Improvements in and in connection with Radiating Axles for Electrically Propelled Railway or Tramway Cars...
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1898- Accepted, 7th Jan., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in connection with Radiating Axles for
Electrically Propelled Railway or Tramway Cars...
We, SIEMENS BROTHERS & Co. LIMITED, of 12, Queen Anne's Gate, West-
minster, S.W., in the County of London, Electrical Engineers, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention (as communicated to us from abroad by Siemens &
Halske Aktien Gesellschaft, of Markgrafen-Strasse No. 94, Berlin, S.W., Ger-
many, Electrical Engineers) and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
The extent of wheel base, and consequently the length of a railway or tramway.
car whose axles are not adapted to shift or radiate depends upon the curve of
smallest radius on the line.
If this is such as not to allow of sufficiently long rolling stock, the vehicles.
must be made with a flexible wheel base or with radiating axles. For cars that
are driven by electrical energy it has hitherto only been possible to employ
radiating driving axles mounted in special pivotted or bogie frames, as with
radiating axles alone the transmission of the propulsion to the car frame could
only be effected through the suspension springs which are not suitable. for this
purpose.
The present invention has for its object to enable radiating driving axles to
be employed without pivotted frames on electrically propelled cars. For this
purpose there is provided on the motor casing which is connected to the driving.
axle a pivot engaging with a suitable socket on the car frame, while the weight
of the car is transmitted to the axle boxes either through sliding or rolling sup-
ports on which the car body rests, or by other known means allowing of a relative
motion between the axle boxes and under framing of the car.
The radial adjustment of the axles may either be effected solely by the axle..
wheels themselves or by means of any known appliances, operating through the
medium of the motor. In the first named case the axles are brought back to
the middle position by means of springs acting on the motor.
On the accompanying drawing are shewn by way of example several arrange-
ments for carrying the said invention into practice, in all of which the axles
are arranged to pivot upon a pivot pin fixed on the motor casing, and turning
in a socket on the under frame of the car.
In the arrangement shewn in plan and sectional side view at Figs. 1 and 1^,
the driving axle A is automatically brought into the radial position by the action
of the wheels on the rails, while the correct normal position of the axle on the
straight parts of the line is insured by springs a, which are attached at the one
end to the transverse bearers b, of the car frame C and at the other end to, the
supporting lug c of the motor B which has a pivot B¹ working in a socket on the
carriage frame G.
In the arrangement shewn in part plan part longitudinal section and in end
view at Figs. 2, 24 and 2" the driving axle A is brought into the radial position by
means of an auxiliary axle and wheels A¹. This axlé runs in axle boxes capable

page_text: of sliding in guides h on the motor casing and it can move with spring action in
the vertical direction but cannot shift longitudinally in the axle boxes. In order
to prevent the auxiliary wheels from derailing when the motor is raised, a spring
such as F is interposed between axle A¹ and the transverse bearer d.
In the arrangement shewn part plan and part section at Figs. 3 and 3 the driv
ing axle A is also brought into the radial position by an auxiliary axle A¹ but
in this case the axle boxes of the latter are not carried by the motor B but by
the car frame C, the axle being capable of sliding longitudinally in its axle boxes;
the middle bearing f of the auxiliary axle only serving to transmit the weight
of the motor, as also the pressure of the toothed gear, to the axle by means of
the pivotal connection between the motor and the axle box.
On the car passing on to a curve the auxiliary axle shifts longitudinally and
thereby brings the driving axle into the approximately radial position.
In the construction shewn in plan, longitudinal section and end view at
Figs. 4, 4 and 4" and in enlarged part section at Fig. 4, the radial position of
the driving axle A is effected by an adjusting wheel D which runs in a rail
groove. The adjusting wheel as well as the supporting lug c of the motor B are
attached to the free suspended transverse bearer g which may be arranged as
at Fig. 4°.
The wheel D being made to shift in the axial direction when passing on to
a curve the bearer g is correspondingly shifted and thereby turns the motor and
driving axle on the pivot B¹ into the radial position. In place of the adjusting
wheel may be used a sliding shoe, such for instance as the current collector for
the earth conductor, and in place of a grooved rail any other form of guide, for
instance the slot of the underground channel for tramways with underground
conductors.
It is not necessary that both axles of a car should be driving axles. If there
is only one driving axle the second or running axle can be arranged with ordinary
non-shifting axle boxes.
The above described arrangements may also be applied to cars having three
axles in which case the middle axle will generally be arranged as an ordinary
running axle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In electrically propelled railway or tramway cars, arranging the driving
axle to assume radial positions on curves by fixing upon the electro motor casing
which is connected to the axle a pivot engaging with a socket on the underframe
of the car, while the axle boxes are made capable of shifting relatively to the car
body, so that the propulsion is transmitted from the driving axle to the car body
through the said pivot, substantially as described.
2. In the construction of pivotted radiating axles referred to in the first claim
arranging the electro-motor and its casing combined with the said axle to act
as the auxiliary swivelling frame for bringing the axle into the radial position,
by combining with the motor casing one or more auxiliary road wheels, substan-
tially as described.
3. The combination of a radiating axle with an electro-motor and its casing
having a pivotal connection to the car body, the said parts being constructed and
operating as herein described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 7th day of December 1898
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.