Improved Safety Connections or Couplings for Electric Conductors.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application 14th Aug 1890-Accented 18th Oct. 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Safety Connections or Couplings for Electric Conductors.
We, ROBERT HOWE GOULD and THEODOR GOTT SCHALK, trading under the style
or Firm of Messrs. Gould & Co., of No. 94ª Gitschiner Strasse, Berlin, Germany
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of our said 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 improvements in safety attachments for couplings for
electric conductors, and especially to the kind of device as described in our Completo
Application, No. 10076, dated 30th June 1890.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is an elevation, and
Figure 2 a top view of our attachment.
As represented in these figures, the conductors are not connected immediately
to the rollers e, but the latter are provided with bent lover arms f, made of one
piece with or firmly soldered into the said rollers, and the conductor a attached
to the lower end of the said lever arm f, so as to exercise a considerable power on
the rollers for pressing the same onto the surface of the slots in the rails d, d¹,
of the clip, in order to produce a snug contact between the parts. When the parts
are fixed in conducting position the bent lever will press against a bolt, spindle
or rivet h, which serves as fulcrum for the same, near the tip of the rails d, d¹
and also tends to increase the conducting power of the attachment.
In the event of it being desired to further secure contact between these surfaces,
small pieces of copper or other foil or fine sheet metal or a necessary quantity of
any suitable combination of quicksilver with other metal, (amalgam), can be inserted
between the surfaces of the rollers and the slots in the rails of the clip before fixing
the parts.
Should it, as aforementioned, be found desirable to still further increase the
conducting power of our improved attachment, connecting wires can be used, as
represented in Figures 3 to 6, as also by dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2,
Figure 4 being an elevation, and Figure 3 an isometrical part view of a modifi-
cation of this attachment, whilst Figures 5 and 6 represent two forms of the
severing device for severing the auxiliary wires k. k.
a is the conductor, the post, standard or carrier is the insulator, d, d' are
the rails or jaws of the clip, the slots in the same, d³ is a distance piece,
dare screw bolts for connecting the two bent rails or jaws d, d', e are the rolls,
spindles or the like with or without journals e, f is the lever attached to the
rolls e, garo the cutters for severing the connecting wires k, k, h is a connecting
bolt or rivet, and i a spiral spring.
As represented in the aforementioned figures, the rollers e are not connected
immediately with the conductor, but are provided with a bent lever f, said lever
carrying a suitable cutter 9 for severing the connecting wire or wires k, k, and
being at its lower end connected to the conductor a, and also to a spiral spring i,
fixed at its opposite end to the post, standard or carrier.
In order that the conducting capacity of the device may always be preserved,
so long as the conductor is not broken or severed, auxiliary wires k, k, are firmly
soldered into the rails d, d¹ and their other ends soldered to the roller e, in order
that the electric current can under no circumstances be impeded, even if after a time
under climatic influences, or slackness of the conductor, the surfaces of the slots d²
or journals e¹ of the rolls should become oxidised.
These auxiliary connecting wires k, k, in case of a breakage or severing of the

page_text: conductor a would tend to hold the rollers e or journals e¹ and lever f in the
slots of the rails, thus maintaining the electric connection with the broken parts
of the conductor, and frustrating the subject of our invention, but this is entirely
avoided by the cutter or cutters g, lever f, and spring i, which operate as
follows:-
As soon as the conductor a is broken or severed from any cause, the helical spring i
will draw the lever towards the post or carrier b, thus causing the cutter to sever
the wires k, k, and thus release the rolls e, e, so that the same, with the lever f, can
fall out of the slots in the rails d, d, of the clip. The spring being firmly attached
at the one end to the post or carrier, at the other end to the lever will prevent the
latter with the part of the conductor from falling to the ground so as to cause injury
to anyone. As will be seen from the drawings, the slots de run in opposite direction
to those in the Figures 1 to 4 of the Complete Application, No. 10076, dated
30th June 1890, in consequence of the employment of the lever, but if instead of
the lever being arranged to depend from the device, as shown in the drawings, the
same is arranged in the opposite position so as to extend beyond the said device, the
slots will have to be correspondingly reversed, or the lever can be provided with
shorter depending arms, with which the spring i would so gear that the longer
arm would be caused to turn with the rolls e away from the post before falling out of
the slot.
It will be evident that either one or more connecting wires can be used of any
suitable section, and that the form and size, as well as the arrangement of the
parts, can be varied in many ways without departing from the nature of our said
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1-Our improved automatic releasable attachment for conductors of electricity,
characterised by the clip d, d'. e, e, d³, d' and the conductor a, in combination with
the lever and bolt h, substantially as specified and shown.
2: An improved automatic releasable attachment for conductors of electricity,
characterised by the clip d, d, e, e, d³, d, and conductor a, in combination with
the lever f, spring, bolt cutters g, and wires k, substantially as specified and
shown.
3-Our improved safety attachment for conductors for conducting electrical.
currents, substantially as specified in the foregoing Specification, and illustrated in the.
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of August 1890.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Associate Agent.