Improvements in Electric Locomotives.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Locomotives.
I, EBEN MOODY BOYNTON, of West Newbury, Massachusetts, United States
of America, Civil 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 improvements in the driving-wheels of electric motor
cars, it being my aim to place the motor within the wheel, thus reducing the weight
of the motor to the very lowest limits, and at the same time, by having armature
and field magnets inclosed in the wheel, make the motor more independent of
outside influences, as water, snow, dust, etc. Resulting from the arrangement of
the different parts of my motor, I am able to gain great strength with a small
amount of material.
It is a known fact,
Besides these, I gain other equally important advantages.
that a motor of the gearless type, where the armature is fastened directly to the
shaft, consumes more time in gaining its critical speed, than a motor with reducing
gear; it is, therefore, for a longer time, exposed to the heavy starting current than
a motor of the latter type. The reaction existing between the armature and the
field magnets, tends to revolve each in opposite direction, and as the counter-
electro-motive force depends upon the relative speed between the armature and
field magnets, it would make no difference if one is stationary and the other moving,
When the armature is the element
or if both are moving in opposite directions.
revolving with the wheel, and the field magnets, the stationary one, it is the aim of
my invention to so arrange the motor that the field magnets might be released, and
permitted to revolve at a speed that would generate a counter-electro-motive force
of sufficient strength, and then, little by little, reduce its speed, and thus increase
its reactive pull on the armature, until the field magnets coine to a complete rest,
the whole reaction then being utilized in propelling the locomotive.
The field magnets may be connected with the frame of the motor by means of a
friction clutch, and the work of the revolving shaft consumed in friction, or the
work may be stored up, for instance, by pumping air into a reservoir, to be utilized
in operating the brakes or other appliances. Or the rotation of the shaft may be
utilized directly for the propulsion of the car, and by properly proportioned
reducing gear, a high speed motor thus be changed into one of slower speed, but
with greater tractive power, enabling it to start quickly and climb up heavy
grades. I attain all these objects by means illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, in which,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the wheel, partly broken away, in which the field
magnets revolve and the armature is stationary. Fig. 2 is a section of same taken
on line a, a, Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 a side elevation of the wheel, differing from Fig. 1 in that the armature
is revolving, and the field magnets are stationary. Fig. 4 is a cross section of the
latter taken on the line y, y.
Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the same line as Fig. 4, and illustrating a
modification of same, the commutator being placed inside the casing.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of the motor with part of the frame.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of the wheel, spokes being used in

page_text: addition to the web-plates. Fig. 13 an end view of the same, partly brokeD
away.
Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the motor, as situated in a bicycle car, partly in
section.
Fig. 10 is an end view of the motor with the car in cross section.
Fig. 11 is a plan view of the motor wheel in its frame, partly in section.
Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the motor wheel, with revolvable shaft, with the
frame partly broken away. Fig. 13 is a cross section of the same, taken on
line a¹, x¹.
Fig. 14 is a plan view of the motor wheel with the surrounding frame.
Fig. 15 is another plan view, illustrating a modified form of the clutch, the
latter being made part of an air compressor.
a
Fig. 16 is a plan view of the motor wheel partly in section, illustrating
mechanism for reducing the speed of the wheel to one lower than that of the
revolving shaft. Fig. 17 is an elevation of the same.
Tig. 18 is a detail view of one of the wheels, connecting the shaft with the
motor wheel..
Fig. 19 illustrates details of clutch mechanism.
Fig. 20 is a side elevation of a motor, with the field magnets fastened to the
wheel tire. Fig. 21 is a cross section of the same, taken on the line y', y'.
Fig. 22 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the motor car in connection
with the railroad structure, also illustrating the use of compressed air for operating
the brakes and the doors.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, B is the motor wheel, B³ the tire,
C, C, the wheel webs encasing the armature and field magnets, C¹, C¹, hubs
revolving loose on the stationary axle D. The webs C, C, are fastened to tire B³
and hubs C¹, C¹, by bolts B2, B2, and C2, C. I do not limit myself to any special
form of the web C. It might be, as shown, a plain plate of metal or other
material, or it may be corrugated, ribbed or of other forms. These plates may
also be used in combination with spokes C (see Figs. 7 and 8), either aiding in
supporting the tire or simply acting as a shielding casing. Neither do I limit
myself to any particular form of the tire or the method of fastening it to the web
plates.
The armature G is by means of bolts H³, H³, fastened to the spider H³, H²,
the hub H¹ of the latter being keyed to shaft D by key H, and thus made
stationary. G, G', is the armature core, G³, G2, the coils, and H, H, the connec-
tion between the same and the commutator I. M, M¹, are the brushes, J, J1, the
brush holder. As the commutator in this case is stationary, the brushes will have
to revolve and therefore, at least one of them demands a sliding contact with the
terminal K. This is attained by means of the stationary disk, O³, carrying a
contact ring O, insulated from the disk by a ring of non-conducting material O'.
in brush holder N, takes the current from O¹, transmits it through
bar O to brush M. The other terminal K¹, connecting with brush M², is
grounded in any suitable manner, in this case, by connecting it with the casing C.
Surrounding the armature, are the field coils E, E, and field magnet cores F³, F³,
with pole pieces F, F. Brackets F', F1, fastened to the pole-pieces and wheel
tire by means of bolts F2 and B2, respectively, connect the field magnets with the
wheel B.
The form of the motor wheel illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, is a variation of
Fig. 1, the difference being that the armature is revolving and the field magnets
stationary. G is the armature, G₁, G', the armature core, and G³, G2, the armature
coils; brackets, F¹ connect armature to wheel-tire by bolts B², B³, and _F³, F³.
Likewise are the pole-pieces F, F, connected to the spider arms by bolts H³, H³,
and the spider itself is by means of key H' made stationary with the shaft D.
The connecting wires H, H, run along the casing C and through holes C³ to the
commutator 1, the latter revolving with the wheel. M, M', are the brushes.
J, J, the brush bolders. L, L1, the stationary rocker arms, and K, K', - the

page_text: terminals. If desirable, the commutator may be placed inside the web plates as
illustrated in Fig. 5, in which case, the bars 0, 0, may be fastened to two of
the spokes, H, H³, and the terminals, K, K', be brought through an aperture in
the stationary shaft.
Fig. 6 gives the general arrangement of the motor wheel, the shaft D being
fastened stationary to the frame A. In Figs. 9, 10 and 11 the motor is shown in
connection with a motor car.
S is the car body, S, a bearing through which the column S¹ projects, connecting
the motor frame proper with the frame T2 carrying the arms S2, S3, with the guide
wheels S³, S³. S' are the springs, transferring the weight of the car to the
column S¹ ; T is the overhead guide-rail against the side of which the
wheels S, S³, roll, and T¹ the electric conductor supported and enclosed by said
guide-rail.
I do not limit myself to any special form of this motor frame, or to its connections
with the motor car; it may be in the manner illustrated by Fig. 11, or in any other
suitable ways.
Referring to the drawings Figs. 12 and 13, A is the framework of the motor,
which may be connected with the car in any suitable manner; B is the wheel-tire
with flanges B, B³, and bolts B2 connecting it with the wheel-web C. C¹, C', are
hubs revolving loose on shaft D, and connected to C by means of bolts C², C².
The shaft D is journaled in the bearings D2, D3, fastened to the motor-frame A, A.
G is the armature, G¹ the armature core, and G2 the coils; brackets R, R, fastened
to the armature by bolts F2, F2, and to the wheel-tire by bolts B2, B2, connect the
armature with the wheel. The hub H¹ is keyed to the shaft D, and is provided
with arms H2, H2, that carry the pole pieces F, F, bolts H³, H³, connecting them.
E, E, are field magnet coils, and F³ cores. The commutator I is fastened to one
of the hubs C¹ and joined to the armature by wires H, H.
The brush O¹ in brush holder N¹ receives the current from an overhead con-
ductor, placed in the guide V2, (Fig. 22), and transmits it to the ring Q³, insulated
from the shaft; the wire K conducts the current from Q2 to the bar O*, with brush
holder J, and brush M to the commutator I, from this by means of wires H, H,
through the armature G, and back to the commutator again, through brush M,
brush holder J, bar 0%, conductor K', to the ring Q, brush O, and brush holder N
to the supporting rail V. It will be seen, that when the shaft D with the field-
magnets F, F, is stationary, the motor acts as any ordinary motor, it is first when
the shaft D is permitted to rotate at different speeds, that the conditions are altered.
Naturally, the reaction between the armature and the field magnets, will cause the
latter to rotate in an opposite direction to that of the former, and that therefore,
there must be some means provided to hold the shaft stationary, when it is desired
that the motor-wheel shall develop its highest speed. This can be accomplished in
many ways, but it will only be necessary to illustrate one of these.
On an elongation of one of the bearings D2 are four projections E, E, in which
the shoes D slide, the latter are provided with studs D°, projecting through
slots D in the disc D³, the latter being revolvable on the bearing D2, and provided
with a handle, D'; the shoes D are embracing a pulley E¹, keyed to the shaft D.
As the slots Do are parts of a spiral, a movement of the disc D, either to the right
or the left (Fig. 12), will correspondingly press the clutches against the pulley or
release the latter; it will therefore be possible to regulate the speed of the shaft
from full speed down to complete rest. I do not limit myself to any special form
of apparatus for fastening the shaft to the frame or releasing it, as this may be done
in many ways.
It stands to reason, that the reactive power of the shaft may be utilized in doing
useful work instead of being consumed in friction. This I illustrate in Fig. 15.
The pulley is there provided with an eccentric Es, which by means of piston-rod E
operates a piston in cylinder E, thus pumping the air through the tube E, that
may connect with an air-reservoir for operating air brakes, etc. The shocs are in
this instance, interior to the pulley rim.

page_text: It may, in some cases, be necessary to reduce the speed and increase the pulling
power when starting under a heavy load or running up a steep grade. This can
be accomplished in different ways, and I have, in Figs. 16 and 17 used a friction
gear for this purpose. E¹ is a conical disc with a conical rim keyed to the shaft D³,
having in its interior a friction-clutch for keeping it stationary or releasing it;
S1, S¹, are two intermediate gears, by means of which, the disc E, may be connected
with conical ring S, fastened on the wheel-web C. When E¹ is released and the
gears S, S¹, moved to the left (Fig. 16), S will be compelled to revolve at a certain
speed relative to E, depending on the relative proportion of their diameters, thus
serving as a reducing gear. The release of the disc E, and, the forward movement
of the gears S¹, S¹, is done simultaneously by moving the lever D' (Fig. 17), to
the right. The gear S¹ (see Fig. 18), is journaled in the tubular bearing S³,
provided with a stud S, engaging with a spiral groove in an exterior bearing $*;
when, therefore S3 is revolved around its axis by means of lever So, it will also
have a longitudinal movement and be pushed against S and E', when lever Se is
moved to the right, and vice versa.
Brush
I do not limit myself to having the armature fastened to the wheel-tire, but may,
if found desirable, reverse the arrangement, and have the armature fastened to the
shaft and the field magnets revolve with the wheel. Figs. 20 and 21 illustrate this
form of the motor, the main difference being, that the brushes M, M', in brushi
holders J, J, have their rods 0, 0, supported by the wheel-web_C.
holders N, N¹, with brushes O, O¹, take the current from contact rings Q1, Q,
insulated from, but fastened to the shaft, and by wires U1, U2, connected with an
additional pair of contact rings T', T2, to which current is supplied by brushes T³, T4,
one of which connects with the overhead conductor inclosed in V2 (Fig. 22), and
the other with the supporting rail V. In this case, the armature G is supported
by the spider H³, its hub H' being keyed to the shaft D. Brackets F, F,
fastened to the field magnets F, F, by means of bolts F, F, and to the wheel-tire
by bolts B2, B3, connect field magnets and wheel-tire.
The
In Fig. 22, I have attempted to illustrate how the revolutions of the shaft D may
be utilized to pump air into the reservoir V, connected with the pump E', by the
tube E; the eccentric E³, with connecting-rod E*, operating the pump.
tube Us leads from the reservoir to a regulating valve Us, from which tubes U
and U lead, the latter for furnishing pressure in the brake-cylinder V', for the
operation of brakes U, U, and the other serving to operate a piston in the
cylinder U, said piston moving the lever U backward or forward, thus, by means
of the rod U, opening or closing the sliding doors U, U₁, connected together
with cords U
Vo, is the car body, spring-supported by the framework, V4, the latter having
at its lower end the shaft D, journaled in it, and carrying at its upper end the
guide-wheels V³, V, embracing the guide V³.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
First. In an electrically propelled vehicle, the combination with a driving wheel
having removable web-plates or spokes fastened to hubs revolving loose on a
stationary shaft, of armature and field magnet elements, situated between said web-
plates or spokes, one element fastened to the wheel-tire, and the other element to
the shaft, substantially as set forth.
Second. In a single rail supported and electrically propelled vehicle, the com-
bination with a driving wheel, having removable web-plates or spokes fastened
to hubs, revolving loose on a stationary shaft, of armature and field magnet
elements, situated between said web-plates or spokes, one element fastened to
the wheel-tire, and the other element to the shaft, substantially as set forth.
Third. In an electrically propelled vehicle, the combination with a driving
wheel, having removable web-plates or spokes fastered to hubs revolving loose on

page_text: a shaft, of armature and field magnet elements situated between said web-plates or
spokes, and one element fastened to the wheel-tire, and the other element to the
shaft, and means for fastening said shaft to the motor frame or allowing it to rotate,
substantially as set forth.
Fourth. In a single rail supported and electrically propelled vehicle, the com-
bination with a driving wheel having removable web-plates or spokes fastened to
hubs revolving loose on a shaft, of armature and field maguet elements situated
between said web-plates or spokes, and one element fastened to the wheel-tire and
the other element to the shaft, and means for fastening said shaft to the motor
frame or allowing it to rotate, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. In an electrically propelled vehicle, the combination with a driving wheel,
having removable web-plates or spokes, fastened to hubs revolving loose on a shaft,
situated in said frame, of armature and field magnet elements, situated between said
web-plates or spokes and one element fastened to the wheel-tire, and the other
element to the shaft, means for fastening said shaft to the motor frame, or allowing
it to rotate, and means for utilizing the rotations of the shaft for the operation of
sundry appliances situated on the car, substantially as set forth.
Sixth. In a single rail supported and electrically propelled vehicle, the com-
bination with a driving wheel having removable web-plates or spokes fastened to
hubs revolving loose on a shaft situated in said frame of armature and field magnet
elements situated between said web-plates or spokes, and one element fastened to
the wheel-tire, and the other element to the shaft, means for fastening said shaft
to the motor frame or allowing it to rotate, and means for utilizing the rotations of
the shaft for the operation of sundry appliances, situated on the car, substantially
as set forth.
Seventh. In an electrically propelled vehicle, the combination with a driving
wheel, having removable web-plates or spokes fastened to hubs, revolving loose on
a shaft, situated in said frame, of armature and field magnet elements, situated
between said web-plates or spokes and one element fastened to the wheel-tire, and
the other element to the shaft, means for fastening said shaft to the motor frame,
or allowing it to rotate and means for transmitting the rotations of the shaft to the
wheel, substantially as set forth.
Eighth. In a single rail supported and electrically propelled vehicle, the com-
bination with a driving wheel, having removable web-plates or spokes, fastened to
hubs, revolving loose on a shaft, situated in said frame, of armature and field magnet
elements, situated between said web-plates or spokes and one element fastened to
the wheel-tire, and the other element to the shaft, means for fastening said shaft to
the motor frame, or allowing it to rotate, and means for transmitting the rotations
of the shaft to the wheel, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 12th day of February 1895.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.