Current-transmitting devices for the axles of electric railway vehicles

Claim 2

In an electric railway vehicle having a frame and rotating axles to support said frame with each of said axles having two ends, a device for current transmission between said frame and one of the ends of said axles, said device comprising: a nonrotating contacting member carried by said frame substantially in front of said one end of said one of said axles; a rotating contacting member engaging said nonrotating contacting member; means on said frame to rotatably support said rotating contacting member; spring means to resiliently urge said nonrotating contacting member and said rotating contacting member against each other to maintain same in permanent electric sliding contact; universal coupling means between said rotating contacting member and said one end of said one of said axles to cause said rotating contacting member to rotate in unison therewith in spite of the displacements of said one of said axles with respect to said frame; and flexible conductor means to electrically connect said rotating contact member with said one end of said one of said axles.

Claim 3

In a current-transmitting device as claimed in claim 1, said rotating member including a shaft having a first and a second end, and a flat contacting plate carried by said first end of said shaft, said nonrotating member being formed of a support and of at least one brush slidably carried by said support to engage said contacting plate with said spring means acting on said brush to apply same against said plate, said device further comprising means to prevent said brush from rotating together with said plate, and said universal coupling means acting on the second end of said shaft.

Claim 4

In a current-transmitting device as claimed in claim 2, flexible conductor means between said brush and said support.

Claim 5

In a current-transmitting device as claimed in claim 2, said one of said axles having a mean position with respect to said frame, said shaft being substantially coaxial to said mean position, and said universal coupling means comprising a driving member secured to said one end of said one of said axles, said driving member being formed with a guiding slot radially disposed with respect to said one of said axles; a crank arm radially secured to said second end of said shaft, said crank arm having an outer end; and a crankpin carried by the outer end of said crank arm, said crankpin being slidably engaged into said slot.

Claim 6

In a current-transmitting device as claimed in claim 2, said frame including an open-ended sleeve in front of said one end of said one of said axles, with an outer end remote from said one end of said one of said axle and an inner end adjacent to said one end, said support of said nonrotating contacting member being removably secured to the outer end of said sleeve, and said means to rotatably support said rotating contacting member being comprised of bearing means carried by said support and in which the shaft of said rotating contacting member is mounted.

Claim 7

In a current-transmitting device as claimed in claim 1: said frame including an open-ended sleeve disposed in front of said one end of said one of said axles said sleeve having an outeR end remote from said one end of said one of said axles and an inner end adjacent to said one end; said device further comprising a tubular body disposed within said sleeve, said body having a first open end removably secured to the outer end of said sleeve and a second end; said means to rotatably support said rotating contacting member being comprised of bearing means carried by the second end of said tubular body; said rotating contacting member including a shaft mounted in said bearing means and a contacting end plate supported by said shaft within said tubular body; said nonrotating contacting means including a brush applied against said contacting end plate within said tubular body, a tail carrying said brush, said tail having a noncircular cross section, and a removable cover closing the first end of said tubular body, said cover being formed with an axial perforation having a cross section complementary of the cross section of said tail and through which said tail is slidably guided; said spring means being inserted between said cover and said brush; and said device also comprising flexible conductor means between said tail and said frame.

Claim 8

In a current-carrying device as claimed in claim 1, said spring means being disposed between said rotating contacting member and said one end of said one of said axles so as to form said universal coupling means.