Street or other Railways.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 3rd May, 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Street or other Railways.
I, WHITCOMB LEONARD JUDSON, Mechanic, residing at Minneapolis, in the County
of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, one of the States of the United States of America,
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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings:
:-
My invention relates to that system of power street railways invented by me upon
which were granted to me Letters Patent of Great Britain, numbered 8,954 of 1889,
entitled Street Railways; and is in the nature of improvements in certain features
of the construction for the better application of the system therein described.
In that system, as will appear on reference to said above identified patent, I use a
sectional driving drum or shaft extending along the line of the car's travel and revolve
the same by stationary motors located at suitable intervals. The rotary motion of the
drum is converted into a rectilinear motion on the car by friction wheels connected
with the car adapted to engage with the drum at an angle to its axis, the wheels being
adjustable to different angles for varying the speed, power and direction of the car.
The drum sections are all straight, the necessary curvature and grades being secured
by angular adjustment at the coupling spaces. In other words, the curve sections of
the drum are relatively short and are arranged tangentially to the curve.
common
To render this peculiar converting mechanism most effective, all the friction
wheels should be capable of continuous and equably distributed traction regardless
of the curvature of grades of the track and drum, except when passing the coup-
ling spaces; the traction should be uniformly variable at will from a
source; and the friction wheels, in all their adjustments, should always take a
common pitch line, when all on the same straight section of the drum, and as near
an approximation thereto as is possible, when the car is traversing curves, with
some of the friction wheels on one straight section and some on another, straight
section, at an angle thereto. As the wheels are mounted in couples engaging
opposite sides of the drum, the wheels on the opposite sides must swing in opposite
directions, to take like pitch lines. The adjustment should be made from a commor
source.
My inventions herein descrbed are directied to these results. To this end, instead
of mounting the sets of friction wheels on a common spider frame or truck, all the
parts of which are rigid with each other, as shown in my former patent, I divide the
truck into two parts and mount one couple of wheels on each half of the truck. I
then connect the half trucks by a vertical pivot, in such a manner to permit either to
turn independently of the other in the horizontal but not in the vertical plane. The
vertical pivot shaft or king bolt is in turn pivotally connected to the car body so that
it may swing in the vertical plane. Hence the wheels will readily adapt themselves.
to curves and grades.
The car body is vertically adjustable on the car axles, from a single lever, thus
uniformly varying the traction. To effect this adjustment, in the construction shown,
the car is provided with hollow hangers, having sliding boxes in which the axles
are journalled, and a vertically movable block above the same, preferably spring
seated on the boxes. On the car are mounted shafts having eccentrics bearing
against said sliding blocks, operated from a common lever. Other constructions
might be used.
To effect the angular adjustment of the wheels, I employ a pair of draw bars or
rods, mounted in guides under the car body, provided at the same ends, with racks on
the interior opposing faces engaging with a pinion on a vertical shaft mounted on the
car and provided with a hand wheel for operating the same. Separate reach rods
[Price

page_text: extend from the draw bars to each of the wheels, the connection being made by ball
and socket joints, and all the wheels on the same side of the drum being connected to the
draw bar on that side. Hence on turning the hand wheel, the draw bars will be moved
in opposite directions, and, in virtue of the ball and socket joints of the reach rods and
the pivotal connection of the trucks, the wheels will take common pitch lines, or angles,
in their different adjustments.
In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated the above described form of the
inventions, as applied to a mine road, or tramway.
Therein like letters referring to like parts throughout, figure 1 is an end elevation ;
figure 2 a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal vertical section, with
some parts broken away; and figure 3 is a plan with some parts removed.
A is the road bed or track. B is the drum. C the bearing supporting the same.
D is the car body. E the car truck axles and E¹ the car wheels. The axles are
provided with extensions e beyond the outside of the wheels. F are the hollow hangers
rigidly secured to the car body. G are the sliding boxes therein for the extension e
of the car axles. H is the vertically movable block in the hollow hangers. his the
spring between the boxes and the blocks.
JJ are the shafts on the car frame provided with eccentrics K and K'. L is a
hand lever on the shaft J and L is a crank arm on the shaft J. L" is a connecting
rod uniting the two. M is a notched segment and M' a pawl on the lever ari L for
locking the same together. P P₁ are the two part or divided trucks provided with
hinged jaws p and pl. Qis the king-bolt or vertical shaft pivotally connecting the
double truck. The king-bolt is T-shaped or provided with right angled extensions q,
at its top journalled in suitable bearings q' fixed to the car body.
R are the friction wheels swivelled in the trucks P and P¹. S S₁ are the right and
left draw bars respectively provided with rack faces on their forward ends. S" are
the guides fixed to the underside of the car body in which the draw-bars are mounted.
T is the vertical shaft on the front end of the car, provided with pinion T¹ engaging
with the racks of the draw-bars and the hand wheel T" for operating the same.
W are the reach rods connected to the friction wheel and the draw-bars by ball and
socket joints X. Y is a carrying roller on the truck P P and Z is a coupling space
bridge on the boxes of the drum bearing C.
The ball and sockets constitute universal joints. Any other universal joints would
answer equally well.
The operation is evident from the description already given.
Having thus described my invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, what I claim is
1. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum extending along the
line of travel of a two part or divided friction wheel truck pivotally connected together
and having a common connection with the car and friction wheels on said truck
engageable with the drum at an angle to its axis.
2. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of a two part friction
wheel truck pivotally connected together and having a common connection with the
car and friction wheels on said truck angularly adjustable with reference to said drum
and engageable therewith.
3. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of a pivotally connected
two part truck having a common connection with the car and friction wheels mounted
on said truck in couples, one couple on each part of the truck, engageable with the
opposite sides of said drum.
4. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of a two part truck
pivotally connected together and having a common connection with the car and sets
of angularly adjustable friction wheels mounted in couples on said truck, one
couple on each part thereof, engageable with the opposite sides of said drum.
5. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of a two part truck, a
pivot bolt or shaft pivotally connecting the two parts of the truck and pivotally

page_text: connected to the car and friction wheels mounted on said truck engageable with said
drum, substantially as described.
6. The combination with the movable car and the driving drum of the two part
truck provided with hinge jaws the T-shaped king-bolt or pivot shaft uniting said
jaws and having its angular extensions journalled on the car, and the sets of
angularly adjustable friction wheels mounted in couples on said truck, one couple on
each part of the truck, and engageable with the opposite sides of said drum, sub-
stantially as described.
7. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of friction wheel
trucks connected to the car, angularly adjustable friction wheels mounted in couples
on said truck engageable with opposite sides of the drum, pairs of oppositely
movable draw bars on the car body and connections from the draw bars to the
wheels, all the wheels on one side of the drum being connected to the draw bar on
that side, substantially as described.
8. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of friction wheel
trucks connected with the car, angularly adjustable friction wheels mounted on said
truck in couples engageable with opposite sides of said drum, pairs of draw bars on
the car provided at the same ends, with racks on their interior opposing faces, a
shaft on the car provided with a pinion engaging both of said racks and connections
from said draw bars to said wheels, substantially as described.
9. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of friction wheel
trucks connected to the car, angularly adjustable friction wheels on said trucks
engageable with the drum and adjusting rods from the wheels to the car connected
to one or both by universal joints.
10. The combination with a movable car and a driving drum of friction wheel
trucks connected to the car, angularly adjustable friction wheels mounted on said
trucks in couples engageable with opposite sides of said drum, a pair of oppositely
movable draw bars on the car and reach rods from the respective draw bars to the
wheels on the same side connected to the same by ball and socket joints, substantially
as described.
11. The combination with the car and the drum of the friction wheel trucks
connected to the car, the angularly adjustable friction wheels in couples on the truck,
the oppositely movable draw bars on the car provided, at the same ends, with
opposing racks, the shaft on the car provided with a pinion engaging said racks, and
the reach rods from the draw bars to the wheels on same sides connected to both by
ball and socket joints, substantially as described.
12. The combination with the car and the drum, of the pivotally connected two
part truck having a common connection with the car, the adjustable friction wheels
in couples, one couple on each part of said truck, the oppositely movable draw bars
on the car and the reach rods from the bars to the wheels connected to the same by
universal joints, substantially as described.
13. The combination with the car and the drum, of the two part truck, the pivot
bolt connecting the parts of the truck and pivotally connected to the car, the
adjustable friction wheels in couples, one each on each part of the truck, the
oppositely movable draw bars on the car and the reach rods from the respective bars
to the friction wheels on the same side connected to the same by universal joints,
substantially as described.
14. The combination with a car track and a driving drum of car trucks movable
on said track, a car body on said trucks adjustable at right angles thereto and
friction wheel trucks secured to said car body, provided with friction wheels engage-
able with said drum at an angle to its axis, substantially as described.
15. The combination with a car track and a driving drum of car trucks movable
on said track, a car body on said truck adjustable at right angles thereto, friction
wheel trucks secured to said car body having friction wheels engageable with said
drum at an angle to its axis, and a system of levers on the car having its base of
resistance on said trucks for adjusting said car body to vary the traction of the
friction wheels, substantially as described.

page_text: 16. The combination with the car truck, the driving drum and the car trucks of
the car body having hangers provided with adjustable axle boxes in which the car
truck axles are journalled, eccentrics on the car body having their base of resistance
on said axles for adjusting the car body, friction wheel trucks secured to the car
body and friction wheels on said trucks engageable with said drum, substantially as
described.
17. The combination with the track, the drum and the car trucks of the car body
provided with hangers having car axle boxes adjustably mounted therein, the
sliding blocks spring seated on said boxes, the eccentric shafts on the car provided
with eccentrics bearing against said blocks, the common lever with connections
to said shafts for operating the same, the friction wheel trucks secured to the car and
the friction wheels on said friction trucks engageable with the drum, substantially
as described.
18. The combination with a movable car of a driving drum extending along the
line of travel, a friction wheel truck having a pivotal connection with the car per-
mitting a swinging movement lengthwise of the drums, and friction wheels mounted
on said track engageable with said drum.
Dated this 7th day of March 1800
WHITCOMB LEONARD JUDSON.
Abel & Imray,
Agents for the Applicant.