US651140A - Trolley-replacer. - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

Patented June 5, I900. J. GOLDSWORTFIY.

TROLLEY BEPL ACER.

(Application filed Dec. 29, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

. WITNESSES "h l. Q'h.

INVENTOR: Jfin/ G0ZcZs-w0rt@ BY 2 A: z

I ATTORNEY.

(No Model.)

WYTNESSES J. GULDSWURTHY.

TBOLLEY REPLACER.

A lication filed Dec. 29; 1899.)

Pat outed June 5, 1900.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

[N VEN T OR. Jo im/ Galdsworhy, BY

NITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE,

JOHN GOLDSWORTHY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

TROLLEY-REPLACE R.

SPEGlFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 651,140, dated June 5, 1900.

Application filed December 29, 1899. Serial No. 741,905. (No model.) I

T0 at whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN GoLnswoRTHY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Replacers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an appliance that is designed to perform the function of an automatically-operating guide for replacing a trolley when it may have left the overheadtrolley wire; and the objects of my invention are to provide means of this character which shall be at all times instantly available and positive in action, so that accidents may be avoidedas,for instance,when a trolley leaves the wire during the time the trolley-car may be crossing a steam-railway track with a locomotive approaching. Under such circumstances the attendant may become excited and unable to replace the trolley in time to avoid a collision, or he may not be within reach of the trolley-rope and a passenger be too inexperienced to replace the trolley. It is therefore my aim to provide such a replacer as may be easily operated, and, if necessary, by an inexperienced person, even when excited to some extent. Experience has proven thatit is impossible to practically prevent a trolley from either jumping or being thrown from the wire, and it is therefore highly desirable that it be quickly replaced in emergency, and as well at all other times, in order to avoid loss of time and congestion of traffic.

With these objects in View my invention consists of apparatus adapted to be attached to any type of trolley-pole and permanently carried thereby without interfering with the usual operation of the trolley and without conflicting with the wire or its supports and switches, but which shall be automatically brought into an operative position simultaneously with the drawing down of the rope and end of the pole in the customary act of replacing the trolley, such apparatus including a frame fixed to the pole, a head pivoted to the frame, and movable guides mounted in the head; and the invention consists, further, in the parts and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents .a portion of the upper part of a trolley-. car and trolley and pole in side elevation, showing my invention in inoperative position,

-as when the car is in the electrical circuit;

Fig. 2, a similar view, but showing the trolley as having left the wire and being drawn down at the side thereof to again replace it, my apparatus being. in operative position; Fig. 3, a plan view of one of the guides and its supporting axial arm; Fig. 4, a front elevation of the upper portion of a trolley-pole and my apparatus attached thereto in operative position, as when it has guided the trolley in alinement'with the wire; Fig. 5, a side elevation of Fig. 4; Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, detail views.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures of the drawings designate similar parts.

In constructing my apparatus I provide a suitable metallic frame 0, adapted to be immovably secured to either a wooden or metallic trolley-pole B, such as are mounted upon the top of a car, as A, the frame extending both above and below the point of connection with the pole and being provided at a suitable point above the pole with a pulley I, mounted on an axle 'i, and the customary rope or cable runs over this pulley when controlling the pole and the replacer. The top 0 of the frame is preferably sloping from the top of the pole to a point above the top of the pulley I to serve as a guard and prevent damage to the pulley against the arms which may be employed in supporting the trolley-wire in case of the trolley flying off near such an arm. At the lower part of the frame or opposite the pulley 1, below the pole, is pivoted a head I) of suitable form, as by means of a blade e, inserted in a jaw d, and a rivet or bolt f. In practice it is preferable to make the frame 0 of two parts and bolt them together upon the pole at a suitable distance from the trolley 'G,

no change in either the pole or trolley being required. In lieu of the pulley I a suitable guideway may be formed, through which the cable or a chain may freely slide without material frictional resistance.

The head D may be made in any suitable shape to provide journal-bearings for the sup ports of the guide-arms F and F and is suitably composed of either a stamping or a malleable-iron casting comprising a bodyportion, to the top of which is attached the jaw d or a blade to connect with such a jaw, and counterpart flanges m and n, in which are circular apertures 7t, forming journal-bearings. It being desirable to provide a guide for the rope J, I preferably attach the same to the head D in the form of a curved arm K, which projects from the center of the flange or and serves both as a stop for the guide-arms F and F in their rotary movement and as a lever for assisting in elevating these guidearms to their operative positions. The rope J works in a guide-hole Z in the arm K and is provided with a ring R or an enlarged partadapted to stop against the arm without entering the guide-hole.

The guide-arms F and F somewhat resemble wings, by reason of their formation and the manner in which they are radially connected, and are preferably, but not necessarily, of such shape. They are alike essentially, but as shown are modified slightlyin adapting one for the right and the other for the left hand side. WVhen made in the best form, they may be exactly alike. As they are shown each is formed of sheet metal stiffened by a frame n, which is a continuation of the axial shaft E, to which the plate is secured. A head 20 is formed at the top of the arm N or operative edge, which is designed to operate against the trolley-wire. Thus webbed, there are no openings to catch against the wirehangers; otherwise the arms may consist of skeleton work and be rigidly attached to the shafts E or E, which are alike, and have each a cylindrical journal portionj, mounted in the bearings 7c and suitably secured against accidental removal therefrom. At the extremities of the portions 7' are secured the dogs L and L, one to each, which are adapted to engage the curved arm K when the arms F and F are in their proper operative positions. At a suitable point removed from the axis (as the shaft E) of the arm F, as at c, I attach a link a, and a link a is similarly attached to the arm F, the links being made of any suitable chain or cable sections and having their free ends attached to the end of the rope J or to an intermediate connecting-chain. The frames u u are coupled by a yoke M, which is adapted to rest upon the pole B when the apparatus is not in operation to support the upper portions thereof; but I may obviously provide stops in connection with the frame 0 and head D to accomplish the same end. The yoke has its ends turned over to form eyes it h, or it may be formed of parts bolted or riveted together, so as to provide that the arms are practically hinged thereto.

The

edges 19 of the arms are elevated, so as to pro vide a guard for the yoke. The relative positions of the guide-arms F and F when the apparatus is assembled are such that when not in use the tops N and N are somewhat below the top of the trolley G and unobstructive, the arms hanging at the sides of the pole B, and when in use the tops N and N are situate in opposite oblique angles, the points 3 and 5' being about as high or slightly above the bottom of the groove in the trolley, the outer ends '15 and i being higher than the flanges of the trolley G and extending nearly in a line transversely to the trolley-wire.-

The whole apparatus may be made very light in weight and symmetrical, so as to be unobjectionable in the required situation.

While I show and describe the shafts E E as being journaled, it will be obvious that I may without departing from the spirit and intent of my invention secure these rigidly in the head and hinge the arms F F to them and provide simple steps for the arms elsewhere in lieu of the stop-dogs L L.

In practical use let it be assumed that the trolley G has left the wire II and has been forced above it by the spring-pole. The usual practice is to grasp and draw on the rope J to again draw the trolley down to a proper level below the wire and replace it by side movements, the time required in finding the vertical plane of the wire being considerable; but in the present case the act of drawing the rope taut against the action of the pole-spring causes the rope to run freely over the pulley I and through the side aperture 1) in its frame and through the guide-hole Z, spreading the arms F and F somewhat, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, when the ring R forms a contact with the arm K and tilts the head D, so as to elevate the oblique-angled tops N and N to the proper height designed, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5. Then by drawing upon the rope the trolley is drawn below the wire, and with it the guide-arms, and a slight lateral movement, together with a slackening of the strain on the rope, causes one or the other of the guide-arms to form a contact with the wire, as at H, Fig. 4, and immediately establish a circuit, while the oblique angularity of the top N or N of the arms will permit the spring of the pole B to force the arms over laterally against the wire until the trolley is in line therewith, and then the simple releasing of the strain on the rope permits the guide-arms to drop away, while the trolley engages the wire. Thus it will be seen that only the cus tomary manipulation of the trolley-rope is required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A trolleyreplacing guide including a frame, a head connected with the frame, a pair of guidearms pivotally supported by the head and normally depending at the sides of the trolley-wheel in lines parallel to the trol ley-wire, a link connected to each guide-arm, an elevated ropeway, and a rope running over the ropeway and connecting the links, whereby the guide-arms maybe moved radially and upwardly.

2. A trolley-replacer includinga frame provided at the top thereof with a ropeway and adapted to be attached below the ropeway to a trolley-pole, a head pivoted to the frame below the point of attachment to the trolleypole, a pair of guide-arms pivotally supported by the head normally at the sides of the trolley-wheel and adapted to move radially to positions in lines extending transversely to' the trolley-wire, an inclined guard leading from the pole to the top of the ropeway, links connected to the guide-arms, and a rope running through the ropeway and connecting the links, whereby the guide-arms may be moved radially and upwardly. 4

3. A trolley-replacer consisting of a frame adapted to be attached to a trolley-pole and having a guideway through which a rope may run,- a head pivoted to the frame, a pair of axial shafts mounted in the head, an arm rotatively supported by each of the axial shafts and provided each with an oblique-angled top adapted to slide against the trolley-wire when pressed against the same whereby the trolleyis drawn into alinement with the wire, a link attached to each guide-arm at a point removed from its axis and adapted to be connected to the trolley-rope, stops for the radial movement of the guide-arms, a stop for the pivoted head, and an operating-rope running through the guideway and connecting the links, whereby the guide-arms may be drawn into operative positions.

4, A trolley-replacer consisting of a frame adapted to be attached to a trolley-pole and having a guideway through which the trolleyrope may run, a head pivoted to the frame,a

pair of axial shafts mounted rotatably in the head, an arm attached to each of the axial shafts and provided each with an oblique-angled top adapted to slide against the trolleywire when pressed against the same whereby pulley situate above the pole and a guard for the pulley, the trolley-rope running over the pulley, a head pivoted to the frame below the trolley-pole and adapted to be tilted by the trolley-rope, a pair of axial shafts mounted in the head and provided with radial stops, a radial guide-arm attached to each of the axial shafts and operatively connected with the trolley-rope, whereby the radial arms may be partially rotated and elevated to an operative position simultaneously with the act of replacing the trolley to guide the same into alinement with the trolley-wire.

6. The combination with the trolley-pole, the trolley, and the trolley-replacing rope, of the frame attached to the trolley-pole, the head pivoted to the frame, the axial shafts mounted in the head, the arm attached to the head and having the guide-opening therein, the pulley mounted in the frame, the guideway in the frame, the trolley-rope running over the pulley and through the guideway,

the stops attached to the axial shafts, the oblique angled guide-arms attached to the axial shafts,the supporting-yoke connected to the guide-arms, the ring or stop attached to the rope, and the links attached to the guidearms and connected with the trolley-replacing rope, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN GOLDSW ORTHY.

Witnesses 2 WM. 0. THOMPSON, E. T. SILvIus.

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