US1023921A - Magnetic rail-bonding clamp. - Google Patents

Description

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H. P. BRDWN.

l MAGNETIC RAIL BONDING CLAMP. APPLICATION FILED APB.. 2, 1907.

1,023,921. Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

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TIN-'III l HAROLD P. BROWN, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

MAGNETIC RAIL-BONDING- CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

Application filed April 2, 1907. Serial No. 365,971.

y Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Magnetic Rail-Bonding Clamp, of

lwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a magnetic rail bonding clamp, with the object in view of providing a simple and effective clamp for bonding rails without requiring the exposure of the sides and base of the rail and without interfering with traffic along the track.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which* Figure 1 is a view of the clamp in side elevation as it appears when in use applied to a rail, the handles being broken away, Fig. 2 is a top plan view, Fig. 3 is an end view, Fig. 4 is a view in detail showing the connection of the feed screw with the supporting' arm or bracket, and Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the electrical connections for operating the clamp.

My invention contemplates a clamp consisting of a U-shaped frame or core on which are wound removable magnet spools of suflicient resistance to be used in circuit between the trolley wire and the rail, ordinarily from 550 to 650 volts. The pole pieces of this magnetic clamp have iron or steel shoes secured on them which are arranged to fit the top surface of the particular rail which it is desired to bond. The self induction of these high resistance spools is very great and when the circuit is opened the discharge current from the spools is liable t-o jump through the insulation and pass through the grounded frame of the clamp. To' prevent this, I mount a group of incandescent lamps, in the present instance five lamps, in series, the terminals of the lamp circuit being in parallel with the circuit of the magnet spools. The switch for opening the circuit through the magnet spools is between the trolley wire and the end of these circuits in parallel with each other; thus the opening of the switch permits the magnet spools to discharge through the lamps. The electric drill is also conveniently operated from the trolley current and the same file of lamps is arranged to discharge the eld magnets of the drill motor when the motor circuit is opened.

My invention further contemplates means for readily removing the clamp from the rail to permit the passage of cars and to convey 1tfrom joint to joint. Y I

My invention further contemplates certain features of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

The form which I have chosen for illustration, shows the clamp adapted to t-he top of a girder rail such as is in common use in paved streets but it is to be understood that the clamp is not limited to use in connection with this particular type of rail but may be used effectively in connection with any form of rail by simply fitting its shoe to the top of the rail.

The yoke of the magnetic clamp is denoted by 1 and the pole pieces extending downwardly therefrom are denoted by 2 and 3. On the pole pieces 2 and 3 are mounted magnet spools, in the present instance two spools 4 and 5 on the pole piece 2 and two spools 6 and 7 on the pole piece 3. To the ends o-f the pole pieces 2 and 3 are secured iron shoes 8 and 9, respectively, the said shoes being fitted in cross section, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, to conform to the tread, the groove and the guard flange of a street railway rail, shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3.

Intermediate of the shoes 8 and 9 and the pole pieces filling pieces 10 and 11 are inserted, the latter being permanently fixed to the pole pieces and the shoes in turn fixed to these filling pieces in any suitable manner. It is intended that these shoes shall be removable and interchangeable with other shoes, the object being to fit the shoes t-o the particular rail top to which the clamp is to be secured.

From the yoke piece 1, a socket standard 12 extends upwardly which serves also as a standard for the support of the vertically adjustable bracket arm 13, the latter being provided with a set screw 14 for securing it in any desired vert-ical adjustment on the socket standard 12. rlhe arm 13 is preferably of inverted T shape in cross section, as

shown in Fig. 4, for the reception of a drill supporting` loop 15, the said loop being provided with a slot 16 in its top to permit the stem of the arm 13 to pass through the loop itself, resting on lateral flanges at the base of the arm. rIhe loop is also provided with an opening 17 through its bottom to permit the feed screw 18 of the electric drill to pass through.

The hand wheel for operating the feed screw of the drill is denoted by 19 and is fixed on the feed screw within the loop 15, a washer 20 resting on the upper side of the bottom of the loop 15 around the opening 17 serving as a support for the feed wheel and screw and the parts suspended therefrom. The feed screw has a bearing 21 which, when the screw is turned in a direction to force the drill to its work, engages the under side of the arm 13. Then it is desired to withdraw the drill from its work, the turning of the feed screw in the opposite direction, will lift the drill by the engagement of the feed wheel 19 with the washer 20.

From the feed screw 18, the motor frame 22 depends, the drill 23 being suitably engaged with the motor in any well known or approved manner.

Handles 24 and 25 are xed to the drill frame for manipulating it and the electric current is supplied through a cable 26 leading to the interior of the frame from the trolley wire as indicated in the diagram, Fig. 5.

It will be noted that the connection of the loop 15 with the overhanging arm 13 is such that the loop may be slid along the arm to adjust the drill over the point where the rail is to be operated on and the handles 24, 25, for manipulating the drill are in tentionally made of sufficient length that they will ordinarily engage the socket standard 12 in the path of their rotation to stop the rotary movement of the drill frame as a whole, when it is desired to use this as a stop in lieu of the operator holding itagainst rotation.

From the socket standard 12, a wooden shaft 27 extends upwardly to the height of a mans head more or less and for convenience in manipulating the clamp, a socket 28, which may or may not be the same height of the socket 12, is made fast to the opposite end of the yoke 1 and extends upwardly therefrom to receive a wooden shaft 29 corresponding to the wooden shaft 27, so that these two shafts may be grasped by the hands of an attendant and the clamp may be, by means thereof, tilted over to one side, off the rail, for getting it out of the way of a passing car or for moving it to a new position as may be desired. To further facilitate the movement of the clamp, I provide a pair of wheels 30 and 31 which are secured on a shaft 32, the latter` mounted in suitable bearings 33, 34, fixed to guards 35, 36. It is desirable that the- se guards 35, 36, be of some suitable non-magnetic material, for example bronze, and their upper ends are conveniently made fast to the opposite ends of the yoke 1 and their lo-wer ends curved to the shoes 8 and 9 where they are made fast to the filling pieces 10 and 11. These guards are conveniently extended in a horizontal plane, as shown at 37, 38, Figs. 2 and 3, to form a support for the clamp to preventI it from tilting inwardly when released from the rail. 1V hen it is desired to remove it from the rail, it is tilted outwardly by the shafts 27, 28, until the weight of the clamp is carried by the wheels 30, 31, when it may be readily drawn, as a truck is drawn, either laterally or from joint to joint and again readily set up in position.

The lamps hereinbefore referred to, areV secured to the yoke 1, the series being denoted, as a whole, by 39.

Referring now to the diagram, Fig. 5, the current for magnetizing the electro-magnet is taken from the trolley wire 40, conven iently by means of a hooked conductor 41, which may be hooked at one end over the trolley wire 40 and is conducted thence by a wire 42 to the clamp, one of the shafts, for example the shaft 27, serving as a convenientsupport for the wire as it nears the clamp. The wire 42, which leads to the spools of the electro-magnet and thence to the ground through a suitable ground con nection 43, is interrupted by a switch indicated at 44. Between the switch 44 and the spools 4, 5, and 6, 7, a shunt wire 45 leads from the wire 42 to the series of lamps 39 and thence to the ground connection 43. Between the switch 44 and the shunt wire 45, a second shunt wire 46 leads to the drill operating motor indicated at 47. This shunt wire 46 has interposed therein a switch 48 which, in closing, at first makes contact with a Contact piece 49 connected with the wire 46 through a suitable resistance coil 50, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 5, and finally makes contact with a second Contact piece 51, permitting the current to pass directly along the wire 46 of the motor 47 and thence through the connection 53 to the ground wire 43. While the drill is in operation, the ground connection is made through the contact of the drill bit with the rail. An additional ground connection 52 is made to yoke 1 so that the magnetic pull of the clamp serves to maintain the contact. An additional ground connection 53 is made to the motor frame 54 to protect the operator from shock as the drill point is withdrawn from the rail. This arrangement is such that when the switch 44 is closed, and the switch 48 opened, current will pass to the spools of the magnet, energizing the magnet, and the rail to which the clamp is applied serving as an armature, and the clamp will be held to the rail under magnetic force which will hold it securely in position. At the same time, the current will pass through the series of lamps 39 and these will serve as a visual indicator to the operator that the current is on. By watching these lamps, he can readily determine when, for'any cause, the current is olf and the clamp liable to displacement. Furthermore, when the switch 44 is opened, the discharge from the coils will take place through the lamp series 39 and the sudden shock caused by opening the switch under the higher voltage current will be avoided, the series of lamps serving as a safeguard. Again, when the switch 44 is closed and it is desired to operate the drill, the switch 48 may be closed to the contact 49 and a comparatively light current will be allowed to pass through the resistance coils 50 to the drill until the latter has been properly adjusted and is ready for its full drive when the switch 48 may be completely closed into engagement with the contact 51 and the full force of the current from the trolley wire will then be exerted to drive the drill. Again, in checking the drill the switch 48 may be opened from the contact 51 resting for a moment in contact with 49 and the drill thereby slowed down by the resistance coil 50; or, to stop the drill, the switch 44 is opened while the switch 48 is in contact with the piece 51, the shock from the field magnets of the drill motor will be taken by the series of lamps 39 in the same manner as that from the electro-magnet clamp. This magnetic drill clamp, as above indicated, avoids the necessity of disturbing the pavement even to the extent of securing the drill clamp to the rail. It may be readily moved from place to place, quickly and for instance a carbon rod, and it is further obvious that changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts wit-hout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence lI do not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure herein shown and described, but

What I claim is 1. A n electro-magnetic clamp provided with a non-inductive high resistance device having its circuit in parallel with the electro-magnetic clamp circuit.

2. An electro-magnetic clamp provided with a series of lamps having their circuit in parallel with the electro-magnetic clamp circuit.

3. In combination, an electro-magnetic clamp, .an electric drill and a non-inductive high resistance device having its circuit in parallel with the said clamp and drill circuits.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two witnesses, this 22nd day of March 1907.

HAROLD P. BROWN. Witnesses:

ROBT. N. HARDY, THos. H. HAsKINs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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