US1127470A - Electric railway. - Google Patents

Description

G. B. & J. F. McLEER.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY. APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1912.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

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C. B. & J. F. MoLEER.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

APPLICATION rmzn JULY 27, 1912.

1,127,470. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. MCLEER AND JOSEPH F. McLEER, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO ELECTRIC CARRIER COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CHARLES B. MCLEER and JOSEPH F. MCLEER, citizens of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, New York, have invented certain Improvements in Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in that type of electric railway which has a fixed motor element along the right of way, and a movable motor element mounted on the car or other structure traveling on the railway.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel form of mounting for the traveling motor element, whereby this is so supported as to be unaffected by the ordinary transverse movements of the car on which it is supported.

We further desire to provide a novel arrangement and construction of the fixed and movable members of a railway system of the type above indicated, whereby said members are maintained at a substantially constant distance from each other, irrespective of the ordinary movements of the car in directions transverse to its line of travel.

These objects and other advantageous ends we secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1, is a plan, to some extent diagrammatic, of a section of an electric railway constructed according to our invention, the figure also showing diagrammatically a portion of one of the cars designed to operate on the system; Fig. 2, is a vertical section of the structure shown in Fig. 1; and Figs. 3 and 4, are respectively a vertical section and a side elevation, showing a slightly modified form of our invention.

In the above drawings, 1 represents the ties or sleepers of the railway system on which are mounted track rails 2. These sleepers also serve to support two sets of brackets 3, of which each set has adjacent its top portion a guide-rail 4, extending parallel with the rails 2. The brackets 3 also serve to support two series of oppositely placed motor members, consisting of laminated sections 5 slotted for the reception of a conductor 6, preferably in the form of an elongated copper bar or plate having transverse slots fitting into suitably formed slots in the laminated member 5. There thus extends along the right of way of the railroad, on each side thereof, a series of fixed motor members facing toward each other.

The cars operating on the system may be made of the ordinary form or of any other desired construction, and in the present instance we have illustrated merely a supporting structure 7, in the form of an open frame, which is mounted in any suitable manner upon one of the trucks of such car. This frame has a number of downwardly extending brackets 8, in each pair of which is mounted a rod or bar 9 extending transversely of said frame and at its opposite ends supporting frames 10; the latter having horizontally extending slots 10 for the reception of substantially vertical pins 20 carried by said bar. Upon that portion of each of the bars 9 between each frame 10 and the adjacent bracket 8 we mount a spring 11, the arrangement being such that the two springs on each of the bars serve to yieldingly position it and its frames with reference to the frame 7 and, therefore, to the truck.

It is to be understood that each of the frames 10 extends between and connects two or more of the bars 9, and each has mounted on it two or more guide wheels 12, placed to engage the guide-rail 4. Each of the frames 10 also carries a section of one of the movable motor members of the system. Such sections each consist of an elongated laminated iron core 13 having a polyphase winding 14, and the arrangement of parts is such that the wheels 12 by engaging the guide-rails 4, maintain the outer face of each of the sections 13 with its winding at a predetermined distance from the adjacent face of the core and winding constituting the fixed motor members of the system.

In the present instance we have shown motor members on the truck frame 7 as eaclr lOO made in three sections, and is construction is adopted in order that the cars equipped with our apparatus may easily pass around curves of relatively small radius without interfering with the proper operation of the apparatus.

Under operating conditions, it will be understood that a polyphase current of electricity is supplied to the windings 14 by suitable means, forming no part of the present invention, and owing to the inductive reaction set up between the movable and the fixed motor members, the cars equipped with said movable members are caused to move over the right of way. The springs 11 permit of relative movement between the various bars 9 and the truck frame in which they are carried, while the guide-wheels 12 eflectually maintain substantially constant the air gap between the fixed and the movable motor elements.

In Figs. 3 and 4 we have shown a slightly modified form of our invention in which a single motor element 15 is mounted between the two main rails 2. In this case there are rods 9, immovably fixed to the brackets 8 of the truck frame 7, and provided with a pair of springs 11 confining between them a bracket 16. The movable motor element 1314 is hung from two or more of these brackets 16 so that its face is adjacent the upper face of the fixed motor element 15. In this case, as before, the springs 11 will yield to permit of the truck frame moving 2S-laterally relatively to the movable motor element, which in this instance tends to remain in a position immediately above the fixed motor element by reason of the magnetic connections set up. In this case, there is obviously no need for the side guide rails with the wheels 12, inasmuch as the air gap between the fixed and movable motor members is maintained constant by reason of the fact that the truck frame is at a substantially constant distance from the main rails 2, the main car wheels thus also serving as guide or distance maintaining means. As before, we have shown the movable motor elements carried by the frame 7 as arranged in two sections, but it is obvious that in the absence of small radius curves, these elements could be made in one length, or under other conditions, would be made in more than three sections.

By reason of the slot and pin connection between the plates 10 and the bars 9, the former are permitted a limited horizontal movement in either direction independently of the car structure connected to said bars 9; thereby materially facilitating the starting of the cars or trains, particularly when heavily loaded.

We claim:

1. The combination in an electric railway system, of a pair of fixed motor members along opposite sides of the right of way; a car; a movable motor member; means on the car for slidably supporting said motor member so that it is free to move laterally thereof in straight lines; with means for maintaining substantially constant the distance between the fixed motor members and the member carried bv the car.

2. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor member mounted along the right of way; a car; a second motor member mounted on the car in position to provide an air gap between itself and the fixed motor member; means for supporting said second member to permit of its move ment in straight lines laterally of said car; and resilient means for tending to maintain the second motor member in a definite position relatively to the car.

3. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor member along the right of way; a car; a second motor member; a structure carrying said latter member and slidably guided by the car; means for maintaining the air gap between the two motor members substantially constant; and springs acting on said carrying structure tending to maintain the second motor member in a definite position relatively to the car.

4. The combination in an electric railway, of a fixed motor member mounted along the right of way; a car having a supporting structure; guiding means on said structure; a second motor member carried by said guiding means in a position to cooperate with the first motor member and free to slide laterally of the car; with springs acting between the second motor member and the supporting structure and tending to maintain said parts in fixed relative positions.

5. The combination in an electric railway system, of a series of brackets mounted along opposite sides of the right of way; a fixed motor member and a guide-rail mounted on each of said series of brackets; a car having a supporting frame; transverse bars slidably mounted on said car frame; springs tending to maintain said bars in predetermined positions; motor members carried at opposite ends of the bars in positions to cotiperate with the fixed motor members; and guide wheels also carried by the bars in positions to cooperate with the guide rails.

6. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor member extending along the right of way; a car; a second motor member carried by the car and made in a number of sections supported in position to cooperate with the fixed motor member; with means for maintaining the sections of the motor member on the car in proper 0- sition relatively to the fixed motor mem er re ardless of lateral movements of the car.

The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor member mounted along the right of way; a car; with a second motor member mounted on said car in position to co-act with the fixed member and free to move longitudinally of the car to a limit ed extent.

8. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor member mounted along the right of way; a car; laterally projecting members mounted on the car; a

structure carried on said members and movable thereon longitudinally of the car to a limited extent; with a second motor member mounted on said structure in position to co act with the fixed motor member.

9. The combination in an electric railway system, of a fixed motor member mounted along the right of way; a car; supporting members mounted on the car and projecting on opposite sides thereof; motor members mounted on said projecting ends of the supporting members and free to move thereon if two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES B. MCLEER. JOSEPH F. MCLEER.

Witnesses:

JAMES Knisism', JOHN G. HEERMANS.

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

Washington, D. 0.

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