US937107A

US937107A - Overhead electric contact.

Info

Publication number: US937107A
Application number: US44047308A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas W Small
Original assignee: ACME AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATING Co
Current assignee: ACME AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATING Co
Priority date: 1908-06-26
Filing date: 1908-06-26
Publication date: 1909-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 1926-10-19

Description

T. W. SMALL. OVERHEAD ELEGTRIG GONTAGT.

Arrmonmn TILE JUNE se, 190s.A

937,107. Patented oct.19,19o'9.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT o FTQE,

THOMAS W. SMALL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ACME AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATING- COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

OVERHEAD nnncr'nrc CONTACT.

Specication'of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct.l 19, 1909.

Application filed June26, 19 08. Serial No. 440,473.

To all whom t mag/concern: l

l 3e it known that I, THOMAS W. SMALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a vcertain new and useful Improvement in Overhead Elec-v tric Contacts, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a very simple and eiiicient overhead contact station for trolley roads where it is desired to establish an electric circuit at predetermined intervals along the right of way.

My contact device is supported by the supportingwires for the trolley wire and is located at intervals according to the stops to be made, and may operate to close a circuit, operating, for example, a suitable street indicator on the car. This circuit closing station may be used for other purposes, if desired. It is adapted, in the form shown, to be connected with thetrolley circuit and. to coperate with-a metallic sleeve on the trolley pole which forms one'terminal of a suitable circuit. e p

The drawings clearly illustrate my invention, wherein--` l y Figure l is an elevation, partly sectional, of the contact station; Fig. 2 is a vertical central section thereof showing the position the trolley pole occupies in passing through the station; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the insulators for holding the station rigidly to the guy wire; Fig. 4 is an elevation of the inner end of one ofthe blocks which carries the contact brushes; Fig. 5 is a cross' section through the trolley. pole, showing myv metallic contact sleeve thereon.

As shown in the drawings, 10 represents the guy wire which is adapted to support the trolley wire 11 by means of the usual insulated construction. Thisconstruction as shown, includes the supporting member 12 to which the trolley wire is soldered, the stud 13 screwing into such member,;the upper insulator 14 which carries such stud, and the lower insulator 15 which surrounds the stud and interlocks with the upperinsul'ator, and finally the supporting yoke lwhich occupies the groove between the two insulator sections, and has arms 17 which overhang the guy wire. This is a usual vform of con-s struction and need'not befurther described.

The frame ofmy; contact station consists'` 4-ofa' fiat U-shaped plate,20. This plate is primarily held; by beingmounted between the lower end of the lower insulator 15 and the upper 'end of the trolley wire support 12. The plate is provided. with an opening through which the stud 13 extends and is clamped between the support and insulator. The plate bears directly on the wire support and is thus in electric connection with the trolley wire. A

The plate 20 is prevented from turning around on the stud 13 as an axis by reason of one or more clamps, holding the plate to the guy wire. Two of these clamps are shown, each consisting of a pair of

insulating blocks

21 and 22 surrounding the guy wire and held thereto by a suitable wire 23, the intermediate portion of which lies beneath lthe plate 20 and which passes in a loop upwardly through openings in that plate and through l two openings in the

blocks

21 and 22, the upper ends of the wire .being twisted together.V .1 It will be seenlfrom this vconstruct-ion that the .plate20isfrigidly held inposition'. extending transversely of the trolley wire and depending on opposite sides thereo f, that'it: isinsula'ted from the guy wire, and is in direct electric connection with the trolley wire.` f x f Secured to each of .the depending portions of the plate`20on' the inner side thereof is the wooden block 30, each of which carries inwardly projecting wires or strips 31. These inwardly projecting metallic bristles, so to speak, are preferably flat narrow strips and are bent into U-shape, and several of them nest within each other, as shown'in Fig. 1. Extending crosswise of the innermost strips in each nest of metallic bristles is the tie wire 32. This wire lies on the outer face of the block 30 and is in electrical engagement with each of the various set-s of strips, as shown in Fig. 4. This block is tionwiththe plate 20 and thus withl the trolley wire, it resultsv itiaiiythinglmetallic passes between the two sets of metallic bristles, contacting with any of them, the same j is electrically connected with the trolley wire.

The street indicator, or whatever deviceis employed onV the trolley car, may have one terminal connected with the ground -and t-he` flange 44 which enables bolts to clamp it in place. This sleeve 43 is so positioned with reference to the trolley wheel 45 that whenever such wheel passes along the wire, at one o my stations, the sleeve 43 will engage and make electrical contact with the bristles 81, while the wheel will ride through my station above the bristles and out of contact therewith. The metallic sleeve is long enough and the parts are so positioned that this result will take eiiect irrespective of the angle at which the pole may be standing.

Practice has demonstrated that my station is very etlicient in establishing a shunt from the trolley wire to mechanism on the car whenever one of the stations is reached, irrespective of sagging of wires, weather conditions, speed of operation, or any of the other extraneous factors which tend to intertere with the production of satisfactory overhead contacts. VI-Iaving thus described my invention, I claim: Y

1. In an overhead contact, the combination of aY frame adapted to depend on opposite sides of the trolley wire, contact members carried by both portions of the depending frame projecting toward each other, said contact members consisting ot narrow fiat strips arranged in sets.

2. YIn an overhead contact, the combination ofa frame adapted to depend on opposite sides of the trolley wire, contact menibers carried by both portions of the depending frame projecting toward each other, said contact members consisting of narrow fiat strips arranged in sets, the members of each set nesting within each other, and suitable retaining means `for such nested sets.

3. In an overhead contact, the combination of a suitable U-shaped plate, wooden blockssecured to the inner sides of both depending members ot' the plate, and metallic bristles carried by the wooden blocks.

4. In an overhead contact, the combination of a U-shaped plate adapted to be in electric connection with the trolley wire and clamped by the wire insulator, metallic contact members cai'ried by the inner sides oit said plate near its lower ends and projecting inwardly.

In an overhead contact, the combination et' a U-shaped plate adapted to be in electric connection with the trolley wire and supported by the wire insulator, metallic cont-act strips, wooden blocks in which .said strips are secured, and means for holding vsaid blocks to the inner sides et' said plate near its lower ends with the strips projecting inwardly and in electrical connection with the plate.

6. The combination of a. trolley wire, means for supporting the saine, a trame clamped between thc trolley wire support and trolley wire and depending on opposite sides et' the trolley wire, inwardly projecting metallic members carried by said frame, and a metallic sleeve on the trolley pole adapted to engage such metallic menibers, while the trolley wheel is on the trolley wire.

7. The combination of a trolley wire, means for supporting the saine, a suitably supported metallic member, and a metallic sleeve on the trolley pole adapted to engage such metallic member, while the trolley wheel is on the trolley wire and irrespective of the angle the trolley pole may be occupying, said sleeve being longitudinally split and having projecting portions adjacent to the split, and securing means engaging such projecting portions whereby the sleeve may be removed.

S. In an overhead electric contact, the combination with a U-shaped plate, and a series of metallic bristles nested in sets and in electric Vcontact with each et the depending arms of the plate.

9. In an overhead electric contact, the combination of a U-shaped plate clamped by the trolley hange.1 and having depending arms on opposite sides of the trolley wire, and two sets ot metallic bristles adapted to be secured to the inner sides of said depending arms, and projecting toward each other into the path et the trolley pole.

10. In an electric contact, the combination of a supporting plate anda block carrying nested sets of metallic bristles in electric contact with said plate.

11. The combination of a U-sliaped metal plate, a wooden block secured to the inner face of each oit the depending arms of the plate, and ay series et metallic bristles carried by each block.

12. The combination of a metal frame, a. wooden block secured to the inner face of such frame, and a series of metallic bristles carried by such block, said bristles consisting of U-sliaped strips nesting within one another in several sets.

V'13. The combination of a fra-me, an insulating block held thereto, several'sets of strips nesting within one another and seated in said block, and a wire engaging seyeral of such sets and serving to hold the bristles in' the block, and also insure good electricconnection with the frame.

let. The combination of a U-shaped metal plate, a wooden block secured to the inner face of each of the depending arms of the plate, a series of metallic bristles carried by each block, said bristles consisting of U- shaped strips nesting within one another, in several sets, and a wire engaging several of such sets and serving to hold the bristles in the block, and also insure good electric con neetion with the plate.

l5. The combination of a depending frame adapted to be clamped betweenthe insulator and supporting bar of a trolley hanger, and

an insulator carried by such frame and adapted to embrace the guy Wire and thereby prevent displacement of the frame.

16. The combination with atrolley hanger including a wire support and insulator, of a U-shaped flat plate adapted to extend intermediately between the support and in sulator and be clamped thereby, and an insulator mounted on ,the upper side of the intermediate portion of such plate and adapted to embrace the guy wire which supports the trolley hanger.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

T. W. SMALL.

Witnesses ALBERT H. BA'rEs, BRENNAN B. Wns'r.