Improvements in the Closed Conduit System of Electric Railways.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1895-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Closed Conduit System of Electric Railways.
1, WILLIAM SHARKEY HULL, of 626 Elm Street, Dallas, in the County of
Dallas, and State of Texas, United States of America, Gentleman, 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 electrical propulsion and is designed primarily for use
in connection with street and other railways.
Among the objects of the invention are to provide a safer and more
economical use of the electrical current, a more economical form of construction of
conduit and its appurtenances to facilitate repairs in case of damage to the parts,
a remedy for air compression within the hollow conductor or conduit, and the
prevention of deleterious effects of momentum in a moving bridge or switch.
A further object and advantage is the diminution of the disturbance of street
traffic during repairs of the conduit.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following
description thereof and the novel features of said invention will be particularly
pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the drawings:-
:―
Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section of the conduit with a trolley and depending
magnet in elevation.
Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of a conduit embodying the invention in a
modified form.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a pair of spherical bridges or switches such as are
employed in the conduit illustrated in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation and section of the form of bridge or switch employed
in connection with the conduit illustrated in Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of the line and its connections with the
conduit and the connection of the latter with a motor upon a car, and with
the rail.
Fig. 6 is a detail of one of many forms of joint which may be employed for the
sections of the conduit.
Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.
This invention relates to that class of conduits which are formed in sections, a
portion only of which are in connection or charged with the electric current and
the remaining portions of which are dead and uncharged, the former condition
existing when a travelling switch, so-called, is within a given section, and the latter
condition when said switch is not within the section. There has been employed
heretofore as a means of throwing certain sections of a sectional conduit into line
and rendering the section in which the switch may be, alive, a switch embodying au
electric motor for propelling the same through the conduit.
It has also heretofore been essayed to propel the switch by means of an electro-
magnet depending from a car to attract said switch and cause it to travel along in
the conduit as the car moves over the same. Without entering into a detailed
statement of the disadvantages of this pricr construction further than to mention
the complication of an electrical motor securely bidden from inspection and control
of its orderly operative condition in the one form as heretofore employed, and the
excessive weight and somewhat complicated construction of the switch heretofore
LD...

page_text: employed in the other form above mentioned, it is proper to state that in my
invention there is embodied a switch of exceeding simplicity in construction and
greatly diminished liability to disarrangement and damage in use which would
disqualify it for the work which it is intended to perform.
Referring to Fig. 5 for the purpose of obtaining a general idea of the invention,
regardless of certain specific details of construction, let A represent the dynamo in
the power house, B the main wire, D, D, branch conductors from the main wire to
sections Ex of the conduit. These sections are insulated from each other at the
points x, x, and within them from end to end of the road are movable switches F,
which may be one or more in number and of spherical form or elongated. If two
balls, discs, or elongated switches are used they may be connected by any suitable
conductive flexible or other material which will permit the one ball to rest by
gravity upon the lower member of the conduit while the other ball may be elevated
into contact with the upper member of the conduit by the attraction of the magnet.
The following switch or traveler may be of electric and non-magnetic material.
K represents a trolley adapted to be drawn along over the top of the sectional
conduit and in contact therewith. H (Fig. 1) represents an electro-magnet
depending from the car or the trolley frame as desired, so as to attract and draw
along the switches F by magnetic attraction and cause them to travel with and in
the same direction as the car from which the trolley is projected onto the conduit.
I indicates a motor mounted on the car which is connected by a suitable
conductor J with the trolley K and by another conductor J with the rail acting
as a ground. As no connection is shown between the top and bottom of the
sections in the diagram, the switches Fare provided for conducting the current
from said bottom line to the top line of each section in which the switches may be.
The current therefore passes through the switches to the top of the section and
from thence to the trolley K, through the conductor J' to the motor I and from
thence through the conductor J to the ground. It will be noticed that all forward
and rear top sections of the entire road are dead, that is, not charged with
electricity, whereby the live sections of the conduit are always beneath the moving
car and a person may with safety make contact with the conduit at all points
except beneath the car.
For a more particular description of one form of construction which may be
employed in the sectional conduit reference is had to Figure 1 wherein E represents
a channel bed plate which rests upon a tie or in any other suitable manner in the
road bed. There may be provided in the bottom of the bed plate E grooves for
the reception of the main wire B and return wire C of the circuit, and these
preferably embodied in insulating material as shown. Cap rails E' preferably of
angular outline as shown, are placed over the upper edges of the said walls of the
hed plate and secured thereto by bolts or rivets or other suitable securing devices.
Within the bed plate are arranged all of the remaining parts of the conduit,
which, like the bed plate are formed in sections of suitable length. The bed plate
may be of any desired and convenient length while the remaining portions of the
conduit proper is preferably formed in sections of such length that two or more of
the same may equal the length of a car. E2 represents the upper portion of the
conduit proper. It is also the upper portion of the electrically conductive portion
of the conduit. It is substantially U-shaped in cross section and provided with
lateral flanges E 3. Below the flanges is arranged a metal plate M which bridges
a space between the said walls of the section E2 and is provided with perforations
for the entrance of the branch conductors D, which extend from the main line B to
a lower portion E4 of the conduit proper arranged within the section E2 and
embedded in insulating material as shown. The upper surface of the portion E4
is concave to adapt it to the switch employed in connection with the conduit as
above described. In Fig. 1 the interior contour of the conduit E2, E4 is such as
to adapt it to and permit the use of spherical switches F, Fig. 3 while the interior
of the conduit E2 E4 illustrated in Fig. 2 is adapted for the employment of an
elongated switch illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

page_text: Insulation of the parts is clearly illustrated in the drawings and is such that the
bed plate E is absolutely separated electrically from the conduit proper, while the
lower portion of said conduit is absolutely separated electrically from the upper
portion thereof. This construction also provides for a very advantageous feature
of the invention in that passing wagons and other street traffic in crossing the
conduit are borne wholly by the upper portion thereof, so that any compression or
shock is resisted by a substantially all metal structure. The depending side walls
of the section E 2 rest practically upon the solid portion of the bed plate E, the
insulation between the plate M and said bed plate being if desired of indurated
fibre or any other insulating material which is adapted to resist great pressure
without injury. This structure also provides a means for preventing a displacement
of the lower portion E 4 of the conduit proper with relation to the upper portion
whereby the interior contour of the conduit is preserved so as to always insure a
free and unobstructed passage of the switches employed whatever be their form.
It will be noted that there is a longitudinal separation of the two principal
parts of the conduit proper and the interposition between said parts of insulating
material. This is apparent at the points N in Fig. 2 and the same separation and
presence of insulation occurs in Fig. 1. As the lower portion of the conduit is
without side walls it will be noted that when a spherical switch is not present there
is absolute separation of the two members of the structure so that in both forms
of construction the continuation of conductive material from the branch D to the
trolley which travels along the upper surface and the upper portion of the conduit
is had only by and through a switch located between the upper and lower portions
of a section of the conduit.
The switches may be of any desired construction so far as providing means for
giving electrical conductivity from one portion to the other of the horizontally
divided conduit. In order to provide for the sure and certain and effective
magnetic attraction of the switch its material is as a matter of course such as to be
affected by the depending magnet. But I have furthered this assurance of
attraction by reducing the weight of the switch in that it is made hollow, and to
reduce to a minimum the friction of the switch against the interior surface of the
conduit I construct the same in spherical form, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. It
is apparent that a single ball or switch may be employed but there may be
conditions where two or more ball-switches would be preferable. Therefore any
desired number may be employed so long as they can be influenced by the magnets.
It will be found in practice that the balls always maintain sufficiently close contact
whether a rolling or sliding one-and the degree of which contact may be varied
by varying the strength of the magnet. In all instances the balls freely move
along the conduit.
In order to prevent the compression of air in front of the moving switches not
only may the ends of the conduit be left open to the atmosphere at the end of the
road or a portion thereof but to further insure a remedy against air compression
in front of a switch I provide the same with openings F1 which permit the passage
of air through the switch. By constructing the switches in hollow form another
material advantage is secured in that the advancement of the switch beyond the
control of the magnet when a car is stopped suddenly is prevented as they are less
liable to travel by momentum than when formed of solid material or when
constructed in a complicated manner with the addition of the weight of coils of
wire or of a motor attached thereto for the purpose of propelling the same through
the conduit. The magnet for attracting the switches may be suspended or carried
by the car or the trolley in any suitable manner.
This is a detail of construction which is capable of embodiment by any person
skilled in the art and is practically securable in many various ways.
I have shown the trolley K as rotatably mounted in a trolley frame G₁ secured
to or formed as a part of a trolley pole G 2 which may be connected in any suitable
nanuer with a car so as to present the trolley upon the upper surface of the conduit
in such manner that it may rotate upon and travel along the same.
The shaft G 3

page_text: upon which the trolley is mounted may serve as a member of a horseshoe magnet H
or said member may be continued up and connected to the trolley frame G' as
indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the principal purpose being to suspend the
magnets or otherwise carry them along in sufficient close proximity to the switches
in the conduit to influence the same by magnetic attraction and cause them to
travel along in the conduit during the passage of the car along over the same. By
this construction of conduit and switch whether the same be spherical or elongated
the transference.of the switch from the main line to turnouts, side tracks and other
branches is greatly facilitated. It must be remembered that the mechanical switch
for turning a car from one track upon another being in advance of the trolley K
and of the magnet H throws the magnet to one side or the other of the main
conduit so that by placing the branch conduit back of the mechanical switch with
relation to the direction in which the car is moving the electrical switches F are
attracted by the magnet to the same side of the main conduit that the car is
directed by the mechanical switch of the track upon which the car rides.
From these facts and by reason of the light and easily attracted switches which
I provide no extraneous devices whatever are required in the conduit or in the
switches For their equivalents for the purpose of changing the direction of the car
and the switches from one line or a portion thereof to another. This results in
great economy in construction as well as in operation.
The sections of the conduit at their ends may be connected with each other by
any suitable joining or joints. They may be flush or they may be socketed and
tenoned as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6, the section E 2 having in one instance a
socket E 2x, and in the adjoining sections a tenon E2×2, the metallic surfaces of
each of the surfaces being separated by insulating material as shown.
The form of conduit illustrated in Fig. 2 is substantially the same in principle
as that already described except as before stated the lower section E 4 is provided
with a deeper groove and with flanges so as to be bolted to the upper portion E 2
of the conduit, having as a matter of course as shown insulating material between
the flanges of each portion.
In laying this conduit the bed plate is first placed in position, the conductors
arranged therein embedded as shown and then the conduit proper having previously
been completed and insulated in its two principal parts and secured together and
in the form shown in Fig. 1, having the plate M fixed in place, is put upon the
insulating material within the bed plate when the latter is completely filled with
insulated material and finally the cap plates E¹ put in position and secured. This
insures perfection and rigidity of mechanical connection of the parts and perfection
of insulation for electrical purposes as well as the ready removal of any section
along the road for inspection and repair at any time.
These features have a material bearing upon the question of cost of construction
in so far as to overcome the main disadvantage of overhead construction as
compared with underground construction in electrical propulsion.
The complete embedment of the conductors within the bed plate in insulating
material also contributes largely to economy in current. Each of the members of
the conduit proper are insulated from each other and each are insulated from the
bed plate and these are a further source of economy in the current as well as a
material contribution to safety to the public against injury from the current. The
structure as a whole is compact and formed on lines of easy manufacture by rolling
processes and may be assembled by unskilled labour, all of which points are
essential to an economical institution of plants of this character. Furthermore,
the conduit as a whole is absolutely watertight and the conductive portions thereof
completely insulated from contact with the ground.
As before stated I do not confine my invention to the exact details of construction
herein shown and described, as it is apparent that the same advantages may be
secured by modifications of said construction which would occur to any person
.skilled in the art to which my invention relates.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my sail inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A conduit having two conducting portions, the one being supported inde-
pendently of the other and insulated therefrom, substantially as specified.
2. In a conduit, an upper conducting portion, a lower conducting portion and
a support, the lower conducting portion being insulated from and supported
independently of the upper conducting portion, and the latter insulated from and
supported by said support, substantially as specified.
3. A bed plate having a space for the reception of conductors and for insulating
material for the same and a conduit arranged within said bed plate formed of
horizontally separated sections insulated from each other and from the bed plate,
substantially as specified.
4. A moving switch for a conduit consisting of hollow conductive material and
provided or not with apertures in the walls thereof, as specified.
5. A hollow spherical switch, as specified.
6. The combination with a conduit comprising insulated conductive parts, of a
hollow perforated switch, substantially as specified.
7. A conduit for the purpose described formed into sections insulated from each
other and directly connected with the main branch of an electrical circuit as
specified.
8. A conduit formed in insulated conductive sections, a complete metallic circuit,
a generator and direct connection between the main of said circuit and the sections
of the conduit, as specified.
9. The combination of a car, a motor thereon, a sectional conductive conduit,
trolleys connecting the motor with sections of said conduit, connections extending
from said sections to an electrical circuit and interposed traveling switches within
the conduit, and a magnet moving with the car for attracting the switches, as
specified.
10. The combination of one or more metallic balls with a sectional conduit
made of electrical conductive material in two members electrically separated from
each other from adjacent sections and from the ground, each lower member of
each section electrically connected with a continuous electrical insulated cable, and
a permanent magnet arranged above and in proximity to the conduit, substantially
as specified.
11. One or more hollow metal balls in combination with an electric metal
conduit the cross section of which interiorly is in the form of two segments of a
circle each insulated from the other and from the ground and suitable connections
with a source of electricity, and a magnet movably supported in proximity to said
conduit, substantially as specified.
12. A hollow sliding or rolling traveler or switch made of metal and attractable
by a magnet, in combination with a movable magnet and with a conduit formed in
sections insulated from each other transversely and in parts insulated from each
other horizontally one of said parts being in connection with a source of electricity
and a movable brush or trolley contacting with the other horizontal member of
each section, substantially as specified.
13. In a conduit, the combination of a bed plate, a main and return insulated
cable arranged therein, feed wires extending from the former to portions of a
horizontally and transversely divided and insulated sectional conduit, conductors
contecting said cable with a source of electricity, movable switches of conductive
material arranged to travel within the sectional conduit, and a trolley and a
magnet mounted on a car, substantially as specified.
14. A sectional conduit having the sections thereof divided longitudinally and
insulated from each other, the upper horizontal section being in the form of a
segment, a spherical movable switch within said segment, a trolley adapted to
contact upon the outside of said segment, and means for moving the switch,
substantially as specified.

page_text: 15. The combination with a car, of an electro-magnet, a tubular conduit,
and a metal ball adapted to travel within the conduit by attraction of the
magnet.
قيمم
T
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.