Improvements in and connected with Electric Traction.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Electric Traction.
I, EMILE BEDE, of 76, Rue Philippe le Bon, Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows.
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with electric traction.
The principle of my invention is to directly lead the electric current to a main
cable-conductor which is placed between the rails or outside the rails of the
permanent way, the copper of the cable being perfectly insulated except at certain
points where contact pieces which pass through india-rubber plugs can on the pas-
sage of a car be pressed in contact therewith by a band carried by the said
car and which serves as a current collector. The elasticity of the india rubber
breaks the contact as soon as the car has passed so that the india rubber plug
acts both as an insulator and as a spring, This principle can be carried into
practice in many ways but I will only describe those which appear to me to bo
the most practical.
The cable is formed of copper wires covered with insulating material and with
a single or double lead tube. At suitable distances apart (of one or two metres
for example) the lead tube and the insulating material are penetrated by pins
each of which forms the shank of a copper plate or disc which thus forms a con-
tinuation of the copper of the cable. At these points I may solder on to the lead
tube which encloses the cable, a short tube or neck bored to a conical shape so
that the copper plate or disc is located in the bottom of a kind of funnel but without
touching its sides. It is advantageous to run a good insulating substance, such
as pitch rosin or wax, all round the said plates or discs. 'Over each tube or neck
I screw a cover of ebonite or other suitable insulating material which presses
the india rubber plug into the tube. A contact maker passes through each plug,
the said contact makers each consisting of two hemispherical nuts, on the end
of a pin and of a flexible washer which is separated from the disc by a space of
two or three millimetres. It will be obvious that if pressure be applied to the
nut which passes through the cover, the washer and disc will be caused to make
contact so as to obtain current from the copper conductor, whilst as long as there
is no pressure the current will be interrupted, the cable being well insulated even
at those places where the copper thereof is laid bare.
.
can
Instead of securing short tubes or necks to the lead casing of the cable, I
fit thereto cast iron boxes or cases, made in two parts, in the interior of which
the copper of the cable is laid bare to receive clamping pieces forming the con-
tacts for the washers of the contact makers passing through the india rubber
plugs which are pressed into the necks of the boxes or cases by covers..
Having obtained in the above described manner or in any other suitable
manner a conducting cable completely insulated from the exterior from which at
suitable intervals contact can be established with the copper by pressing a knob,.
it will be obvious that such a cable can be used for electric traction.
The cable can be laid between the rails or outside the rails of the track beneath

page_text: a narrow channel at the bottom of which are contact knobs, the cable resting on
a bed of cement or asphalte and being protected by hard wood sleepers covered
with angle iron pieces laterally bolted to the said sleepers so that the heads of
the bolts, when embedded in the asphalte, cannot become loose. The tubes or the
boxes are located beneath the channel and the angle pieces are recessed at these
points so as to allow of the removal of the covers and of the india rubber plugs,
should they become damaged and therefore require to be replaced, without having
to stop the car service. Any of the knobs which may have become worn
also be replaced without removing the nuts. To collect current I attach to the
underside of the car a band sliding over the knobs. I form this band of jointed
sections or segments so that it may easily move over the curves and at the points
and crossings. The sections rest upon or slide over the knobs and depress them
by their weight. This band communicates with the electromotors on the car and
supplies them with current.
can
The channel in which the current collector moves may be narrow and may be
kept clear by brushes attached to the car; it may also at intervals be in communica-
tion with the drains by means of gutters.
With the arrangement which I have just described, derived circuits would
be formed between the contact pieces and the rails in rainy weather and espe-
cially when snow is being melted by means of salt. This is an objection appertain-
ing to all surface contact systems that I am acquainted with. I can, however,
avoid this and at the same time place the knobs quite out of the reach of foot
passengers, animals and vehicles by placing the cable with its boxes or tubes in
such a manner that the contact pieces shall have their axes horizontal; the boxes
may be placed outside the rails so that one of the rails is utilized to form one side
of the channel in which the current collector moves. Against this rail are placed
long blocks of cement which are cemented or bolted thereto and the tops of which
are recessed to receive the contact boxes and are provided with a
semi-circular groove for receiving half the conductor enclosed in the
lead casing. The said cable is protected by grooved sleepers of hard wood
suitably prepared and by angle iron pieces bolted to the cement blocks and to the
wood sleepers, all the nuts being embedded in the asphalte which is run in be-
tween the angle pieces and the pavement.
At intervals the cement blocks are separated by spaces (of from 0200 m. to
0'300 m. for example) forming gutters in communication with the drains, so that
the water can never rise in the small channel which contains the cable and wet
the surface of the boxes or of the necks or tubes or the interior surface of the angle
pieces. In order to protect the boxes from dampness, I tar them or run pitch or
similar material all round them.
The contact knobs, may, if required, also be protected from the wet by inclining
the boxes which would necessitate the underside of the current collector being
inclined.
In the preceding arrangements the current collectors consist of jointed bands
formed of sections of an insulating and resisting material such as leather or wood
covered on the two sides with metal plates. The plates on the rail side, slide
against the rail and against springs fixed to the rails ucarly opposite the contact
knobs.
On the sides of the plates which face the cable I screw soft copper plates which
can be replaced when worn. The leather or wood sections are attached to iron
blocks which provide the necessary weight for enabling the band to enter between
the knobs. The leather sections are also bevelled at their lower parts and the
metal plates are correspondingly shaped. The two ends of the band are also
gradually thinned or bevelled.
The iron blocks are united by springs which serve as hinges and some of these
blocks are suspended from the car or carry the axles of rollers which run upon
the rails or upon the angle pieces and which thus carry the band which may be
as long as the length of the carriage will permit so as to make contact with at

page_text: least two of the knobs with the object of preventing sparking. The iron plates
are well insulated from the iron blocks and are connected together by flexible
conductors and to the motor gear of the car by conductors and spring clips
allowing the car to be detached without breakage in case it should run off the
rails. For the same reason the band is attached to each end of the car by means
of a spring attachment which embraces a stud on a crank fixed at the lower end
of a vertical shaft adapted to be manipulated by the conductor of the car when
approaching the points.
.
At the points or where the rails cross I incline the bottom of the channel, in
which the current collector moves, upwards so as to form inclined planes on which
the said collector can rise and descend, the described construction of the jointed
band enabling the said band to follow the bottom of the channel. It is advan-
tageous to slightly groove the flanges of the rails in order to provide guides for
the band.
In another arrangement of current collector which possesses the great advantage
of almost entirely avoiding friction with the contact knobs I provide an endless
band formed of leather plates or sections covered with sheets of iron or copper
which are hinged together and overlap one another like the scales of a fish. The
band, which therefore forms a continuous and very flexible conductor, is stretched
over two pulleys turning freely on horizontal axles and enters the channel of the
conductor between the contact knobs and fixed knobs. As the pressure of
the knobs sets up greater friction on the band than the friction between the pulleys
and their axles the band will remain immovable with respect to the knobs when
held between them and the pulleys will roll therein and so cause the sections to
engage with and become disengaged from the successive pairs of knobs. Brushes
which lightly bear upon the plates or sections of the collector transmit the current
to the motor gear. To enable the band to be guided when changing the direction
of travel of the car I mount the pulley axles in bearings which the car conductor
can adjust to the right or the left hand as required.
The manner in which all the herein described arrangements are carried out
can be varied in many ways. Those which I have given as examples for the
construction of the conductor have the great advantage of allowing considerable
lengths of the complete conductor being made in the workshops and of their
insulation being perfectly ensured before they are fixed in position. They also
allow of replacing the india rubber plugs without interrupting the car service.
It is obvious that all the necessary accessories for keeping the channel clean
can be added to the current collector or arranged separately beneath the cars.
All the arrangements just described are quite adapted for the employment of
double conductors instead of causing the current to pass through the rails..
two cables, provided with necks or tubes or boxes, are placed side by side upon
the same concrete bed, the boxes being arranged alternately on the two cables
in order to separate the knobs communicating with the opposite polès of the source.
of current: A single current collector constructed. according to one of the pre-
ceding arrangements will pass between the opposite rows of boxes and electrically
connect the electro-motors of the car with the two cables.
The
In some cases the double cables can be arranged in the middle of the track or
at the side thereof and without using one of the rails to form one side of the small
channel in which the current collector moves. But there is nothing to prevent
one of the rails being utilized by forming thereon at suitable distances apart a
series of holes sufficiently wide to allow the necks of the boxes to pass into the same.
In an arrangement of this kind which appears simple and practical I secure an
additional rail, by means of tie-bars, to one of the rails. Each of these rails
carries its series of boxes, alternating in the above described manner and resting
on a bed of concrete run in between the rails and the pavement and made to
receive, the half of the lead casing of the cables, and the boxes. The top of the
cable can afterwards be protected by longitudinal caps or coverings and by

page_text: asphalte run into all the spaces. At intervals the parts of the rails are recessed at
the top to form channels communicating with the drains.
Dated this 26th day of August 1897.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in and connected with Electric Traction.
I, EMILE BEDE, of 76, Rue Philippe le Bon, Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, 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 improvements in and connected with electric traction.
The principle of the invention is to directly lead the electric current to a main
cable-conductor which is placed between the rails or outside the rails of the
permanent way, the copper of the cable being insulated except at certain points
where contact pieces which pass through india rubber plugs can, on the passage
of a car, be pressed into contact therewith by a long band carried by the said
car and which serves as a current collector. The elasticity of the india rubber
breaks the contact as soon as the car has passed so that the india rubber plug
acts both as an insulator and as a spring. This principle can be carried into
practice in many ways but I will only describe those which appear to me to be
the most practical.
In the accompanying drawing:
Figure 1 is a transverse section through the conductor, contacts and collector
of one arrangement for carrying out the invention;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of a part thereof:
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the cable having a box secured
to its jacket:
Figure 4 is a transverse section thereof;
Figure 5 is a transverse section of a current collector which presses horizontally
against contact pieces in a box similar to that shewn in Figures 3 and 4:
Figure 6 is an elevation of a part of this collector:
Figure 7 is an elevation of this collector drawn to a smaller scale and shewing it
moving on an inclined plane:
Figure 8 is a transverse section of a similar collector.pressing against a box,
the contact pieces of which have their axes inclined to the horizontal:
Figure 9 is a view of an endless collector carried by two wheels:
Figure 10 is a detail view of the same:
Figure 11 is a transverse section of two conductors the contact pieces of which
are in contact with a single collector and have their axes inclined to the hori-
zontal:
Figure 12 is a longitudinal section to a reduced scale of the general arrange-
ment of two similar conductors:
Figure 13 is a plan of this general arrangement; and
Figure 14 is a transverse section of two conductors applied to one of the rails 4
of a track and to an additional rail.
The cable is formed of copper wires C covered with the insulating material I
and with a single or double lead tube or jacket A. At suitable distances apart
(of two metres for example) the lead tube and the insulating material are pène-

page_text: trated by pins each of which forms the shank of a copper plate or disc D which
is thus a continuation of the copper of the cable. At these points I may solder
on to the lead tube which encloses the cable, a short tube or neck B bored to a
conical shape so that the copper plate or disc is located in the bottom of a kind
of funnel the sides of which it however does not touch. It is advantageous to run
a good insulating substance E, such as pitch resin, or wax, all round the said
plates or discs. Over each tube or neck I screw a cover F of ebonite or other suit-
able insulating material which presses the india rubber plug G into the tube. A
contact maker passes through each plug G, the said contact makers each con-
sisting of two hemispherical nuts h, H on the end of a pin J and of a flexible
washer K which is separated from the disc D by a space of two or three milli-
metres. It will be obvious that, if pressure be applied to the nut H which passes
through the cover F, the washer K and disc B will be caused to make contact
so that current is obtained from the copper conductor, whilst as long as there is
no pressure the flow of the current will be interrupted the cable being well
insulated even at those places where the copper thereof is laid bare.
Instead of securing short tubes or necks to the lead casing of the cable, I can
fit thereto cast iron boxes or cases made in two parts B1, B2, (Figures 3 and 4)
in the interior of which the copper of the cable has been laid bare to receive clamp-
ing pieces D forming the contacts for the washers K of the contact makers passing
through the india rubber plugs G which are pressed into the necks of the boxes or
cases by the covers F.
Having obtained in the above described manner, or in any other suitable
manner, a conducting cable completely insulated from the exterior and wherein
at suitable intervals contact can be established with the copper by pressing a
knob, it will be obvious that such a cable can be used for electric traction.
As shewn in Figures 1 and 2 the cable can be laid between the rails or outside
the rails beneath a narrow channel L at the bottom of which are the contact
knobs H, the cable resting on a bed M of cement or asphalte and being protected
by hard wood sleepers N covered with angle-iron pieces P laterally bolted to the
said sleepers so that the heads of the bolts, when embedded in the asphalte cannot
become loose. The tubes B or the boxes B₁, B are located beneath the channel
and the angle-iron pieces are recessed at these points (Figure 5) so as to allow of
the removal of the covers F and of the india rubber plugs G, should they become
damaged and therefore require to be replaced, without having to stop the car
service. Any of the knobs H which may have become worn can also be replaced
without removing the nuts h.
To collect current I attach to the underside of the car a long band Q sliding
over the knobs H. I form this band Q of jointed sections or segments so that it
may easily move over the curves and at the points and crossings. The sections
rest upon or slide over the knobs H and depress them by their weight. This band
communicates with the electro-motors on the car and supplies them with current.
The channel L in which the current collector moves may be narrow as shewn in
Figures 1 and 2. Brushes attached to the car keep the channel clear, the said
channel at intervals being in communication with the drains by means of gutters.
With the arrangement which I have just described, derived circuits would be
formed between the contact pieces and the rails in rainy weather and especially
when snow is being melted by means of salt. This is an objection appertaining
to all surface contact systems that I am acquainted with. I can, however, avoid
this and at the same time place the knobs H quite out of the reach of foot pas-
sengers, animals and vehicles by placing the cable with its boxes or tubes in such
a manner that the contact pieces shall have their horizontal axes as shewn in
Figures 5 and 6; it will be seen that the boxes are placed outside the rails and
that one of the rails R has been utilized to form one side of the channel in which
the current collector moves. Against this rail are placed long blocks of cement M
which are cemented or bolted thereto and the tops of which are recessed to receive
the contact boxes and are provided with a semi-circular groove for receiving half

page_text: the conductor enclosed in the lead casing A. The said cable is protected by
grooved sleepers N of hard wood suitably prepared and by angle-irons pieces P
bolted to the cement blocks and to the wood sleepers, all the nuts being embedded
in the asphalte which is run in between the angle pieces l' and the pavement.
At intervals the cement blocks are separated by spaces (of from 0-200 m.
to 0-300 m. for example) forming gutters in communication with the drains, so
that water can never rise in the small channel which contains the cable and wet
the surface of the boxes or of the necks or tubes or the interior surface of the
angle pieces. In order to protect the boxes from dampness, I tar them or run
pitch or similar material all round them. The contact knobs H may, if required,
also be protected from the wet by inclining the boxes as shewn in Figure 8 which
would necessitate the underside of the current collector being inclined.
In the preceding arrangements the current collectors consist of jointed bands
formed of sections Q of an insulating and resisting material such as wood or leather
covered on the two sides with metal plates V and X respectively. The plates V
on the rail side slide against the rail and against supports W fixed to the rails
nearly opposite the contact knobs H. I do not place them exactly opposite tho
said knobs, in order to prevent them obstructing the removal and replacement
of the plugs G.
On the sides of the plates X which face the cable are screwed soft copper
plates X which are designed to be replaced when worn. The leather sections Q
are attached to iron blocks Z which provide the necessary weight for causing the
band to enter between the knobs. The leather sections are also bevelled at their
lower parts and the metal plates V and X are correspondingly shaped. The two
ends of the band are also gradually bevelled.
The iron blocks Z are connected by springs a which serve as hinges. Some of
these blocks are suspended from the car or carry the axles of rollers b which run
upon the rails R or upon the angle pieces P and thus carry the band Q which is
as long as the carriage will permit so as to make contact with at least two of the
knobs and sometimes with more with the object of preventing sparking. The
iron plates X are well insulated from the iron blocks Z and are connected together
by flexible conductors and to the motor gear of the car by conductors d and
spring clips c allowing the car to be detached without breakage in case it should
run off the rails. For the same reason the band is attached to each end of the car
by means of a spring attachment f, which, as shewn in Figure 7, embraces a
stud 9 on a crank j fixed at the lower end of a vertical shaft adapted to be manipu-
lated by the conductor of the car when approaching the points.
At the points or where the rails cross I incline the bottom of the channel, in
which the current collector moves, upwards so as to form inclined planes on which
the said collector can rise and descend, the described construction of the jointed
band enabling the said band to follow the bottom of the channel. It is advan-
tageous to slightly groove the flanges of the rails in order to provide guides for
the band.
Figures 9 and 10 represent another arrangement of current collector which
possesses the great advantage of almost entirely avoiding friction between the
collector and the contact knobs. It consists of an endless band formed of leather
plates or sections U covered with sheets of iron or copper V, X and which are
hinged together and overlap one another like the scales of a fish. The band,
which therefore forms a continuous and very flexible conductor, is stretched over
two pulleys turning freely on horizontal axles and enters the channel of the con-
ductor between the contact knobs H and the fixed knobs W. As the pressure of
the knobs sets up greater friction on the band than the friction of the pulleys
on their axles the chain will remain immovable with respect to the knobs when
held between them and the pulleys K will turn therein and will only draw the
band along between the pairs of knobs. Brushes which lightly bear upon
the plates or sections of the collector transmit the current to the motor. To
enable the band to be guided when changing the direction of travel of the car I
<

page_text: mount the pulley axles in bearings which the car conductor can adjust to the
right or the left hand as required.
The manner in which all the herein described arrangements are carried out can
be varied in many ways. Those which I have given as examples for the con-
struction of the conductor have the great advantage of allowing considerable
lengths of the complete conductor to be made in the workshops and to be well
insulated before they are fixed in position. They also allow of replacing the
india rubber plugs without interrupting the car service.
It is obvious that all the necessary accessories for keeping the channel clean
can be fitted to the current collector or arranged separately beneath the cars.
All the arrangements just described are quite adapted for the employment of
double conductors when it is undesirable that the current shall pass through the
rails. The two cables, provided with necks or tubes or boxes, are placed side by
side as shewn in Figures 11, 12 and 13 upon the same concrete bed, the boxes
being arranged alternately on the two cables in order to separate the knobs H, H'
communicating with the opposite poles of the source of current. A single current
collector O, constructed according to one of the preceding arrangements, will pass
between the opposite rows of boxes and electrically connect the electro-motors
of the car with the two cables.
Figures 12 and 13 illustrate on a smaller scale the arrangement of these double
cables in the middle of the track or at the side thereof and without using one of
the rails to form one side of the small channel in which the current collector
moves. But there is nothing to prevent one of the rails being utilized by forming
thereon at suitable distances apart a series of holes sufficiently wide to allow the
necks of the boxes to pass into the same. Figure 14 illustrates an arrangement
of this kind which appears simple and practical and which consists in connecting
one of the rails R by means of tie-bars to a similar rail R. Each of these rails
carries its series of boxes, alternating in the above described manner and resting
on a bed of concrete run in between the rails and the pavement and made to receive
the half of the lead casing of the cables, and the boxes B1, B3. The top of the
cable can afterwards be protected by the longitudinal caps or coverings N and
asphalte run into all the spaces. At intervals parts of the rails are recessed at
the top to form channels communicating with the drains.
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. An underground conductor for electric traction consisting of a lead-encased
cable having at intervals short tubes or necks soldered or bolted to the lead
casing thereof, the said tubes being hermetically closed by india rubber plugs
through which pass contact pieces adapted to make contact with a metal plate or
block, electrically connected to the cable, when pressure is applied to knobs on
the ends of the contact pieces outside the said india rubber plugs, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
2. The arrangement of a conductor of the kind referred to in Claim 1 between
the rails of a track or outside the said rails, in a small and narrow channel, suit-
ably protected from vehicular traffic, in which travels a current collector preferably
of the length of the electric car to which it is attached, the said current collector
consisting of a jointed band which presses on the outer knobs of the contact pieces
in such a manner as to make contact with the cable by compressing the rubber
through which the said pieces pass and consequently receive and transmit to
the electro-motors current from the conductor, which is preferably placed so
that the axes of the tubes or necks are horizontal or inclined downwards in order
that any water and mud entering the channel shall not form a short circuit be-
tween the contact pieces and the earth, substantially as described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawing.
3. In electric traction constructing the current collector of blocks of iron con-

page_text: nected by springs and carrying suitably insulated copper plates, the said
construction having for object to allow the said collector to follow the inclined
bottom of the channels at the points and crossings of the track, so as to pass over
the rails, substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
4. A current collector formed of an endless band running over loose pulleys 5
and passing between contact knobs against which it slides only at the moment
of coming into contact with and of leaving the said knobs, substantially as set forth
and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated the 10th dow of ... 1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.