US310119A - buckingham - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. L. BUGKINGHAM.

REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS. No. 310,119. v I Patented Dec. 30, 1884.

(No Model.)

0. L. 'BUGKINGHAM.

REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 30, 1884.

1 r a, L 71 L1 m I ii e EH1 'PHII.

wi t Memes UNITED STATES Parrrrr @rrrca.

CHARLES L. BUGKINGHAM, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,119, dated December 30, 1884.

Application filed May 5. 1884. (No model.)

1" 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. BUOKING- HAM, of the city, county, and State of New York, a citizen of the United States of America, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Regulators for Electric Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

The various types of existing differential lamps are provided with two coils. Qne of said coils, commonly known as the coarse wire coil, forms a part of the are branch, and serves to separate the carbon electrodes of the lamp to establish an arc, while the other coil, commonly known as the finewire coil, and being included in a shunt to the electric lamp, acts to overcome the force of the coarsewire coil and to cause the electrodes of the lamp to be fed together under the positive ac tion of a spring, gravity, or other agent. I employ, instead of' a single coarse-wire coil, two coarsewire coils, forming parts of two branches which begin and reunite on the same side of the arc. Said coarse-wire coils are wound either differentially upon a single electromagnetic core or upon independent cores in such a manner as to afford an opposing or differential action in respect to each other. One of the branches is of constant electrical resistance, while the resistance of the other is readily adjustable, and adjustment in its resistance is effected by an electro-magnet whose coils form a part of a high-resistance shunt around the lamp. Normally, very little current flows through the shunt branch, and at the same time very little, if any, current passes through that one of the coarse-wire coils embracing the variable resistance, as said resistance is then at its maximum and many times greater than that of the other branch. Nearly the entire current of the main circuit, under this condition, is forced through the coarse-wire coil whose branch is of a constant resistance, and thereby the electrodes are held apart to form an arc. hen, however, the electrodes are consumed to an extent to occasion an increased are resistance, more current is diverted through the fine-wire shunt and to an extent proportional to the increase of are resistance. Theinerease of current in the shunt branch causes the armature of the electro'magnet therein. to automatically decrease the resistance of the branch of one of the coarse-wire coils, thereby permitting more current to pass through it, which acts to neutralize the effect of the current in the other coarse-wire coil. If the two coarse-wire coils are wound upon the same core, the resultant electromagnetism may thus be reduced, and, if need be, rendered nil. If the two coarsewire coils are wound one upon stationary cores and the other upon movable electromagnetic cores normally, the poles of the movable core by inductive effects will be held against the action of a spring or gravity opposite to or in the immediate proximity of the poles of the stationary core, and upon a decrease of the variable resistance in one of said branches magnetism will be induced which will neutralize the effects whereby the stationary and movable cores are held close to each other, thereby permitting the retracting force acting upon the movable cores to cause the carbons of the lamp to be fed together. It is obvious that in the old types of differential lamps a very considerable increase of arc resistance must occur before enough current will be diverted through the fine-wire coil to effect a feed of the electrodes. lVith my arrangement, however, it is apparent that an increase of current, although too small to in any considerable degree neutralize the effect of the strong are branch current, will yet be suiiicient to actuate an armature of the shunt electro-magnet for the purpose of removing a part or the whole of the variable resistance of one of the branches.

1 will now describe my invention by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a regulator whose feed-magnet is provided with an axial armature, and upon whose core are differentially woundtwo coarse-wire coils. Fig. 2 represents a magnet system for the feed-regulator, consisting of a stationary and a movable electro-ma-gnet whose coils respectively form parts of the two multiplearc branches of the mainline. Fig. 3 is a side view of the oscillating feed-magnets and feed-clutch apparatus.

As shown in Fig. 1, L is a main line which is divided at points a and I), both on the same side of the are, into two branches, Z and Z, whose normal resistances may be about as one to ten, including, respectively, coils in and n of clcetro-magnet Til. Coils m a are wound diil'erentially upon the core ol'electro-magnet M, whereby th e current i'lowin g through branch Z tends to neutralize the magnetic effects in the electro-magnet M due to the current in branch 1. Branch 1 is of constant electrical. resistance. lranch Z completes its circuit through lever G and an adjustableresistance, 1, thus atl'ording in said branch a highly-variable conductivity. Resistance 11 is made up ola pile of carbon plates laid llatwisc upon one another, and the resistance of the pile is varied by a variable pressure, to which it is subjected by means ol' eleetro-magnet E.

a is a shunt of high resistance joining the opposite poles of the eleetriclamp and including the fine-wire coils of clectroanagnet E. Electro-magnet 11 is provided with an axial armature attached to the armature-lever C, which is pivoted at point.- a'. When no current is flowing through shunt s, the resistance of branch Z is at its maximum, since at that time the armature ol' the shunt-magnet is un attracted and the armature-lever G bears only with a light pressure upon the plates of the carbon resistance R. ll" the current strength in shunt 8, however, is increased, armature lever G compresses the carbon resistance it until its conductivity is greatly increased. The wire of coil 11. should be somewhat smaller than that of coil or, and their respective amounts or wire should be so proportioned that their resultant magnetic effects when the resistance of it is reduced to its minimum will be almost ail.

Although the maximum resistance of It may be great as compared with the resistance of branch Z, it need not exceed one ohm, for even with that small amount not enough current would flow through its branch. to cause the heating of the carbon pile, owing to the still smaller resistance 01' the branch I. if the re sistance of R is, say, one ohm when no pressure is applied, it is obvious that only a small force would be required to reduce the resist ance to an extent tocause much more current to How through its branch.

II is a carbon-holder carrying carbon electrode 13, and r is the axial armature of differential magnet I, through an axial opening of which the carbondioldcr passes. A stirrup, c, carrying a supporling-ring, through which the carbon-holder also passes, is pivoted to the axial armature at r, and a lever, 71, ispivoted to supporting-ring tat 1:. Lever/iis provided with a claiupingtoc, U, to r engaging with or releasing the carbon-holder ii, and is also provided with a spring, 0, attached to a rigid support, 3 which carries a set-screw, I for arresting the downward movement of lever 7i. "W hen the axial arn'iaturc G is lifted by elcctro-magnet M, the supportingring t is raised, carrying with it the pivoted support 0 of lever 71, and the opposite end of It is retained in a nearly-constant position by spri ng 0 until toe to is iirmly clamped against the carbon-holder, whereupon said lever is then lii'ted against the tension of spring 0 from its seat on set-screw Under this condition carbon F is lifted from carbon (r to form an are between their points. If while lever h is lifted :l'rom set-screw q the axial armature r is lowered, said lever it will first strike set-screw q, and upon a further l i wering of the axial armature lever 71. will be tilted until the too a releases carbon-holder 1!, thereby permitting the carbon points to feed together. Themain circuit .li divides at point (6 into three branches, the sluint-branch .s and branches H, which are reunited at point Z) into the single-arebranch conductor connectii'ig with brush 1 and the carbou-holder H. The are and shunt branches reunite at point d at the opposite side of the are.

The operation of the lamp is as follows: Vhcn no current is flowing upon the main line, the-carbon points F and G rest in c011- t-act, and the resistance of branch Z in respect to that of Z is comparatively great. It" a current of normal strength is now passed over the main line, nearly the entire current will l'low through branch Z, causing the carbon points to be separated to form an are. It, however, the resistance of the arc becomes too great, considerz'ible current will i'low through shunt s, which immediately removes resist ance l'roin branch Z until the magnetism due to coil n nearly neutralizes that of m, thus permitting axial armature g to drop until lever It strikes set-screw q and toe w releases carbon-holder H. hen by this means a proper feed has occurred, the arc-branch resistance will have been so far reduced that verylittle current will 'llow through the shunt branch, and the resistance of branch Z will be so far increased that coil 11. will nolongerproduce any considerable neutralizing eitect.

Fig. 2 shows an apparatus which is modified in respect to that of Fig. 1 only in the form of the i'cedanagnet arrangement.

'11 is the coil of a stationary clcctro-magnet whose horizontal cores are in the same vertical plane.

in is the coil oi an oscillating electro-magnet whose cores are pivoted upon a horizontal axis. \vheu little current ilows through coil in, the cores of a induce opposite magnetism in the cores of m, and the cores of m and 01 are attracted and held opposite each other. The current in branch I induces in the cores ol' m magnetism oi the same polarity as that in the cores of a, thereby neutralizing in the cores otm magnetism which is induced in them by the cores 01 02, thus permitting the cores of 'H! to oscillate and lower supporting-ring l, which is connected to said eleet-ro-magnet by the jointed arm 0 and pin 5/, until the carbonholder is nuclamped by too in and a carbont'ecd e'ii'ectcd.

instead of a resistance, .1, composed of a series of compressible carbon plates, I may use any well-known form of rheostat; but by means of the form of adjustable resistance here shown the conductivity of Z may be gradually increased and decreased. Instead of an adjustable resistance, I of course may employ armature-lever O to open and close branch Z without any intermediate change of resistance in said branch; but under such conditions of operation the magnetic effects in the lifting-magnet would always be either neutral or at their maximum.

My invention is equally applicable to all forms of differential lam p-regulators. I therefore do not desire to limit myself to the arrangements of magnets for controlling the carhon-feed herein shown.

The relative resistance of branches Z and Z and the size and length of wire employed in each branch may be greatly varied. It is necessary, however, that they should be so proportioned that the magnetic effects of the two coils may be rendered substantially equal when the resistance of R is reduced to a minimum.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Lettcrs Patent, is

1. In an electric lamp, two main line branches including opposing electro magnetic coils, an adjustable resistance in one of said branches, and a shunt embracing an electromagnet joining the opposite poles of the lamp, for controlling said adjustable resistancc.

2. In an electric lamp, two branches which begin and reunite at one side of the electric are, elcctro-magnet coils in each of said branches, an adjustable resistance in one ol. said branches, and an electro-magnet in a shunt around the lamp, for controlling said adjustable resistance.

3. In an electric lamp, two main line branches beginning and terminating on the same side of the are, one of which is of constant resistance and embraces the electromagnetic coils for establishing an arc, and the other of variable resistance, which embraces the electromagnetic coils, for causing the carbons to feed.

In an electric lamp, the combination of branches ll, adjustable resistance It, differential coils m 12, shunt s, and electro-magnet E.

.3. In an electric lamp, the combination of branches ZZ, differential coils m a, shunt s, and electro-magnet E.

6. In an electric lamp, a coarse-wire branch, Z, including feed-coil a and an adjustable re sistance, R, as set forth.

7. In an electric lamp, the combination of branch Z, including coil 02, and resistance It, and shunt 8, including means for controlling 60 said resistance.

Executed April 22, 1884-.

CHARLES Ii. BUCKINGHAM. lVitnesses:

\Vir. ARNOUX, S. S. Wa'r'rims.

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