AN IMPROVED TELPHER LOCOMOTIVE
Year: 1884

page_text: I FLEEMING JENKIN of 3 Great Stuart Street Edinburgh Civil Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "AN IMPROVED TELPHER
LOCOMOTIVE" to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to produce a cheap form of locomotive in which
the useful adhesion shall be large and the useless friction small.
I obtain sufficient adhesion for most cases met with in practice by coupling two
driving wheels which adhere to the rail by the friction due to the weight of the
locomotive which they carry and by employing for their'tyres a material having à
higher co-efficient of friction than that of metal on metal. I effect the coupling by
a special connection which when this is necessary leaves the coupled wheels as free
to follow curves as the wheels of the trucks described in a provisional specification
which I have already filed.
The locomotive consists of a motor preferably placed with its axis horizontal and
across and under the line.
Direct from this axle or from a second shaft geared with this axle I lead a belt
or pitch chain round pullies on. two parallel axles across and over the line. The
continuous belt or chain serves to couple these two axles. The two axles drive
two V driving wheels by means of gimbals or a Hooke's joint the pins of which
are in the vertical plane which contains the axis of the rail when the locomotive is
hanging vertically. Each Hooke joint is inside the rim of the V driving wheel
which is supported by a projecting horizontal shaft or pin. This shaft or pin is
carried in a bracket which swivels on a vertical axis immediately over the centre
of each wheel-the pin or eye of this swivel is carried by the frame which supports
the motor and three pullies. I make the tread of the V pullies of india rubber
or
other material such as is or might be used for the tread of bicycles:
When less adhesion is required only one wheel need be driven from the motor
while the other is left free to swivel, or the india rubber tread may be omitted and
the wheels coupled. Where sharp curves are not met with the driving wheels may
be rigidly fixed to the shafts of the pullies.
"

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I FLEEMING JENKIN of 3 Great Stuart Street Edinburgh Civil Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "AN IMPROVED TELPHER
LOCOMOTIVE" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:--
The object of this invention is to produce a cheap form of locomotive in which
the useful adhesion shall be large and the useless friction small.
I obtain sufficient adhesion for most cases met with in practice by coupling two
driving wheels which adhere to the rail by the friction due to the weight of the
locomotive which they carry and by employing for their tyres a material having a
higher co-efficient of friction than that of metal on metal. I effect the coupling by
a special connection which when this is necessary leaves the coupled wheels-as free
to follow curves as the wheels of the trucks described in a specification which 1
have already filed No 3796 in the year 1884.
The locomotive consists of a motor preferably placed with its axis horizontal and
across and under the line.
Direct from this axle or from a second shaft geared with this axle I lead a belt
or pitch chain round pulleys on two parallel axles across and over the line. The
continuous belt or chain serves to couple these two axles. The two axles drive
two V driving wheels by means of gimbals or a Hookes joint the pins of which
are in the vertical plane which contains the axis of the rail when the locomotive is
hanging vertically. Each Hooke joint is inside the rim of the V driving wheel
which is supported by a projecting horizontal shaft or pin. This shaft or pin is
carried in a bracket which swivels on a vertical axis immediately over the centre
of each wheel the pin or eye of this swivel is carried by the frame which supports
the motor and three pullies. I make the tread of the V pullies of india rubber or
other material such as is or might be used for the tread of bicycles.
When less adhesion is required only one wheel need be driven from the motor
while the other is left free to swivel or the india rubber tread may be omitted and
the wheels coupled. Where sharp curves are not met with the driving wheels may
be rigidly fixed to the shafts of the pullies..
In order that my said invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS..
Figures 1 and 2 show an end and side elevation of a locomotive. The driving wheels
are lettered A and A¹, these are in this example coupled by the two pitch chains
which engage with the two pitch wheels C and Cl keyed on the shaft D; in
another form which I have employed a single pitch chain running round the three
pitch chain wheels all placed in one plane. The motor. M lying horizontally across
the line drives the shaft D by ordinary gearing this part of the arrangement may
be varied in many ways. The two axles e and e¹ drive the wheels A and A¹ by what
הד
°

page_text: receiving the upright pin or axis P. P¹ is a bracket fixed to the pin P and carrying
in a bearing the shaft or pin A* which projects from the side of the driving
wheel A. A jaw ele on the shafte has bearings in which the pins f¹ f¹ of the
block fare free to turn.. The pin g¹ g² fast in the wheel A passes freely through
the block fat right angles to f¹ f; the axes of ƒ ƒ and g₁ g³ are both in the
central plane of wheel A when the shaft e is at right angles to that plane; but this
shaft is free to move through any moderate angle out of the perpendicular to the
plane as shown in Figure 4; thus the driving wheel A is left free to follow any
curve on the road by swivelling with its frame on the pin P; the two coupled
shafts e and e° driven by the chain turn the driving wheels through the pins f
and g¹ g; by preference I form the end of the jaw e¹ e¹ open as shown in Figure 5
to avoid the necessity for perfect fitting in the Hookes joint but the details of
the Hookes joint admit of obvious and well known variations. The tread of the
V pulleys or driving wheels A -A¹ made of india-rubber is shown at a. a. and
the details by which it can be inserted and readily changed after wearing out are
easily intelligible from the drawing. In place of india rubber, leather or wood
might be employed but less advantageously.
It is clear that only one wheel might be used as a driving wheel driven by a
single chain or belt of any kind in this case the second wheel might have the pin P
or be without it; the pin P for the driving wheel would be useful although the
coupling were omitted.*
I find the addition of the india rubber tread or of a tread formed of some material“
having a high co-efficient of friction is a very important improvement enabling me
in many cases to dispense with the nest grips described by me in previous Patents.
I am aware that india rubber treads have been used for large traction engines to give
cohesion but I believe the material to be unsuitable for these heavy loads and on
the other hand to be specially suitable for the weights of from 1 to 2 cwt which
come on the wheels of my locomotive and to be specially suited to the round
uniform rod used as a roadway in telpher lines as shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A locomotive with two gravitation driving wheels coupled but both or either
of them free to turn on a vertical axis.
2. A locomotive with one gravitation driving wheel free to turn on a vertical
axis.
3. A telpher locomotive with a driving wheel provided with a tyre or tyres of
vulcanised india rubber or other suitable non-metallic material having a high co-
efficient of friction on the metal of which the supporting bar or rail is composed.
4. A telpher locomotive with a driving wheel carried by a bracket which swivels
on a vertical axis and is driven through a gimbal or Hookes joint.
5. Telpher locomotives substantially as herein described.
t
1007
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.