Improvements in connection with Electric Traction Systems.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Aug., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 24th May, 1897-Accepted, 26th June, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in connection with Electric Traction Systems.
We, HERBERT ALLEN, of 69 Stamford Street, Blackfriars, in the County of
London, and OLIVER PEARD, of 10 South Villas, Camden Square, in the County
of Loudon, Electrical Eugineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to certain improvements in the method of and means for
supplying electrical energy to a car or vehicle for the purpose of producing
locomotion, and to this end consists in maintaining an electrical communication
between a collector carried by the vehicle or car, and au insulated conductor or
cable, by means of contact plates, which are placed in the roadway either between
or near the rails, the said contact plates being normally on a level with the surface
of the road and being raised by the depression of a lever or plug which is inserted
in the head of one of the rails, this lever or plug being depressed by one of the
car wheels, when passing over it. The lever or plug actuates mechanism
(contained in a contact box) which raises the contact plate and switches the samo
into circuit. These contact plates are suitably insulated from the box containing
them in such a manner as to prevent electrical leakage when switched into
circuit.
The contact plates are so arranged and are of such design that the collector
carried by the vehicle will engage with them or catch and keep them up until the
car or vehicle has passed when they will return to their normal position, oither by
the force of gravity or of a spring contained in the contact box, or by a projection
or wheel on the rear of the car forcing them back, or by a combination of any of
these methods.
In one form of apparatus constructed according to our invention we employ a
pivoted lever carried by a box the end of which passes through a slot in the head
of the rail into the groove such lever when depressed by the ordinary wheel of
the car or the like raising through rods, levere, or the like, a contact plate
which when thus raised above the surface level may pass a pair of hinged contact
plates carried by the collector of the car, the contact plate when the pressure ou
the pivoted lever is released falling onto the upper sides of the hinged plates and
remaining in contact therewith until the plates are drawn away from under the
contact plate in the passage of the car which contact plate then falls into its
normal position.
It should be noted that the arrangement may be used for other than earth
return systems if two cables or the like are employed and in this case we may
employ a suitably insulated double contact plate or separate plates which are
raised and lowered to the collector one contact plate supplying the current and
the other returning it.
The collector may be made in parts for this purpose suitably insulated the
current passing up one side and down the other.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, Chartered Patent Agent,
For the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in connection with Electric Traction Systems.
We, HERBERT ALLEN, formerly of 69 Stamford Street, Blackfriars, in tho
County of London, but now of 59 Old Bailey, in the City of London, and OLIVER
PEARD, formerly of 10 South Villas, Camden Square, in the County of London,
but now of 16 Croftdown Road, Highgate, in the County of Middlesex, Electrical
Engineers, 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 :-
Our invention relates to certain improvements in the method of and moans for
supplying electrical energy to a car or vehicle for the purpose of producing
locomotion, and to this end consists in maintaining an electrical communication
between a collector carried by the vehicle or car, and an insulated conductor or
cable, by means of contact plates, which are placed in the roadway either between
or near the rails, the said contact plates being normally on a level with the surface
of the road and being raised by the depression of a lover or plug which is inserted
in the head of one of the rails, this lever or plug being depressed by one of the
car wheels, when passing over it. The lever or plug actuates mechanism
(contained in a contact box) which raises the contact plate and switches the same
into circuit. These contact plates are suitably insulated from the box containing
them in such a manner as to prevent electrical leakage when switched into
circuit.
The contact plates are so arranged and are of such design that the collector
carried by the vehicle will engage with them or catch and keep them up until the
car or vehicle has passed when they will return to their normal position, either by
the force of gravity or of a apring contained in the contact box or by a projection
or wheel on the rear of the car forcing them back or by a combination of any of
these methods. The contact boxes are arranged at convenient distances apart
along the length of the line.
One form of apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying drawings to show how
our invention may be carried into effect but it will be understood that the same is
not limited to the particular arrangement illustrated.
In these drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a section through the centre of the box and across a tramway rail.
Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. I partly in section.
Fig. 3 is a cross section of tho box on line - Fig. 1 looking in the direction
of the arrow.
Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view on a reduced scale of a bogie frame tramway car.
Fig. 6 is a part sectional view on a somewhat larger scale showing a car wheel,
a part of the box aud a collecting device.
.
Fig. 6 is an end elevation of a yoke for suspending a part of the car collector.
Fig. 7 is a sectioual side view of same.
Fig. 8 in a longitudinal section to a different scale of another part of the
collector, and
Fig. 9 is a cross section of same on line y-y Fig. 8 looking in the direction of
the arrow.
The box a is provided with a removeable lid or cover a¹ on the road surface
level and the box itself may be bolted or secured to the rail or to sleepers or
otherwise held in position by the side of the rail. Formed in the groove of the
rail is a slot 6 through which projects a plug o which may have a suitably shaped
head as shown and which is about level with the top of the rail or a little below
same. This plug passes through a stuffing box a' carried by a shoulder a* formed

page_text: in the side of the box nearest the rail. To the plug is pivotally attached a lever c¹
pivotally bung in turn upon a stud e. Means such as the screw daro provided in
the plug e for adjusting the height of same in the rail groove. The other end of
the lever e' is forked and carries blocks etc which have a sliding movement in a
groove or collar d.
The collar may bo of insulating material or have a lining d of same as shown
or the blocks may be of insulating material. The collar is secured to a
spindle d' which may be insulated as by the casing d' said spindle being supported
on a dropped portion a' of the cover af and passing through a stuffing box a in
Paid portion ita upper end carrying a contact plato e flush with said cover a'.
Between the collar d and a washer such as g of insulating material is secured an
arm h and between the washer g and the cover a¹ is a coil spring h' the tendency
of which is to keep the contact plate e in its normal position which is that
shown.
Secured to the lid of the box is a block i of insulating material to which are
attached copper strips or brushes; which are curved so as to preas with a spring
pressure upon a metal block k forming part of a pair of clips k in which is hold
the ends of the main conductor . The block k is attached to an insulating
block suitably held in the box. n is a block of wood or suitable insulating
material acting as a stop for the spindle dª.
It will be seen that pressure from the flange of a wheel will through the plug
lever o' and spindle d' raise the contact plate e which is held up by a collector of
suitable form euch as hereafter described the action raising the arm h and bringing
it into contact with the copper brushes ; which are in contact with the main
conductor as described so that the circuit is completed with the contact plate e.
When the latter is released the spring A draws it back to its seat withdraws the
arm from contact so that the plate e has no longer current on it and forces tho
plug back to its position.
In Figs. 4 to 9 is shown one means which we may employ for holding up tho
contact plate e and conveying the currents to the car motor. This consists of a
pair of plates oo which in the arrangement shown are in the form of hollow tubes
Figs. 8, 9, having inwardly sloping faces such tubes being attached to spring
arnis p p Figs. 4, 6, 9 secured to blocks p' of non insulating material which in this
case are shown as carried around the axle though other means may be employed for
carrying the plates or tubes o o. Suitable means are provided for conducting tho
current from the plates p to the motor.
It is desirable that the collecting device in whatever form it may take should
practically extend along the length of the car in order that current may be
continuously supplied to the motor carried thereby the arrangement enabling a
contact plate such as e to come into contact therewith at about the entering end
before the one then in contact with the collector leaves at the other end. A long
collector also enables the contact plate to be caught if the plug a should be missed
by the first wheels and raised by any of the succeeding ones.
In a bogie frame car such as indicated in Fig. 4 it will be obvious that going
round curves a certain amount of play must be allowed the collector to allow for
the different positions the wheel frames occupy and the length of the car and to
this end we prefer to employ some such arrangement as that shown where the
short lengths of plates or tubes o are connected by conductors g g cach wiro being
attached to a sliding block g Figs. 8 and 9 carried in the tubo o and secured in
the block by set screws q The block is connected by a spring to the end of
the tube so that it has a sliding movement and hence the conductor q is enabled to
yield. The conductors are suspended by the yokes which are flexibly suspended
from the car by springs t.
It will be seen that when the contact plate e is raised and energised it will strike
the sloping faces of the two plates or tubes o and spring same open so that the
plate enters between after which it is brought down by the spring & and rests on
the top of the plates o or falls by gravity onto same and thon by the travel of the

page_text: car passes onto the conductors 9 9 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and from thence onto
the rear plates o, o, and off same falling therefrom back to its place in the box
without any current on it.
Instead of the plates oo being held by springs and being forced apart by the
plate e they may be carried by rigid-arms or other means and be hinged so that
they will be simply lifted by the plate e which will then rest on the upper faces of
same as they fall back into position.
It should be noted that the arrangement may be used for other than earth
return systems if two cables or the like are employed and in this case we may
employ a suitably insulated double contact plate or separate plates which are
raised and lowered to the collector one contact plate supplying the current and the
other returning it.
The collector inay be made in parts for this purpose suitably insulated the
current passing up one side and down the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In an electric traction system having road contacts mechanically energised
the employment with such contacts and means for raising same, of collecting
devices carried by the vehicle adapted to hold up said contacts during the passage
of the car substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In an electric traction system having road contacts mechanically energised
the employment with such contacts and means for raising same of collecting
devices adapted to open to allow said contacts to pass through and to close and
hold up the same during the passage of the car substantially as and for the
purpose described.
3. The construction and arrangement of contact box for electric traction
systems substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 22nd day of May 1897.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patont Agent,
For the Applicants.