Current conductor rail

Claim 1

In a current conducting rail system for supplying electrical energy to electrically energizable movable utilities having current collecting devices movable along the rails of said system, in combination, I. a plurality of endwise alined current conductor rails mechanically and electrically secured together in closely coupled relation, each of said rails comprising a. a main beam of generally I-shaped transverse cross-section formed of electrically conductive ferrous metal having on each of its opposite sides an outwardly presenting channel extending the full length of said main beam, each of said channels having a base wall formed by the central web and a pair of outwardly diverging side walls formed by the top and bottom flanges of said main beam, and b. an elongated auxiliary beam of non-ferrous metal having high electrical conductivity disposed in at least one side channel of said main beam, said auxiliary beam being of generally trapezoidal transverse cross-section having a pair of top and bottom sides which diverge outwardly from the inner side of said auxiliary beam to form inner corner edges which respectively nest in the corners of said main beam channel to provide, while said auxiliary beam is in its relaxed condition, an interfacial gap between the base wall of said channel and said inner side of the auxiliary beam disposed in said channel, said auxiliary beam being provided along its outer side with an outwardly projecting elongated integral keying rib having upper and lower outwardly converging edges, said rib extending the full length of the auxiliary beam in substantially centrally spaced relation between the outer edges of said top and bottom outwardly diverging sides of said auxiliary beam to serve as a key for attachment thereto of a splice plate for end to end accurately alined coupling of successive pairs of said rails, II. a splice plate commonly keyed to the outwardly projecting keying ribs of each successive pair of said auxiliary beams for mechanically and electrically coupling the same together in end to end alinement thereof, each said aplice plate having a main body portion provided with vertically spaced longitudinally extending upper and lower inwardly projecting ribs to provide therebetween a recess for commonly accomodating therein adjoining rib portions of said alined auxiliary beams, said splice plate ribs being so dimensioned as to maintain said main body portion of said splice plate and the outer edges of its vertically spaced ribs free from engagement with said main beams of said coupled composite rails, and III. means for compressively forcing said auxiliary beam and said splice plate into their fully seated positions whereby the body portions of said auxiliary beam intermediate its longitudinally extending outwardly diverging top and bottom sides is sprung inwardly toward the web of said main beam within the permissible limits of said gap and thereby simultaneously tightly wedge and secure said corners and top and bottom sides of said auxiliary beam into intimate surface engagement with the corners and outwardly diverging side walls of said channel.