Improvements in Electric Railways or Tramways on a Road Contact or like System.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Oct., 1898.
Complete Specification Left, 23th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Railways or Tramways on a Road Contact
or like System.
JOSEPH DEVONPORT FINNEY ANDREWS, 45, Fulham Park Gardens, Fulham,
S.W., do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
My invention relates to electric tramway or railway traction in which the
current is conveyed by an underground conductor with surface contacts which
would become connected to the conductor as the car passes along. At regular
intervals, preferably between the tracks, I arrange a series of contacts made of
iron with preferably another metal on the surface where contact would be made.
Upon the car I mount two or more pulleys at a distance from each other with
a band upon them; at intervals on this band I mount electro-magnets with one or
both their poles so arranged that they would be presented towards the ground
and when magnetised & in close proximity to one of the iron contacts referred
to, attraction would take place & the iron contact would become magnetised;
connected with the cable underground I would provide an armature adjacent to
each contact so arranged that when the contact has become magnetic, the armature
would be attracted to it & effect connection between the cable the contact &
The return circuit
the magnet & through the magnet to the motor on the car.
from the motor may be taken by the rails or by another series of contacts between
the rails and a cable beneath; the magnets carried by the car may be modified to
effect connection with both lead & return. Instead of occasional contacts I
may adopt a continuous series of contacts or a rail cut up into sections insulated
from each other. The cable beneath the contacts may be of iron or may be an
iron strip resting in suitable insulators. It may be provided with special metal
at the places where it is required to make contact, or I may make the cable or
strip of a non magnetic metal & arrange a piece of iron on the side of it opposite
to the fixed surface contact either attached to it or supported in a socket so that
it would press the cable or strip against the contact when the latter is magnetic.
I may magnetise the magnets carried by the car by a battery or accumulator
carried on the car or I may magnetise them by the current actuating the motor or
a branch of it. I would arrange the connections to these magnets so that when
it is required that one of them is to leave a contact by virtue of the progress of
the car, the connection will be cut off; I may effect the connection & disconnection
of the current to the magnets by providing a strip of metal on the band which
would be in connection with a metal brush arranged to rub upon it as the band
moves the length of this strip of metal limiting the time that the current is
on the magnet or I may make the band of metal & cut it into sections one for
each magnet and insulate the sections by any suitable means. I may use a
pulley or wheel instead of a contact brush & this wheel may be one of the band
pulleys.

page_text: Improvements in Electric Railways or Tramways on a Road Contact
or like System.
JOSEPH DEVONPORT FINNEY ANDREWS, 45, Fulham Park Gardens, S.W.,
Electrical 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:―
My invention relates to electric tramway or railway traction in which the
current is conveyed by a conductor with surface contacts which are or may
become connected to the conductor as the car passes along.
At regular intervals preferably between the tracks I arrange a series of contacts
preferably made of iron with preferably another metal on the surfaces, where
contact would be made. Upon the car I mount two or more pulleys at a distance
from each other with a band upon them. At intervals on this band I mount
electro magnets with one or both their poles so arranged that they would be
presented towards the ground & when magnetised & in close proximity to one
of the iron contacts referred to, attraction would take place & the iron contact
would become magnetised.
Connected with the cable underground I would provide an armature, adjacent
to each contact, so arranged that when the contact has become magnetic the
armature would be attracted to it & effect communication between the cable,
the contact & the magnet, to the motor on the car.
The return circuit from the motor may be taken by the rails, or by another
series of contacts between the rails, & a cable beneath the magnets carried by
the car may be modified to effect connection with both lead & return.
Instead of occasional contacts between the rails I may adopt a continuous
series of contacts or a rail cut up into sections, insulated from each other, or a
continuous rail. The cable beneath the contacts may be of iron, or may be an
iron strip resting in suitable insulators. It may be provided with suitable
metal wearing surfaces at the places it is required to make contact. Or I may
make the cable or strip of non-magnetic metal & arrange a piece of iron on the
side of it opposite to the fixed surface contact either attached to it or supported
in a socket, so that it would press the cable or strip against the contact where
the latter is magnetic.
I may magnetise the magnets carried by the car by a battery or accumulator
carried in the car or I may magnetise them by the current actuating the motor
or a branch from it. I would arrange the connection to these magnets so that
when it is required that one of them is to leave a contact by virtue of the
progress of the car the connection will be cut off. I may effect the connection &
dis-connection of the current to the magnets by providing a strip of metal on
the band which would be in connection with a metal brush arranged to rub
upon it as the band moves, the length of the strip of metal limiting the time
that the current is on the magnet, or I may make the band of metal & cut it
into sections, one for each magnet, & insulate the sections by any suitable means.
I may employ a pulley or wheel instead of a contact brush & this wheel may be
one of the band pulleys.
In Fig. 1, I illustrate my method of collecting currents by surface con-
tacts A, A, A. Upon pulleys B, B, on axles II mounted in bearings C, C, attached
to the body of the car, I arrange a band or chain D, D, D, to run freely. I
may make this band of metal or of leather & mount metal upon it to provide
a conducting medium. I mount electro-magnets E¹, E², E³, on the band in such

page_text: a manner that one pole of each would be in close proximity to the ground &
should it be magnetised & meet with any magnetic substance such as one of the
studs A, or an iron rail, attraction would take place & the magnet would become
fixed to the stud & thus hold the lower part of the band stationary when the
car is in motion, while the upper part of the band would move at double the speed
of the car. I would convey current to the magnets on the band by
brushes F1, F2, F3, held in suitable holders attached to the car & connected
with a battery carried on the car. I divide the band or the conducting part
of it into as many segments G, G, G, as there are magnets & I would join the
segments together by suitable insulation. I would divide each segment of the
band in the middle & insert the coil of the electro-magnet across the junction.
I would connect brushes F', & F³, together to one pole of the battery H in
the car & brush F2 to the other pole. It will be obvious that as the car passes
along in the direction of the arrow, magnet E when magnetised would be
attracted & held by the stud A¹. The current being conveyed to its coil by
the brushes F & F2 from the battery H. I construct my stud or contact as
shown in Fig. 2. A, is an iron plate or block resting in insulating material,
C, is a disc of iron in contact with the iron slabs A, A, and forming a cover to
a chamber of insulating material D. Within this chamber I arrange a bar or
block of iron E, free to rise & fall. I may take the weight of the bar E, by
a spring F, which could also convey current from the conductors G, to the
plunger E.
When the magnet E', is magnetised & in contact with the iron block A, its
magnetism will be conveyed to the block & the plunger E, will be attracted
upwards & make contact with the cover C, & when current is passing through
the cable it will enter the motor on the car by the magnet E', brush F2, &
away by the rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, & in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First. A street or surface contact consisting of a plunger or armature of iron
in connection with the current mains & arranged to be attracted into contact
when the iron surface is magnetised by an exterior source. Substantially as
described & illustrated in Fig. 2.
Second. The method of collecting currents from surface contacts or rails by
arranging magnets which would be attracted to the surface contact & be connected
to the motor in the car & carried by the car in any suitable manner such as a
band or chain, substantially as described & illustrated in Fig. 1.
0011
1000