US1864323A - Elevated railway system - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 1932. F R. SHERIDAN 1,864,323 ELEVATED RAILWAY S YSTEM Filed Oct. 20, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mo'zzzwmwsbw ATTORNEY June 21, 1932. SHERIDAN 4 1,864,323

ELEVATED RAILWAY SYS TEM Filed Oct. 20, 1.930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 fl /3' f /2 7395. l l I INVE NTOR 7 m flZZerZt/KRSZ 0226272 /7 Y ATTORNEYS Jun 21, 1932.

F. R. SHERIDAN ELEVATED RAILWAY SYSTEM Filed Oct. 20, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Iii 1 IISIUlISI! INVENTOR ed'erzr/Wi 536/7147;

ATTORN EYS June 1932- F. R. SHERIDAN 1,364,323

' v ELEVATED RAILWAY SYSTEM Filed Oct. 20, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I i E I E a Q I. 7/

85 IIII Y Y Ill 5 A a f; ew 7 7 f4 INVENTOR I racZerlc K52 ri'zian 40 B 94-min NM ATTORN EY/ June21, 1932. F. R. SHERiDA 1* 864,323

ELEVATED RAILWAY SYS TEM Filed oct 20, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 un In mu Patented June 21, 1932 IYIEEDERIGK R. SHERIDAN, QF f DETROIT, TMICHIGAN ELEVATED RAILWAY 'SYSTEM Application .filed October .20, 1930. .Serial No. 490,020.

The invention relates to elevated railway systems and more particularly to the type wherethe car issuspended from an-overhead rail or equivalent structure.

One of the main objects of my invention is to provide afrailwaysystem capable of obtaining high .speed which can 'be constructed at relatively low cost. .To this end I have deViser'hmeans for increasing the tractlive force between driving wheels and the running .rails without increasing the weight of the vehicle, thereby permitting for .the first time the construction ofa veryllight weight car which cauhe 'driyenbya friction wheel drive at highspeeds without loss oftraction. By reducing the weightot the .car lamenabled (to reduce the cost of :buildingasuperstructure having the necessary strength :and rigidity for insuring safe travel.

Another object of the invention is to .pro vide .a supporting system for suspending an elevated car comprising two parallel Tails designed .to carry respectively downwardly acting and upward-1y acting stressesiand an ecccntrically leaded car suspended from one rail and stabilized by the other.

Another object of the invention is :to provide a .novel .designo'f running gear for-a car supported from above, which 5 gear has many features of construction producing-new and unexpected results.

These and other objects have been attained in the .eleyated rail-way system hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated :in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l :is :a side elevation or" an elevated railway superstructure;

FigurerQ is :a top plan "View thereof;

Figure 31is a cross .section'thereoii;

.Figurekis anenlarged:crosssectional .view of the T031 and the overhead running gear thereofataken onxth'e line 'il-lsof Figure 5;

Figure '5 is :a longitudinal sectional view ot'th'e running gear;

Figure -6 is a sectional plan "view of the running gear;

Figure :7 is :a :cross section on the line 77 of Figure 5;

Figure'S is a longitudinal sectional "View of :a modified "running gear;

Figure 9 is a sectional plan view thereof taken on line9-19 of Figure F8.

FigurelO is a cross section on the line '10 10 of Figure B;

'Figu're lliis a cross section onthe.lin'e1'l- 11 of Figure 8;

Figure12is alongitudina-l sectional View of another modified running gear;

Figure 1-3 is a plan "View't'hereof taken on line 13-1.3 of Figure 12 Figure 14 is a cross section on the line l414 of Figure 1 2.

The superstructure'for'mylevatedrailway system may of course be-constructed in various ways but as illustrated in Figure 1, I provide a series of towers 10 at intervals throughout the Tightpf-Way. From these towers is suspended the rail structure 1'1 which in a double track system consists of tour longitudinal members suitably crossbraced to ,form a rigid truss in a horizontal Plane. The two out- side members 12 and 1 3 I are designated the running rails and the two intermediate longitudinal members "14 :and 15 are designated as stabilizing rails. The 7 truss'i-ng'members:comprise the perpendicular cross members 16 and the diagonal'brac'ing members 17 and 18. The towers 10smay pre' ferably be of "arch-s'hape'as'shown Figure 2'3 with supporting legs 19 and 20 on opposite sides of the running "rails. The towers have the main cross members '21 *for directly supporting the rail-structure 11 "and such :other cross bracing members "as are necessary to provide strength and rigidity to'the structure. The rail structure intermediate the towers 'lOis carried by the tensionmenibers-QQ which extend from the towers :to various points on the rail structure intermediate thesame. In orderto dampen anyvertical'movementioiithe mil structure "it is tied to points on the towers below the rails by tension members 23 which may if desired be equippedwith'sp-rin'g washers (not shown) that put a substantial- 1yconstanttension inthe members supporting the rail structure in addition to that produced bythe dead load o'f therails themselves. This-arrangement also dampen-s vibrationin the supporting members.

At periodic=intervalsthrou'ghout the ri'ghtof-way, say about twelve hundred feet, a special anchor tower 24 is provided, the function of which is to take up all horizontal stresses in the system. The tops of the anchor tower 24 are interconnected with the tops of the intermediate towers by horizontal tension members 25. The stabilizing rails 14 and 15 are preferably welded end-to-end to form a continuous member between anchor towers and are insulated against temperature changes and where temperature change is very great (in latitudes where temperature reaches 15 below zero) the stabilizing rails can be heated to cut down temperature stresses. The stabilizing rails transmit horizontal stresses set up in the structure by the starting and the stopping of the cars to the anchor towers since the stabilizing railsare interconnected with the running rails 12 and 13 by the trussing members in the rail structure hereinbefore referred to. The running rails 12 and 13 are preferably spliced at each tower with suitable. connections permitting the expansion and contraction of the rails with temperature changes.

The structure as above described is given as a representative example of a superstructure for supporting the railway cars now to be described. The car is represented generally by the reference character A and may preferably be supported by two overhead trucks B and C. These trucks are provided with the supporting wheels 27 and 28 which are arranged to engage the rails 53 supported by lower flange 29 of the running rail 12 on opposite sides of the vertical web 30 of said running rail. The running rail is preferably in the form of an I-bea-m, the top flange 31 being supported by the rail structure hereinbefore described. The car A is suspended from each truck by a universal joint connection 32 which is laterally offsetwith respect to the center of gravity of the car A so that the car is eccent-rically loaded. Thus as shown in Figure 4; the center of gravity is represented as the point G and the weight of the car is represented by the vertical arrow TV. The center of gravity is spaced from the vertical line running through the universal oint 32 by a distance (Z. It is therefore apparent that the car due to the eccentric loading has a turning moment mathematically expressed by Id.

In order to counteract the turning moment the transverse member 33 at the upper end of the car A (which is supported by the universal joint 32) is provided with a lateral extension designated as a stabilizing arm 34. This arm carries at its outer end a wheel 35 bearing against the lower surface of the stabilizing rail 14. This construction therefore produces the counter-reaction for preventing the turning of the car A about its universal support 32 but it will be noted that the counter-stress set up in the stabilizing rail is vertical and upwardly acting while the stress on the running rail 12 is vertical and downwardly acting. Therefore the stresses due to the weight of the car, although the same is eccentrically supported, are borne entirely by two rail members and the stresses set up in these members are entirely vertical. By reason of this construction it is possible to design the superstructure for the system in a simple manner to adequately care for these principal stresses which are vertical.

By reason of the eccentric loading of the car A, the swaying of the car when traveling at high speed is largely eliminated because there is always a tendency for the car to turn toward the stabilizing rail which is resisted by the rigidity of said stabilizing rail.

As set forth above, the car is supported by the trucks B and C and the supporting wheels 27 and 28 engage the rails 53-supported by the top side of the lower flange 29 of the running rail 12. For driving the car I preferably provide a driving wheel 36 which engages the lower face 37 of the running rail. Means is provided for varying the pressure between the driving wheel 36 and the supporting or idling wheels 27 and 28 in order that these wheels may clamp the rails 53 and the lower flange 29 of the running rail between the same with any desired force. By increasing this force the friction between the driving wheel and the running rail may be increased to any desired amount and consequently the tractive force may be increased to the necessary amount to drive the car at whatever high speed is found desirable. The

means for increasing the tension between the driving wheels and the idling wheels preferably involves the use of resilient pressure and may be generated by various mechanical expedients, some of which are hereinafter more fully set forth. The driving wheel 36 is preferably driven by an electric motor 38 within the car which is connected to the wheel by any suitable form of gearing. It should also be understood that if desired one or more of the wheels 27 and 28 may be made the driving wheels and the wheel 36 may be an idling wheel, the only function of which is to increase the pressure between the driving wheel and the running rail.

In Figures 1- to 7 T have illustrated in m'ore detail one method for supporting the car from a wheeled truck arranged to provide the features hereinbefore mentioned in a practical manner. The car A has two main channel members 40 extending longitudinally at the top of the car and forming the supporting members from which the car structure proper depends. 12 is a cross member connected to the main channels and having at a point laterally offset with respect to the midplane of the car a socket 4:3 constructed to receive a ball 44, the two together forming a universal joint. The ball 44 is connected to a yoke frame 45 by a rod 46. This yoke frame 45 extends upwardly on opposite sides of the running rail 12 and. has two longitudinally extending top frame members 48' represents enerally a runnin 'eartruck D E C frame member in l which the yo e frame 45 is carried,.there eingsuitable resilient connections intermediate the two! parts as here inaf-termore fitlly set forth.

Th'erunning gear'truck framei48 comprises: two longitudinal.- sills 49. Each of'sa'idsills ghas two inwardlyprojectingstub shafts 51 and on. each stub shaftis a running wheel. 52- arrangedito runion tracks 53 supported on the lowerflange' of the runningrail 12. Prefer ably this lower flange has two tracks 53 extending upwardly'therefromand forming the actual surface for engaging the running wheels. For 'supportingthe yoke frame 45 on the running gear truck frame 48' I preferably arrange a series of coil'springs and as shown there are three coil; springs 55 arranged on each side'ofthe running rail 12 and? in substantialilongitudin al alignment with the runningwheels52i There are also the four additionalsprings 56 arrangedon each side, two of thesev springs being opposite each running wheel oneacli side but arranged in a vertical plane which is closer to the outside of the truck structure than the first mentionedsprings 55.v The sills 49 are permitted to movevertically with respect to the yokefr'ame 45' but are restrained from turning byreason otthe guides 57 which engage grooves 58 in the yokev frame 45; The sill members 49 are restrained from moving longitudinally with respect tothe yoke frame 45 by reason of the several links 59 which are arranged between these members at'points adjacent to the eral stubshafts 51. The coil springs'55 are preferably'made stiffer than the springs 56 andfcarry about five-sevenths ofthe'total'load on the yoke frame 45 aslthe horizontal distance'from the center ofi'these springs is equal tothe' horizontal distance of the center of pressure orrt'he wheels52 from the guides 57, All of the springs, however, counteract the turning moment between the yoke frame and the truck frame so that theresulting turning moment at the-guides'57 issmall and just sufficient to keep said guides pressed. against grooves 58* in one direction.

The driving mechanism comprisesan' electric motor 38' located within the car from which. an upwardly extending shaft 59 side of the lower surface of the rail to conductthe water below the driving surface; It should also be noted that the lower surface of the running rail may be roughened if desired to increase the tractive force.

The wheel 36 is supported on a shaft 6-3 extending betweenthe longitudinal frame members 40- and is mounted in suitable bearing boxes 64' which in turn are adj ustably carried by said framemembers. In the construction illustrated, I have employed adjustable spring supports for mounting said bearing boxes and as shown there are leaf springs 65 secured at their mid points to the bearing boxes and having shackles 66 and 67 at the opposite ends thereof. The shackle 66 is pivotally connected to one of the frame members, while the opposite shackle 67 is connected to an adjusting member 68. This member 68 may be manually adjusted by means of the threaded connection 69 thereby drawing the shackle 67 upwardly with respect to the frame and increasing the resilient pressure of the springs 65 upon the wheel 36.

In order to provide for lateral pressures on the running rail the wheels 52 above mentioned are preferably flanged and as shown in Figure 7 the adjacent wheels on each side of the web of the running rail are flanged oppositely with the flanges 70 respectively on the outside of the two tracks 53. The wheels are preferably so mounted to provide clear ance between the wheel flanges and the tracks, t'hereby'permitting a predetermined amount oflateral movement on the tracks. For example, it may be desirable to have the wheels mounted to permit approximately threefourths of an inch travel in a horizontal plane before the wheel flange engages the track. In addition to the flanges for taking up lateral stresses I preferably provide the truck with a series of guiding wheels adapted to engage the web of the running rail with resilient pressure. As shown there are two sets of guiding wheels, one at each end of the truck, the wheels being designated by the numeral 71. Each wheel is carried by a vertical shaft extending between a sill 49 and a longitudinal. frame member 47. The bearing boxes 76 at the opposite ends of each shaft are slidably arranged in guideways 78 in the respective supporting members, thus permitting vertical movement of said shafts and also a transverse movement toward and awayfrom the web of the running rail. For holding the wheels in contact with the running rail, spring means is employed such as the leaf springs 7 9 which are rigidly supported at one end. At'the other end the springs engage pins 80 which extend through the frame members and inturn" engage the bearing boxes 76. Thus I have providedresilient guiding wheels for resisting the lateral movement of the truck wheels with. respect to the running rail and the arrangement is such that the yielding movement of the guiding wheels will permit suflicient side play so that the flanges of the running wheels will engage the tracks only after the springs 79 have exerted their full efiort to maintain the wheels in a central position.

The detailed description of the trucks is given by way of example to show one embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that there are many other mechanical forms which may be used in lieu thereof. For example, instead of using a me chanical device for resiliently holding the driving wheel 36 in engagement with the underside of the running rail, I may use a hydraulic or pneumatic pressure device. It will also be understood that other specific features of construction may be changed by carrying out the underlying inventive ideas hereinabove pointed out.

In Figures 8 to 11 inclusive I have illustrated another construction of running gear. In this construction the running wheels 52 are carried in a truck frame 82 having the upper and lower sill members 83 and 84 rigidly connected together. The truck frame also has the depending vertical frame members 85 which are connected to a lower platform 86. This platform is cent-rally apertured to receive a turn-table 87. As shown, the turntable 87 has upper and lower cylindrical flanges 88 and 89 which respectively engage the bearing surfaces on opposite sides of the inwardly projecting flange 90 of the platform 86. 92 is the cross arm which is secured to the turn-table 87 and carries the stabilizing wheel 35. The arm 92 supports the two car channel members 40 through the two springs 93 adjacent the respective channel members. The springs 93 have the central portions secured to the arm 92 and the outer ends secured to the frame by the links 94 and 95 respectively. 96 is a driving axle for support ing the driving wheel 97, this axle being mounted in bearing boxes 98 which in turn are connected to the channel members 40 by compression chambers 99. The drive shaft 96 is connected to the truck 82 by a series of links 100, there being ball and socket joints 101 at each end of said links. The truck frame 82, drive axle 96 and links form a parallelogram which maintains the driving wheel 97 in proper relation to the running wheels. These links keep the shaft 96 parallel to the transverse axis of the truck and this is important for use on trucks with curves of small radius.

The bearing boxes 98 slide on cover plates 1.02 equipped with grooves 103 for guiding said bearing boxes so that the drive shaft 96 rotates in a horizontal plane about the center of the driving wheel 97 and keeps parallel to the transverse axis of the truck when the latter follows curves in the track. The cover plate 102 may move vertically upon guide rods 105 which keep the surface of the cover plates in a plane at right angles to the rods 105. The wheel 97 is pressed against the underside of the running rail by the compression chambers 99. These chambers are con-- nected to a tank in the car and pressure can be increased or diminished while the car is in motion and also by the pressure due to springs 106 abutting the truck frame 82 and con the lever is an axle 114 which in turn carries the leaf springs 115. The springs are secured to the car channel members 40 by spring connect-ions 116 at opposite ends thereof. The

lever 113 can rotate about the axle 114 in a vertical plane. The other end of the lever 113 carries a transverse shaft 117 running in bearings and having bearing boxes 118 at opposite ends thereof. The bearing boxes are connected to the channel members 40 by suitable springs 119 which tend'to dampen vertical movement of the car frame. This shaft carries the driving wheel 122. Since the weight of the car is transmitted to the lever 113 through the shaft 114 arranged eccentrically with respect to the ball and socket joint, it follows that the weight of the car must be counteracted by a reaction of the driving wheel 122 against the running rail. By varying the lever arms between the ball and socket joint and the respective shafts 114 and 117 the pressure between the driving wheel and the running rail may be varied to any desired portion of the weight of the vehicle. If the lever arm between the driving wheel and the ball and socket joint were made shorter than the lever arm between the axle 114 and the ball and socket oint, the driving wheel would be pressed against the underside of the running rail with a pressure greater than the weight of that portion of the car supported by the axle 114. The action of the stabilizing arm 120 and wheel 121 is the same as in the trucks previously described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a railway, an overhead supporting structure, a running rail depending therefrom, a wheel engaging said rail, a vehicle below said wheel and supported thereby, said vehicle having the center of gravity thereof laterally offset from said wheel and means normally exerting a vertical force only for s abilizing said vehicle and counterbalancing the moment due to said offset center of gravity.

2. In a railway, an overhead supporting structure, a running rail depending there- 1 from, a wheel engaging said rail, a vehicle below said wheel and supported thereby, said vehicle having the center of gravity thereof laterally offset from said wheel, a stabilizing rail supported by said overhead structure and extending parallel to said running rail and a wheel carried by said vehicle on the opposite side of the first mentioned wheel from the center of gravity of said vehicle.

3. In a railway, an overhead supporting structure, a running rail depending therefrom, a wheel engaging said rail, a vehicle below said wheel and supported thereby, said vehicle having its center of gravity laterally offset with respect to said wheel, and means normally exerting a vertical force only for stabilizing said vehicle and counterbalancing the moment due to said otiset center of gravity.

4. In a railway, an overhead supporting structure, a running rail mounted thereon, movable trucks operating on said rail, supporting wheels on said trucks, a. car below said wheeled trucks and supported thereby, flexible joints between said trucks and said car, a laterally extending arm on said car, a stabilizing wheel on said arm acting on said structure in a substantially upward direction, driving wheels connected to said car on the opposite side of said flexible joints from said trucks, and means for resilently pressing said driving wheels upwardly against said running rail.

5. In a railway, an overhead supporting structure, a running rail mounted thereon, movable trucks operating on said rail, supporting wheels on said trucks, a car below said wheeled trucks and supported thereby,

guiding wheels on said trucks mounted transversely of said supporting Wheels on opposite sides of said rail, means for resiliently pressing said guiding wheels towards said rail, flexible joints between said trucks and said car, a laterally extending arm on said car, a stabilizing wheel on said arm acting on said structure in a substantially upward direction, driving wheels connected to said car on the opposite side of said flexible joints from said trucks, and means for resiliently pressing said driving wheels upwardly against said running rail.

6. In a railway, an overhead supporting structure, a running rail mounted thereon, two sets of trucks operating on said rail, an arm extending at right angles to the midvertical plane of each set of trucks, a flexible joint connecting each arm to one of said trucks, a car having the opposite ends thereof supported by said arms, said car having its center of gravity placed to one side of the vertical plane through the centers of said flexible joints, stabilizing wheels on said arms on the opposite side of said plane from the center of gravity of said car, a rail carried by said structure for engaging said stabilizing wheels whereby the weight of the car due to the eccentricity of the center of gravity thereof and said flexible joints will cause said stabilizing wheels to be pressed against said last mentioned rail.

7. An elevated railroad comprising a running rail supporting two tracks, a stabilizing rail, a pair of trucks operating on said tracks and against said running rail and stabilizing rail, said trucks consisting of four systems of wheels with connecting members, each system of wheels acting against the systems of tracks and rails in a direction at 90 degrees to each other with resilient pressure, a car suspended from said trucks in such a manner that its center of 'ravity is off center from the supporting w eels causing the two systems of wheels in the vertical planes to act in opposite direction to each other against their respective supporting member.

8. An elevated railroad comprising a running rail supporting two tracks, a stabilizing rail, a pair of trucks operating on said tracks and against said running rail and stabilizing rail, said trucks consisting of four systems of wheels with connecting members, each system of wheels acting against the systems of tracks and rails in a direction of 90 degrees to each other with resilientpressure,a car suspended from said trucks in such a manner that its center of gravity is off center from the supporting wheels causing the two systems of wheels in the vertical planes to act in opposite direction to each other against their respective supporting member, a driving wheel mounted on the top of said car and pressed against the under side of the said running rail, a pressure chamber under the ends of the shaft of the driving wheel, means for changing the pressure oi the driving wheel against the running rail by changing the pressure in the pressure chamber while the car is in motion, and two connecting links between the shaft of said driving wheel and said truck which maintains the shaft of the driving wheel parallel to the transverse axis of the trucks.

9. An elevated railroad comprising a running rail, a stabilizing rail, a pair of trucks operating on and against said running rail and stabilizing rail, said trucks consisting of four systems of wheels with connecting members, each system of wheels acting against their respective supporting members in a direction at 90 degrees to the other, a driving wheel attached to said truck, a car suspended from said truck in such a manner that its center of gravity is to one side and behind the supporting wheels, causing the driving wheel to be pressed against the under side of the running rail and the stabilizing wheel to be pressed against the under side of the stabilizing rail.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FREDERICK R. SHERIDAN.

Images