US1483962A - Means for indicating the integrity of circuits - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 19, 1924; 1,483,962 F. W. WOOD MEANS FOR INDICATING THE INTEGRITY OF CIRCUITS Filed Feb. 2'7. 1919 INVENTOH flaw/Z ZVWooa Y Patented Feb."1 9,1924.

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MEANS FOR INDIOATING THE INTEGRITY OI OIBBUITS.

Application fllcd'lebruary 27, 1918. Serial Io. 379,840.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montclair, in the county of Essex and btate of New Jersey, have invented new and usev ful Improvements in Means for Indicating the Integrity of Circuits, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for indicating the integrity of circuits, pertaining more particular y to circuits of the alternating current type, and especially to conditions present where the indicating mechanisms of a plurality of independent circuits may be located in juxtaposition.

The invention is capable of rather wide application, but for purposes of explanation of the problems presented and solved by its use under onerous conditions, a brief description is given of its installation in connection with the running-light circuits of ships.

he number of circuits employed in installations for this purpose may be lar e-in some instances as many as nine di erent circuits in parallel may be utilized, each circuit controlling the operations of one, or more lamps. When inservice it is essential that the lamps be illuminated constantly for safety purposes, but such constancy is, of course, dependent on the lamp itself-if burned out the signal effect of the lighted lamp is lost; it therrfore becomes essential that a new lamp be substituted as quickly operate under the change in type of current ossible. 0 meet these conditions it has been the practice to install the systems in such manner as to provide a reserve lamp in position, with the lamp circuit for a particular position divided to place the two lamps in parallel, ntilizin a convenientl -posit10ned switch to control the activity 0 one or the other of such parallel circuits. And since it is inconvenient to provide an attendant to watch the lit lamp, it has been the practice to provide an automatic indicator-generally in the form of a relay in series with the lam the brea ing of a circuit by the burning out of the lamp, the switch being located to permit its being rapidly thrown to render the reserve lamp active, the burned-out lamp being replaced at leisure.

Heretofore it has been the utilize direct current for. supp ying these 'ble and .visual signals.

which will give instant notice of notice todifferent circuits, and to permit of minimum attention the switches and relays have been assembled at one pointthe leads being brought to that pointwhere suitable indicating mechanisms can be installed to permit observation by a single observer, the mechanisms sometimes including both audi- This has been made possible through the use of direct current supzply. i

scent installations of lightin apparatus have, however, employed a ternating current as the source of supply, raising cer* tain problems in the operations of the indicating system described, these problems being due to the difference inactlon provided by the substitution of alternating for direct current in these circuits. This difference is made apparent more particularly in the rela s used in the circuits, the change in type c humming, chattering, etc., in these relays to such an extent as to be extremel disagreeable, and where a multiplicity oi these circuits are employed, this noisy condition becomes so burdensome as to generally cause the system to be out out of operation, thereby preventing the operation of the signals and eliminating the safety factor provided by the automatic operation intended.

It is to meet conditions of this kind that formed the basis of the present invention, by making it possible to utilize the general characteristics of the system but to make it operation, durable in construction, and which can be manufactured and installed at relatively low cost.

To these and other ends, the nature of which will be readily understood as the in vention is hereinafter disclosed, said invention consists in the improved construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully current setting up conditions of describedpillustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more part cularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which Similar reference characters indicate similar parts-in each of the views,

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a relay and indicator constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fi 2 is a longitudinal sectional view oft e same, parts being shown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a manner of use. I

In describing the invention I will first explain the general construction of the relay, it forming a controlling factor of the invention since it must be operative within the alternating current circuit and must be of a type which will solve the difficulties inherently resent when operating under these conditlons.

l0 "designates the laminated core of an electromagnet, the coils being indicated at 11 and shown as mounted on the legs oft he core, the particular embodiment showing the core contour as generally U-shaped. The ends of the le s provide the poles of the magnet, the po ar faces being on the inner faces of the legs and made u ofthe exposed edges of the laminations. The polar faces are arranged ap roximately on the arcs of a circle, thus ma ing them concentric to an axis located midway between the faces and which lies in the magnetic field of the magnet when the coils are energized.

The core is supported on a suitable base 12 by suitable members, indicated as pedestals 13, spacing the polar faces from the base a suitable distance. As shown, the supports at the ends of the legs are carried above the core and form supports for a bar or plate 14 which bridges the gap between the planes of the faces at a point SHICQd above the plane of the core legs as shown in Fig. 2.

Base 12 and plate 14 carry bearings for a spindle 15 located in said axis, said spindle carrying the armature 16 having a peripheral contour which includes faces complemental to the polar facespf the core, these armature faces being preferably spaced a suitable distance from the polar faces. The armature is of laminated form,

with the sheets preferably having the con-' tour of the peripheral contour of the armature, thus providing the armature faces by the adjacent edges of the laminations.

Since the arnrature is ivotally mounted on an axis forming the ocal point of the polar faces, the armature is movable relative to the polar faces without possibility of contact w th the faces or any abutments carried thereby, so .that possibility of chatterout of a predetermined position.

ing'is eliminated. And as both core and armature. are of laminated structure, the usual humming produced in the presence of alternating current operation is greatly reduced or entirely absent.

Since the structure is operative as a relay the armature must be movable into and This is had by connecting a coil s ring 17 to the spindle and to a pin depen ing from plate 14, the connection being such was to cause the s )ring to tend to move the armature. out of field and tea deflected position-counterclockwise in Fig. 3the, limit of movement int-his direction being provided by bringing a contact ltl-carred by an arm 18 projecting from the'spindle-into contact engagement with a contact 19 carried by a bracket 20 supported by andinsulated from the base, contact 19 being preferably carried by a leaf spring 19 which tends tocushion the engagement when made. The movement of the armature from this latter )osition into attracted position is provided \y the activity of the magnetic field when the coils are energized. the movement being in opposition to the tension of spring 17 and in a direction clockwise in Fig. 3, the latter view indicating the osition of the armature with the field active. contacts 18 and 19 being separated at this time.

21 indicates a member for holding the an arm 22 carried by the spindle and which carries a flat plate 22 at its free end, and a plate-like member 23 positioned above the coils and extending beneath the path of movement of plate 22 (Fig. 2) The relative arrangement of the parts may be such that plate 22 may be located above member .23 when the armature is in the medtion of Fig. 3, or by changing the position of the arm, this position may be had when the armature is shifted to its opposite extreme-the form shown in the drawings is preferred.

The visible signal is given by the exposure of a suitable indication, which may be carried by plate 22 or by member 23, and is preferably of a type to call specific attention to the indication when the circuit through the coils .is broken. For this purpose the indication may be in the form of a distinguishing marking-as for instance a colored disc-placed on member 23 in a position to be hidden by plate 22 when the armature is in the position of Fig. 3the exposure opening of the casing (not shown) being. opposite the indicationor the mark may be on plate 22 with the casing opening positioned to provide exposure of the mark when plate 22 has been shifted to the opposite extreme of its length of movement.

its attracted position in the magnetic of a single lamp the auxili ar Obviously, the signal may provided when the circuit is unbroken, byplacingthe mark on plate 22" and locatin the exposure opening above this point in ig. 3. And as will be understood, both plate 22' and member 23 may each carry marks differing from each other, so that with the sight opening properly positioned, one mark will be VlSllJlrB' with the circuit unbroken and a difi'erent mark visible when break in the circuit occurs.

While I have referred to the limitin devices as in the form of contacts 18 an 19, it will be understood that the invention is not'limited in this respect, since these ele ments-used in the present embodiment as the; elements of a circuit make and'break means-ma be sim lystop elements of any preferred orm. ere operative as make and break structures, the leads may be operatively connected to sprin 19" and the spindle or arm 18" in any pre erred manner. For illustrating the general operation, I have shown, in Fig. 4, a diagrammatic view of a simple. circuit which includes a source of electrical supply M, a lamp L arid switch S, coils 11 being shown diagrammatically, as is the armature. As will be seen, the coils and lamp are in series, so that while the circuit remains unbroken the armature will be held to break an auxiliary circuit between contacts, 18 and 19, the auxiliary circuit being shown as including a gong or hell G. While the through the lampt mains unimpaired, the armature will be h in sition to maintain the-auxiliary circuit bro en, breaking of the main circuit permitting shifting of the armature to complete circuit and sound the au ible signal, the c anges in position of the armature affecting the visual signals in a predetermined manner, as pointed out.

As will be readily understood, a number of these main. circuits may be connected in arallel, each having its individual relay, and the auxiliary circuits may be so arranged as to be operative on a single audible signal. This is rmitted because of the fact that the re ay operations are made noiseless-or substantially soby the particular form of the relay, and the number which may be present at any pointbecomes immaterial, the audible signal callin attention to the fact that one or more of t is main circuits has been impaired, and a rapid inspection of the indicators of the relays will determine the particular circuit involved. Upon restoring the circuit, the relay gives immediate-note of the fact through the movement of the armaturean advanta in the control of running lights, in case 0 the use circuit, since it automatirapidity with which the have been carried out.

e main circuit-recally signals the orders for repairs integrity of the circuit 1d As will be readily under stood, the use of the laminated armature, pivoted in the axis of the magnetic field-forming elements, does not require that the polar and armature 'faces ass into contact. In practice, a considera le space is left between the opposing faces, thus not only eliminating all possibility of production of noises through contact, but at the same time eliminating the possibility of dust bridging the space and tending to retard the movements of the relays The mounting of the armature is such as to provide easy movement of the arma ture even with comparatively small currents, thus making the relay sensitive in action and of comparatively small size. in this connection, it may be noted that a standard relay in service, employed on 110 and 120 volt'circuits has the diameter of its base 12 three inches.

While I have herein shown and described a referred embodiment of the invention an ways in which it may be carried out, it will be readily understood that changes or modifications therein may oe found desirable or necessary in meeting the exigencies of use, and I'desire to be understood as reserving the right to make all such changes or modifications as may be found desirable or essential, in so far as the same may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, whatv I claim as new is i 1. An alternating current relay comprisinga base, a stator carried by said base and including an eleetromagnet and a laminated core terminating in oppositely positioned poles, a rotor carried by said base and including opposed bearings located between the poles ofthe stator, an armature and its shaft journalled therein, the armature being movable into attracted and deflected pose tions upon 'energization and deenergization of the said electromagnet, cooperating contact elements including a stationary contact element carried by the said base and a movable contact e'lement carried by the said armature shaft, and a resilient device active for shifting said armature and shaft to its deflected position and for effecting engagement of said contact elements upon deenergization of the electromagnet, the said contact elements forming a means for limiting the deflected position of the armature and for closing an electric CliCtllt.

I 2. An alternating current relay comprising a base, a stator carried by the base and includinga field electromagnet and a core terminating in oppositely positioned poles, a bearing plate'carried by the said base and spaced therefrom. aligned hearings in the said base and plate respectively, a rotor including an armature having a shaft journaled in the said bearings, the armature being movable into attracted and deflected po- 'sitions upon energization and deenergization of Said electromagnet, cooperating contact elements including a resiliently mounted stationary contact element carried by the base and a contact element connected to said armature shaft for movement therewith, and a spring surrounding the said armature shaft and anchored at opposite ends to the said shaft and to the said bearing plate, the

said spring: being active for shifting the armature to its deflected position and for effecting engagement of said contact elements upon deenergization of the electromagnet, the said contact elements forming a means for limiting the deflected position of the armature and for closing an electric circuit.

3. An alternating current relay comprising a base, a stator carried by said base and including an electromagnet and a laminated core terminating in oppositely positioned poles, a rotor carried by said ase and including opposed bearings located between the poles of the statoiyan armature and its shaft journalled therein, the armature bein movable into attracted and deflected positions upon energization and deenergization of the said ele'ctromagnet, cooperating contact elements including a stationary contact element carried by the said base and a movable contact element carried by the said armature shaft, and a resilient device active for shifting said armature and shaft to its deflected position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. y

.1 RANK W. WOOD.

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