US475491A

US475491A - edison

Info

Publication number: US475491A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1892-05-24
Anticipated expiration: 1909-05-24

Description

2 SheetsSheet 1.

T A EDISON ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVE.

(No Model.)

Patented May 24, 1892.

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T. A. EDISON. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE.

No. 475,491. Patented Maj 24,1?392;

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

v THOMAS A. EDISON, OF LLEWELLYN PARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.

E'LIECTRIC LOCOMOTlVE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,491, dated May 24, 1892 Origiunl application filed June 3, 1880, Serial No. 11,243. Divided and application filed Kay 20, 1882-80511 No. 61,956. Again dividednnd this lpplication filed J nnc 9, 1891. Serial No 395,701- (No modal.) Patented in England September 35. m 7

3,894; in Canada lurch 31, 188L110. 12,568; in India. K! 8. 1881. F0- 341: in Victoria. Kay 12, IBSLKOJJHQ] lnlrmoolhy 2'], 1881, No. 141,752: in New South Wlles June 26, 1881, No. 948: in Qnemuland Inna 30,1881. No. 31/299, end in .j Few ZealandAn'gust 2, 1881, No. 542.

To all whom it ma concern:

Be it known that I, Tnozyms A. Ems0u,'of Ll e\ vollyn Park, in .the county of Essex and 1 State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electro-Magnetic Railway Systems, (for which I have received Let the accompanying drawings and to letters and "figures of reference marked thereon. 2 This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 61,955, filed May 20,1882, which application was a division of my application, Serial No.11,2-1 3, filed June 3, 1880;

' The object of this invention is to furnish 2 5 an cconomical'system of electromagnetic railways or tramways which, while useful in any locality, shall be particularly adapted to regions where the trafiic is too light for ordinary steam-railways, or where the main bulk of the 30. trafiic is limited to certain seasons, or where the difficulties or expense of grading render ordinary steam-roads impracticable;

To this end the invention. consists in a coup plelo electro-magnetic-railwaysystemembracing the generation, distribution, and utilization'ot' electric currents as a motive power and in the novel devices and combination of devices therefor, as more particularly de= scribed and'claimod.

c In carrying my invention into effect the railsof the track are electrically connected, so that each line ofrrails forms one-half of a circuit. 'tive an .electro-magnetic engine is mounted upon a suitable frame supported upon the axles of the driving and other wheels. 'lhis motor is preferably a dynamo-electric machine having its'rotating coil and its stationary coil in separate circuits. In order that For-tho traveling motor or locomothe circuit from one line of rails to the other 5' be not directly through the wheels and axles, but. be through the motor, each car is, BO -to speak, electrically cut in two by the interpo sition of insulating material somewheroin its structure, the poles of .the motor being connee-ted one to each divisioni A preferable ethod is to form the hub andflangeot' a wheel of separate metallic parts, uniting them by bolting each to a wooden web,- which iu-.

'sulates the two, whereby the bodyofthe car 6 and the axles are insulated I from the track. Contact-springs bear against the flanges or, preferably, against hubs secured thereto by cross-bars 0r spiders, whose outer ends are bolted to the flanges. 'lhesc' contacts are connected to the brushes of tho motor',on'o-to each, respectively through the reversing-hey hereinafter spoken of. Upon each engine is located a reversing-key, through" which the eircuitpassesv to the motor, which-may be used as a. brake in case o[ cinergency,'the-reversing of the current acting .to reverse. the direction of movement of the motor, and

' thereby more rapidly stop the car. The 0perative lover of this reversing-key is $0001- .bined with a spring that it may be held in a central position without any'of its contacts impiugingon the other contacts, and so act, also, as a circuit closer orbreaker.

In the accompanying drawings Ishow more in detail how this invention .may be carried into effect. It is to be remembered, howeyer, that these details may be varied or equivalents used. and that therefore I donot limit myself generally'imsuch cases to the precise details therein illustrated.

Figure 1 shows the source of electricity, tne track, and thevehicle in operatingrelation. Figs. 2 and 3 are views of the reversing and circuit-breaking key, the latterfigure being 9 a. view of the hottom'thereof. v

' Ais a central station, at which is located a stoamboiler and engine, as shown, although the niotor'may beagwater or any other suitable form of motor. j

11 is a dynamo-electric machine connected with'and operated by the motonengin'e. The poles of the dynamo are connected with the track-railsby conductors 1 2,;15 shown. Circult is formed from one line of rails to the other and the current utilized as a motive agent by an engine constructed as shown in- I ig. 1, in which F is anysuitable frame-work suspended from the main driving-axleand placed upon the other axle.

The wheels used under the engine-car are constructed as shown. The flange F and the hub M aremade separatelyand connected by a wooden web 0, to which they are bolted, the wheel then consisting of a metallic hub, a metallic flange, and an intervening wooden or insulating web. By this means the axles and body of the car are insulated from the flanges and track and the current cannot pass therethrough from one rail to the other.

On the engine-car a spider or frame N is secured to the flange F, so as to be in electrical contact therewith, but not touching or forming contact with the hub M. Upon the center of N is a boss n, on which bearsa contact brush or arm I. There is a similar device on the opposite end of the axle bearing brush 1 The reversing and circuit-breaking key is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. U and V are elbowlevcrs pivoted at a and a, respectively, the springs s and s tending to cause them to close circuit normally on rand 'r. V is connected to P by a conductor, such as 20, and U is connected to I by a conductor, such as 24. r and :r are fixed contactstops electrically connected together by a conductor, such as 21, and by conductor '22 to one terminal of the motor-armature through anumber of springactuated circui't-brcaking points 13 14 15 1b, to be hereinafter described. Between the levets U and V is placed the operating-lever T, pivoted at 0 and connected to the other pole c" of the motor-engine M E. Upon the under side of 'l is a pin 2, taking into a cam-plate W, pivoted at :c. The cam-plate W is moved as the lever 'l is moved by the action of the pin in the slot 3 It is of such a breadth that when standing in a neutral or untilted position its opposite sides shall take against pins u -v in levers U and V and force the latter from their contacts, leaving the circuit open. This position is clearly shown in Fig. 3, where the key is seen from its under side. A movement to either side, however, allows one of the levers U V to make contact with 'r or 'r' and the contacts between 100 and 102 or 101 and 103 to be established,as shown in Fig. 2. When one set of contactsis made, the other sctis broken, being controlled by the lover '1. This lever'l when in its intermediate position holds the circuit open at two points 1 and 1*. There isa notch in its upper end, and there is a. spring-arm t, having a catch fitted to lodge in the said notelnyand thus retain this arm '1 in this intermediate position, circuit beingopcn, allas shown in ig. 3. To guard against carelessness or the iuattentlou of the person thus controlling the movementof the car, I provide an automatic slot y in a switch for opening the motor-circultwhenever the speed of movement exceeds a certain predetermined rate. Upon the caris mounted a centrifugal governor Gr, driven bya belt from the axle of the car. There is a vertical spindle or rod 200, sliding in bearings, and there are-two gove rnor-balls 201 202,1Lrranged in a well-known manner, as shown, to separate upon an increased speed of rotation,aud the connection between this vertical rod and the frame carrying the rotating balls is such that as the balls separate under increased speed of rotation the vertical rod 200 is forced downward. v This is accomplished by making the jointed frame F, carrying the balls, to rotate freely upon the vertical rod. The lower collar 204 on this frame encirclesthe said rod,

.but is held against vertical movement by attachment with the main frame or casting X, while the upper'co1lar205 on the rod'200 takes against a ring or similar limit-stop 203, fixed to the rod 200. Consequen tly when the frame F is ontracted by the separation of the

balls

201 and 202 the rod 200 is forced downward. The rod is lifted by the lever 17 under spring in t1 uence. These fonrspringsorspring-fingers 13, 14, 15, and 16 are normally in contact with four fixed contact-stops. Spring 13 is elee-' trically connected by

wires

22 and 19 through the manually-operated circu t-changer T with one terminal of the armature c", the fixed contact of spring 13 is electrically connected with spring v14, the fixed contact of spring 14 is connected to spring 1. the contact of spring I is connected to spring 16, and the stop of Spring 16 is connected by wire 23 to the tormi nal of tho armaturecircuit c. It will tltns be seen that the several springs and contactstops are in circuit in series and that the cmss-barattached topivoted lever 17 is in position to simultaneously lift all of these springs from their contacts and so break the circuit at several points. This makes a division of the sparking dneto breaking the circuit, and the spark at any break-pointis therefore comparatively smalL. g is the main drivingaxle, upon which is mounted friction-wheel. G. Upon the ehaftc of thenuagnetic engine is a friction-pulley e, the'pulley e and G not being in contact normally. In a swinging frame f, pivoted at It, is mounted a friction-pulley i. The frame f being depressed bears upon e and G andoommunicates motion from'e t'o G, the percentage transferred being proportioned to the frictional contact of i upon e and G.

In the operation of this railway, current generated atA'is conducted through the rails of the trackto'the moving vehicle, thence, via' F N 'n'P 2-1 U 101 103 T 19 c" and armature-coils c," 23 16 15 14 13 22 r 21 1 V to P and through the wheel and railon the opposite side of the car, the motor-acting to propel the car. If new the lever T be moved to a central position, so that t catches and holds it, as described, circuit will be open at points 1' 'r' and the motor will 'hicle, which will first. come to a stop, and if the reversed current be maintained the car will travel backward. If at any time the speed of movement becomes too rapid and it the op !001' controlling the car fails to check the ra advance by manipulating the switchlcver '1, the rotation of the governor G'r will depress lever 17 and the springs 13 14 15 16 will be lifted from the contacts upon which they normally rest, thus breaking the circuit at several points, and by this means obviating the injurious sparking incident to breaking a heavy current of electricity, and the motor being cut off from its supply of current at these break-points will slow down until the retardation of the governor G'r allows springs 13 14 15 1G to resume their normal position.

Ido not herein claim, in an electromagnetic railroad-engine, thecombinatiomwi'th theelectric motor mounted thereon and the drivingwhccls thereof, of means for connecting or disconnecting the two at will, whereby the engine may be stopped by withdrawing the power from the driving-wheels without stop page of the motor, as that is claimed inanothctappli :ation, Serial No. 305,700, filed June 9, lsrn.

Any patentable subject matter herein shown or described butnot claimed forms the subject-matter of. my pending applications, Serial No. 11,243, lilcd June 3, 1880, and Serial No. 01,955, filed May 20, 1882, or the divisions thereof, serially'numbercd 395,700, 305,? 2, 395,703, 395,704, 395,705,filed June 9, 1891.

\Vhat-I claim, and desire to secure by Lettcrs Patent, is

1. An electric railwa 1 having, in combination, the following elements, to wit: a stationary dynamo-electric generator, a wheeled vehicle traveling upon rails, an electro-dynamic motor mounted upon such wheeled vehicle, having its field and armature coils in separate circuits, electrical connections between the motor upon the vehicle and said generator, and controlling devices mounted upon said wheeled vehicle for starting, stopping, and reversing its movement, whereby the movement of the wheeled vehicle can be completely controlled by a person riding thereon, substantially as set forth.

2. In an electric railway, the combination of a stationary dynamo electric machine, a

.whcelcd vehicle traveling upon rails, an electro-dynamic motor upon said vehicle, electrical conncctionsnbetween said motor and said dynamo-machine, a manuallyopemted controlling device upon the vehicle for starting, stopping, or reversing the movement of the motor, whereby the movement of said vehicle may be controlled by a person riding thereon, and an automatic circuit-breaker in tho motor-circuit, operated by variations-in the speed to reduce the speed of the car whenever it exceeds a predetermined maximum,-

substantially as described.

3. In an electric railway, the combination of a stationary dynai'noelectrie machine, a wheeled vehicle traveling upon rails, an electro-dynamie motor located upon said vehicle, by which it is propelled, electrical connections between said motor and said dynamo, a switch for reversing the direction of current in said motor, and a circuit-breaker to vary the current in said motor, automatically op:

erated by a mechanical connection between a rotating part of the vehicle and a rotating.

part of the circuit-breaker, substantially as described.

4. In an electric railway, the combination of a stationary dynamo-electric machine, a

wheeled vehicle traveling upon rails, an electro-dynamic motor located upon said vehicle, by which it is propelled, electrical connections between said motor and said dynamo, and a circuit-breaker in the motorcireuit located on the car, having a number of contact points connected in series with each other, whereby sparking at the break-points is obviated, substantially as described.

5. In an electric raiiway the combination of a stationary d-ynaino-ele itric machine, a wheeled vehicle traveling upon rails, an electric motor on the vehicle, electrical connec; tions between said motor and said dynamo, a controlling device on the vehicle for starting, stopping, and reversing its movement, and means for automatically varying the speed of movement, all arranged substantially as described.

6. The combination, with an electric motor mounted upon and actuating the car, of the main driver-axle, a governor receiving motion from the latter, "and a circuit breaker. arranged to break or close the circuit at a munber of points controlled by the governor, all operating to break the circuit of the motor simultaneously at several points upon the at-- tainment of' a predetermined rate of speed and avoid or reduce sparks in so doing, sub stantially as set forth.

THJMA? A. El)ll Witncssesr 'lnoMAs MAGUIRE, JOHN F. RANDOLPH.

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