US1436123A

US1436123A - System of electrical distribution

Info

Publication number: US1436123A
Application number: US322108A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas W Varley
Original assignee: Safety Car Heating and Lighting Co
Current assignee: Safety Car Heating and Lighting Co
Priority date: 1919-09-06
Filing date: 1919-09-06
Publication date: 1922-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 1939-11-21

Description

T. W. VARLEY.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. m9.

Patented Nov. 2 1, 1922 Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS W. VABLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE SAFETY CAR HEATING &; LIGHTING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Application filed September 6, 1919.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. VARLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Systems of Electrical Distribution, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to systems of electrical distribution and more particularly to systems of the above nature especially adapted for use in lighting railway cars and the like. One of the objects thereof is to provide a system of the above nature of simple arrangement which shall be thoroughly dependable in action. Another object is to provide a system of the above nature in which all parts are fully protected against injury. Another object is to provide a system of the above nature of a particularly durable character in which certain dominant parts are in action substantially only when action is required. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinfter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction. combinations of elements and arrangement'of parts which will be exemplified in the structure hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic plan of one of various possible embodiments of this invention. I

Referring now to this drawing in detail, there is shown at 1 a generator driven at Variable speed from the car axle, provided with a shunt field 2 having serially connected therewith a pile of carbon disks 3. This pile is normally held undercompressmn as by the bell crank lever 4 pivoted at 5 and urged toward the pile by the spring 6. Connected with the free end of this lever is a core 4 which coacts with a solenoid 7 se rially connected in the main conductor 8. The latter conductor leads through an automatic switch 9 of the well known type and to a battery branch or conductor 10 hereinafter referred to in detail. Continuing past the battery branch, conductor 8 leads through a lamp switch 11 and through a lamp regulator comprising the carbon pile 12 controlled by the voltage coil 13 bridged Serial No. 322,108.

across the lamps 14:. From the remaining terminal of the lamps, the main 15 leads back to the remaining terminal of the gen erator.

Bridged across the generator terminals is a voltage coil 16 which controls through a core 17 a lever 18. This lever is provided with an attracting spring 19 and with a set screw 20, and the parts are so proportioned that at a predetermined generator voltage indicating a desired state of charge of the battery, the lever 18 will be swungaway from its stop 21 and set screw will contact lever 1, thus acting to increase the resistance of the carbon pile 3 and cut down the current output to an extent required to protect the battery.

Considering now the battery branch 10, this conductor first leads through an ampere hour meter 22, thence through the armature 23 of a free running motor 24. Atthis point the storage battery 25 is connected in circuit, the remaining terminal of the battery branch being connected to the main 15 at 26. Motor 24 is confined to one direction of rotation as by the ratchet mechanism 24 or equivalent devices.

A circuit is led from the main 8 at 27 to the movable contact 28 of the ampere hour meter which makes connection at full battery charge with the stationary contact 29. From this point a conductor 30 leads through the field 31 of the motor 24 and thence to the main 15.

Considering now the action of this apparatus, the generator 1 upon obtaining a sufficient speed, acts by its voltage to close the ordinary automatic switch 9. At this time, assuming the battery to be uncharged, charging current will flow through the battery branch, such current being maintained substantially constant by the action of the arm 4 controlled by the coil 7 If desired, lamps may be-turned on by the switch 11 and the voltage on the lamps will be regulated in the ordinary way by the lamp regulator hereinbefore described. As the charge progresses, the ampere hour meter and movable contact will graduallytravel toward the tired contact 29 in the well known way. lVhen the battery has reached the desired state of charge. the lever 18 will be swung upwardly by the voltage coil 16 as hereinbefore described, and will act to cut down the current. It may be noted that the expression cut down is used in its ordinary sense as meaning to either stop or materially diminish the current in question. This action will tend to protect the battery against over-charge. H

It may be noted that throughout the charge, the motor. 24.is inoperative and its field is unexcited, and its armature afi'ords substantially no opposition to the flow of charging current. When however the bat tery has become charged and contact 28 makes connection with the contact 29, the field 31 is immediately excited. The motor then, which is preferably free running, immediately starts and travels at such s eed that its counter electromotive force'wil cut down the current flowing therethrough. As a matter of fact, the flow of current which the motor will permit under these conditions is only that required to supply energy for rotating its unloaded armature. The parts may be so arrangedthat this may re resent any desired value. The rotation wil continue as long as the ampere hour meter registers a fully charged battery and as long as charging current tends to flow into the bat-' tery; and the battery will thus have in the apparatus last described an additional means of complete protection. Upon the battery becoming discharged to any extent, the circuit through the field 31 is broken and the motor 23 de-energized. If with the'lamps in use and the battery charged, the train stop, the lamp load will be immediately and efiectively carried by the battery for the ratchet mechanism 24* will prevent rotation ,of the notor 24 in a reverse direction and its armature will not oppose flow of current from the battery to the lamps.

It will thus be seen that there is provided apparatus in which the several objects of this invention are achieved.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention and as various changes might be-made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustratiie and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a system'of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, a storage battery adapted to be charged thereby, a conductor adapted to lead charging current from said generator to said battery, means in said conductor adapted'always to carry the charging current and adapted to create a counter electromotive force in said conductor and thereby cut down the charging current, and means'adapted to bring said last means into action at a. certain state of charge of the battery.

2. In a system of electrical distribution,

in combination, a generator, a storage battery, conductors connecting said battery with said generator, current-opposing means permanently in the branch conductor leading to said battery adapted normally to carry charging current without substantial opposition and adapted upon operation to cut stage of charge of the battery and thereby causing its armature to create a counter electromotive force in the charging circuit.

4. In a systemof electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, a storage battery, a circuit leading from said generator to said storage battery, a normally idle dynamo having its armature connected directly in said charging circuit to carry the charging current to said battery and the rotation thereof unimpeded, an ampere hour meter, and means controlled by said ampere hour meter adapted to render said dynamo operative upon said battery reaching a substantial state of charge. r

5. In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, a storage battery, conductors adapted toconnect said battery with said generator, an ampere hour meter connected in the branch conductor leading to said battery, afree-running motor having its armature permanently in said branch conductor, and means controlled by said ampere hour meter adapted to complete a circuit for the field winding of said motor upon said battery becomingsubstantially charged.

6. In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, a storage battery adapted to be charged thereby, an automatic switch controlling the connection of said generator and said battery, a motor having its armature connected with the charging circuitof said battery and having its field circuit connected across said generator on the side of said switch remote-from said batv tery, and means adapted to close the circuit of said field winding at a certain stage of charge of the battery. V

7. In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, 3, storage battery, conductors adapted to connect said battery with said generator, an" ampere hour meter connected in the branch conductor leading to said battery, a free-running motor having its armature in said branch conductor, -means controlled by said ampere hour meter adapted to complete a circuit for the field winding of said motor upon said battery becombination, a generator, a storage battery adapted to be charged thereby, a motor having its armature connected in the charging circuit of said battery and having its field' connected across said generator, an automatic switch controlling the connection of said generator with said battery, said motor field being connected at the side of said switch remote from said battery, voltageregulating means for said generator, and means adapted to bring into action said motor at a certain stage of charge of said battery by exciting its .field and thereby causing its armature to create a counter electromotive force in the charging circuit.

9. In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, a storage battery adapted to be charged thereby, a motor having its armature connected in the chargcircuit of said battery and having its fie (1 connected across said generator,an automatic switch controlling the connection of said generator with said battery, said motor field being connected at the side of said switch remote from said battery, voltageregulating means for said generator, and means adapted to bring into action said motor at a certain'stage of charge of said battery by exciting its field and thereby causing its armature to create a counter electromotive force in the charging circuit, said last means comprising an ampere hour meter connected in the charging circuit.

10. In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator, a storage battery adapted to be charged thereby, a conductor adapted to lead charging current from said generator to said battery, a freerunning rotary armature'in said conductor, a field for said armature whereby said armature generates a counter electromotive force in said conductor and cuts down said charging current, means adapted to cause the excitation of said field upon said battery becoming substantially charged, and means adapted to oppose rotation of said armature in a reverse direction. 11. In a system ofelectrical distribution,- in comblnation, a generator, a storage battery, lamps, means adapted to connect said 1 battery and said lamps with said generator in parallel with one another, means in the branch conductor leading to said battery adapted to create an electromotive force in opposition to the flow of'current in said conductor, means adapted to render said 0-p- 1r iosing means operative when said battery as reached a substantial degree of charge,

and means controlled by said generator for permitting said last-mentioned means to render said opposing means operative when said generator is operating to charge said battery and for preventing said last-mentioned means from rendering said opposing means operative when said generator is inoperative and said battery furnishes current to said lamps.

12; In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator. a. storage battery, lamps, means adapted to connect said battery and said lampswith said generator in parallel with one another. means in the branch conductor leading to said battery adapted to create an electromotive force in opposition to the flow of current in/ said conductor, automatic means adapted to render said opposing means operative when said I battery has reached a substantial degree of charge, means controlled by said generator for permitting said automatic means to render said opposing means operative while said generator is operating to charge said battery. and independent means operative by.

means adapted to close said circuit when said battery has reached a predetermined state of charge thereby to render said opposing means effective to cut down the current from said generator to said battery, and means under the control of the generator for rendering said field producing circuit operable by said automatic means while said generator is operativeand for rendering said circuit inoperable by said automatic means while said battery supplies current to said lamps and said generator is inoperative.

14. In a system of electrical distribution, in combination, a generator. a storage battery, lamps, means adapted to connect said battery and said lamps with said generator in parallel with one another, means in the branch conductor leading to said battery adapted to create an electromotive force in opposition to the fiow of current in said conductor, said opposing means being dependent for its operation upon a magnetic field, an electric circuit for producing a magnetic field forvsaid opposing means, automatic :means adapted to close said circuit when said field for said opposing means, automatic battery has reached a predetermined state of charge thereby to render said opposing means efiective to cut down the current from said generator to said battery, and means under the control 'of the generator for rendering said field producing circuit operable by said automatic means While said generator is operative to charge sald battery, and

THOMAS W. VARLEY.