Improvements in and relating to the Electric Return for Electric Tramways or Street Railways.

摘要

22,411. Sayers, W. B. Dec. 8. Electric railways and tramways with overhead supply conductors and return conductors in a slotted conduit. Conductors; conduits.-An insulated return conductor is placed in a conduit, and is earthed near the generator, transformer station, or other source of current, so that the difference of potential between the return and the conduit is limited to the drop in the return. Corrosion and electric disturbances are thus prevented. The conduit may be formed by the running rail a and a guard rail i of various forms, which may be connected by metal junction pieces a1, bedded on concrete &c., and furnished with boxes &c. t at intervals. Or the conduit may consist of a slotted pipe h as in Fig. 9. The conductor f may be held in an insulator g by the clamps o, o and set-screw q, Fig. 6, or by clamps 12, 13 and nut 14, Fig. 9, or may be soldered to a ring 19 clamped on an oil insulator, Fig. 12. Or, as shown in Fig. 11, it may consist of a strip f held on insulators secured by bolts passing through the sides of the conduit. The insulators may be screwed into one side of the conduit, or otherwise held therein The conductor is strained by the screw-carried roller v pulling in a loop at its end, Fig. 8, and it may be connected to feeders at intervals as at x. Collectors.-The brush 1, Fig. 6, for the return conductor and its insulating-shank 6 is supported by a hanger 2 under the influence of two springs. One spring, shown at 4, presses the brush on to the conductor, and the other allows the shank to turn up in case of obstruction.