US1640159A

US1640159A - Articulated car

Info

Publication number: US1640159A
Application number: US203692A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph M Suarez
Original assignee: STERLING P BUCK
Current assignee: STERLING P BUCK
Priority date: 1927-07-06
Filing date: 1927-07-06
Publication date: 1927-08-23
Anticipated expiration: 1944-08-23

Description

Aug. 23, 1927. 1,640,159

J. M. SUAREZ I ARTICULA TED CAR Filed July 6, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

duare 1 BY I ATTORNEY.

Aug. 23,1927. 1,640,159 J. M. SUAREZ ARTICULATED CAR Filed July 6, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'TiqZ.

lm-llillumm v Patented Aug. 23, 1927.

warren STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH SUAREZ, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FIFTH TO STERLING P. BUCK, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

ARTICULATEI) CAR.

Application filed July 6,

This invention relates to articulated cars, and especially to an improved electric connection and its support.

The main object of this invention is to provide a device of this character that is thoroughly safe, even in the event that an accident occurs which causes disconnection of either end of the electric connection or cable section from its normally contiguous cable connecting terminal.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which is extremely convenient in case of making repairs, providing for simply pulling one cable section from its connections or fastenings and pushing another one of such cable sections into or onto such fastenings.

Another object is to provide an extremely, simple, convenient, effective and safe means to support the middle part of such cable section so as to obviate swaying thereof and to hold it out of contact with the articulated car body sections, thereby obviating the wearing of the outer covering of the cable, and thus avoiding danger of any of the electric conducting wires thereof coming into contact with any part of the car externally of the cable.

Another object is to provide the cable support with a sheave wheel which has rotary movement in accordance with the movements of the car-body-sections towards and from the cylindrical vestibule or drum on which the sheave wheel is mounted.

Another object is to provide an improved rotary support for the sheave wheel, provided with ball bearings and with a watershedding flange to protect the ball bearings.

Other objects and important features are pointed out or implied in the following details of description, in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a. side elevation illustrating my invention as applied to the adjacent'endsof two articulated car body sections and a cylindrical vestibule between such sections.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view showing a section of electriccable supported by a sheave-wheel which is supported by a pivotally mounted support adapted to be secured on a top of the cylindrical vestibule.

Fig. 3 is a frontorrear elevation of the cable supporting device, and a sectional view 1927. Serial No. 203,692.

of an electric cable supported in the annular channel of the sheave-Wheel.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, the section being taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 3, the piece of cable being shown in side elevation.

Referring to these drawings in detail, in Wlll-Ch similar reference characters correspondto similar parts throughout the several views, and in which the articulated car body sections are indicated at 5, the cylindrical vestibules vertical wall being indicated at 6, and its top or roof at 7; the invention includes these previously known parts in combination with fixed cable terminal connections 8, a continuous cable section 9 having its terminals surrounded by an insulating sleeve 10, a sheave-wheel 11 mounted on an axis 12, a pivotally mounted supporting member 13, and a supporting base member 14, the latter being secured to th roof 7 by any appropriate means, but preferably by electrically welding its lower edge to the roof 7, as indicated at 15 (Figures 3 and 4). The axle 12' is preferably in the form of a headed and screw-threaded bolt provided with anut 16 and a cotter-pin 17, the bolt 12 extending through a central aperture of the sheave-wheel 11 and through horizontally alined apertures of a pair of spaced supporting ears 18 of the member 13. The member 13 is provided with a ball-bearing-race 19, and the member 14 is provided with a ball-bearing-race 20, these

races

19 and 20 receiving a series of ball-bearings 21 which support the member 13 and permit it to have free and easy rotary movement to compensate for bending of the cable 9 when the car body sections 5 move into angular relation with I one another when turning upon a curved railway track.

To obviate the necessity of a locking means to lreep the parts 13 and 14in the proper working engagement with one'another, the base member 14 is provided with a central bore or socket 22 into which extends avertical pivot or trunnion 23 which is preferably an integral part of the member 13. This member 13 is also preferably formed with a dependingannular flange 24 which extends downward around an upstanding annular flange 25 of themember 14, thereby excluding water and other foreign matter from entering the ball-bearing-races and the socket 22.

The members 13 and H- are of such simple construction that they can be either cast or forged, then finished by a comparatively small amount of machining, and they may be made of any appropriate material. The sheave-wheel 11 is preferably made of nonconducting material, of any appropriate kind, and its annular channel as is substantially semi-circular so as to loosely lit around the lower part of the cable section 9, but its flanges or channel walls extending a coi'isiderable distance beyond the horizontal center of the cable section which is seated therein, to obviate any possibility of the cable section accidentally leaving the channel of the sheave-wheel during operation of the articulated car, even when the car is turning around abrupt curves or traveling over abrupt changes of grade of a railway track.

The cable 9 may be of any appropriate form, and include any necessary and appropriate number of conducting wires for transmitting electric energy to the motor or motors, for electric lighting, or electric heating, and for any other purpose, as may be or become necessary or desirable. The conducting wires 27 are insulated from one another by any appropriate insulating mate rial, as indicated at 28, and this insulated mass is preferably surrounded by an insulating cover or casing 29. C f course the wires and insulating materials must be flexible, so the entire cable section 9 can bend repeatedly and many times without detrimentally atl'ecting it or causing the insulation to fracture or puncture, and besides, the casing 29 must be very durable, so it will not quickly wear in consequence of its contact with the sh ave-wheel and its relative movements with respect thereto.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be seen that the cable supporting device l113-14l supports the middle part of the cable considerably above the ends thereof, thereby not only minimizing the sag, but also minimizing the tendency of the cable connecting elements 10 to be pulled from the fixed terminal connections 8. In practice, the connections 8 and 10 may be of any appropriate type, so they are normally securely engaged with one another, and can be easily disengaged by proper manipulation. It should be understood, however, thatin case of accident which separates the car body sections 5, one of the connections 10 will be pulled from its engaged position, so the conducting wires will not be broken, the insulation will not be fractured or punctured, and the conducting wires are fully guarded against contact with the metallic parts 6 and 7, so no current can be transmitted to these or any other metallic parts of the articulated car. This is a very important feature which results T0111 the provision of the large and fully insulating collars or sleeves which form the outer parts of the movable cable connections 10.

Although 1 have described this embodiment of my invent-ion in detail, I do not intend to limit my patent protection to these exact details, nor to any specific materials, proportions or exact positions of the parts, but what I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric cable section extending continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, a vestibule between said articulated car body sections, and means mounted on the vestibule to support the middle part of said cable section.

2. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an

electric cable section extending continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, a vestibule between said articulated car body sections, a supporting base member mounted on said. vestibule, a supporting member pivotally mounted on said base member for rotary movement about a vertical axis, and an insulating member carried by said supporting member and provided with a seat for receiving the intermediate part of said cable section and holding said intermediate part against saggmg.

The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric .able section extending continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, a vestibule between said articulated car body sections, supporting means mounted on said vestibule, and a sheavewheel mounted on said supporting means and having its top part engaged with the middle part of said cable section so as to prevent sagging of said middle part while permitting a relative movement thereof With respect to the said vestibule.

4;. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric cable section extending continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, a vestibule between said articulated car body sections, a supporting base member mounted on said vestibule, a supporting member rotatable about a vertical axis on said supporting base member, and a sheave-wheel having a horizontal axis and Iii?) having its upper side containing the intermediate part of said cable section, substan tially as described, for the purposes specified.

5. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric cable section ext nding continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, a vestibule between said articulated car body sections, the said electric cable couplings being over part of the roofs of the car body sections, and means mounted on said vestibule and supporting the middle part of said ca le section at a considerable distance above the level of said parts of the roofs, thereby preventing said cable section from sagging into contact with the said parts of the roofs.

6. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric cable section extending continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto, the ends of salt cable section being provided with insu ing sleeves which have a considerably 'ger periphery than the intermediate part of the cable section, and means between the car body sections to engage with the intermediate part of said cable and hold it against sagging, for the purpose specified.

7. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric cable section ext-endin continuously i'rom one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, and means between and associated with the car body sections to support the intermediate part of said cable section, for the purposes specified.

8. The combination of two articulated car body sections each having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, an electric cable section extending continuously from one to the other of said couplings and being normally connected thereto but disconnectible therefrom, and a yieldabie supporting device connected to the intermediate part of said cable section and associated with the ends of said car body s- :tions in such manner as to cooperate with the latter in supporting said cable section against detrimental sagging while permitting said cable to bend substantially throughout its length and thereby conform to the relative angular positions of said car body sections,

9. The combination of two articulated car body sections, an electric cable including a part extending from one to the other of said car body sections at points adjacent to the roofs of the car body sections, a supporting base member supported between said car body sections, a supporting member provided with a depending peripheral flange which extends down around the top of said supporting base member and is adapted for rotary movement around a vertical axis on said base member and for excluding water and other foreign matter from the top of said supporting base member, and means carried by said supporting member for supporting the part of said electriccable which extends from one of said car sections to the other.

10. The combination of two articulated 3211 body sections, at least one of said sections having an end provided with an electric cable coupling, a vestibule between said car body sections, an electric cable extending continuously from one to the other of said car body sections and normally connected to said coupling but disconnectible therefrom, and a supporting means on the vestibule, said supporting means including a member engaged with said electric cable for supporting it while permitting it to move with respect to said vestibule.

11.- The combination of two articulated car body sections, a vestibule between said sections, an electric cable extending from one to the other of said sections and over said vestibule, and a supporting member movably mounted over said vestibule and supporting a contiguous part of said cable and automatically adjustable by movement of the said contiguous part of the cable.

12. In a cable supporting device for an articulated car, a base member adapted to be secured on a vestibule of an articulated car, a supporting member mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said base member, and a sheave-wheel mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis on said supporting member, for the purpose specified. In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

JOSEPH M. SUAREZ.