Improvements in Electric Railways on the Conduit System.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Oct., 1897-Accepted, 4th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Railways on the Conduit System.
We NIGEL HARINGTON BALFOUR of "Belton," Camberley, in the County of
Surrey Electrical Engineer and EDWARD WYTHE SMITH of 66, College Street,
Chelsea, London in the County of Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
Our invention relates to those electric railways on the conduit system in which
a carriage or car, hereinafter called "the contact car," running in a conduit com-
pletes the electrical connection between external conductors and a conductor or
conductors within the conduit.
We construct the cover of the conduit by placing iron bars or girders transversely
with the conduit at regular intervals. We prefer to keep the bars apart by wood,
concrete or other suitable material preferably non-magnetic.
For convenience we usually build up the cover of the conduit in sections before
fixing, the bars of each section being held together by bolts passing lengthwise
through the section through holes or slots in the bars.
The vehicle carries a magnet or armature which attracts or is attracted by an
armature or magnet on the contact car, by which means the contact car is kept
in the same relative position to the magnet as the vehicle travels. We arrange
magnet so that one pole is in front of the other thus each bar of the conduit-cover,
in turn becomes a pole piece or extension of the magnet.
On the underside of the conduit cover, fixed thereto or supported independently,
is a conductor, hereinafter called the "internal contact rail," in convenient lengths
each length being insulated from the adjacent ones. The contact car" makes
electrical connection between the "internal contact rail" and the main conductor.
The various sections or lengths of the "internal contact rail" are connected to
corresponding sections of a rail on the surface, hereinafter called "the external
contact rail.
The electric current passes from the main conductors by the "contact car" to the
"internal contact rail" thence by the "external contact rail" to the vehicle by
a collector or collectors carried by the vehicle.
The "external contact rail" may be in any convenient position either on the
conduit cover or on either side. When the external contact rail" is on the
conduit cover we prefer to make corresponding recesses in the bars in order to
allow for insulating material between the bars of the conduit cover and the
"external contact rail." In place of the "external contact rail" contact blocks
of any known form may be employed.
When it is desirable to have a completely insulated electric circuit then two
"internal contact rails" and two corresponding "external contact rails" or sets
of contact blocks are necessary.
Instead of making the hars of the conduit cover of iron any other suitable
magnetisable material may be employed.
Dated th3 001 love of Tonuo 1907

page_text: Improvements in Electric Railways on the Conduit System.
We NIGEL HARINGTON BALFOUR of "Belton," Camberley, in the County of
Surrey Electrical Engineer and EDWARD WYTHE SMITH of 66 College Street,
Chelsea, London in the County of Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declaro
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: —
Our invention relates to those electric railways on the conduit system in which
a carriage or car, hereinafter called "the contact car," running in a conduit com-
pletes the electrical connection between external conductors and a conductor or
conductors within the conduit.
The vehicle carries a magnet which attracts or is attracted by an armature or
magnet on the contact car, by which means the contact car is kept in the same
relative position to the magnet as the vehicle travels.
We construct the cover of the conduit by placing iron bars or girders transversely
with the conduit at regular intervals.
We prefer to keep the bars apart by wood, concrete or other suitable material
preferably non-magnetic.
We arrange the magnet carried by the vehicle so that one pole is in front of the
other in order that each bar of the conduit-cover in turn becomes a pole piece or
extension of the magnet.
For convenience we usually build up the cover of the conduit in sections before
fixing, the bars of each section being held together by bolts passing lengthwise
through the section through holes or slots in the bars.
The walls and bottom of the conduit may be made of any suitable material
preferably non-magnetic.
On the underside of the conduit cover fixed thereto or supported independently,
is a conductor, hereinafter called the "internal contact rail" in convenient lengths
each length being insulated from the adjacent ones. The contact car makes
electrical connection between the internal contact rail and the main conductor.
The various sections or lengths of the "internal contact rail" are connected to
corresponding sections of a rail on the surface hereinafter called the "external
contact rail."
When the internal or external contact rail is supported by the conduit cover
we prefer to make sections of the conduit cover corresponding to sections of the
contact rails.
"
The electric current passes from the main conductor by the " contact car to
the "internal contact rail" thence by the external contact. rail to the vehicle by a
collector or collectors of any known construction carried by the vehicle.
The "external contact rail" may be in any convenient position either on the
conduit cover or on either side. When the external contact rail is on the conduit
cover we prefer to make corresponding recesses in the bars in order to allow for
insulating material between the hars of the conduit cover and the "external con-
tact rail." In place of the "external contact rail contact blocks of any known
form may be employed.
"
With reference to the drawings like parts are indicated by like letters.
RR indicates the road level
C indicates the internal contact rail
II indicates insulation
The bars of the various sections of the conduit cover are held together by bolts
as BB.

page_text: 18 the wood concrete or other material between the bars G G.
Figs. I & II are longitudinal sections of the conduit cover showing two different
sections of bars B B. we employ.
Figs. III, IV & V are transverse sections of the conduit.
bars B B are recessed to receive the external contact rail.
In Fig III the
Fig. IV shows the external contact rail on one side of the conduit cover.
Fig V shows two internal & two external contact rails.
In Figs IV & V the connections between the internal & external contact rails
are indicated by dotted lines.
The contact car is not indicated in the drawings neither is the track on which
it runs.
We do not confine ourselves to the extact sections of bar shown in the drawings
nor to the dimensions of the conduit or cover.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
In electric railways on the conduit system,
(1) A conduit cover formed of iron bars or girders placed transversely with the
conduit as & for the purpose described.
(2) A conduit cover formed of iron bars with concrete, wood or other suitable
material between the bars, substantially as & for the purpose described.
(3) A conduit cover as described built up in sections the various bars being
eld together by bolts B B.
Dated this 22nd day of October 1897.