US520937A - Trolley-wire support - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

L. McCARTHY. TROLLBY WIRE SUPPORT.

In E

4 m. Ki

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS MCCARTHY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

'II'ROLLEY-WIRE SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,937, dated June 5, 1894. Application filed March 3, 1894. Serial No. 502,252l (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS MCCARTHY, a citizen of the United States, residing at'Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and Stateof Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Wire Supports, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

It is frequently desirable in the construction of electrical railways in which an overhead trolley wire is employed, to employ only a single row of uprights or posts which are located at one side of the track and which are provided with bracket arms which extend over the track and by means of'which the trolley wire is supported. These bracket arms are rigid and unyielding and when the trolley wire is supported from .the bracket arm by means of an interposed insulator, which is rigidly secured to the said arm, a practically rigid-support is obtained for the trolley wire. It has been found in practice that a rigid support for the trolleywire is undesirable since the vibrations to which the wire is subjected will act to cause a breakage of the wire or of some part to which it is directly connected. 7 A rigid connection of the trolley wire with its supporting means is also objectionable for other reasons which are well-known to those skilled in the art and which it is not necessary to specify. To ayoid a rigid connection between the trolley wire and its supporting means, namely the bracket arms, it has been proposed to secure the trolley Wire insulator to a span Wire stretched between downwardly projecting portions ofthe bracket arms. This has proved objectionable in that such a span wire is relatively short and if of sufficient size to be strong enough for its work and tightly stretched as it requires to be it is very rigid and does not afford the advantages of a yielding or non-rigid support such for example, as the ordinary span wire, which is stretched between posts which are on opposite sides of the street. v

My invention has for its object to provide a bracket arm with a means for supporting a trolley wire and its insulator which shall be free from the objections above indicated, and it consists in a means of support for said troltion which is hereinafter referred to.

ley wire which is intermediate said wire and the bracketarm and which is of the construction' hereinafter described.

The novel features of my invention are ,pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and which form a part hereof.

I have shown my invention in the accompanying drawings, to which reference is made in the following description, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a bracket arm with my device applied thereto. Fig. 2-is a similar view showing a modifica- Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 Fig. 2.

Having reference to the drawings, the bracket arm which projects over the point at which the trolley wire is to be located is shown at 2, andthe trolley wire is shown at 3. The trolley wire is supported directly by means of a clip or ear 4 which is secured to the insulator 5 in the well-known manner. Theinsulator 5 may be of any well-known construction andis provided at opposite sides thereof with eyes 6. The precise method of securing the eyes 6 to the insulator is immaterial to my present invention, but I prefer to form said eyes upon opposite sides of and integral with a cap or saddle 7 within which the upper portion of the exterior of the insulator proper fits, and which is secured thereto by means of a retaining screw or in any other well-known manner. The bracket arm 2 is provided with two collars or clips 8 which are set on the arm above the point at which the trolley Wire passes the arm'and on opposite sides of a point directly above said wire. These clips 8 are preferably of the peculiar construction hereinafter described and are each provided with an eye 9 which preferably projects downwardly underneath the arm 2. The insulator 5 is hung from the eyes 9 by means of two oppositely extending sections of chain 10 each of which engages at one end one of the eyes 9 and at the other one of the eyes 6, it being suspended by means of such sections of chain below thepoints "of attachment of the said sections'to the said arm. The insulator thereby is left unconstrained by its supporting devices and is free to respond to the vibrations of the wire which is attached thereto. For greater convenience so as to permit of the free movement of oneof the parts or links of thechain connector relative to the other part or parts thereof. The clips or collars 8 are constructed as follows: Each clip consists of two parts 11 and 12 each of which extends around substantially one half of the bracket arm 2. The part 11 of said clip is provided at its lower edge witha downward projection 13 in the lower endof. whichis formed the eye 9. The upper-edge of the partzll at the opposite side of the clip is provided with an upwardly projectinglip 14. Theother part, or half, 12 of the clip is provided at its lower edge with a horizontallyprojecting eye 15 in which the downward projection 13is inserted when the clip is in operative position; the upper edge of the part.12 is provided with an upwardly projecting lip 16 corresponding in shape. to the lip let-on the part 11. is passedthrough thelips 14 and 16' and is held in. place by means of a nut 18which is screwed onto the said bolt. By this means the parts'of the clip are firmly secured together and-to the bracket arm. In securing.

the clip to the arm, it. is only necessary to put the part 11in position,.pass the eye 15 over the downwardly'projectingpart 13, raise the part 12 "into position against the bracket arm,

insertthe bolt 17 "and screw home the nut 18. In. like-manner; the clip may be readily removed .from the bracket arm byremoving the.

securing nut andibolt and striking'the parts of the collars to loosen them in case they are rusted or-for any'reason refuse to separate 1 readilyfrom the arm. As there is considerable play between the eye 15'andthe projection 13, the two parts of the clip maybe con: nectedandthe chain connectors broughtinto engagement with the eyes-9, before the clips are securedto. the bracket arm. In this way my device as awhole may be put together and shipped'readyfor use.

The form of my'device which Ihave hereinabove described'and which is shown in Fig. 1 is intend'edby me. for use on. straight lines where the tendency of the trolley. in passing along the trolley wire is chiefly to press the wire upward In such cases,.the wire is held downby, itsweight which at any given point exceeds the. upward pressure of the trolley springs so that the wire is heldIin position while at the same time it is permitted to yield, to accommodate itself to thevibrations or movements of thewire. When, however, the line is carried around a curve, the press- A securing bolt 17.

iure of the trolley on the wire is somewhat and I have therefore provided a slightly modified form of my device for use more especially on curves although as will be clear 1 the modified form mayalso be used on straight lines. The modification is shown in Fig. 2. In that form of device I substitute in place of the eyes 9, a downwardly projecting arm or stem 20 which is provided with two eyes. The upper of these eyes shown at 21 is in substantiallythe'same position asthe eye 9 1n .theotherform of, my device. An additional eye 22 is formed at the lower end of each of the downwardly projecting arms 20. The eyes "6 of the insulator are replaced by the larger of the other construction although they occupy a somewhat. higher. position relatively to the insulator. The eyes24=serveto secure the insulator to the ,lower-endsof the down {ward projections 20 by'means of checks 25 j preferably of the coiled form shown. Bythis iarrangementt the insulator is held at four i points and itis at thesametime allowed to yield sufficiently to prevent all injury from the vibration'ofithe trolley; In case the wire fis subjectedto lateral pressure, it"is also permitted to yield'byreason ofthe-spring26 as lalsobyreason of thechaimonlink portionof the. check each link of. which. formsa joint. iAfterthe pressure upon the trolley wire has ipassed'the weightof: the partsas-also the action of the springs 26 insures itsreturntoits normalposition.

The devicewis strong and durable, readily put inplace and while-holding the wire securely and firmlyadmits; of the necessary movement so that-all danger" to the wire; or the connected parts from vibration of the wire or the like is reducedto;a minimum;

1 WhatI claim is--- 1. A trolley wiresupport comprisingzasupporting-arm, an. insulator, and jointed connectors extending upwardly'in opposite di: rections from the saidinsulator and suspending. it 'below the points ofiattachmentof the said connectors to the said' arm, leaving the insulator:unconstrainedby its supportingd'evices and free to respond to thevibrations of .the trolley wire, substantially as set forth;

2. A trolleywire. supportcomprisingarsup portingarm an insulator,-.jointed connectors extending oppositely from the saidinsulator andlsuspending, it from the" said arm, and jointedchecks connectedatiheir inner-ends with the said insulator and at their'outer ends with projections from said arm, saidchecks being provided with springs, substantially'as set forth.

or. partsprovided atone side of the clip with projections or lips for the reception of a retaining bolt, one of said halves or parts hav projections havingtwo-eyes shown at 23 and 24. The eyes-23, correspondwith the eyes 6 which at one end engage the said eyes 24and at the other are provided with. springs 26 i 3. An attaching clipcomprising twohalves changed in direction or is likely to be changed IIO ing at the other side of the clip a second lip In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in or projection and the other part having an presence of two witnesses.

eye which receives said second lip or projection to connect the parts at the opposite side of the clip and a retaining bolt passing Witnesses: through the projections orlips firstrnentioned, WM. A. MACLEOD, substantially as set forth. CHAS. F. RANDALL.

LOUIS MCOART HY.

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