US623248A - babendrejer - Google Patents

Description

No. 623,248. Patented Apr. I8, I899; T. J. KING &. A. 0. BABENDBEIER,

RAILWAY.

' (Ap' licatiox} filed Sept. 20, 1898.)

2 Shuts-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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No. 623,248. Patented Apr. l8, I899. T. J. KING & A. 0. BABENDREIEB.

RAILWAY.

(A likation filed Sept. 20, 1898.) (No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNTTE STATES PATENT Urricn.

THEODORE J. KING AND ARTHUR Of BABENDREIER, OF WVASIIINGTON,

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,248, dated April 18, 1899.

Application filed September 20, 1898. erial No. 691,467. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

reached, and for engaging and holding the Be it known that we, THEODORE J. KING plow when raised, so as to enable the car to and ARTHUR O. BABENDREIER, citizens of the United States, residing at Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railways, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of electric railways which embrace a conduit and cars equipped with plows movable in the conduit and having shoes or other means for making electric connection with a conductor or conductors therein and supplying current to the car-motors. Electric railways of this class while eminently desirable for cities are very costly, and therefore in railways which are both urban and suburban it has been found expedient to make use of the conduit system in the city and merge it at some suburban or other suitable point into an 0verhead-trolley system. The conduit of course is made to end at or adjacent to where the overhead wire begins, and this renders it necessary before a car can pass into the overhead system to raise the plow from the conduit or disconnect it from the car. Heretofore the disconnection of the plow or the raising of the same from the conduit has been done by hand; but this is objectionable, because it necessitates stopping the car and occasions considerable delay at the point where the railway changes from conduit to overhead and also because it entails the employment of laborers at such point.

The general object of our invention is to provide means for automatically raising the plow of a car to a point above the surface between the rails as the car passes from the conduit portion into the trolley portion of a railway and for automaticallylowering the plow into the conduit as the car passes from the trolley portion into the conduit portion, both operations being effected while the car is in motion and without necessitating any delay whatever of the same.

The invention also contemplates the provision of means for holding the plow to its work and against casual upward movement in the conduit,for automatically releasing the plow when the end of the conduit system is carry the same above the surface between the rails of the trolley system, such means being adapted as the car passes from the trolley system into the conduit system to operate inversely-that is to say, to automatically release the plow and permit its descent into the conduit and then automatically engage the plow and hold it in its proper operative position and against casual upward movement.

lVith the foregoing ends in view the invention will be fully understood from the follow ing description and c aims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is alongitudinal sectional view of a portion of an electric railway and aportion of a car embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a detail plan of the railway. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation, with parts in section, of the vertically-movable plow and the guideframe thereof. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the broken line 4 at of Fig. 3 and illustrating the conduit in the road-bed, the plow therein, and the guide-frame of the plowinits proper relation to the conduit. Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section taken in the plane indicated by the broken line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section taken in the plane indicated by the broken line (3 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail section taken in the plane in-' dicated by the broken line 7 7 of Fig. 3.

In the said drawings similar letters desig: nate corresponding parts in all of the several views, referring to which A is a conduit in the road-bed of an electric railway. This conduit is provided with the appurtenances common to electric-railway conduits and is otherwise similar to the same with the exception that its slot a merges at a point above the surface between the rails. It is also designed to gradually lower the plow of a car traveling in the direction opposite to that indicated to its proper operative position in thev conduit, and in order to withstand frictional wear is either formed entirely of metal or else shod with ametallic bar d, which preferably extends horizontally a slight distance above the surface between the rails after the manner shown.

B is a tappet disposed longitudinally at one side of the slot CL and opening I) and having beveled ends, for a purpose presently described.

C is an electric car, which may beof the ordinary or any other construction, except in the particulars hereinafter noted. is equipped with a plow D, which has suitable electric devices arranged to coact with the conductors or other electric devices in the conduit for the transmission of current to the car-motor. The plow D is vertically movable and is mounted in and guided by a frame E,

(better shownin Figs.3, 4, and 5,) antifrictionwheels 6 fbeing provided on the frame and plow, respectively, to reduce the friction incident to the up-and-down movements of the latter and the frame being provided with a stop portion g, designed to limit the downward movement of the plow and support it in its properoperative position in the conduit. The frameE in turn is supported by two transversely-disposed rods F, suitably connected with the car, it being loosely mounted on said rods, so as to be capable of free lateral movement and enable the plow to accommodate itself to the slot when the car goes around a curve and prevent any binding between the plow and the walls of the slot.

G is a latch which serves to hold the plow against casual up ward movement from its 0perative position in the conduit and also serves when the plow is raised above the surface between the rails to secure it in such position. The said latch is pivotally connected to and depends from the frame Band is provided at an intermediate point of its length with a lateral arm h. This arm h is designed to rest over an arm or projection 2' on the plow to hold said plow in its proper operative position in the conduit and is also designed to take beneath a lower projection j on the plow when said plow is raised and support the same in such position. For the purpose of lessening the liability of the latch being casually disengaged from the arm j of the plow when the plow is in its raised position the meeting faces of the latch-ar1n h and plow projectionj are made slightly convex and con cave, respectively, as best shown in Fig. 3.

It follows from the foregoing that before the plow can be raised from its operative position, as shown in Fig. 1, the latch G must be disengaged from the projection 2' of the plow. This function is automatically performed by the tappet B,which as the car travels in the direction indicated by arrow not only This car tion opposite to that indicated by arrow and the plow is carried above the surface between the rails the tappet 13 serves to cant the latch and disengage its arm h from the plow projectionj and also serves to hold the latch in its canted position until the plow has descended sufliciently to carry the plow projection 11 below the latch-arm h, when the latch is released and its arm h permitted to assume a position above the projection t'for the purpose before stated.

In order to prevent the latch G from swinging beyond the vertical when released, and

thereby insure its properly engaging the projections of the plow, we provide the leverstop I'I. (Better shown in Figs. 3 and 4:.) This lever-stop is fulcrumed on an upright m, rising from the frame E and depends below the latch G, so as to be engaged by the beveled or inclined ends of the tappet B before said latch is engaged by the tappet. At

its upper end the lever-stop H is provided with two inwardly-directed lateral ears 12-, between which and slightly above the lower edges of which normally rests a lug p on the latch Gr. By virtue of this construction with the car moving in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, for instance, the lever-stop H will first be engaged by the end of the tappet B v and its upper end will be thrown a slight distance in the direction indicated by arrow. (See Fig. 3.) This will raise the rear car 01 ofthe lever-stop with reference to the direction of arrow, so as to enable the lug 1) of the latch to clear the same when the latch is en gaged by the tappet and moved in the direction opposite to that indicated by arrow in Fig. 3. The parts will remain in these positions until the opposite end of the tappet B is reached, when the latch will move in the direction indicated by arrow and stop against the forward ear of the lever-stop, which will then resume its perpendicular position, and thereby trap the lug 1) between its cars a. From this it will be appreciated that the lever-stop not only insures the arm h of the latch properly engaging the projections ij of the plow, but also tends to lessen the liability of said projections being casually disengaged from the latch.

The general operation of our improvements is as follows: lVith the car travelingin the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 1 the latch is released from the projection v by the tappet B, and immediately afterward the plow engages and rides up the inclined way 0 to a position above the surface between the rails. At this time the latch is released from the tappet B and reassumes its perpendicular position, with its arm 7!, below the plow projection j, and thus supports the plowin its raised position in the car. Then the car is traveling in the direction opposite to that indicated by arrow, the operation is the inverse of that described-that is to say, the latch is first disengaged from the plow projection j, and the plow then engages and moves down the in-' trolley portion into the conduit portion of a duplex railway system without the necessity of'stopping the car or reducing the speed of the same, which is a highly-important advantage.

\Ve have described the car as traveling to and fro on a single track; but it is obvious that where the railway embraces a double track our improvements will be provided at the terminals of both conduits and the cars will be made to go out on one track and come in on the other, an ordinary switch or other approved means being employed at the terminus of the railway to transfer the cars from one track to the other.

Our improvements are calculated to be used to advantage at the car-house terminals of both electric and cable railways as well as at points where conduit systems are merged into overhead-trolley system s,since with the plows raised above the surface between the rails the cars may be shifted from one track to another without regard to the conduits and slots thereof. The improvements may also be used to advantage where an underground electric or a cable railway is merged into any kind of railway not embracing a conduit in its construction. This being so, we desire it distinctly understood that the term conduit as herein employed is intended to comprehend a cable-conduit as well as an electric conduit and that the term plow is intended to comprehend the cable-gripper of a cablecar as well as the current-collector of an electric car.

As bestshown in Fig. 4, the guideways of the frame E are open at their upper ends. In virtue of this when it is desired to remove the plow from the car to make repairs or for any other purpose the same may be accomplished by simply lifting the plow up and out of the frame E, and this without the necessity of removing bolts or other devices.

Having described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The combination of a car, a verticallymovable plow,a railway having a conduit provided with a slot and an opening, large enough for the vertical passage of the plow, connected with the slot, and also having an inclined way arranged to engage the plow of the car, while said plow is in its operative position, and eX- tending through the opening of the conduit to a point above the surface between the rails so as to raise the plow to such point, means for securing the plow in its operative position in the conduit, and means for automatically releasing the plow, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of a car, a verticallymovable plow, a railway havinga conduit provided with a slot and an opening, large enough for the vertical passage of the plow, connected with the slot, and also having an inclined way arranged to engage the plow of the car, while said plow is in its operative position, and extending through the opening of the conduit to a point above the surface between the rails so as to raise the plow to such point, means for securing the plow in its operative position in the conduit, means for automatically securing the plow in its raised position, and means for automatically releasing the plow, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of a car, a verticallymovable plow, a railway having a conduit provided with a slot and an opening, large enough for the vertical passage of the plow, connected with the slot, and also having an inclined way arranged to engage the plow of the car while said plow is in its operative position, and extending through the opening of the conduitto a point above the surface between the rails so as to raise the plow to such point, means for automatically securing the plow in its raised position, and means for automatically releasing the plow, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of a railway having a conduit, a car, a vertically-movable plow carried by the car, means for securing the plow in its operative position in the conduit, means for automatically raising the plow above the surface between the rails, means for automatically securing the plow in its raised position, and means for automatically releasing the plow.

5. The combination of a railway having a conduit, a car, a vertically-movable plow carried by the car, means for securing the plow in a position above the surface between the rails, means for automatically releasing the plow, and means for gradually lowering the plow to its operative position in the conduit.

6. A car, a vertically-movable plow carried thereby, and a latch, also carried by the car, for engaging the plow; in combination with a railway, having a conduit to receive the plow of the car, a tappet for automatically disengaging the latch from the plow, and an inclined way arranged to engage the plow, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. A car, avertically-movable plow carried thereby, and alatclnalso carried by the car, and

arranged to hold the plow in its depressed,

operative position and also in its raised position; in combination with a railway having a conduit to receive the plow of the car, -a tap- IIO pet arranged to disengage the latch from the plow, and an inclined way arranged to engage the plow, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. A car, a verticalguide-frame carried thereby, a plow movable in said frame, and a latch for engaging and holding the plow against casual vertical movement; in combination with a railway having a conduit, an inclined way, and a latch-engaging tappet, all arranged, substantially as and for the purpose set forth;

9. Acar,avertical,laterally-movable guideframe carried thereby, a vertically-movable plow arranged in said frame, and a latch also carried by the car for holding the plow against casual vertical movement; in combination with a railway having a conduit, a latch-engaging tappet, and a plow-engaging inclined way, substantially as specified.

10. A car, a vertical guide-frame carried thereby, a plow movable in said frame, a latch for holding the plow against casual vertical movement, and an automatic stop'for insuring the engagement of the latch with the plow, substantially as specified.

11. A car, a vertical guide-frame carried thereby, a plow movable in said frame, a latch for holding the plow against casual vertical movement, and an automatic stop for insuring the engagement of the latch with the plow; in combination with a railway having a conduit, a tappet fol-engaging the latch and the automatic stop thereof, and an inclined, plow-engaging way, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

12. A car, a vertical guide-frame carried thereby, a plow movable vertically in said frame and having lower and upper projecttions, and a latch arranged to engage the upper projection of the plow when the same is depressed and the lower projection when the plow is raised; in combination with a railway having a conduit, an inclined, plow-engaging way, and a tappet for engaging the latch and disengaging the same from the plow, substantially specified.

13. A car, a vertically-movable plow carried by the same, a latch for holding the plow against casual vertical movement and having a lug, and a stop-lever depending below the latch and having ears disposed at opposite sides of the lug thereof; in combination with a railway havinga conduit, an inclinedplowengaging way, and a tappet, substantially as specified.

14. The combination of a car, averticallymovable plow carried by the same, a swinging latch for holding the plow against casual vertical movement and having a lug, and a stop-lever having ears arranged to rest at opposite sides of the lug on the swinging latch, substantially as specified.

15. A car, a vertical guide-frame carried thereby and open at its upper end, and a vertically-movable plow arranged in said'frame and removable through the upper end thereof, substantially as specified.

16. The combination of a car, a verticallymovable plow carried thereby, a latch for engaging and holding the plow, and an automatic stop for engaging the latch and insuring the engagement of the said latch with the plow.

17. A car carrying a vertically-disposed guide-frame open at its upper end, in combination with a vertically-slidable plow arranged in said frame and adapted to be removed through the open end thereof, a raiL way having a conduit with a slot and an opening large enough to permit the removal of the plow, and an inclined way arranged to engage the plow and lift the same out of the slot, above the surface of the way and between the rails thereof,su bstantially as specified.

18. A car having a vertically-disposed and transversely-movable guide-frame in combination with a plow arranged in said frame and adapted to slide vertically therein and also move bodily with the frame in a transverse direction, anda railway of the conduit system having an opening in the conduit large enough for the removal of the plow, and an inclined way arranged to engage the plow and lift it out of the conduit and above the surface between the rails, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereofwe have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THEODORE J KING. ARTHUR O. BABENDREIER. \Vitnesses:

THOMAS E. TURPIN, CHARLES H. RAEDER.

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