A Method and Apparatus for Electrical Propulsion of Vehicles.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 2nd June, 18:2-Accepted, 6th Aug., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Method and Apparatus for Electrical Propulsion of Vehicles.
I, FRANCIS EDWARD ELMORE, of Spring Grove, Hunslet, Leeds, in the County
of York, Electrometallurgist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to means of electrically propelling a vehicle along a
railway, tramway or other course.
Between the rails or trams I lay two parallel lines of iron bars having teeth at
intervals projecting towards each other but not meeting.
To a suitable frame carried on the vehicle which to be propelled I attach an
electro magnet consisting of a horizontal bobbin with a pole piece extending down
from each end of it nearly to touch the continuous parts of the two parallel bars.
This magnet being excited by a continuous electrical current and being carried
along by the vehicle magnetises by induction the successive portions of the bars
under its pole pieces, thus causing the teeth projecting from the bars to have
opposite polarity. I also attach to the frame above mentioned a number of shorter
electro magnets the pole pieces of which extend down nearly to touch the teeth of
the bars, and excite these by electric currents alternated by a suitable commutator
timed to the speed of the vehicle so that each pole piece as it is approaching one
of the teeth is of opposite polarity and therefore is attracted, and as it is leaving
The successive
the tooth it is of the same polarity and is therefore repelled.
attractions and repulsions of these pole pieces constitute the propelling force of the
vehicle. When the vehicle attains such a velocity that the time of passage of 'its
bobbins from tooth to tooth of the bars coincides with the period of alternation of
an alternate current dynamo machine the bobbins may be switched into circuit with
that machine.
Dated this 9th dor of Avgust 1891
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Method and Apparatus for Electrical Propulsion of Vehicles.
I, FRANCIS EDWARD ELMORE of Spring Grove, Hunslet, Leeds in the County
of York, Electrometallurgist, 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:―
My invention relates to means of electrically propelling a vehicle along a
railway, tramway or other course, as I shall describe referring to the accompanying
drawings which illustrate diagrammatically my invention. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal
section, Fig. 2 is a plan and Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections on the lines X.X
and Y Y of Fig. 2 respectively.
Between the rails or trams (which are not shewn) I lay in sections two parallel
lines of iron bars A and A' having teeth a al projecting towards each other but
not meeting. To a suitable frame carried on the vehicle to be propelled I attach
an electromagnet consisting of a horizontal bobbin B with pole pieces N S
extending down from its ends nearly to touch the continuous parts of the
bars A. A respectively. This magnet being excited by a continuous electrical
current and being carried along by the vehicle, magnetises by induction
the successive portions of the bars A A¹, thus causing the teeth a to have

page_text: one polarity say S and the teeth a¹ to have opposite polarity say N.
I also
attach to the frame on the vehicle a number of shorter electro magnets C the pole
pieces d d of which extend down nearly to touch the teeth a a¹ respectively, and I
excite these electromagnets by electric currents alternated by a suitable commutator
timed to the speed of the vehicle so that each of the pole pieces d'd', as it is
approaching one of the teeth a a', is of opposite polarity to the tooth and is therefore
attracted, and as it is leaving the tooth it is of the same polarity and therefore is
repelled. The successive attractions and repulsions acting on the pole pieces d d'
constitute the propelling force of the vehicle. The vehicle may carry an alternate
current dynamo machine into circuit with which the electromagnets C may be
switched when the alternations of current of the machine coincide with the
alternations of polarity required in the magnets. The electromagnet B may be
energised from the alternating current machine by employing a suitable commutator
synchronising with the alternations of the generator. Obviously the vehicle may
be provided with more than one electromagnet B and with a greater number of the
magnets C as, for instance twice as many of these in a given length as there are
teeth of the bars A A¹ in the same length.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described method of propelling a vehicle electrically by the
alternate attraction and repulsion of the poles of alternating electromagnets carried
on the vehicle by teeth of stationary iron bars inductively magnetised from an
electromagnet of constant polarity also carried on the vehicle.
2. For effecting electrical propulsion in the manner above referred to, a vehicle
carrying a constant electromagnet B and several alternating electromagnets C in
combination with stationary toothed iron bars A A' substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of June 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant