US597202A - Electric railway - Google Patents

Description

(No Modem' H. W. LIBBEY.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

No. 597,202 Patented Ja,11. 1l,1898.

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT Orifice,

HOSEA YV. LIBBEY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 597,202, dated January 11, 1898.

Application filed March l0, 1897. Serial No. 626,853. (No model.)

To all whom :it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOSEA. lV. LIBBEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful linprovem ents in Electric Systems for Propelling, Heating, Lighting, and Tele phoning from Railroad-Gars, of which the 0l lowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a speciiication.

My invention relates to means for propel-v ling, heating, and lighting railroad-cars by electricity, and also in means for telephoning from said cars to any desired point or station.

The invention consists in the construction of the conductors ior conveying the electricity to the cars and returning same to the terminal, also in the means for conducting the electricity from and returning it to the conductors and in conducting the electricity to electric heaters, electric lamps, and telephones, so that one or all may be operated, as desired.

Referring to the' accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of a railroad-car embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of same. Fig. 3 is an end view of one of the wheels, contacts, vand section of the rail. Fig. -l is a section through the rail and portion oi' a wheel, the main conductor, and supports. Fig. 5 is a side view of the rail, electric conduct-or, and supports in their normal position.. i

A represents a railroad-car, B one of the trucks, C the wheels, and D the rails, all of which may be of ordinary construction, eX- cept the wheels upon one of the axles, (preferably the front one,) which wheels have formed in the edges of their flanges a halfround recess CZ, (see Fig. 4,) that is lined with a suitable insulating material CZ', onto which is shrunk or otherwise fitted a ring O' of copper wire or other good electric conductor.

E E are T-pieces of copper or other suitable metal supported on the inside of each track by a series of springs F. These T- pieces are made up of a number of short lengths-say lifteen or twenty feet long-connected together, but insulated from each other, as shown at e. (See Figs. l and 5.)

The copper rings O' on the wheels O are always in contact with some section of these T-pieces E.

Immediately below each of the T-pieces E is a T-piece G Gr of good conducting metal, through one of which the electric current is conducted to the car and returned through the other. of danger from these T-pieces G G, I prefer to insulate them by coating them with guttapercha or other suitable material, which can be out away on the upper surface where it is desired to make contacts, as hereinafter de scribed. These T-pieces G are supported by but insulated from brackets H, att-ached to the web ofthe rail D. These brackets H are forked at their outer ends, the prongs 7i h standing one over the other, as shown in Fig. 4, the lower prong supporting the conduct-or G and the upper one a spring contact-piece consisting of two hard-rubber disks g g and a cylinder j of soft rubber, through the center of which passes a rod Zt, formed near its upper end with a collar Zt', that rests upon the upper disk g. The lower disk g rests upon and is supported by the fork Zt of the bracket H. When in its normal position, the soft-rubber spring j and rod Zt' are raised, so that the lower end of the rod Zt is out of contact with the conductor G, (see Fig. 5,) but when a ln order to prevent. vany chance section of the T-piece E is depressed by the hoop O in the flange of the wheel C, as shown in Fig. et, the lower end of the rod Zt will be in contact with the conductor G, and thus make an electric connection between them. The current passing from the conductor G through the contact-piece Za and a section oi' the T-piece E to the hoop O' of the wheel C is then taken by a trolley H, running upon said hoop O', and conducted by a wire I to a switch K, and thence by a Wire Z to an electric motor J, then returning by wire Z' to the switch, and thence passing by a wire Z2 to a trolley H', in contact with the hoop O in the opposite wheel O, and thence through spring connections, as before described, to a return T-piece E'. Connected to the wire l is a Wire m, that leads to a switch L, and thence by wires m to a series of electric heaters M M,

the wire n, connected to the wire Z2, complet-` ing the circuit. To the wire m is also connected a wire p, that leads to a switch N, and thence by wires q to a series of electric lamps IOO P, and the circuit is completed by a Wire r, connected to the return-wire n. To the wire m is also connected a wire r', that leads to a reducer R, that by Wire r2 connects with a telephone S, the return-Wire s of which connects with the wire Z2, and thence conducted as described to the return T-piece E', to which wires are connected at suitable points to connect with a station or central station.

In operation the electricity will flow along the conductor G, and as the hoop C depresses the T-pieee E connection will be formed by the rod 7e, so that the current will flow through said hoop C on the wheel C, and is then taken off by the trolley II, and thence to the wire I, from which it is conducted to the Various switches, thence passing through the motor, the heaters, the electric lights, and telephone, and returned by suitable wires to the trolley H on the opposite side, and thence through the rim C to the T-piece E/ and through the rod k to the return T-piece G. One or more of these circuits can be opened or closed at pleasure, so that one or all of them can be placed in operation, as may be required.

That I clairn is- 1. In a railroad an electric conductor supported by the side of the rail a T-piece consistin g of a number of sections insulated from each other and supported by springs from the web of the rail and spring contact-pieces consisting of two disks ot' hard rubber, a cylinder of soft rubber and a metal rod passing through the center substantially as set forth.

2. In a railroad an electric conductor consisting of a T-piece and a yielding T-piece arranged over saine both supported from the web of the rail, spring contact-pieces interposed between thein in combination with wheels each having a hoop or ring of copper or other suitable metal let into the outer edge of the wheel-Bauges but insulated therefrom substantially as set forth.

3. In a railroad an electric conductor consisting of a Tpiece and a yielding T-piece made up of short sections insulated from each other and supported from the web of the rail, spring contact-pieces between them in combination with a car having wheels with a metal hoop or ring let into but insulated from the edge of the flange, trolleys connected to the truck and in contact with said metal hoops, wire leading from the trolley onone side to a motor, a series of electric heaters, lamps and a telephone and return-wires leading to the trolley on the opposite side and thence through the rim of the wheel to the return T-piece on that side substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciiication, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 27th day of February, A. D. 1897.

HOSEA IV. LIBBEY.

vWitnesses:

CHAs. STEERE, EDWIN PLANTA.

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