Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways or Electric Transport.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 29th June, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 29th Apr., 1896-Accepted, 30th May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways or
Electric Transport.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I. Mech. E., of Norfolk House,
Norfolk Street, Strand, London W.C., in the County of Middlesex, Chartered
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated
to me from abroad by Frederick C. Esmond, of Brooklyn, in the State of New
York, United States of America, Electrical Engineer) to be as follows:-
The present invention relates to an electric railway system, of the kind in which
there is an insulated supply conductor located underground, or at other points
where it can be conveniently protected and insulated, a series of working conductor
sections, as they are called, from which current is taken to the travelling motors,
and section switches normally disconnecting the supply conductor and working
sections, but connecting them temporarily whenever a car is on a given section and
requires current. The principal object of the invention is to provide improved
means for operating the section switches so as to put the working conductor
sections in circuit when necessary, and disconnect thein at other times. For this
purpose I use electro-magnetic switches, and so arrange the circuits that the motor
current is divided into two branches between the supply conductor and the working
conductor sections, one branch leading directly to the motor from the working
conductor section over which the car stands, and the other including a coil closing
and holding closed the switch of a succeeding section. In this manner each
section is closed when reached by the car, and opened when the car has passel.
In the drawing,
Fig. 1 shows a car in elevation, in connection with the improved arrangement
of conductors.
Fig. 2 shows an arrangement of the line conductor system in diagram, and a
motor controller to be used on the car.
Fig. 3 is a modification.
The
Referring first to Fig. 2, S S¹ S are three electro-magnetic switches adapted to
connect and disconnect the supply conductor C, with insulated working conductor
sections, from which the current is taken to the motor or motors on the cars.
working conductor sections are shown consisting of comparatively short contact
spots A A', though the length of these sections may be greater or less, as is found
desirable in any special case. There is a double set of these conductor sections,
as indicated, and the conductors of each such set are electrically connected by a
coil c, forming part of the section switches. The car is provided with a double set
of contact makers or collector bars B B', which are long enough to somewhat
more than span the distance between the adjacent working conductor sections.
These contact bars are insulated from one another, and are adapted to make
contact respectively with the different working conductor section: A A'.
Assume that the car in Fig. 2, is moving from left to right. Switches S and S₁
of sections and 11 are closed and the collector bars shortly will leave section I
and make contact with the conductors of section III. When the collector bars
leave the first section the armature of the switch will fall away from the
contact d by gravity, or under the action of a springs, and the circuit leading to
these sections will be opened. The motor will now be supplied with current

page_text: solely through switch S', the current passing through the contact d, the magnet
coil c, working conductor section A¹, collector B', aud so on to the motor through
the controller, which will be explained hereinafter.
с
When the collectors, B B' reach the conductors A A' of section III there will
be a double path for the current to reach the motor, one through coil c of
switch S', as before, while the second branch, starting from the armature 6 of
switch S extends to the working conductor A of this section, through contact
bar B, through working conductor A of the next section, and through coil c of
switch S² to the working conductor A¹ and so on, to the motor through the contact
bar B. The magnet will thus be energized drawing up the armature b of
switch S and closing the direct circuit between the supply conductor and the
working conductor sections. This action will be repeated as the car moves from
section to section, and this action will be the same for both directions of movement
of the car.
The regulator shown in Fig. 2 will now be described. The armature of the
motor is here shown at D and the field winding at F, one end of which is grounded
at E. R is a resistance. The field and armature terminals and the resistances
are connected as shown, to a series of contacts, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, which are
engaged by movable contacts, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. The controller is
shown in the drawing in the off position. By moving the controller one step to
the right, as indicated by dotted line, it will stand in the lowest speed position
with maximum resistance in circuit, and the path of the current may then be
traced from the collector bar B', to contact 1, contact 10, the resistance R, to
contact 5, contact 6, contact 15, contact 16, contact 7, through the armature of the
motor, contact 8, contact 17, contact 18, contact 9, to the field of the motor and to
ground. By moving the controller still further to the right, successive sections of
the resistance will be short-circuited by the contacts 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, in a
manner well understood in the art. If the direction of the car is to be reversed,
the controller will be moved from right to left, and the speed of the motor will be
regulated as before, though the current in one of its members, and consequently
its direction of rotation, will be reversed.
A storage battery H is provided on the car, which may be used for various
purposes, but it is important in my system, as a means of picking up the section
switches in case the normal control of them by the line current is lost. The
battery normally is located in a branch of the motor circuit, so that it is charged
from the line. This circuit may be traced in the drawing from contact 1, contact 10,
to contact 19, thence to one terminal of the battery, and from the second terminal
of the battery, through contacts 20 and 21, to ground E¹. When, for any reason,
it becomes necessary to use the battery to pick up the line switches, a lever Lis
thrown, so as to connect the contacts 22, 23, and 24, 25. The circuit of the
battery then may be traced from the positive terminal through contacts 24 and 25,
to the collector B, through conductor section A, the coil c of one of the switches,
the collector bar B', through the coil c' of a solenoid, contacts 23, 22, and back to
the negative pole of the battery. In this way one or more of the line switches
may be closed, when the system will operate as already described. The solenoid c¹
acts automatically to open the battery switch, its core being pivoted to the lower
end of the lever L, so as to open the switch, except when held closed, as will be
understood from the drawing.
In Fig. 1a railway car is shown carrying battery cells, and the collector bars
making contact with the working conductor sections. In this form of the invention
the collector bars will be about equal to the length of the car, and the only
sections of the working conductor which are alive will come underneath it. If the
space between the working sections be made shorter, the collector bars may also,
of course, be reduced in length.
In Fig. 3 a somewhat modified form of the invention is shown, in which both
branches of the motor circuit are divided into insulated sections, instead of one
branch only as in the other figure. Here C Care positive and negative supply

page_text: conductors, and a third set of working conductor sections A' is added. There is
also provided a third collector bar B' coupled to the negative pole of the motor,
and adapted to make contact with the working sections A³, A'. The armature of
the switches S, S', is prolonged, and arranged to open and close the circuit between
the conductor sections A' and the negative sup ply conductor C', as appears
from the drawing. When the armature is attracted, as at the switch S, both
branches of the switch are closed, but when the armature is in its open position, as
shown at S', both branches of the circuit are open. In other respects the
invention is the same as that in Fig. 2, and the mode of operation is also
the same.
Dated this 29th day of June 1805
J. G. LORRAIN,
Chartered Patent Agent.
Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways or
Electric Transport.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I. Mech. E., of Norfolk House,
Norfolk Street, Strand, Loudon, W.C., in the County of Middlesex, Chartered
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to
me from abroad by Frederick C. Esmond, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York,
United States of America, Electrical Engineer) and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The present invention relates to an electric railway system, of the kind in which
there is an insulated supply couductor located underground, or at other points
where it can be conveniently protected and insulated, a series of working con-
ductor sections, as they are called, from which current is taken to the travelling
motors, and section switches normally disconnecting the supply conductor and
working sections, but connecting them temporarily whenever a car is on a given
section and requires current. The principal object of my invention is to provide
improved means for operating the section switches so as to put the working
conductor sections in circuit when necessary, and disconnect them at other times.
For this purpose I use electro-magnetic switches, and so arrange the circuits that
the motor current is divided between the supply conductor and the working
conductor sections into two branches, one branch leading directly to the motor
from the working conductor section over which the car stands, and the other
including a coil closing and holding closed the switch of a succeeding section. In
this manner each section is placed in circuit when reached by the car, and taken
out of circuit when the car has passed.
In the drawings left with the Provisional Specification,
Fig. 1 shows a car in elevation, in connection with the improved arrangement of
conductors.
Fig. 2 shows an arrangement of the liue conductor system in diagram, and a
motor controller to be used on the car.
Fig. 3 is a modification.
Referring first to Fig. 2, S S¹ S' are three electro-magnetic switches adapted to
connect and disconnect the supply conductor C with and from the insulated
working conductor sections from which the current is taken to the motor or motors
on the car. The working conductor sections are shown consisting of comparatively
short contact points or spots A A', though the length of these sections may be
greater or less, as is found desirable in any special case. There is a double set of
these conductor sections, as indicated, and the conductors of each such set_are
electrically connected by a coil c, forming part of the section switches. The

page_text: car is provided with a double set of contact makers or collector bars B B', which
are long enough to somewhat more than span the distance between the adjacent
working conductor sections. These contact makers or collector bars are insulated
from one another, and are adapted to make contact respectively with the different
working conductor sections A A¹
Assume that the car is Fig. 2 is moving from left to right. Switches S and S¹
of sections I and II are closed, and the collector bars soon will leave section I
and make contact with the conductors of section III. When the collector bars
leave the first section the armature of the switch will fall away from the contact
by gravity, or under the action of a spring s, and the circuit leading to these
sections will be opened. The motor will now be supplied with current solely
through switch S', the current passing through the contact d, the magnet_coil c,
working conductor section A', collector bar B1, and so on to the motor through
the controller, which will be explained hereinafter.
When the collectors, B B' reach the conductors A A' of section III there will
be a double path for the current to reach the motor, one through coil c of switch S',
as before, while the second branch starting from the armature 6 of switch Si
extends to the working conductor A of this section, through contact bar B, through
working conductor A of the next section, and through coil c of switch S' to the
working conductor A', and so on, to the motor through contact bar B'. The
maguet will thus be energized drawing up the armature of switch S3 and closing
the direct circuit between the supply conductor and the working conductor
sections. This action will be repented as the car moves from section to section,
and this action will be the same for both directions of movement of the car.
The regulator shown in Fig. 2 will now be described. The armature of the
motor is here shown at D and the field winding at F, one end of which is grounded
at E. R is a resistance. The field and armature terminals and the resistance are
connected as shown, to a series of contacts, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, which are engaged
by movable contacts, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. The controller is shown
in the drawing in the off position. By moving the controller one step to the right,
as indicated by the dotted line, it will stand in the lowest speed position with
maximum resistance in circuit, and the path of the current may then be traced
from the collector bar B1, to contact I, contact 10, the resistance R, to contact 5,
contact 6, contact 15, contact 16, contact 7, through the armature of the motor,
contact 8, contact 17, contact 18, contact 9, to field of the motor and to ground.
By moving the controller still further to the right, successive sections of the
resistance will be short-circuited by the contacts 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, in a manner
well understood in the art. If the direction of the car is to be reversed, the
controller will be moved from right to left, and the speed of the motor will be
regulated as before, though the current in one of its members, and its direction of
rotation, will be reversed. 1 do not claim any novelty in this special form of
controller, and merely illustrate it as one well known form.
A storage battery H is provided on the car, which may be used for various
purposes, but it is important in my system as a means of picking up the section
switches in case the normal control of them by the line current is lost. The
battery normally is located in a branch of the motor circuit, so that it may be
charged from the line. This circuit may be traced in the drawing from contact 1,
contact 10, to contact 19, thence to one terminal of the battery, and from the
second terminal of the battery through contacts 20 and 21, to ground E'. When,
for any reason, it becomes necessary to use the battery to pick up the line circuits,
a lever L is thrown, so as to connect the contacts 22, 23, and 24, 25, the circuit
of the battery may then be traced from the positive terminal through contacts 24
and 25 to the collector B, through conductor section A, the coil c of one of the
switches, the collector bar B', through the coil c', of a solenoid, contacts 23, 24,
and back to the negative pole of the battery. In this way one or more of the line
switches may be closed, when the system will operate as already described. The
solenoid c acts automatically to open the battery switch, its core being pivoted to

page_text: the lower end of the lever L, so as to open the switch, except when held closed, as
will be understood from the drawing.
In Fig. 1a railway car is shown carrying battery cells, and the collector bars
making contact with the working conductor sections. In this form of the invention
the collector bars will be about equal to the length of the car, and the only
sections of the working conductor which are alive will come underneath it. If the
space between the working sections be made shorter, the collector bars may also,
of course, be reduced in length.
In Fig. 3 a somewhat modified form of the invention is shown, in which both
branches of the motor circuit are divided into insulated sections, instead of one
branch only as in the other figure. Here C Care positive and negative supply
couductors, and a third set of working conductor sections A³ is added. There is
also provided a third collector bar B coupled to the negative pole of the motor,
and adapted to make contact with the working sections A' A². The armature of
the switches S S' is prolonged, and arranged to open and close the circuit between
the conductor sections A' and the negative supply conductor C₁, as appears
from the drawing. When the armature is attracted, as at the switch S, both
branches of the switch are closed, but when the armature is in its open position,
as shown at S¹, both branches of the circuit are open. In other respects the
invention is the same as that in Fig. 2, and the mode of operation is also the same.
It will be obvious that my invention is not confined to railroads in the strict
meaning of the term. The contact points may be set in an ordinary street or road
and rails be dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion (as communicated to me from abroad) and in what manner the same is to be
performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination in an electric railway of a supply conductor, insulated
working conductor sections, and an intermediate series of switches, with a circuit
divided into multiple branches at a point between the supply conductor and the
insulated sections, one of which branches leads to the motor directly from a given
working conductor section, while the second branch leads to the motor through an
electromagnetic device, arranged to throw the switch of an advance section into
working position, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination in an electric railway of a supply conductor, with a double
set of working conductor sections forming one branch of the motor circuit, normally
open switches between the supply conductor and working sections, insulated
contact makers on the car adapted to make contact with the different sections, and
electrical connections normally connecting each pair of working conductor sections
through a magnet coil adapted to operate the switch of that section substantially
as set forth.
3. The combination of a supply conductor and a double set of insulated working
conductor sections, normally open electro-magnetic switches for each set of
working sections, aud a pair of contact makers on the car forming a branched
circuit to the motor, one branch passing through the switch of one set of sections,
and the other branch including the coil of the switch for the next succeeding
section, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination in an electric railway of a supply conductor, insulated
working conductor sections, switches for connecting and disconnecting the supply
conductor and working conductor sections, a coil on each switch for closing and
holding the switch closed, and a contact har carried by the car closing the circuit
of the switch of an advance section, and including it as part of a branch of the
motor circuit supplied with current through the switch of the preceding section,
substantially as set forth.
5. The combination of a supply conductor, a double set of working conductor
sections, forming one branch of the motor circuit, electromagnetically operated
switches, which are closed as the car passes over the line by collector bars

page_text: establishing a branch of the motor circuit through the coil operating a switch of
an advance section, and a switch similarly controlled in the circuit of the return
supply conductor, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination of a supply conductor, sectional working conductor and
switches with a battery on the car for picking up the switches, a switch for
closing the circuit of the battery, and a magnet forming part of the circuit
and adapted to automatically reopen the battery switch, substantially as
forth.
set
J. G. LORRAIN.