Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Electricity to Electrically Propelled Vehicles on Railways and Tramways.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1896
COM DELE DE DOITIATION
Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Electricity to Electrically
Propelled Vehicles on Railways and Tramways.
I, AUGUSTE MÉGROZ, of Külsö Váczi út 1459 Budapest, Hungary, 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:-
This invention relates to apparatus for supplying electricity from the under-
ground conductors of electric railways and tramways to the motors of vehicles to be
electrically propelled thereon.
According thereto the supply of electricity is effected through contact making
devices distributed along the track and each of which comprises a rotary contact-
arm which in its normal position is without current and situated below the level
of the road, but which on the approach of a motor-vehicle is caused, by the
mechanical action of the latter, to turn its current-giving end up above the level
of the road, and is simultaneously placed in electrical connection with the under-
ground conductor.
Each vehicle carries a collecting device comprising two metal strips stretched
parallel to each other and adapted to engage with the projecting end of each
contact-arm and thus facilitates the transmission of the working current to the
motor of the vehicle. As soon as the vehicle has left a contact-device of this
kind, the contact-arm is turned down again into its initial position and is at the
same time placed out of conductive connection with the underground conductor.
The contact-devices are distributed along the track at intervals of distance
such that a device situated at the front of a vehicle is placed in operation before
the collecting strips of the vehicle have left the contact device at the rear
thereof.
The accompanying drawings illustrate an arrangement of current supply
apparatus in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a vertical section of the track and a motor-
vehicle situate thereon;
Fig. 2 is a plan corresponding thereto; and
Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a motor-vehicle located on a curved
portion of track.
Fig. 4 represents. a contact-device, partly in vertical section and partly in
elevation;
Fig. 5 is a plan of its switch, the cover being removed; and
Fig. 6 is a partial plan of the contact-device without its switch.
Fig. 7 shows a front elevation through a contact-device and one of its supports,
the device shown being one of those employed at curved portions of the track;
Fig. 8 is a partial underside view of the contact-device shown in Fig. 7; and
Fig. 9 is a section on the line of Fig. 7.
Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate in cross section and plan respectively, details of the
collecting device.
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are to a smaller scale than the remaining figures.
Below the track composed of double rails a a there are mounted, at suitable
distances apart, horizontal shafts a¹ each of which carries a contact-device

page_text: comprising a case A provided with a switch contained within a box B. On the
shaft a' there are fixed bent arms c and d (Figs. 1, 2 and 3), which are each located
between two rails a a constituting a pair and point in opposite directions. As
soon as a motor-vehicle has come suitably near to the contact-device, the arm c is
turned downwards by the action of a switching-in-roller C, which is carried by an
arm C', of the motor vehicle so as to move along in the space between the right-
hand pair of rails a a (Figs. 2 and 3) and is constantly pressed downwards by a
spring (Fig. 1). This turning downwards of the arm c causes an arm e of the
case A to turn upwards and effect the transmission of the current. Similarly, the
bent arm d of the shaft a' is adapted to be operated by a switching-off roller D,
which is carried at the rear of the vehicle by an arm D', is pressed down by a
spring d' (Fig. 1) and runs between the left-hand pair of rails à a (Figs. 2 and 3)
the result of this operation of the arm d being to turn the arm e of the contact-
device down again into its normal.position.
Just before the vehicle reaches a contact-device, the right-hand forward
switching-in-roller C turns the arm e upwards so that its knife-edge shaped end e
enters the space between a pair of metallic collecting strips fŕ stretched parallel
to each other ou the underside of the vehicle and thus transmits the current
thereto. The strips ff slide along the end el, which, on passing out of the space.
between the said strips, is turned down together with the arm e by the action of
the left-hand rear switching-off roller D.
The switch of each contact-device comprises a closed box B (Figs. 4 and 5),
which is fixed on the case A (Figs. 4 and 6) carrying the contact-arm e so as to
move with this arm e. Inside the box there are arranged two vessels g' and 9',
which communicate with each other by means of a pipe g. These vessels, which
are made of conducting material and are insulated from the walls of the box B,
contain a certain amount of mercury. The vessel g² is connected to the main
conductor H (Fig. 1) by means of a screwed-on-cover and an insulated con-
ductor k, which passes through a hole A' (Fig. 5) in the wall of the box B and also
through a hole in the lower pin 4 of the case A. The cover g of the receptacle g
consists of non-conducting material, and carries a contact-pin i, which projects into
the vessel and is connected by means of a clamp i, to an insulated conductor j.
The conductor passes through a hole j (Fig. 5) in the wall of the box B to the
outside thereof, and connects the contact-pin i with an insulated rod j³, which is
situated in the case A and is screwed to the contact-arm e. The arm e is surrounded
with insulating material and carries at its upwardly bent end the contact-knife e¹
already referred to.
The case A. is pivoted by its journals k, in plates k, k bolted at both sides to
the corresponding shaft a which consists of two symmetrical pieces and carries
the arms e and d. The plates & are provided with curved slots (Fig. 6) through
which the conductors & and j are passed.
As will be seen from the foregoing description, each contact-arm e, together with
the curresponding ense A and the switch-box B, is mounted in such a manner as
to rotate with the shaft a' and at the same time to rotate sideways about the axis
of the journals.
The shaft a' is mounted at both ends helow the rails a in bearings a' as shown
in Figs. 7 and 9, and carries studs a, which, in combination with studs a' tixed on
one of the corresponding rails a serve to limit the rotation of the shaft a¹ in each
direction.
When the device is in the position shewn in Fig. 4, the vessel is full of
mercury, whereas the vessel g¹ is empty, so that there is no electrical connection
between the vessel and the contact-stud i. But an electrical connection
is established between these parts as soon as the arme is rocked upwards into
the operative position indicated, by dotted lines in Fig. 4, the mercury flowing
quickly into the vessel g' and filling the same. The electric current now flows
through the conductor h, the two vessels gl and g, also the connecting pipe g and
the mercury contained therein, to the contact-pin i, and thence by the conductor,

page_text: the rod and the arm e to the contact-knife e', whence it is taken by the two
collecting strips f, and passes to the motor on the vehicle.
The contact-stripsf which are preferably of steel, extend along the vehicle and
are held and guided at both ends by head-pieces F (Figs. 2, 3, 10 and 11). Each
of these head pieces F is carried by a vertical insulated shaft f¹ which is rotatably
mounted in a guide-rod f fixed to the frame of the vehicle and is connected to the
switch of the vehicle-motor.
Each head-piece F carries two guide-pulleys around which the collecting
strips are passed, and also two curved guide-bars over whose mutually facing
surfaces the strips are passed so as to be kept taut at a small distance from each
other. Rollers (Fig. 11) prevent the strips from leaving the guide-pulleys 7.
The outer ends of each of the collecting strips fare connected together by means
of a wire rope m in which a spring m¹ (Figs. 1, 2, 3,) is inserted for the purpose
of keeping the strip falways taut and of enabling it to yield more readily to side
pressure.
It will be obvious that special arrangements are necessary to keep the current-
supplying apparatus in proper action when a vehicle is moving along curved
portions of the track. Now, as the sliding contact knife el is always normally
situated at the central plane of the line of rails, the head pieces F that carry the
collecting strips f must be guided by means of their axles f in such a manner that
the knife e¹ can enter between the strips f. For this purpose the front guide-
rod f (Figs. 2 and 3) is connected by means of a link f with the arm C¹ which
is pivoted to the vehicle frame and carries the switching-in roller C, the arrange-
ment being such as to constitute a parallel motion so that the guide-rod fis
always held parallel to the arm C. Similarly the arm D' carrying the switching-
out roller D is also connected to the rear guide-rod ƒ³.
Furthermore, since the strips fare stretched straight, it is necessary, as will be
clear from Fig. 3, that the knife e¹, with the arm e and the switch-box B, shall be
able to turn laterally, as, otherwise, the stripsf would be torn. This turning can
take place, since the arm e, together with the case A, is mounted in the way
herein before described so that it can partly rotate about the approximately vertical
axis of the journals k', and the cast plate G (Fig. 3) fixed over and covering
the contact-apparatus, is provided with a curved slot G' that extends towards the
centre of curvature of the curved portion of the track and in which the knife e¹, or
the adjacent end of the arm e, can move.
Finally it is further necessary that the laterally deflected arm e and together
with it the whole device shall be automatically brought back to its normal position
in the middle of the track. For this purpose there is fastened to the lower pin ³
of the case A (Figs. 7 and 8), an arm n arranged parallel to the arm e and against
opposite sides of which there are pressed by springs n', arms n', which are
rotatable on bolts n³ fastened to the lower plate k. Each of the springs n¹ is
fastened by one end to the corresponding bolt n³ and by the other to the adjacent
part of the corresponding arm n³.
As will be obvious, the apparatus herein before described may be variously
modified without departing from the essential features of the invention; thus, any
other suitable connecting liquid may be used in lieu of mercury; and instead of
permanently connecting the vessels g¹ and 9 to the underground conductor H and
the pin i to the arm e, the arrangement may be reversed, the vessels g' and 9' being
permanently connected to the arm e and the pin i to the conductor H.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Current supply apparatus for an electric railway or tramway in which
contact-arms e, which are arranged at intervals along the track and are normally'
turned with their current-giving ends e below the level of the road and are without
current, are successively turned upwards on the approach of a motor-vehicle, and

page_text: are thereby brought into electrical connection with the underground conductor H and
with two stretched collecting-strips f, which are carried by the vehicle and engage
with the current-giving ends e of the successive contact arms so as to close the
motor circuit substantially as herein before described.
2. In current supply apparatus of the kind specified in the preceding claim, the
combination with the contact arms e¹ of switch-devices B each comprising two
connected vessels gl and g' that are made of conducting material, and are charged
with a conducting-liquid are arranged to participate in the tilting motion of the
corresponding contact-arm e and are electrically connected with the underground
main conductor H, or with the contact-arm e, and a pin i which extends into one
of the vessels and is electrically connected with the contact-arm e, or with the
underground conductor H, and which, when the arm e is turned upward, dips into
the conducting liquid and thereby effects the electrical connection of the
contact-arm e with the underground conductor H, substantially as herein before
described.
3. Current supply -apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 1, in which each
contact-arm is provided with a-switch-device of the kind specified in Claim 2 and is
secured to a horizontal shaft a provided with a switching-in-arm cand a
switching-out arm d, these arms being operated in such a manner, by rollers C
and D carried by each motor-vehicle, that each contact-device comes into
operation as soon as the vehicle has approached sufficiently near to it and is put
out of operation after the collecting strips have liberated the corresponding
contact-arm e, substantially as described.
4. Current supply apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 1, in which the
metallic collecting-strips f, secured to each motor-vehicle are guided by rollers !,
are arranged near and parallel to each other, and are kept stretched by springs m²,
substantially as described.
5. Current supply apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 1, in which each
contact-arm e is provided with journals k¹ k, so that it can turn sideways on the
shaft a', and is arranged to be automatically brought back into its central position
by spring-arms n that act upon an arm n connected with it, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
6. In current supply apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 1, the arrange-
ment of the pieces that hold the collecting-strips each on an arm f', which is
rotatable in a horizontal sense and is, by a link f³, connected in such a manner
with the arm C¹ that carries the switching-in-roller C, or with the arm D' that
carries the switching-out roller D, that the said piece F is always carried in the
middle of the track and the proper engagement of the collecting strips with the
current-giving end e' of the contact-arm e, even when travelling over curves, is
ensured, substantially as herein before described.
7. Current supply apparatus for electric railways and tramways, constructed,
arranged, and operating as herein before described with reference to and shown in
the accompanying drawings.
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.