US1244492A - Control system. - Google Patents

Description

A. l. HALL.

CONTROL SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED MT. 9. WM.

1,244,492. 1 Patented Oct. 30,1917; 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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A. J. HALL.

CONTROL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, 1914.

1,244,492. Patented Oct. 30, 1917.

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; BY a g ATTORNEY STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR J. HALL, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTROL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30, 1917.

Application filed October 9, 1914. Serial No. 865,846.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. HALL, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Control Systems, of which the following is a specification.

' My invention relates to systems of control, and it has special reference to systems of the unit-switch or contactor type that are adapted for the control of electric railway motors and the like.

One object of my invention is to provide, in a system of the above indicated character, a simple, reliable and efl'ective means for preventing the making or breaking of control circults having the full supply-circuit voltage impressed thereon, at more than one point in the system, throughoutlthe operation thereof, thereby obtaining the wellknown advantages of relatively low-voltage operation.

Another object of my invention is to provlde means for efiecting a reduction of the total operating current that is required in auxiliary control systems of the type under consideration. I t

A further object of my invention is to provide an auxiliary control system of the above-mentioned class that shall be readily adaptable for use with various forms of the well-known K type of controllers, whereby the system may be rapidly and inexpensively installed in connection with various modifications of railway control systems.

Heretofore, in railway control systems of the unit-switch or contactor type, various combinations of auxiliary controllers, control resistors and magnet coils have been employed, all of which were open to the objection of having several relatively highvoltage breaks, that is, several places in the controllers where the control circuits upon which full supply-circuit voltage were impressed were made and broken during the operation of the system. This condition required relatively heavy insulation for the parts of the controller and also tended to increase the liability to flash-over and caused rapid deterioration of the contact -members.

. field magnet windin According to my present invention, therefore, I provide an auxiliary controlsystem comprising a master controller that has only one break for the supply-circuit voltage, an auxiliary controller cooperating with a main-circuit controller to effect a step-by-step actuation thereof for accelerating the motor, a plurality of actuating coils for the combined auxiliary and-main-circuit controller, a plurality of actuating coils for main-circuit switches, and a control resistor that is energized from the supply circuit and that has certain sections respectively connected in parallel relation with substantially all of said coils, whereby relatively low-voltage breaks in the circuits of the coils are provided on both controllers, and a relatively low total operating current for the auxiliary control system obtains.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the main circuits and control mechanism of a system of control embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the auxiliary control circuits for governing the manipulation of the main circuitsthat are shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a simplified diagrammatic view of the auxiliary controlcircuits that are illustrated in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the system here shown comprises a suitable supply. circuit including conductors respectively marked Trolley and Ground, a plurality of electric motors respectively having armatures A and A and series-connected F and F; a maincircuit reversing swltch RS for reversing the electrical relations of the corresponding armatures and field windings; an accelerating resistor AR; a main-circuit controlling device PK, of the well-known K controller type, with which is associated an auxiliary interlocking drum ID and a com-.

'troller MG that is adapted to assume a plurality of operative positions a to z, inclusive; a master reverser MR a control resistor CR; an interlocking drum ID; and actuating coils for the switches LS and LS the reversing switch RS and the main circuit controller PK.

The main-circuit reversing switch BS is preferably of a familiar electrically-controlled type having a pair of magnet coils r and f for respectively actuating the switch in the one or the other direction, in accordance with the desired direction of rotation of the motors, the said magnet coils being suitably interlocked through contact members land 2 of the reversing switch, in accordance with familiar practice. I The main-circuit controller PK (Fig. 1) and the combined interlocking drum ID are preferably of the well-known drum type and are mounted upon a common shaft 3 having a pinion 4 secured to the one end thereof with which a suitable rack member 5 is adapted to mesh. The rack member 5 is provided, "at its respective ends, with pistons 6 and 7 which respectively operate in suitable cylinders 8 and 9. Magnet valves 10 and 11 are respectively associated with the cylinders 8 and 9 to control the admission of fluid pressure thereto from a tank or reservoir T according to the energization of magnet coils 12 and 13 which are respectively adapted to control the magnet valves 10 and 11. The magnet valve 10 is normally closed to connect the cylinder 8 to the at- .mosphere and will hereinafter be referred toas the on magnet valve; whereas the magnet valve 11 'is normally open to admit fluid pressure from the tank T to the cylinder 9 and will be hereinafter designated as the off magnet valve.

Assuming the parts of the controller PK to occupy the positions shown, the operation'of the mechanism OM may be set forth as follows: In order to actuate the controller to its successive operative positions, the on magnet coil is first energized to admit fluid pressure to the outer face of the piston 6, thereby effecting a balancing of premures upon the two pistons 6 and 7.- Upon the subsequent energization of the ofl' magnet coils, fluid pressure is exhausted from the cylinder 9 behind the piston 7, and the rack member 5 is actuated a predetermined amount to the right, as shown in the drawing, until the ofi' magnet is deenergized, whereupon the controller will remain in the position occupied at that instant. The alternate energization and deenergization of the off magnet coil is automatically accomplished by the interlocking drum ID, as

' hereinafter more fully described. To effect a return of the controller PK to its off position, the off and on magnet coils 5 are both deenergized, whereupon, fluid pressure is admitted to the cylinder 9 and is exhausted from the cylinder 8, thus effecting the actuation of the rack member 5 to the position shown in the drawing. Inasmuch as the mechanism just described forms no part of my present invention, except that it performs a necessary function in the control system and is fully set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 798,867, filed October 23, 1913, it will not be further described here.

The master controller MC (Fig. 2) preferably embodies, in addition to the usual type of stationary and cooperating movable contact members, a sliding contact which comprises two semi-cylindrical members 14 of insulating material that are frictionally clamped around-the body of the master controller in any suitable manner, (not shown) and a contact member 15 that is adapted to make contact with the control fingers 16 and 17, under normal conditions of operation of the controller. The sliding contact is also provided with a plurality of projections or lugs 18 and 19 which are preferably disposed a distance apart that corresponds to the distance between operating positions of the master controller, and a cooperating pin or arm 20 is disposed upon the stationary portion of the controller. 1

The operation of the sliding contact, which also forms no part of m present invention, may be briefly set fort as follows:

If the master controller is moved to its first operative position a, the sliding contact is carried by the controller-body to a point where the contact member 15 engages the control fingers 16and 17, whereupon the pin 20 engages the lug 19 and prevents further rotative movement of the sliding contact, which merely slips or slides around the inclosed portion of the master controller. However, upon a predetermined backward movement of the controller, the contact between the contact member 15 and the control members 16 and 17 is immediately be found in the co-pending application of Norman W. Storer, Serial No. 774,394,filed' June 18, 1913, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, no further description is deemed necessary here.

For purposes of simplicity and clearness, the main circuits and the auxiliary control circuits of the system I have illustrated, are shown separated and will also be discussed individually, the main circuits being taken up first, and then the auxiliary control circuits for governing the manipulation of the main circuit connections will be pointed out.

Assuming that the main-circuit controller PK occupies the position a shown in Fig. l, and that the main-circuit reversin switch RS has been moved to its forward operating position, the operation of the main circuits of the control system may be set forth as follows: i

A circuit is first established from the trolley through the connecting switch OS, overload trip OT, main-circuit switches'LS and LS conductor 21, control finger 22, contact segments 23 and 24 and control finger 25 of the main-circuit controller, the accelerating resistor AR, conductor 26, control fingers 27 and 28, which are bridged by a contact member 29 ,of the reversing switch RS, conductor 30, armature A conductor 31, control fingers 32 and 33, which are bridged by a contact member 34 of the reversing switch, conductor 35, field winding F conductor 36, control fingers 37 and 38, contact segments 39 and 40, and control finger 41 of the main-circuit controller, conductor 42, control fingers 43 and 44, which are bridged by a contact member 45 of a reversing switch, a conductor 46, the arma- 35 ture A conductor 47, control fingers 48 and 49 which are bridged by a contact member 50 of the reversing switch, conductor 51, field windin F and conductor 52 to the negative con uctor, ground.

As soon as the main-circuit controller is moved to its first operating position a by the operating mechanism OM, as hereinbefore set forth, another circuit is established from an energized contact segment 53 of 45 the main-circuit controller, control finger 54,

a predetermined portion of the accelerating resistor AR and through the motors as before. One section of the accelerating resistor is thus short-circuited to effect a pre- 59 determined acceleration of the motor, in accordance with familiar practice.

When the main-circuit controller is actuated to its next operative position b, an energized contact segment 53 engages a con- 55 trol finger 54 thereby short-circuiting another section of the accelerating resistor AR; and similar results are obtained by operation of the controller to its successive operating position 0'. and 0Z', which last po- 60 sition corresponds to straight series operation of the motors.

During transition of the motors from series to parallel relation, the control finger 37. first engages a contact segment 55, whence circuit is completed through contact segment 56, control finger 57, and conductor 58 to ground. One terminal of the motor having the armature A is thus connected to the negative conductor. Substantially simultaneously with the establishment of the circuits just described, the contact segments 39 and 40 respectively become disengaged from the control fingers 38 and 42, and another circuit is subsequently established from control finger 41 through contact segments 59 and 60, and control finger 60, which is connected to one end of the accelerating resistor AR. One terminal of the motor having the armature A is thus connected to the trolley through a portion of the accelerating resistor, and the motors occupy their initial parallel position, corresponding to position 6' of the main-circuit controller.

As soon as the main-circuit controller is moved to its position f, a contact segment 61 engages the control finger 54 thereby short-circuiting a certain section of the accelerating resistor AR, only a portion of which is employed during parallel operation of the motors, inasmuch as the control finger 25 becomes disengaged from the contact segment 24 after the controller has passedits position a. The movement of the controller to its final operating positions g and It serves to short-circuit the remaining sections of the auxiliary resistor AR and to accelerate the motors to their final paralleloperating position.

The operation of the auxiliary control system illustrated in Fig. 2 may be set forth as follows;

When the master controller is moved to its initial operating position a, the contact segment 15 of the sliding contact comes into engagement with the control fingers 16 and 17, as hereinbefore described, and a circuit is first established from the trolley, through conductor 62, control fingers 63 and 64, which are bridged by a Contact segment 65 of the master controller, conductor 66, control finger 66 conductor 66", the control resistor OR, conductor 67, and the on magnet coil to the negative conductor, ground. Another circuit is thereupon established from an intermediate point of the control resistor through conductors 68 and 69, control fingers 70 and 70*, which are initially bridged by a contact segment 70 of the interlock drum ID, conductor 71, the magnet coils of the switches LS and LS conductor 72, auxiliary contact members of the overload trip OT, conductor 73, contact segment 2 of the reversing switch RS, conductor 74, contact segment of the master reverser MR in its forward position, conductor 76, control fingers 16 and 17 which are bridged by the contact segment 15 of the sliding contact, and conductor 77 to ground. The main circuit switches are thus closed toconnect the motors to the supply circuit in their initial operating condition.

The closure of the main circuit switches is maintained by reason of the parallel connection with theinterlock drum segment 7 0 of an interlock LS -in which bridges conductors 69 and 71 before the segment 70 disengages the control fingers 7 0 and 70". It should be noted that the circuit arrangement just described requires the return of the master controller to its off position before the switches LS and LS can be again closed, after they have been opened by the operation of the overload trip OT or the sliding contact.

As soon as the master controller is moved to its next operating position b, a circuit is completed from the control finger 64, through conductor 66, control finger 66, contact segments 80 and 81, control finger 82, conductor 83, control finger 84 and contact segments 85, 86 and 87 and control fin er 88 of the interlock drum, conductor 8 the off magnet coil, and conductor 90 to a second intermediate point of the control resistor CR. Both the on and off magnet coils being energized, the main-circuit con,- troller and the interlock drum are moved to their initial operating position (1.. Just be fore the interlock drum reaches that position, the control finger 84 breaks contact with the segment 85, thereby deenergizing the OE magnet coil and causing the maincircuit controller to come to a stop at the position a. Another circuit is simultaneously established from contact segment 85, through contact segment 91, which en ages control finger 92 in position a of the rum, conductor 93, control finger 94, and contact segment 95 of the master controller when it has been moved to its next operating position 0. The off magnet coil is thus energized, and the main-circuit controller is moved to its operating position b, whereupon the contact segment 91 and control finger 92 becomes disengaged, and a contact segment 96 comes into contact with a control finger 97, thus effecting another energization of the off magnet coil, as soon as the master controller is moved to its position (l to effect the engagement of control finger 98 and a contact segment 99. The alternate energization and denergization of the off magnet coil is thus automatically effected as the main-circuit controller and lnterlock drum are moved toward their final operating positions.

When the master controller is moved from position 6 to position I, to effect the transition of the motors from series to parallel relation, as hereinbefore described, the contact segments 81, 95, and 99 first respectively disengage the control fingers 82, 94 and 98,

thus denergizing the off magnet coil, and

a circuit is then established from an enerized contact -se out 100, through control nger 101 of t e master controller, conductor 102, and control finger 103, which engages contact segment 86 of the interlock drum, whence circuit is completed through the oil magnet coil in the manner herembefore set forth. As the interlock drum approaches its position 6, the contact segment 86 disengages the control finger 103, and a contact segment 104 subsequently eugages the control finger 84 to denergize the coil. Similarly, the contact segment 104 and control finger 84 break contact, and a contact segment 105 engages the control finger 92 when the main-circuit controller is moved to its position 7. The controller is thus actuated step-by-step in the manner already set forth to its final operating position 7)., which corresponds to full-parallel relation of the motors.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be noted that only one break, namely, that included by the control fingers 63 and 64 and the contact segment 65 of the master controller, is provided for making and breaking the auxiliary control system circuit as thema-ster controller is moved to its first position from its off position and vice versa, all of the other magnet coils, with the exception of the Fon magnet coil, which is connected in series circuit relation with the control resistor, OR, being provided, at some point in their circuits, with a relatively low-voltage break, either on the interlock drum ID or. on the master controller MC. For example, if the normal supply-circuit voltage is assumed as 600 volts, the voltage on thesecoils may readily be kept down to 110 volts, with the consequent operating advantages.

It should be noted that forms of K controllers other than that which I have illustrated may readily be incorporated within a control system embodying my invention by merely changing the development of the contact segments on the master controller and the interlocking drum to fit the case in question.

I do not wish to be restricted to the specific circuit connections or arrangement of parts herein set forth, as various modifications thereof may be made within the spirit and scope of my invention. I, therefore, desire that only such limitations shall be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a system of control, a supply circuit, a plurality of electromagnetic coils and a resistor connected in series with one of said coils to the supply circuit, and means for connecting the remaining coils in shunt circuit around separate portions of said resistor toenergize said coils by a minimum amount of energy from the supply circuit.

2..In a system of control, .the combination with a supply circuit, an electric motor, a main-circuit controller for governing the operation of said motor and two electromagnets for governing the operation of said controller, of a resistor, a master controller for connecting said resistor in series with the coil of one of said electromagnets to the supply circuit, and means for connecting the coil of the second electroma et in shunt circuit to a portion of said reslstor, whereby said electromagnets may be operated by a minimum amount of current.

3. In a system of control, the combination with a supply circuit, a motor, a main controller for governing the operation of said motor, a line switch and a plurality of coils for operating said line switch and for governing the operation of said controller, of a resistor connected in series with one of said coils to the supply circuit, and means for shunting separate portions of said resistor for obtaining energy for operating the remaining coils. v

4. In a system of control, the combination with a supply circuit having a predetermined normal voltage, and an electric motor, of a plurality of motor-controlling switches and auxiliary controllers, a plurality of actuating coils therefor, and a resistor adapted to be connected to said supply circuit and having separate portions thereof adapted to be shunted by said coils, said controllers comprising only one break for the supply-circuit voltage and a plurality of relatively low-voltage breaks in the circuit of substantially all of said actuating coils.

5. In a system of control, the combination with a supply circuit having a predeterm1ned normal voltage, a plurality of accelerating resistors, and an electric motor, of an electrically-governed main-circuit drum controller for short-circuiting said resistors, an auxiliary controller and a pneumatic device for cooperating with said maincircuit controller to effect step-by-step actuation thereof, and a master controller comprising only one break for the supply-circult voltage, the remainder of the breaks on both controllers being relatively lowvoltage breaks.

. 6. In a system of control, the combination with a supply-circuit having a predetermined normal voltage, and an electric motor, of a main-circuit controller, two magnet coils for governing the operation thereof, a main-circuit switch, an actuating coil therefor, an auxiliary controller cooperating with said main-circuit controller to effect a stepby-stepw-actuation thereof, a. resistor energized from the supply circuit and a master controller comprising only one break for joining the resistor to the supply-circuit, one of said magnet coils being connected in series with said resistor, the second magnet coil being adapted to be closed around a portion of said resistor and the main-switch coil being closed around another portion of said resistor, whereby a minimum amount of current is used in operating the system.

7. In a system of control, the combination with a supply circuit having a predetermined normal voltage, and an electric motor, of a plurality of motor-controlling switches, and an auxiliary control system for said motor comprising a plurality of auxiliary controllers, a control resistor, and a plurality of actuating coils for said switches and controllers, one of said coils being connected inseries with said resistor and the remaining coils being connected in shunt circuit to separate portions of said resistor.

8. In a system of control, the combination with a supply circuit having a predetermined normal voltage, and an electric motor, of a plurality of motor-controlling switches and an auxiliary control system for said motor comprising a master' controller having one break for the supply-circuit voltage, an auxiliary automatically-operated controller, a resistor energized from the supply circuit, and a plurality of governing 0011s for said switches and said auxiliary controller that are connected in parallel relation with certain sections of said resistor through said controllers, whereby-relatively low-voltage breaks in substantially all of the coil circuits on both controllers are provided and a relatively low total operating current for said auxiliary system obtains.

9. In a system of control, the combination with a supply-circuit having. a predetermined normal voltage, and an electric motor, of a main-circuit controller, a plurality of magnet coils for governing the operation thereof, a main circuit switch, an actuating coil therefor, an auxiliary controller co- .tor, of a main-circuit controller, a normally closed and a normally 0 en magnet valve adapted to effect clectrica ly-governed pneumatic operation of said controller, a, plu rality of main circuit switches, a plurality ofactuating coils therefor an auxiliary controller cooperating with said main-circuit controller to effect a step-by-step actuation thereof, a master controller comprising only one break for the supply-circuit voltage,

and a resistor connected through said break to said supply circuit and in series relation with the coil of said normally closed magnet valve, said other coils being connected through said auxiliary and master controllers in parallel relation with certain sections of said resistor, whereby relatively low-voltage breaks in the circuits of 15 those coils on both controllers are provided. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 7th day. of Oct.,

ARTHUR J. HALL.

Witnessesz G. R. FUVIER, B. B. Hnms.

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