UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NIKOLA TESLA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC·RAILWAY SYSTEM.

Sl'ECIFIOATION formingpartof Letter. Patent No. 514,9711,dated February 20, 1894.

AppUcat:lQ~ lUed January 2~ 1892. Serlal No. 416,774:. ello modal,)

To aU whom ft may coneern: afm -carrying the condnctor through which

Be itknown thatI, Nm:OLA TESLA, a citizen the electrie energy Is transmitted from the
of the United States, residing at New York, in line condncter ta the motor. Fig. 3 isan en- 55',
thecounty and State of New York, have in- larged view parti y in section of the Une con-
5 vented certain new and usefnlImprovements dncter. ,
in Electric-Railway Systems,of which the fol- l propose te employ ,an iron condnit A,
lowing is a specification, reference heing had which is bnried preferably between the rails
ta the drawings accompanying and forming of the trackand provided with a longitudinal 60
a part of the same., slot slong its tep close to one edge or side. A
la ,This invention is animproved system or flangè Bis, formed or applied along the slot, ~
plan of supplying electric cnrrent ta the mo- forming a protected chamber or compartment '
, tors of street or other cars or vehicles from a for containing the IIne cond notor. ,Thi. cham-
central or stationarysource of Bupply; with- ber sbonld be or snch form iu cross'section 65
out the use of eliding or rolling contacts be- that its walls will be 'sym metrically disposed
lS tween the Une condncterand the Car moters. with respectto the condnctor ranning throngh
l use in my systemalternating or pulsating it, and thus ,~ednce to a minimum any dis·
Qurrents of very high potenti ..l, and, by rea- tnrbing inductive e:trects which woald be pro·
Bon mainlyof the highe' economy, high fra- duced byan nnsymmetrical disposition of the 70
quency. The conducterwhich con veys these walIs with respect to the condncting soreen or -;
.0 c,nrrents is rnn from the stationary source of covering around the condnctor. ,
supply along the line oHravel and preferably For the-line conductor l employa snitable
through a ,conduit constrncted 'between, or wire C, snrronnded by an: insnlsted coating ,
, alougside of the tracks or rails. ' D, which 18 Inc10sed in a metalliesheathing 75,
Ta prevent the dissipation of the electric G. For the latter l pre fer to use Iron pipes
'5 e)).ergy that won1d otherwlBe occur on a cir- provided with perforated Ings F, hy means,
cnlt conveying· currents of the charaeter of which the condnctor is saspended hy in-
which l nse, l insulate theline couducterand snlMed rods orotherdevicesE. l also divlde
surron)).d it with a condncting coating that up the condncting screen Or sheathing into 80
serves as ascreen, .and, l prefer, malnly wlth sections insnlsted from one another, bnt over-
30 the object olloc8Jizing the action that '\fould lapping sa 88 ta leave no breaks in the soreen.
resnIt from the establishme)).t al an electricai The advantall:e in dividing np the,screen in
connectlon between the screenand thegronnd this manner iB that the loss dne 'to enrrents
or other condncting body; to dlvlde np the indnced in the outer condnctor.'is rednced, 85
"outer conductor into insnlated" sections of while at the Bame time the,grounding of any
,3S comparatively short length. In the car, or to ' one section wonld' resnIt in a very BmaIlloss
each ofa number rnunlng on agiven track, compared wlth'what wouid take, place froma '
equlpped in acOOrdance wilh my invention, l contlnnons sheath; morèover, by overlapping
'attaoh an 'arm carrying a condncting plate the endsof the s,ections bntIittie opportnaity 90
or bar that Is electrically connected with the is afforded for thé dissipation of 'energy.
40 inotor coUs and which by the movement of The car is represented as carrying'a motor
the car iscarried in proximityte the line con· H, whichmaybeof anysnitableconstrnction
dncter, so as ta takeolf, by condenser action, and capsbleof being operated bycnrrents of
snfllc1ent energy to run the car motor. the kind empIoyed. Connected with the mo· 95 '
The details of the inventioil,and the best tor Or caris Rn iron or condllcting tube l, thst
45 manner 1 am aware of in which it i. or may ext8nds down inte the conduits through the
be carrledout, 1 shall e~laln by reference sIot thereln. - The lower end of' this tube is
ta the accompanying drawmgs. , , , bent in the form of a hookand.npports
, Figure 118 a view showing a portion of a withinthe condnctoi" chamhar a bar Or plate 100
Car and the meana for snpplyingthe mater of J that presents to the line coudnçter a',con-
50 ,the,same with cnrrent 'from 1\ line ,condnctor' dneting snrface. This bar or plate Is elec-
snpported withiil a condnlt betwee)). the rails. tricallyeônnectedcwith themotor coils by an
Fig. 2 Is: an enIarged .sectional vlew of the ' insnlated wire K, that passesnp throngh the