Improvements in or connected with Contact Apparatus for Electric Railways with Underground Current Feed and Mechanical Partial Conductor Service.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1899
Improvements in or connected with Contact Apparatus for Electric
Railways with Underground Current Feed and Mechanical Partial
Conductor Service.
I, CARL FRIEDRICH PHILIPP STENDEBACH, Electrician, of 45, Plagwitzerstrasse,
Leipzig, in the Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to contact apparatus for electric railways with under-
ground current feed and partial conductors as described in Patent No. 18,137
of 1898 in which a vertical bar mounted in a casing adjacent to the conduit
supports a part of the contacts in connection with a horizontally lying driving device
provided with a counter spring or balance weight the horizontal driving device
being operated by a depending piece from the car to momentarily close the circuit
which is again broken when the depending piece has passed by the action of the
spring or counter weight; and has for its object to provide improved means for
actuating the contact device.
In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of contact
apparatus constructed according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of
Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the car and conduit and Fig. 4 is
a diagrammatic sectional plan.
the same.
According to this invention the springs or counter weights are dispensed with
the rotary motion of the contact disc 9 being effected in both directions by means
of the new actuating apparatus which comprises two removable iron plates of
suitable form and length, suspended on the motor carriage back and front and
projecting into the channel slot for the purpose of enabling a truck to be travelled
over in both directions.
The enforced rotary motion of the disc 9 produces the further effect that
current cannot be retained in the contact heads as was possible in the former
arrangement owing to the breaking of the springs.
The new actuating apparatus also comprises two horizontally displaceable
rods 4 furnished with rollers and projecting into the channel 7 being guided
in the sides of the channel as also in the bearings 22. These rods 4 are pivotted
to two lever arms 23 acting in opposite directions arranged like them at different
heights on the lower part of the shaft 3, so that a horizontal displacement of one
of these rods 4 produces a horizontal displacement of the other rod 4 in the
opposite direction, the insulating disc 9 firmly connected with the shaft 3 being
forced each time to follow the rotation of the shaft 3 occurring in consequence of
the displacement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is;-
An actuating apparatus in current-closing apparatus for electric railways with

page_text: ing feature of which is that the rotation of the insulating disc carrying the con-
tacts is effected compulsorily by the combined action of the rods 4 linked to the
crank arms 23 of the shaft 3 and seated horizontally and displaceably at different
heights with the iron plates 24 projecting into the channel slot 7 formed suit-
ably for the purpose and placed at the front and back of the carriage so that by
the displacement of the one rod 4 in a horizontal direction by the front plate 24
of the carriage the other rod 4 is displaced in the opposite direction and the
current closed, whilst upon the second rod 4 being displaced by the plate 24 at the
back end of the carriage the first rod is brought back again into its original
position and an interruption of the current produced.
Dated this 26th day of At 1899
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.