US1163707A - Single-phase gas or vapor electric apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

PL. H. THOMAS. SINGLE PHASE GAS 0R VAPOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS.

AEPLICATION FILED-MAY 26. I9

I Patented. Dec. 14, 1915 IIVVE/l TOR rarnn rorrmn.

PERCY H. THOMAS OF MONTCLAIB, JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO COOPER HEWITT ELECTRIC COMP ANY, F HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW EERSEY.

. smear-PHA E ens on vnron nnncrnrc arranarusl Specification of LettersBatent.

Patented Dec. it, was.

Original application filed June 13, 1903, Serial No. 161,282. Divided and this application filed may 26,

1911. Serial No. 629,632.

To allwkom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, PERCY H. THOMAS,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Montclair, county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Single-Phase Gas or Vapor Electric Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. In an apparatus of the character she in certain patents to Peter Cooper Hewitt, for example Patents. 682,690 to 682,699 inclusive, dated September 17th,. 1901', which is operated on direct current circuits, it has been customary in starting to apply to the terminals of the apparatus a momentary current of higher potential than that upon which the apparatus is designed to be op-. erated. In employingalternating currents,

it is possible to apply to the starting band a. higher potential derived from the supply circuit.

.When the described reluctance to starting has once been broken down, current" may continue to flow through the-apparatus provided the applied electro-motivedorce is sufiiciently high and also provided that the direction of flow be maintained uniformly. When, however, currents of varying'value or of alternate direction are applied to the apparatus, the electrode reluctance is liable to be re-formed shouldfthe current value drop below a certain minimum, and is cer tain to be re-formed whenthe direction of I flow is reversed. Thus in operating apparatus of this class by means of alternating currents or currentswhich varyconsiderably value, provision has to be made for reinforcmg the lower values when .the current the purpose indicated by placing a choke a mand upon thesyste is of,unif orm direction and for repeatedly starting the apparatus whenever the direction of the current changes. a U 'It has been proposed to provid'e-meansfor of suflicient capacity, the energy stored on the rising current will be suflicient to maintain current through the negative electrode until the supply circuit shall again tend to increase the current flow in the. properdi- 1 various organizations have been proposed for preventmgthe negative alternations from undoing the work of the positives.

For example, the amount of energy required from the choke-coil is considerably to such an organization, both the positive and negative alternations tend to pass through the lamp in the same direction. Meanwhile, the function of the chokecoilin delivering energy enough to supply current for the. short period between alternations'is constantly called into play.

alternating current, the capacity of the choke coil might have to be considerable,

lessened if a path be provided for 'the me a-. Lt-IVG alternations through the apparatus y means of a second positive electrode. With 170 It might be supposed that in operating the vapor apparatus upon a single phase ever, that an extra potential should be applied to enable the choke coil in the first alternation afterstarting to absorb a sufiicient amount of energy so that 'it may discharge the ener y necessary to maintain the lamp over the rst zero point, without fall:

ing below the minimum current.

It is the object of the present invention to-provide means for supplying this'extra initial potential, as" will presently appear, it being understood that the additional volt,-

age thus withdrawn 'from the source willv generally be removed after'the starting of I avoid the use of a supplemental elec Y trode by applyingto one or both of the positive electrodes a supplementaryv electro-motiveforce and trans erring the positive electrode or. electrodes to-the normal running point on the transformer winding after starting, without the interruption of the cir- 1 cuit. I

The high potential at the starting point the apparatus. This makes it possible to 7 port-the current through the lamp; the

mayjbe obtained, if desired, through a. snap or quick break switch just as in a direct cur rent lamps In this case it issometimes necessary to close and' open the switch a number of times in order to insure that the mechanical break should occur at a favorable portion of high potential impulse.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawing, which shows the application of my invention to a mercury vapor device having two anodes, a cathode and utilizing an inductance'for control 'ng the operation of the device. 5' e 15 1 is the container of a lamp of the cha racter described above, the same containing, in this instance, a negative electrode, 5, of mercury and positive electrodes, 2 and 3, which ma be of iron. I

he device is fed from an auto trans-- former winding, 21, supplied from two mains 13, 13. The cathode, 5, of the device is connected through an' inductance, 7, to an intermediate point, 8, of the winding 21. Other portions of the windings 14-, 14, respe'ctively on the right and left hand ends of the winding 21, have resistances 1-8, 18, connected in parallel with them, there being provided arms, 19, 19, adapted to contact either with the windings 14 directly at two points oradapted to contact with interm'ediate points on the resistances18, 18.

The conductors 13', 13 are assumed to be connected with a source of single-phase alternating current. The operation of thev lamp is then as follows: Assuming, for example, that the electrode 2 has a positive potential with regard to the negative electlgode at the time of the application of the critical strain, current flowsfrom 2 to 5, .reaching finally the proper value for the electro-motive-force. ,supplied and at the sametime storing energy in 'the choke coil 7. During the latter part of the first alternation, as the voltageupon the positive electrode 2 falls to zero, the energy previously stored in the choke coil 7 continues the flow of current in 'the original direction. through the coil until the potential upon the electrode 3 becomes positive in its turn, whereupon electrode 3 will itself support the current through the lamp and, as its value rises in the second alternation, will increase I the current through the choke 'coil' 7 to the 5'5 maximum at the time atwhich it is returning toward'zer'o. A's before-when the volt-. age of"the'electrode 3 becomes too small to sup ort the 'current throughthe choke coil, 7, t iscoil sup lies energy-keeping the current flowing, t on hata decreaslng intensity, until electro e- 2'afterfhaving hada negative value during' the-second alternation figa'in becemes positive in the third alternatlon, when-it is utilized to again sup-.

choke coil 7, and s the cycle for producing .having been moved from the starting position to the opposite extreme position. An

' the operati starting band may be substituted therefor.

, This ap lication-is a division of my apo on,as long as the lamp 7 operates. v

The function of the supplementary windings 14 and the positive electrodes is to supply an additional electro-motive-force during the alternation within which the critical or starting strain is applied. It is evident that during this first alternation, the current must reach its maximum value after starting from.zero, whereas, when once the lamp is operating normally, this maximum .current must be reached in one alternation,

starting, not from zero, but from the minimum value reached during the operation which must at least be the minimum operatso ing current of the lamp. Once the lamp has/ reached a normal running condition, the supplementary voltage supplied by the windings 14, 14 is no longer required and in fact will cause a waste of energy and disturbance of the operation of the lampandshould be removed from further operation.

Theconductors 9 and 10 arejoined to thewindings of the auto-transformer 21 through resistances l8, 18, provided with movable arms 19, 19. The starting band is .con ected by a wire 26 with the conductor 9, w ile a shunt circuit 27 containing a quick break switch 16 and a resistance 17 is con nected between the conductors 9 and 8.

The switch arm 19 atthe left is represented at starting position, while the corresponding arm at the right is' represented as extra winding 14 isadded at both ends of the winding 21, and each is connected through one vor the other of the adjustable resistances to a separate positive electrode in the. lamp. \Vith the switches in the starting position, the supply circuit 13,- 13 is closed and the snap or quick-break switch 16 is operated. -By the action of the switch 16' and' the resistance 17 and the coil 7 a high potential impulse is created at the starting band and this is reinforced by the energy developed 'm the windings 14, 14. j The lamp having been once' started into operation in this way, the switches 19 aremoved from the starting position to the op crating position (the latter being illustrated, as already ex lained, by the switch at the right" hand si e of thefigure) and on. continues with the windings 14 14 disused. 1'20 ,t is' known that the critical strain may be applied to theapparatus through other instrumentalities than the starting band,-

and' if desired anyv means equivalent to the plication rial Number 161,282, filed June 13th, 1903, and a companionto m'y'ap'plication Serial Number 169,091, filed Au a 951,085; and a companion of my application Serial Number 540,738 filed January I claim as my invention:

1. In a system of electrical distribution, the combination with a supply, a mercury vapor apparatus comprising a highly exhausted container and suitable electrodes therefor, includinga plurality of anodes, of means for supplying current alternately through two anodes, means for separately changing the supply voltages applied to the two anodes, and energy storing means for steadying the total flow of current.

2. In a system of electrical distribution, the combination with a supply, a mercury vapor apparatus comprising a highly exhausted container and suitable electrodes therefor, including a plurality of anodes, of means for supplying symmetrical relatively high voltage upon two anodes and means for applying symmetrical relatively lower supply voltages upon the two anodes and discontinuing the supply from said higher voltage.

3. In a system of electrical distribution, the'combination with a rectifier comprising an exhausted container, anodes and a cathode therein, of an exciting winding supplied from a single phase source of alternating current and connected to said cathode at an intermediate point, and means for independently connectingeach of the anodes at will directly to any one of a number of points of different potential in said exciting winding.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this th day of May A. D. 1911.

PERCY l-I. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, THos. H. BROWN.

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