A New System of Electrical Propulsion for Cycles and Common Road and other Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 16th Jan., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New System of Electrical Propulsion for Cycles and Common
Road and other Vehicles.
I, ROBERT ALFRED MARPLES of Merridale, Oakfield Road, Selly Park, near
the City of Birmingham, Electrical Engineer, 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:-
My invention comprises a new overhead electrical system for propelling cycles
and common road and other vehicles, such as cycles for pace-making on racing
tracks and ordinary riding, public omnibuses, coaches, carts and the like. The
said invention has for its principal objects, first, to employ electrically-propelled
cycles for pacing purposes on racing tracks, and secondly, to dispense with the use
of rails for electrically propelled vehicles to run upon, and my said invention
consists in the first part, in the employment of twin overhead and fixed conductors,
one of which constitutes the working line or feeding conductor for transmitting
current and the other the return line for the receding current; in the second part,
in a new trolley or sliding shoe carrying the electrical contacts which are auto-
matically opened out for the purpose of causing the said contacts to continually
and uninterruptedly follow the conductor wires for collecting and returning the
current which is conveyed to and from a cycle or vehicle driven by an electric
motor through flexible leads or wires; in a third part, in rocking hangers or
supports for the fixed twin conductors which admit of lending themselves to the
angles which the lead wires take when the pacing machine is running either upon
a level plane or round banked corners and in an undefined course; and in a fourth
part, in supplementary supports for directing and sustaining the conductors in
approximate curves when rounding banked and other corners.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a diagramatic plan of a cycle
racing track particularly for record breaking by the aid of pace-makers, provided
with my improved system of overhead electrical conductors for conveying the
current to and returning it from an electrically propelled machine in motion
through the medium of a running trolley or shoe towed by the wires leading to the
cycle propelled.
Figure 2 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a portion of one of the banked
corners of the track. The chain dotted lines represent the return current conductor
whilst the dotted lines represents the working current conductor.
Figure 3 represents, upon a further enlarged scale, a section of the track upon
the dotted line x, Figure 1.
Figure 4 represents a like section upon the dotted line a³, Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of one of the rocking conductor-supporting brackets
used to carry the conductors along the straight part of the track and Figure 6 is
a front elevation of the same, whilst
Figure 7 represents one of the supplementary suspended brackets employed to
support the conductors at a bend in the track.
Figure 8 represents an elevation of the trolley running between the conductors
and conveying the working and return currents to and from the motor. This view
also shows the twin leads or flexible conductors connected at their lower ends to
the motor which drives the pacing machine.
It will be seen that the positive current is collected from the positive main

page_text: conductor by a brush or equivalent pressing upon one of the wheel contacts
whilst the negative current is passed to the return conductor through the flexible
lead running up one of the main arms of the trolley, which arms are made to open
out and follow up any deflection in the main conductors.
Figure 9 represents a vertical section of the trolley upon the dotted line ³,
looking from left to right and taken through one of the brackets.
Figure 10 represents a horizontal section of the runner of the trolley, upon
which the scissor-like opening arms terminated by roller or other conductor contacts
are carried.
Figure 11 represents the roller contacts of the trolley coming and running upon
the outer sides of the principal conductors instead of upon the inner sides of them.
In such a case, the spring would be arranged to draw the principal arms of the
trolley inwards.
Figure 14 represents how my system of pacing would be carried out. The
pacing tricycle carries two riders one of whom attends to the steering whilst the
other regulates the speed of the motor.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures
of the drawings.
a is a cement or like track, consisting of straight and level parts a', and bank
ends a², having around the inside border of the straight parts, and the inside and
outside borders of the curved ends, standards or posts b, b, 63, with the posts b, b',
having overhanging arms or gibs c, terminated by rocking brackets or conductor
supports d, jointed at d', and with the positive and negative conductors e and f,
soldered, wired or otherwise connected to, but insulated from, the inwardly
returned ends d2, of the brackets.
By carrying the conductors upon return ends, the contact rollers at the ends of
the arms of the trolley, for conveying and returning current are able to roll
continuously along the wires between which they are clipped and to clear the
brackets.
The posts 2, on the outer circumference of the corners of the track carry
lines g, suspending book end rods h, whose return ends are terminated by brackets h¹,
jointed at i, and with the return ends connected to, but insulated from the line or
conductor wires. The purpose of these intermediate or supplementary brackets is
for both supporting the conductors and causing them to approximate as near as
possible to a true curve whilst being carried round the corners, whilst the jointing
of the brackets admits of the conductors deviating from out of a vertical line
with one another and make them self adjusting to the angle which the lead wires
take when the propelled machine is running round the banked corner and not in
any defined course.
Referring now to the trolley, jis the runner having a deeply grooved
periphery, adapted to run upon the working current conductor, and insulated at
its middle, whilst its axle, runs upon ball bearings and has the opening-out
lever arms k and m, mounted upon it, with their short arms k', m¹, connected
together by a coiled spring n, which tends to close together the short arms and
open the long arms ², m², away from one another, thus causing the deep-grooved
contact or current-collecting rollers o and p, which are insulated at their naves, to
be constantly in close contact with the conductors f and e. Acting upon the faces
of these rollers are brushes q and r, respectively electrically connected with a
positive lead wire s, and a negative return wire t, which wiress and t are directed
down the arms k and m, and then along a supplementary arm u and through the
eye u', thereof, and from thence to the motor on the propelled vehicle w.
In ordinary pacemaking for record-breaking and like performances, it is difficult
at times for the pacing machine to lead the rider in order to screen him from
windage and to act as an incentive for him to put out his best efforts. Now by
employing an electrically propelled pacing machine, an almost unlimited speed,
sufficient for all practical purposes, can be acquired and kept up continuously
which is unattainable in multi-cycles manually driven in the ordinary way.

page_text: Means are provided on the machine for stopping, starting and steering the same
and also for regulating the speed in any desired way.
The trolley may be in the form of a shoe, with sliding arms carrying the contacts
for receiving and returning the current, and instead of the trolley or shoe being
hauled along by the machine being driven it may be arranged to carry a motor
which will drive the trolley either in front of or along with the pacing machine.
In propelling vehicles on common roads, my invention would be applicable to
the driving of omnibuses and like public vehicles, without having to employ rails
for the same to run upon. It can also be applied to the propulsion of tradesmen
and other vehicles and to the driving of cycles along ordinary roads.
It will be understood that the circuit between the twin conductors is made
entirely by the travelling trolley or shoe and that current from the dynamo or
other source of electrical energy passes possibly up one of the standards to the
continuous positive conductor or wire and is taken from thence by the trolley to
the motor of the machine or vehicle, from which it is returned to the continuous
negative conductor and back to the dynamo or source of energy see the diagramatic
view Figure 12.
Instead of the conducting wires being placed vertical above one another, they
may be arranged horizontally with respect to each other.
Further it does not necessarily follow that the conducting wires, which are
respectively in communication by suitable leads with the negative and positive
poles of a dynamo or other source of electrical energy, should be continuous as
they may be arranged in straight lines along a street or the like, see the diagramatic
view Figure 13.
The currents may be continuous, alternating or otherwise.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. In the electrical propulsion of cycles and common road and other
vehicles, employing twin conductors or twin continuous or nearly continuous
conducting wires respectively in communication with the positive and negative
poles of a dynamo or other source of electrical energy, and with circuit made
between them by a moving trolley, shoe or equivalent carrying flexible wires
leading to the motor of an electrically propelled cycle or vehicle, substantially as
described and set forth.
Secondly. In the system of electrical propulsion of cycles and common road
and other vehicles, as referred to in the first claim, carrying the twin conductors
upon insulated and jointed brackets, having returned or outstanding ends to which
the wires are soldered or otherwise connected, but which stand clear of the trolley,
shoe or equivalent substantially as described and set forth.
Thirdly. In the system of electrical propulsion of cycles and common road and
other vehicles as referred to in the first claim, the arrangement or banking of the
twin conducting wires and the means for suspending or causing the same to
approximate to a true curve in rounding a corner, substantially as and for the
purpose described and set forth.
Fourthly. In the system of electrical propulsion of cycles and common road and
other vehicles as referred to in the first claim, a travelling trolley, shoe or other
circuit maker, running between or on twin conductors, substantially as described
and set forth.
Fifthly. In the system of electrically propelling cycles and common road and
other vehicles referred to in the first claim, the construction of the travelling
trolley or circuit maker, carrying wires leading to the motor on the cycle or
vehicle and running upon or between the twin conductors, and provided with
scissor-like arms or equivalent means for automatically following up any deflection
in the said conductors, substantially as described and set forth.
Sixthly. The system of propelling cycles and common road and other vehicles

page_text: by electricity, arranged and operating in the manner and for the purpose
substantially as described and set forth.
Dated this 27th day of October 1896.
ROBERT ALFRED MARPLES,
By Henry Skerrett,
24 Temple Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.