. The improved contact box apparatus herein before described with reference
to and shown in the drawing filed with my Provisional Specification.
Dated this 15th day of April 1899.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.